What Are We Feeding Our Bodies AND Minds?

Hey Everyone -

With total mind/body/spirit living being our overriding theme here, I’ve been wanting to expand the blog a bit to include some cool stuff from the peak performance/artistic realm. This might include things like whole-brain thinking, increasing creativity, or anything that stimulates the muse or expands the mind.

To set the tone for what’s to come, I wanted to share another A Season in the Warrior Utopia excerpt that really brings under scrutiny one of the largely unchallenged perils of modern American living; Using our minds like a garbage can! Yes, we know there’s junk food for our bodies and we have a pretty good idea what overindulging can do. But what about “junk food” for our minds? Is there such a thing and, if so, what price do we pay for overindulging in that department?

Read on:

Excerpt from; A Season in the Warrior Utopia by Bobby Rock

Soul Food

Day 41 – 11:55 PM (Guest Quarters)

Sat in on a fascinating social studies lecture today at the university with Dr. Su Malitia Lee.  She made an interesting parallel between the junk food many modern societies take into their bodies and the junk food they take into their minds.  It was a logical premise, but I guess I never quite made the connection this way.  Here’s the overview:

Eating tons of empty calorie junk food weakens the body on two levels:  it’s devoid of the critical nutrients you need to thrive, and its toxic properties have a negative impact on many aspects of your physical well-being.  Likewise, taking in a bunch of “junk food” for your mind – like stupid-ass TV shows, mindless water cooler gossip, celebrity chatter and paparazzi nonsense, brain-melting video games, prolonged exposure to shitty music, annoying commercials and bad films, etc. – weakens your mind in similar ways.  It’s devoid of the critical stimulation that your brain requires to function anywhere near capacity, and its toxic properties have a negative impact on many aspects of your mental well-being.

This point could not have been driven home any harder than by spending a little time in a place like Zentauria.  I mean, think about it: we have 200 trillion connectors firing within the molecular network of our brain, and yet, we seldom bother to memorize the seven digits of a phone number.  We have access to a bottomless reservoir of top quality music, literature, poetry, movies, documentaries, and art, and yet we’re all at home watching “Extreme Makeovers.”  In fact, objectively speaking, some of what we see and hear in pop culture these days is so devoid of anything substantive, that if I were to challenge you to think of anything more brainless, I doubt you could do it.

Now, I’m not suggesting that we completely abandon all of our pop culture goodies, because there can certainly be value in the relaxation/diversion/escapism aspect of mindless entertainment.  [Even the Zentaurians have their version of this, although it’s explored far less often and is far more benign than our version.]

It’s analogous to occasionally enjoying one of the many vegan desserts out there, such as  soy ice cream, vegan chocolate mousse, or peanut butter cookies.  We would not, however, want to do it all the time or in place of real food that provides us with proper nourishment.  Likewise, we want to keep a handle on how often we fall into zombie mode in front of the tube, flipping through the 900-channel abyss of mind-softening schlock that is so rampant there.  It would be like a world-class athlete being relegated to only 15 minutes a day of minimal physical movement.  What’s going to happen to that finely-tuned body with all of that inactivity?  It will atrophy, just as our minds will.

There is real truth to the old cliché “use it or lose it.”  But this applies to both the mind and body.  And I must admit that I have been prone to my version of junk food distraction in both areas at times, especially when I’ve felt frustrated, directionless, or uncertain about things.  This kind of sensory escapism can be a welcomed friend, let me tell you.  But now that I’ve been free from it (largely because it simply isn’t available here!), I must admit that I’ve felt new levels of clarity and mental fitness.  There is more richness to my life.  I feel sharper, clearer.  And I feel as if much of what I’m taking in here is a sort of “soul food.” That is, things that truly feed the soul and strengthen the mind, instead of things that medicate you into a fucking couch potato stupor.

One other interesting parallel that Dr. Lee pointed out was the timeless Zentaurian principle of cultivation and how our junk food choices in one area of the mind/body realm can affect the other.  For example, as someone reaches for that bag of chips for a little binge action, they are cultivating a sense of excessive sensation or escapism through the physical body (via their sense of taste, smell, etc.)  This will often lead to a similar cultivation in the mind, as you sit down to watch some shitty television.  Notice how the two often tie in together?  Fun, mindless, food; fun, mindless TV (or similar distraction).  The overall theme is usually about escaping or medicating, and the cultivation of this theme in one area will often domino its way into another.

This is why many on the higher path are exceedingly careful about going down the “sensory overload” road on any level.  Because once you open the door in one area, you are cultivating an idea that could seek expression in other areas.  Interesting stuff.

How much of all this will I retain and/or practice when and if I return home?  I’m not sure.  A little mindless TV and a bowl of Purely Decadent Peanut Butter Zig Zag Soy Ice Cream still sounds enticing to me on a certain level.  So I don’t want to make a hard-nosed case against it.  But to what extent such indulgences will still hold value to me… I’m not sure.

