VOLUNTEER…ENJOY A PICNIC LUNCH…MEET THE ANIMALS…

or all of the above!

Sunday August 28, 2011

Compassion for Animals is organizing a combination “volunteer day” and guided tour at Poplar Spring Animal Sanctuary. Please sign up for either event or both by RSVPing to info@compassion4animals.org.

Volunteering starts at 9am, and the tour starts at 1pm; there will be a lunch break in the middle. The tour can accommodate up to 40 people—bring your friends! Details below.

We’re especially interested in attracting people who have never been to this wonderful, peaceful place—but anyone can sign up!

Poplar Spring is a 400-acre oasis near Poolesville, Maryland, about 45 minutes from DC. The residents of Poplar Spring are 200 “farm animals” rescued from abuse, neglect, abandonment, and cruelty. Their stories are often heartbreaking, but their resilience and recovery—and the compassion they’ve received from caring humans—is inspiring.

Come meet the chickens, turkeys, cows, pigs, goats, sheep, rabbits, and other animals who live freely at Poplar Spring. You may be amazed at some of their personalities.

Volunteers:

There are lots of chores to be done at the sanctuary, and on the weekends they’re done by volunteers. We’ll spread hay, clean barns, refill water bowls, brush horses, and—yes—shovel poop. It usually takes about three hours to get all the tasks done.

Volunteers may want to bring an extra pair of shoes and socks, and maybe an extra shirt, as well as a pair of work or gardening gloves. You may also want to bring some water, although you can buy bottled water at the sanctuary.

Although we’ve helped out at Poplar Spring for years and have never seen any accidents, and you’ll be led by experienced, safety-conscious sanctuary directors and volunteers, the sanctuary does ask that first-time volunteers fill out this volunteer application form AND waiver form (both are necessary); you can either mail them back to Poplar Spring or bring them with you when you show up. The work is not particularly strenuous; it is more like house-cleaning than aerobics. Volunteers on any given day may range from teenagers to those drawing Social Security; you can participate at your own pace. The environment at Poplar Spring is very friendly and supportive. Volunteers under 16 years old must be accompanied by an adult.

You’ll likely get a chance to rub a pig’s belly, hold a chicken, and pet turkeys, goats, and other animals. Very cool stuff. But please do so under supervision, as the long-time volunteers and sanctuary directors will have useful tips and will know which animals like (or do not like) that sort of interaction. If you’ll also be taking the tour, there will also be opportunities to interact with the animals then.

Note: We have to limit the number of volunteers for sanctuary chores to about 10, so it’s important that you RSVP.

Lunch:

People volunteering or taking the tour are invited to bring a vegan (no animal ingredients) picnic lunch. We’ll eat lunch from the time we finish the morning chores until 1 pm. Compassion for Animals will bring some vegan food to share, including desserts. There are picnic tables, as well as wash-up facilities and a place to buy water and iced tea on the grounds. So here’s the schedule:

9 AM-noon — Sanctuary Cleanup

Noon-1 PM — Lunch

1-2PM — Guided Tour

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Poplar Spring Animal Sanctuary

15200 Mt. Nebo Rd.

Poolesville, Maryland 20837

[map and directions]

When you arrive, open the gate to drive in, then close the gate behind you. Drive about a mile along the gravel road until you get near the end and can see some of the buildings on the property. We’ll gather there. You can park your vehicle on the grass by the side of the road.

We can probably arrange some carpooling. Let us know if that’s something you’d be interested in.

RSVP: info@compassion4animals.org

We hope to see you there! 

Right now in Iowa (the state I am usually proud to be from), the legislature is trying to make it illegal to take picture of animals being raised for consumption in inhumane conditions. This boggles my mind. But I can see why they wouldn’t want this–they don’t want know-it-alls like me actually finding out what it is they are doing! It seems to me that this would not even be an issue if animals where being cared for in the way that they should be. Unfortunately, this is far from the truth. 99% of the flesh consumed in this country comes from factory farms where many animals literally wallow in their own feces, cannot move (or sometimes stand up), get dangerous diseases and infections, and die. Some little chickens even get their beaks chopped off so they wont euthanize each other. Then they are savagely ripped apart, packaged, and after rotting for several days, end up at the local Wal-Mart.

Gross. Me. Out.

People tend to get very up in arms about my decision not to eat meat. I am always a bit confused. How have I offended thee? What I have just described does not worry you, but my eating habits do? I don’t think so. People just don’t have to whole picture yet. Lets hope that laws like the one in Iowa are not allowed to exist, so that we can continue to educate ourselves about what we are putting into our bodies and how we are treating the world around us.

