Lloyd Den Boer

“ Going down a rabbit hole ,” we call it . For me , it happens like this . Skimming wearily through my social media account at the end of a day , I pause to watch a video of a dog teaching a kitten to climb stairs . The dog is persistent , patiently nudging the kitten to hop up a step . Nearly frozen with dread , the kitten is contrary . Eventually the dog concedes , and , taking the kitten in his mouth , he carries her to the top of the stairs . Now at the top , the kitten ’ s demeanour changes from dread to delight , as the dog and the kitten settle at the head of the stairs , gazing down contentedly on the world below . Charmed by this pair , I watch the next video , and then another , until I have seen a heroic dog who rescues a shoebox of abandoned kittens and a loyal dog who has a long-lasting bond with a deer . Each video seems more touching and , frankly , more improbable than the last . These displays of generosity between dogs and other species soothe my spirit whenever danger , incivility , and cruelty dominate the news cycle .

When it comes to animals lifting human spirits , I can think of no better example than newly pastured lambs . As a boy , I liked to sit on the top of a hill when my Dad released his flock into the pasture for the first time since lambing . From my high spot , I could see how sheep , enclosed for months , would react to green grass , hills and rocks , and space . The ewes grazed eagerly , hardly moving , but their lambs frolicked from one end of the pasture to the other , bounding up and down hills and springing on and off rocks . Light on their feet , the lambs seemed ready to take flight with every leap , and I felt the same way — so elated I could soar . Most of us have had similar experiences , perhaps while listening to birds in full-throated song , observing fox pups at play , or hearing the eerie bugling of

elk in a mountain park , when the behaviour of animals seems to replace cares with joy , delight , or awe .

Of course , not all animal behaviour does that . In fact , most animal behaviour seems “ red in tooth and claw ” as a troubled Tennyson wrote in his poem , “ In Memoriam ,” back in 1850 . Take , for instance , one of the natural wonders of the world , the migration of wildebeests across the Serengeti plains of southeastern Africa . Each year , one and a half million wildebeests travel a huge loop , following the rains that provide their grass and water . During the trek , the wildebeests must cross and recross rivers . At each river crossing , wildebeests gather at the river ’ s edge , until the pressure of the herd overcomes their fear of the river . At each river crossing , some wildebeests are lost to the crocodiles lying in wait , and the vultures that follow . Does this animal behaviour suggest a troubling possibility about life on earth , that danger and cruelty lurk at the heart of things rather than values like kindness , generosity , or love ? That was Tennyson ’ s fear so many years ago .

Such fear is easily understood . We all want a world with nobler values , more like kind dogs than rapacious crocodiles . Maybe Tennyson wanted noble behaviour from the wrong creatures . After all , wildebeest herds have trekked their yearly trek from time out of mind , replenished by new calves each year , just as each year they suffer losses along the way . Similarly , crocodiles have their cycles , and wildebeests play a part in them . Animals are not here to be kind , generous , or loving . The creatures with that responsibility are people . If we want a world with nobler values , people need to build it .

Lloyd Den Boer is a retired educator . His career spanned every level from elementary school to university-level teacher preparation .

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