A Letter to a Friend

It has been way too long since I have written here… So, I thought I would share a letter I wrote a while back. A school assignment involved writing a letter to someone you deeply care about. In this letter, students were asked to express their feelings about this individual. Many students chose their boyfriend/girlfriend, mother, sister, best friend…. I chose differently.

Dear my beloved friend,

I am sorry for how your life has turned out at the hands of your creator. I am sorry that you were born into a life of slavery, abuse and pain. I am writing this letter to apologize to you, and all those among you, for the pain we have caused you. It is not your fault how they treat you; yell at you, beat you, mutilate you. You look at us with trust in your eyes, and your creator takes advantage of it. You are beautiful both inside and out. Although many are ignorant to this because they are blinded by profit and personal gain, there are many of us who see it. 

I am sorry for the life of fear you live; being left alone and scared. I am sorry for your heartache over lost friends. I see you all stuck in cages far too small and crammed into filthy pens. I see them hurt you over and over again. But I want you to know, many of us do not turn a blind eye to your pain and suffering. You did not live, or die, in vain. We hear your cries. We are committed to helping you and your friends; because you, are our friends.

We are committed to you. We will help you. We will bring you care and equality, and one day, freedom.

Love always,
Your friend.



A Sad Week for the Animals.

This past week has proven to be a loss for the animals. First, we hear about the charges being dropped against the managers of the Toronto Humane Society, showing that once again, politics and money come before the care of animals. Then we hear of the poor horrified bull who leaps over a barrier from a bullring and into a crowd of people, and later being killed. Next up comes the news from Harper that he still supports the sealers and the seal hunt, and says they are ‘respected people and it is a shame how they have been treated’. Barf.

If these incidents haven’t proven to be brutal as it is…. today in the paper… “Women pleads guilty to killing roommate’s kitten”. A 33 year old woman is in custody and will be sentenced on September 24th for killing her roommates kitten. In a way to “get back” at her roommate who had recently evicted her, the woman beat the two-week old kitten in the head and left it gasping for air in a pool of it’s own blood. The roommate came home to find the kitten and said it died within minutes. Lincoln County Humane Society arrived at the scene. Photographs and information were taken of the scene. Dr. Claire Todd of the Martindale Animal Clinic wrote ”the type of trauma that results in gasping for breath and nose bleeding is not consistent with a kitten trapped under a door. It was more consistent, she wrote, with the kitten being slammed by the door, thrown against the wall, thrown down the stairs or being hit or stepped on in the head or chest area.” She said her opinion was limited as she did not see the body, only the photos and facts of the case.

A two week old kitten… beaten in the head to death, over an apartment. What the fuck is wrong with society? Worse yet, the woman will more than likely get a small fine, a slap on the wrist, and won’t be able to own an animal for two years. Is this ever going to deter this kind of cruelty? No. Animal abusers need to be punished just as those who commit murder. There is no difference between the life of a kitten, and the life a human. There is no difference. We need to stop acting like there is, and stop allowing this disgusting behaviour to continue!

Cut the Bull…

Yesterday, a video of a bull in Spain leaping into a crowd of people was plastered all over the internet. The bull, leaps over a barrier and into the crowd at a bullfight. It was said that over 40 were injured in the incident, 9 were taken to the hospital with injuries.

All news reports of the incident described the ‘terrifying scene’ as the bull charged through the crowd. The ‘rampaging bull’. The “out of control animal”. Bull “lurches at people in crowd”. ”Charging bull runs amok.” Of course, this would be a terrifying scene for anyone there. However, why does everyone fail to see the bigger picture? Why isn’t anyone commenting on the fact that the bull was terrified and was trying to get away? Why does no one care that during the roping and capture of this frightened animal, the bull is heard crying? Why isn’t anyone responding to the fact that the innocent animal was killed after this event because he “injured the audience”.

The fact that bullfighting is still around is a disgrace to all of humanity. The so-called “sport” is nothing more than pathetic men (and/or woman) trying to prove they are tough. It is a horrific, blood sport that is nothing but mere torture and murder.

