In our home, every day is Be Kind to Animals Day. And it has been for as long as I can remember. That phrase isn’t a slogan—it’s a lifestyle, woven into the very fabric of our family story.
My youngest daughter, Karen, was probably three the first time I saw this principle come to life in her. After a night of heavy rain, the sidewalks were littered with earthworms, slowly drying out under the morning sun. Karen’s tiny hands were overflowing with wriggling night crawlers she had gently scooped up—soaking wet, a bit slimy, but very much alive. She remembers feeling overwhelmed with worry that they wouldn’t make it back to the grass and came running to me, heart wide open, asking for help to get them to safety.
That moment wasn’t an isolated act of childhood curiosity—it was a glimpse into what would become a lifelong calling.
Fast forward five decades. Just the other day, she found a baby tarantula on a walk. She wasn’t moving well—her tremors looked neurologic, likely a reaction to pesticide exposure. (We don’t spray on our property, but we can’t control what happens in the surrounding public spaces.) Karen scooped her up, gave her a few drops of nux vomica, and asked me to drive her and the baby tarantula to the nearest open desert where she might have a shot at survival. Same heart. Same mission. Same love for all creatures, great and small.
A fun video of Dr. B and Mama Becker rescuing a spider!
And she’s far from the only one in our family with this built-in instinct to care.
My daughter, Ann, set up a full bird-feeding station in her yard, complete with a camera to capture the parade of vibrant, feathered visitors.
My son, John, has rescued more dogs than I can count—he just quietly steps in where help is needed.
My granddaughter Blair once stopped traffic on the interstate to save a panicked dog running down the center lane. After two years of searching, she found his original family. (Yes—two years!)
And my granddaughter Danielle has a soft spot for black cats, knowing and understanding all too well the fate of so many black cats in shelters.
The truth is animal rescue isn’t something we do. It’s who we are. Kindness to animals isn’t a checkbox. It’s a value system—one that leads us to pause, pick up, protect, and love, again and again. All of them. Whatever crosses our paths.
That little girl with the worms became a licensed wildlife rehabilitator at 14, a wildlife researcher at 22, and a veterinarian with a fierce love for the entire animal kingdom at 27. Today, people know her as a proactive, integrative vet—and we are all grateful for that. But to my family, she’s just one of many animal lovers doing their best to make the world a softer place for those who depend on us.
So today, international Be Kind To Animals Day, we’re celebrating raising the next generation of animal rescuers—and to never walking past a soul in need.