I have much more to say about this topic, so I have decided to dedicate the rest of the month on my blog to these issues. I am also going vegan for the month, and don’t worry, I’ll tell you why next time.

For now, if you are so moved, please support efforts to block the proposed law in Iowa banning the documentation of animal cruelty on factory farms:

http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/5986/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=6675

Today’s crankiness crusher was thinking about my wild kingdom. As the animals flock to our yard, it makes me feel like I’m their Snow White. I smile when I see the fat squirrel make off with a huge piece of bread as he runs along the top of our fence. I love pointing out the bunnies in our yard and how my kids’ eyes light up when they see them hopping along. I enjoy birdwatching from the kitchen window as they cheerfully come and go from our bird feeder.

Our pic of Rocco was too dark, but this guy is just as cute!

Our yardmate Gilbert the Groundhog has dug humongous burrows near the foundation of our house, but I would never set a trap or call Animal Control. He’s just too darn cuddly looking! (Those of you who aren’t animal lovers are probably rolling your eyes at this sentence.) I’m sure I’ll catch him scurrying off with a bunch of my flower heads filling up his cheeks soon. Last night, I noticed that the bird feeder tempted a new animal friend–a raccoon (who I’ll call Rocco). I seriously thought it was a huge gray cat sitting on our deck until he turned sideways and I saw the black mask. He must have been there for an hour sticking his snout into the bird feeder and chowing down on the wild berry square I had put out for them. My husband snapped a picture of him with his iPhone, and while he was upset that we have yet another rodent to worry about, he admitted that he looked kind of cute using his little hands to scavenge for food. It appears that Rocco even managed to knock some of the crankiness out of him!

German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer once said, “Compassion for animals is intimately connected with goodness of character.” Knowing that the animals feel our yard is a safe place for them makes me happy–and it gives me more opportunities to nurture the living things around me. What’s your take-away from all of this? If you live somewhere where the wild life is abundant, try to focus on living in harmony with nature rather than instinctively chasing it away. The critters may bring you more happiness than you thought!

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Here’s a photo essay of our tour:

Piles o’ Piggies!

Due to genetic manipulation to meet the demands of the animal agriculture business, pigs have been “designed” to grow too fast too quickly. Their bodies cannot keep up and this inevitably causes arthritis and joint problems. We watched as one piggie had a very difficult time getting around, even despite veterinary care and medication.

Don’t interrupt! Deep conversations…

Founder and Director Terry, tells us their incredible stories…

Heidi outsmarted the thieves! She has escaped death, quite a few times, including jumping out of a barn window…you tell ‘em honey!

Wynne gets cow smooches!

The Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale Ambassadors

Cuddle Fest

After meowing all morning and then frantically chasing a guinea hen as a result of a love triangle turned sour, this peacock decided to finally see what these humans were about.

Goats!

Malcolm and Wynne

Malcolm and Gabby

For the Animals!

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Also, make sure you check out Gabby’s incredible photos HERE!

Host your own PPV Screening!

Upcoming Pay-Per-Views:

+ May 3rd: “Earthlings” PPV

Earn $5 to watch this 90 minute documentary about how animals are used for food, clothing, entertainment, and as pets. You must sign in and stay the entirety of the film. Free vegan snacks and discussion to follow. Limit 50 persons. With Compassion for Animals. 4:30-6:30pm, JC Meeting Room F.

+ May 5th: “Farm to Fridge” PPV

Earn $2 and a vegan cookie to watch a 4 minute video clip exposing common practices in the animal agriculture business. With Compassion for Animals. 11-3pm, JC kiosk B.

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Watch the expanded video (12 mins):

What we’re seeing of late in the animal-welfare movement – in large part – is battle of greed versus compassion. I never want to narrowly cram everyone into categories, but in a broad sense, this is the problem we face.

One side refuses to consider the fact that animals experience emotions and thus both physical and emotional pain and suffering. To understand this would mean industries that use animals would have to budget compassion into their operations. Maybe it’s changing to free-range facilities to produce eggs or removing pigs from tiny enclosures.

It’s not convenient or cost-effective to understand that animals have self-awareness -  for industries like your standard factory farm or greyhound racing or in puppy mill operations.

The other side wants to see animals treated with care and compassion.

I’ve thought about this topic of late. It hit me when I read that some people were against improving  laws that might protect dogs and cats from torture because it might lead to laws that would protect farm animals. So these folks didn’t want to see those who torture pets held accountable because it “could” lead to a cut in their bottom lines somewhere down the road.

