The Story of Rose - One of Us now

Connections are important to people.

We are a social primate and connections are important to us.  Actually, oftentimes they are the difference between Life and Death.

(Oh I say, things have taken an uncharacteristically dramatic & serious tone for a change) 

So, when another Sentient Being enters my little World, I believe He/She/It has come to me for a reason.

In truth, it isn't (can't) always be positive so let's not get overly gushy or all Rainbow & Fairies about this.

Incidentally, if it isn't a positive experience I learn what I need to & ditch it (or keep it at arm's length) - I will learn from it but I ain't letting it mess with my mojo.

This is a system that includes inter-species connections.  When One gets 'in', I commit to it.

Except Flies, still gonna punch a fly if it sits on me more than twice.

You get 2 sits, Fly, then *POW*!

Flies notwithstanding, this is why I simply do not understand when people get pets and yet, clearly never really commit to them.

...... It gets worse.

How do you walk away from an living being, that has been in your house, has sat with you, trusted you enough to snuggle up to you?

I mean, essentially fly-tipping something with a beating heart, that feels hunger, pain, fear ...... and love.

Gotta tell you, I think there is a special place in H-E- (double hockey-sticks) for those people.

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We were not recruiting.
HR (& the not so 'H' part of the Team) were happy with the status quo.  The balance of faces, feet, tails were at a happy equilibrium.

And then, I had to go and respond to a request for help on the Bin Kitty Collective FB page, didn't I?

Just for a few days I assured Trousers.  Promise.

The thing has been just dumped.

We have a spare room.

We have to help.

It'll be fine.

4 weeks later, She is still here.

There was strong, and understandable, resistance from the Largest Member of the Household.
Someone had to, just for show at least, be the Sensible Measured One.

But, the truth is, there were forces at work here bigger than all of us.

Firstly, it is clear, She chose Us.  

The connection she made with the Smallest Biped of the House was astonishing.  

He came with me, when we went to rescue Her, & all the way home had His hand on Her carrier chatting away, giving Her the heads up on other creatures of the House She was going to meet.

What they liked. "Ollie likes to shout"
What they did.  "Bea likes to sleep"
"Don't worry, you have a family now."

"Errrrrrrr, sweetheart, She isn't staying. We will find Her her own family, ok?"

"Yup" (He knew, even then, didn't He?)

  Secondly, the rest of the Crew gave Her the thumbs-up too.

CREW MEMBER #1
The 70kg Dog after 2 days of
"Want to look. Want to look. 

*shaking with effort of restraint* 

REALLY want to look. Mustn't chase. 

*OUCH!* 

She hit me! Didn't anyone else see Her just hit me?!?!"

CREW MEMBER #2

The stripy Sighthound.
Supposedly with an un-override-able genetic disposition to Seek, Chase & Destroy all that is small and furry (but who has lived for past 10 years with 3 cats and a parrot) ..... was:


"And who is this?"

*OUCH!* 

"She hit me!
Meh.  Over it"

CREW MEMBER #3

Incy-wincy cat.
Looks like a Pixie.

Super-relaxed. Snuggles in the winter, sunbathes in the Summer - that's his thing.
Unleashes the 7 Levels of HELL and turns to a Teeny-Weeny Hell Creature of Fury and Violence when another cat comes in the garden.

"OK, so here's my plan:
1) I will glare at her 24/7 through the window for 7 days. Yup, sideways ears, small, serious eyes, the whole thing.
2) then, I will make scary sounds at her for the 1st 30 minutes of when we actually meet.

and then, 

3) I shall go and sunbathe."

And here is the Most Important Bit of All: 
* In our house, we talk alot about how families are made with a special kind of magic.

* That there are lots of different ways that Families are made.  And all Families are different.

* But all made with the same magic.

We believe, heck, we are PROOF, that those that are meant to be a Family, will always find each other.

So, here She is.
She is one of Us now.

UnReasonable Woman - dolphins & puppies

Don't be fooled.

I am not the mild-mannered easy-going tree-hugging Tree-Hugger you might have thought I was.

There are a few, just a few, things that will transform me into  .......

Angry & Unreasonable Woman.

(imagine The Hulk, with cankles & better hair)

"What are they?", I hear you cry, in unison.  "We need to know".

How lovely of you to ask.

Dolphins

Swimming with dolphins.
Dolphinariums.
Dolphins in captivity.

All of them.

Some have been born there, some need to be there as they are unable to be released but the VAST majority are WILD-CAUGHT, people.

AND most are kept in woefully inappropriate conditions for their astonishing mental abilities & requirements.

