Baseball Legend’s True Passion: Animal Rescue
Tony La Russa is a true animal advocate. In addition to managing the St. Louis Cardinals, he founded and heads Animal Rescue Foundation (ARF)–one of the most successful animal shelters in the country.
-
Introducing the Whale Sanctuary Project
This blog is taking a break for the next few months so that I can devote my energies to the Whale Sanctuary Project. Here's why.
-
Is the Sloth Sanctuary a Zoo?
The Sloth Sanctuary in Costa Rica was the first of its kind for these wonderfully engaging animals, and it was a model for others that followed. But questions have arisen. And…
-
Tafi Atome Monkey Sanctuary
Tafi Atome looks like a typical forest in Ghana. The monkeys have been revered in this village for two centuries. But being “sacred” is no guarantee of survival.
-
The Great Irony of Animal “Rights”
The great irony of the animal rights movement is there is still only one species that has any rights at all: humans. But the Nonhuman Rights Project is setting out to change that.
-
Why Mass Extinction Is Part of Human Nature
Why would a supposedly “intelligent” species behave in a way that’s bringing about a mass extinction – one that will likely take us down along with so many other animals?
Is the Stock Market a Global Ponzi Scheme?
Sacred Activism in the Service of Animals
Of Humans and Persons
Why Do Chickens Like Music? Why Does Anyone?
Music is found in every human culture. But we humans are not the only animals to enjoy a melodic hook. In the spring, I wake up every morning to the songs of birds outside my bedroom window. Mammals also sing.
Seven Billion and Counting
As I write this, we have just reached seven billion humans on the planet. And in the future there will be even more mouths to feed. We’re at a pivotal moment in world history, and there’s no doubt that the Earth can no longer sustain the increase in human population and our over-consuming and destructive ways.
Advertisements, Comedic Bits, and Their Impact on Animals
Wild elephants are used to walking 5 to 15 miles per day. Females, particularly, are social creatures. They live naturally in groups, thrive in the company of others of their species, communally raise their calves, even mourn their dead.
Volunteer Violet Celebrates 90th Birthday
Slowly and painstakingly, Violet Clermont coaxed the dog up to her by holding out small pieces of hot dog treats. The dog was not only frightened but extremely uncomfortable.
Why the Caged Bird Does Not Sing
Like POWs, concentration camp inmates, and victims of domestic violence, caged and confined birds are all candidates for Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Visit to Grave Helps Grieving Dog
During my husband’s illness, Friday lay beside his bed, provided support when my husband walked and never left his side. Friday obviously knew that something was wrong. He was devoted to his master.
A Dog Wedding in the Park
I had never before been invited to a canine wedding, and I smiled as I returned the R.S.V.P. card, saying that I would certainly be attending.
Why Cats Should Teach
Our society places much stock in being intelligent and having smart children, which is why schools administer so many different kinds of tests. But over the last decade, educators and parents have seriously challenged such approaches, standardizing tests, and the premise upon which they are based.
Dolphin ‘Therapy’ Is a Scam
Fueled by feel-good media reports such as Prager’s, dolphin therapy is a magnet for desperate parents who will pay whatever it takes to help their kids with disorders like autism and Down syndrome.
Could Grandma Come Back as a Squirrel?
Aithor Ptolemy Tompkins discusses the views of different religions, particularly Christianity and Buddhism, about whether nonhuman animals have souls and afterlives.
Furr No More
There is broken glass on the street, a vacant lot on the corner, and, tethered where I cannot see him, is Furr. I know exactly what he is doing, because he is unable to do anything else.
Should Tom Otterness Ever Work in This Town Again?
In 1977, a young man named Tom Otterness adopted a shelter dog, tied him to a fence, and shot him to death. He captured the entire episode on film, ran it on a continuous video loop, and called it art.
Pets Are Good for Your Health. Really?
As pet lovers, we’re convinced that our pets make us a happier and healthier person. I thought “the pet effect” was an established scientific fact.
Stepford Wives and Gargoyle Pits
For the town, we were here to eliminate a threat to the children. For us, we were here to protect animals who were at risk of unfair persecution.
Kisses from Wolves
You haven’t been kissed till you’ve been kissed by a wolf – the four-legged kind. I had the pleasure of experiencing this when I volunteered at Wolf Sanctuary in Colorado.
Top Ten Tool Users
Scientists once thought that tool use was the defining feature of humans. Animals using tools is a a sign of extraordinary intelligence that shows an ability to manipulate an object.
Gorilla Warfare in Rwanda
Dian Fossey would probably have been turning over in her grave…if I hadn’t been standing on it. It’s in a small cemetery and you have to get close to read the gravestone.
sidenav-orcas
Tuesday: Grandma J2’s Birthday Wednesday: Off to the Island First Sighting Thursday: T is for Transient Luna the Orca Who Wanted to Be Friends Orcas on…
What Pit Bulls Taught Me about People
It wasn’t revolution, however, that I encountered when I started working with animals again; it was humility, reality and the knowledge that issues of animal welfare are far from black and white.