Compassion and greed have a really hard time living in the same room.

A few of my favorite quotes from the interview -

“” … the book of Job is an excellent example of God’s reminder that all animals are sacred parts of the creation. They also point to the holiest of people — from St. Jerome to St. Brigid to St. Martin de Porres — considering animals compassionately and treating them with great care. “”

“” They live and die, just as we do. They are very much like us — but are also unique. We can’t create them, but we also can’t live without them. We need them, for our physical and spiritual well-being, and somehow we know this. “”

“” The number of animals who suffer in the factory farming system is beyond comprehension for most people. Christians should be deeply concerned with a system that requires so much suffering. “”

Nick

Nick is now vegan which means he eats NO animal products. He doesn’t even eat foods that include animal products (i.e., no veggieburger buns or noodles or pretzels that contain milk or eggs). His reasons are very well thought out and very compassionate – and many would say, extreme.  Even I struggle with his philosophy: I desperately want to continue eating dairy products that come from local farms where the animals are treated well, yet  he argues that even this can be considered cruelty: only female animals are needed to produce milk and eggs. What happens to all the males? (Answer, of course – a few are used to sire offspring and the rest are eaten.)  So, my admiration is high for the way he lives his beliefs and for his deep compassion for the rights of animals. I know many people disagree with veganism and will question whether or not a young, active man like Nick can remain healthy on such a diet.  As a mom, I worry, but I trust he will research thoroughly how to live this strict lifestyle.

Me:

In my earlier posts I listed my goals as:

1)Eat no meat, or if I do, eat only meat from local, cruelty-free, ranches

2)Eat dairy  from animal-friendly (cruelty-free) sources

3) Research and write about local and national sources of cruelty-free products

So, how have I done? True confessions time.

1) I have eaten very little meat, but must confess (to Nick’s horror I’m sure) that I had an occasional hot dog in the past seven months. I just LIKE hot dogs, and to justify my eating them, I reason that no one ever killed an animal just to make a hot dog. I realize this may be patently untrue, but I imagine hot dogs are mostly made up of leftover parts. I have also eaten meat when it is served to me. And I have eaten fish.  So, definitely not perfect in this category.

2) I have totally failed in this category. I have eaten cheese and dairy from many sources, not just cruelty-free ones. At our local Co-op in Isla Vista, we have access to these kinder products and I choose them when I can. But I do not avoid all products that include dairy from factory farms. This is my goal, but it is a lot of work and involves more self-sacrifice than I have been willing to make. HOWEVER, I renewed my desire to do this when I was with Nick. While traveling this is very difficult, but  I will see what I can do from today on.

3) I have found several local sources of cruelty-free meat and dairy in the Santa Barbara area, but I left my lists at home. My friend Ted Chiles listed two in his comments, and I am sure others of you can post what you know and help me out. I also have not done much national research, but I do have some resources that friends have sent and recommended. So, lots of work to be done here.

All in all, I continue to want to make choices that don’t cause suffering to animals. Please join me if you can, even by making a little step toward the goal.

My viewing often takes me to classic old movies or TV shows. One thing I’ve noted over time is the fact that some of these old TV shows used to highlight compassion for animals in selected episodes.

This video I’ve posted here is one of the all-time greats. It’s the ending to the episode of the Andy Griffith Show where Opie accidentally shots a mother bird with his new slingshot. For those unfamiliar with it, Opie raises the baby birds left behind and later has to release them back into their urban habitat.

I consider the scene where Andy and Opie are watching the birds fly to the trees in their front yard as one of the greatest TV moments of all time.

Opie looks at the now-vacant cage and says, “The cage sure looks awful empty, don’t it Paw?”

Andy replies – “Yes son, it sure does. But don’t the trees seem nice and full.”

The message throughout is one of compassion for animals and how wild animals should not be wantonly killed and should live in their natural habitat. I’ll admit it, I get choked up every time I see the scene where Opie releases the birds.

I’ve seen compassion for animals highlighted in shows from Bachelor Father to Daniel Boone and others. Daniel Boone often featured talk of trapping animals, which is a highly cruel practice, although I do understand the depiction is historically accurate. But I’ve also watched episodes where the characters spoke of compassion for animals.

These shows ran in the 1950s and 1960s, yet the message was featured in a direct way. I started watching Bachelor Father on occasion because I’ve seen episodes where the characters saved a dog from a cruelty and were troubled when they thought a family of woodpeckers had been killed.

