I think having the opportunity to take Smells and Bells and then experiencing a worldwide pandemic came with good timing. Oftentimes, we’re so rushed to get from one one place to another that we miss out on what happens around us. We’re so accustomed to the lifestyle of being busy that it has become the norm for many of us. However, the pandemic has forced us to slow down. We’re now appreciating everything that we had previously taken for granted and noticing things in our surroundings that we have never noticed before. Take this quarantining/social distancing as an opportunity to be more aware of what you experience through the senses. I don’t think my senses have necessarily heightened over the past 5 weeks, but I am actively making the choice to pay more attention to what I see, hear, touch, taste, and smell. I like going on nature/mindfulness walks and basking in the sunshine out in my backyard. This morning, I could hear a faint noise from the wind, hear the birds chirping, f
“Animal Skins”, chapter five of Constance Classen’s book, The Deepest Sense: A Cultural History of Touch really resonates with me because I’m currently taking Barbara Darling’s Religion and Animals course. In addition to visual, auditory, and chemical methods of communication, tactile communication is “the common medium of communication for all inhabitants of the Earth” (69). Human beings shake hands, hug, or kiss as a sign of respect or endearment- the same can be applied for non-human animals. Elephants will intertwine their trunks to show acceptance and affection, cats will lick and nuzzle their young, sea otters will rub their nose and faces on each other to establish social bonds, etc. Animals will communicate with animals outside their species through touch. My cat will know when I’m feeling down, and he will nuzzle up against me and provide me with a sense of reassurance. When my dog was extremely sick, my sisters and I would take turns petting him as a way of comforting him through the pain he was experiencing. Touch is more than just the simple act of coming into contact with something- it heals, creates bonds, a medium for conveying messages, etc. 
Another quote that caught my eye in Classen’s text is “It was through their hands that humans were able to transform the world around them, whereas “handless” animals, it was believed, must live with the world more or less as they found it” (104). Here, Classen talks about how animals are perceived in the Christian world, which is a religion that is oftentimes viewed as being anthropocentric. I think it’s interesting that there’s a negative tone at the mention of animals not being able to transform the world as a result of having paws/hooves when human hands are the ones destroying it. 
Great connections and observations, especially your last one about paws/hooves vs.hands!
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