“Compassion for animals is intimately associated with goodness of character, and it may be confidently asserted that he who is cruel to animals cannot be a good man.”— Arthur Schopenhauer, The Basis of Morality.

I love my life with animals; it has taught me so much about morality; it was grounded in the teaching of morality by some of the world’s great philosophers.

I read as a child that the reason for showing mercy and compassion to animals was so that we humans can learn what mercy and compassion are. This is a lesson I never forgot.

If members of Congress could bring their dogs and cats to the Capitol, they might learn to care for one another instead of hating and arguing with each other. Five or six Labs running around would help.

Most people I know to tell me they love animals, but few seem to understand why or think about it. Loving animals is an intuitive and almost reflexive feeling. It shows us who we really are and how we were raised and loved.

Here on the farm, living with Maria, we are blessed with the chance to show mercy to our animals, and in the process, we also learn to show compassion and empathy to one another.

For me, this was an acquired value. Maria seems to have been born with it. I suspect animals have always helped head the hurt and frightened, especially children, in their homes or their imaginations.

Minnie, our aging barn cat, is not 16 years old. She was a feral kitten I adopted while at the first Bedlam Farm.

Dogs are my primary animal connection; Flo was the only cat who seduced me; Minnie and I have a lovely relationship, but Maria is her anchor, comforter, and savior.

I didn’t want to amputate Minnie’s leg when some predator attacked her, Maria insisted.

Watching her with Minnie – who is comfortable with very few people – reminds me what a gift it is to repeatedly witness this mercy on the farm with dogs, cats, sheep, and donkeys.

Compassion for animals is undoubtedly associated with my desire for the goodness of character, and I am grateful to them for it. This photo was taken this morning on our back porch; it is a typical scene here and I learn from it every time I see it or do it.