Is the Theory of Animism Just for the Birds?

"Are you a dog, or a cat person?"

I don't like to label myself anything when it comes to spiritual views that I hold of the world around me, as I like to think that just as the physical world and universe/s in constantly evolving, so are my beliefs and spiritual life. 

I hate questions like, "are you a cat, or a dog person?"

There is something otherworldly
 to me about cats

An advert I saw last week in a local TV guide
from the newspaper

Even though, if pressed on the cat, or dog question, I would have to say that it is the cats that I can relate to better on a personal level, as I feel that certain cat attributes are part of my own personality in a cosmic sense, and I find it easier to identify with them than to dogs.
It's not to say I don't like dogs as pets and animals, as I find all animals spiritually fascinating on some level in their own right.     

My son's dog Frodo

And while I agree with a lot of the stuff said about Animism, I certainly don't agree with all that is said about it and would never label myself as an Animist any more than I would call myself a Buddhist, Christian, or Religious Jew. 
Animism (from Latin anima, "breath, spirit, life") is the worldview that non-human entities—such as animals, plants, and inanimate objects—possess a spiritual essence.

I think the spirit/s that animate our living world are much more complex than our simple human minds can grasp. 
New Animism
"Many anthropologists ceased using the term "animism", deeming it to be too close to early anthropological theory and religious polemic. 
However, the term had also been claimed by religious groups – namely indigenous communities and nature worshipers – who felt that it aptly described their own beliefs, and who in some cases actively identified as "animists". 
It was thus readopted by various scholars, however they began using the term in a different way, placing the focus on knowing how to behave toward other persons, some of whom aren't human. 
As the religious studies scholar Graham Harvey stated, while the "old animist" definition had been problematic, the term "animism" was nevertheless "of considerable value as a critical, academic term for a style of religious and cultural relating to the world."

A.I?
Inanimate birds ... good luck with them

I think people like Gordon White over at the Rune Soup blog are asking some of the most important questions when it comes to the theories of Animism, right now. 

Rune Soup blog

"Animism is the religious worldview that natural physical entities—including animals, plants, and often even inanimate objects rocks, geographic features such as mountains or rivers, or other entities of the natural environment, including thunder, wind, and shadows. or phenomena—possess a spiritual essence. 
Animism can be said to be the experience of being part of the living biosphere (or even the whole "animate" universe)"
Elementals & Animism

It's not to say that all those spirits don't come from the one great overriding spirit in my view, but you have to play the ball from where it lay in the great cosmic golfing game you find yourself playing in. 

The Secret of 'The Revenant'

Free Thought?! Free Trevor!!

I saw this in the same magazine
the dog and cat ad above came from