Cool topic.  When I first read the topic, I actually misread it as "the Kindness of Animals" which made me think of the dark, twisted Ian McEwan novel, The Comfort of Strangers, which was kinda creepy and laconic, and my mind immediately went off in one of those directions before I realized that I'd misread, and was inspired to write something anyway.  Funny how that works, and now I'm off to consider writing stuff, animals, and whatnot.  Don't be surprised if there's a story in the Writer's Gallery, entitled: "The Comfort of Unkind Animals"...(who knew that misreading could lead to so much?)