I saw this picture some time ago on one of my writing forums, accompanied by a story supposedly written by a nurse who took it:
It’s been 23 days since this patient came to this hospital and in these 23 days nobody from his family came to visit him. But there is a pigeon which comes every two days to sit next to his bed. The pigeon stays for a while and then flies away. We then found out that this patient sits on a bench in a park near the hospital every day and feeds the pigeons there. This once again showed us that animals have a better heart than humans.
NEWSFLASH, however … the nurse’s claim was later found to be a fictional “tail” spun for likes, clicks, and views. The photograph is real; the story is not. It was taken on October 19, 2013, at a hospital in Athens, Greece, by photographer Ioannis Protonotarios, who was visiting his father in the cardiology ward. He later confirmed that the pigeon’s appearance was a chance encounter—not a recurring visit—and there is no evidence that the patient had fed the bird in a park or that the bird recognized him. Even so, the image itself all but begs us to acknowledge the true gift animals of all kinds are to humanity, especially if we’ve been blessed enough to have had an unconditionally faithful companion by our side at any point in our life who helped lead us through the darkness and into The Daylight.
The late British author and veterinarian James Herriot, born on October 3, once famously said:
If having a soul means being able to feel love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals are better off than a lot of humans.
No truer words.
Meanwhile, I have long believed that the SAD truth is this: humanity doesn’t deserve animals. Thank GOD the animals don’t know that. Bye everyone, it’s me, CAT!