© 2009 Bobby Rock

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Snap, Crackle and Not! A Small Serving of Justice…

The purpose of this entry is two-fold: 1) To expose the how and why of the inexcusable misinformation that’s become so prevalent in the world of health and wellness.  2) To show how standing up to these injustices can pay off from time to time.

A Serious Injustice

Our story begins with a recent marketing sham from our pals at Kellogg’s.  Direct from the “You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me” department, newer boxes of their Rice Krispies product line have the word “Immunity” emblazoned across the cover in a font size that rivals the actual product name.  It’s part of a tagline that says, “Now Helps Support Your Child’s Immunity.”  This is, of course, criminal in its implication, as these products are light years away from being able to offer any form of quantifiable immunity from anything.

So what’s their angle?  That by jacking up the amount of vitamins A, B, C and E from 10% to 25% of the recommended daily allowance, this cereal will bolster one’s immune system.  Which brings us back to MY tagline for the day:  “You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me.”

Friends…through all my years of study and research in health and nutrition, I’ve seen an awful lot of stretching, bending and distorting of facts when it comes to the marketing of many foods and supplements.  So much, in fact, that you would think I would be “immune” to the insanity by now.  I’m not.  In fact, when I see this stuff, I still get very frustrated sometimes.  And when I think about some well-meaning parent buying this shit for their kids because of what they read on the box, I get pissed.

So, as this Kellogg’s deal is sort of a classic case in point, allow me to illustrate exactly why and how this is such nonsense, in three easy strikes:

Strike One: With vitamin C being among the most promising of their “immunity builders” here, let’s do the quick math on the actual amount you would be getting.  Okay, the USRDA for vitamin C (which happens to be an embarrassingly low standard, by the way) is 60 mgs.  25% of that would only be 15 mgs.  Compare that to the 1000 mgs. minimum you should be getting everyday.  (I usually take in over 2000 mgs. per day, and that’s in consideration of all the other antioxidants I ingest.)  And if you feel a cold coming on and/or find yourself under a lot of physical or mental stress, you can head on up toward 3000 mgs. in many cases (spread out over the course of the day), so long as you’re not taking a bunch of other stuff.  So, if we’re talking about getting any reasonable amount of vitamin C to quantifiably affect your immune system, 15 mgs. isn’t shit.  (Such is also the case with the miniscule amounts that this cereal has of the other vitamins listed.)

Strike Two: These kinds of cereals are so heavily processed and devoid of anything substantive (including even a minimal amount of fiber), that all of these vitamins and minerals have to be “fortified” back into the product via a process where the cereal is sprayed with nutrients.  This means that the nutrients can actually “wash off” the cereal when wet.  So if you don’t drink the (hopefully soy or rice) milk, you won’t even get many of these nutrients, anyway.

Strike Three: For all that is NOT present in this cereal, let’s take a quick look at what actually is:

Cocoa Krispies ingredients: Rice, Sugar, Cocoa Processed with Alkali, Semisweet Chocolate (Sugar, Chocolate, Anhydrous Dextrose), Partially Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil (one or more of Coconut, Soybean and/or Cottonseed), Salt, Malt Flavoring, Calcium Carbonate, High Fructose Corn Syrup Artificial Flavor, Ascorbic Acid and Sodium Ascorbate (Vitamin C), Iron, Alpha Tocopherol Acetate (Vitamin E), Niacinamide, Zinc Oxide, Vitamin A Palmitate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Thiamin Hydrochloride (Vitamin B1), Folic Acid, BHT (preservative), Vitamin D, Vitamin B12, less Than 0.5g Trans Fat Per Serving

This ingredient list pretty much speaks for itself.  Just know that one serving (which they consider a paltry 1 oz., or 3/4 of a cup), contains about three teaspoons of sugar.  More realistically, triple that for a typical bowl of cereal and you’re looking at nine teaspoons of sugar, a gram of artery-clogging trans fat and a measly amount of synthetic nutrients…some percentage of which you might not even assimilate.  So even if you were to pound down a larger serving of this cereal in an effort to get more nutrients, you are getting commensurately more bad stuff in the process.  Meanwhile, I see nothing about this product on any level that shows promise of boosting immunity.

Which brings us to…

A Little Bit of Justice

While there have been a fair number of rumblings around the web (and elsewhere) about this lunacy, someone was able to successfully press Kellogg’s for some accountability.  San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera recently notified A.D. David Mackay, the president and CEO of Kellogg, that he had 30 days to offer specific evidence that Cocoa Krispies really does help support a kid’s immune system.  The result?  Kellogg’s announced today that they will pull this claim from the packaging, “given the public attention on H1N1.”  Whatever their official rationale for so quickly acquiescing, I don’t care.  I’m just thrilled about the outcome, and about the spotlight that has been directed toward this kind of deceitful marketing.

