For the Animals Shall Not Be Measured by Man ...

“For the animals shall not be measured by man.  In a world older and more complete than ours, they move finished and complete, gifted with the extension of the senses we have lost or never attained, living by voices we shall never hear.  They are not brethren, they are not underlings, they are other nations, caught with ourselves in the net of life and time, fellow prisoners of the splendour and travail of the earth.”  - Henry Beston

Our handlers were asked, "What does this quote mean to you?"

Inmate handler Richard Atkinson wrote:

That in this grand scheme of Life, we do not stand as the standard by which all of God's creatures are measured.  That in this current existence in which we consider ourselves civilized, which is so new, dogs and other animals, though viewed by many as savages, exist among us in their true nature.  Yet still able and willing to adapt, while still maintaining true to form by which the Universe set for them.  Retaining senses and basic instincts we have found ourselves lacking in our transformation into civility.  Still moving in tune are they to nature and their primality.  So far removed have we become. They see the world and experience it in ways we have lost or never will know.

They are not like us humans in that we can never see through their eyes, nor they completely through ours.  We will always be different - yet they are not less nor beneath us.  They are equal entities living the purpose the Universe has set for them on this planet we share.