Neck and Neck

This is me.

My neck is cold therefore I am.

It is what Rene Descartes *really* wanted to say. 

However, I have a solution. 

The neck warmer. A  tube of polar fleece.

It is small and can roll up to fit in your pocket if you go in a building that is warm, but can pop out at a moment's notice when you venture back outside. It's stretchy so it slides on easily without mussing your hair (if you care about stuff like that) and is less faff than a scarf. When you wear it you are as warm as toast in no time as Jack Frost cannot blow his icy breath down the back of your neck. You can even wear it as an ear warmer if you swing that way. 

. 

This has literally been a lifesaver to me since we moved to chilly, damp Wales from chilly, damp England.

I wear mine every day for three seasons of the year. 

When my Mum and Carl came for a visit recently, I made them some.

Nobody likes to be cold.

Not even animals.

Recently, when the Carmarthen Vegans went to Cilgerran Wildlife Centre we had two lovely rescued greyhounds with us named Rufus and Eddie. 

Eddie takes after his Auntie Spider. He doesn't like being cold. So i started brainstorming with his "people"  our friends Nigel and Cheryl (hereafter known as the Haboobys) about ways we could fix that.

I went out and bought a half a metre brightly coloured polar fleece--candy floss pink with white spots--and using Eddie's measurements sewed him an extra long fleece neck warmer. I even managed to leave a gap where his collar would be so they can attach his lead for walkies. A half a metre makes 2 doggie ones and two people ones so everyone could have one! 

Modelled by the Haboobys and Rufus and Eddie

Here's another shot of Nigel and the doggies outside where you can see the colour a lot better. Eddie is also wearing his blue onesie with peek-a-boo bottom. 

But it really got me thinking how animals are so much like us.

They feel hot and cold.

They feel love and affection.

They feel fear and pain.

They feel joy and curiosity.

They feel hunger and thirst. 

And I would want for myself to have my physical needs taken care of--to have enough food and water, to be free from pain and to be warm and comfortable.

I would want for myself to have my emotional needs met--to be loved and give and receive affection, to be able to express joy and learn about the world around me through exploration and curiosity. 

Why would I not want that for other living beings? 

Being a vegan, for me, is all about treating ALL living beings with the same courtesy I would treat myself. To believe that everything from the smallest that creep on the ground to the those that swim in the sea and fly in the sky and every one that moves across the surface of this planet deserves to be safe, happy and at peace. 

Every human and every animal. We are all Earthlings.