Animals

[stephen raj]

Hi everyone,

I'm not exactly sure what to do, and I'm wondering if anyone can help.

While the recent OTT thread about the animal abuse video is the catalyst for my posting this, what I'm about to say has really been going on for about 2 years.

I have always had an extreme sensitivity toward all animals, but especially cats. I grew up with them all my life, and got very close to them. The 2 hardest days of my life were making the decision to have to put a loved one to sleep.

As was suggested by my grad school, I took the undergrad Anatomy and Physiology elective. Since I could get the credit anywhere, I took it from my local community college. Well, I asked my counselor there about animal dissection because my beliefs are very strongly against it, and I heard through the grapevine that there might be a cat involved. My counselor said he wasn't exactly sure. Well, it wasn't until a few days into the class that I learned that there WAS. It wasn't until the last 6 weeks of class, but it was still required. So, being of Eastern faith (which also prohibits violence, especially toward animals), I went to my professor (who was really cool), explained my situation, and she said no problem, I'll be absent those days, do a make-up paper, and then do my practical identification final exam on models instead. We had it all worked out. Well, the department chairperson caught wind of this and denied the arrangement my prof and I had come up with. I struggled: stay in the class and try to make the best of it, or drop the class and delay (yet again) my entrance into med school? I stuck the class out for a few more days (the bodies were in containers that lined the lab, saved for later--so they were quite visible). I tried to go back and peer into them (they were clear) and confront it directly, but I ended up returning to my table, shaken. In the end, I dropped the class and I WILL become a doctor without having done any animal dissection (most have, so I will be an exception, on average).

Here's the deal: since then, I haven't been the same. I haven't been able to be truly happy, because I know that somewhere, there are animals being tortured and hurt. I adopted a suspected abuse victim myself. He has since been adjusted by a chiropractic vet and is on the best organic cat food we can find, and he's doing fine But I wish they ALL could end up like ours--in good homes, with nothing to fear. It saddens me so deeply to know that there are innocent, beautiful souls out there who cannot speak that are being hurt through absolutely no fault of their own. My beliefs are that everything in this world happens for a reason, and that the universe remains in perfect balance at all times. Perhaps some of these tortured animals were once animal torturers themselves in a previous life or a parallel universe? Who knows. My beliefs are also that this whole physical world and life are, in the end, an illusion. But that doesn't take away the pain in the meantime. Until then, this is really a pickle, with no remedy that I know of yet, and no visible way out.

I'm just grateful for any light anyone can shed on this. At times, this sensitivity gets very painful, sometimes flat out debilitating.

Thanks in advance
Hugs,
~Jyoti

 

[Mommy to be - May 16]

You have the ability to choose your values and belief systems. This power of choice is a double-edged sword, as every choice has consequences that may appear positive or negative depending upon one's perspective.

I, for one, have come to appreciate the unexpected benefits that resulted from making what appeared to be horrendous mistakes at the time. On the other hand, some things are terrible errors no matter what. :

You want to be a doctor, but have chosen to forgo a path that would have been brief, direct, and then permitted you to go on. For now, it's clear that you have decided to find an alternate path towards your goal. But what if you MUST choose between animal dissection for a week OR not becoming a doctor? Can you do one in order to do the other, or would you have to give up the original dream in favor of something else?

Your story reminds me of some prospective massage students. They enrolled in a great school, then told the instructors that they had never had a massage and would not permit others to touch them. They just wanted to work on others without having to receive in turn. :roll: They had a dream, but didn't want to participate in a key piece of the curriculum for whatever reason. They had to drop the program, as they would never be allowed to complete the program without receiving the work. It's possible that they found another school to attend... but I kinda hope they realized that perhaps they needed to choose another path.

Medical school is hard. Not just kinda hard, but 90+ hours/week hard. There's not a lot of room for skipping stuff that makes you queasy or feel disturbed. Dissecting a dead cat is easy by comparison. It's already dead and really won't care what you do with it. If you can't handle that, are you certain that medical school is what you should be doing?

With the passion and sensitivity that you have, perhaps you need to find another way to align your feelings with your priorities.

Here's the deal: since then, I haven't been the same. I haven't been able to be truly happy, because I know that somewhere, there are animals being tortured and hurt.

Perhaps you would find some comfort in taking an active role combatting animal cruelty, or helping pets find loving homes, or something along those lines...

For me, taking action on issues that drive me is absolutely necessary in order for me to be happy and feel productive. I hope that, upon some reflection, you are able to find a key to happiness for yourself and help make the world a better place.

 

[ShineUmbreon]

Hi Jyoti,

First let me say I really enoy your posts and your presence on this board. I get what you're saying a lot of time.

Really, only you can decide if this is something you can ever do (dissect an animal), esp a cat, which you have such close ties to. Here are just a few of the thoughts off the top of my head.

