“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

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

Rescue Ink

There’s a new TV show I think you guys might dig (if you’re not already tuning in).  It’s called “Rescue Ink Unleashed,” and it’s about a group of tattooed, biker-type tough guys who cruise around and save animals.  They’re kind of like comic book heroes (and I mean that in a complimentary way, of course.)  Rescue Ink has been functioning as a rescue group in the NY area for awhile now, but this reality-style show about them just came out on the National Geographic channel.

The main thing I dig about the show is that, to some degree, it offers a glimpse into what I consider the new paradigm of the modern warrior; a refreshing combination of those traditional “Yang,” protector, justice-seeking, get-in-someone’s-face-if-necessary attributes that we typically associate with the warrior archetype, combined with the more nurturing “Yin” elements of compassion, empathy and kindness.  It speaks to a whole new demographic out there who likely thinks you have to be a “pencilneck animal rights activist” to concern yourself with such matters.  Again, progress…

Naturally, I’ve heard a few ripples through the hardcore animal right’s community about, “Hey, if these guys are so intolerant of animal suffering, why aren’t they all vegan?”  And while I don’t know the individual veggie/vegan status of all the guys, my response is, ya know what, everybody gets where they’re going to get, when and how they get there. In other words, we all have to take our journey in a way that makes sense for us.  In the meantime, I appreciate what they do and how they do it.

Check it out here: http://www.rescueink.org

BR

A Tragic Day for the Mindful Activist

Friends, this is one of those stories that I wish I didn’t have to repeat.  But, to make the larger point, I will.

There is an animal shelter in a small city here on the west coast that has been taking horrible care of their dogs and cats.  It’s essentially one large room, run like an overpopulated, overwhelmed ma and pa operation, somewhere in the midst of the town’s “city hall.”  There are virtually no beds or meds available for the animals, and some even die a slow death of starvation, because they are too sick to eat.  This is the kind of place your darkest nightmares are made of.

I understand there are several reasons why things are run so poorly there but, for now, the bottom line is that this shelter is a lost cause. So, a proactive LA rescuer recently posted a message online to her fellow rescuers about the place, telling them of the conditions and encouraging help in the form of donations for temporary boarding and medical care, fostering opportunities or even final placement for any of the animals.  All good, right?

Unfortunately, many of these rescuers got pissed and actually called the shelter to raise hell about the shitty job they were doing.  The shelter tripped out and – either in an attempt to “destroy the evidence” of their incompetence, or because they somehow became convinced that many of these animals would be better off euthanized – they decided to kill every animal who had been there over five days (as that is the legal limit they have to wait before they can euthanize).  And based on their current population, this meant that their killing spree would include every animal there except for two.

Well – and here’s the toughest part – this past Friday was their mass killing day.  Hell, many of us didn’t even find out about this situation until late Thursday night.  A good friend of mine was able to raise some donations while the original rescuer drove down there early Friday morning to try and pull as many animals as they would allow her to take…even though she didn’t know exactly what to do with them all or how this operation would even be funded.  And, of course, the other fucked up thing about this is that, from a purely logistical perspective, she had to choose those dogs or cats who she considered “most adoptable.”  Meanwhile, because it was all going down in one room, each of the animals she could not take had to stand around and watch each of their fellow beings get injected and discarded into a pile before it was their turn to die.

Miraculously, the rescuer somehow managed to pull a total of 25 animals – eleven puppies, nine kittens, four adult dogs and one adult cat – and had to literally step over dead bodies in the process.  We will probably never know how many were executed that day.

So…the reason I felt inspired to convey this godforsaken story is for the bigger lesson.  And that is this: in any level of activism that you may choose, always think beyond your emotions and consider exactly what the “effect” might be to your “cause.”  Yes, we all get infuriated over so much that we see and hear, whether it’s an animal rights, human rights or environmental issue.  And that anger can serve you because it gets your ass off the couch and into action.  BUT – at the same time – we have to take a deep breath and think very strategically about the result we’re looking for and how our direct action can best facilitate that result. We have to always be mindful of the intricacies, the politics, and the volatility in each situation.  And I can tell you that the hardcore, get-in-someone’s-face approach seldom serves the greater good…especially if an animal’s well-being remains directly in their safekeeping.

In fact, I understand that in this situation, the rescuer has had to become somewhat of a trusted ally to the folks at this shelter, just so they would cooperate at all.  Otherwise, there might have been 25 more piled up in there last weekend.

(And yes, “The 25” are doing fine at the moment, and I do have some fantastic pictures to share soon.  But everyone’s been asked to be as discreet and “strategic” as possible right now, for obvious reasons.)

More soon -

BR

A Few Important Questions…

My gang…always asking the light and easy questions!  Seriously, I really appreciate everyone’s participation in “stirring the pot” around here, and I wanted to address a few of these most recent questions out here in the open forum.  (These came from Trevor and Lisamarie in response to our last entry.)

