The other day I was browsing through Craigslist and saw a lost dog posting for Hendersonville, so I mentioned the description of the older tan dog, greying around the muzzle, to Joy and he sounded just like a dog they had at the shelter. We looked up his listing on the shelter’s site and I sent the link with the picture to the person who posted the lost ad, in case it was their dog. It was! The owners were overjoyed and relieved, and came down first thing this morning to get their boy. It really made me happy to help reunite the old guy with his family. 
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After spending most of my early AM hours following my usual blogs, news sites, and feeds, I decided to look for the lyrics to “Aenema” by Tool to add a few lines to my quotes page. Then I wondered if it would be a copyright violation to add the entire song because it just so fits how I feel about the world in general. Then I decided maybe I need to shut down the computer and spend some time outside with the birds and plants and trees, since the Internet is definitely not improving my disposition this morning So I am off to garden a bit (and fling slugs) then spend some time volunteering at the shelter, and maybe after Joy gets off work we can sit out on the patio, watch the hummingbirds at the feeder and not think about oil slicks, wars, ecological destruction, the economy, genetic engineering, the decline of our culture, corruption, greed, corporatocracy, and things like that for just a few hours. But here are the lyrics anyway… From the lyrics page on Tool’s official site
http://www.toolband.com/album/lyrics/aenima.html
Right after I fixed the blog, our hard drive crashed again, and I spent most of last weekend reloading Windows on a new drive and trying to get everything back up and running the way it had been. There’s still a few things missing but the important stuff is there, and we didn’t lose any data. I heard about the story I am posting here on one of my podcasts, and did some Googling this morning trying to find the original source. I suppose if all the oddball podcasts I listen to hasn’t already put me on some government watch list, linking to a Russian news site probably will… Russia says genetically modified foods are harmful
Russia has started the annual Days of Defence against Environmental Hazards from the 15th of April to the 5th of June with the announcement of sensational results of an independent work of research. Scientists have proved that Genetically Modified Organisms are harmful for mammals. The researchers discovered that animals that eat GM foodstuffs lose their ability to reproduce. Campbell hamsters that have a fast reproduction rate were fed for two years with ordinary soya beans, which are widely used in agriculture and those contain different percentages of GM organisms. Another group of hamsters, the control group, was fed with pure soya, which was found with great difficulty in Serbia because 95 percent of soya in the world is transgenic. Concerning the experiment carried out jointly by the National Association for Gene Security and the Institute of Ecological and Evolutional Problems, Dr. Alexei Surov has this to say. “We selected several groups of hamsters, kept them in pairs in cells and gave them ordinary food as always,” says Alexei Surov. “We did not add anything for one group but the other was fed with soya that contained no GM components, while the third group with some content of Genetically Modified Organisms and the fourth one with increased amount of GMO. We monitored their behavior and how they gain weight and when they give birth to their cubs. Originally, everything went smoothly. However, we noticed quite a serious effect when we selected new pairs from their cubs and continued to feed them as before. These pairs’ growth rate was slower and reached their sexual maturity slowly. When we got some of their cubs we formed the new pairs of the third generation. We failed to get cubs from these pairs, which were fed with GM foodstuffs. It was proved that these pairs lost their ability to give birth to their cubs,” Dr. Alexei Surov said. Another surprise was discovered by scientists in hamsters of the third generation. Hair grew in the mouth of the animals that took part in the experiment. It’s unclear why this happened. The researchers cannot understand why a programme of destruction is launched when animals take GMO foodstuffs. They say that this can be neutralized only by stopping to eat these foods. Consequently, scientists suggest imposing a ban on the use of GM foods until they are tested for their bio-security. The results of Russian scientists coincide with those of their colleagues from France and Austria. For one, when scientist proved that GM maize was harmful for mammals, France banned immediately its production and sale. The scientists who carried out the experiment say that it’s too early to make far-reaching conclusions about the health hazards of the GMO. They insist that there is a need to carry out comprehensive research. They suggest implementing the project, “Safety Gene Technology” at the innovation centre, “Skolkovo” which is being set up near Moscow. …or was, for one day this week. I had stopped off at an I-40 rest stop in Catawba county on my way to Mocksville, NC, and noticed a man walk from his car with a loose dog bounding alongside him. I gave him the ’shame on you for not having your dog on a leash’ hairy eyeball as I went inside, but it turned out to be ’shame on me for jumping to conclusions,” because when I came back out I saw that the dog, a really emaciated beagle, was following everyone back and forth and was clearly lost. I got back in the van and started it up, telling myself that someone else would step forward and help, but I just couldn’t leave. I see so many animals flattened on the highway every day; this was such a situation in the making – and I could prevent it. I turned the van back off. Sometimes I see dogs running loose and it’s clear that either (a) they are local dogs that know where they are going (not that this makes it a good idea for them to be loose) and/or (b) they are very uninterested in being ‘rescued’ and will possibly bolt into traffic or go on the offensive if approached. This was NOT such a situation. The poor dog was wandering back and forth, approaching anyone who got out of a car. I got out of the van, crouched down, and called to him; when he heard me and saw me there, he let out a series of yelps like someone was beating him (for a beagle, I think that is