One of the most amazing stories I have heard over the last
number of years is that of Temple Grandin.
As a child, she did not speak until she was four. Doctor’s correctly diagnosed her as being
autistic, but they incorrectly attributed the condition to lack of maternal
care as an infant. Temple proved to be a
brilliant student who saw things as pictures in her head.
Our book club read Grandin’s Animals Make Us Human, so I watched again the film starring Clare
Danes as Temple. Temple’s mother is
exhausted from dealing with the child, and her sister, who lives in Phoenix,
agrees to take Grandin for the summer. This experience on a cattle ranch helped shape
the rest of her life.
Temple had the ability to see the cattle in motion, and she
then deduced that controlling the flow of cattle -- in a more natural way –
would calm them and reduce the number of animals killed or injured. Of course, she met a great deal of resistance
from cattlemen. In the end, her
persistence won out, and she has designed cattle chutes all of the U.S.
In Animals Make Us
Human, she describes how individual groups of animals act – and react – to interaction
with humans. As the proud parent of a
new puppy, I gained new insights on dealing with a rambunctious 8-week old
Labrador Retriever. Her section on cats
was also interesting, and has helped me understand the two felines who allow us
to live in their home.
While I know little about horses, that section also was
extremely interesting. I always wondered
why zebras were never domesticated, and Temple handles that explanation as
well.
Additional chapters on cows, pigs, chickens and wildlife
fascinated me to no end. I have always
liked zoos, and her chapter on those venerable institutions was amazing. Her studies showed that zoo animals had
nothing to do all day but pace and walk in circles. She recounts the tragic story of an elephant
at the Phoenix Zoo. The animal was chained
in one spot and could do nothing but sway back and forth. In another instance, antelopes could not be
calmly moved, because a yellow sign had been carelessly left on the
ground. The color yellow frightened the
antelopes.
For anyone interested in animals, this book offers a world
of enlightenment. Temple’s style tends
toward simple explanations, and sometimes her enthusiasm leaps right off the
page. For example, she writes:
“I strongly suggest that if you’re going to be away a lot,
or can’t pay an hour’s worth of attention to your dog every day, you should
consider getting two dogs. A lot of
people think having two dogs is more fun than having just one anyway, and
watching dogs play is a blast” (43). I
can attest to the full truth of this statement.
I have never seen anything in pets more fascinating than the interaction
of two dogs.
I highly recommend this book for all pet owners -- or anyone
who cares about animals at all. 5 stars
--Chiron, 5/30/13
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