No Place to Call Home

The current housing crisis in the United States gives us plenty of opportunity to practice compassion. Some say they have no sympathy for people who bought houses they couldn't afford. But the story is much more complex, with so many now suffering the fallout. Homeowners who would sell if they could, trapped in the continuing downturn. Neighbors whose property values plummet with each new foreclosure on the block. Lenders who counted on real estate values rising ever higher, justifying reckless loan terms. Renters who find themselves suddenly homeless as landlords lose houses to banks. Children who must leave friends, schools, even favorite possessions, in the wake of their family's financial ruin.

"Bill Moyers Journal" addressed the issues eloquently on its July 18 program. The episode makes clear that there is plenty of heartache to go around.

One category of victims you only occasionally hear about are the animal companions abandoned when owners or renters must go to a temporary home or shelter that won't permit animals. No Paws Left Behind is doing something about it, and you can, too, by visiting its Web site.

You can do something about the human toll, too, just by suspending the assumption that "they got what they deserve." Encourage your local leaders to come up with solutions for managing abandoned houses and relocating renters. Start a helpful dialog on your local newspaper's editorial page. Recognize that homelessness is fast on the rise and looks surprisingly like the folks next door.

Conquering Cruelty

This past weekend, I attended a conference on animal welfare. Near the end of the day, a fellow attendee confessed to me that she was tired and discouraged. She had spent the weekend viewing acts of extraordinary human cruelty against animals, and despite the efforts of so many compassionate advocates, she couldn’t imagine that behavior changing in her lifetime.

Her despair reminded me of Larry King’s interview with Ingrid Betancourt, who was recently released after being held as a hostage for seven years in the Colombian jungle. When asked to name the worst thing she had to endure, Betancourt didn’t mention a particular torture tactic, or the long years apart from her family, or the effects of a failed escape attempt. After a long, thoughtful silence, she said the worst thing was “realizing that ... human beings can be so horrible to other human beings.”

Being confronted with the human capacity for cruelty can shake our faith to its core. We recognize that there are limits to our reasoned arguments, our pleas for mercy. When we hit the wall of ultimate indifference, we can only look to ourselves for redemption. Our choice is to surrender, to believe that hatred conquers all, or to affirm a more powerful force that elevates all humanity.

Betancourt has triumphed; against all odds, she has already resolved to forgive her captors. In doing so, she reclaims her power. I hope my fellow animal advocate can redirect her energies from anger against those who do harm, to the larger mission of caring for our fellow creatures. Her heart is greater than the conflict at hand, and the innocents need all of its might.

Help Midwest Flood Victims

If you don't live in the American midwest, or in another area where rising waters have destroyed all you own, it may be hard to imagine leaving behind your home, the things you love, and maybe even the animal companions who depend on you in a sudden evacuation. Finding yourself waist-high in a toxic soup, trying to get yourself and your loved ones to safety. Bunking down in a temporary shelter with little more than the clothes on your back, not knowing what comes next. These are the hardships our fellow citizens are enduring in Iowa and surrounding states right now, and here are a few things you can do to help:

If you live in the area...

Grab some friends and volunteer to sandbag or help clean up once the waters recede. Find out where and how to pitch in at any of these three sites:
WGEM Quincy, Illinois
KCRG-TV Cedar Rapids, Iowa
2008flood.org

Can you take in someone’s animal companion temporarily, as a foster caretaker, while they are in a shelter that doesn’t accommodate dogs and cats? If not, local shelters are accepting donations of goods as well; read about the Iowa City Animal Care and Adoption Center’s needs here.


Whether you live near or far...
Ask your local coffeehouse or bookstore to host an evening of readings and/or music around the theme of rising waters and pass a hat for donations to be sent to one of these relief organizations:
American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund
Mennonite Disaster Services

If you have a Web site or blog, download a Red Cross donation button and post it on your site.

Inform yourself, then tell a friend. Check out these up-to-the-minute reports, where you'll find photos, video and more:
Topix Midwest Floods report
Humane Society of the United States blog
American Red Cross blog

Remember, no effort is too small. You can make a difference in another's struggle and turn rising waters into a river of hope.

Cash Conversion

$299.95 =
Cost of a Pink SUV Pet Stroller from the Beverly Hills Mutt Club

Cost to provide medical supplies to care for 6 shelter animals, from rescue to adoption, at the Animal Rescue Foundation in Walnut Creek, Calif.

Death at the Derby

Among animal "sports" -- from greyhound racing and dog fighting, to rodeo and bullfighting -- horse racing is surely the most widely accepted, the least questioned. And yet an average of twice a day in the United States, a horse sustains an injury or fatality that ends its racing career, according to an editorial in the Washington Post. A USA Today blog reports that, from 2004 to 2006, at just one race track -- California's Del Mar -- 55 horses died racing. It happened again at this past weekend's Kentucky Derby, when filly Eight Belles crossed the finish line and collapsed on the track, both front ankles broken. Not wishing to offend viewers' sensibilities, NBC turned its cameras away as veterinarians euthanized the animal behind shielding ambulances.

When so much is done to block our view, it's time to insist on a closer look. The fate of Eight Belles, along with 2006 Derby-winner Barbaro and other, less famous equines, has renewed discussions of thoroughbred overbreeding. Genetically designed for speed, these beautiful animals often end up out of balance, with bones that can't support their objectives. Drugs that enhance performance and/or mask injury are still used routinely, despite Congressional hearings intended to regulate them. And you only have to watch the Derby to see more evidence of human insensitivity: jockeys repeatedly whacking their horses with riding crops to get them to go faster, and faster. If horses love racing so much, as owners, trainers and jockeys insist, why do they need a crack to the shoulder or rump to goad them on?

Horse racing isn't going away anytime soon; it's backed by multi-million-dollar commerce and the gambling industry, a powerful blend of money-making machinery. But if you don't see the point of subjecting these magnificent creatures to distress -- or death -- simply for the sake of entertainment, you can take a stand. Write to TV networks that broadcast races and tell them you -- and maybe your friends? -- aren't watching. Write to sponsoring advertisers and tell them you won't buy their brands. Support sanctuaries that provide a safe home for retired race horses. And read more about the issue at the following sites, so you can have meaningful conversations with family, friends and colleagues. It's easy to be lulled into blind acceptance of cruel practices when they're dressed up with parties, tradition and potential winnings, large and small. But if you have a heart for the animals at our mercy, you'll recognize our incalcuable loss.
For more information:

Overview from In Defense of Animals

Drugs in horse racing

More drugs in horse racing

Links to stories