This is Red. My sister and her former housemate rescued him from the township in Piketberg, where he had been left to starve to death. With the huge hearts that they both have (and the number of rescue animals they have managed to save throughout the years), they managed to rescue Red and take him to a safe place. When they first got him about a month or so ago, he could hardly walk, wouldn’t eat and had wounds on his rump from where his bones had cut through his skin.

I know that it’s hard for any animal lover to think about how anyone could do this to such a beautiful dog, but it is critical to understand that malice is not always a factor. Ignorance and poverty on the other hand, are two major factors that lead to such serious neglect. My sister Melissa and her pal Les are slowly nursing Red back to health, and over the past few weeks he has started getting better, then he has been put on a drip, and on it goes. Right now, he is doing okay and is asking to be let out to go do his business. They are feeding him chicken soup, which he apparently likes, and he is being given antibiotics and other treatment to help him recover.

The most important thing for a rescue animal like this however is love and consistency. Rescue dogs are never easy. They almost always develop deep-seated emotional and trust issues, and sometimes they act out with agression, barking or other bad behavour. Dogs need a lot more attention and devotion than cats, and they need to form a bond with their owner and develop trust. Giving a rescue dog a home is a life-long commitment, and one of the worst things that can happen to a rescue dog is a well-meaning but misguided person taking a dog from a shelter or rescuing one from a bad situation, before realising that they cannot care for the animal. Animals who have been rejected once have a good chance of recovering at some stage. Animals who have been rejected more than once lose their spirit and also lose all trust in people.

The reason I wanted to share this story about Red was to show that there ARE good people out there who are saving dogs from a terrible fait such as the horrendous story I read on News24 today about a dog burnt alive. With enough patience, care, love and hard work, we can make a huge difference.

When Red eventually reaches his full recovery, my sister wants to train him to be an outreach dog, and take him to the local schools in Piketberg to teach children how important it is to treat animals properly. Many of these kids come from families who have almost no education, and their attitudes have been handed down from generation to generation. Teaching our children is the only way that we can start to build a nation of people who respect all life on our planet.

I am going to post updates on Red’s story too, so that we can all learn from his journey back to health. Let’s make Red a poster dog for saying NO to apathy, and YES to caring!

***UPDATE 07/06/2011***

My sister called me last night to say that poor Red had to be put to sleep yesterday. His story has touched so many people, most of whom never even got to meet him. My sister and Les’ Facebooks were inundated with concerns and comments from the very first few days that Red came into their lives, and I hope that his message will help to inspire all of us… there are many, many dogs just like Red out there, who need people to take action and help wherever they can.

If you see or hear of an animal in need, even if you are not able to take it in yourself, please spread the word to friends and family. This is not someone else’s problem and if every animal in need gets a chance in life, that is one less animal suffering in neglect.

Zorro

UPDATE: via Chris M – Happy to report that African Tails have reported that they have found a family for Zorro!

One of the most heartbreaking things about abandoned, abused and neglected shelter dogs is having to endure the chance at a happy life, only to be rejected by their foster family and be sent back to the shelter. Dogs especially are loyal and extremely loving companion animals, and form strong bonds with their owners – this is what makes Zorro’s story all the more upsetting… this dog has been housed and sent back to the shelter too many times, and has pretty much lost his will to live.

It’s not easy to read what follows, but I’m asking you to please read this and pass on to friends, family and anyone else you know who might be able to give Zorro his final chance – he is only a year old, and if African Tails can’t find him the permanent forever home he so desperately needs, the only humane thing to do would be to put him out of his suffering.

From the African Tails Facebook page:

Zorro URGENTLY needs a miracle – TODAY

Life has not been kind to Zorro. He was rescued in Atlantis in November 2009 as a scrawny, skinny, mangey pup. Zorro was fostered by a lady who was visiting SA for a few months from Mexico and she pampered and adored him until it was time for her to leave again, resulting in Zorro being relocated to a new foster home. His second foster mom lived in a small flat and Zorro’s high pitched bark annoyed the neighbours, so Zorro had to be shunted along yet again. He then spent some time on a farm with many other dogs but they all ganged up on him and bullied him, so once again, he was moved along. His enthusiastic barking annoyed the neighbours at his 4th foster home, whereupon Zorro was taken in by Lola and Family (African Tails) where he brought incredible joy to us all. He is an unbelievably dear and precious boy – loving, playful, friendly and gentle.

