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My friend Heather called yesterday to read “our” horoscope to me. We are both Virgos. Part of the horoscope said we could see an improvement in our financial situations. I’m unemployed — or maybe “under employed” is a better description — so I am game for an improvement.

After we talked, I decided to run quickly to the little store down the street and pick up some pet food to hold me until I made the big run on Wednesday. Driving through Clear Creek Forest, a car coming in my direction suddenly pulled to the shoulder. Quickly enough to push up a cloud of dust and catch my attention. Shit! A police car!

I let my car slow a bit and kept my eye on the rear view mirror… sure enough, it was me he wanted. So I pulled over on one of the little side streets. The road I was on was hardly wide enough to accommodate us on the shoulder and other traffic passing through.

The officer walks up from the rear and touches the back of my car. Why? I don’t know. He comes to my window, introduces himself and says he clocked me going 45 mph in a 30 mph zone. My lucky day, I guess; only doing 45. But that’s because there was someone in front of me only going 45.

Then he taps on the windshield. Shit #2! “Do you know that your registration expired in January and your inspection expired in February?” “Oh wait,” I tell him, “I have the new registration sticker right here” and I pull it out of the glove box.

“Well, that’s one out of two,” he replies and he asks for my license and proof of insurance. So I hand him my insurance card that shows an expiration date of the end of that day. I explained that I am transferring my car insurance to the company that also has my home insurance to save money. The insurance company had both policies years ago, but that’s another long and crazy story.

The officer and I discussed the insurance discount for a bit during which I mentioned that being unemployed, I am trying to save everywhere I can. He seemed to understand that.

So he went back to his car with my license and insurance card. And within a few seconds shit #3 hits me. The tags on my car expired just over two years ago. I have the new ones in the car… just haven’t put them ON the car yet. Shit, shit, shit.

A friend and I were comparing levels of procrastination a few months ago. I told her I could beat her hands down and explained about my car tags. I told her they were under the seat, so I could show them to the cop should I ever get stopped. As we were laughing about this, she told me that I should be very careful if I reach under the seat for the tags else the cop might think I am reaching for a weapon. I had never thought of that, but she was right. I moved the tags from under the passenger seat to the space between the passenger seat and the stick shift console so I could visibly reach them.

I calmly waited for the officer to return and ask about my tags. When he came back, he had his little clip board. He told me that because I was unemployed, he would cut me a break… and give me a written warning. I was so excited that there was no mention of tags that I never even asked what consequences there are to a written warning. I signed the ticket and thanked him profusely.

I still don’t know what if any consequences there are to a written warning (instead of a verbal warning), but tomorrow I plan to put the new tags on my car and get it inspected on my way to the pet food store.

When Heather called back last night, I told her about being stopped and my hope that my financial improvement goes beyond not getting a speeding ticket. While I have no idea how much a speeding ticket costs these days, I was hoping that the astrological forecast for financial improvement meant something bigger. This “squeezing nickels out of pennies” routine gets exhausting.

And one more thing: 30 mph is too damn slow! But I’ll certainly give it a try. And I’ll stay out of Clear Creek Forest as much as possible.

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Posted on May 11th, 2010 by isak
Filed under: Miscellaneous | No Comments »

For the past few days, I have been watching a rescue effort via Facebook of a pit/mix in a Tennessee shelter. Her name is Sasha. She and her four puppies were brought to the shelter in March. Her puppies were adopted, but she remained sheltered.

One faithful trooper kept posting her info on Facebook. He started posting her in March when she arrived at the shelter. Recently a new campaign was started for Sasha and this time, it crossed the right paths at the right time and a fire was ignited. The rescue effort took many twists and turns and often felt like a roller coaster ride. My own fingernails grew weary from hanging by them as I watched.

One note yesterday said, “I will call [rescuer] again after 12:30…” The reply that came back said, “Won’t the dog be PTS at noon?” It was time stamped 11:55 am.

Several quick notes later came word that she has been put on “hold” from being killed and would be pulled out of the shelter on Saturday, heading to a rescue. A bit ago came a message that someone was on their way to pull Sasha today! Forgive me, but I continue to hold my breath and cross my fingers until I see photos of her “on the outside.”

While my heart relishes the victory of this save, my mind goes to the dog that took Sasha’s place yesterday on the death list. We did not see a photo of him or her. Or did we, but we did not respond? That dog was just as undeserving of death as Sasha.

