"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." --Gandhi

On my bike ride yesterday I met a woman walking her 13-year-old golden retriever while pushing a large stroller containing her other 13 year old Golden retriever with arthritis. She could no longer make the walk on her own, but Nancy was determined that her golden girl would not be left behind. The buggy is almost identical to the ones you see pulled behind a bicycle with a child inside, but this one is made specifically for dogs with the entry in the back.

A little later as I walked the South Padre Island Beach, I saw an older couple pushing their 13-year-old Pomeranian in a small stroller. Same story. Their dog had arthritis and couldn't make the walk, wanted to go, and they wanted her with them.

"Ah, as it should be," I thought. This kind of love and caring for our precious canines. It must've been a day for the 13-year-old dog's.

Don't we wish all dogs had this kind of love and care? I am honored to be author of the month for an online book club called DogRead. One of the group members, Linda, reminded me of these wonderful words by Gandhi in her post:

"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." --Gandhi

How far we have come in this country in treating domestic animals more humanely. And how far we have to go when I think of the conditions in puppy mills, feedlots, and chicken farms to name a few. I got to thinking; if we could change one of these things, just stop puppy mills, for example, how far could we go in homing the millions of homeless dogs in shelters? And how much closer would we become to reaching the greatness Gandhi spoke of?

Dawn Kairns
Author of Maggie: the dog changed my life
www.dawnkairns.com