1. What are the most common mistakes people make on the veggie diet? When someone tries to replicate their usual shitty diet with vegan versions of what they’re used to eating.  In other words, they’ll continue on with much of the same Standard American Diet-style meals and snacks, but either avoid the animal product component or swap it out with a highly-processed veggie substitute like a veggie burger, soy milk or vegan cheese. Of course, if this is what it takes for someone to transition, so be it.  They’re better off on the short term eating this way than continuing to hammer their bloodstream with all of those animal products.

But many folks presume that as long as they’re not ingesting animal products, their diet is healthy.  Such is not the case, as these veggie diets often include lots of refined white rice, bread and pasta, chips, sodas, fries, coffee, cold cereals, etc.  You still need to get those multiple servings of fruits and veggies every day. And you need those whole grains, those legumes, some nuts and seeds here and there, along with plenty of super greens and plenty of water…every day.  And while a couple servings a day of some kind of soy meat or soy milk is generally harmless, the bulk of your diet must be nutrient-dense with these other foods to be healthy.

One other common mistake is not paying attention to those few key nutrients that are sometimes harder to get on the vegan diet (due mainly to our current agricultural processes and lifestyle choices).  These include B-12, Vitamin D and Omega 3 fatty acids.  You can get these from food (vitamin D comes mainly from the sun unless a food has been enriched with it), but you have to know where to find it AND how often you’re getting it.  (More on this shortly.)

2. What about Esselstyn’s no oil component? From his perspective, I agree.  Remember, he’s dealing with extreme cases…with life and death situations where he’s trying to reverse heart disease primarily through diet.  In those cases, it’s smart to avoid oil all you can.  Truth is, we don’t need it.  Truth is, olive oil is NOT a healthy food choice, it’s just the lesser of the evils when compared to other types of oil.  Truth is, we can get all of the healthy “oil” (fat) we need via modest amounts of nuts, seeds and avocado each week.  About the only kind of oil I personally would recommend is a tablespoon of flax oil in your smoothie a few times a week.

Now, having said all that, modest portions of olive oil-based dressing, for those of us with total cholesterol levels comfortably under 150, sure does make all those salads more palatable!  And even if you haven’t hit that magical below-150 spot, I think this kind of dressing probably isn’t the worst thing in the world, so long as the rest of your diet is clean.  Just don’t go ape-shit with the total amounts.

3. As for the questions regarding the fate of employees in animal agriculture – as well as the animals themselves – as we contemplate the notion of a fully vegan world…

A) Regarding people, it’s all about transition.  Just like any technology or product that is replaced by a better or newer one, there is always a transition that happens.  The old (animal products) company would gradually let people go as the demand for their products decreases, while the new (vegan products/plant-based foods) company would gradually hire more folks as their demand increases. Of course, sometimes it’s messy, and there’s a disproportionate amount of firings to hirings.  But this transition will NOT happen overnight.  So I think we would see a gradual shift as described here.

B) Regarding animals, there are two main points to remember; the only reason we have the 15+ billion farm animals going through the system each year is because humans have gone to tremendous extremes to unnaturally breed these animals.  So, again, as the demand lessens, so will their extreme “quotas” of reproduction.

Also, the overwhelming majority of these billions are chickens, and if a chicken has been raised as a “broiler” for food, then their life span would typically be only one year, presuming they were spared a trip to the slaughterhouse in this transition scenario.  But truthfully, I think the transition will be gradual enough that they will cut back on the rate of breeding long before they would have all of these farm animals just hanging around somewhere.

And finally – on the longer term and in the “perfect world” – I believe that farm animals may wind up back in their “native environment” of the classic farm as companion animals.  I believe there will be strict regulations regarding spay and neuter, like there is now for dogs and cats in many places.  And the reason I make this comparison is, just like with dogs and cats, there is really no indigenous location for farm animals to go, since humans are solely responsible for their staggering propagation throughout the world.  At the same time, once we cease to commoditize them, there will be little reason to encourage their breeding.

C) To Trevor’s question: “Or will Mother Nature win out by culling the human population (due to our misuse of arable land), therein teaching us the real kick-in-the-ass lesson we need?”

As was alluded to in the Dr. Zeus entries in the Warrior Utopia excerpts, I don’t know that Mother Nature would ever seek to “punish” us or “teach us a lesson,” per se.  I just think that anytime we impose a way of being on the earth that is inherently unsustainable (as animal agriculture clearly is), there are natural cause-and-effect consequences that will happen.  And as we reach a point where the downside of a way of being outweighs the upside to the extent that our very survival will be in jeopardy – which I believe could be within the next 40 years if we don’t wake the fuck up – then it will be us humans who will atone by making different choices, and Mother Nature can go about the business of healing herself.

No Animals Were Harmed in the Creation of This Meal!

As many of you know, I’ve been involved with an LA-based farm animal sanctuary called Animal Acres for about four years now.  These days, I mainly do their humane education programs and help conduct tours at their special events.  It’s one of my favorite places on earth.

This past weekend was our annual gala event and – due to the proximity of the recent wildfires around here – the gala had been rescheduled from the weekend prior.  (Yes, all the animals and the sanctuary are fine).  The point being, strings were pulled and favors were granted, and we wound up holding the gala at the renowned Riviera Country Club in the Palisades.

