WHY MIKLOS MATTERS
On the evening of Nov. 16, a sweet little Miniature Pinscher named Miklos pulled off his leash and ran away. His worried family reported him missing the next day, and learned of his tragic death at the hands of cruel humans who threw him from a moving vehicle. A good Samaritan who witnessed this hideous act stopped her car and gathered Miklos in. He died in the car.
Our local neighborhood website has accumulated over 34 comments condemning this heinous crime and offering their support to Miklos’ family. The shock, distress, grief and disbelief expressed in these posts are stunning. Stunning, because there are still those who perceive animals as “lesser-than” creatures who do not possess unalienable rights to life and who do not belong here.
It is now research-documented that animals’ minds are capable of many of the things human minds can do. Not in the same way, and not to the same extent, but there is no longer any excuse to label animals as thoughtless, feelingless, mindless, lesser-than creatures.
Indeed, dogs are smart enough to be trained to help humans suffering with PTSD avoid flashbacks and terrifying dissociative episodes. Research mandated by Congress in 2010 will quite likely provide scientific evidence for what is already an established axiom among service members and veterans — service dogs are essential to the well-
being for those who suffer from PTSD.
Dogs think of humans as friends, and it is for these friends that the Española Valley Humane Society exists. Many shelters simply hold dogs for a few days before they euthanize them, discarding them like outcasts. The Española Valley Humane Society exemplifies the humane in sheltering.
Until senseless acts of cruelty that violate the rights and lives of dogs, cats, pets and their people cease altogether, the Española Valley Humane Society will continue to provide shelter in every aspect of its meaning — refuge, protection, dwelling and a safe place.
I support the Española Valley Humane Society because it promotes the rights of pets and their families with programs that educate, prevent and treat in service of reducing needless suffering of those unwanted pets who find themselves homeless and alone, and enhancing quality of life for pets lucky enough to have a loving home, like Miklos did.
Miklos will never know the outpouring of care and concern for him, and his people, catalyzed by his senseless murder. But the willingness of those of us with gifted minds and hearts big enough to care, and to steward animals that are lost, abandoned or alone, may promote the recognition that pets, like Miklos, are a valued family member who bring meaning into the lives of those who love them and who, like all of us, belong.