From Heather Dyer

Attending the Pennsylvania SPCA has helped me understand the idea that animals are companions, not simply living machines. I love dogs, and when I was walking one dog in particular at the Pennsylvania SPCA, Bibi, a black pug-type mix, I felt as if I was not holding control over him, but rather we were simply coexisting and I was helping him to live a more enjoyable life during his time at the shelter. Bibi and I sat on a bench because the field behind the runs was muddy and we watched another dog and his companion play catch with a ball.
A connection I made between attending the Pennsylvania SPCA and an article was the equality shared between humans and animals, even though humans are moral agents with the ability to understand and exercise morality and animals are moral patients who are supposed to be incapable of committing actions against any morals. Although dogs and humans are equal in value, domesticated dogs rely on us to keep them healthy and happy. Because we are capable of taking care of not only ourselves but others, we have the duty to exercise our abilities for the betterment of others.
Attending the Pennsylvania SPCA is a good time to ask ourselves the question posed in Lynda Birke’s “Naming names - or, what’s in it for the animals” that considers what animals might think about what we do. When a dog sees you approaching their cage, they are beyond excited with the thought that they might get to go outside again. This is a perfect example of the varied roles we discussed in class that humans can play concerning animals. Humans can either have dominion over animals, as the Genesis chapter we read from the Bible stated, or we can exercise stewardship with the animals in an environment where we help them when they need it yet still coexist in harmony.