Zorro’s happy day finally dawned when he was adopted for keeps by a wonderful family. Zorro became the devoted companion to a little 3 year-old girl as well as a Weimeraner and Labrador pup. He settled down and loved life as much as his new family loved him, even though his skin still troubled him. His Dad went beyond the call of duty to alleviate the pain and discomfort his skin condition caused and then his forever family expanded to include a newborn baby. Zorro’s characteristic high pitched bark became a problem and kept his frazzled family out of their sleep and caused bad neighbourly relations. Zorro’s Dad’s work situation changed which found him working in JHB 3 weeks out of every month, and due to these unfortunate circumstances, we were once again forced to relocate Zorro into temporary foster care (as a permanent home was nowhere to be found).

This final move fractured Zorro’s spirit. He couldn’t understand why, after months of living “happily ever after”, he found himself in yet another strange environment. He wondered where his little 3 year-old human friend was and why he had been abandoned by those who loved him – AGAIN. All he’d ever done was give his love and utter devotion to his human care-givers… but he found himself separated from his loved ones and lost his will to live. As a result, his skin condition flared up even worse than before. On Saturday a kind, caring lady went to see if she could help (after heeding our desperate pleas) and fetched Zorro from where he had been languishing from a broken heart. She gathered him into her loving arms and sobbed her way home. As much as she would love to give Zorro what he needs – she is not in a position to do so. Her heart broke when she realized how much pain he is in with his raw and itching skin. Zorro, a once affectionate, playful and friendly boy, has retreated into his shell and is a shadow of his former self. His eyes are dull and filled with sorrow and he flinches at the prospect of human touch – it just hurts too much. This once playful pup (he is 1 year old) now just sleeps his dismal existence away.

This morning Zorro paid a visit to our Mange Expert vet, Dr Reena Cotton to see if there is any hope of him recovering and having relief from his painful skin. At this stage, Zorro is in constant pain and we cannot bear to see this special boy suffer any longer. Dr Cotton believes that there is hope for Zorro’s physical condition. With intensive treatment and sponsored food (raw food BARF diet) from Dog Matters, we can help him recover. Physically – we can sort him out once and for all – this we know – as we have undertaken the 30-day Zorro challenge – but we just don’t know how much more he can t ake emotionally and psychologically. His mental state and disruptive life is solely to blame for his current skin relapse.

Zorro needs to be collected from Citi Vet Sea Point this afternoon. He will return to his ex-foster home at African Tails head office with Lola and her ever growing brood of rescue mutts. There is absolutely no way that we can mess with his mind and soul any longer. Zorro needs someone to commit to him for life – unconditionally and forever. Unless he finds a family who is prepared to devote their life to him – Zorro will continue to suffer by being shunted around even more. This is a dog whose spirit is already damaged and if we cannot find an answer for him ASAP, then the kindest thing to be will be to end his suffering once and for all – after a year of working at finding a solution to his troubled life and physical ailments. There is no way we can allow him to suffer any longer. If there simply isn’t a home out there who can take him in for keeps, Zorro must find his peace in Doggy Heaven. Zorro doesn’t bite, he is not aggressive – he is well-mannered, intelligent, beautiful, kind, gentle and playful, which makes it even harder for us to comprehend why he has had to go through all of this.

We hope that Zorro’s story has touched your hearts as it has broken ours (and his). Please – Zorro’s angels are working overtime and we need an answer to fix his life for him once and for all.

PLEASE HELP AFRICAN TAILS HELP ZORRO WITHOUT DELAY.

If you know of anyone out there who can give this dog a chance, then please call Lola at Africa Tails (details here) and help give Zorro a chance to have a normal doggy life of love, security and purpose!

MTV TJ @LivitLuvit doing her thang

If you aren’t following @LivitLuvit, then now would be a good time to start. This chick is doing some awesome things in her mission to become a MTV Twitter Jockey, not least her #savethefurbabies campaign – which aims to raise funds and awareness for shelters in the US to get people to adopt, donate or help in any other way they can.

have you *ever*, just look at that face!

It’s no secret that I love my own FurBabies (pains in the butt they may be!), and while these two are not rescue kittehs, many of the cats we had growing up have been rescued. Here in South Africa we have HUGE numbers of cats, dogs, kittens and puppies sitting around waiting to be adopted or put down at shelters across the country – some may be lucky enough to find homes, others may be sent back and forth many times, before living out the rest of their lives at a no kill shelter. Then there are the ones who don’t get much of a chance at all, and are put down without days of arriving at the shelter.

Those in the US can check out LiLu’s super rad campaign over here to find out how they can help. You can also vote for her in the MTV TJ search by clicking right here.

