WORDSMILLS, LAW, LOSS
FurKids
- You Were Not Supposed To EndDear Ethel, I was gone just an hour. A morning, like others. I'd be right back, to feed and play with my girls. You weren't supposed to end, and probably understood that in your last moment. But you were broken. Swept into a red current. Drowning. Beautiful girl with sunlit fur. One and a half years old. Time does't heal much, just distracts. Then yanks me back in disbelief…
- Born In A Puppy MillShe waddles over on stubby legs. The four-pound pup nestles against my chest and gives me the goofy sideways glance. I'm a goner. I'll call her Mandy. I first laid eyes upon this irresistible Lhasa Apso at Flawdogs Adoption, a rescue dedicated to “little puppy mill leftovers…”
- Stanley Schmanley ShossThe unceremonious moment occurred as I watched HBO's To Love Or Kill: Man Versus Animal. During the documentary's Kill part, my world stopped. I looked into Stanley's eyes. What I found was a soul, endless and deep. Long forgotten cries crushed my indifference. Billions of nameless deaths walked through my home. I was awake. Alive. My life forever changed…
- Property? They're Alive, Not ThingsOverwork, mutilate or kill an animal in California and you face a year in prison plus a $20,000 fine. In Oregon aggravated animal abuse is a Class C felony and Missouri's repeat offenders rate Class D felony. Yet in court an animal is only worth his or her market value…
![Rebekkah was a treasured family member, Kinship Circle]()
- Tikvah Means HopeAs a 20-something serial girlfriend with an eye for toxic men, I could barely care for myself much less a houseplant. When my cousins found a homeless cat, I seemed the least likely candidate for feline foster mom. Still, I checked out the orphan. Two lost souls ought to meet…
- Dying For A HomeThe white poodle trembled as cars flew past his mangled body at the busy Chicago intersection. Cara pulled over, as she had done countless times before, to rescue the animal. She was inches from the dog when a blue car charged over him. The little pup flipped…
- IAMS Doublespeak: Tests On Cats And DogsMy animals are spoiled. Lhasa Apso Stanley gets acupuncture. Cleveland, a sensitive Lhasa-Poodle, takes a homeopathic calmer. Rebekkah is our feline princess and Garfield-like Isaiah snoozes atop everyone. Food is a big issue. IAMS brand…
- Live Gifts: Instructions Not IncludedA wiggly pup waits beneath a Christmas tree. A teeny kitten brightens the Hanukkah festival. Nothing stirs the warm fuzzies more than a furry addition to the family. In fact, marketers urge shoppers to wrap Fido or Fluffy in red ribbons, for the perfect holiday present…
![Mandy (2006-2021) is forever a soulmate, Kinship Circle]()
- Companion Or Cuisine?Red rivulets flow past a cage where he and others huddle in airless heat. Hands pull him through metal slats. They bash his head with a pipe and shove an electric prod against him. He is a carcass, but awake. Finally, everything goes black…
- The Violence LinkMy kid thought I was a major-league nerd when I boycotted the movie Something About Mary. But I refused to fund a flick that invited snickers over animal abuse. “It's only a movie,” my hubby said. “They didn't really hurt that dog.” Maybe not, but real-life abusers do hurt animals…
- Pet Theft Thugs: Real. Nearby.His muddy ID tag recalled another place: A home defined in sloppy kisses, tail-wagging reunions, and a warm spot at the end of the couch. But a bullet to the head erased that life. The dog lay among the carcasses uncovered in an August 2003 raid of Class B dealer…
- Leashed For LifeOn a steamy August day, workers at Petropolis Pet Center found an odd delivery hitched to the store's lamppost. A scrap of twine had carved a ring of pink skin around the animal's neck. His tail wagged cautiously as if caught between instinct and fear. A lopsided grin…
- Witness To A Greek TragedyMarijo Anne Gillis is a bomb-throwing mad woman. At least according to certain dignitaries with Greek or Hellenic in their titles. On Aug 10, Gillis raised heart rates from New York to Belgium with her Boycott Greece! protests outside Greek embassies. Government phones buzzed…
- Goodbye KittyKitty crossed over today. The 17-year-old striped tabby leaves behind his humans, along with animal siblings Stanley, Cleveland, Rebekkah and Tikvah. When my husband and I wed two years ago at Farm Sanctuary, I acquired more than a guy willing to go meat-free…
