We shouldn’t humanise animals. When we do this we are not doing them justice, we are mortifying them. But still there are these animals that are companions; animals whose whole being touches our soul in a peculiar way as if to remind us just how much the siblings, mankind and animals, depend upon one another while following the big plan that is Creation.
Text from award winning author Martin Kluger
My niece Miriam brought a half-breed named Lucky home from an animal shelter in Berlin one day. It turned out Lucky was exactly one of these companions.He was everything: intelligent, cheerful, social, playful, funny and cuddly. And when he looked at you, you got the feeling he was going to start talking to you at any moment. Lucky’s “animal” means of expressing himself however were far more eloquent and genuine than our language (which often merely serves to delude).
Every one lucky enough to meet him had their very own special connection with Lucky. For many he was a friend, comforter, companion, playfellow, best mate. He would jump into the water, no matter if lake or pool, after any swimmer and take his or her hand tenderly into his snout to swim back to the shore with them. And he didn’t only act this way towards humans, he also loved all animals, no matter what kind, he looked after birds that had fallen out of their nests, licked cats lovingly and protected chickens from weasels. This fantastic dog seemed to have come straight from a paradise from a time before the fall of mankind. And to such a paradise he found his way back at the end of his time on earth.
When my niece Miriam and her husband Buschi emigrated to La Terrenas/Samana in the Dominican Republic to start a new life, the last big adventure for then ten-year-old Lucky began. He had hardly arrived and already he was making friends with many bi- and quadrupeds. He had a good and fulfilled time, until one day his sick heart gave up and he died in Miriams and Buschis arms on the beach were he had so much enjoyed to frolic.
The Asociación Amigos de Lucky was founded in his memory. He was a stray dog who had received help. The Asociación sees its main duty in helping the stray dogs of the streets and the beaches.
As a child my niece Miriam already had a distinct sense for being thoughtful and compassionate with her fellow creatures. This went far beyond loving the „cute animal“ typical for children that age. Back then I often went for walks with Miriam and this little human being always discovered things and details in nature that others heedlessly passed by.
In much the same way she found Lucky in the animal shelter and took him home. Later on she found her congenial husband Buschi, a partner who tackles problems head-on and who shares this gift. Today there is a little zoo on the beautiful land they own in Las Terrenas, in which they nurse and feed sick and endangered animals. True respect and humility towards the beauty and the grandeur of nature touch Miriam and Buschi and give them the power they need for their work which isn’t always easy. With the Associación Amigos de Lucky they have – against all oppositions and setbacks – gotten an unequalled and enduring campaign going to save dogs from living on the street and to protect them from cruelty. And with this they have – as is always the case when practising wise nature conservation – also ameliorated the outer and inner quality of life of people.
Protecting animals and nature is not an easy and certainly not a sentimental task. It is a source of power, which we humans can use to make up for the mistakes we have made in contact with animals in the past. At the same time we have a chance to repair our over-civilised souls. Miriam and Buschi exemplify this with their own lives – and we would like to support them.
And I’m sure Lucky would like this very much, too.