...and discomforts.
Gary and Elise have a 21-year-old cat called Dennis who suffers with various age related ailments. They are his carers. It is hard to watch him when he walks and stumbles, and yet he eats heartily and purrs loudly when Elise sits stroking him - which she does regularly and for extended periods.
I am listening to a talk about dignity and disabled animals. Is it about his dignity or his happiness? Dennis is respected as well as loved... and I do think dignity matters more but maybe I am like Aristotle in believing that what is good for someone about being treated with dignity is less a good in itself than a good because it improves individual flourishing.
In the talk, the woman, head of the Anthrozoology centre at Exeter University, cares for a horse with various injuries and illnesses. Vets often suggest she has the horse put to sleep. The woman sees there as being a culture of euthanasia. When I think of one of my cats, I do condemn myself for opting to have him put down sooner than I should have. I do think I failed to do enough - but it was his wellbeing not his dignity that I was concerned with them, and a reassessment of his wellbeing changes my view now... rather than thinking of his dignity.
The speaker suffers from chronic pain and suffering and she uses that to inform her decisions about her companion animals. Is a disabled animal heroic or suffering needlessly? The statement that "decreased quality of life does not always mean that life is less worth living" is worth considering. This is important.
As for Phez, Mark Avery says that pheasants are non-naturalised invasives: they are not very successful here, which is why shooter release 51 million a year. Avery thinks it would be interesting to see what happened if that stopped. More insects for native birds. More surviving amphibians. Fewer foxes.
Phez likes to bathe in the ashes of Gary's bonfires.
On the moors, only the hardy survive.
Coincidentally, I found out yesterday that Cornelius (an about 10 year old turkey) was put to sleep because of painful arthritis and a heart condition. He'd been a well loved individual for several years at the Happily Ever Esther Farm Sanctuary. Amazing personality. I learned what turkeys are capable from him. And also yesterday, a friend is in the midst of dealing with an ill 16 year old cat and they will probably make a decision today, basing it (I think) on whether or not there's pain.