It was said to be “quite the fright” at the scene of the incident. No doubt however, next week, they will continue. Many feel bad for the people in the audience who were injured, I say, you got what you deserved. If you are supporting this act of cruelty, torture and abuse, you deserve whatever comes to you. One bull dying, simply means one more being brought into a life of torture and abuse.

These animals do not deserve to be in these situations. We wonder why these incidents happen? They happen, because animals are acting out against those who imprison them. They are screaming out against us, in the only way they know how. Leave animals alone, and these things won’t happen. I am embarrassed to be a part of society when such acts happen.

The animals have a voice… and they are using it. My thoughts go out to the horrified bull, not those injured.

The Politics of Animal Care.

As a volunteer dog walker at the local shelter, I often have to force myself to get up and go in. The horrific stories, the sad eyes, and the death at these shelters is heart wrenching. Even worse, is the politics that comes with these operations.

I was introduced to dog walking by a very close friend of mine who had been volunteering at the shelter for quite some time. I had often heard people say it was hard to go in sometimes. Seeing how happy the dogs were when you got them outside, I found it hard to believe that it would ever be hard for me to go in. However… that belief quickly changed.

Not long ago, as I am sure many remember, horror stories of abuse and neglect came out about the Toronto Humane Society. A number of veterinarians and other staff members came forward with troubling stories and evidence. As a result, numerous arrests were made… many of them being the senior managers of the THS. The OSPCA conducted a lengthy investigation and overtook the facility. In this time, the THS had closed its doors to any animals and there were rumours circulating that the remaining animals in the shelter were to be killed.

I got wind of this information through a facebook group that was pleading with people to adopt the 200+ animals still in the shelter that were sentenced to death. I couldn’t believe what I was reading… An animal shelter, in which is supposed to take in and care for the animals, and adopt them out to loving homes, was giving up and killing all it’s remaining animals. I quickly got on the phone and called every cat rescue, rabbit rescue, dog shelter I could find. I received no response other than ’we know what is going on, we have no room’. I could not let over 200 animals die because of the lack of care of those in charge.

A group of us, including my sister and myself, went up to the THS to bring home as many animals as we possibly could. There were over 45 white rats in need of homes, and there were two white rabbits left. There were only about five dogs left in the shelter, the majority had already been euthanized or ‘adopted’. There were over 139 cats to be adopted… many of which were bonded with another, or had medical problems.

I left the shelter that day in tears knowing that I left animals behind that would soon no longer exist. Between the four of us, we managed to adopt six cats, sixteen rats, and two rabbits. Choosing which animals would live and die, was the hardest thing I would ever have to do. I will never forget driving home from the shelter that day and thinking of the death sentence each of those animals had.

We knew we did a good thing that day… The animals in our care would live a happy, healthy life in good homes. At least, that’s what we thought. With every animal we adopted, we were given their paperwork and medical history. One cat named Willie, was given to a friend of mine. He was a very calm, gentle cat. We were told he had no medical issues. Two days later, he died. He was only a few years old. Complaints were filed by a number of us, yet no response was ever received. Two bonded cats we had adopted were given a weak prognosis as they both had heart problems, one being more severe needing medication. Turns out, they had switched the paperwork and had been medicating the wrong cat, and the heart “problems” were not half as bad as they had told us. The rats had upper respiratory issues, the rabbits had bladder infections. What kind of animal shelter was this? When did the care of these animals become insignificant?

With all these issues in just the animals we adopted, let alone the stories of neglect and abuse in the case, it came as an absolute shock to me when I received an email telling me that all charges against the THS managers were dropped. “The Crown’s office has claimed that they were concerned the Charter rights of those accused – all former senior managers at the THS – were violated as a result of technical issues with the search warrant.”

Why does a ‘technical issue’ receive more merit than the life and suffering of an animal? What kind of world do we live in, where the places we trust to care and respect the animals, are the ones killing them? Where are the thousands of dollars in donations really going? Why are the politics of these places more important than those in its care?

The animals in the shelters need us…. and we have let them down, again. When politics come before life, what is left for these animals?

Starting to Blog….

I have decided to follow in the footsteps of my vegan superhero friends… I am going to start blogging. I have been reading their blogs for quite some time and have decided that maybe I would take a crack at it…. I am not promising anything though!