Those of us who own, or have owned, pets know that each one is an individual with, for lack of a more universal word, a “personality” that is theirs alone. Few stop to think about why that is or if the same is true for wild animals. Enlightened people don't wonder, they know. St. Francis, being a very enlightened individual, called all plants and animals his brothers and sisters. He understood, as do all enlightened individuals, that we are all part of the one, all united, all striving together within the limits of our species to advance ourselves and become the spiritual beings that God meant us to be.