ARC and Compassion for Animals (CfA) screened “Meat Your Meat” to GMU community members on September 16th, 2010. Students, staff, and

faculty could earn $1 for watching a 4 minute segment of the film which documents the suffering and exploitation of animals endured as standard practices at factory farming facilities and slaughterhouses. We encourage everyone that partakes in meat consumption and animal exploitation to educate themselves about what they are endorsing and to question if these choices are truly aligned with their morals. 36 people watched the full segment, and 5 people refused to take the dollar.

The next PPV at GMU is on Thursday, October 7, from 3-7pm at JC kiosk B!

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Watch “Meet Your Meat!”

With kids like those on this list, we can feel a little better about our future. Compassion will live on. We’ll always face those who don’t care about others, animals or people. But I hope a compassionate generation is coming along.

We still have some distance to go in the movement to inject compassion into our laws and in spreading the message of compassion for all creatures.

But there are two major factors in human behavior that are holding back the pace of new legislation and thus the animal welfare movement overall. And those two factors are greed and selfishness.

Animal lovers seem to have, in a general sense, some common emotional traits – among them primarily is empathy. To be able to put yourself in someone else’s shoes – or paws or fins or claws – to walk around for a while, is a gift. We must be able to care for someone or something other than ourselves.

I can’t imagine not caring. I cannot imagine putting profit above all else. I cannot imagine thinking as long I profit or as long as my family is okay, I don’t care what happens to anyone else. I was raised with the message of caring for others.
Example – One winter’s afternoon when I was a kid, my dad saw walking down our street the older man who cut the grass for a number of the people in our neighborhood. We all knew he was struggling to make ends meet. He worked hard to scratch out any dollars he could muster through odd jobs.

Our yard had just a couple of small areas of grass, as a number of very large trees blocked the sunlight to an extent that prohibited the growth of a lawn. So our yard duties were limited mostly to raking leaves in the fall.

My dad handed me a twenty-dollar bill and asked me to take it to the man as he pushed his small mower down the sidewalk. My father didn’t want the credit or the thanks. He just wanted to do something that day for someone in need. It made an impression on me and I’ve never forgotten what happened that afternoon – in that simple act of kindness.

We are all better off if we care about each other. People can either have compassion, they can be apathetic or they can be hateful and uncaring. How anyone can choose to be anything but compassionate, at least to some degree, is beyond my level of understanding.

And how we can set an example to children to be anything but caring and compassionate adults is … well … unthinkable.

But we’re seeing the unthinkable every day in the news. Too often, I’m linking news stories reporting the unthinkable, in terms of cruel acts of torture committed against animals – from puppy mills to dog fighting and more. Greed and selfishness have been infecting our society for far too long.

It’s time for good people to act with a pack mentality of compassion – like an antibiotic of compassion – to reduce the swelling of cruelty and apathy. It’s time.

The Register Citizen reports she heard about a fire at the ARF shelter and so for her community service project, for her bat mitzvah, Elly Overton decided to help with a large donation.

And for the last five years, the confirmed animal lover has also been donating $20 from her allowance money to American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. And – she wants to be a veterinarian when she grows up.

In Baltimore, Md., the does appear to be a troubling trend, as reported recently by WBAL-TV. Even more troubling is the fact there are more cases of kids abusing animals.

So there is a push underway to include education programs about the proper treatment of animals in schools and in faith-based programs.

And of course, these abuse cases are not limited to particular continents. The Daily Record in the UK posted a story Saturday on its website about what police in one town are calling the worst case of animal cruelty they’ve ever seen.

A cat was burned in a  microwave oven, placed in a drier and then into a freezer, before the sick individual or others tried to drown it dishwater. Somehow, the cat survived, but the little 4-year-old boy who loves the cat is described as heartbroken about what happened to his pet.

And the New York Daily News tells the tale of a little Yorkshire terrier who was left for dead, clearly in a terrible state of neglect. The story suggest some of the increase in neglect cases in New York could be due to the tough economy.

For some, the times are indeed tough. But when a pet is suffering, these folks need to reach out for help and not allow the pet to reach the physical state described in this story.

Beyond these cases, are folks who just don’t care. And that fact takes us back to the need for more compassion education in our schools and churches.

• Offer care, rehabilitation, and permanent sanctuary for neglected, abandoned or unwanted farm animals
• Provide protected habitat for wildlife
• Furnish information to the public regarding farm animal and wildlife issues
• Promote compassion and humane treatment for all animals

The exquisite 400-acre property is home to rescued pigs, cows, goats, chickens, turkeys, peacocks, horses, sheep, rabbits, geese and ducks. Terry and Dave do an amazing job caring and advocating for these animals. We heard some amazing survivor stories that testified to both the strength and forgiveness of these creatures, it is amazing how they can learn to trust and love humans again. They reminded us to live compassionately and reaffirmed why a society based on animal exploitation is so wrong. To learn more about the animals and their rescue stories, click here.

