ANIMALS!

The typical nuclear family consists of parents and their children. If you wanna be old fashioned, the "normal" family consists of Ma, Pop, Sis, and Bubba. My family is not "normal", although it could be construed as so today. It is nuclear in the sense that a "nuclear bomb", also known as cancer, separated us. Before the nuke hit, my family consisted of Ma (Brenda), Pop (Tim), Sis (Mary Beth), Bubba (Josh), and me. We had pets like Mr. Birdie and Mr. Jackson (both parakeets), but they were not substantial to the family unit. The first pet that truly became a part of our family, and is still with us today, is a tabby cat named Abby. She joined our family when Mary Beth left us in 1994. Though she does not replace a sister, she certainly does bridge the gap between us when leukemia tore our family in two. Since I've had a pet since I was just four years old, animals have become extremely important and close to my heart. Maybe Abby is so much more important to us because of what she symbolizes to my family and me, but I see it in other families, too; pets are just as significant. They play a huge role in the family and make a house more of a home. You can't deny enjoying being greeted with love and excitement when you walk in the door after a long day. I cannot, for the life of me, understand why animal cruelty still occurs, when this love is right in front of my eyes. Even if a domestic animal is not your pet, it is still innocent. It is still another living thing on Earth that deserves to be treated with kindness, especially since it is not as capable as humans are to survive. Help stop animal abuse because we need pets in our lives just as much as they need us.


Unless you're allergic. That's cool, too.

Abby & Me - Christmas 1994