Stop the Killing and Waste of Tax Dollars

This is what it looked like on a summer morning on public land in Idaho last month.

And this is what it looked like hours later, after the Bureau of Land Management's "gathering" of the wild horses by helicopter, chasing one wild stallion relentlessly. According to the Cloud Foundation, "In the Challis round up in Idaho round up just last week six horses were killed, six foals were orphaned and the majority of the 400+ horses lost their freedom. All this destruction when the range looks the best it has in over 80 years according to local residents."



You can read more about it here.

It reminds me of the strip mining sites I've seen. Is this the future of our great American West? Cloud's herd is also scheduled for a round-up in September. Please take a moment and help.

(Both photos by Elissa Kline, published on wildhorsepreservation.com, July 2009.)

Horse Boy

There was an amazing story on the CBS Evening News a couple weeks ago (this post was completed on May 10). A boy with autism who didn't talk was put on a horse by his dad, and he began to speak. The parents went all the way to Mongolia to learn about the healing power of horses. Read more here.

And speaking of equine therapy, there's another facility called "Hero Hearts EquiCenter, Inc." that is going to be having activities in June, including the Hero Hearts program for veterans. Their e-mail address is heroheartsequicentr@yahoo.com.

Another Outrage

Normally I don't follow celebrity stories, but the one on the trustees disbursing Leona Helmsley's estate disturbed me for two reasons. Leaving the dogs out of it, I was dumbfounded that "trustees" could disburse money against the deceased's wishes. After reading the New York Times article, I learned she had a statement that left some of the disbursement to her trustees. But it wasn't intended to be the vast majority, I'm sure. And by all accounts, Ms. Helmsley did not even like people.

How strange is it that there were death threats against her dog because it inherited $12 million (a judge reduced to $2 million). The judge then gave her grandchildren $6 million although they were "explicitly" left out of the will.

So dog charities were given $1 million of $136 million disbursed. What this says to me is the lack of regard people have for "poor, dumb animals" (my wording) compared to people. I don't dispute the value of medical research (which probably is using dogs as lab animals), but I think Ms. Helmsley's wishes were ignored. The bottom line is, make your will crystal clear. And I personally hope Ms. Helmsley is haunting her brother, grandsons, lawyer, and friend. What a difference that money could have made in the millions of homeless animals killed each year because they are inconvenient to humans. (Photo of Maltese like Trouble, Helmsley's dog, from pets911.com.)

"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated."
--Mahatma Gandhi

Happy Earth Day!

An Outrage

(UPDATE to Blog of January 14)

The man who was on trial for beating and dragging his horse behind his truck was found NOT GUILTY by a jury on felony animal cruelty charges. And the man is a geriatric nurse!

Read more here.

Kachina, the abused horse, is now leaving peacefully at Equine Voices Rescue and Sanctuary. Here she is running free with some PMU (Pregnant Mare Urine) horses. These are horses that were used to make the drugs Premarin and others.

The Magic of Misty

I follow the blog of a naturalist and field biologist who mainly writes about birds, and his latest posts were about a trip to the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge. After the first post, a lot of women commented that it was great that he was seeing so many birds, especially many on his life list, but what about the ponies?

Like my mother and me, they had read Marguerite Henry's "Misty of Chincoteague" about the wild ponies that lived on Assateague, a neighboring island of Chincoteague. The book is based on a true story of a wild pony foal that was adopted with her mother by the Beebe family from one of the yearly roundups to raise money for the Chincoteague Fire Department. I have my mother's copy as well as my own. It was one of many beautiful horse books Ms. Henry wrote and Wesley Dennis illustrated. I once wrote a letter to Ms. Henry and told her how much the book had meant to me and my mother. She sent me the postcard below. Ms. Henry got Rheumatic Fever at the age of 7, which kept her out of school for several years. She learned to love reading and later writing.

I always wanted to go to Chincoteague with my mother and see the wild ponies. That did not happen, but it is still on my life list. I always wanted to adopt one of the ponies, too. There is an organization called The Feather Fund which makes that dream come true for little girls and boys every July during Pony Penning Days in Chincoteague, Virginia.

