Cars Helping Pets...My Late Father's Auto May Save a Small Life

A death.... Endless, emotional reminders and minutiae....And one proud outcome.

One cannot imagine the all-consuming tasks involved in handling the affairs of one deceased parent, while  desperately coping with the adjustment of the other, mentally challenged parent to a new environment.

Above all that--the unending phone calls, and meetings with banks, lawyers, real estate agents, credit card companies, doctors, nurses, social workers, former employers, and  US government assistance programs-- how do you accept the fact that you have in effect lost both parents? 

How do you slow yourself down enough to reflect, to remember...to mourn?

How do you sort through of 50 years worth of "things', some of it sentimental junk, most of it too big to move, and then explain to your mother why she can't go home?  That she will never go home again?  And, finally, to realize that she doesn't remember it all so well?

At least one completed task will turn out well.

My father had a car.  I could have sold the car, but I sought to dispose of it quickly. 

We found a web site called Cars Helping Pets.



I sent an e-mail. Scheduled the car for towing. Removed the pathetic items that remained from their last ill-fated road trip.  Took off the license plates and readied the deed for transfer. And watched the old Impala disappear down the street where I grew up.

The process was easy.  And, hopefully, the reward will be close to my heart. 

The Cars Helping Pets web site explains:

Your donated vehicle will be sold at the highest possible value and the proceeds from your car donation will be used to bring an end to animal cruelty,  provide medical treatment and caring for countless animals in our local communities, and throughout the nation. Your unwanted vehicle has incredible value, and we can use it to help those who cannot help themselves. Please be a voice by donating your car to Cars Helping Pets today.

Donating my father's car in hopes that it will someday aid unwanted animals has provided one small corner of comfort in what has been a cold and unforgiving process. 

I am now beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel.  The blog-world will soon, once again, be privy to the cinematic insights of this older and wiser movie-lover, and well-meaning son.

The Lions of the Chicago Art Institute

For us, it will be a leisurely "Black Friday" in the city.  This afternoon, a stroll through downtown to take advantage of sunny and pleasantly mild weather.  

Along the way we'll visit the Art Institute of Chicago, to see the the famous two lions in their newly-donned holiday garb.  Tonight: the Tony-winning Broadway Musical "Memphis"!  Come back this weekend for reviews of this show, and of the new film "The Descendants".

Read on for more about the lions, and their artist, Edward L. Kemeys.


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Two of the undisputed landmarks of the City of Chicago are the sculptured bronze lions that stand guard on either side of the main entrance at the Art Institute.  They are a favorite photographic subject of tourists, and delight children of all ages who visit the Museum for their first time, or  their hundredth.  The lions also serve as unofficial mascots for the Chicago professional sports teams when they make the championships, and can be seen wearing Chicago Bears or Blackhawks helmets in support. 


Today, the Holiday season becomes official with the ceremonial "wreathing of the lions":



Less well-known to Chicagoans is the sculptor who carved these lions, Edward Kemeys (1843-1907).  Kemeys was born in Savannah Georgia, and studied art in New York and Paris.  As a boy  he delighted in his visits to the prairies of Illinois, and marveled at the animals he observed at New York's Central Park Zoo.  He became famous for his uniquely Western style of art, and for his sculptures of animals. The bronze lions, completed in 1893, are his most famous.

Kemeys unofficially named the lions: the south lion is "stands in an attitude of defiance," and the north lion is "on the prowl."

South Lion: "Stands in an Attitide of Defiance"

North Lion: "On the Prowl"



Among Kemeys' other works, his "Panther and Cubs" can be found outside of the Metropolitan Museum in New York seen below).  There is also a collection of Work at The National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Pooch Portraits, and a Miracle Beagle--Dog Shelter Laughs and Tears

I want to share two links I had found about dog shelters and their lovable, helpless residents. I hope the first one makes you smile, as it did me; and the second will move you to sign any petition to get "kill"shelters to stop using gas chambers.

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The first is a whimsical story about enterprising shelters across the country.  The article, by Jasmine Aline Persch, an msnbc/Today Show contributor, interviews shelters who enhance the appeal and adoptability of their homeless friends by using professional photographic techniques.  Some shelters provide "makeovers" for the dogs to increase the "cute" factor.  Others provide more comfortable surroundings, better lighting and flattering angles to give dogs a more natural appearance. 

