Wednesday will be the first day of our national Be Kind to Animals Week. This event was created by American Humane in 1915 when kindness was in short supply. We seem to be doing better now, but our attitudes to animals are still seriously mixed up. Some domestic pets are having a hard time in this epidemic. Their routines have changed, dog walks have been curtailed, and cats have had to eat inferior food when their own favorite brand ran out. In the very worst cases their companionate people have fallen victim to the virus. Many communities and organizations have mobilized to take care of these distressed pets, which makes you feel better about the human race. Kindness to animals is a measure of civilization, and in some ways it’s easy. We can be kind to animals by recognizing them as fellow creatures and talking to them. Everybody talks to their own pets, and it has a deep psychological effect. The animal “it” becomes a fellow-creature with feelings, and we feel quite differently