lying is never good...especially if vulnerable animals are involved.
Carol · Aug. 17, 2011
wow...i slept like a log! didn't get up once! amazing! yay...good mood today!!
it took me a long time to learn in rescue, that this life and these lives are not pre-written, perfectly editted stories, neatly put together from beginning to end.
when i sit down to write a blog post..i write it in the moment that is happening and then....i pretty much forget. it is why i can post once or twice or three days a day. i share whatever is immediately in my head and 10 minutes later...hit publish. there are no carefully crafted masterpeices here...it is simply a rough (but true) diary of what happens or what i am thinking about each day. if i ever have time to read back from start to finish..i wonder what over all conclusions i will finally come to.
but...what scares me sometimes is...how many things that happened here each day that i actually forgot until i find it again somewhere written on this blog...(like...i used to really like puff daddy, once i was reminded,,i liked him again...he wasn't just a returning pain in the butt!)
a few days ago i was talking to laura, nicole and mo at various times...and i was feeling so utterly hopeless. lately there have been just so many sad, neglected and unhappy animals everywhere it seemed (why is it so hard for people to take proper care of their responsibilities)...and all trying to get in our gates. nicole told me yesterday that she has like 7 more beating on her now much abused admission email door. but since i am not hearing about them, i am feeling better...but probably nicole isn't!
anyway...today i am thinking that for once i feel well rested and except for one new possible dog (who nicole is going to check out)....all of the new ones are in and we are moving into the next couple of months of quiet time of letting everyone settle again.
it will be really nice when we can finally re-test and get all of the new cats settled and out of cages but that will be another month.
jesse is doing ok back in the house again...noelle is doing well in the office. dionne is taking her one on one first and last thing every day to help her with barn breakfast and bedtime plus she is getting a mid afternoon walk. and even that fuzzy monkey butt puff daddy is doing ok...living seperately but able to join the group during field runs.
ahh...the problem children all found working solutions to manage their issues in a respectful and compassionate way.
life may not be absolutely perfect but it is (right now) happily ok.
anyway...i want to say something (again) to those people who choose to include animals in their lives.
love is NOT just a warm and fuzzy feeling...it is NOT just about filling some abstract human need deep inside.
it is about...the animals comfortably living in clean homes, with clean beds and clean floors...it is about them getting good food, fresh water, exercise, physical and mental stimulation, healthy emotional connections and good medical care...every day of their lives. it is about SAFETY and STABILITY in their life and COMMITTMENT to their overall wellbeing for their ENTIRE lives.
love is a demonstated series of positive and appropriate actions and decisions focus'ed solely on ensuring they have a good, stable, predictable, happy and comfortable life.
i heard with my ears from many, many, many people..."i love him or her so much"....a thousand times in the past six years...but what my eyes saw were...no, they didn't...their actions were in direct conflict with those warm and fuzzy words.
it hurts these animals to live in a fantasy world constructed with blind, loving, human-centered lies.
Carol, as always you hit the nail on the head. I too hear "I love my dog / cat to death". A death might be truer than true.
I have a buddy whose dog is under the weather, vomiting - he's looking for answers as to reasons why. Is the dog exercising? I know the answer is NO. Did they switch his food recently - yes. Is there clean water? Don't know. What does his poop look like, is it normal? Doesn't have a clue - there's so much poop in the yard can't tell, maybe he's eating the other dog's poop. My brain is thinking "why do you have this dog, you claim to love so much?" How can you give the vet any information to assist with a diagnosis when you know nothing about the creature that lives with you day to day. Why don't you pick up the poop?
We have lots of humorous moments on the Saints blog about poop - and about the odd doggie or two nibbling on a piece of poop - but that's exactly what it is - a nibble. The poop is always cleaned up immediately. The poop is always checked to see if there's anything abnormal and if there is it's reported immediately to MO, KO, Dionne, yourself. Hell, YOU get up in the middle of the night to check Dixie's poop. Everyone is on the same page about exercise, food, clean water, bedding. We know what they are eating and if they ate. We know if they are exercising or not. We know if they pooped and what it looked like. We know if they are drinking water and how much or if it's too much. You juggle their exercise and play-dates to make sure everyone gets out and about and is mobile.
I continually say the same thing in your blogs - for many of these animals this is the best life they have ever had.
My friend says loves his dog to death - REALLY - show me the evidence.
At SAINTS there is evidence every second of the day that someone gives a shit about these animals and I believe in my heart that the animals know it.