Was Jesus kind to animals?

[marco]

We are told by Christ to be kind to others, but Jesus never mentions cruelty to animals. In Egypt today or in Middle East countries donkeys suffer and it can be supposed they always have done. The ever contentious Matthew says: "Do not give what is holy to dogs." That dismissive comment suggests Jesus had little time for quadrupeds.

Why did Jesus not spare a thought for animals?

Societies today that cater for abused animals do not derive their mission from Jesus. Why?

[Tcg]

But nowhere is there a faithful dog. Perhaps these verses were omitted from Matthew's fabrications.

"Be ye also as faithful as dogs that, forgotten or abused by their master, yet love him. Whatever storms assail ye, whatever tragedies engulf ye, whatever hurts are thrown upon ye, be like dogs and crouch at the feet of thy master. For thy master can do whatsoever he wills and ye have no say. "

In those times and places, dogs weren't kept or thought of as pets. They were essentially left to be wild scavengers and regarded as a threat to humans.

Matthew 15 alludes to dogs being kept as pets:

• 25 But she came and knelt before him, saying, Lord, help me. 26 And he answered, It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs. 27 She said, Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table.

There is much disagreement on the exact date, but dogs may have been domesticated as long as 14,000 years ago. In fact, dogs may have been the first animal species to be domesticated.

Initially they would have working dogs and not pets, but as we see in the Matthew passage, some indeed were kept as pets during that time.


Tcg

[marco]

It may have been late in coming, but the Catholic Church did declare St. Francis of Assisi the patron saint of animals.

An eccentric saint Francis has the mythical reputation of possessing the ability to speak with sister bird and brother dog, I understand that the likeable saint kept his subservient monks in tight, almost cruel control. But perhaps that is yet another myth.

Perhaps it is unfair to make deductions about Christ from what he never said. For all we know he may have rivalled Pythagoras mathematically.