(Book image by applebybooks.net)
UPDATE 4/5/09: The pony pictures and a video were posted today on Mon@rch's website.

Earth Mothers

The theme of Women’s History Month (WHM) is “Women Taking the Lead to Save Our Planet” featuring Rachel Carson, "the founder of the contemporary environmental movement, as the iconic model of the theme. Rachel Carson's work provides an admirable model for comparison." I have her book “Silent Spring” which I haven’t read, but I think about what it would be like if there were no birds (which is why it has that title) all the time. The quote on the WHM poster is "The more clearly we can focus our attention on the wonders and realities of the universe about us, the less taste we shall have for destruction." Sadly, she died of cancer at the age of 56.

Also being honored is Jane Goodall, the wildlife researcher, educator, and conservationist. Ms. Goodall, along with other pioneers like Dian Fossey, focused her research on the animals' relationships with each other more than their male counterparts did.

"What I find really fascinating is the way in which people's questions about the inner lives of animals have changed over the years. After lectures people used to be totally fascinated with the question of what do they do about death? More recently, as we've gradually broken down the barriers, again and again, I am asked, do they have souls? This reflects, I think, a change in the way people are thinking? --Jane Goodall, "The Dance of Awe," A COMMUNION OF SUBJECTS: Animals in Religion, Science, and Ethics, ed. By Paul Waldau and Kimberly Patton.

There's more information on the Women's History Project WHM web pages.

Tucson Rodeo Parade--Horse Abuse?

Channel 13, KOLD Tucson, showed this You Tube video of a downed horse that was kicked and had its tail pulled when it would not get up during the parade on Thursday morning. The video begins with the horse lying on the ground; it is not shown what happened before. It is being investigated, and a veterinarian who had not seen the video said sometimes it is necessary to kick a horse when it has colic because if it doesn't get up, it will die. Well, supposedly the man tried to re-enter the parade and was not allowed to, so I would say the horse did not have colic. The parade is billed as the longest non-mechanized parade in the country, and according to its web site there is "zero tolerance for animal abuse."

They do have a lot of rules concerning safety of the animals, participants, and the parade viewers, especially after a 5-year-old girl was killed in 2007 when her horse was spooked.

I also found a video claiming electric shocksare used on the bucking broncos. That video is a lot clearer, and I don't think it could have been altered but I'm not an expert. The group that posted it says the rodeo claims the horses are "born to buck." I went to a few rodeos when I was young and from that and reading about it, I came to my own conclusion that except for the barrel racing, a lot of cruelty was involved.

UPDATE by Channel 13 on March 10: The rodeo parade committee now says the horse was ridden in the rest of the parade, and they visited the horse later and found no signs of abuse. But incredibly, there are no veterinarians present along the parade route, although they may consult the ones at the rodeo grounds. Since this is the longest non-mechanized parade in the country, that is totally unacceptable.

For the Love of Jerry

PBS aired another outstanding Nature episode last night, "Why We Love Cats and Dogs." It was entertaining and informative (cat agility--who knew?) as well as touching, with real people talking about their pets. But the most touching story of all is about Jerry, a German Shepard who was adopted by a couple after they got married. They didn't have kids, and they loved going hiking and camping with him. Then Jerry got bone cancer and had one of his front legs amputated, but that didn't stop him from being an active dog. But his owners decided it wasn't enough to come home to him after work every day, and they were missing too much of his life. They sold their business (which they had planned to do when they retired) and home and bought an RV so they could travel the country full-time with Jerry. Naturally a lot of their friends and family thought they were nuts.

I've had three dogs who had cancer, and one who died unexpectedly so he probably had it, too. Trying to make the right decisions for what is best for your dogs while struggling with your own desire to be with them was almost the hardest parts of my life.

You can watch the full episode here. Be sure to grab your kleenex as Jerry's story is both sad and joyful.