Perusing the posts on my Facebook wall, I saw the news that Robeson County has changed their laws regarding the killing of animals in their shelter. They will not longer empty a needle full of barbituates into the chest cavity of an animal hoping to strike their heart and end their lives. The heart is difficult to find and if missed, the drugs cause great pain to the animal before they finally die. Instead, Robeson County will use a more humane method… intravenous euthanasia.

I am struck by the sad reality that we even discuss “humane killing.” What is humane about killing voiceless, innocent creatures?

Another post protested the use of gas chambers to kill cats and dogs. I should have not watched the video because certain images will be forever seared in my mind. They bring me to tears even now as I write this. The dogs already lifted into the metal gassing box are wagging their tails completely trusting the people who have placed them there. And their trust was violated; they were betrayed.

We have to stop the killing!

While we make statements about how spay/neuter will reduce the many cats and dogs brought to shelters, that idea is for the future, the next generation of animals. Spay/neuter does not address the pets in urgent need at this very moment. And sadly, “at this very moment” applies whether you read this post as soon as I publish it or if you read it tomorrow… or even next week. There is a huge need to adopt right now.

The Three Brothers are available for adoption. Contact v.larkhill@googlemail.com.

If you have a cat or dog, consider adopting a companion for them. Dogs are pack animals and operate very well within a group. Cats love company, too. In my household, the cats all pair up and are always found napping with their “best friend.”

If you already have two, consider a third… or maybe even a fourth one, too.

Please adopt a rescue or shelter pet.

If you aren’t ready to adopt, consider fostering a cat or dog. Call your local rescue groups and shelters. There is always a need for foster homes.

Save a life today! And help us empty all the shelters and all the rescues.

Update: Sasha is safely out of the shelter.

Posted on April 24th, 2010 by isak
Filed under: Activism, Cats, Dogs, no-kill | 1 Comment »

I am not at all comfortable with that statement. I feel it gives us permission to not try as hard as we might. It gives our heart an “excuse” when things don’t work out. And for some, it gives reason to not even get involved in the first place because “we can’t save ‘em all.”

With that logic in mind, who CAN we save? Which animal will we wave our magic wand over and rescue?

Do we pick the one that just needs to be brushed off and will likely be easy to place, say a healthy, cute one…. or do we pick the one with immediate and perhaps long-term needs? The one that may never look quite “normal;” the one whose life may not be as long because of it’s physical maladies?

In a kill-shelter where animals are routinely culled, the animal with serious injuries is often the first to be eliminated. Her life is deemed not worthy of the chance. She is too much bother, so put her on the kill list. And within hours of coming through the front door as living, breathing, feeling sentient beings, animals like this go out the back door dead — they are waste to be disposed of as you would trash, often to be sent to landfills.

But what if the answer doesn’t seem so obvious? What if from the outside both candidates look like they have good potential to be selected by a loving family?

In this case, the dog on the right, Jerome, is dead. A seven month old dog originally adopted from the ASPCA, the richest humane society in the US, was euthanized by a New York city pound who claimed that Jerome guarded his food, a condition which should never result in a dog being killed because the prognosis for rehabilitation is always good.

Who are the people making these life and death decisions? Are they even trained behaviorists/veterinarians?

I looked at the stats for a Canadian SPCA. The number of cats and dogs in the “euthanized for space” column seemed low with regards to their overall numbers, but the numbers for animals killed because they were sick/behavioral (yes, the two were lumped into one column) seemed high. They certainly seem to have a lot of very sick and/or very ill-mannered cats: 1844 killed in 2009 alone! And of the 316 dogs killed that year, 311 had medical/behavioral problems.

Wow! Maybe they need to re-evaluate the way they assess animals in their “care.”

NS SPCA 2009 stats

I think we need to take a closer look at the statement, “We can’t save ‘em all.” We should change the word “can’t” to “won’t” — because that is what the original statement actually implies.

Then maybe we can add a few words at the end of the sentence so it reads something like –

We won’t save ‘em all — if we don’t try.

I am much more comfortable with that statement. It leaves me infinitely more positive that we WILL affect change.

With regards to the animals used in this post today:

Bottom right: Jerome — dead because the ASPCA refused to pick Jerome up from the pound even though his microchip was registered to them..

Posted on April 14th, 2010 by isak
Filed under: Activism, Animal Cruelty, Cats, Dogs | No Comments »

I am struck by how we overlook the simple bounty we have all around us. We take it for granted that the sun will rise each day, that our dog will poop outside and that our cat will sleep on top of us at night.

