The Clear Conscience of an Animal

In one of my psych classes I got into a debate with my professor.  The discussion was consciousness and animals.  The professor said that animals did not possess a conscience.  What, are you kidding me???  I told her that I watched my pets dream on a regular basis and that animals anticipate their death every bit as much as humans.  They just deal with their passing differently than we do.  It didn’t take long until almost all of the other students joined in to speak up for their pets.  That made me happy.  I actually think it made the professor happy as well.

Now when I watch my dog, Tess sleep I smile.  She is my 12 year old yellow lab and in my opinion she is the sweetest dog that has ever existed.  She snores, her eyelids flicker, her feet move as if she were running and her breath rate increases.  Sometimes she emits a muffled “woof-woof-woof”.  She is adorable.  She is also very tolerant of our two cats.  The eldest is Merlin.  A ginger tabby with an attitude at times.  The youngest is Oliver – Ollie for short – and he has turned out to be a Maine Coon.  I say that he turned out to be a Maine Coon because he is a rescue, just like Merlin.  What great companions they are for us and for each other.

Tess is unbelievably tolerant of the cats.  I think it’s possible that she is too tolerant.  The kitten gets into her food when she is eating and Merlin smacks her face if he is in a bad mood.  Any one who watches these animals interact with each other will agree that there is consciousness within each of them.

No related posts.