Loved the story. I never ceases to amaze me that people think that humans are the only ones who feel, who love, who care.

I used to be a nanny for three young girls who were at the perfect age to learn to be kind to animals. They had so many questions for me when instead of squashing a bug in their house I would carefully take it outside and set it free. They asked "why" and I explained every time. They started to join me when I volunteered at the local animal shelter to visit with the homeless pets. We would pick up bugs outside to identify them instead of hurt them. We photographed every live creature that we could, no matter the size, and we learned about each and every one.

The girls have a new nanny now, but I still babysit once in a while when she is away. The youngest girl who is about to turn five next week went out to pick wildflowers in her yard and in proceeding up the hill with me, as we have been doing since she learned to walk. On our hike, she stopped and kicked an ant hill and scattered the ants and their home with an accomplished look on her face before I even knew what had happened.

I stood there in amazement that not being around her for a year's time, she went from calling each and every insect her "friend" to stomping on an ant hill that was a couple thousand feet from her house. When she saw the look of disappointment on my face, she asked what she had done wrong. I asked her why she had done this and she said because "they" didn't matter. They were just ants.

I told her that ants have families and work hard just like people do and that they should not be harmed just because of their size. She told me that she would never do it again, and truly had compassion on her face when she apologized for what she had done. She walked over to the ant hill and told the ants that she was sorry. She told me that her new nanny said it is okay to kill bugs. She remembered back to the times that we used to name the bugs and set them free.

I spent years with these girls and in only a short time away, the empathy and compassion for all living things was being drained away because their new nanny does not educate them in the same way that I started out. Their other nannies are hunters, as their father is, and they want to fit in and be just like them. The oldest, who is 10 now said that she is sad when she practices target shooting with them and does not want to kill anything, but is now defending hunters, saying that there are too many animals and they have to be maintained. She still volunteers at the animal shelter, but now thinks that "wild" animals are different.

They are still very caring young ladies, and I hope that when people are with their children, they teach them that no matter how small the creature, it also has a family and cares just about about their young as humans do.

We have to educate at a young age and set the example. It's not too late to change a young mind. Show them this story or read it to them. Show them that birds have families and care for their young in the same way. It teaches empathy.

I learned it as a child, and it stuck. The unfortunate part is that they learn what they live, and if the parents or nannies teach them about superiority rather than empathy, they grow up with a lack of compassion and concern.

I still have hope for these young girls and will make sure to be around them more so that they will continue to learn to respect all living things. I am going to show them the article about the birds. Just as a reminder. It's not too late.

I shoot animals and insects as often as I can.

With a camera! It's just as effective to capture the wild on film. This way, they last forever.

Many years ago while working at my first animal shelter, I took in a very pregnant dog right before leaving for the day. Afraid that she would give birth overnight, I dared not put her in the kennel runs area. So I put her in our kitchen and gave her plenty of blankets plus food & water. Now on the same day we had taken in a very feral cat, but the cat had gotten away from us while taking it in and we did not know where in the building the cat had run off to.

Fast forward to the next morning. I came in and gingerly opened the door, just knowing that the pups had come. And they had, indeed, arrived. But that was not the amazing find that morning. There in the midst of the pups (8) and the mother dog was our orange tabby cat, helping the mother dog in making sure the pups stayed in her range. And until the pups were older, the cat stayed right there and helped. This cat never really accepted us, but it sure did love it's adopted family.

Now you might wonder why I keep referring to this cat as "it". I wanted to see if you assumed "it" was a female cat, did you? "It" wasn't. He was a he. All of us at the shelter just assumed the cat had to be a female.

And at the second shelter I managed I truly learned that compassion just cannot always be taught once you are an adult. There my staff would have complained at the inconvenience of what I gave account of above. But at this shelter we just accepted the inconvenience as worth it to learn the lesson this male cat taught us. And that lesson was what all we can learn from these animals. They are simply amazing.

What a sweet story. We found a kitten in the road and my 5 year old "vicious" pit bull, Ruby, has treated him like his momma. Also I just relocated and before I left I witnessed a nest being built in the cactus outside my front door. I could see it perfectly from one of the bedroom windows. Well one day there were eggs in there and than 2 days before we left..there were the babies. We tried not bother them too much, Although she was RIGHT next to my front door. The back was fenced haha. Whenever we came outside she would just fly to the tree at the end of the yard and keep an eye out. That's when we would snap pictures real fast, I didn't want to her to fly at me, like the dad did once, haha, She never did. Anyway thought I would share that.  :)-

We had a family of robins nesting on the ledge above our door, which has a window directly behind it. It was almost like they had chose it on purpose so that we could have a viewing window on their lives. We loved watching the babies grow and both parents feeding and taking care of them every day. It was very heartwarming. :)

All I have to say is I think it's sooo cute!

heart warming :)

I just loved the story. Thanks change.org!!!!!!!!!