Happy NEW Year. Indeed. |
A new Christmas tree in Pilot's Place of Peace.
New trail.
New views.
New photos of Rosie.
And here's to more in 2024!
My happy in "happy new year" starts here....
A new Christmas tree in Pilot's Place of Peace. New trail. New views. New photos of Rosie. And here's to more in 2024!
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It's a new year and I'm doing something new, writing. I've always loved writing - no kidding. But it's always been personal. 2024 brings me to a new kind of writing, writing that's more than my observations or experience. A statewide victory yes but I wish there were more teeth in it. What about enforcement? Where's the accountability and punishment for riding so rough shod over Hayden's Law that L.A. County is back in court? The Court ruled that with Hayden if a rescue wants to save an 'UNadoptable' or 'UNtreatable' it's their choice - Not The Shelter's! And shelters are on notice that any individual can bring a lawsuit if shelters play fast and loose with lives again. Criminally Cruel? was my public penning debut, posting at the end of last month, December 2023.
The inspiration was a protest I was part of last September: https://youtu.be/XQbBvLhNCV0 Who knows what my next article will be about. Something happy I hope. Two articles in two months, shooting for three in three months! We're ringing in the New Year with a New Girl, ROSIE! She's from Delano and came to us via Love Leo Rescue / loveleorescue.org Sometimes she looks like a Great Dane. Sometimes she looks like a Bully breed. She's looking and sniffing and lifting her paw all the time, like a Pointer. She's sleek and shiney, quiet and gentle. Being pushed out of a car and then spending a year and eight months in the shelter at Delano have left their mark on her. They left her a velcro girl, sticking within view of me at all times. Her molding was wrong but molds can melt and confidence comes with stability, with love, and so many things we can't know. Will she ever soar? Will a growing zest for life break her mold of unsure-ness? No telling, but time is her friend. Rosie's where she can nestle into a safe place and ease into easy with her world. Her bumpy beginning is over, her path will be smooth from here on out and she can glide through the years ahead. https://youtu.be/WT_32n_Sgaw
The best off leash hiking dog I’ve had the pleasure of sharing a trail with. HAPPY NEW LIFE ROSIE. HAPPY NEW YEAR TOO. Here's to trust and joy in 2024! December 17 is an anniversary. It marks one year since P-22's passing. He is gone but, will always be here. P-22 had me at 'puma'. This legendary 'Hollywood cat' caught my fancy as soon as I heard about him. By 2014 I was excited to show up at the on-site announcement gathering for what would be his legacy, the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing. The crossing couldn't come fast enough to save him. We trapped him between freeways, we failed him. But P-22's steadfast followers keep him in the news and artists continue to be inspired by him. His is an important and historical wildlife story.
Henry Beston wrote about a “a wiser and perhaps a more mystical concept of animals…They are not brethren, they are not underlings: they are other nations, caught with ourselves in the net of life and time, fellow prisoners of the splendour and travail of the earth.” We have to learn how to live with wildlife if we want wildlife to have a future. P-22 showed us we need to rethink our road systems, showed us we need to act, and fast. Construction of the Annenberg Crossing is happening, and fast, and that gives me hope. Hope that other animals like P-22 will not be trapped on shrinking spits of land. Hope that we can do this, that this inspirational passageway will be a model for other crossings.
https://savelacougars.org/ - https://101wildlifecrossing.org/
In hindsight, this modest remembrance might be the very best thing that could have happened. This small makeshift pile of mementos off to the side of a narrow trail is now part of the trail, part of the hill, part of the rolling terrain. Dirt bikers, dog walkers, hikers, know there's a 'memorial' out there somewhere. The ashes of Kobe Bryant and his daughter are out there somewhere. Whirling helicopter blades and the force of the crash blew them in every direction. Somewhere in the area of the marker. Isn't that all we need to know? I'm one of those who believe that when our time comes our spirit moves to the Astral Plane, we become part of everything. Kobe and Gigi are part of everything now. Being random and off at a little distance, it's not an over-touristed destination. It's not Instagram famous, yet. Thank God. My heart sank when I saw what happened to a favorite trail thanks to Insta, litter scattered and rocks covered with spray painted tags. A fragile trail in the hills, still quiet. Mr. Bryant and his daughter have been given the chance to Rest In Peace. #bball #mamba #lakers #nbafinals #hoops #kobebryant #lakernation
I’m a dog person. But then, along came Tofu. In one week this kitty had me wondering if there was a cat person on the inside. Cats have wandered through the backyard, crossed over the front porch, but Tofu roamed around our backyard several times in one week. Was he lost? Originally we didn’t want to put out food and encourage him to stick around. Then, he disappeared for about a week. But our ‘jungle’ called to him and he wandered back. He glided by the slider, just feet away as we watched TV, sat a little farther off and watched the jungle while keeping an eye on us. He came through the back door, walked through the kitchen and made a slow amble to the slider to exit within arms reach of us as we had dinner.