A story posted recently on the Press Trust of India website notes the move is being proposed as a means to help prevent young people from “becoming potential abusers.”

It is an interesting piece of news. I think spreading compassion for animals is a good thing. This level of instruction could actually be included within the study of science.

Kids need to learn that animals can feel pain  – both physical and emotional – and that an advanced society should work to protect the innocent and helpless from pain and suffering.

But what do you think? Should our schools in the United States teach compassion and animal welfare? Are public schools the right venue for this instruction?

The Stroud District Council, according the story posted on StroudNewsandJournal.co.uk, enacted an Animal Welfare Charter to promote the principle that “creatures have the right to a life free from cruelty and unnecessary suffering.”

It lays out five basic freedoms for animals (quoted from the article):

- Freedom from fear and distress

- Freedom from hunger or thirst

- Freedom from pain, injury or disease

- Freedom to express normal behaviour

- And freedom from discomfort

What a great move this is. What a great community this must be to live in. I’m a homebody and I’ve never moved away from my hometown in North Carolina, but if I heard about a town or city in the United States that had adopted such a charter, I’d be tempted to move there.

When I look at this list of freedoms, I see it can be applied directly as the case against industries such as puppy mills, greyhound racing and too many mass-production factory farms.

I think Stroud has set a standard for communities everywhere to live by – in fact for towns, cities, states and countries across the globe to live by.

These are five basic principles of freedom, for animals and humans. It’s a great list, but I’m trying to decide if there any other principles that could be added to the list. Or is it complete?

Your thoughts? ….

Utley and his wife have been working with the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals to organize the annual Utley All-Star Animals event.

The Philadelphia second baseman focuses on the issue of animal cruelty, but the Examiner story linked above notes the issues of adoption and spay/neuter are also high on his list.

I’ve talked a lot over the years about the importance of being  a positive role model for kids. Utley is a standout big-leaguer in this area, in promoting kindness to animals to kids.

Felony animal cruelty charges could be forthcoming in the California case, but the man in New York will only have to serve weekends in jail for three months and engage in 100 hours of community service after a misdemeanor plea deal.

No doubt similar cases have been reported for decades now, but there seems to be a marked increase in these reports more recently. Our society needs to takes vigorous steps to better educate young people about compassion for animals.

Compassionate kids become compassionate adults. And don’t forget, we are all role models in this regard. Pass along compassion by engaging in kindness to animals and discussing these acts with the children around you.

Special thanks to Gabriela Galeano for being our photographer!

Watch “Meat Your Meat” and start changing your life!

 People always ask me, “why don’t you eat meat?  don’t you miss it?”… and the answer is “I choose not to eat meat out of compassion for other beings on this earth… and NO.  I don’t miss it.  Not at all”.  I acknowledge that maybe it’s not the most “common” practice, especially for those of Filipino decent, but for me.. it’s a way of life. 

I choose to not eat animals because I realize that by doing so, I am contributing to the suffering of many lives, both animal and human.  I don’t consider myself to be an activist or anything of the sort, but I feel like my PERSONAL stand on this subject, helps change the world even if it’s by getting someone to think twice about what they are putting into his/her mouth.  My small stand is my way of making a positive impact on this earth and those living on it.

Like I said, I am by no means a PETA supporter/animal rights activist/hippie/radicalist… nor do I claim to be, but I believe what I believe, and I stand by my choices.  I know it’s hard for people to understand or for others to accept my lifestyle, but they’re just going to have to deal.  It’s already been over a year now, and people STILL poke fun at me/call me crazy/belittle me/and just outright act like assholes because I don’t participate in their meat eating ways. 

It’s stupid.  I NEVER push my beliefs on others… so please don’t push yours on me.  To each their own. 

So… I don’t even know where I am going with this post.  I guess what I’m just trying to say, not so eloquently, is that there is a reason behind my madness…. real reasons for why I live the way I do.. and I will stick by them, regardless of how everyone else feels about it.  I only have one life to live, so I will do with it what I want.  And if that means being compassionate to others… then that ain’t so bad.

– if you want to learn more about vegetarianism/veganism please check out this site which has many other links that you can visit or any of the links on the “be veg” category on my blog–