Many shelters post hastily-shot digital photos on their websites that reflect the animal's nervousness, and do not accurately portray the dog's size, temperament, or personality.  The article in the link explains what the more creative shelters are doing, interviews professional dog photographers, and gives readers some tips on how to digitally photograph their own dogs.

(Of course, it is always best to meet the dog in person, and never adopt solely from a photograph.  In fact, be wary of any shelter that does not do a thorough background check of you, your home, and other pets, before adopting any dog to you.)

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The Huffington Post (click here) offered a sobering story and video about Daniel, an unadopted 20-pound beagle in a shelter in Florence, Alabama. He and 17 other unwanted dogs were placed in a gas chamber to be euthanized.  When the door to the chamber was opened after 17 minutes, Daniel miraculously emerged, alive, tail wagging.  According to an interview in the video below, gas can vary in density and weight. Daniel may have found an air pocket that allowed him to breathe until the door was opened.  Many states have banned gas chambers to euthanize dogs--even Alabama (although the law will not go into effect for a year.)  Even so, of the six- to eight-million animals living in shelters each year, three to four million of them are euthanized in gas chambers.  Innocent creatures do not deserve this. Animal lovers need to help decrease the unwanted pet population by putting pressure on legislatures to close down puppy mills, spreading the word about spaying and neutering pets, and insisting on the elimination of gas chambers for animals.

(Pardon the annoying advertisement at the start of the video...)

A Two-Faced Cat; A Story Worth Remembering

Louie and Frank.  One cat.  Two faces. A survivor!


I need stories like this  to come around from time to time.  Like animals themselves, they keep me focused on the small, immediate wonders that are right in front of me, and block out the crap that seeps into view all the time, and taints my perspective.

(Click here for the CBS feature)

This rag-doll cat with two faces has just entered the Guinness Book of World Records. The cat, a resident of Worcester, Massachusetts, just turned 12 years old, a rarity for this type of creature called a Janus cat.  Janus, the ancient Roman god of beginnings, of doorways, and of time, is a figure with 2 faces (looking to the future and into the past).

The condition is known as Polycephaly.  It is fairly common in animals, but cats born this way rarely live beyond a few days.


This story has been all over the news today, so there is nothing original about this piece. I only wanted to grace my journal with this marvelous story, to remember it, and to be able to re-visit it. 

It made me uncommonly happy, and a wee bit melancholy, too.  I give much credit and words of love and encouragement to Marty Stevens, the owner who rescued the cat from certain death, and raised it into a healthy, well-adjusted companion. 


Enjoy this terrific AP video. I hope it clears your mind as it did mine. (I loved his growling purr!)

Animal Rescue Images--A Personal Wednesday Journal

This was another one of those "I need a sad movie to help me cry" days....


Images of family members, as I remember them...words like "depression" and "psychosis" and "dementia" and "heart tumor"....  and an uncertain future, no matter how we dream, or make plans....


As always, I found some solace in the company of animals...or, at least, in the images of animals and the kind people who devote themselves to raising them, loving them, rescuing them, and keeping them from harm.


I have been humbled to volunteer with homeless dogs, and am resolved to step up my efforts to care for these creatures, and try to help make their lives bearable. 

In the meantime, I found a little video that reaffirmed my belief that the animals in our midst, and the people who love them, make it worthwhile to get up another morning if I must. (Along with a special few who I am lucky to number among my friends)

If you are not crazy about the music in the background (no disrespect to Sarah McLachlan), do what I did, and enjoy the images with the volume turned down.  Of course, if you need an emotional release, keep the music on.


More animal inspiration later this week...with a smile, as I look at a little town called Dwight, Illinois, and their annual Basset Hound Waddle.


Tomorrow....getting musically inspired, with another visit to my favorite musician, Joni Mitchell....

A Brief Intermission: If You Want To Sell Me Something....

... let animals make the pitch!
This might be one of the funniest ads I have ever seen.... short and very sweet....



The mellifluous hound is especially suited for a nightclub gig!

Tomorrow I will return with more on the 2011 Movie Season...
(Coming soon: American Politics: Bachman, Perry, and fundamentalism...)

A Commercial Stirs Up Memories of Missed Pets

Every time it comes on TV it makes me want to cry a little.


It's that "Trouble" ad, for an insurance company, featuring that expressive little white dog who wants to protect his prized possession, a rawhide bone.