For us South African peeps, consider adopting a pet rather than buying – the chance to save a cat or dog, and make a difference to a rescue animal makes it one of the best things you can do. DARG, TEARS and the SPCA are just some of the options you have to find your own FurBaby.

Let’s be inspired by the #savethefurbabies campaign and see how we can use Twitter to do some good!

Silly cow is apparently in Denmark fulfilling some disgusting childhood fantasy of designing her own fur coat, and she has some hysterically disillusioned and r-tarded things to say about it all.

“Wearing fur may be associated with something grandmotherish. Something you wear when you visit the opera, or if you are a rock star and wears it inside out. But I will advocate that both my generation and the younger generation can wear fur”, says the next Sharon Stone of the cougar generation, going on to say, “I will wear the fur garment when I follow my children to school, when I drink coffee and when I sleep.”

Bet she will also be wearing it when a mob of angry Peta supporters throw red paint all over her, sheesh. What a great role model for her children.

[VIA]

Free Willy?

I just read a few news reports about an orca (or killer whale as we like to call them) killing a trainer at SeaWorld in Orlando. This makes me mad for many reasons, not least because of the stupid comments about the fish being treated better than humans. Mostly, I just cannot understand why zoo parks and aquariums continue to keep these animals when it is so obvious that they are not meant to be kept in captivity – and made to perform silly tricks for food. No wonder they attack their trainers, I would too if I was subjected to that bull shit.

As someone who worked at an aquarium for a few years, both behind the scenes and with the seals, it’s easy to miss where the line starts to blur, but the Two Oceans Aquarium has always had a very strict no dolphin and no killer whale rule – the focus is on education and conservation rather than entertainment. Their seals were rescued as pups and have since gone on to a bigger home, and they even ‘recycle’ their ragged tooth sharks as part of their shark conservation efforts.

Other reasons why keeping killer whales in tanks is stupid:

1. The only incidents of orcas attacking and/or killing people is when they are kept in captivity.
2. They often develop pathologies, such as the dorsal fin collapse seen in 60–90% of captive males.
3. They have vastly reduced life expectancies, on average only living into their 20s.
4. Captive life is stressful due to small tanks, false social groupings and chemically altered water.
5. Their intelligence and social nature is messed up by the lack of proper hierarchy.

As you could probably guess, I bawled my eyes out in Free Willy, and in fact battle to watch this movie. I prefer to see these fish on National Geographic, chasing seals and looking beautiful.

But seeing them in tanks, jumping for fish? Not so cool.

As requested by Partner in Crime, here are a few truths about shark chumming and how these practices really affect attacks and such.

* Shark chumming does not have huge impact

It does however, need to be done responsibly of course. But by all accounts, even from a conservation point of view, chumming does not really have much effect on shark attacks. The main reason for this is that sharks do not eat humans, their main diet is fish and seals and as such extra blood in the water is not going to make them develop more of a taste for humans. Biting twice is a very rare phenomenon, and could have many possible reasons for occurring, but most of these do not involve chumming. Also, consider this – every fishing vessel out at sea is in effect chumming whenever they haul in their catch – this has been happening for centuries, and has little, if any effect.

* Chumming is mostly done further out to sea.

Newsflash people, one of the biggest reasons for what seems like more shark attacks in recent years is the fact there are more people. There has actually been LESS reports of shark related injuries or deaths in the past few years anyway, proving that chumming hasn’t had much effect one way or another.

* There are still thousands if not millions of sharks out there

Despite the fact that their numbers are being depleted and many shark species are endangered, there are in actual fact a lot more sharks out there under the surface than you may have thought. Cruising around the Atlantic Seaboard, chilling around the False Bay coastline and further ashore – if they really wanted to eat us, and if chumming really played much of a role in things, we would be seeing more and hearing more reports of sightings and/or attacks. One of the biggest possible reasons for increased shark sightings is the Great White’s relatively recent protection as an endangered species.

* Sharks do not always play along

There is evidence that chumming doesn’t actually help much in terms of shark spotting and cage diving. Factors for seeing sharks is a lot more variable than dead fish in the water – it all depends on the water temperature, weather and many other factors. The fact of the matter is that sharks are not as predictable as we like to think – fish they may be, but their highly developed sensors tend to dictate what they do, and most of the time they prefer to keep to themselves and chow down on the odd seal.

So, overall chumming has not been shown to have much impact one way or another. What does however have impact is that there are more people, and more activity in our oceans. The simple truth is that if you want to swim or play in the sea, you have to realise that you stand a minuscule chance of being bitten (or drowned). Just as you would hopefully not get out of your safari vehicle and walk around my the lions at Kruger National Park, you have to realise that the sea is not our territory and if you want to venture out there, you can’t avoid the potential dangers.

