“Daddy, please don’t make me do this!” she sobbed as she collapsed into her father’s arms … Those were the tormented words of a young girl at a county fair here in Ohio as she reluctantly turned over the cow she had cared for and loved for the past year and half to the highest bidder. Suddenly all the pride she felt in winning the blue ribbon seemed so hollow and pointless. And just as quickly, the reality of the moment hit her like a ton of bricks. She had betrayed her friend, a beloved and gentle creature, into the hands of a man who would soon have him killed and cut into pieces.
Those who saw this tragedy transpire said that you could actually see the color leave the face of this young girl before she cried out, “What have I done? Oh God, what have I done!”

As she clung tightly to the one she had betrayed, her sobs grew louder and the auction crowd quieter. And perhaps for a brief moment everyone there knew they were witnessing a great and grave injustice.

 

There is no happy ending to this story; no last minute reprieve or rescue; nothing to see here except the ultimate betrayal of trust and friendship … I would like to think that this young girl now fully realizes the error of her ways and will choose compassion going forward. Far too often the members of 4-H and FFA are taught to harden their hearts and just “accept the inevitable” instead …

 

And yet all is not lost in this sordid tale. For in spite of the injustice and senseless murder of a defenseless, innocent animal, what happened at that auction did not simply fall on deaf ears … For I was later approached by a woman who actually watched these very events transpire. And as she retold that same sad story, she got a far way look in her eyes and said that she has been troubled ever since by what she witnessed that day. “The sound of that young girl wailing in despair still haunts me,” she said. “I can’t get the image out of my mind of her trying desperately to cling to that cow as her father pulled her away.” I then took a few minutes to share with her how I became a vegan after watching the documentary Earthlings and also how she could learn more about veganism; how she could adopt a lifestyle that in no way supported the travesty witnessed that day at the County Fair. She said she would watch it, thanked me, and walked away deep in thought.
We can never really know how or even when others will make the Vegan Connection, which is why we should never shy away from an opportunity to be a voice for Justice and Compassion for the animals. ~ via Dave Rogers

Filed under: Sanctifying Sentience by Scaughdt