Our Earth, Our Home, Our Future–

Our earth’s human population is now at more than six and a half billion and multiplying exponentially every day. No country talks about it. Even Al Gore, in his excellent book "An Inconvenient Truth", only ever-so-lightly touches on the topic. Politically, it would be a "mine field". In my mind, the burgeoning human population is a topic that is critical to issues relating not only to environment, climate change, and dwindling animal habitat, but also to our crime rate, economics, food production, and human dignity ... in the U.S. and throughout the world. So I’ve often pondered the situation. The act of procreation takes only a fleeting moment, is such a natural thing and, so often, just "happens", even when birth control is accessible. I asked my minister for her thoughts about the human population dilemma. She thought on it for a while and then said: "Suppose people would consider adoption as a first – rather than a last – resort, thus providing a loving family for a homeless or orphaned child and doing this wonderful thing for our world"! This was a stroke of loving genius and I wish I could say that I came up with the concept! Considering adoption – as a first resort! If people and countries begin to talk about population, this simple concept would be a logical and compassionate place to start.

God Spelled In Reverse --

Most Americans love dogs. Many of us would go the extra mile to help a distressed or lost dog. We know that, instead of buying or breeding dogs, we should adopt a shelter dog. When we adopt a dog, we don’t add to the huge number of wonderful dogs who are put to death in shelters due to a lack of shelter space and the sheer numbers of surplus pets of all breeds and mixes (one in four is a purebred) continually coming into shelters. Many of us know we need to be responsible pet owners. But some people don’t seem to know that yet ... and the dogs are paying the price. Please encourage friends and kinfolk to have their dogs spayed or neutered and I.D. tagged...and to keep them safe at home. It’s the right thing to do for cats, too.

Help Our Animal Friends --

They need us and our best efforts, folks. Locally, please support your animal shelter’s volunteer, spay-neuter, and pet adoption programs. These dogs and cats want loving homes, not euthanasia. Spay-neuter is the only humane way to reduce pet overpopulation and make unnecessary the sad and gut-wrenching job of putting these healthy companion animals to sleep.

And to help horses who have been abused and neglected, please support the rescue, volunteer, and adoption efforts of Horse Haven of Tennessee. Visit the HHT website at www.horsehaven.net. You will love it!

And go to the "daily click" website that provides free food for shelter animals at www.theanimalrescuesite.com.

Ruby, The Horse Who Captured My Heart --

Yes, I will tell you about her. Also, I want to tell you about a wonderful local organization that rescues and rehabilitates neglected and abused horses. It was my major pleasure to visit their facility this past Saturday, which was their monthly adoption and visiting day. First, though, I’ll preface the details of what brought me there at that particular moment in time, with a bit of background.

One of the very noticeable phases the teenage girls of my time experienced was a strong interest in horses. I remember well the excitement of my high school girlfriends about "going horse-back riding" one or more times a week; I remember their descriptions of horses and I remember the sincerity of their passion about horses. I’m thinking that maybe the interest young women have in horses transcends generations and was not specific to the days of my youth. Anyway, those years, for me, were a time of dealing with survival issues, so I was not able to become involved with or think about horses then. Later on (years later), I became a strong animal advocate and have remained so, over the years, working on behalf of marine, farm, wild, and companion animals (dogs & cats). In fact, humane education and animal advocacy are a big part of my identity. But I never championed horses ... not until now.

A couple of years ago, I began writing legislative letters, urging enactment of laws to protect American wild horses and horses in general, from being sent to slaughterhouses. Eventually, a law was passed to ban horse slaughter in the U.S., though these magnificent animals are now shipped, under horrendous conditions, across Canadian and Mexican borders, to be killed there for European and Asian "delicacy" markets. Please read some of my earlier posts that urge letter-writing to legislators to protect our horses from this cruel fate.

Well, that’s enough preface. About two months ago, I was flooded with a deep, spiritual desire to make the acquaintance of horses in a hands-on way, no small wish for someone whose horse experience was limited to feeding Jake, the milk wagon horse, an occasional sugar cube when I was a tiny tyke ... and on one occasion, having a "pony ride" on a poor, patient horse at an amusement park when I was nine years old. As an aside (you know I frequently do asides), Jake faithfully toted his milk wagon around town for daily deliveries and would, occasionally, get disgusted with his toting job and just begin running wild, all over the place, until he either became tired or felt satisfied – with his wagon driver hanging on for dear life.

Anyway, my recent desire to get to know horses led me to Horse Haven of Tennessee. I was welcomed there by Nina, who founded and heads the effort there. A number of capable, cheerful volunteers were on hand and three of them tutored me on various things I needed to know. I took it all in. Remembering my few up-front meetings with Jake (and the driver’s instructions to "hold your hand flat") I asked if I could feed a treat carrot to a horse. Most of the horses were outside, but two were still in the barn. I felt drawn to one of them, softly called to her, and she responded by affectionately nuzzling my neck and then kissing the side of my face, much like Dixie (my dog) often does. So I held a carrot on one of my very "flattened" piano-playing hands and darling Ruby gently and carefully took the treat, and then another, and then another. I fell totally in love with this wonderful horse. On my drive home, the hauntingly beautiful song "Ruby" (from the 50s or 60s) floated into my head and I've played it on the piano many times since. Ruby is available for adoption, as are several other nice horses at Horse Haven.

Horse Haven needs financial contributions to help with the costs of caring for the horses who are there and with the expenses involved with rescuing others. Check out the HHT website at www.horsehavenoftn.com. to read their news and see the horses. You will love it!