When thinking about the cat who belongs to my neighbor, the dog that's eating a McDonald's cheeseburger off of the dirty street, the crayfish at the pet store, the elephants at the zoo; when thinking about any and all animals, not necessarily meeting them all face to face due to my fear of them or geographical location, I think of them all as members of my family. That cat is the super lovable grandmother, the dog is the poor cousin, the crayfish are the newborn nieces and nephews, the elephants are the gentle leading fathers. When I think of family, I do not just think of those whose specific genes I share; I think of every single being that is a product of our natural mother Earth. This means, that not only is the neighbor's cat my super lovable grandmother, but my neighbor is like the estranged sister I never really had the chance to know. I believe that not only are humans categorized as animals (and when I reference animals I include them), but also that every animal is not only equal, but apart of one extremely large, chaotic, family.
As far as where this belief stems from, I believe the first seed of thought was planted in my brain by my actual mother. See my mother has not only had at least two dogs in her life at ALL times, but she was also at one point a veterinarian. Veterinarian's I think are a strange bunch when being compared to most "normal" people (I use the term normal very loosely because nobody is truly "normal"). To go to the extreme here, in a life or death situation, where someone can only choose one : the pet or a human, and to make it more difficult the human would be a best friend or something. Most normal people would choose the human. I have a very strange feeling that the veterinarian would choose the pet. So with that in mind, it's not so difficult to believe that my mother loves animals almost as much as she loves me. Growing up in a household where the dogs are allowed to curl up in bed, watch TV with you, eat with you, and etc... was where I began the belief that dogs, and by default other animals that are usually kept as pets are our equals. That they deserve our love, and to be treated like they are a part of the family and nothing less.
When it grew into something greater than that. When my belief changed from including just typical household pets to every animal, even the ones I don't know exist, my view on animal rights changed of course. But something else came with that; it was a sense that even when our family is fighting over something silly or something very important, or when we come together in harmony (at least before our cousin Bill the hyena makes fun of aunt Jill the cockatoo's hairdo) that we are all part of something making us connected and I use the word family to describe it. It doesn't matter if you have a tail or purple hair, if you eat your young or give them up for adoption; you are a part that family. As far as where it came from, I don't want to say that I know exactly every detail of every story involving my belief, but I have a few stories that I think are a large contribution.
So here is my church story. When I was younger I would go to church with my grandmother every Sunday (and then sometimes during the week). I wasn't forced to go; in fact, if my grandmother left me home I would freak out. I didn't want to be left behind and I loved church. See church when you're younger is fun if you go to a true church. One that preaches love instead of hate, and one that accepts everyone no matter what they believe in or practice. That's the kind of church I went to, and I loved it. There really isn't a specific story about church, but the whole church experience definitely was positive. We would also always take time to listen to other people's stories. Whether they were new (which wasn't very often being in a small town), or whether they were just updating us from last week's tragic event. We took as much time as they needed to tell their stories. Afterwards we would eat the free food that was provided. The best part about all of this is that if anyone came in to hear the sermon, or not, that was homeless or needy, they would get to eat too. They wouldn't have to be a part of the church or anything, and they could show up every week without question and we would feed them. I would always hear the older members of the church refer to these people as brother and sister from the belief that we are all God's children. Being surrounded by people who held that belief that all humans are God's children, therefore all relatives is were the belief that my neighbor is not just the person who lives next to me, but like stated earlier, an estranged sister.
Even though I went to church, I never really grew up Christian. The actual beliefs of where and when God was and such just didn't sound right to me. So I went to church to hear the love, to be with those I loved, and because the doughnuts were always delicious. That being said I never really grew up anything. I actually was an atheist for a very long time without even knowing it. Although my grandparents (the ones I spent most of my childhood around) tried to raise me in Christianity (with no intention of forcing those beliefs, just surrounding me in them) I still received pretty heavy doses of other faiths as well. Most of all though, I was being exposed to the form of Paganism that my mother practiced. From her in her good days, and from Paganism most recently, I've learned quite a lot. One key lesson I learned was that animals are our equals. This being that in a past or future life, I could potentially be an animal. That's really just the basic meaning; it can actually be a little complicated. In any case, mainly my mother, but to her from Paganism and then from Paganism to me, I was taught that animals are our equals, and that we could possible have been or will be one.
At this point, I've learned that animals deserve our love just as any family member does from the veterinarian side of my mother, that we are all part of one big family from the Christian church, and also from my mother, and then Paganism, that animals are our equals. And really, that's about it. It's a fairly simple belief, and I never had a life changing moment where a bus of thought hit me and I screamed, "Everyone is equal!". There was no single camp story that scarred me into this belief, no life changing events, nothing special. It was a prolonged exposure to those who cared. Exposure to the true teachings of the bible, of the wonderful mind of Pagans, and my mother (who is an entirely different species herself). It's kind of like if you had someone bully you in primary school. They would call you fat, ugly, stupid, etc.. You never really thought anything of it, thought that it wasn't getting to you, until one day you look in the mirror and there comes a sudden realization that that bully was "right". Well it's the same concept. Except there weren't specific words said, just feelings and beliefs, and they weren't negative experiences, but beautiful ones.