Back at you in a day or two,

BR

“Funeral For a Friend”

For all who still wonder how deep an animal’s consciousness, awareness or capacity for emotion may run, look no further than a recent National Geographic story that’s been making the rounds.  It’s about a chimp named Dorothy who had recently died in her late-40’s at the Sanaga-Yong Chimpanzee Rescue Center in Cameroon…and a very compelling photo that says it all.

Dorothy’s mom was killed when she was young, then she was “sold into slavery” to some fucked-up West African amusement park. She spent 25 years – yes, 25 years – with a chain around her neck, tethered to a post in the ground.  Ongoing activities included patrons teasing and provoking her, and watching as she was taught to entertain everyone by drinking beer and smoking cigarettes.

After ill-health starting catching up with her in 2000, she was eventually taken from this hell-hole and relocated to the rescue center.  Once she had a chance to recover, her true nature began to surface, which, by all accounts, was saintly.  She won over the alpha male of the group (named Jacky), became close friends with another amusement park survivor (named Nama), and even played momma to an orphaned chimp (named Bouboule).  She was loved and admired by both her fellow chimps and human caretakers.

So…when she died of heart failure last September, it was a dark day around there.  The management at the rescue decided to let all the chimps observe her burial, just so they could gain a sense of closure.  As expected, many of the chimps responded with displays of aggression and “barks” of frustration.  Unexpected, however, were the interludes of silence that hung in the air during the ceremony.  This is very uncharacteristic of chimps, and a poignant reminder to us of their capacity for not only understanding the finality of death, but also the burning grief of loss.

This picture was taken during the burial.

Dorothy’s extended family, watching the burial procedure.

Now, this is a group of chimps, in a safe, loving environment, watching in grief as their loved one is buried.  We all know that pain.  Grieving is a very natural and necessary part of the process of how we deal with death.  But with this image in mind, can you imagine what it must be like for animals in slaughterhouses, laboratories, or kill shelters to have to witness what they witness?

And…as a society, do we really want to continue to bullshit ourselves into thinking that they aren’t “getting” what’s going on?

They get it.

B

Keeping Your Companion Animals Safe For Halloween

Hey all –

Here are a few quick tips to ensure that your companion animals remain as safe and stress-free as possible for Halloween.

1. If you expect trick-or-treaters, consider keeping your companion animals in a different room during the busy hours.  All of the commotion (to say nothing of the bizarre costumes) can be stressful for many dogs and cats.

2. If they seem okay with the parade of visitors, keep a special eye out for the “darters.”  Some animals can get extra amped up with all the activity and might try to do some trick-or-treating of their own as they make a break for the open door!

3. I would not leave a dog or cat outdoors (even in the backyard) on Halloween night.  All kind of stupid, even tragic, shit has happened to companion animals through the years, as certain emotionally and socially retarded individuals have elected to involve animals in their various “tricks.”

4. Keep an eye out for all forms of candy and wrappers, especially chocolate.  All is off-limits for cats and dogs.

5. Watch out for lit pumpkins and other decorative candles.  Make sure your dog or cat can’t knock any of these things over or burn themselves on them.

6. Finally, I would resist the urge to dress your companion animal in one of these ridiculous fucking costumes.  If you insist on doing this – and you are 100% positive that they don’t mind – make sure that the ridiculous fucking costume is in no way inhibitive to their movement, irritating to their skin or fur, or restrictive to their vision in any way.  If a doggie (especially) can’t see what’s going on, they might be more inclined to bite or nip.

That’s about it.  Have a safe one, everybody….

BR

Juicing, Juice and Jive

I get a fair amount of inquiries about juicing, and the occasional inquiry and/or solicitation about any of a number of “mega elixir super juices” making the rounds these days.  I will offer a broad perspective on both, as I attempt to tie it all back to the theme of our last entry, entitled “Too Much of a Good Thing.”  Here goes:

Juicing

In general, I’ve always considered juicing somewhat of a good/better/best transitional activity.  In other words, if you start drinking juice as an alternative to sodas, that’s good.  If you make your own juice with a juicer, that’s better.  And if you focus on juicing vegetables like carrots, beets and greens (instead of all fruit), that’s best.  Hell, back in ‘91 when I first went veggie, I use to take my bad-ass Juiceman juicer on tour with me.  (For these last number of years, of course, it’s been all about the blender instead.)  However, I personally don’t recommend bothering with juicing as part of an ongoing practice, and here’s my rationale:

While I appreciate that there are a number of vital nutrients and plenty of live enzymes in freshly extracted juice, my main problem with it is that you’re separating one element (juice) from another (fiber) in food (fruits and vegetables) that is already perfect.  I’m sure that Mother Nature has Her reasons why we are to consume these foods whole.  One obvious one is that as you drink the juice – especially in the case of fruit – all of the concentrated sugars hit your blood stream without the natural buffer that the fiber provides, and this can cause some blood sugar spikes, along the lines of refined sugar.

