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I lost it this morning : A Mouse's Plea
He was just an ordinary mouse, nothing special. He lived, very briefly, 237 years ago, in the laboratory of a great chemist, Joseph Priestley.
There were lots of mice in Priestley's lab. He had made his reputation as one of the first scientists to identify oxygen. He studied mice to figure out what happens inside animals as they breathe. This meant he regularly opened them to examine lungs, veins, arteries, to see that blood changed color when it moved through lungs. And since tuberculosis -- or "consumption" -- was the scourge of that era, lung research seemed like a valuable thing to do.
But animals didn't last long in Priestley's lab, especially mice.
his lab assistant wrote a poem and jammed it between the bars of one of the cages.
For here forlorn and sad I sit
within the wiry grate
And tremble @ the approaching morn
Which brings impending fate
The well taught philosophic mind
To ALL compassion gives
Cast's round the world an equal eye
And feels for all that lives
Source : Early Animal Rights Poem Discovered: A Mouse's Plea (NPR), with more pictures and info
A day doesn't go by that I don't think of the cow who's tissue is in my heart. I haven't eaten meat, of ANY sort, even before the surgery, for at least a decade and now I know I never will. I hope s/he knows how much I appreciate the sacrifice, and I hope s/he was treated with kindness especially in the last days of life.
There were lots of mice in Priestley's lab. He had made his reputation as one of the first scientists to identify oxygen. He studied mice to figure out what happens inside animals as they breathe. This meant he regularly opened them to examine lungs, veins, arteries, to see that blood changed color when it moved through lungs. And since tuberculosis -- or "consumption" -- was the scourge of that era, lung research seemed like a valuable thing to do.
But animals didn't last long in Priestley's lab, especially mice.
his lab assistant wrote a poem and jammed it between the bars of one of the cages.
For here forlorn and sad I sit
within the wiry grate
And tremble @ the approaching morn
Which brings impending fate
The well taught philosophic mind
To ALL compassion gives
Cast's round the world an equal eye
And feels for all that lives
Source : Early Animal Rights Poem Discovered: A Mouse's Plea (NPR), with more pictures and info
A day doesn't go by that I don't think of the cow who's tissue is in my heart. I haven't eaten meat, of ANY sort, even before the surgery, for at least a decade and now I know I never will. I hope s/he knows how much I appreciate the sacrifice, and I hope s/he was treated with kindness especially in the last days of life.
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The important thing is that we have you here in the world still! I hope you have many more years of life and good health yet to come.
:)
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Anyway, I share your concern about the animal's welfare,
I'm getting off your original topic here - hope you don't mind. It's really moving to read about how you honour the donor animal of your heart valve.
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I'm just concerned as to how animals are treated.. obviously so many strides have been made in research, and lives have been saved as a result. It's just important to remember they come not just from hard work, but at a cost
it makes me feel all that much more thankful every day.
PS the man who performed my surgery passed away suddenly from a heart attack @ 52, two years after performing my procedure. I can't imagine how stressful it is to be a surgeon and make life and death decisions every day. I didn't know him that well (I was unconscious for most of our time together LOL) but I am ever so thankful to him too. The entire time I was in hospital he was there all the time, every day, well into the evening.
I'm sure this took a toll on him after so many years.
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:[
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And yes, she would have led a good life. We're not talking a cow that was slaughtered for food here.
:)