I ran across this photo from the event and it reminded me of a central thought I had while we were all enjoying dinner:

There are 350 of us, all eating together in one of the nicest country clubs in town, in one of the biggest cities in the world, all foaming at the mouth over how delicious this food is (courtesy of Madeleine’s Bistro, by the way). And, as it was a completely vegan dinner, it occurred to me that, even for as large of a crowd as this is, “No animals were harmed in the creation of this meal.”

In fact, as our MC, actor/comedian Hal Sparks joked, “No animals were even annoyed in the creation of this meal!”

I bring this up in light of all we’ve been talking about around here these past few days.  It reminded me of what it felt like to be part of a large group setting where everyone was eating this way…where everyone was participating in this unified expression of compassion through food choice. It was deep.  You could feel the vibe.  And it represented a sort of microcosm of what it could be like in the world if we all ate like this, all the time.

Anyway…I’ve got nothing too heavy to impart with this entry, other than just wanting to pass along the “snapshot” of that experience.  The rest of the night was great, as well.  I’m not really one for social occasions (particularly those that require sleeves!).  Nonetheless, it felt good to just be in the same room with so many like-minded people…especially considering the reason we were there.

Here’s a link with story and pics from the event:

http://www.lasplash.com/publish/Los_Angeles_Charities_188/Gala_for_Animal_Acres_Compassion_Rocks.php

Why Compassion?

“I feel that spiritual progress does demand at some stage that we should cease to kill our fellow creatures for the satisfaction of our bodily wants.”

Mahatma Gandhi

In response to the last post, I was asked the following…

“A fundamental, but perhaps not so obvious question: HOW does it benefit us personally, and as a species to have compassion for all living things?”

As I’ve written extensively about elsewhere…here’s my take on it:

Everything we do and every thought we think expresses some form of energy, which, on some level, affects the Whole. Our most brilliant sages, shamans, spiritual leaders, philosophers and metaphysicians have all expressed this Truth in one way or another throughout our recorded history. Even in Christianity, when the Master said, “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these, ye have done it unto me,” He was speaking of an interconnectedness between all people; when you do something to another, it’s just like doing it to yourself.  This is a call to bring everything we do under closer scrutiny so we can live our lives in a way that expresses love and respect for all people and – as a modern day interpretation that’s reflective of these more evolved times – all living creatures.

Likewise, some of the key, governing principles of many other spiritual paths have to do with cause and effect, karma, and reverence for all forms of life through the demonstration of non-violence and compassion, because every action you take creates a re-action.  So, if your food choices support or propagate the killing of an animal – one, I remind you, who clearly does not want to die – then you are ultimately contributing to the cultivation of a social environment that is emotionally and spiritually toxic.  This is cause.  The effect of this, as many of our wisest spiritual leaders have intimated, is more of the same, projected exponentially in our collective experience to include more fear, separation, angst and even war.

Wisdom Through the Ages

Here are a few of my favorite classic quotes on the subject:

“For as long as men massacre animals, they will kill each other.”

Pythagoras

“As long as there are slaughterhouses, there will be battlefields.”

Leo Tolstoy

“While we ourselves are the living graves of murdered beasts, how can we expect any ideal conditions on this earth?”

George Bernard Shaw

“Until he extends his circle of compassion to all living things man will not himself find peace.”

Albert Schweitzer

“…the time will come when men such as I will look upon the murder of animals as they now look upon the murder of men.”

Leonardo DaVinci

“As long as people will shed the blood of innocent creatures there can be no peace, no liberty, no harmony between people. Slaughter and justice cannot dwell together.”

Isaac Bashevis Singer

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

Martin Luther King, Jr.

“Non-violence leads to the highest ethics, which is the goal of all evolution. Until we stop harming all other living beings, we are still savages.”

Thomas Edison

If this connection still feels like a stretch, then just think about the total expenditure of psychological, physical and suppressed emotional energy that it takes to confine and slaughter 75 million birds, mammals and fish per day in the US alone.  This is a virtually incomputable amount of violence.  Are we simply to believe that this kind of energy just evaporates into the ether, with no consequence to us on any level?  Again, many of our wisest spiritual leaders and progressive thinkers suggest otherwise.  And, perhaps more importantly, the fruits of our actions as observed by the overall condition of our society at large suggest otherwise, as well.

On the other hand, if your food choices purposely do not support or propagate the killing of an animal, then every meal becomes a statement of compassion and non-violence.  So now, this is cause, and the effect is likewise more of the same, projected exponentially in our collective experience to include more peace, love and reverence for the Whole.

Compassion as a Daily Practice

Compassion, along with other evolved virtues like forgiveness and gratitude, is a practice.  It’s like a muscle that we have to exercise.  And as we “exercise” it, it gets bigger and stronger.  Therefore, when we express compassion to ANY living being – human, animal or insect – we are strengthening our overall ability to express compassion in general.  This is good!  And this is of benefit to the species because, to me, compassion is the recognition of a deeper connectedness between us all…it’s an unconditional expression of love to another.  Without it, we don’t stand a chance on the long-term.

BR