It is so interesting to me how we have humanized animals (Mickey Mouse, Goofy, and all the Disney characters; Grape Ape, Tom & Jerry, The Lion King, Snoopy, Tigger, Winnie the Pooh, and so forth). I took special note of this as I was creating the previous post of days to celebrate animals. We (humans in general) have glorified animals and made them seem human. Even our word for being kind and maintaining animals is HUMANe.So, I decided to do a little research as to the etymology of the word humane. It is, according to Online Etymology Dictionary (http://www.etymonline.com),:
a variant of human used interchangeably with the word human until the early 18th century when it specifically came to mean having qualities befitting of humans. It is interesting to note the Humane Society est. in 1774 was originally formed to rescue people who were drowning. Then humane societies began taking care of animals in the late 19th century. Some people are just plain cool.....that's what Juno says anyway. :)
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