These are my babies, Bodhi and Princess.Bodhi - the black one - was dying in a pet shop when I got her "on sale". She only weighed 3 lbs. I remember two weeks of waking up every morning hoping she was still alive.
I kept her little crate on a stand right next to my side of the bed so I could see her every time I opened my eyes. And vice versa. She was so tiny we were afraid of accidentally crushing her in our sleep.
She spent every other waking moment in our arms. The BF and I loved her back to health.
Princess was abandoned years ago in an apartment in New York. She wasn't house-broken, didn't know how to use stairs and had awful separation anxiety.
Today she's an angel. She had some health issues when I got her from the rescue people, but with patience and diligence, they were overcome.
I was sick in bed with them most of the day yesterday. I had a migraine, so I was watching the comedy channel in the dark with one eye open when on comes this ASPCA commercial sung by Sarah McLachlin. Between the song and the imagery, I cried out of both eyes.
And while I can't commit an amount every month right now, it's now near the top of my list of priorities. (Haven't been to a dentist in four years, but my girls are up to date on their shots and Princess gets her prescription dog food without fail.)
Here's a link to the site, scroll to view the commercial. It is the most powerful ad I have ever seen. I write propoganda for a living, so that's saying a lot.
http://www.aspca.org/site/PageServer
Then this morning I checked my emails and got this from a wildass ex-cop friend in Michigan:
*SHERIFF JOE IS AT IT AGAIN!*
"Maricopa County was spending approx. $18 million dollars a year on stray animals, like cats and dogs. Sheriff Joe offered to take the department over , and the County Supervisors said okay The animal shelters are now all staffed and operated by prisoners. They feed and care for the strays. Every animal in his care is taken out and walked twice daily. He now has prisoners who are experts in animal nutrition and behavior. They give great classes for anyone who'd like to adopt an animal. He has literally taken stray dogs off the street, given them to the care of prisoners, and had them place in dog shows.
The best part? His budget for the entire department is now under $3 million. Teresa and I adopted a Weimaraner from a Maricopa County shelter two years ago. He was neutered, and current on all shots, in great health, and even had a microchip inserted the day we got him. Cost us $78. The prisoners get the benefit of about $0.28 an hour for working, but most would work for free, just to be out of their cells for the day. Most of his budget is for utilities, building maintenance, etc. He pays the prisoners out of the fees collected for adopted animals.
I have long wondered when the rest of the country would take a look at the way he runs the jail system, and copy some of his ideas. He has a huge farm, donated to the county years ago, where inmates can work, and they grow most of their own fresh vegetables and food, doing all the work and harvesting by hand.
He has a pretty good sized hog farm, which provides meat, and fertilizer. It fertilizes the Christmas tree nursery, where prisoners work, and you can buy a living Christmas tree for $6 - $8 for the Holidays, and plant it later We have six trees in our yard from the Prison.
Yup, he was reelected last year with 83% of the vote.
He's kind of a 'Git-R Dun' kind of Sheriff."
I checked it out online. This guy is for real. Wish there were more like him.
Here's a link. http://www.mcso.org/index.php?a=GetModule&mn=Sheriff_Bio
In the meantime, those of us who don't have the money to help the big organizations or the power to establish rules like Sheriff Joe, can do what we are able for the souls we see every day - help the lost dog in the road or buy an extra bag of kibble for the local shelters.
And if we see abuse, we should do something about it.
I think I'm at the point where I would stop at nothing. It is unbearable to see what animals humans can be.
No comments:
Post a Comment