Do animals have rights?

One week went by, and Brendon and I only became closer. I spent every waking moment that I wasn't in class with him. I could already tell that this was the start of a truly amazing relationship. There was something special about Brendon and I, and I was proud to call that wonderful man my boyfriend.

As I became lost in an amazement of love and friendship and intimacy, I found it difficult to pay attention to other aspects of my life. My grades were still satisfactory, but it was impossible to pay attention in class when I could be thinking about Brendon. However, there was one thing that I couldn't help but notice.

Patrick Stump had stopped showing up to class.

It was unlike Patrick to miss a class. There was one day earlier in the year when Patrick had caught a nasty illness, and he had insisted on going to his Freshman Writing Seminar anyways. If it had been me, I would have simply taken the day off, but that was the kind of person that Patrick was.

I thought it was odd when Patrick missed Principles of Ecology on Monday, but there were plenty of excuses that he could give. Perhaps he was sick, or maybe he had another commitment. Maybe he just didn't feel like showing up to class that day. On Wednesday, I thought that it was even more strange that Patrick wasn't there, but there could still be an innocent reason why he hadn't bothered to show up. Andy and I had to do the lab by ourselves that day. Both of us were certain that he would return on Friday to make up the lab.

When Patrick didn't show up on Friday, it was obvious that something was wrong. I had seen Patrick around campus, and I knew that he was going to statistics, since a few of the other students in my Ancient Philosophy class were in his class, and they said that he was still going to class. However, I couldn't figure out why he refused to go to Principles of Ecology.

I talked to a few other freshmen that morning, and I soon discovered that statistics was the only class that Patrick was attending. He was skipping nearly all of his classes, and for a rule-abiding student like Patrick, that was a major red flag. I had to talk to him.

On my way to the dining hall, I met up with Andy. "I'm concerned about Patrick," I told him.

"Me too," Andy said. "He hasn't shown up in Principles of Ecology all week."

"He hasn't gone to any of his classes except for statistics," I said.

"That's so unlike him," Andy said. "I didn't even think that he liked stats."

"Me neither," I said. "He's always complaining about Pete being in that class. Andy, should we talk to him about it?"

"We should," Andy said. The two of us entered the dining hall, took some food from the buffet, and searched for Patrick. It took us a while, but eventually, Andy found Patrick sitting by himself, eating a sandwich.

"Hi Patrick," I said as I sat next to him.

"Leave me alone," Patrick replied.

"Come on, Patrick," Andy said as he sat next to Patrick on the other side. "We just wanted to hang out with you."

Patrick looked away from both of us and said, "I don't want to deal with this right now."

"What's wrong?" I asked him.

"I want to change my major," Patrick said.

"That's not too hard," I said. "You can just go to the Shufflebottom Center and fill out the paperwork."

"I talked to Ray Toro once, and he said that he changed his major three times in his first semester," Andy said. "It's not that big of a deal, and a lot of people change their major. What do you want to change to?"

"I don't know," Patrick said. "I'm thinking about being a statistics major, but anything that's not biology will do."

"Why don't you try philosophy?" I suggested.

"Ryan, can you please at least try to stay on topic?" Andy said. "Patrick, why do you want to change your major, just out of curiosity?"

"I don't want to be a veterinarian anymore," Patrick said. "Why would I be a biology major with a concentration in animal science if I'm not going to be a veterinarian?"

"Why don't you want to be a veterinarian anymore?" I asked.

All of a sudden, Patrick began to cry. Tears gushed out of his eyes, and no matter what Andy and I did, Patrick would not stop sobbing. "Patrick, can you please just tell us what's wrong?" Andy asked.

"I decided that I didn't want to be a veterinarian anymore after the first day of my internship," Patrick said, fighting through his tears. "I showed up, and I had to shadow one of the older veterinarians for the day. At first everything went fine. I even got to help her treat some of the animals."

"What happened next?" Andy asked.

"There was a beagle who came in, and the veterinarian that I was shadowing explained that the dog was extremely sick and we had to put it down," Patrick said. "Ryan, Andy, she made me do it. She made me put the dog to sleep, and I saw the light drain from its eyes. It broke my heart, and now I've decided that I don't want to be a veterinarian at all. I can't do that every single day. I wouldn't be able to live like that. I signed up for petting cute animals, not killing them." Patrick started to cry again, and I handed him a tissue.

