Local news at 9:19

Humane Lobby Day was a blast but way too much went on to describe right now other than to say it was pure theater. The Senate and Legislature are in session and there is business_to_be_done. The actors are playing many parts: politician, lobbyist, staff, director, audience, page, stage hand, choir, and chorus, simultaneously in different plays, in different acts and rehearsals, overlapping lines and scenes and sets on numerous stages, in green rooms and cafes, and under it all, the constant, clandestine backstage whispers which everyone strains to hear. Then there was us. The animal people.

Nevada at night

I retired my other blog, Synesis, at least for the time being, and am in the process of moving some of the material to a new blog I've been fiddling with for a while. It's a place for my poetry. It doesn't fit here. And maybe a little flash fiction or a drawing here or there. If you're interested, it's here... Anna Sadhorse.

Koala Sam and local news at 9

Of course you've seen this photo of Sam, the koala rescued by firefighters during Australia's devastating brush fire. Why can't we humans always be this cool? For the record, I think the biblical "dominion over animals" thing is bullshit. I read today that Australia's fire was started by some guy with a taste for arson. We have a lot to make up for.

The Rescue of Koala Sam

Koala Sam Mr. Tree Australian brush fire

Nigerian goat follow-up

Remember that goat in Nigeria who was arrested in January for witchcraft and stealing a Mazda? Well, yesterday there was a follow-up article on the incident in the Nigerian Village Square. Seems the charges were dropped and the goat auctioned off. Poor fellow. Here the goat was, minding his own business, then BLAMMO...a vigilante mob drags him off to jail claiming he's a witch and car thief, without ever being given the dignity of a name other than... goat. As far as I've read, the issue of animal rights never came up. Who would dare? Anyway, it's thoughtful article with some interesting suggestions on how to deal with superstition and arcane cultural beliefs, Nigerian or otherwise and, if only for that reason, is at least worth skimming.

Casa Lupita and Dog Helps Dog

First off, here's a bit of footage that will both break and gladden your heart. If you aren't a better and more humble person after the 52 seconds it takes to watch, then call your doctor. You may need heart and brain implants!

It's a dog helps dog world!
~via Animal Rights Blog via Metacafe

The long of it or, if dogs can do it, people can too.

Angel

Nicaragua update

In other goings on, I have been busy setting up a blog for Casa Lupita, a clinic in Granada, Nicaragua for street animals. The clinic is a project of an NGO called Building New Hope. I was inspired to get involved by the little dog in this photo. I call her Angel. She was stranded on the sidewalk with a broken hip right where you see her and completely unable to drag herself to a safe place, had there been one. People were walking around and over her as though she did not exist but she stopped me cold. I was stunned. I stepped to the wall and leaned back. A Japanese girl was standing there so, after a moment I said, "I can't go any farther. This is too much. I can't leave just this poor dog laying here on the street." She said it was the same for her, that she was a vet student and could not walk by and leave her suffering like that. Her friends, also students, were off looking for help. Eventually they returned with rumors of an animal shelter somewhere in the city (Granada) and coaxed the girl to leave with them to search it out.

I stayed a while longer with the little dog but finally decided to go back to our room to get her some food and water and tell Mr. Lee what was up. He remembered seeing a poster at the Bearded Monkey about an animal shelter so he went in search of information and I returned to Angel. Unfortunately, I didn't think to bring a bowl. That's why there's water on the sidewalk in front of her. It freaked her out. I instantly regretted pouring it, plus I felt like a total idiot. She was happy for the food though.


I wish I had gone to Casa Lupita that night. It's easy to care. Taking action is the hard part but I did go the next morning. Donna was there, along with a volunteer veterinarian from the US, a Dr. Terry Kane. He said no one had brought in a dog of that description but it quickly became clear that this would not be the end of it. This was Casa Lupita after all, where no one is too small or insignificant to be loved. Donna grabbed me. We jumped into her old black truck and headed off for Angel's last known place on earth.

She wasn't there, but as Angel had lain directly in front of an open door the day before, Donna asked the woman inside if she knew anything. Yes. She had witnessed the whole event and said the Japanese girls came back for her in the evening. Mystery not solved but, as we could do no more, Donna invited me to join her on her rounds. We fed a group of street dogs that live along the shore of Lago Cocibolca, (or Lake Nicaragua if you prefer). We distributed more food along the road back to town and stopped by her place for a minute where I met a couple of other street dogs recuperating from sever injuries and emotional trauma, then we returned to the clinic. When we told the vet how the girls had rescued Angel from the street, he realized she was the dog who'd been brought in the night before. He told us that in the states he could have saved her but, unfortunately, Casa Lupita isn't currently equipped for major surgeries. Her whole hip was crushed, not just her leg. Amputation would not be enough. He had to put her down.


