Why I am not a vegan

[flofrog]

I hope I am not derailing the thread too much here, but here is something else to add about the psyche of animals..

We all have heard of, for example, cows making a circle around a hurt child to protect the child, or dolphins helping a swimmer in difficulty, or pigs nuzzling staff even when they are on the moving carpet in a slaughter factory..

I know someone who has two horses that she trails herself to shows. She cares immensely for those two horses and she always talks about what they are thinking, what they fear, and what makes them happy etc.. Two weeks ago, she had a lady highly recommended by friends, who transmits the thoughts of horses or dogs etc.. So she wanted the lady to start with her older horse, but the lady said the other one, Elegant wants to talk first. Elegant is the younger horse, a bit full of himself. And the lady says, do you want to lease him to a friend who cannot afford a good horse such as Elegant, for a smaller lease ? So the owner was pretty astounded, she said yes. So the lady said ok Elegant is fine with it, he likes her, but he doesn't want to be sold because he is very attached to you.
For the second horse, the owner had bought him a stuffed animal, which was a small elephant to put in his stall, horses like to have toys. So the lady said, the older horse says I really love this elephant, and when she trails me, could she put it next to me during the trip. My friend, who is a sap like me, started to cry.

But this gives much thought about Buddhism which considers that animals are not sentient beings.... LOL