My Sugarplum Faerie (Fairy)

The Nutcracker ballet was an important part of my family's Christmas traditions, but that's not what this post is about. When I was living in Augusta, Georgia, there was a pony in a small field next to my elementary school. How unheard of that would be today. Think of the liability! Although as far as I knew, he was only aggressive towards my dog. There were other ponies living in my neighborhood, even though it was in the city. I would get some carrots and announce to my family, "I'm going to see the ponies" and walk a distance I can't remember now.

My favorite was Sugarplum. She was not exactly a pretty pony, but she was the sweetest one I've ever known. She lived all by herself in a nice big pasture down the road behind some other ponies. One day I was foolish enough to go into their corral, and the stallion charged me. I was a lot faster then and got out before he reached me.

Sugarplum belonged to a little girl who was too sick to ride or feed her. I don't remember the details her father told me now. I think I may have written them in my diary, but I can't find it. I don't know if it was a terminal condition or if the little girl was able to be with her pony at last. I hope so. That's what Christmas is all about, hope and remembering those times that touched our heart. Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays, whatever you celebrate. We need to celebrate each other in these times, including the animals who grace our lives.

Prayers are Answered!

Today at the meeting of the Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board the BLM announced it was postponing a decision to kill large numbers of wild horses to control herds and increasing costs. They will try reducing roundups and finding funds to maintain the horses through the fiscal year, according to the Associated Press.

They received over 40,000 comments. The deputy director, Henri Bisson, who had first announced the plan to kill horses, is retiring, and said he didn't want to leave a legacy of a rush to judgement. This will give wild horse advocates a year to come up with possible solutions to propose to the BLM.

Thank heavens OUR beautiful horses won't be killed because of human mismanagement. They're the victims of the economy just like domesticated horses are. I don't have any easy solutions, but I sure feel a lot more hopeful tonight. They are national treasures. (Photo by The Cloud Foundation)

A Caring Campaign

John Grogan, the author of "Marley and Me" has teamed up with the AKC and Twentieth Century Fox for some Public Service Announcements (PSAs)about responsible dog ownership. It's a great idea, because when the movie comes out on Christmas Day people will fall in love with Marley like I did when I read the book. Before they rush out and get one, they need to know that cute Lab puppy will turn into "100 pounds of thundering, hairy, yelping, jumping, drooling, go-exactly-where-you-don’t-want-them-to-go… commitment. In a word: Marley" as Mr. Grogan says in the PSA.

Plenty of purebred pups end up in shelters, too, when people decide they are too much for them to cope with. Kudos to all for doing the ads.

Numberzzzz

I went online to the Maricopa County Animal Control Center to see if my local shelter would be able to call them on Saturday to verify my collie rescue's license tag so I wouldn't have to have him vaccinated again (which recent research has proven to be harmful). There was a link to the Maddie's Fund Statistics which said in 2007 26,193 dogs were euthanized out of an intake of 44,262. Of these, 13,843 were "unhealthy and untreatable." I was stunned. However, according to their 2007-2008 annual report, "Unfortunately we had to put down 31,055 animals; 12,990 treatable and manageable dogs and cats, 18,065 untreatable and unmanageable dogs and cats." The intake was 55,974. I think this is probably explained in the difference of the reporting period (calendar versus fiscal year), but either way the numbers are astounding. About thirty percent of the dogs were killed because they were "unhealthy and untreatable."

With all the reports of abandoned and turned in dogs this year because of the economy, the numbers are likely to be twice as high this year (and in fact MCACC says their intake has doubled in the past few months).

Bless the beasts and the children.

Disturbing News

Yesterday a 70-year-old Tucson woman was burned trying to rescue her 29 Yorkies because her house was on fire. Her son put out the fire on her hair and continued to try and rescue the dogs until an off-duty policeman who was driving by told him to stop. The son said he had to rescue the dogs because they were his mother's life. The woman was a breeder, but Pima County Animal Control took no action because there were no signs of neglect. She is in serious condition in a Phoenix burn unit. Four of the Yorkies died. The other dogs were taken in by neighbors and relatives. And the investigators said it clearly was arson.

(Photo from the Tucson Fire Department)

Almost as disturbing (but not related to animals) is the story of a Willcox restaurant that had racial grafitti painted on it yesterday (including swastikas) because the owner had a sign endorsing Barack Obama. Naively, I thought these things only happened in the deep south. The swastikas make me think it's young people who don't understand what happened in Nazi Germany, but I'm not an expert. The restaurant owner has received offers to help paint, but he says it doesn't cover up the problem and his business has suffered.

