A Tsumani of Local Proportions

And here in the U.S., we face the budget tsunami caused in primary part by the deceitful practices and unholy alliances between Wall Street and Capital Hill.  And the ripple effect is enormous and just becoming clear to all of us this year.  Wisconsin and Ohio are on the Front Lines but every state has serious budget problems.  The problem started in the 1960s with the entitlement programs.  What most of us don't realize is that many of those programs were shifted from the federal budget to the States.  The federales essentially forced the states to maintain them.  But didn't offer states much support.  States have tried for years to find ways of funding but failed.  If this situation were the Chicago Fire, we would be seeing the firestorm of states failing.  State afte state faces the alarming situation of cutting budgets humanely.  Can they do it without dipping into the extremist politics of Wisconsin and Ohio?  I believe they can by pointing out to the national government that this shortfall comes from long term policies -- not short term bad budgeting.  That is not going to be a popular position but it, sadly, is the truth.  And how, then, will the government be able to pay for these short falls coming back to roost?  Again, I don't know.  Probably raise taxes or cut programs themselves.  America, the land of diminished possibilities.  America, the land of the not free.  Sure, we are free to vote but are we free from Wall Street control and fallout and political doubledealing?  Not now and probably never were.  The old song, "St. Peter, don't you take me 'cause I can't go, I owe my soul to the company store."

Until all beings know peace, pray for Japan and the victims there
Until all beings know peace, pray for all who have lost in New Zealand, Katrina, and any other global disasters and
Until all beings know peace, pray for all the pets who are put to death due to the Wall Street engendered foreclosures and short sighted landlord policies when it comes to allowing pets to come with their owners.

Namaste

Socializing Cats Doesn't Happen in an Instant

My newest cat, Tigger, is learning how to be a cat. He'd lost touch with that skill. Animals are born knowing how to play. If they are lucky, they have siblings to play with. If no siblings, perhaps mom cats to play with them. It is sad to find animals who are too scared to play. Socializing animals is an integral part of rehoming and rescue. It may be a reason why some animals get returned to shelters and to the pound. No one took the time to connect with them when they were younger, no one takes the time to gently work with them until they are comforted by humans instead of scared of them. And the bottom line in all of those is "time." It is as if we grudge the time it takes to connect with an animal or a kid or a person on the street. It is just too much time to spend to comfort anyone but our selfish selves. When did we as a society lose that ability to comfort others? All too often these days, it is the convenience of life we relish instead of the process of opening a bag of flour and actually creating cookies or bread or gravy. We have instant food instead of the ritual of creating sustenance. Nor does TV help or teach people socialize. We have instant game analysis, instant news, instant entertainment. But life gets gone in an instant as well. Cats teach socialization skills because we instinctively react socially with them. Cats teach the fleeing of instants. So cherish the instants you have. Remember not everyone gets the time they need to feel safe. Keep it in mind. Until peace happens, bring peace to others around you. Namaste.

Already Tired and Weekend isn't for 2 Days!!

Arrggh!!! I am already tired and the weekend doesn't start for two days. I have been busy trying to figure out why I am so damn mad today. Feeling really put upon and stressed. Then it hit me. I am working, I have two kids, I have 3 cats, I am trying to find time to drive, I want to do as many rescue runs as possible, I am only one person, I am crazy. Emphasis on the last part. I am crazy thinking I can fit everything in. As it is, I am very lucky to be able to help as much as I can. And have as good a life as I do. Sheesh. Grumble, grumble, grumble..... Oh, yeah, on top of it the traffic today was really bad. Fingers crossed that doesn't happen this weekend when I am zipping around with the dogs and cats. I can't wait to meet them. One group is called the 7 dwarves. These are 7 St. Bernard puppies. I love the name. I know I will love the puppies too. At least as long as I remember to bring plenty of newspaper for accidents. :)

Times Change

While I wish we didn't have to rescue animals, Virginia has a wonderful website which does list when someone finds a herd or animal in distress. And they welcome input from rescue groups. So the world is coming closer together -- for rescue groups and for animal management groups which are normally many lightyears apart.