The only people that can really be blamed at all are the people who swim in our seas without being aware, and the ones who make the decision to swim, knowing that they are taking a risk. Many people are willing to take that chance, as I am – but in all likelihood it would be a near miracle to even spot a pajama shark, let alone a Great White.

After the tragic news about the recent shark attack on a tourist in Fish Hoek, a lot of friends have been sending me news snippets, especially knowing how much sharks fascinate and interest me (and knowing my activist leanings). It’s all over the bloggisphere too, with varying views on whether sharks are the man-eating monsters they’re made out to be or not.

I do of course have quite a lot of thoughts on this issue, and while I have tried to keep my opinions to myself to avoid endless debates, all this media frenzy has gotten on my nerves now and I think it’s time I voiced a few of my thoughts. You may not agree with me, and obviously anything I post here is solely my own opinion, but some of these facts are pretty solid. Bear with me here… this may not be what you want to hear.

Fact #1: This does not happen every day

In 2000, the year with the most recorded shark attacks, there were 79 shark attacks reported worldwide, 16 of them fatal. In 2005 and 2006 this number decreased to 61 and 62 respectively, while the number of fatalities dropped to only four per year. Of these attacks, the majority occurred in the United States (53 in 2000, 40 in 2005 and 39 in 2006). The New York Times reported in July 2003 that there had been only one fatal attack in the previous year.

The United States has had more shark attacks (1,032) than any other country. According to the International Shark Attack File, the states in the U.S. where the most attacks have occurred are Florida, Hawaii, California, South Carolina and North Carolina. Outside the U.S., Australia and South Africa have had the most attacks. As of 2009, the ISAF recorded a total of 2,251 attacks worldwide since 1958, with 464 attacks being fatal. The location with the most recorded shark attacks is New Smyrna Beach, Florida. [via]

Fact #2: Compare this with how many sharks are killed by people

JAWS?

If you didn’t know by now, Great White and many other shark species populations are declining at a rapid rate. Great White species have dropped by as much as 60-95% over the past 50 years, and reported statistics on the number of sharks killed each year for sport, finning, pollution and other purposes is somewhere close to 100 million. The fact is, despite what ‘documentaries’ such as Shark Con may say, sharks are in real danger – and mostly from us humans.

Fact # 3: It is a fish, big scary teeth or not

The big blue…

Just like lions, crocodiles, hippo (which I might add kill far more people, as do mosquitos) and any other wild animal, sharks are just animals at the end of the day. They are one of the most interesting and complex fish species we will ever know, and have managed to remain largely undisturbed for millions of year, without the need to evolve. As apex predators, sharks are the key to our survival, and without sharks, our oceans (and soon after, the planet) cannot survive. Just like any fish though, sharks are not invincible – big teeth and all.

The moral of the story?

You have more chance of drowning in the sea than you have of seeing a shark, let alone being attacked by one. Panic and fear only makes things worse, and since we don’t freak out whenever we drive on Dewaal Drive (where people die every year), or the N1 (where people die almost every month) or even walking around in our cities (where people die every day), why should we freak out when we go to the beach?

Freak accident people, it happens so infrequently that it makes front page news. Jaws was responsible for shitty attitudes in the old days, and look what a mess that made for conservation efforts. Let’s try and keep it together now and remember how many people DON’T get killed by sharks when they swim in the sea.

Also, read this to find out what may have happened with the recent Fish Hoek attack.

Let’s save our fear for the real baddies out there like criminals, psychos and komodo dragons.

Money weren’t an object, would there still be such a need to plunder this planet of its resources?
We named each animal in the world, would it be as easy to kill them?
All the people in the world cared enough, would anything really change?
I did my bit to save the planet, would it make much difference?
Canada and China didn’t exist, would animals have a better chance?
We lived in a perfect world, would we really be able to stop being greedy?
One pup can touch so many, would it be enough to save them all?
We can feel horror at what is done to seals, can we feel anything for crocs who are skinned?
People are desperate enough to club seal pups to death for money, what else would they do?

This video was taken on the ice during Canada’s infamous seal hunt. After the sealers finally left the floes, amidst the carcasses of thousands of pups, a single pup was found. The sole survivor of something akin to Rwanda, 9-11 or any one of the tragedies that have befallen our societies. The difference is that instead of people, it was seals. Instead of terrorism, it was industry. All this mayhem and blood, for the sake of fur that is stolen from animals to be worn by silly, rich humans.

