Nova Scotia, Vegan Subway Notices and Sea Shepherd

Just got back from a visit to Nova Scotia - staying with friends in Lunenburg (near Halifax). It was an amazing vacation seeing the beautiful natural areas -sea, beach, Bay and hills, the historically preserved areas and architecture of Lunenburg and breathing in the fresh clean air. With all that, we had a couple of great vegan moments that I want to share.

On our way up the NS we spent an afternoon in Boston. While we were on the subway, we noticed an advertisement for becoming vegan (see photo above). It was graphic, animals in cages and clearly not in good shape and said and showed it "all" on one small sign. I couldn't take my eyes off of it and had to take a picture of it. It gave me such hope to see it prominently placed on a subway that carries lots of people every day.

It says:

Bigger cages won't end their suffering

New Laws won't Protect them

Your donation won't save their lives

BUT you can make a difference - Become a VEGAN

sponsored by Bostonvegan.org

It started my trip off with an incredibly unexpected and wonderful message!

Then, when we got to Lunenburg, we discovered that the Sea Shepherd ship "Farley Mowat" was sitting in the harbor behind where we were staying. It turns out that the ship made it's presence known during the Canadian seal hunt and since the Canadian government warned them that they would seize them if they approached past a certain point (and they did). The government impounded the ship and it is now docked in Lunenburg harbor. I was told this by someone on the dock who seemed to know quite a bit about the situation. It was quite thrilling being able to see this ship so close up. It represents the incredible commitment of those individuals who risk their lives to protect animals. I went to the dock to see it every day that I was there.
So, I guess you could say I had a vacation that just reinforced my commitment to be a vegan.

Lately I seem to have been just plugging along with my life and not really feeling the need to say anything. I saw this picture of a mother tiger and cub and it inspired me to post to my blog. It reminded me of how I start every day now with my cats. Dylan and Gwyneth greet me every morning knowing that they will be the recipients of a full body brushing and cooing words of endearment. Dylan holds his head to the side and likes to scrape the side of his head against the bristles. He presents both sides of his face to me one at a time to get equal coverage. Gwyneth just presents first her sides then her back to me for a thorough treatment. All the while, they are both purring and trilling so loudly surrounding me and waking up all my senses at once. Dylan's brush is blue and Gwyneth's is pink - highly conventional but since this all happens before I have had my morning coffee - easier for me to remember. When I am doing this, I guess I feel like the tigress in the picture - grooming and bonding with my little ones. I read Temple Grandin's book "Animals Make us Human" - I learned so much about animal behavior and especially how they communicate with each other and with humans. So, every day I start out cranky, but spending those few minutes with my sweet kitties gives me what I need to face one more day with a positive attitude. Hug your pet today a little bit longer and a little bit more often. Cheers!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

The holidays are over and now I have time to catch up with things. Sherlock - oh Sherlock - my first baby! A long time ago when I was quite young and had no use for cats, a sweet little feline came into my life and changed it forever. In my defense re: the cat 'disliker' comment above, I had very bad experiences with cats previously and my family always owned dogs. Back to the story - a friend of mine found a litter of 5 motherless kittens in a cardboard box in the basement of an academic building at the New England college he was attending at the time. He was able to take 3 of them home, but needed to find homes for the other 2. When he called me, I was pretty negative about the whole idea, but he asked if he could just bring them over for me to see. He was quite a persuasive one, so within 1/2 hour he came right over with them. They were so cute, but I wasn't sure I liked the way their bodies felt when I picked them up - sort of fragile and awkward and those crazy claws! However, the more I played with them, smelled them, cuddled with them - my misgivings melted away. After all, they were motherless and homeless, weren't they. I wasn't anybody's mother yet, so maybe it would give me some practice? And, most of all, Sherlock looked me in the eyes as if to say, please let me stay with you - I will be good - I promise. And, of the 2, Sherlock seemed to be the weaker and most affected by the abrupt disappearance of his mother. He would lay on my chest, snuggle, purr and then look up at me with those beautiful eyes. The other one was a little bolder and probably more well adjusted, and cute and appealing all the same. So, as you know already, I did take these 2 cats into my home and named them Sherlock and T.C. (for Top Cat). My life now included the need to feed, clean up after, take to the Dr and love 2 additional beings. The joy I felt when I came home every day was worth any extra work they required. They were happy to see me, rubbing up against my legs and purring; their fur was so soft - as I petted them I could feel my stress levels take a nosedive. I became very close to both of them and all was well for a time. After a few years, Sherlock seemed fine but he was always the skinny one, the one who needed the most attention. One day when I was at home, one of my neighbors knocked on my door carrying a cardboard box. Inside was Sherlock lying on his side. He told me he saw Sherlock in his back yard dragging his hind legs behind him trying to get home. I rushed him the vet's office to discover that he had thrown a blood clot and it had lodged in his lower body and prevented the blood from getting to his legs. The prognosis was not very good. For a couple of weeks, I gave him medication to thin his blood, massaged his legs, isolated him in one corner of the bedroom, helped him eat, kept his little space clean and sanitary. Unfortunately, despite all of the efforts as recommended by the vet, I found him no longer breathing one morning when I woke up. I was quite distraught and found it difficult for quite a while to get over losing my sweet little Sherlock. Even now, when I look at a picture of him (which I did over the holidays), it takes me right back to the feelings I had for my first baby - we needed each other and nurtured each other until the end. There is no doubt in my mind that animals in our world can feel pain and have complex relationships with each other and with humans. How is it that our human world tolerates the abuses that occur to domesticated animals and farm animals? We need to look no further than how we feel about our pets - it really is that simple! Go vegan!