I am currently sitting in a McDonalds across the street from the Doggie Dental Clinic. I am waiting for Boo to have her teeth cleaned. With Pet care a $60 billion dollar industry in America (that is with a B - billion) it was only a matter of time before veterinarian specialist would be open up. They have made it as much like a human doctors office as possible. I could have waited in their lovely waiting room but it reminded me too much of being in a hospital.
Nurses in uniform greet you to fill out forms just like the last time you changed doctors. It was all very professional. Boo is an extremely healthy dog (partly because we have her teeth cleaned on a regular basis) so the questions were mostly answered in the negative. At one point Boo was being very friendly to the nurse, who said,
"My you are a very sweet boy". To which I replied,
"Sweet yes and she's a girl". The nurse craned her neck down to look between Boo's hind legs and said,
"Well of course she is". This would have been the same scientific method I would have used to make that determination. Who knew I had a natural talent for veterinary medicine.
Nurses in uniform greet you to fill out forms just like the last time you changed doctors. It was all very professional. Boo is an extremely healthy dog (partly because we have her teeth cleaned on a regular basis) so the questions were mostly answered in the negative. At one point Boo was being very friendly to the nurse, who said,"My you are a very sweet boy". To which I replied,
"Sweet yes and she's a girl". The nurse craned her neck down to look between Boo's hind legs and said,
"Well of course she is". This would have been the same scientific method I would have used to make that determination. Who knew I had a natural talent for veterinary medicine.
It did, however, make me think of the whole issue of transgender identity and states like Texas which are struggling to understand. Boo is a great example of how much it really doesn't matter. It happens quite often. She is a cute dog, her gender is not really a major factor in her existence. I don't know what gender her inner canine identifies with but I have the feeling she doesn't care. Her thinking is probably no more complicated than: "Do trick, get treat." The point is, it doesn't bother her to be identified as a male, even when a trained nurse has to glance at her genitals to affirm she is a biological female. No one has ever said, "You know Jay's dog Boo? He is really a she."
So why is it an issue when humans look different than their biological equipment that identifies them. Unless reproduction is the goal, a human is just a human.
This has always been an interesting statement to me. Jesus was asked a question about marriage in heaven. It seems a man had remarried after his first wife had passed. It was asked, which wife would he be with in heaven. https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Matt%2022.30 He said, "They neither marry nor or given in marriage, all are like angels in heaven". Some other translations say "they are neither male nor female but are like angels in heaven." So.... it would appear that there are no genders in heaven. Why do we get so concerned here on Earth about gender since for the rest of eternity it doesn't matter?
And I am sure, if there are also dogs in heaven they look exactly like Boo - angels.
And I am sure, if there are also dogs in heaven they look exactly like Boo - angels.
As you were,
Jay
This one left me in awe. It's an excellent parallel. Perfect. Thanks, Jay.
ReplyDeleteBeautifully written -- beautiful sentiment.
ReplyDeleteI have a parrot who is of a species that has male and female looking alike. (I assume the parrots can tell, but humans can't.) When we got the bird, it was named Cosmo and called "he." However, when we had some bloodwork done to be sure it was a healthy bird, we decided to have the sex test done too. It was discovered he was actually a she. We decided to give her a new name, one she helped choose, one that sounded more feminine. And I must say that that bird was MUCH happier when we finally knew who she was inside and acknowledged it!
On the flip side, I had a cat for some years. Fiona had been to several vets over those years, as well as the university hospital for urinary issues. But one day my (truly exceptional) vet gave me some odd looks and started asking me questions like "How does she get along with your other cat?" "Okay, Dennis. What's going on?" I asked pointedly. "This... is a male cat," he said, still somewhat stunned. No one had noticed before -- or at least hadn't bothered to tell me. The urinary issue was *very* serious for male cats, so you'd think the specialist would have made sure to let me know. But no! I spent several days looking at the cat and trying to figure out who he was now, but he was completely unfazed and took my confusion in stride. I tried offering him a new name, but he still wanted Fiona (which we slightly changed to Fionn). Obviously, he was very comfortable with who he was inside, no matter how I was interpreting him externally.
We can learn a lot from our beasties about accepting others as who they feel they are. E