18

A long while back my grandmother gave me a book that had belonged to her father. The story was called "Beautiful Joe". It was the autobiography of an abused dog that had been rescued and was, in 1893, a groundbreaking attempt to bring worldwide attention to the cause of animal cruelty.

As I share the love of animals that my grandmother and her parents, really of my entire family, I have always treasured the story and the book.

The book is quite fragile and tattered but I opened it today because I was trying to remember a section from the preface. I really like what it has to say and it is something I think is just as valuable today. The language may be a bit dated but the sentiment is very clear:

"Kindness to the animal kingdom is the first, or a first principle in the growth of true philanthropy. Young Lincoln once waded across a half-frozen river to rescue a dog, and stopped in a walk with a statesman to put back a bird that had fallen out of its nest. Such a heart was trained to be a leader of men, and to be crucified for a cause. The conscience that runs to the call of an animal in distress is girding itself with power..."

Anyway that is what I was thinking of this morning as I walked Kiawah along the quiet sidewalk with flecks of snowing dropping softly around us.