Our little girl, Chloe.

As a child, my family owned dogs (German Shepherds named Ginger and Seargant as well as a few puppies, who we did not keep, but who are immortalized in a picture showing me feeding all 9 of ’em!). We considered them guard dogs. They slept outside in a house my dad had built them and while I hope I was kind to them, I was not taught to consider them part of my family and don’t have many memories of them. Maybe that description fits 1980s Bushwick, Brooklyn. Not the most pleasant place to grow up. On the other side of Brooklyn, however, my cousins’ dog Rusty had the life. He lived inside my cousins’ apartment, got regular walks, and was loved very much … and deeply missed when he passed.

Recently my dad visited and met (left to right) Prada, Hennessey, and Hazel (the cats make themselves scarce when we have visitors). Being big dogs, I introduced them to him slowly, one by one. In greeting Hennessey, the most intimidating-looking of the bunch, my dad patted him gently on the head and said, in Spanish, “Why, hello! I’m part of your family, too.”

As an adult, my boyfriend and I adopted a 6 month old cat named Jasper. Because I did not want to see Jasper lonely, we simultaneously adopted Felipe. Jasper was a Siamese cat and very particular. His previous owner had said he was “neurotic.” But he and Felipe got along just fine. Felipe was only two months old when we got him; he was so light he balanced on a purse I had strung over an ironing board. A few months later, when my boyfriend came back from the military, he brought along a cat named Babe, whose owner could no longer keep her. Babe was a whole lot of woman: 24 pounds to be exact. And she fit in just fine. On one rare occasion when we had company, my (human) relatives were surprised to see such a big cat not only walk into a room full of strangers but regally take her place on the sofa beside them. A few months later, we found a stray cat we took in and I named her Sisa. And a month or two after that, another stray came in who my boyfriend named Fuzzy. Yes, you counted right: 5 cats! I made an amateur video of them to the sound of the theme music of The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly. None of them were ugly, but good and bad; yep, that’s right! Finally, when we got a house of our own, we got a four-month old boxer that my boyfriend named Chloe. In the years since, Jasper ran away and Babe and Chloe passed. And we later adopted two dogs from local shelters named Hennessey and Prada. And a few months later, a puppy we named Hazel.

Over the course of the years, I have come to realize that our pets *are* family and that I love them.  And that, my friend, made it difficult not to attempt to see the world through their eyes. In that regard, it’s also helped that I have vegetarian and vegan friends. Sitting down to lunch or dinner with them always presented an opportunity to imagine how dinner felt before it got to my plate. And in the course of all my imaginings, I’ve found it increasingly hard not to attempt to see the world through animals’ eyes. Because, after all, why is it okay to eat a pig but cuddle with a poodle? Why is it easier to turn a blind eye to violence done to chickens and yet flock to admire owls who are presented in shows or to petting zoos where you take pictures of yourself feeding parakeets? Why, when there are cruelty-free alternatives to lotions, face washes, contact solution, etc., would I not consider buying them?

Although I have adopted a vegan diet 75-90% of the time for months at a time, fret not, my I-could-never-be-a-vegan friends, I am not a vegan. But, my animal relations and the inspiring work of people who love them have in turn inspired me to learn to be more compassionate to animals, making kinder choices wherever I can. And not to condemn myself when I don’t. We’re all a work in progress. You gotta start somewhere and you gotta pick yourself up when you fall down. So, I started this website to share resources for people who are beginning to experiment with a vegan diet; who are curious to know more about the animal-human bond; and who are interested in becoming involved with any type of work that attempts to make this world a better place for all our animal relations. I look forward to sharing and learning.

Oh yeah, and, Felipe, Sisa, Fuzzy, Prada, Hennessey, and Hazel send their regards!

Daisy V. Domínguez