I ambled onward along The Way’s varied pathways until I finally reached the small town of Rouillac and the adorable church on its outskirts. Other than the exceptionally warm ambience, there wasn’t much remarkable about the sanctuary in general, and yet I was especially intrigued by yet another sighting of St. Anthony and his pig in one of the stained-glass windows there – an especially fitting sighting for me, seeing as how it was coming to understand the simple Truth that pigs are just as sentient as (and indeed on average far more intelligent than) my beloved dogs that led me to veganism; in essence the Truth that “a pig is a dog is a baby is a man”; a simple Truth that many years ago started my journey towards finally aligning my most treasured personal values (Justice & Kindness & Compassion) with my everyday actions — Feel free to Do the Same! … 🙂

“I read recently about this couple who were breeding dogs. And each year they would arrange for the females to get pregnant, and when the puppies were born they’d keep them for a few months. But then they would electrocute all of those same puppies and slit their throats. Neighbors said that they saw the couple eating the dead bodies, and they rightfully called the police. When questioned, the couple said that they loved their dogs and didn’t see what the problem was – they lived a good life and died a quick death, so what was the big deal. Does this sound messed up? You bet it does! And this story is a true one – except it’s about pigs and cows and chickens and turkeys. And it’s not about just a couple of them – it’s exposing a global industry doing exactly this to dozens of billions of defenseless animals every single year.” ~ inspired by Vegan Sidekick

P.S. Here is the note a wrote in the Rouillac church’s guest book that day – a note very similar to many others I wrote in many other churches throughout France while walking … 🙂

Filed under: Peace Pilgrimage #02: Walking HOME (2019), Sanctifying Sentience by Scaughdt