A cloud of sadness settles over Little Sprouts

Today is a sad day here on the farm. After a long and difficult struggle we have decided it was best to find a new home for Louie, our 3 yr old Springer Spaniel. For a variety of reasons his living here just wouldn't work, and everything we have tried to correct the situation has failed. Before matters get any worse, we decided to say goodbye and find him a more appropriate home.

Fortunately there is a local relative who agreed to take him in so we can still visit him from time to time. Even so, the children's hearts are broken. It seems especially hard on my son who chose Louie as a puppy and has slept with Louie in his room or bed for at least half his life.

Today I find myself feeling lonely puttering around the farm or sitting in my office without  my constant companion at my heels. As irritating as he could be at times, his departure from the farm leaves a hole that will be tough to fill.

This experience reminds me that animals are not so different from us as humans. We can bond with them and they with us. We can have deep relationships without a spoken word passing between us. There is and perhaps always will be a unseen tie between humans and the animals that God put in our charge.

Sometimes I am asked why we take such a strong stance against factory farming. This is one of the fundamental reasons. Its not just about the money, the health benefits, the environment, etc... There is something much deeper. Humans are the highest intelligence placed on this planet, whether you believe that is so by God's creation or by evolution or any other means. We have a responsibility to take care of those that are in our care, those that depend on our intelligence to preserve the earth on which we all live. Factory farming disrespects all those responsibilities and seeks nothing but cash, control, and convenience. Our family is taking a stand that, animals count too. Their lives count. Their lifestyles count. Animals are not machines without feeling, they are not products without thought or breath to be manipulated like a chunk of plastic. They are living, breathing beings that someone has entrusted to our care. Our family is doing what we can to create a world for them that both they and us can enjoy. We will treat each individual animal as just that, an individual member of the world worthy of respect and care.  Every animal in our care here at Little Sprouts is known by us. We watch each to know their personalities, their health, their uniqueness.

Louie will be missed, but in his absence he leaves behind a deeper drive to recognize each living thing on our farm, and our earth, as a unique and worthy member of our world. Every day I hear the silence of his footsteps behind me, I will remember... animals count too.