Wolf-

at the risk of sounding heartless and/or politically incorrect, I agree with you -it's not that the animals' lives are more precious to me than peoples', it's just that the animals are so completely innocent and ingorant - they are totally at the mercy of man. Of course, most children are in this category, too.

The last thing anyone could call me is heartless. A boy who was a classmate of my son's was killed Saturday night. I never met him, but I still grieve over the tragic and senseless loss. Not to diminish his life or cast aspersions, but he was killed when he decided to take a shortcut and cross an eight lane freeway at night. In other words, he foolishly took his life into his own hands, made a reckless choice, and paid with his life, never getting another chance. I cry anyway. But these little animals don't even have the choice to make a foolish decision, yet they pay with their lives also. So, yes, I cry for Queso as much as I cry for Jonathan. It doesn't mean than any one life is more precious than another, it's that the circumstances are different.