Generically, we call today "Donor Day" at my emergency clinic. I, without even the tiniest bit of affection, call it "Black Tuesday."

Today is the day, once monthly, that our practice manager visits Animal Control for the purpose of funding our blood bank. She picks out one canine and one feline, all with their deadlines (and I say that without the slightest bit of irony) up and brings them back to the clinic. We then sedate them, draw out every last drop of their precious blood and euthanize them.

Needless to say, this occasion negatively effects me.

I began on this career path to influence people's decisions regarding the furry gifts in their lives... to make the suffering of animals without a voice as little as possible. I wanted to speak for creatures unable to speak for themselves. It's hard for me to grasp this basic assertion that it's all for the greater good and that these animals, that happened to find themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time, have less worth than my precious ones.

One up-side to all this, however, is that I have developed an empathy and compassion in the the past few years that I didn't have before. I'm more tender and sensitive, more able to express emotions and deal with their aftermath with more dignity.

So please, pet your animals an extra time today. Life is too short to not take it as seriously and frivolously as it deserves.