I have been reading a great book, "Kicked, bitten and scratched" by amy sutherland. it is a true story of a 2 year college program where students learn to train exotic animals. in it, she talks about what it is like to work in the animal industry- ups and downs. here are a few of my favorite passages-

"what 'animal people' do everyday is controversial. though their drams of working with animals may have been born in the innocence of childhood, animal people now find themselves on the front lines of a fight they didnt pick. no matter how good their intentions, they are the declared enemy of the animal right movement"

"most children are drawn to animals, but for osme that feeling does not wane as they grow up but rather it intensifies."

"when you are working with animal poop, getting sweaty, getting huge muscles, you have to do something that is girly. this is why we strap on shimmering belts, pull on socks with pawprints, and clup on silver earrings. some of us even brush on mascara and even nail polish."

"i have always considered myself an animal persons, meaning i not only felt at easy with most things furred, feathered, scaled, even fanged, but moreover, i found them an endlessly comppelling and integral part of the world. a life without this passion has alwasy struck me as a lesser one, and i admit to being a hard judge of people who do not share my love for the animal kingdom."