The soulful theme song, and the effective narrative in which that  rascal is sleepless with worry, stirs up primal feelings in me. 


It reminds me of my belief that dogs must never worry. It reminds me that one of my best purposes in life is to make a comfortable world for our animal companions.


No matter...The world always, always, takes these friends from us.  Canine, feline, avian... they are with us for such a short time...  And they are gone in spite of our love, and our best efforts to keep them with us forever.

So many animals have been a part of my life.  The ad causes me to think of those times when I helped my beloved animals out of their troubles: my St Bernards, Tippy and Cassie; my cockatiel Cookie;  and all of the other dogs and cats I cared for, past and present.

I mourn for for the creatures that we have all loved, and inevitably lost.


I miss our basset hound Maggie, and how she would dig a hole in the garden with her front paws, drop in her bone, and cover it  by pushing the dirt back over it with her snout.  She would always dig it back up a few minutes later.


I laugh thinking about how she would lay in front of the couch and whine, until we moved the couch to find a little piece of kibble, which she must have flung across the room weeks ago until it lodged there.


Her comfort and safety always came first.


When she ran away once, Mark was frantic, until he found her across the street, sitting with a bunch of kids as they all watched a soccer game. 


When she was bothered by her digestion, or itchy ears, or allergies, or arthritis in her bent little legs, we were consumed by healing her. When July 4th fireworks frightened her, we tried all kinds of comforting remedies, from tranquilizers to distracting play, until we discovered that her beef bone kept her pleasantly oblivious.


She was never mean, never snapped at us, but if we came too close to her bone, she only picked it up and ran from us a short distance.


No matter how much we loved her, it still came down to her last day, and the impossible task of saying goodbye.


And when I see the little white dog in the ad, with "Trouble" on the soundtrack, and his profound little worries, I regret all the trouble Maggie had in her life.


She would not see it that way, of course.  In spite of her having forgiven us (I am convinced), the ad still makes me a bit melancholy.

Temple Grandin and "Temple Grandin"

I do not subscribe to HBO, so I usually catch up late with their acclaimed films and series.  "Angels in America" and "Six Feet Under" have been two of my favorite works of film in any medium.  Now I can add "Temple Grandin" to this list.

I knew nothing of the real Temple Grandin until I picked up and read one of her books, "Animals in Translation".  In this candid and brave story, Grandin describes her struggles with autism and the way her disability altered her ways of thinking and perceiving the world.  As she discovered her affinity for animals and her ability to "think" like they do (in images) and empathize with their behavior, she completed an advanced degree, developed into an animal advocate, and re-designed a less cruel existence and end for farm animals that are raised for food. 


Sinclair Lewis and "The Jungle" aside, many holding pens and slaughterhouses are still terribly cruel places for animals who make an ultimate sacrifice for human consumption.  Even in the best of conditions, many feel that the idea of animal slaughter is upsetting, distasteful, and unnecessary. Grandin took a practical approach, accepting the fact that as long as these animals are still being bred and raised for food, she encouraged and championed for a more humane end to their lives. 


However, even an organization like Mercy for Animals, which leads a growing movement to completely end the slaughter of animals in favor of vegetarian and vegan lifestyles, recognize her expertise, calling her "the world's leading expert on farmed-animal welfare... (and) an associate professor of livestock behavior at Colorado State University and an animal welfare advisor to the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the meat industry".  Her letters condemning the horrible conditions and animal treatment at many livestock farms are frequently published on the Mercy for Animals web site. (Here's another link)


I started reading Grandin's book because I love reading about animals and animal behavior.  When I finished, Grandin had become sort of a personal hero of mine, overcoming her disability, which was little understood then, educating herself and using her unique passion and understanding of animals for a greater good.

Claire Danes captures Dr. Grandin's mannerisms and speech patterns in the HBO film "Temple Grandin", but this is much more than an act of mimicry.  Danes found deep reservoirs of anger and fear and courage to reveal Grandin's passion and single-mindedness from the inside out.  Scenes from Grandin's early years are especially compelling and entertaining.  Danes wins us over to this difficult yet inspiring character, and helps us feel her rages and extreme bouts of panic, which she learned to alleviate with her invention of a "squeeze machine".  By discovering that cattle calmed down when held tightly in place and "hugged" by the walls of their holding pens, Grandin used her incredible skill to engineer and build her own device for her school dorm room. This is an especially ironic and creative incident in the film, as we understand Grandin's terror of human physical contact.


