LOS ANIMALES: DAY THIRTY ONE WHAT IS YOUR PURPOSE?

I was told when I was two I was over at a neighbor's house curiously intrigued by the family dog. I was trekking along following it around and pulling its tail. I guess I got too close into the space of the critter and it decided to take a little bite out of my right cheek. I don't know the extent of the injury, but it didn't phase me since  after the incident I caught again following the thing around pulling its tail. Every once in awhile if you look real close you can still see a slight scar on my face, but since I smile so much it just blends into my dimple. I see is as kind of a Harry Potter marking (just made that up) within my soul that there is a DOG in me. I do look down at my forearms and discover the two wolf tattoos that I received in Limerick, Ireland and Amsterdam, Holland (The Netherlands) since I am a Dutch Irishman. A mysterious, searching, surviving, exploring, hungry, prowling, predator, ambitious, fierce focused soul that thrives on the chase of the unknown and the conquering of its plight. I have a wonderful connection and understanding respectful bond with animals. Its best to baby talk them, get down to their level, feel their soul, look them in the eye and respect their existence. I am a vegan, respect the animal, but am no activist.  I respect people's choices and not one to preach, put down or judge. Remember I will even cook you up a delicious piece of meat if you want, fry up some catfish, bake you some chicken Parmesan. I just demand the kind courteous respect of all creatures. Understand their being and reach into their souls with a kind sharing demeanor that can be felt eye2eye, heart2heart, hand2hand. I love to embrace animals, and seek their energy. I love to learn from animals, observe their movement, response to sound, and even howl, hiss or bark with them. Once I was at the entrance of a heavily guarded secured dark Italian port, at least that is what it was perceived as, but little did I know what would happen next. There stood a fierce-focused canine, with a growl and bite that would scare away any predator or trespasser, but not me since I saw that he was wagging his tail when I started blowing him kisses through the fence. The German Sheppard wsa hungry for some love and slowly began to break down creeping towards the fence. Remember HE WAS THE head security guard at this huge seaside port in Livorno that was the gateway charter in and out of Palermo, Sicilia. So a lot was expected of him, and the future/safety of the port and even the country of Italia was put upon his shoulders. As he came closer and closer to the fence I got down to his level sitting on the ground. His growls slowly with hesitation turned into whimpers as his tail swayed and shook with love. He growled he cried. Once he started to do that I knew I had him and was waiting to give him the love and affection he deserved and deeply desired. He actually did a double take behind him and then found his way in front me behind the fence and completely gave into the moment. Remember he was supposed to be this mean,loyal guard dog soldier, but deep down he was just a plain old lovable pooch that loved his back and under his chin scratched. He got to enjoy that moment as much as he could until he realized what he surrendered himself to, and then he abruptly rose to his feet and violently began to do what he was trained to do, BARK BARK BARK, but I continued showering him with love, he continued wagging his tail, but he had to show me who was the REAL BOSS/GUARDIAN of this port by showing me his teeth. This is one of many wonderful animal stories that is within me. My mother had a wonderful sweet selfless Portuguese Water Dog named Belleza Quezar Neptune of the Sea (she was the runt of the litter but had crooked front teeth) so we were graced with her presence for 10+ years) we called her Beleza (beauty). She was a delight to play with, drink with, smoke with, and she loved to cuddle. She possessed an amazing loving heart, senses that felt pain, and a consoling soul like no other. She was kinky black with a front dash of white. Wasn't too fond of the water since we forced her into the pool at a young age and it wasn't the best intro to what she was born to do. She had web-feet, and in ancient times her breed was used to relay messages back and forth from ship to ship. I truly love the souls, minds, and intentions of animals. Show them respect, show them who is boss, welcome them, accept them, walk and run with them, feed them, share with them, and treat them as you would enjoy being treated. If you can't care for them, there are others that will. Take the time when you see one to be aware they too have bad days, aren't always completely aware, and can make mistakes too. Enjoy their life and love, and do your best to educate yourself about them by observation in the wild, reading, or seeking out others that know. Los Animales are a pat of our world too- RVB