Andy and I exchanged a glance, unsure as to how to deal with this new information. In all honesty, I didn't blame him for wanting to change majors after an experience like that. I didn't have the inner strength to put an animal down either. "Patrick, it's okay," I told him.

"No it's not!" Patrick shouted. "I'm not okay!"

"You don't have to be a veterinarian if you don't want to," I said. "College is all about figuring out what you want out of life and who you really are."

"I don't know what I want!" Patrick exclaimed. "I know that I don't want to be a veterinarian, and I know that I like adorable animals, but I don't actually know what I want."

"That's normal," Andy said.

"That's easy for you to say," Patrick said. "Both you and Ryan have everything figured out."

He had a point. I've always wanted to be a philosopher, and that's still what I want. I have never once questioned that desire, even after everyone started telling me that I would never get a job if I majored in philosophy in college. "Perhaps this is a good thing," I told Patrick. "Maybe you'll find something else you love, and you'll be glad that you had this internship to let you know that being a veterinarian isn't for you."

"Are there any careers that involve playing with animals all day?" Patrick said. "I think that's what I really want to do."

"I don't think so," Andy said.

"There are plenty of people who will do that for free," I said.

"You're right," Patrick said. "I would do that for free."

"You were talking about switching your major to statistics," Andy said. "Why do you like stats so much?"

"It's a great class," Patrick said. "Pete sits behind me in statistics, and he's hilarious."

"I thought that you didn't like Pete," I said.

"I've gotten to know him, and I think that I like him a little bit better now," Patrick said.

"I'm glad," I said. "Pete is a nice guy once you get to know him. I thought he was weird when I first met him, but he's an awesome friend when he's not goofing around with that fidget spinner"

"I still don't know what to do," Patrick said. "I want to change my major to statistics, but I've already taken a lot of science classes."

"You can always count those towards your general education requirements," Andy said.

"What will I do with a degree in statistics?" Patrick asked.

"Statistics can be a useful subject," I said.

"Unlike philosophy," Andy joked.

"Philosophy is useful!" I argued. "Many of the core ideas of modern society, from religion to democracy, were developed by philosophers."

"That doesn't mean that philosophy will give you enough money to live on," Andy said. "Nobody will pay you to sit in a room and think about things, as I keep telling both you and Joe."

"I'll find a way to make it work," I said. "Anyways Patrick, are you feeling any better?"

"A little," Patrick said. "I wish that I didn't have to put down that dog."

"Don't worry about what's already happened," I said.

"It's hard not to," Patrick said.

"Patrick, I'm sure that everything will work out in the end," I said.

"Me too," Andy said. "No matter what you decide regarding your major, we'll support you. Also, can you please come to Principles of Ecology on Monday? We did a lab on Wednesday that you still need to make up."

Patrick sighed and said, "I suppose there's no harm in showing up for a class. I don't know what I'm going to do about my internship though. I have to go to the Veterinary Hospital again over the weekend."

"You still have a little bit of time to figure it out," Andy said.

"Maybe it will be better this time," I said.

"Maybe, but I don't think so," Patrick said. "I'll go to class on Monday though."

"Great," Andy said. "We'll see you then."

On the way out of the dining hall, I gave Patrick a hug and told him, "I'm sorry that you had to go through all of that with your internship. I wouldn't want to put a dog to sleep either."

Patrick sighed and said, "Thanks for all of your help, Ryan. I'm still a bit traumatized, but I think I can move on."

"You're welcome," I said.

Patrick and I went our separate ways, and as I walked back to Flack Hall and Patrick went to his statistics class, I wondered whether it was right to put that dog to sleep at all. The dog hadn't been given a say in the matter, but it was clear that the animal was quite sick. Perhaps the dog's suffering did need to be alleviated, but was it right to make an innocent, inexperienced intern do it? Patrick certainly wasn't a qualified veterinarian, and the experience had nearly broken him. If the dog had to be put to sleep, then the older veterinarian should have done it.

There was so much that was wrong with the situation that Patrick had been put into, but there was nothing that any of us could do about it now. It was in the past, and assuming that time was linear and not a big ball of wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey stuff, we couldn't go back and change anything.

It was better to face these kinds of things with a sense of poise and rationality and then immediately forget about them.