actually happiness) and bounded over to me. After leaving my name and number with the rest area attendants just in case (though I’d place bets he was abandoned there on purpose) I was off to Mocksville with a skinny, smelly, very mangy beagle in the back of the van. I stopped at a vet clinic and had him scanned for a microchip – no luck. We stopped at a dollar store for some chewies, some canned food, and a collar; the canned food was wolfed down hungrily, and the chewies (I hoped) would keep him from eating other things in the van while I attended to my service calls. The dollar store didn’t have any leashes so I made do with a USB cable tied to the collar. I have to say that he behaved very well while I went to my service calls in Mocksville and Mooresville, only occasionally letting out earsplitting beagle yelps from the back seat. After all my work for the day was done, it was time to figure out what to do with Mr. Beagle. The mange, which was probably noncontagious demodex but might also be contagious sarcoptic mange/scabies, made me wary of bringing him home, and the last thing we need is an adult unneutered beagle with generalized mange and probably heartworms. He was going to have to go to a shelter, and his best hope if someone was missing him and trying to find him was a shelter in the county I found him in. With no microchip, tattoo, or ID tags, and the horrible condition he was in, I doubted anyone was looking for him – but what if I was wrong and the poor condition was because he had been missing for a long time? Joy found me the info for Catawba County Animal Services, and I dropped him off there with the remains of his chewy. Though the shelter staff treated him kindly as they took him back to the kennel, I still felt really bad, because I am guessing he probably will be put down after his stray hold due to his health. I did as much as I could, and at least he won’t die a horrible death squashed like a pumpkin on I-40, or get torn apart by coyotes, or starve to death. He spent a warm day in the van with a good meal, and will have at least three days of a roof over his head and food. I posted his info on Craigslist lost & found for the Hickory area, just in case. The rush to come up with a way to find MaryAnn a home before Tuesday distracted us from the full impact of the situation that necessitated it. Once we found out she had gotten a home, we were relieved and happy for her, but it hit home, the sadness for all the others that were now gone. Looking at the bigger picture -that it was done trying to stop the outbreak to protect future cats (and the other cats in the new homes they might be adopted into) and knowing that the decision was made with regret and heavy hearts, and carried out with compassion, makes it endurable, but I think it’s only right to take a moment and pause in honor of those lost lives. There was Xena, the little black kitten that I always scooped up and carried around when I first arrived at the shelter each day I volunteered. And Marble, the big torti who watched everything that went on with her big owlish eyes. Jade, who got so sick with the crud and was finally recovering. Sibyl and Sheba, two other girls that were really nice cats but just never seemed to catch the eye of potential adopters. Peter, who just arrived about a week ago and had come down with symptoms of the infection. The baby torti kitten who was a special favorite of mine, but got so sick with the same URI. And others, newer cats who I didn’t really get to know, because my work schedule didn’t give me much time to volunteer this past week. There were also some favorites of mine in the dog area that have disappeared in the past week or so, most notably a little Pit Bull named Jayce who was basically growing up in the shelter. He had a pretty serious heart murmur and I think this (understandably) scared off potential adopters, and when space ran out, so did Jayce’s time. Joy and I lit a candle last night for all of the lost ones, with a wish that next time around, they get a better chance in life. I’m not trying to depress everyone by sharing this information, and I am not sure exactly how to put into words what I am trying to say… except maybe to give a glimpse of some of what shelter employees have to cope with. So many times, in conversations where I tell people (proudly) that Joy works at an animal shelter, the response is, “I love animals too much, I could never do that!” I know it isn’t usually meant the way it sounds, but reverse it and think about how that does sound – like shelter workers can do the job because they don’t love animals, or care as much. The burnout rate for shelter employees is pretty high, it’s a tough job and I have the utmost respect for anyone who is brave enough to do it. The best thing we can all do to change the situation is to do everything we can to stop the pet overpopulation problem. Most places have low-cost or even free spay & neuter programs, there’s no reason not to fix your pets. Adopt rather than buy; I know a lot of people who will ‘rescue’ a puppy or kitten from a pet shop because they feel sorry for it (I’ve done it myself, years ago) but what it amounts to is rewarding the people selling the animals and helping to ensure they keep doing it. When you adopt, you are saving at least two lives – the one you adopted, and the one the shelter now has room for because of the cage you just emptied. And lastly, always remember to have compassion and respect for those who have to do the job most of us don’t have the courage to do. If you are thinking of donating blankets or food or toys, remember your county shelter. Most of them have tight budgets and don’t get as many donations as privately funded rescues. I’ve had people say to me “I only support no-kill rescues” – trust me, someone is doing the killing. There are just so many animals getting dumped like discarded trash, more than enough homes could ever be found for, and many of those are sick or psychologically damaged. Rescues are often able to pick the animals they think are most adoptable (our local shelter works with several of them) and this is fine, it helps free up space and saves lives, just don’t blame the shelters for what they have to do. Anyway, I meant to take the time here simply to remember some of the animal friends who were in our lives all too briefly, and somehow this turned into a soapbox rant. Sorry about that. |
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Just substitute “modern society” for LA.
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