Don't kid yourself, numbnuts, a glitzy swimming pool is NOT what makes a dolphin smile.

Dolphins in Captivity - BornFree Foundation (please, at least, read pages 3 & 4 of this)

Swimming with Dolphins - BornFree Foundation

The very thing that makes us so drawn to them is the very reason as to why we shouldn't treat them in this way.

It is true many wild animals are kept in captivity - also in desperately inadequate, torturous conditions.  None of it is ok.
(sadly, in a professional capacity we have seen more kept poorly than well)


Facilities that keep wild animals in captivity (well, facilities of professional, moral note anyway) make Enclosure Design, Enrichment Programmes & the animals' living arrangements a priority to best to mimic natural living.


ie Cheetah Conservation Fund (the Founder of whom I recently had the privilege of meeting in person recently, does this is the most staggeringly proactive, effective way)

Pet Shops & Online Mail Ordering of Puppies

I'll keep this brief as I've worn myself out with the aggravation over the dolphins.

Two words.

Puppy. Farm.

Have google & decide whether that is something you want to get behind, 'cos that is what you are doing if you get a pup from either of those places.

In fact, I'll make it easy for you   Type 'puppy farm' into Google - this is what you get

NO decent breeder would sell any of their pups to an unknown fate.  They won't do it in the same country so, think about it. 
Packaging their 'product' off overseas?? Oh, for crying out loud.


What do YOU think their motivation is?
..................

...........................................

Annnnnnnnnnnd .......... breathe..............


I do want to end on a positive note so,

if you want to get a pup, here are some useful things to read:

http://bepuppyfarmaware.webs.com/gettingapuppy.htm

http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/puppy_mills/tips/buying_puppy.html

http://www.rspca.org.uk/getinvolved/campaigns/companion/getpuppysmart


(a small apology for the vehemence of this post but, my colleagues & myself see, first hand, alllllll toooooo often, the fall-out from the above 'industries' - sometimes, the steam has to find its way out.  Somehow)

Write about your passion, they say.

(Well, in that case, this should be an easy post to write.)

OUR STARTING POSITION

It is possible that We are not entirely unbiased on this subject but, Rescue dogs (but, y'know, the species is really irrelevant) have been in my life since, well, Day 1.

Literally, since Day 1 of Me.

The Trousers has dedicated his life to animals too.  Fixing them.  Learning about them & helping them.  Whatever animal, seriously, WHATEVER animal he will want to try to help.  If it needs fixing, he will try to fix it.

Well, that's what vets do, right? So, no surprise there.

Together, we use our respective skills to try to help.

We have done our respective 'things' in a variety of countries, HongKong, UK & now, Dubai.

Even The Kid 'gets' it already, I'm proud to say.
When one of our (rescue, obviously) dogs passed away recently, He said,
"We need to find another dog that doesn't have a home & he can come be in our family"
*SNIFF* (that's ma boy.  He was 5.)

Animal Cruelty is everywhere

Let me be clear, cruelty to animals happens EVERYWHERE.  It is important we remember this.

HOWEVER, it is undeniable that there is still a disparity in legislation or priority given to repercussions when cases are brought to the attention of the relevant authorities, depending on the country.

This could be due to:
EITHER
a) the value or considered role of animals in a given society or culture
OR
b) the country's national economic situation & the strain its people are under.  Feeding One's children  or saving Oneself from the risk of rabies, for example, are not unreasonable priorities.

*enters, stage left, with Soapbox*

That said, on a level playing field, I'm going to go out of a limb (a fairly wide limb, that I can fit my soapbox on to) here and say:

1) It is NOT ok to hurt things for amusement
2) We (as a species) need to TEACH OUR CHILDREN that hurting things for amusement is NOT friggin' OK
3) Other sentient beings (doesn't matter how many legs, doesn't matter if furred, feathered, scaled, whatever) deserve RESPECT. You don't have to love them.  Just respect them.
4) Pets will teach your children valuable LESSONS in responsibility, compassion, care, &, when the time comes, death.  But if you are irresponsible about it, you will teach your kids some fairly worrying things too

'If you See Something, DO Something'

Recently, there have been a number of very upsetting reports of animal cruelty here in Dubai. 
There IS a Law.
It is a really good, comprehensive, thorough law but, the seeming lack of interest in enforcing the Law frustrates many.

Things will  improve & many here will, hopefully, see the campaign "If you See Something, DO Something' over the next few weeks.

By the way, this seems a fairly reasonable mantra to have, wherever you are.  Whatever the species.

No?