So, the other day, My Annoying Coworker was arguing against spending money on injured animals (it started with a mention of doggie wheelchairs), that extended to people providing for the care of their pets in their wills, giving money to animal aid organizations, rescuing animals... her answer to all of the above? "Euthanize them. They're just animals."
The discussion continued. I went to the headphones, loud. This American Life was suddenly an inefficient barrier, like the doors of a HUMVEE. I pulled out the iPod, plugged in, and began looking. I wanted to pick something I wanted to listen to, but there was the added criteria of finding something that really would form a reliable sonic barricade. I got as far as the "C's" in the artist list, and had to just bail out into Crowded House. Loud. Louder.
Somewhere in the quieter portion of "Private Universe", I did hear her say something about people having pets instead of kids, and that she didn't want kids, that she can't even take care of herself.
I reentered the conversation long enough to suggest euthanasia as an option for her...
She sputtered a bit. Said, "Good comeback" with significantly less bravado and fanfare than anything else she ever says. I said, "Thanks. It was easy."
The conversation ended shortly after that, dissipating slowly like the fizz settling on a freshly poured Coke. For the rest of the afternoon, in the slight, unfocused picture I got from the corner of my eye, she looked deflated.
Maybe she feels a bit lonely. Maybe a bit unwanted. Maybe a little bit like a dog abandoned, maybe something like a lost cat, suddenly without a home and friends. Maybe she even feels a bit abused. I'm OK with that, because she has a choice, and, much though I hate to admit it, something of a capacity for higher reasoning. If she's lost, abandoned, abused right now, it's by her own choice. And unlike the animals she doesn't care enough about, she can always choose to go home.
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