Sidney Sweeting, DDS
Mahatma Gandhi said "The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." With that quote in mind I have often had reason to question the greatness of our country and its moral progress because I have heard so many tales of animals, particularly dogs, being abused and tortured.
This past Sunday morning I encountered a female dog that had been hit and was lying in the road. We have to wonder what kind of person could hit a dog and just leave him lying there but fortunately, with the help of a few good Samaritans, we were able to get the Bahamas Humane Society. They sent two vans and the dog was taken to the clinic and was shortly seen by a veterinarian on duty. We were aware but ignored the taunts of those passersby who berated us for "tying up traffic for a dog."
In 1879 George Graham Vest, Senator from Missouri gave the following speech and I believe that, after reading it, you will understand why I chose to quote the full speech.
"The best friend a man has in the world may turn against him and become his enemy. His son or daughter that he has reared with loving care may prove ungrateful. Those who are nearest and dearest to us, those whom we trust with our happiness and our good name, may become traitors to their faith. The money that a man has, he may lose. It flies away from him, perhaps when he needs it most. A man's reputation may be sacrificed in a moment of ill-considered action. The people who are prone to fall on their knees to do us honor when success is with us may be the first to throw the stone of malice when failure settles its cloud upon our heads.
"The one absolutely unselfish friend that man can have in this selfish world, the one that never deserts him, the one that never proves ungrateful or treacherous, is his dog. A man's dog stands by him in prosperity and poverty, in health and in sickness. He will sleep on the cold ground, where the wintry winds blow and the snow drives fiercely, if only he may be near his master's side. He will kiss the hand that has no food to offer. he will lick the wounds and sores that come in encounters with the roughness of the world. He guards the sleep of his pauper master as if he were a prince. When all other friends desert, he remains. When riches take wings, and reputation falls to pieces, he is as constant in his love as the sun in its journey through the heavens. If fortune drives the master forth, an outcast in the world, friendless and homeless, the faithful dog asks no higher privilege than that of accompanying him, to guard him against danger, to fight against his enemies. And when the last scene of all comes, and death takes his master in its embrace and his body is laid away in the cold ground, no matter if all other friends pursue their way, there by the graveside will the noble dog be found, his head between his paws, his eyes sad, but open in alert watchfulness, faithful and true even in death."