Before we left on our trip to Central America last September, I prepared myself for the suffering animals I knew I'd encounter. Mexico drove me to distraction so this time I was determined to pace myself. Yes, I know there is so much human suffering that needs addressing but I feel a call to help animals. It's just the way it is. So I fed a dog here and there but kept reminding myself that that I couldn't drop everything every time my heart broke. Then I met Angel. So a week or two later, election night to be exact, while the US was choosing Barrack Obama to be President of the United States, and sweet hope hung heavy in the air, a bunch of us gathered at a local hotel lounge to cheer and celebrate and I promised Donna that, after we returned home, I'd set up a blog for Casa Lupita to help spread the word, a tiny contribution, but something I could do from afar.

That was nearly two months ago but last week, after coming across Angel's photo one more time, I got down to it and hammered a beginning. I scrounged up a little content but am not quite ready to tell Donna yet but here's the link, if you want to check it out. If you have any suggestions before I email her this coming week, I'd love to hear them.

So here's the short of it: Casa Lupita Nica


Last two photos of dogs and cats on the street by Finnegan Dowling, Nicaragua Redux: The Sarna Dog Chronicels. Thanks, Finnegan.

Little mention

The squirrel that you kill in jest, dies in earnest.

~Henry David Thoreau

Eye on Plain

Sarah Palin, enemy of all that is wild and free, is hot to stay in the public eye as she desperately wants to the America's first female president in 2012. So fine. Here's an...


Eye on Palin


Join the fight to save the wolves.


Please note: In the spirit of full disclosure I feel that is is only right to make it clear that I CAN'T STAND THE BITCH.

Local news at noon, or there abouts

Yesterday I finished the first issue of the newsletter I volunteered to help with. Next month's publication shouldn't take as long although I do have a genius for complicating very simple tasks. In other news, I'm holding to my decision to downsize the Bird Park, or at least be more selective about who I roll the welcome mat out for. I tried but couldn't entirely cut off the magpies. That early morning guy kept showing up looking for peanuts so, yes, I toss a few out but I am not going back to the way is was, obsessively shelling and crushing large amounts of peanuts to keep the park flush most of the day. As you might recall, that led to magpies and crows snacking on the quail babies. I had to choose. The office re-organization, begun last New Year, is creeping along. I managed to hold the line in '08 so I didn't have to start over in '09. For me, holding the line is progress. And this year already I have managed to eliminate one desk and replace it with an only slightly dented but otherwise lovely secondhand white metal bookshelf ($15) with a much smaller footprint which absorbs the items formerly piled on the gone desk, thereby allowing me to shift the PO tub and shelves to the same wall, thus making the entrance to my office less like a tunnel, big victory, although the Invisible Theatre stage may swap places with the bookshelf later because the light is better there for photos and video but I don't have to do everything at once, do I? And this morning more small changes afoot. Without an additional purchase, although I have a couple in mind down the line, I believe I can move the synthesizer keyboard into my office without being bottoms up for days in a very messy revision that might not work anyway. Wish me luck. Looks like it will fit on top of the other desk that is currently earmarked for removal. I will have to use earphones when the keyboard is in my office but what the hell? Keyboards are portable. If I want to mix or record anything or play through the speakers, I can take it out to the front room. I love baby steps. One last thing. Yesterday, Kimberlee's post, Gringa in Santiago, motivated me to desperate measures as the little Spanish I acquired in Centroamerica, in language school and via the gentler kinder method, osmosis, has been melting like the ice caps. I've had fantasies of asking a stranger, maybe some lady shopping in the grocery store, if she would consider being my language buddy but, no matter how I ran the scenario in my head, it always ended with a very uncomfortable stranger backing away and me feeling like a creepy idiot. However, I have had one possible candidate in mind for a while, the manager of the G'ville Fish store where I bought the bookshelf last week (secondhand store, not secondhand fish). He's a nice guy, Spanish is his native language, and we already have that all-important nodding acquaintance so yesterday, after reading about Kimberlee's first day in Spanish class, I did it. I asked if he'd mind it if I practice my (mutilated) Spanish on him. He not only said yes but added that we could help each other as he is always interested in improving his English. He's already very proficient but I am delighted to reciprocate. Cool. There is always more to learn about a language. Myself, I'm still learning English.