I go to the greatest dentist; his entire staff are kind and friendly people, and he is technically very skilled.  He loves dogs, and brings them to work with him – they have their own room in the back.  He donates time and products to help others and works on a fundraiser every year. These are good people and have made me feel welcome when I was a new Texan.  They have taken good care of my teeth, too.

My last visit, I brought a copy of Mathew Scully’s Dominion to read while I waited.  The cover has a picture of a lamb, tied at the feet with rope.  My dentist saw it and turned the book over, finding it obviously distressing.  He said there was nothing one could do about what happens to animals; I told him that was not true. He then began placing instruments in my mouth so I was unable to continue the conversation, but I was left thinking about what to say or do. He scooted out before I could become verbal again, so any opportunity that was presented, I had missed.

Here is the letter I wanted to write to him:

Dear Dr. S:

First of all, thank you for the great ambience of your office and the wonderful people in your employ.  It is always a relaxing experience to come to an appointment, knowing how efficient and capable everyone will be and how kindly I will be treated.  But I decided I need to write to you because of something that happened during my last appointment.

If you recall, I had Matthew Scully’s book, Dominion, with me. The cover has a picture of a small lamb, tied at the feet. You couldn’t bear to look at it and turned the book over; that act led me to believe you are a compassionate man who cares about animals. Your comment to me was, “there is nothing we can do about it.” As someone who has been studying and learning about the horrific way billions of animals suffer and die each year in this world, I wanted to share with you some of the things I have learned, because there is much we can do about it.  For one, we can quit giving money to people who abuse and murder animals.  Every product you buy that has meat, dairy, eggs, animal secretions, leather, wool, fur, honey, and a host of animal ingredients too numerous to mention; any time you buy these products, you are in effect paying someone to harm animals.  No animal that ends up slaughtered is treated humanely.  The efficiency of modern factory farms brings diseased creatures filled with antibiotics and other chemicals into your diet. Did you know that even dairy cows are killed while still children? That newborn male chicks, those adorable and perfect little creations, are ground alive when they are separated out as useless at one day of age?  That newborn calves are sometimes dragged to slaughter before they can even walk, all so humans can steal their mother’s milk. If you choose to participate in these horrors, you must not believe that you truly love animals, only that you enjoy using them, dead or alive.

Not only does giving up eating animals and their secretions help one remain healthier, it helps the entire planet remain healthier. Animal agriculture contributes to global starvation, water pollution, deforestation, global warming and human health issues.  Ending the purchase of animal products opens up a new vista of healthier, greener choices and cheaper, better food.  Even if you give up a portion of meat, you will be saving an entire year’s worth of water for showering, so water-intensive is animal agriculture.

Watch the film Earthlings; you can rent in on Netflix or see it on YouTube. It will explain more than I ever could about animals.  You can also watch Meet Your Meat on You Tube if you care about what they do to animals to turn them into meat for you to eat.  You can read any book by Gary L. Francione, a Rutgers University professor, about the status of animals and how we can help them.  (I even have one you may borrow.) I have dozens of vegan cookbooks you can borrow and several personal recipes, as well as two sites that promote veganism: http://veganacious.com and Dallas Vegan Culture Examiner.

I am suggesting this because it is so very important that we stop the senseless slaughter and suffering of animals of all kinds, including dogs, for unnecessary purposes. I am doing this because from what I know of you, you do care.  (By the way, my cholesterol went down over 100 points when I went vegan and I eat whatever I want.) I am doing whatever I can to save the animals; I hope you will, too.

Or, you can simply turn the book over and turn your back on the suffering of animals.

Stay well,

Barbara

I haven’t yet sent the letter; I am trying to decide what is the best and most effective approach to take. I may bring in a package of information when I return in December. I may send the letter. I know one thing for sure: I don’t want to just turn the book over, either.