They had to leave this pup, because taking him away would have been the worst thing to do. Having seen what a seal pup is like, and witnessed the heartbreaking sight of a pup searching for some sort of comfort, this story brought a huge lump to my throat.

During my time volunteering at the aquarium, a very small pup was brought in by a well-meaning but clueless member of the public, who saw him stranded and felt she had to do something. He was maybe two or three days old, small, shiny and utterly beautiful. Like a lab puppy, when I first saw him he was pacing up and down the passage calling pitifully for his mom. Seal pups have it rough, they are often left for days at a time when their mothers go out in search of food. Sometimes they are reunited, other times not. They either find fellow pups to form a nursery, or they are left vulnerable for predators. Or ‘rescued’ by well-meaning humans in this case. He was just too small, and after spending a few days at the aquarium, getting force fed a special solution of seafood, barium and vitamins, a home was found for him in the Harties area. Seeing this pup grow over a few days, from a small and helpless squirt into a fierce beast with tiny teeth, who would shuffle up to your leg and try desperately to give you a good suck, and when that didn’t work, angrily try and sink his under-developed teeth into your leg. Picking him up, he was squirmy and fishy and so unbelievably beautiful that I could never forget that face.

On the morning that he was due to set off for his new home, the pup got sick. We knew his chances were poor, he hadn’t had the progesterone and hormones he so badly needed in that first week. He was too little, and he didn’t have a chance. He died soon after arrival, and his memories were not of his mother or his natural home, but of noise, and people, and feeding tubes shoved down his throat. We were never enough, and that stayed with me for many years.

Harp seals are much prettier than our regular old Cape fur seals, but even then – the memory of that pup is something that I will never forget, and the lessons were hard, but I won’t forget those either. Wild animals belong in the wild, not in aquariums, not on people, not in zoos and not in fridges.

As superior species, we have a right to try and help lesser beings and do what we can. If we don’t care, then who will?

Click here to learn more about Sully the Survivor.

I was kinda half watching the bore fest that is The Day After Tomorrow, which was on etv last night. I’ve seen it before, and it didn’t really rank up there as movies I enjoy – disaster movies are second only to period war dramas or epic biopics in terms of boreville to me. Still, there wasn’t much else on and I was tired enough to sit through most of it anyway.

One scene that got me thinking was the ludicrous scene with the wolves that escaped from the zoo. They were all to clearly CGI doggies, and not even brilliant ones either. Lame as they were, I still thought that it was so much better to see faux animals than real ones. You see, it really bothers me when I see live animals in movies and adverts – especially knowing the kind of thing that goes down with animals in entertainment. You only have to read a bit about how animals in captivity behave, especially those that are trained to ‘act’, and you will get an idea of how much life sucks to be a ‘famous’ animal in show biz. I don’t care if they are looked after, wild animals do not belong in zoos or trailers, and it is just not cool to use real life animals in tv or film. Especially not when there are other ways to get the same effect. I would rather have super cheesy wolves than have seen real wolves, that would have been tragic and depressing… and I’d rather roll my eyes and grimmace than feel sad.

The Garmin ads use CGI animals too, and I absolutely love those ads – the Wildebeest one and the salmon one are both awesome, and because they’ve used real life clips in some instances, you can hardly tell where the real animal begins and the faux one ends. Jurassic Park too, if they can make realistic dinosaurs, they can make realistic anything – let the poor monkeys go, and fake it!

This is just my 2 cents anyway, many will argue that the special effects are more important than animal exploitation. For me, I’d take cheesy over real any day!

I came across this bit of writing on the Animals Asia blog tonight that brought such a lump to my throat – it says everything that needs to be said about animals in need… whether they are moon bears, sharks, insects or tigers, each animal that comes closer to extinction is that much closer to being just another reference in a book or website, never to be seen in the wild again.

It is not only our responsibility to do whatever we can to help this planet, it is also our chance to educate and inform our children on the importance of living things and preservation.

After all, when we’ve finally plundered the planet of the last living resources, what is going to be left?

For endangered species we are both their greatest enemy and their only hope.
These wonderful creatures will not argue their case.
They will not put up a fight.
They will not beg for reprieve.
They will not say goodbye.
They will not cry out.
They will just vanish.
And after they are gone, there will be silence.
And there will be stillness.
And there will be empty places.
And nothing you can say will change this.
Nothing you can do will bring them back.
With so many lives hanging in the balance, the paths we choose today
will decide the fate of the world.
So it’s up to us.
It’s up to you and me to decide who lives and who dies.

~ Priceless – the vanishing beauty of a fragile planet by Bradley Trevor Greive