Another reason is that there are a number of valuable phytonutrients in fruits and veggies that are discarded with all the fiber (pulp) in the juicing process.  So, for example, while you might be getting a surplus of certain nutrients by juicing three or four oranges, your trash can or compost bin is getting quite a few nutrients, as well. Therefore, you are missing out on whatever synergistic benefits there might have been from ingesting all of the 4000-plus phytonutrients inherent to fruits or veggies had you consumed them whole.

For these reasons and more, I would strongly suggest that you eat your fruits and veggies, in addition to enjoying them – in whole form – in a number of different smoothie options where you’re using a blender.  (And I’m speaking mainly about fruit here, although small servings of veggies can work with certain smoothie recipes, as well.)

Now, having said all this, if you already own a juicer and are in somewhat of a groove of making your own juice, you could do worse, believe me.  I would rather you did that than buy the store-bought varieties.  And again, the main advantage of juicing your own is that you get the benefit of live enzymes.  Anything bought in the store will, of course, be totally devoid of these enzymes due to, among other things, the oxidation issue.  My advice would be to lean toward veggie juices, with special focus on greens.  Eventually, I would like to see you transition exclusively over to smoothie world, where you can enjoy the whole fruit and/or veggie in a blender.

Juice

The only instance where I personally recommend juice is in small amounts, as a sweetening agent for certain smoothie recipes.  That’s it.  Otherwise, it’s just a whole lotta fructose and, as discussed, an incomplete profile of nutrients, compared to its original “whole” form.  At least in the context of four to eight ounces of juice in a large smoothie, you are ingesting it in a high-fiber drink with plenty of whole fruit (and potentially other high-fiber ingredients), so this mitigates the blood sugar issue to some degree.

What about orange juice for breakfast?  Hey, if that’s a vertical move for you, do it for now.  Otherwise, I would rather see you eat a couple oranges instead.

Jive (and the era of the “Life-Altering Super Juice Elixirs”)

To my regular readers here…you know by now that I’m generally reluctant to bash fellow colleagues or related products of the health industry.  At the same time, I said early on that this blog would be the place for me to “go after” those people or products who I felt were blatantly perpetuating falsehoods.  So with that in mind…

Over these past few years, we’ve seen a disturbing trend of multi-level marketing companies hawking overpriced juice made from exotic fruits like acai, noni, goji, and mangosteen.   And while I’m reluctant to lump every company and type of “exotic” juice, across-the-board, into the exact same pool here, the general M.O. is pretty universal.

First, the claims are typically over-the-top, crediting the 2 to 4 oz. servings of these various elixirs for curing and/or radically curtailing disease, depression, autism…you name it.  These claims are usually spouted off in the context of some sales fervor relating to the “unprecedented monetary opportunities” to be had by pestering your friends and colleagues to buy this overpriced juice in expensive packaging that often looks like wine bottles.  (Ever think about who’s paying for this packaging?  At $40 a bottle, I think we know who’s payin’ for it…)

Most of these claims are, of course, largely unsubstantiated by any real, non-biased science.  Why?  Because IT’S FUCKING JUICE, PEOPLE!  Beyond that, this is where we tie into our last entry about too much a good thing.  Let’s SUPPOSE for a moment that one of these products really did have, let’s say, 10 times the amount of antioxidants found in a serving of blueberries.  Would your body really be able to assimilate that much?  I mean, blueberries have a shitload of antioxidants in them as it is.  Do we really need 10 times (or whatever) that amount, and what might be the potential consequence of getting too high a dosage of antioxidants?

It’s the typical snake oil salesman mentality that we alluded to last entry: If protein builds muscle, let’s offer a product with double the usual amount to imply double the results.  Or in this case, if antioxidants boost your immune system, let’s offer a product with double the usual amount to imply double the results.  It’s bullshit…and yes, it irritates me that so many would soil our industry with these shams, because it tends to sour folks on the whole idea of true superfoods and quality supplements, which actually do exist.

Okay…rant over.  Here are a few concluding points:

1. I’m not saying all juice is categorically without merit.  Anytime you’re dealing with concentrated amounts of plant compounds, there can be a number of benefits.  However, all things considered – including the bang-for-your-buck part of the equation – I believe these benefits can be experienced through more efficient “delivery systems,” such as a wide array of multicolored fruits and veggies, a few key, top quality supps and, of course, your daily superfoods smoothie prepared a certain way.

2. Wheatgrass juice is a whole other ballgame and should never be lumped in with these other exotic fruit juices.  As discussed around here before, it’s a legitimate, highly concentrated “delivery system” of all that is great about super green foods.  Plus, the bang-for-your-buck value is excellent…especially if you learn how to juice it yourself.