In times of desperation, people lash out at whatever can make them feel more powerful even though it hurts other people (and animals). All I can do is hope there will be many more stories of people coming together in "the best of times and the worst of times" as Charles Dickens wrote.

If Wishes Were Horses...

Beggars would ride. It's one of my favorite sayings. But almost every day I read about someone giving their horses away or "selling them for a song." It's an extremely sad situation caused by the increase in hay prices (almost double). I also heard a lot of farmers are switching to growing corn for ethanol for hybrid cars.

There's also the closing of the slaughterhouses, which is a very complicated issue. Plus the Bureau of Land Management wild horse adoption rate has plummeted.

How ironic! How many people like me have wanted a horse all their lives? Free horses...but who can afford to feed them?

(The photo is from the daring horse rescue in the Netherlands in November 2006 by four young women on horseback).

Kennel 35

This Irish setter did not even have the dignity of having a name when he/she was killed. I don't know which "shelter" he or she was in. I ran across it when I was looking in the "In Memoriam" section for another one of the Nogales dogs, which appears to have been spared. Well, at least they tried to save it. I think I have a web page bookmarked that's about the dogs at the Rainbow Bridge who don't have people waiting to see them again. I'll have to look.

The purebred lab Onyx has been given 3 more days. I hope it gets rescued. If I could, I would go get him, because I know I could find him a home, but I don't have the room right now.

Some Greyt Dogs

Yesterday I was at the feed store, and it was AZgreyhounds Adoption Day. They had several of these beautiful dogs. They come in a variety of colors and patterns, and they look delicate to me but I'm sure they're very strong. I once thought my dog was a greyhound mix, but when I first saw one up close I realized she probably wasn't. They were very calm and sociable. Some get along with cats, and some don't. I was told one of the members has seven greyhounds and two cats.

They are participating in International Greyhound Planet Day on September 20 with two locations. Here is their web site. They are also looking for foster homes if you have room in your house and heart for them.

Speaking of Gold Medals...

It's not news to anyone that Michael Phelps is an amazing swimmer, a seemingly down-to-earth guy, and close to his mother and two sisters.

He also said he can't wait to get home to his dog (and his own bed). It's no wonder so many young women want to marry him.

In yesterday's Wall Street Journal, an article called "Now, Phelps Chases Gold on Land" by Christopher Rhoads talks about the many offers his agent has been receiving. It says "A dog-food idea was pitched, given Mr. Phelps's well-known love for his British bulldog, Herman."

Personally, I'd rather not see him become another Tiger Woods. Woods seems to be a nice guy, and I know he does some charity work, but with all the money he's made from golf it's a little less honorable and cheapening to see him in so many commercials.

I'd be an even bigger fan if Phelps were to endorse the plight of homeless pets in this country.

If you're anywhere near my age you may have figured out why I have a picture of Cheeta, Johnny Weissmuller as Tarzan, and Jane on this post. Weissmuller, one of my Saturday morning heroes, won five Olympic gold medals in swimming in the 1920's and went on to star in the Tarzan movies.

On Sunday night Nature on PBS had a wonderful show called "Wisdom of the Wild" which featured chimpanzees among other amazing animals. It focused on the treatment of research animals, since chimpanzees are closest to us genetically than any other animal, and a rescue facility where they could actually walk on grass in the open air and not be in a cage for the first time in their lives. It showed Sparky, one of the chimps responsible for the hepatitus virus, who aged twice as fast as they normally do so he died a premature death. One of the original workers returned to the facility 18 years later, and the chimps were excited to see her and showed their affections.

The last chimp to play Cheeta is in his 70's (the world's oldest primate) and living at a rescue facility set up by his trainer's nephew, although he's had to give up beer and cigars. You can see him at C.H.E.E.T.A. Primate Sanctuary. Cheeta, Umgawa!

Gold Medals to My Relay Team AKA The Collie Express

Yesterday I received a foster-to-adopt Rough Collie through a four-leg relay from Phoenix (I was the last leg). It happened so fast through Southwest Collie Rescue it made my head spin. Bruce, who handed him off to me in Benson, said it was his 111th transport. I was totally amazed and touched that people would do so much to help a rescued dog, who is a totally wonderful and beautiful boy. His family did not want to give him up, and I can tell how well he was treated. I feel very sad for their loss, and I will do everything I can to give him a wonderful home as they were promised. He is very much like Jessee, the beautiful boy pictured in my profile, but I know better to expect him to be like him. But tonight I am feeling very blessed by angels, human and otherwise.