He Had A Home - YAY. Maria and Sam lived just a couple houses down on the other side of our block. So, when Tofu got out again and came for a visit, I knew who to call. He even came inside to explore the living room and consider several cat toys. Maria was here pronto but Tofu was more interested in the sardines I put out and hiding under green bushes was more fun than going home. So she left thinking he would come home that night. And he did.
To this day Hello Kitty the pop culture phenomenon delights and fascinates millions.
My Hello Kitty was a totally surprising July surprise, full of delight and fascinating. Friday September 15 was the kickoff of a coast to coast road trip to raise awareness for the need to find solutions that can save animal lives and reconnect natural habitat. 3,500 miles of promoting and learning. Beth Pratt +4 will advance the cause of P-22's legacy: wildlife crossings. The speeches were over, the filming was done, and I headed up a narrow trail that lead to the top of Murder Mountain. The team of 5 left the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing construction site and headed for the Mojave desert. I headed for an uphill hike, daunting for someone who's hasn't even been doing daily dog walks since April. Off they went to the Mojave Desert, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana and Florida. Off I went to an upgrade that wouldn't quit. Waiting for me was a bench with a view that was worth the climb. In 2025 I'll summon hardheaded courage and climb again, how else to truly appreciate what will be the largest wildlife passageway in the world?
#crossingsroadtrip 101wildlifecrossing.org (construction real time) savelacougars.org/crossingsroadtrip https://www.facebook.com/bethpratt1 What is the story? It's a story of hope. There's no reason to hope but we hope anyway. A story of despite. With no glimmer of change for the better on the horizon, we fight the odds, the hurdles, the likelihood of a cruel status quo. https://youtu.be/SiUG-T5hKIs Los Angeles city shelters have surpassed crisis levels, they've reached the breaking point. Dogs sit in small cages, in their own feces, in hallways where no one can see them, not accessible to volunteers or the public. They get 5 minute potty breaks and are deprived of basic comfort and exercise. Living in inhumane conditions for weeks and months at a time, 23hours-55minutes a day. Mayor Bass, you appointed Staycee Dains as the new General Manager for Los Angeles Animal Services (LAAS). The interview process was set up in her favor with a “confidential panel” comprised of her associates from Human Animal Support Services (HASS). HASS is run by the former disgraced GM of LAAS Brenda Barnette, and their policies are destroying shelters across the country. Ms. Dains couldn’t handle the Long Beach shelter, so why would you give her six that are in a state of emergency? GM Staycee Dains’ Two Month Accomplishments: 1.) Added more color-coded KILL LISTS to FAST-TRACK pet KILLING 2.) Sold Breeder Licenses to unhoused people 3.) Handed out metal dog crates on Skid Row - but didn't enforce spay/neuter nor provide free spay and neuter. Where's compassion? Where are innovative strategies or new ideas? Mayor Bass call a state of emergency and craft a plan to stop this crisis. PRIORITIES
The LA Times, KCAL 9, CBS, FOX 11 and several other news orgs exposed inhumane and illegal shelter conditions, including dogs not being walked for weeks or months. The first walk for some was to the euthanasia room. The systemic sick, toxic LAAS culture MUST change.
In the days after, hummingbirds seemed to sprout in the backyard. Pairs and groups appeared like I've never seen. Messengers? Spirits of those gone before Jimmie? Feathery visitations, healing and uplifting.
In the week after letting Pilot go, two hummingbirds hovered within inches of my eyes, one for each eye, so near, the moment so fast, I was stunned. I was resting in my mourning on the chaise lounge, eyes closed. I felt them before I saw them. I didn't and couldn't move. I'll never ever forget it. A friend had a simple explanation, one was Pilot and one was my mother. Could that be? Of course. Why not? Since that day, I choose to believe that hummingbirds are mystical and as magical as dogs and Jimmie's presence came to me on tiny-tiny-tiny wings. Angel wings carried you away Jimmie, but your glow wraps around me now, and always. Even remembering you through tears you force a smile out of me. Smiles, that was your mission. Here's to you my gleeful, happy-go-lucky, beaming boy and best friend, my Jimmie. Today is National Pet Day ! He makes me laugh every day. One way or another, if Jimmie is around there are smiles ahead. Adopt a dog or cat and your days are guaranteed to include laughter too. Get that 'Lion' Jimmie get him! https://youtu.be/__Z9nVNgpIM #adoptdontshop
#adoptashelterdog #pitbullsofinstagram #pitsofinstagram #pitbulllife #pitbullmom https://www.instagram.com/p/Cq67pyVttfs/ |
kathleen helmerBallot measure Yes on Prop 2 (confinement of chickens, pigs & veal calves) changed my life. Much of what you see on My Story Tails comes from that change. The People Have Spoken: YES! on Prop 2 - http://hsus.typepad.com/wayne/2008/11/prop2-victory.html
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