3. For more info, and another credible perspective on this whole juice thing, check out Dr. John McDougall’s take on it here:

http://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2007nl/dec/juice.htm

Catch you in a couple,

BR

Too Much of a Good Thing?

One of the unfortunate aspects of the affluent society is that most of us have been conditioned to believe that if one of something is good, then two of it must be better.  We alluded to this syndrome in our last entry as it relates to our material/financial world.

We also, however, see an extension of this mentality in the world of nutrition, propagated by various experts and supplement manufacturers.  The implication generally goes something like this: if protein helps you build muscle, then simply jack up your daily protein intake and you will gain even more muscle.  Or, if calcium helps build and maintain strong bones, then pop a few calcium tabs everyday and your bones will be even stronger.  And while this wishful philosophy might help sell more supplements, or books that advocate high-protein diets, the body simply doesn’t work that way, and here’s why:

Your body knows the exact amount of a given nutrient it needs for optimum health.  If you consistently fall short of that amount, it can obviously be a problem because your body can become deficient in that nutrient and all kinds of other imbalances can occur.  At the same time, if you consistently exceed the particular amount of a nutrient that your body needs, that can be a problem, as well.  At the very least, the excess calories (as they apply to macronutrients like protein, carbs or fat) can be stored as fat.  Or, at worst, the excess can create overly acidic conditions in the blood, even more saturated fat and cholesterol in the bloodstream (which is the case with animal products), or any number of whacked out vitamin or mineral imbalances (if you load up on some random nutrient that exceeds what your body can comfortably assimilate).

To illustrate the futility of this “more is better” concept, consider this example.  We all know that unrefined, high-fiber carbohydrates are the body’s preferred fuel of choice.  So let’s say that you’ve fallen into an effective eating regimen where you are experiencing even-keeled levels of energy throughout the day.  You’ve stumbled upon that magic range of total carbs where your body seems to function best and you feel good and have plenty of energy.  Now, let’s say that you start going out of your way to increase your carb count by 100 grams per day.  Will you have more energy?  No.  Will you feel better?  No.  Instead, you will likely start storing those extra carbs as fat (because your body simply has no use for them), and you will probably have less energy as your body exerts more effort trying to digest this overage.  And again, this will apply to virtually any nutrient where we’re getting an overabundance.

One of the main reasons for this entry is to set up a follow-up blog that I’ll be doing in a day or two about juices, juicing and the complex world of antioxidants.  But in the meantime, ask yourself if you might be getting too much of a good thing in your daily regimen these days.  Are you pounding multiple  protein shakes every day, in addition to other plentiful protein sources in your food?  Are you forcing yourself to drink massive amounts of water, even when you don’t want it?  Are you taking large, isolated amounts of some miscellaneous vitamin or mineral, just because you heard that it did this or that for you?

Obviously, I’m not saying that protein shakes or isolated supps are a bad thing across the board.  I’m just pointing out that it’s possible to take in too much of certain nutrients if we’re not careful.

More in a day or so…

BR

The Reverend

Had to chance to catch a lecture by my friend, Rev. Heng Sure, at the Healthy Lifestyle Expo here in LA last weekend.  Reverend Sure is one of the first Buddhist monks born and ordained in the United States, and is now Senior monk of the City of 10,000 Buddhas and the director of the Berkeley Buddhist Monastery.  This guy is the real deal, and it’s always a pleasure to hear him speak.

Rip Esselstyn (featured here in a 9-20-09 entry), me, and Rev. Sure

Rev. Sure’s lecture was entitled, “Use It Up! Wear It Out! Make It Do! Or Do Without! The Joys and Lessons of Simplicity.”  It was an excellent overview about over-consumerism and our fundamental attachment, as a society, to a materialistic lifestyle that is clearly unsustainable.  This is a timely topic, and I believe there will continue to be more and more books and lectures about simplifying our lifestyles and redefining what truly brings us joy.  In fact, the reverend posted a helpful list of resources on his blog about this subject.  (See list of links below.)

If you get a chance to catch a talk by Rev. Sure, don’t miss it. I really dig his use of different mediums – namely multimedia, music, and humor – and the warmth and ease with which he delivers his message.  He talks about issues that are profoundly serious, but conveys solutions in ways that are easily-digestible by most anyone.

He’s also a singer/songwriter/guitarist who performs “American Buddhist Folk Music.”  Very interesting and authentic stuff.

News From True Cultivators

Also recommended; a great read called News From True Cultivators, which the reverend co-authored.

