When I see this film, I’m reminded of my veterinarian, who, while cradling and caressing one of my animals, looked into my eyes, incredulous: “And they say animals don’t have souls?”

(You might want to mute the sound track.)

Thought experiment: Imagine all the single people living alone in New York City without their animals.

And yet, according to the Humane Society, in the U.S. 2.7 million adoptable pets are “put down” each year.

Watch what happens to people in prisons with animals.

Just googled “animals in nursing homes.” Here’s something from 1986. Hope it’s still happening.

Nursing Home Pets A Boon to Residents

Podmate Katarina is going to get a kitten. Rebecca, next door, has adopted her recently deceased mother’s cat. So, in short order, in the two house Milkweed Pod of the Green Acres Neighborhood Ecovillage, we will soon be blessed with three dogs and five cats. Oh, and five chickens.

In my experience, animals keep us grounded to the mysterious living natural world below the soulless simulacrum of the matrix. They keep us honest, and real, and aware of more than just these damn screens.