One is that you yourself are not torturing these dead animals that you might dissect. It may look like it, but in all likelyhood they were killed or died humanely (if they are still fit for dissection, after all) and so what you are doing is not actually harming them at all. This may already be TOTALLY obvious to you, but it was the first thing that popped into my head so I thought I'd mention it. Also, this may be your path to becoming a doc, so in the end it would be very benefical to all you come into contact with, including your animal friends.

And the second thing is that, since you say that this sensitivity can be debilitating, do you mean mainly in this case, or in others too? Because if you have other cases as well where you feel debilitated, perhaps you can use this opportunity to come up close to what you fear/hate and get some familiarity with it. I know how hard this can be, so I'm not saying flippantly "JUST FACE YOUR FEAR!" I'm just suggesting that it could be helpful - maybe. I know times when facing my fears just made them worse. Don't know if it was my state of mind or what, but I know it's not always the best thing to rush into. There's always the possibility of being traumatized by it.

Lastly, could you dissect something else? I'm sure you have sensitivity to all animals, but it sounds like cats are especially close to you. Maybe you could find another class, or could your teacher arrange something so you could dissect a frog, or something like that?

Please let us know how it goes and good luck with finding a workable solution.

Shiva

 

[Cheetah]

When looking at MT programs, I looked at the local community college, but chose not to attend primarily because they required feline dissection for the anatomy class. Not only could I not see the relevance to human anatomy, but I have an ethical opposition to it. So I understand where you are coming from with this.

Have you considered trying to substitute a human cadaver lab for the credit? I know that sounds completely at odds with what I wrote above, but humans can at least consent to the process.

As for animal cruelty, there are a number of rescue leagues that need help: money, food, dog-walkers, kitty litter changers, adoption facilitators, anything you can offer, really....pet massage.

Here are some of my favorites:

http://www.bestfriends.org
http://www.myspace.com/deathrowdogrescue

 

[luv2swim4evr]

Hi everyone

First, thank you for all your responses! Please let me clarify a few things, as since Mercury is retro at this time (for those of you who share this belief system) I probably didn't make this as clear as I could have.

During my stint in that class, I seriously tried to approach the situation from many different angles, to try to resolve my conflict with it. In the end, I just couldn't. Simply being in the same room with the bodies and knowing that they had been bred for only this purpose (yes, they actually had!) has basically messed me up for the last couple of years, and the higher power only knows how much longer it will continue to do so. I'm trying, I'm really trying, to work past this. (Which I guess was the reason I posted this originally.) I just felt I had to get it out, as that's probably the first step.

On the upside, I DID manage to find an A&P class that taught me everything I needed to know and then some, without having to go through any dissection! I did start med school (actually, ironically, earlier than I had expected to!) and am now in 2nd year already. We dissected humans, which I had absolutely no problem with, as the bodies were all consensual donations. It was a blast!

Also on the upside, there is an animal chiropractic continuing ed certification where you can learn to adjust dogs, cats, and horses. One of the things we look forward to most upon graduation is donating our time to offer free adjustments to all the animals up for adoption. Many times an animal is unadoptable because they seem cranky, but that's often becuase they hurt. Often, a single adjustment will take care of that. We can't wait!

So, please keep the thoughts coming if you would! They've been very helpful

Hugs!
~Jyoti

 

[thunderdragoonx]

I am glad to hear that worked out for you!

 

[queniano]

Have you considered a type of trauma release work like EMDR or even EFT (emotional freedom technique)? This might help with getting you unstuck from that very difficult situation. I rec'd EMDR after I could not get past the visual impression left by an accident involving one of my pets. It made a world of difference with PTSD symptoms. I get your sensitivity.

I also get the impact of mercury retrograde! Makes for a fun few weeks :?

 

[Pompal 09.]

During my stint in that class, I seriously tried to approach the situation from many different angles, to try to resolve my conflict with it. In the end, I just couldn't.

I have done both animal (earthworm, crawdad, frog, fetal pig, cat) and human dissection. And, I have to say that every dissection I have done has given me insight I wouldn't normally have. I feel that any and all insight into how bodies work is beneficial for my knowledge base, even if others do not. So, for me, I don't have an issue with it. I also think that if you plan to eventually adjust animals, you may need to consider taking some animal dissection in the future.

My not having an issue certainly doesn't mean your view is not valid though!

I'd like to share some info that I heard about recently on a radio program that may be of help to you - if you'd be interested in activism. The show was quite informative. There is a group (probably more than one) that advocates removal of all animal dissection from schools (including graduate level). You may find your calling there, because of your response to the A&P cat dissction class.

Here's something to get you started: http://www.dissectionalternatives.org/concerned.php