Monkey Business

Last year at this time we were struggling with the slow demise of our cat, Bustopher, who was sixteen years old. That's a great run for an outdoor cat and he managed to live through three moves and four different residences. He was my constant companion in the house and would follow me from room to room. Where my lap was, he was. Although Ruth has been ready for another dog or cat for months, it has taken the better part of a year for me to consider another pet.

Many of us have special relationship with our pets and companion animals. I visit elderly folk who spend days in apartments with no other contact than Fluffy, and it heartwarming to see the relationship. We have a member who takes her dog to visit in hospitals and patients love it. Another member is a kindness teacher, going to schools to speak with kids about compassion and kindness. And yes, her dog goes with her. Of course there are guide dogs and working dogs such as the Border Collie our friends use with their sheep.

 

All this said, I know that Bustopher was a companion in our household, but he wasn't human. Which brings me to the now infamous, stylin' Darwin, the Ikea monkey. This monkey was discovered wandering the Ikea parking lot in Toronto and quickly became an international sensation. Trouble was, said monkey was illegal, and was seized from the distraught owner. We have learned that she treated the monkey as though it were a child (see above) and she petitioned the courts to have Darwin returned. Today a judge decided no, at least not before Christmas, in order to better consider his long-term fate. The word is Darwin is doing well in a primate sanctuary, so apparently the human is more traumatized than the monkey.

What should our relationship be with our non-human companions? It makes me a little queasy when folk lose their perspective and treat pets like kids. And events like Woofstock horrify me, at least in the extremes to which some will go in spending on animals. Where is their moral perspective in a world of need?

I do think we need to respect animals other than the human kind, and that it is appropriate to form emotional bonds with them. As many of you know, we have a blessing of the animals in October at the time of the Feast of St. Francis. I was surprised when I offered an invitation to some of my ministerial colleagues to have a joint service, only to have several say that they wouldn't on theological grounds. Huh? My bible tells me that God is the creator of all critters and there are verses which tell the people of Israel to treat working animals with respect.

I suppose it is a matter of balance. What do you think about the Darwin case? What about our "theology" of relationships with non-humans creatures?