A Family Affair

An exploration through generations of animal lovers

Is it nature or nurture that makes a young child fall in love with the bugs outside, animals at the zoo, and frogs in the pond? I'd hazard a guess that it's both. After all, a study by the University of Edinburgh's Roslin Institute found that of 161 student volunteers, there was a genetic difference in people with greater compassion for animals. 

Some people come from family money, royal blood, or nepotism. I was born in a long line of animal lovers. Growing up on a farm, my mom had a steady stream of animals coming and going indoors and outdoors, from dogs and cats to pheasants and chickens, a horse, and even a chicken that was so tame it followed her everywhere. Years ago, I found a photo of my mom as a teenager napping in bed with the chicken that was also asleep on its back beside her. Of course, her mother (my Grandma) adored animals too, letting it slide when she brought home a new puppy or snuck outdoor animals in the house (case in point: the napping chicken).