Back in the 70’s, a very young Heng Sure decided to put his proverbial money where his mouth was and make an unprecedented statement for world peace. Starting off from Los Angeles, Heng Sure embarked on a pilgrimage where he would take three complete steps forward, then go into a full bow; a nose-to-the-ground kneeling prostration. He would then stand up and repeat. Three steps, full bow. Three steps, full bow. He did this for two-and-a-half years, covering a total of 800 miles up the west coast along the winding Highway 101!  He also maintained his vow of silence the entire time (which was part of a six-year vow). Accompanied by a fellow monk named Heng Ch’au who looked after things along the way, the two slept in their car at night, ate wild greens and food that had been donated, and wrote letters to their teacher (Master Hsuan Hua) in the Bay Area, describing the good, bad and ugly that they encountered along the way. This book is a collection of those writings.  Awesome stuff.

Scope it here: http://www.amazon.com/News-True-Cultivators-Letters-Venerable/dp/0881394254

Rev. Sure’s blog: http://paramita.typepad.com (Look for the 10-18-09 entry for above-mentioned resources.) And be sure to subscribe.

Rev Sure’s music: http://www.dharmaradio.org/paramita/index.htm

Peace,

BR

PS. FYI – For those of you who have been checking out excerpts from my upcoming release, A Season in the Warrior Utopia, you might want to scope out the following two excerpts, as they offer deeper insight into our need to live more in consideration of the “macro” as we make more conscious choices.

Dr. Zeus and the Global Reckoning: http://www.bobbyrock.com/day31

Dr. Zeus and the Enviroconomy of Life on Planet Earth: http://www.bobbyrock.com/day48

Mila the Miracle Kitty

Okay gang, just to put a cap on this whole Lucky 13 thing this week, here’s the lowdown on the lone cat in the equation.

A couple entries ago, I talked about Mila the Miracle Kitty.  It was five minutes to 5:00 PM at the end of our first day of dog selection, and my fellow rescuers and I were standing at the main counter of the shelter, which was just about to close.  All of sudden, two women and a young girl came walking in with a shoebox.  The Militant (of course) asked if there was an animal in there.  They said yes, then popped off the top to reveal one of the sickest cats I’ve ever seen.  In fact, the kitty looked dead.

Mila, upon arrival at the shelter in her shoebox…

They explained that this kitten had pulled herself out from underneath their house where she had apparently been stuck.  No momma or siblings to be found anywhere.  (We estimated later that Mila would’ve been trapped there without food or water and without her momma or siblings for three to seven days.)  So they basically scooped her up, rinsed the blood off of her, then rushed her to the shelter.

Of course, shelters aren’t really set up to deal with this kind of thing, and we quickly figured out that Mila would’ve likely died there before they would’ve had a chance to euthanize her.  She was starving, dehydrated, anemic from all the fleas that were on her (we would eventually count over 60!), and had either a cold and/or some kind of upper-respiratory condition.

So…the Militant – who already has 13 cats at home; all rescues, more than half fosters – “intercepted” her and was quickly en route to a fellow rescuer/kitty expert’s home for special food, meds and consultation.  The lady told the Militant that in 20 years of dealing with bottle babies and kittens, she had never seen a kitty so close to death who actually survived.  (Then again, we are talking about the Militant here…someone with a very special gift and a very magical home when it comes to healing animals!)

And so the process began.  After a quick bath and some flea meds, we got Mila set up with a heating pad and blanket since her body was so cold, and we had to constantly massage her to keep the blood flowing.  We also had to syringe feed her a special concoction every 30 minutes, even though she had zero interest in food.  In fact, we quickly saw her fiery spirit and defiant nature as she rebelled against every drop we tried to feed her (as you’ll see in the video).  But, her survival depended largely on getting nutrients in her body, so we had to do what we had to do…which also included the Militant pulling out that needle and getting some subcutaneous fluids in her.

For the first few hours, we really didn’t know if she was going to make it.  Every time we went to check on her, we had to look really close to see if she was still breathing, before lifting her up for another “force-feeding.” Sure enough, she slowly began to get her strength back.

The next morning, the Militant brought her to the vet, where she got another bath and more of her matted fur untangled.  She also tested negative for all the usual stuff.  And by the time we hit the 24-hour mark later in the day, she was like another kitty.

Scope out this vid for an overview on the order of events:

I’ve talked about synchronicity a lot this past week, and there could be no greater example of it than this little kitty being carried right to us five minutes before the shelter closed.  So many things had to happen, at the precise time that they happened, to facilitate such an encounter.  And while we’ll likely never know what happened to the rest of Mila’s family, we do know – without a shred of doubt – that she wanted to live…that she somehow willed herself out from underneath that house and in front of these people.  She was somehow meant to survive this, and I have no doubt now that, as we get ready for the adoption process here in a few weeks, she will wind up in a very special forever home that she was clearly destined for…

The synchronicity continues.

BR

The Lucky 13: Uplifting Update!