From her school days to her work with the department of agriculture, "Temple Grandin" is well-paced and authentic in every detail.  Director Mick Jackson uses cinematic language to suggest Grandin's weird and wonderful perceptions of the world.  The film is carried by Danes with terrific support from Julia Ormond as her perplexed mother, Catherine O'Hara as her understanding Aunt, and David Strathairn as a sympathetic and forward-thinking professor who believes in Grandin and mentors her through her education.


This film was the deserving recipient of seven Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, an Eddie (film editor's guild) award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a Director's Guild Award, and a Peabody Award. 
I urge you to see it for inspiration, information, and understanding.  It's unlike most films you've been likely to have seen, and it's one you will feel better about yourself having seen.

A Tribute to Cloris Leachman For Speaking Out Against Animal Abuse

I love Cloris Leachman, and among my friends in the blogosphere, I know I am not alone.


It might be easy to dismiss the 85-year-old  Leachman as a comic self-parody, one of a number of aging performers who have re-invented themselves as adorable, slapstick jokesters.  A contemporary of Betty White, some may even write Leachman off as a pale imitation.


This would be unfair to both performers, who have had long careers as funny women.  Leachman's appearances for Mel Brooks (especialy Frau Blucher---n-e-e-e-e-i-i-i-gh-gh-gh!) and her recurring role as Phyllis on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show"  have endeared her to millions over the decades. 

Leachman, however, will always have my respect, love, and gratitude, for creating one unforgettable screen character in particular.. 


Anyone who has seen "The Last Picture Show" will never forget Leachman's portrayal of Ruth Popper, the desperately lonely wife of a Texas high-school coach in 1951. During her agonizing final scene with Timothy Bottoms, audiences watched stunned, sympathetic and taken aback by the explosive power her character unleashed on the boy who stirred her long-buried passions, and then betrayed her; and felt her her self-resignation, and healing forgiveness, at the final dissolve.


Leachman elevates the film to even higher realms of art in these moments.  Even if she had not received a well-deserved Oscar for it in 1971, this performance would be burned into my memory.

And now, I love and respect Leachman even more for her recent piece in The Huffington Post (Don't Cover Up Animal Cruelty, April 27) in which she speaks out against a heinous law being considered in Iowa, which actually just passed in the Iowa House.  The law basically forbids anyone from photographing farm animals without permission from the owner.


Legislators have introduced this bill to protect factory farms from being exposed as hell-holes for innocent cows, pigs, and chickens raied for food.  Organizations like PETA and Mercy for Animals have effected successful prosecutions of dairy and other farmers for heinous treatment, based on the evidence of undercover videos taken on these farms.


It is a sorry day when lawmakers spend valuable time providing statutory protections for animal cruelty.


Leachman tells us what the consequences of the bill would mean to crusaders who act out of sympathy for these suffering creatures:

If HF 589 becomes law, whistle-blowers who try to expose cruelty to animals in the meat, dairy or egg industries could be charged with a misdemeanor or a felony, face criminal prosecution and be ordered to pay heavy fines or even serve jail time. That's a harsher punishment than the actual perpetrators of animal abuse receive, in many cases.

Stories like this one from Iowa send me toward the edge of despair.  What helps bring me back for a while are the actions of those like Cloris Leachman who use their celebrity and good-will to champion for the unfortunate, those without a voice, the animals among us who live for our sake, and don't deserve a miserable existence.

And so I thank you, Cloris Leachman.  I would not presume that she would want to read my words here....but if any of you happen to know her, feel free to forward this tribute to her.


And, for those of you who may only know of Cloris from her appearance on "Dancing With the Stars", I am embedding the famous scene from "The Last Picture Show". So if you have not seen the film, this could be a spoiler...and I would urge you to find it, and give it a look.

Patrick the Miracle Dog--A Wednesday Pictorial Journal

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These things should not happen...  Fortunately, sometimes compassion takes hold....  And helps redeem some of the worst of human capability....  This story has a happy ending, unlike some... I wish stories like this didn't need to be told, but they do, to remind us that in the face of sad, sad inhumanity there is goodness.

