can anybody find meeeeee somebody to love?

i was in the elevator the other day with my friend and noticed what i had overheard proudly from the woman next me to be a pure bred pup right beside us. immediately, my tail went up. pure bred to me, is no better than proudly saying out loud, 'i am an insensitive, morally impaired,socially unconscious, mentally limited piece of dreck'. honestly, i try to remain open to all sorts of views, unfortunately my indignant side comes out when it pertains to obvious no no's. but then i thought, okay, we all have different exposure and various life experiences. so maybe this oblivious purchaser of purebredness was unaware of all the abandoned, suffering dogs that live in 5 by 5 foot cages in shelters all over our cities. my sister recently took me to the washington animal shelter where she volunteers to walk dogs once a week. i wasn't at all aware of what exactly i was getting myself into. cages of cats meowing for attention, and a rough, bleeding little munchkin of a dog was whimpering near the main desk. it caught me off guard. quite a different environment than the rowdy bar i had been in last night. we walked down a set of stairs and all the sudden my heart dropped. there were around nine cages full of dogs, waving their tales wildly in hopes of getting some human regard. as i walked down the aisle, i read the profiles of each dog that had been mechanically placed on a clipboard on their individual cage. there was lots of barking, but there were the few dogs that remained silent, distressed by the loud tension and excitement of the others. one dog wanted to go out so badly he kept knocking over his water bowl, inevitably soaking his nearby bed of torn, thin blankets laid upon the concrete ground. down the aisle, i read a profile that said, "may have issues with men." probably abused, this dog looked disturbed yet came out of his bed towards me aching for interaction. life is complex. our systems, whether social, political, environmental or economical, overlap. and with this overlap comes consequences, hidden realities for those overlooked, displaced, or disposed. my sister has a commendable passion for animal rights and rescue. my friend amy has a distinguished commitment for the urgency of those humans impoverished by mental, social or economic circumstances. and me, i often find myself overwhelmed with grief and guilt at the privilege my life has given me. but i have realized over time that rather than dwell or ignore the despondence and transgression that exists, to do something about it. everyone is busy. busy busy busy busy. but while we are all so busy, often things get ignored. i had never gone into an animal shelter out of fear that i would get too distressed. my fear alone stopped me from making change. but then i went, and realized that just once a week doing something for someone or something in need can make such a difference. and i had to ask myself, what else can i do to help? whether it's animals, people, plants or the thousands of other entities that need help and go unheard, there is something for everyone to do. animals may not be your thing, but something is. we're all in this together. The question is not, "Can they reason?" nor, "Can they talk?" but rather, "Can they suffer?" Jeremy Bentham