In our last entry, I talked about the plight of 13 dogs from an LA shelter who were ALL due to be euthanized any day.  Through an arduous process, a couple close friends and I pulled these dogs out of there, and set up a secret “underground railroad” to get them all into great homes.  (Please read the last entry for the backstory.)

So today, I’m happy to report…mission accomplished!  On Tuesday, Parker and I collected all of the babies from either the shelter or the vet (for those who hadn’t been spayed or neutered yet), while the Militant looked after the admin.  Then yesterday, the Militant and I packed all 13 dogs into a Prius and drove them directly to their new adoption/fostering location.  In fact, we literally pulled right up to an “emergency adoption” that our rescuer partner had set up, and adoption and fostering opportunities started poppin’ right away!

But before I share a few more details, I want you to meet the Lucky 13 personally.  Bear in mind as you watch this short video, that these are 13 lives here…13 beautiful spirits, each with their own little personas, preferences, personalities and, most importantly, their own right to live peacefully on this planet, just like the rest of us. And to think that most or all of THESE actual critters might have been killed this week?  Unbearable.

The Bliss of Ignorance

If ignorance is bliss, then the typical animal shelter must be one of the happiest places on earth.  I know this might sound a little harsh to say, but to any rescuer or hardcore animal advocate who has ever spent any amount of time at the local animal shelter, you know there is no other way to characterize so much of what you witness there.

At first, you get pissed…frustrated…depressed.  You want to walk up to these people and bitch-slap a little sense into them.  But then – at least for me – you realize that most of these folks who are surrendering their own animals, or bringing in a stray, abandoned or injured animal (without responsible follow-up monitoring),  either don’t know about the potential consequences to the animal, and/or are operating from a completely different mindset about companion animals and their role in our world.  You realize that the shelter environment, and all of the incredible displays of ignorance and irresponsibility, is merely a symptom of a deeper problem.  And the problem is essentially lack of education.

Case in point: Just as the three of us walked into the shelter to select what would be the Lucky 13, we noticed a family there returning a small lab/basset hound mix named Dukey.  When the Militant inquired why they were returning him (as she can’t seem to stop herself from doing!), we learned that Dukey had bitten their 12-year old boy and was not a “good match” for the family.  We also learned that they had just adopted Dukey from this very shelter the week before, and they had now come back to “exchange” him for a different “model”…as if he were a fucking DVD player.

Upon further inquiry, we learned that it was really more of a nip than a bite (there was no broken skin) and that Dukey had pissed on the floor a time or two (which may have been the real reason for the hasty return).  But instead of finding out why he had nipped at the kid, or why he had pissed on the floor when he otherwise appeared to be housebroken, they were just going to bring him back and tell the shelter folks that Dukey bit their child…which (unbeknownst to this family) typically gets a dog “priority placement” on the red list to be euthanized.  Hence my remark about how ignorance is bliss.

Long story short; we ended up taking Dukey as our first of 13. Parker and the Militant educated the dad about a lot that he didn’t know and, to his credit, he waived his shelter credit so we could take him directly, and he even asked Parker to help him in selecting a most suitable dog for their family.  (Actually, she first had to instruct them on how to be a more suitable family for a dog!)

The real punchline here is twofold:  First, Dukey turned out to be an absolute sweetheart who showed zero aggression toward any dog, cat or human.  He did, however, appear to have some kind of issue with his hindquarters and was uncomfortable with being picked up a certain way…which is why he probably nipped at the kid who was undoubtedly too rough with him.  Second, in yet another instance of synchronicity, Dukey was the first to get adopted yesterday.  Just after we pulled up and started getting all the dogs settled in, a nice man who owns a bed-and-breakfast (and who was already a highly-qualified adopter to the rescuer) went apeshit over Dukey and started signing papers to become his guardian immediately!  Now, our boy Dukey is going to be living large, sprawled out in front of a fireplace at a beautiful b&b – and the object of every guest’s affections – instead of taking a fucking lights-out needle in his forearm at the shelter.  Just think of all the lives he’s going to touch for years to come…and all of those who will touch his.

And so it shall be for all the Lucky 13.  And I’m going to try and savor that thought tonight for as long as I can…even as there are still so many, many more in need.

More later, friends –

BR

The Lucky 13: A Second Chance For a Worthy Crew

The LA shelters are overflowing with dogs right now, and this is not good news.  Why?  Because the only way to make room for more is to start killing some of the present residence who have either been around the longest (which in this case could be 10 days or more), are a notoriously “aggressive” breed like pit bulls (don’t get me started), or have certain health challenges that would make them more “high maintenance” or less desirable for adoption.  This is not a slag against the well-intentioned folks at our area shelters. It’s just a catastrophic reality of how pitifully we have failed as a society when it comes to taking care of our companion animals.

