Shoot Your Own Dog!

Tender and succulent,
blood red and juicy.
Seasoned to perfection,
that steak on your plate.

How did it get there?
A shot between the eyes,
throat slit with a knife.
Bled out in seconds,
merciful, they say.
What a way to go!

Do you love your dog?
Of course you do!
It’s man’s best friend.
Would you shoot it?
I didn’t think so.

You pick and choose,
what animal you love.
Some you keep as pets,
and others you eat.

Shoot your own dog.
Slit its throat.
Bleed it out.
Eat a tasty morsel,
of Fido, your pet.

“That would be wrong,”
or so you say.
It’s wrong either way.
Which part don’t you get?

Written by,
Shelby I. Courtland
©2014 Shelby I. Courtland

Would any of you ever think of killing and eating your pet dog? Cat? Iguana? Bird? Fish? Well then why is it that you have no problem knowing that that T-bone steak or that Porterhouse steak or that tongue, beef ribs, pork ribs, bacon, ham came from an animal that we decided was not the kind of animal that deserved love and pet hotels and clothing and special treats? We decide which animals deserve our love and affection and which animals deserve to die a horrible death so that their body parts end up on our breakfast, lunch and dinner plates.

Have you ever given a thought to the horrifying conditions that animals for slaughter endure? The ones that we eat? When you look at Fluffy or Fifi and you realize that that animal is like family, why is it that other animals are not on par with your Fluffy or Fifi? Is it because you’re far removed from the actual slaughterhouse that the animals that are to satisfy our taste for meat end their days? You know this could be applied to why we have no problem with war, here in America. It’s because we’re so far removed from the actual killing, it just does not concern us that other ‘humans’ are getting killed that have the same feelings, likes, desires and hurts that we ‘exceptional’ Americans have just as animals have feelings and hurts and I’m pretty sure that they would like and desire to live and not get slaughtered for their succulent, tender and tasty body parts.

When will we stop kidding ourselves that we actually give a damn about anything other than our own selfish gratification? When will ALL life matter and not just life that we have deemed worthy of our love? Have you ever looked into the eyes of a cow? They have large, soulful eyes. There is intelligence behind those eyes. They have a brain and nerves and blood and a beating heart. They feel hurt just as we do. All animals do and yet so long as we don’t have to go out behind the barn and kill our food to eat it, we are fine with someone else doing the dirty work and all we have to do is drive to the convenient grocery store and pick over a nice selection of choice cuts of meat. Never mind how it got there, we’re having friends over for steak and burgers on the grill. And don’t hand me no bullshit about “what about eating a ‘head’ of lettuce? What about eating tomatoes? Lettuce and tomatoes don’t have beating hearts.

This is something to think about the next time you’re sitting down to dinner, cutting into a juicy steak and blood is congealing on your plate. Look down at Fluffy and Fifi and imagine yourself cutting into a slice of your favorite dog or cat that’s like family. Would you even go there? Hell no you wouldn’t but that cow just looks too damn tasty, eh?