Jerry's owners also have a website, Jerry's Place for Tripawds, which has a lot of good information and even a store for three-legged pets (photo is from their website). There is also a lot of resources on dog cancer.

Here's to Jerry, Sasha, Joey, Dillan, and Jessee at the Rainbow Bridge.

New Legislation for Wild Horses

America’s Wild Horses Will Roam Free, Under New Legislation

February 12, 2009

Washington, D.C. - House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Nick J. Rahall (D-WV) and Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands Chairman Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ) today introduced legislation to ensure the continued protection of the thousands of wild horses and burros that roam the Nation's public lands, which have recently become endangered by Bureau of Land Management (BLM) plans to slaughter otherwise healthy animals.

"It is unacceptable for wild horses to be slaughtered without any regard for the general health, well-being, and conservation of these iconic animals that embody the spirit of our American West," Rahall said. "Introduction of this legislation will ensure the continued presence of those wild horses that make their homes on public lands."

"Our wild horses are being harmed by antiquated policies," said Grijalva. "These policies must be updated to reflect Americans' desire to see these horses protected. We must not lose these majestic icons of the West. "

To read more, go here. Representatives Rahall and Grijalva (from Arizona) ride to the rescue of America's wild horses!

Article and Photos on Wild Horses

National Geographic has a good article on wild horses with beautiful photographs by Melissa Farrow. The first photo is of the Gila wild horse herd from Gila Bend, Arizona. For some reason they were not under the Wild Horse and Burro Protection Act and were about to be rounded up and sold for slaughter when the International Society for the Protection of Mustangs and Burros, founded by Wild Horse Annie, rescued them. The article is informative and well-balanced on both sides.

Matilda, Way to Go, Girl!

Puppy Bowl V was a blast as usual, and the puppy I voted for as Most Valuable Puppy won (Animal Planet photo)! She scored more touchdowns than any other puppy in the five years Animal Planet has been showing it! My second favorite was another female beagle puppy, Madeline. They were supposed to be available for adoption, but I couldn't find them on Petfinder (which is a good thing for my dogs).

Of course, the Clydesdales were my favorite Super Bowl ads. For someone who doesn't like football, it's a pretty good day (actually I couldn't find them online until today)!

On a solemn note, I'm glad they did a tribute to Pat Tillman before the game (I didn't see it, but I read about it). He is such a hero to Arizonans and millions of other people. His jersey (retired number 40) outsells all of the other players'. His wife was there in one of the VIP boxes.

Back to beagles, I love the motto of the Arizona Beagle Rescue: "If you save one dog, you won't change the world, but surely the world will change for that one dog."

Justice Department Settles Lawsuit

The Justice Department has settled a lawsuit under the Americans With Disabilities Act with Wal-Mmart Stores, Inc., including the treatment of people with service animals. "Many of the complaints alleged that persons with disabilities were denied access to Wal-Mart stores or were denied an equal opportunity to shop, free of repeated challenges by Wal-Mart staff, because they were accompanied by service animals. Service animals are dogs and other animals that are individually trained to work or perform tasks for persons with disabilities." You can read more about it here. They were given a Service Animal Policy they must follow within 30 days of the settlement.

The photo above is of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) with his dog, Fala, from the Roosevelt Library. Although Fala wasn't technically a service dog, he did provide valuable companionship for the President, who was confined to a wheelchair. The beautiful, unusual FDR memorial in Washington, DC pays tribute to their relationship in one of the outdoor "rooms."

Time for Change

The winds of change need to blow through all kinds of government, not just Washington. Cochise County has had to stop calling so many potential jurors because the courts are so full and it is costing so much. Now that's not actually a bad thing for us law-abiding citizens, but I was following a case today of a Pinal County man who was arrested in August for dragging a horse with a pickup truck. He also beat the horse with a pipe, and his 13-year-old daughter kicked it in the head. You can read the horrendous details at here.

I had received an e-mail he was going to be sentenced today, but it turns out it was a hearing to set a court date. This case has been dragging through the system with a bunch of what appear to me to be technicalities (although I'm not an expert on the court system).

