Tulio

Today, my girlfriend and I were visiting some friends for dinner. As we get out of the car, I grab the bag full of food but I notice that she immediately runs to the neighbor’s porch. 

I hear her calling me by my nickname, “Teton, teton, she’s all alone”. Little did I know she was referring to a little duckling. It had been raining so furiously all afternoon that the ducky must have lost its way from her Mother Goose. She signals with her hand to come and help her. Help her get the little lost ducky.

Even before grabbing it with her hand, I could sense the connection she had with this pocket sized animal. It’s the way she grabbed it with such gentle care, how she talked to it, gave it a name, Tulio. How she was trying enthusiastically to make feel part of the experience amazed me. I was not understanding what was happening. I mean, what got me was the way she was talking to it like if it was her own baby.

My family never owned a pet so I have never been fond of animals. On the other hand, my girlfriend’s parents let her own snakes, ducklings, dogs and cats of all types therefore it would make sense she has this affinity with pets in general. 

In short, all of this made me wonder something that has been in the back of my brain for years: do some humans care for animals more than they care about other…humans? Is that normal?

What are your thoughts on this matter?