Anyway -  a good friend and renowned LA rescuer posed an idea to me last week.  Since most of our LA-area rescue groups are slammed to the max with dogs they are already trying to find homes for, why not go in and pull around eight of the “red-listed” (due to be euthanized any day) dogs and arrange to network them into homes ourselves, via a special “underground railroad” idea she had?  This could mean a second chance at a new home for these critters.  And so began our process this week of selecting the eight we were going to save…which, of course, turned into a “mandatory” 13 somewhere along the way.

The selection process was a motherfucker, to be honest.  How do you choose who will live and who will be left behind to possibly die?  We cannot save them all.  No way.  So how do you choose?

In this case, as we’re working with another rescuer who will be ultimately be responsible for the actual placement, we needed to adhere to somewhat of a criteria for the kind of dogs that she felt like she could place.  Fortunately, this criteria was fairly loose and didn’t have to mean perfect little doggies who looked like they just stepped out of a “Best of Show” competition.  And while we had to consider age to some degree (since most adopters aren’t looking for an older dog who only has a few years left), we were able to pull a few older scrappers who would otherwise have been put down very soon, possibly within the week.

Parker with Zack – a gentle,  8-year-old Dalmatian mix who
was ready to get the fuck out of the shelter.

Plus, we had to think about logistics.  We would be driving everyone to their “secret” fostering destination in a Prius, so there would be limited room.  Simply put, we could fit more small-to-medium sized dogs in the car than bigger breeds.

Now, about the selection process: in addition to my rescuer friend – who I’ll call “The Militant” for reasons I’ll explain in a second – we brought in our pal Parker to assist, who is a canine behavioral specialist (among other things) and spends a lot of time around all different kinds of dogs.  She would be invaluable in assessing any special needs that we might need to address concerning certain dogs that we might pull.  So, since the Militant was way too sensitive to go back with us to select the dogs (she stayed in the lobby doing the paperwork and gently quizzing certain people like a “militant” as to why their dumb asses were returning their animals – more on this later), it was up to Parker and I to make the selections.

So again, how do you do choose without wanting to put a pistol in your mouth during this agonizing process?  For us, I think, it got down to three things:

1. We had to leave our emotions at the front door and not get caught up in the potential fate of those whom we couldn’t bring.

2. We had to stay vitally connected to our deepest intuitive sense and try to “read” who was most destined to get the hell out of there via our underground railroad.

3. We had to understand that – just as there are those who are destined to be rescued, there are those who are destined to die there.

This third point was a very profound one that Parker and I discussed.  For some of these souls, it’s apparently part of their journey to die in this place, sad as it may be to us.  But to them, perhaps, it’s a release from this world.  They’re done.  They’ve graduated from this plane. They’re ready to move on.  (And yes, just like us humans, I’m convinced their journey does NOT end at the termination of this particular life.)  So, in a bizarre way, those we did not choose were just as important to the process as those who we did choose.

I feel like we got it right.  I feel like every dog selected was part of a bigger picture gameplan…a synchronicity, if you will.  Each of these doggies will wind up in a loving home where they will have a chance to live out this life for however long they’re supposed to live.  And they will enrich the lives of many other beings (human and animal) and, in return, their lives will be enriched.

And as for those who will die this week, their lives will not have been in vain.  Because their deaths will all be part of the millions of dogs (and cats) who have to die at a shelter before we all wake the fuck up and start seeing and doing things differently.  Their deaths will all be part of a critical mass number that must be reached – sad as it is to compile – that will eventually represent a sort of tipping point in human consciousness where a great shift will occur.  We all hold a space in our minds and hearts for this day to arrive…soon!

To be clear, I am in no way suggesting that every animal who dies in a shelter and becomes part of this critical mass number wants to die.  Not by a long-shot.  I have images of several dogs from the shelter in my head right now who are so full of life, who I’m thinking want desperately to live, and who would be a fantastic addition to most any worthy family.  Instead, many will die there, and for these souls, I will grieve at some point soon.  In fact, I’m sure I’ll cry like a little pussy.  But for now, I’ve gotta swallow it and get on with the business of taking the Lucky 13 out of there and off to their next adventure.

I will keep you guys updated on our journey.  But for now, the Lucky 13 are:

Alma, Dakota, Redondo, Jarhead, Pearla, Zack, Chata, Luigi, Dukey, Easton, Jasper, Sailor and Tammy.

Also, this is a whole other story, but I wanted to mention that things are looking good for Mila, our miracle kitty, who we “intercepted” from the shelter last Sunday at the end of our first selection day.  I’ll do a separate post about her, since her story is so over-the-top incredible and uplifting.  (Talk about synchronicity!)  But for now, check out these before-and-afters:

Mila, brought to the shelter in a shoe box, almost dead…

Mila – about 24 hours later – after a trip to the vet, some syringe feeding,
fluids, meds and some serious TLC!  It looks like she’s gonna make it…

More soon, gang -
BR