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SRI LANKA ANIMAL RELIEF OPERATION
The
Animals
Immediately
following the disaster, animal related stories made the news speaking
of an amazing Sixth Sense. Myself, like most animal lovers, embraced
these stories thinking -finally, some acknowledgement of the gifts
our wonderful friends possess!
The basic premise for the notion that
animals saved themselves comes from a beautifully simple idea. When
life is in harmony with nature, it is in tune with its surroundings.
As for people, we surround ourselves with the unnatural; brick buildings,
cars, machines, paved roads, TV's, computers - all things that take
us away from nature. Animals, on the other hand, live close to nature
and can sense subtle changes in the environment.
Imagine if you will a dog named Dinakaran
living in a sea side village two days before the tsunami struck.
Suddenly he feels something ripple through his body as he lies on
the ground taking an afternoon nap. Then his ears notice an ever
so slight change of pressure in the air surrounding him. The next
day he looks up and sees birds flying with a sense of urgency he
has never before witnessed. That evening a breeze blows just slightly
cooler than it had the night before. Adding it all up Dinakaran
decided to leave his simple sea side village and head inland.
In
this situation the instincts Dinakaran possess end up saving his
life the same way thousands of other wild and domestic animals were
saved - by living in harmony with their surroundings. Yet now Dinakaran
returns to a home reduced to rubble and his owners buried underneath.
Who will save him now? Who will save him from hunger? Loneliness?
Who will save him from people fearful of contracting rabies?
In disasters, every part of society
needs to be cared for. There are those who provide medical aid to
humans, others who help cook food for homeless families, and those
who comfort the hearts of newly orphaned children. Lucky for Dinakaran,
and all who care for him, there are also those of us who provide
aid for animals.
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