"Gabbard, whose first name refers to a tree sacred to Hindus, fully embraced Hinduism as a teenager, and follows the Vaishnava branch that believes in the Supreme Lord Vishnu, and his 10 primary incarnations"
Having someone in the Democrat party which worships rats, snakes, monkeys etc etc should be no surprise to anybody, and not to much of a move from their current religious affiliations.
"According to Hinduism animals are not inferior creatures but manifestations of God on the lower scale of evolution compared to man, each containing a spark of the divine, capable of becoming human and achieving salvation like the rest of us. Human life is precious because it comes after many lives of existence in the lower life forms." (hinduwebsite.com)