I’m a man who truly enjoys life and the beauty it holds. There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t say out loud (to my self, of course) “Jeffrey, you’re a lucky guy.”. And of all the beauties in life, the animals are right up there with children, nature, art, music and literature.

When I was 6 my dad came home one day from work, reached into the right hand pocket of his sports coat and out came a tiny little light grey kitten. She had been taken from her mother too early. My mother took a doll’s baby bottle, warmed up some milk and bottle fed Day (for that’s what we named her) day after day until she could eat on her own. I watched Day give birth to her litter of kittens. And every Friday night when I light my candle and ask God to watch over the people and animals, here and gone, that have graced my life, I ask him to watch over the spirits of Day and her kitties.

This is why animal law is so important to me: animals are not merely property to be treated or mistreated as humanity chooses; animals are sentient beings deserving of kindness and compassion; they hunger, they hurt, they mourn, they joy. We, humanity, have a sacred duty to protect them. For me, a world without animals, which is where things are heading, is a world I have no interest in habitating.