Event Date Event Description Party
1/13/2009 CAL: REVIEW
12/29/2008 NTC: RULING MOTION UNDR ADVIS D 1
12/23/2008 ME: SET/CONT REVIEW HRG D 1
12/10/2008 ME: SET/CONT REVIEW HRG D 1
12/10/2008 CAL: TRIAL RESET
12/9/2008 CAL: JURY TRIAL
12/8/2008 CAL: MOTION/PULL FOR JUDGE
12/2/2008 REPLY D 1
11/20/2008 SUPPLEMENTAL DISCLSRE BY STATE P 1
11/13/2008 RESPONSE TO MOTION P 1
11/12/2008 ME: SET/CONT HRG PENDING MOTNS D 1
11/12/2008 CAL: STATUS REVIEW
11/12/2008 MOTION TO REMAND TO GRAND JURY D 1
10/24/2008 SUPPLEMENTAL DISCLSRE BY STATE P 1
10/22/2008 REQ TO OR FOR D 1
10/17/2008 AFF OF SERVICE D 1
10/10/2008 SUPPLEMENTAL DISCLSRE BY STATE P 1
10/6/2008 TIMELY DISPO COURT REMOVAL D 1
10/6/2008 MOTION D 1
10/6/2008 CAL: PLEA
10/6/2008 ME: SET/CONT JURY TRIAL D 1
9/24/2008 TRANSCRIPT GRAND JURY PROCDNGS D 1
9/18/2008 SUPPLEMENTAL DISCLSRE BY STATE P 1
9/17/2008 RECEIPT D 1
9/15/2008 NOTICE OF DEFENSE/WITNESSES D 1
9/15/2008 MOTION/REQUEST FOR DISCOVERY D 1
9/11/2008 RULE 15 DISCLOSURE P 1
9/5/2008 NOTICE OF DISCLOSURE P 1
9/5/2008 DETER RELEASE COND & ORDER/JP D 1 0
9/5/2008 ORDER TO APPEAR D 1
9/5/2008 TIMELY DISPO COURT INDICATOR D 1
9/5/2008 CAL: ARRAIGNMENT
9/5/2008 ME: ARRAIGNMENT D 1
8/21/2008 NOTICE APPEAR/NOT GUILTY PLEA D 1
8/19/2008 SUMMONS RETURNED D 1
8/15/2008 NOTICE PROSECUTNG ATTY ASSGNMT P 1
8/14/2008 INDICTMENT D 1
8/14/2008 ME: GRAND JURY INDICTMENT D 1

I can't even imagine what this has cost so far, not to mention the horse is being held by the Department of Agriculture. I don't even know how it (gender is unknown) can trust another human again. Equine Voices Rescue and Sanctuary in Green Valley has stepped up and offered him a permanent home, but who knows when it will be released. Plus there is only one charge, animal cruelty, but at least that is a felony in Arizona. (Associated Press photo)

UPDATE ON JANUARY 21, 2009: According to the State Supreme Court Public Access Web Site, a hearing is set in February, and the jury trial will begin on March 17. So it continues to drag through the system.

Joy to the World

"Marley and Me" is tops at the box office for the second week in a row, so I thought I would post a picture of the damage from Katya before I understood what separation anxiety was. My mom nicknamed her "The Destroyer." She went through two couches (gee, you'd think I would have learned from the first one) and all the screens before I understood she did not want to be left outside, even with Joey's companionship. Once I left her inside during the day, she only tore a few sheets and bed covers.

John Grogan, the author of "Marley and Me" has gotten some comments on his blog about not taking him to obedience training (he did attend one session according to the book). I did not even consider getting rid of Katya even with the damage she did. Far from Marley, she is a very shy dog. I now know that she could have benefited from training after working with my trainer on my collie.

But the thing is, collectively all my dogs, with all the problems, heartaches, and good times, have given me more joy than anything else in my life. And I really don't want a dog that acts like a puppet, no matter how entertaining it may be to others. I want them to be the best they can be without fear or anxiety, but I want them to be themselves because they bring out the best in me.