SuttaCentral
The above is what the practitioner of the illimitable meditations is aiming for, but this doesn’t conflict with the fact that mettā tends to arise more effortlessly with some kinds of beings than with others.
In the Abhidhamma “that which is endearing in living beings” is given as the proximate cause of mettā. I think that for most people the endearingness of cats, rabbits and little children will be much more readily apparent than that of mosquitoes, centipedes and deep-sea fish.
Very academic. I see you skilfully sidestepping the canine issue. Perhaps an Equal Metta for Dogs movement should be considered 
I look forward to listening to the debate, but won’t have time until the Therigatha Festival presentations wind up. 
Most fascinating! I love seeing these mysterious creatures of the deep, so removed from our terrestrial world view…
Beyond the dog/cat divide 
is the plump and fluffy Goose 
I always wanted a pet goose when I was younger but like many of my other perfectly reasonable requests for pets (donkey, snake, mini-pig) I was cruelly denied and horribly thwarted. Totally over that now though of course…
Looks a very familiar place Bhante. There is a thriving population of more than 50. They nest on the island in the Busby’s Pond, and graze on the extensive lawns surrounding that pond, as well as receive treats from people. A geese paradise.
There’s a park near my apartment in Sweden that a few varieties of geese and some other birds migrate to in the spring. So they all recently started coming back. After they’ve all arrived there are probably a over one hundred geese, plus several dozen ducks who stay year round, a few swans, plus other kinds of birds whose names I don’t know. There’s one particular kind of bird that numbers in the hundreds, too. It gets a bit noisy mid-summer, and smelly honestly, but they are fun to watch.
And 27 May is the feast day of St. Melangell, the 6th century Irish abbess and patron saint of hares.
Welsh antiquarian Thomas Pennant (1726–1798) relates her story:
Her legend relates that she was the daughter of an Irish monarch, who had determined to marry her to a nobleman of his court. The princess had vowed celibacy. She fled from her father’s dominions and took refuge in this place, where she lived fifteen years without seeing the face of a man.
Brochwel Yscythrog, Prince of Powys, being one day a hare hunting, pursued his game till he came to a great thicket; when he was amazed to find a virgin of surpassing beauty, engaged in deep devotion, with the hare he had been pursuing under her robe, boldly facing the dogs, who retired to a distance howling, notwithstanding all the efforts of the sportsmen to make them seize their prey. Even when the huntsman blew his horn, it stuck to his lips. Brochwel heard her story, and gave to God and her a parcel of lands, to be a sanctuary to all that fled there. He desired her to found an abbey on the spot. She did so, and died abbess at a good old age. She was buried in the neighbouring church, called Pennant, and from, her distinguished by the addition of Melangell. Her hard bed is shown in the cleft of a neighbouring rock. Her tomb was in a little chapel, or oratory, adjoining to the church, and now used as a vestry room. This room is still called ‘Cell-y-bedd’ or the Cell of the Grave. Her reliques as well as her image have been long since removed; but I think the last is still to be seen in the churchyard. The legend is perpetuated by some rude wooden carving of the Saint, with numbers of hares scuttling to her for protection. She properly became their Patroness. They were called ‘Oen Melangell’ (St. Monacella’s Lambs).
Wow, that was very interesting to read. I knew that St Francis loved animals, but now searching internet, according to a Catholic website "During the first 1,000 years of the Christian Church there were many saints who loved animals. They lived with them, rescued them, nursed them and saved them from hunters. In turn, many saints were helped by animals.
There is even Patron Saint of cats and …
Can you share a photo, please?
Those birds nest out in the middle of a lake, so I’m not sure which ones they are. They might be the smaller gray, white, and black ones in the first photo.
The couple there in the second photo are a pair of Canada geese
Remember to switch off your lights at night !
And something simple as fixing small pieces of opaque masking tape on a glass window or patio door can save birds from flying into them!
The place I grew up, which is quite far from Sweden, was also on the migratory path of Canadian geese. I was surprised to see them in Sweden, too!
The top picture has a white swan and a mallard duck. (The most common birds on the small pond near where I grew up in England.)
The Northern Mallard was introduced to Australia in 1880s and it hybridises with Australian Pacific Black Duck. And we have a Black Swan instead of White, literally. It is an official bird emblem of WA. But their cygnets are grey as of White Swan.
Now just sharing photos of my wild ‘pets’ or friends. They come in the mornings for a snack of Rainbow Lorikeet mix, sometimes to my bedroom window so I then feed them holding a small bowl in my hand. They fly freely as they wish, and I can go away without having to think about their welfare - best pets for me. 
When I was living in Southern California it was a common sight to see wild parrots flying around. They started out as pets, some imported illegally, and then were freed. Usually this kind of story ends badly, but with the birds becoming endangered in their native habitat, the ones in California are keeping the overall population numbers up. See Wild Parrots Multiplying in Southern California - PetHelpful
