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Add an EventAnimal blog: Saving the pets, one by one
Saving the pets, one by one
Posted: Wednesday, September 7 at 04:14 pm CT by Mike BrunkerSLIDELL, La. – We’ve written and photographed some surprisingly positive people during our travels among Katrina’s outcasts, but the inhabitants of the animal rescue center here take upbeat to a new level. The tail-wagging alone seems sufficient to cool the warehouse that is home to more than 400 pets and other animals left behind when their owners raced to safety.
The shelter is run by staff and volunteers from Noah’s Wish, a Northern California-based non-profit that aims to apply the Red Cross disaster model to animals. Based on what we’ve seen here today, it works amazing well.
Slidell’s abandoned dogs, cats, rabbits, squirrels, birds and reptiles benefited from a relationship established several years ago between Noah’s Wish and the city’s animal control agency. That enabled the two paid members of Noah’s Wish – director Terri Crisp and training manager Sheri Thompson – to mobilize volunteers even before the storm made landfall and to have the center open one week ago today, just two days after the storm hit.
“We knew this was coming one day … and (the preparation) is what allowed us to set up so quickly … and allowed the animals to survive,” says Crisp.
Read full piece at http://katrinablog.msnbc.com
Zona Marchand hugs her dogs Game (left) and Kira before leaving them at the Noah's Wish emergency animal shelter in Slidell, La. Wednesday. The Marchand family's home was completely destroyed and they have moved into a motel in Baton Rouge, where 10 people share their room. "It's like having to leave my children," she says. Marchand was unsure when they would be reunited and the shelter will care for the pets until then. (Andrew Locke / MSNBC.com)
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Animal Tracks
Pets fight for their lives in a drowned city, plus polar bears, border collies, more ...
This Press Release is in memory of the animals tortured and slaughtered in dog fighting. As personally satisfying as it would be to spay and neuter Michael Vick (with no anesthesia), we prefer to teach people how animals SHOULD BE TREATED, and what a blessing they are in our lives. Thanks for reading it and passing it on. ~ Nancy Cronk at http://www.Animal Chaplains.com.
Press Release August 22, 2007
"Animal Chaplains To Honor and Bless All Creatures on World Animal Day"
~ from the Interfaith Association of Animal Clergy
While Americans have watched in horror as celebrity athlete Michael Vick admits being a willling participant in one of the cruelest, most horrific crimes against animals ever committed, America needs an emotional healing. That day is World Animal Day.
In what will look like a scene from the popular family movie, "Evan Almighty", scores of Animal Chaplains around the world will bless hundreds, perhaps thousands of animals in many different settings on October 4th 2007. At a pet cemetery on the east coast, to a city park in the desert, to a sandy beach on the west coast, they will walk in on a leash, fly in on a harness, and slither in their cages. Barking, mewing, bleating, mooing, whinnying and purring will join human voices in hymns of praise and worship. World Animal Day is a day dedicated to honoring, blessing, and protecting animals all over the world.
World Animal Day was founded at an ecologist's convention in Florence, Italy in 1931 as a way of highlighting the plight of endangered species. October 4th was chosen as World Animal Day because it is also the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, a Catholic Church holiday which is often celebrated with an annual "blessing of the pets". Since then, it has grown to encompass all kinds of animal life and has been widely celebrated around the world. Churches and synagogues in many faiths traditions have adopted "Pet Blessing Day" or "World Animal Day" in increasing numbers every year.
The Interfaith Association of Animal Chaplains prepares for World Animal Day by referring its members and visitors to the official World Animal Day website. The site provides ideas and resources to individuals, families, community groups and congregations everywhere. People can post their pledge for volunteering at a World Animal Day event. In addition to blessing pets, volunteers will work at animal shelters, zoos, rescues, and other nonprofit organizations. Dogs will be walked, cats will be brushed, horses will be groomed, and fish will benefit from freshly cleaned tanks. Donations will be given to animal welfare agencies, and pets will be adopted. School children will collect pet food to be donated to charities, and bake sales and car washes will be held as fundraising events. Veterinary clinics will hold free spay and neuter days, or may offer to vaccinate pets at no charge. All over the world, on the very same day, the well-being of animals will be on the minds of millions of people.
Interfaith Chaplain Nancy Cronk feels a day honoring animals is very important at a time when the headlines speak of animal cruelty such as athlete Michael Vick's alleged ties to illegal dog fighting. Animal Chaplains would like everyone to know that every major faith endorses the responsible stewardship of the earth and all of its creatures. "Deliberate harming of animals is in direct opposition to teachings in all of the major world faiths. Caring for animals is our global spiritual responsibility. If we can teach this ethic to all of our children, animal abuse and suffering will someday become a distant memory".
To find out how to get involved on World Animal Day, go to http://www.WorldAnimalDay.org.uk. To find out more about Animal Chaplains, go to http://www.AnimalChaplains.com.
(This article may be reprinted.)
Nancy J. Cronk
Founder, Chair and Chaplain
Interfaith Association of Animal Chaplains
http://www.AnimalChaplains.com
Email: AnimalClergy [at] aol.com