Rescue Today

Rescue is a huge antidote to the quiet Saturdays I have been having. Here is a great shot of pup we rescued last year. Much as I love the rush, I am hopeful that the No-Kill Advocacy movement starts getting a foothold in areas of the country that refuse to believe in contraception. The only way we as rescuers can relax is when and if there is a nationwide law requiring any rescue animal be neutered. Any rescue, anywhere. And then going further and requiring any animal owner gives proof of neutering their animal. Of course, there will be exceptions for those who breed for show, who breed to preserve the breeds they love. And there will be required programs for those who want to adopt animals from breed clubs to educate them in exactly what kind of animal they are buying. Perhaps membership in a breed club should be required prior to ownership. Perhaps this sounds draconian. But after today's run with a pregnant mom dog and her puppies who were going to all be put down in a shelter down south, I just gotta think the shelter system is broken because cases like this are just too sad. And tragic because it is preventable, folks. Sigh. It is just too sad.

Evolving from Moody Blues

Moody Blues -- I used to love listening to them. Back in the day, the band was one of the first to combine orchestral music with rocker elements. Powerful stuff in the move away from the Elivs/Beatles steady drumming. Powerful stuff for its time. But I guess I have moved on because I actually demand lyrics and profound apologies -- but Moody Blues lyrics sound so lame today. Today I spent time on a rescue run listening to their album and I kept moving from song to song. Dissatisfaction, distraction, distancing myself from them. Instead, I put in my daughter's album of Sick Puppies which was much more satisfying. Rock on, bloggers,

Taming Feelings? Try Herding Cats.

Here is a photo of the cat that brought me into rescue. Ally Cat. Much of what I do in rescue spills over into my life. And Ally was the match that lit the fire. She radicalized me as much as Katrina and 9/11 did. As I foster and work with animals bringing them back from fear into trust, I realize that direct confrontation doesn't work at all. Of course, this makes sense on a physical level. A cat who is cornered is a formidable opponent. A dog who is cornered is the same. My way of dealing with these animals is just to sit with them. Sit. Not gesture, not read a book in the same room, just sit. And what begins to happen is interesting. The animals start to sit with me. Not face to face but at various angles. I see the more fearful among them settling into quietness out of the corner of my eye. And those small glimpses are flickers of trust starting up inside those critters. I often hear that if you blink slowly at a cat you are showing them love and vice versa.

The cats I have rescued are no where near the slow blinking stage. They pant when they are picked up. They need catnip toys to tussle with to drain off excess fear. But after a time (variable for each) they become slow blinkers. Still independent, still free to walk away, but much more interactive. In fact, I feel sad for people who want to adopt a cat that is immediately interactive because they miss so much of the journey into the life of another soul.

So how does that rescue reaction of patience spill into my own life? It teaches me how to deal with my feelings of sadness, of fear, of pride, of inadequacy. I have a long standing habit of turning feelings into pain because it is easier for me to deal with pain than to deal with feelings. And it is a habit. When I first started working with rescue, I noticed I wasn't hurting as much. I began to develop more patience being able to sit with my own emotional reactions to fear and the others instead of rushing to turn the emotion into physical pain which I can use to run away from people and animals both.

Today in Latin Quotes

Quote for the Day: From "Latin Quips at Your Fingertips" collected by Rose Williams. Dives Sum, si non reddo eis quibus debeo. Plautus, Curculio, 377. Translation: I am a rich man so long as I don't pay my creditors. Hah. I love that. Plautus rocks. And he starts my day off thinking. Not so much about paying my creditors -- I do that anyway and do think those thoughts as well. No. I am thinking more along the lines of life and death. And dealing in the face of ultimate truths. So because I cannot change, for better or worse, conditions beyond myself, my goal today is to pay the creditors I can pay. Work for lives that can be saved. That's why I do rescue work with Truck-N-Paws and Maine Coon Cat Rescue and Friends of Homeless Animals. There are not enough hours in the day to help those organizations. All of them always need drivers, caregivers, cat and dog walker/petters and people with paws on the ground looking for ways to help.