This story is out of Newark, New Jersey.  On March 16, just before St. Patrick's Day, an apartment complex maintenance worker, cleaning the discarded trash, noticed movement inside of a plastic bag.  Opening it, he found a 1-year-old pit bill, starved and weighing only 20 pounds, half of its normal weight.  It had been dropped down the trash chute, alive inside the bag, and was left to die.

The dog was brought to the trauma unit at Garden State Veterinary Specialists in Tinton Falls, New Jersey.  There, he received: a blood transfusion; heat blankets; the expert care and love of the entire staff; well-wishes and donations from all over the world as his story went viral; and his name, Patrick. 

I became aware of this today from a remarkable item picked up by The Huffington Post.  Corey Booker, the Mayor of Newark, released a video appeal to all who want to help in his ongoing efforts to create a state-of-the-art animal care facility and shelter, a place where any animal that can be saved will be saved.  (Click here for a look at Booker's video and a transcript on the HuffPost site.)

Booker: "By working to build a modern, state-of-the-art shelter through public and private funding, and by employing innovative policies to improve responsible pet care, decrease birthrates, increase adoptions, and help keep animals with their responsible caretakers, we believe that Newark's animal shelter operations can become a model for the rest of the nation. Our ambitious goal is to one day be able to save every savable dog and cat in this new shelter."

Patrick is making a good recovery, and is eating well, taking walks outside.  He enjoys the warmth of his sweaters, and rests among the company of his stuffed toys and the staff of the shelter.  He demonstrates his appreciation and love, and like most dogs, has forgiven humans in general for the mistreatment he had received.  He loves to be touched and petted.


I will not provide publicity here for the person responsible for this mistreatment.  The 28-year old woman has been charged with  two criminal counts of abandonment and two civil counts of failure to provide sustenance to an animal.

Sadly, scammers pretending to be concerned organizations are collecting donations for Patrick's care, and pocketing the money.  Donations can be made to the AHS, or Associated Humane Societies, which is the legitimate organization responsible for Patrick's care. (And there are updates and always new pictures.)


Or, if you are so moved, make a small donation to your local animal shelter.  Even a gift of some old towels, laundry and cleaning supplies, or a blanket, are most welcome.


Patrick is improving, but there are hundreds...thousands... of other dogs and cats still less fortunate. You can help save their lives.


The following amateur video I found while learning about this story was made with obvious love and concern for Patrick.  It's a nice little video, scored to an upbeat and hopeful Annie Lennox tune.  Yeah...I cried.

"Maria...I Just Met A Goose Named Maria!"--Short Take #1

In a respite from their undercover exposés, informing us of the horrors faced by farm animals, and encouraging us to save these animals by not eating them, the Mercy For Animals organization brought to my attention a story aired on CBS news in February.

Last May, Dominic Ehler, a retired salesman from Los Angeles, was followed on his walk by a goose.  Maria, as Ehler named the goose, waited every day for Ehler's visit.  Ehler obliged, and walked with the smitten bird whenever he visited.  Maria was protective, or possessive, hissing at dogs and other creatures who sought to get to close to her newly-adopted "beau".

Maria even tried to go home with Ehler, flying alongside of him as he started off on his scooter.

If the sad and horrific stories captured by MFA investigators don't shock us away from eating meat, then maybe these stories about the mysterious bonds that exist between animal and human will convince us.

Some of you may have seen this warm and humorous video on Katie Couric's news last month--
(Click here for the story on the MFA web site:)



UPDATE: During the relocation of the bird from Echo Park for the renovation project, "Maria" was found to be a gander.  No matter....s/he is beautiful by whatever name....

Dominic still visits Maria/Mario at the Los Angeles Zoo, while the bird remains there until the 2-year project is completed.  (Read the follow-up story here in the Los Angeles Times.)

A Life Devoted to Animals--A Saturday Journal

A quick detour on Golden Globes weekend, for the sake of my animal friends...

I have been away from home, dog-sitting since December 27.  Right now I'm with Shayna, a Border Collie who I have cared for many times.  It is a long time to be living away from home, in spite of my being only a few miles from our house.  

I miss my routine.  I still have to juggle my household responsibilities with Mark, work my regular job a the College, and provide quality time for this loving animal.

My "tenure" ends this coming Friday with the return of the dog's "parents". Then I can return home, and continue our winter "nesting", safe in our little house, getting through the snowy season and making our plans for the summer.

Spending time with animals in this way reminds me that I had once considered a career in animal care of some kind: veterinary medicine, veterinary technology, dog-training, and other career directions. 