The internet has brought the world closer and social media has made it possible for us to lend a hand to causes around the globe. With the click of a mouse, we can sign a petition or “share” info on animals in urgent need. I even participated in the rescue of a dog from death row a few weeks ago purely by happenstance. I “shared” her info on Facebook and within hours, plans were in the works to save her.

By magic, people stepped up to pull her from the shelter, foster her and drive her the five hours to her new home.

What a “high” we all got from the experience.

But closer to home… in my own home… I lost one of my cats this morning. I have just buried her.

She died as a result of a freak accident. One that hindsight says I could have been prevented. And in hindsight, I WOULD have done things differently. In hindsight, I would have been much more diligent, more careful, more aware…. simply, I would have been “more.”

But hindsight is neither fair nor kind.

Does this freak accident make me an irresponsible pet owner? Certainly it didn’t have to happen, but the morning routine was not anything different than it has been for years. Except this morning, something terrible happened and my baby Paketo paid with her life.

No amount of tears, no amount of hugs, no amount of prayers and begging put her life back into her tiny body. No amount of screams have brought me any comfort. I ran to her lifeless body hoping and wishing that maybe it was not her. But that wish was not mine to have today.

There are simply no words to express to you how hard this loss is to me. The pain takes me to a place where there are no words. Just pain, regret, sadness, remorse, anger… and silence.

I lost my baby Paketo this morning. This was not at all what I expected from this day. And there is nothing you can say to me to make me feel worse than I do.

But I would like to ask you to take a moment and recognize the simple bounties in your own life. And I would ask you to extend this recognition of your own bounty to family, friends and community. We all make mistakes and nobody can make us feel worse than we make ourselves.

So how about we all step back for a minute and take a new look at things? How about we offer kindness and humility to our neighbors? How about we consider what Francesca has endured for the past 20 months? Brindi is still alive. How about we give Francesca the chance to do things different? I would give the world for that chance right now.

Please, for today, spread this message as far and wide as you can. Take it beyond Halifax. Send it to your friends, your family and your community. We can all do a little better for our companion animals. Maybe we can even treat people as we would like to be treated for a change.

I love you always, baby Paketo! And I am so sorry…

Un beso, Holly

[Note: Paketo is the phonetic spelling of the Spanish word for "little." Full grown, Paketo weighed 5 pounds. She was my "little Paketo," my "little little."]

Posted on April 6th, 2010 by isak
Filed under: Cats, Memoriam | 1 Comment »

“All I know is, I love my dog more than anybody on the planet. There is nobody who will take better care of her or work harder to keep her safe and sound, with all the necessary aids and precautions.”

“When people tell me how much they love Brindi, I think that’s really great, because it reassures me that even behind bars, she is being her wonderful, beautiful, smart, attentive, fun, eager to learn, and above all, loving self. Even behind bars, all of that comes through; she is weary, she is lonely, she needs more exercise, her teeth and coat need attention, and Lord knows she needs to come home -but she has not gone crazy, she has not become vicious. Not this dog, people!”

“And it gives me a bit of hope. Who in their right mind could kill a dog like Brindi?

“My hope is that maybe, just maybe, people who say they love Brindi will put themselves in my shoes for just a moment. A fraction of a moment. Any amount of time, no matter how brief, would be enough for them to know one thing for certain: nobody loves Brindi as much as I do. And then they would understand exactly why I say that I am not going to stop until she is back home, safe and sound.” [May 2009]

“Good news: permission from the authorities to see Brindi 30 minutes a week, noontime Wednesdays. Two visits so far since January. Unlike back then, this time we were allowed to be inside the building, since it was cold and rainy that day… .” [Note: These are the first two visits Francesca has been "permitted" since Brindi was seized in July 2008.]

“I can’t helping thinking that Brindi has easily served ten times more time behind bars than even the worst animal abuser. My time has been much like prison; I certainly have not been living a real life. Knowing your dog is literally on death row makes that kind of impossible.” [May 2009]

[Note: Today's post is taken from Francesca's blog, Free Brindi. The text comes from May 2009, roughly halfway between today and where this ordeal began in late July 2008. It's but a small part of her story as told in her own words.]

Francesca makes her pre-sentencing statement before the judge on April 16, 2010.
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Please call and/or email the contacts below.

Do it often and do it regularly.

Ask them to correct this iniquity and return Brindi to her owner, Francesca Rogier.

Posted on April 2nd, 2010 by isak
Filed under: Activism, Animal Law, Animal Stories, Dogs, Free Brindi | No Comments »