Good News for Cloud's Herd

According to Ginger Kathrens of The Cloud Foundation, the BLM announced it would not begin roundups of the Pryor Mountain Herd. They received many phone calls and e-mails questioning the roundup, especially because they had announced in June they did not have the budget to feed the ones they already have rounded up.

As taxpayers this is an issue we CAN do something about, and we must. Many people are upset about the frequent breakdown of racehorses, but the industry is regulated by individual states and it is a very complex situation. The BLM is entrusted to manage the program under the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act, and they should be held accountable.

Someone made a comment about an e-mail I posted in a Yahoo group about Cloud's herd saying maybe it was better if the land was left to the wildlife. Most people don't know the horse's ancestor originated in North America. See the Desert USA article.

Besides, wild horses do much less damage to the land than cattle. And did you know that ranchers only pay $1.35 a head for grazing rights which has been the same rate for decades?

Right now I am reading "Mustang: The Saga of the Wild Horse in the American West", an new book by Deanne Stillman, a journalist. It took her 10 years to research and write it, and it is a very interesting and thorough history.

Here is a photo from Ms. Kathern's e-mail, which shows some very healthy members of Cloud's family, including his granddaughter Ember:

Stop the BLM from Killing Wild Horses!

According to filmmaker Ginger Kathrens, who made the "Nature" documentary of Cloud, the wild stallion, the Bureau of Land Management is planning on euthanizing (there's that word again) wild horses because it costs too much to maintain them because they rounded them up and took them off of PUBLIC lands. (You can see the documentary on "Nature" this Sunday, July 6, at 7 p.m. on KUAT Tucson, Channel 6.)

Go to to read more, and click on the News link to sign the petition. I plan to write to Congresswoman Giffords about this and will post a copy of the letter which will give more information on the wild horse issue. Right now I'm too outraged to compose the letter!

"Freedom above all!" --Beethoven

HOW IT BEGAN

I’m not an animal expert. I have had pets since I was five years old and decided I needed my very own Lassie to be my constant companion like the collie on the TV show. I had two sisters at the time, but somehow I thought Lassie’s loving devotion to Timmy was what I needed for my birthday more than any toy. My parents gave me a wonderful collie mix we would take with us all over the country, including Hawaii.

I’ve had purebred and mixed dogs, a cat (but unofficially two), zebra finches, cockatiels, and beta fishes. I had two horses for a short time, one I leased for the summer and one they loaned me because I took such good care of the first one. We had to move since my dad was in the army, so I had to give her back.

For some time I have wanted to create a web site that was a place for people in Cochise County to go to get information on pets, especially on adopting homeless animals. I had been involved in the humane society for some time, and I was very aware of the large number of animals the local shelters and rescue groups tried to place in homes. But like everyone else I was busy with other things.

A few months ago I realized the problem was more serious than I thought. I found out on dogsindanger.com and from other sources that there are not any no-kill shelters around. Dogs are being killed simply because the “shelters” (formerly called pounds) run out of room (I refuse to use “euthanize” unless an animal is suffering). At the Pima County Animal Control Center, the number can be in the double digits daily. To a person of my belief that animals have souls, this was UNACCEPTABLE.

I realized it couldn’t wait until I retired, not when there are millions of animals being killed every year in the United States for no good reason (as dogsindanger.com said in a recent newsletter, there is real no way of knowing the actual number because it is NOT REQUIRED for animal control facilities to report how many animals they kill). It was time to do something now.

So I created “Cochise County Critter Corral” in the hopes it would save the lives of some pets. Right now the web site is only known to a few people, so I have to do more to publicize it. It can be found with a Google search on “pets “Cochise County”” but not on Yahoo unless it is on the gazillionth page (I submitted it to both). It’s like the story of the boy tossing starfishes back into the sea…it could mean a lot to this one. Or as one rescuer put it, “Until there are NONE rescue ONE.”

Your thoughtful comments are welcome, but if you’re one of those people who seems to live to give negative comments, especially when it comes to animals, don’t bother because they will not be posted.

Since this is Monday, and the night of the Rainbow Bridge ceremony, I will dedicate it to the latest victim of the Santa Cruz County Animal Control's lack of space, a totally adoptable terrier mix named Mystery (in the photo above) euthanized (more on that word later) on June 14, 2008. R.I.P., innocent soul.