Life has a way of moving in odd ways.  You move with it to keep up, and tug in other directions to create movement, in what Ruth Gordon in "Harold and Maude" called "the cosmic dance."

But reinventing one's self offers an opportunity to sort through old decisions, and see which ones are still feasible. I realize that it is still possible to re-explore making a living devoted to animals.

Until I "shed my skin" and emerge fully committed, I seem to have found other ways to satisfy my craving for animal care and companionship: in-house dog-sitting as I described; volunteering at the Buddy Foundation; becoming involved with "Mercy for Animals"; and writing about it all. 

And maybe, this spring, bringing a new dog home to stay...

Also, I enjoy reading books and web sites to learn about new trends in dog care, as well as personal anecdotes from those who love their pets and other animals.

I recommend a very informative web site called

Vet Tech :

  "Vet Tech is the combined work of Tina Marconi and Joseph Morris. With more than 15 years of experience in the veterinary field, we share our educational experiences and knowledge with prospective veterinary technicians in order to shed some light on this very rewarding field." 

For anyone thinking about entering the veterinary tech. field, this is an excellent resource.  It's also invaluable for those wishing to know as much as possible about the health of their pets.

The journey continues....As long as there are animals that need help, people to know, loved ones to love, books to read, movies to discuss and debate with friends, and topics to write about...then the way is paved for the cosmic dance that leads to reinvention...

~   ~   ~   ~

COMING UP: 1970..the year...the movies..the Oscars!

Vick Got A Second Chance...Many of His Dogs Did Not

For Dog Lovers...I appreciate your remarks on this, a story which has me saddened and angered and confused...

The spotlight is once again on Michael Vick, who said in a recent interview that prison made him a better man, and that owning a dog will assist him in his rehabilitation (CBS News, December 15).

Even President Obama has walked into Vick's  spotlight, claiming that Vick is receiving the second chance he deserves.  While Obama condemns the animal abuse that led to Vick's imprisonment just three years ago, he stated that he does think "that individuals who have paid for their crimes should have an opportunity to contribute to society again."  (CBS News, December 27).

While Vick is prohibited from owning a dog until 2012, his desire to bring a dog into his home once again (for his kids, he claims), so soon after the horrific treatment of the dogs at his Bad Newz Kennels, is causing outrage on both sides of the argument.

While one may confer benevolent blessings on Vick's turnaround (and his return to public life and its attendant millions of dollars), I still cannot forget that there are innocent dogs who did not get a second chance.

I'm afraid I am having a problem showing complete forgiveness.  Maybe I have a psychic connection to dogs in pain.

A man convicted of child abuse ought to have trouble adopting another child, especially if the injuries suffered by the children he abused were as heartbreaking as those suffered by Vick's dogs.  For Vick to publicly claim that he loves these animals makes me feel helpless and angry.

At the Buddy Foundation, we conduct a complete screening of any prospective owner who wants to adopt a dog.  We make sure the new household is a safe and welcoming environment, with plenty of space, and enough resources to guarantee the dog's care; we ask that other pets are brought in to "meet" the prospective adoptee, to make sure that other animals in the home will get along with the new pet.  If, incredibly, the shelter discovers a history of previous animal abuse by the new owner, the adoption would be halted.

If Michael Vick thinks he is ready to bring a new dog into his home, he should prove his mettle by volunteering (unpaid) at a dog shelter for a year. 

He needs to spend time with desperate, lonely dogs; endure the barking and whining; clean the excrement; break up fights that can occur naturally between confused dogs; maybe even get bitten by a frightened dog....without striking back, showing complete forgiveness for the animal that injured him. 

He needs to walk dozens of dogs in pouring rain and bone-crunching cold.  He needs to sacrifice a few nights with his family, or even a banquet or two, to feed animals, or wash blankets, or give medications to reluctant dogs, or comfort a barely conscious animal who has just been spayed or neutered. 

He needs to do all of this and then publicly talk about it, to tell the world how passionate he is for this kind of duty. 

He needs to cry for a dog that is beyond help...and do it in the spotlight of his own making.

Maybe then I could begin to forgive him.

