Animal Souls

Have you ever wondered if animals have souls? Are they like ours or are they modified to suit them? I believe they have - whether they're like ours or not, I don't know.
What I do know is that there's a living spirit in Miss Kitty. Miss Kitty, for those of you who missed it, is a half-wild, alternately loving and Alpha-bitchy-fierce Maine Coon who came to live with me about seven years ago. Catitude! I love that word. This little spirit is hyper-energized by Catitude - just ask the three brown dogs that live next door to me. And wish they didn't ...  Because of certain altercations with my cat they keep their eyes on the ground at all times and tiptoe very quietly along the edge of my property. Of course, they are completely lacking in cat-like stealth so this manoever of theirs is not always successful.  Miss Kitty is an inside-outside Feline who guards her borders ferociously, takes the high ground in any situation and holds it. This means that anytime Brown Dogs venture too close to her realm, (she's heard them coming from miles away but they haven't figured that out yet) she's perched (A.)high on my deck rail overlooking whichever direction they're coming from or (B) at the top of the lakeside stairs, curled around the pillar in an attempt to blend in with the wood. Which is unnecessary because the three stooges have their eyes on the ground anyway. And because of this not-so-smart habit of being unaware of their surroundings, I will suddenly hear a volley of scalding yelps,cries and agonized screams and note that Miss Kitty is on the high steps in full Halloween Cat pose, licking her whiskers and squinting down the road at their painful retreat.
Yes, there's a soul inside that furry body. A most spirited soul.
You've seen that soul in your pets too, I know. What I wonder, is did anyone think of the souls of 18 Bengal Tigers that were shot and killed in Ohio yesterday - and God knows how many other hapless animals. What do you think. It's not that I'm Pollyanna-ish about this - I fully understand the devastation 18 tigers are capable of in a populated area. But wasn't there a better way? What in the world were those animals doing in Ohio in the first place? Where are the laws? Where are the people-souls that see fit to remove exotic animals from India and Africa?   
Someone said to me not long ago - "Well! I know for damn sure I ain't decended from no monkey!" Really?
I can think of a lot worse things to be descended from. But that's beside the point.
I wanted to say, "Have you ever looked into the eyes of an Orangutan? " I doubt that he has. If he had, he would have seen the gentlest soul on earth. How wonderful to be descended from a soul that pure.
My old lab Ranger had that sort of soul. I would have loved to have inherited his sweet temperament but I wouldn't have liked to have had a tail and four legs. So I damn sure like the idea of being decended from one of the Great Apes.
Cherish all life, as I know you do.