How Being Involved In Animal Rescue Affects Reading To My Baby

My wife and I have a one year old thirteen month old daughter named Zadie at home and we've started to read to her. Gotta tell you, it's tough not to get into "Animal Rescue Mode" with some of these books....

"'Who's behind the comfy blankets?!?' (Turns page) 'Playful Puppies!! Woof woof!!' I assume these pups aren't at a puppy mill in Lancaster or there's no way the business owners would allow them out of their feces strewn cages! In fact, they'd be bred until no longer serviceable at which point they would be killed!"

"'A baby horse is called a foal!' I'm not sure where this takes place but I hope this foal doesn't end up as a carriage horse in NYC, where she will be expected to work for long hours in extreme temperatures and then have to make it back to the stable on Manhattan's West Side, navigating past rush hour traffic to do so!"

"'The cow goes 'Moooooo!' But not for long as there's a good chance it will end up on a dinner plate! Do you know what you aren't seeing in this picture? Animals killed for food are neglected, kept in filthy conditions, and often slaughtered in painful ways, such as having their throats cut while fully conscious."

 What? You want mommy to read from now on?

Harris Bloom