Christmas Animals

It is comforting to think of the presence of animals in the story of the Nativity.  Accounts of the Christmas story vary widely; there were few eyewitnesses to the event, and the story has been enhanced over the centuries.  Some historians believe that the image of the creche, surrounded by animals, was created by Francis of Assisi as a theological metaphor. NPR recently visited a traditional Christmas pageant in Texas, and looked at the accuracy and conflicting biblical records of the Nativity, and questioned the modern depiction of the event using animals. (All Things Considered, December 23, 2010)

Whether you accept the Nativity story on faith, or relegate it to the pages of myth, the actual or symbolic presence of sheep, oxen, donkeys, camels, and other creatures, is an image of quietude and peace, as they gather, still and silent, around the crib of a baby that symbolizes a new beginning of hope.

Our holiday tree is once again filled with figurines of dogs, birds, rabbits, and many other creatures. Animals are child-like in their unassuming innocence, their instincts, and their often trusting dependence on us to care for them and fulfill their needs.

Even though this is a difficult time for many, if not most people, if we can re-think of this increasingly commercialized and cynical holiday season as a time to focus on the care of the innocent creatures around us, then the season once more provides warmth and meaning. 

As bad as the world often is, as long as I have people to love and who accept what I can give, who affirm me and keep me from feeling alone, and as long as there are animals in the world, it is a world I still want to be a part of.  The Nativity scene, complete with its animals, reminds me of that.  That is my quiet, personal celebration of the season. That is my wish for my friends. That would be my gift if I could give it.

Good Christmas to you all.

Love, and Life, To A Wayward Coyote

Stories about the goodness of people who save helpless animals in trouble allow me to preserve a positive, sane outlook.  Here's a nice story from close to home. 

A coyote was spotted drifting on an ice floe in the middle of Lake Michigan on Friday.  A Fire Department helicopter, on routine rounds, discovered the cold and frightened animal, and summoned a fire boat.  Two crew members kept trying to reach for the coyote to pull her aboard, but the ice patch, by then not much bigger than she was, kept floating away out of reach.

Finally the boat got close enough for Animal Care and Control worker Miguel Hernandez to snare the animal and bring her aboard the boat, and then to Belmont Harbor on their way to Flint Creek Wildlife Rehabilitation Center.

The coyote was named "Holly" in commemoration of the season.  She is receiving treatment for frostbitten paws, but otherwise is doing well.

Pets in Winter--A Wednesday Journal

When I was out shoveling the driveway in the bitter cold wind last Sunday, I heard the frantic barking of a dog outside.


I was shivering inside my layers of t-shirts, sweater and down coat, my fingers sore and growing numb in spite of my warm gloves. So I could not imagine that this animal was any more comfortable, and any less in danger, than I was, even with a coat of fur.

Luckily, it was only Benjy, the playful beagle who lives behind us, completely forgetting the weather hazards in his pursuit of a squirrel in a nearby tree. His owner was himself shivering in an attempt to lure the crazy little guy back into the house with a treat.  Benjy finally opted for the sure thing, and went indoors.

Our companion dogs, and cats, are best kept indoors during the winter, except for potty breaks, and brief exercise for the heartier breeds.  Even with fur, animals can still be in danger of frostbite and hypothermia if kept outdoors too long in bitter cold.

If you have a dog, keep watch for shivering, whimpering, and the lifting of the paws.  Those are indications that your friend is dangerously cold.  If your dog has short fur, a dog coat is a good idea.  I prefer those that completely cover the belly and close with a Velcro strip across the back.

After walking a dog, check the paws for bits of ice and salt.  Some dogs have deep pads, so you have to swipe deeply inside to clear them.  Use a clean towel to gently dry your dog's coat and paws.

Cats who wander on their own may find the engine blocks of parked cars to be warm shelters against the bitter cold.  If you park outdoors, give your horn a tap, to clear out any critters who might be hiding there, before starting the car.

Dogs may shed less in the winter but still need regular brushing to prevent matting.  Bathing can be less frequent; cats of course, mostly bathe themselves.

You might still need to take your dog for regular walks, and ice is as much a hazard for animals as for humans.  Dogs can lose their grip on ice and fall, causing injuries that may not be readily visible.  If your dog will allow boots on his paws, that is a good solution. Better yet, avoid icy patches.  Always leash your animals; dogs chasing after squirrels, rabbits and other critters may run into a slippery street, where cars have less ability to stop quickly.

This is all common sense, all just a friendly reminder from me and my incorrigible and lovable Buddies.... And from one that lives now only in our hearts.