BLACK TEAR- by Patty Shenker ANIMAL RIGHTS DAY, June 9, 2013

This past Sunday, I was honored to be a part of the Third Animal Rights Day that took place on the beach in Santa Monica, Ca. Many animal activists gathered to be part of this event and to give part of our day to remember the billions of animals who are confined, tortured and murdered for food, for fashion, for entertainment, for science, for money, for hunting and for fun. To those of us there, none of these reasons are acceptable and our demonstration was to remember these innocent beings who lose their lives as we lose our humanity. I am not going to write about all the various animal abuses as that is readily available, to see and hear and read by others who know more & write better. This kind of memorial has been done in Spain and Italy but it was the first one here in the United States, along with New York City. I want to write about my experience as part of it and how it affected me.

Let me begin by saying that I knew this event was going to be very emotional as we were going to be holding deceased animals, animals who lost their lives because of our utter disregard for them, because of our convenient beliefs that what we do to them is as it should be or because we humans benefit from them and have every right to do so. These animals who we held were mostly farm animals- chickens, quails, ducks, bunnies and a baby goat. But there were also fish, as there should be, as some billion marine animals are killed yearly. There was also a young male pitbull and a pretty white cat, both euthanized at shelters due to lack of space. All of these sentient beings died prematurely; most never had a name or anyone who cared for them. They were seen and treated like property- nothing more; nothing less. But to each of us, they were much more than that- they were innocent beings who suffered and lost their lives.

There we were, embracing these lifeless bodies and loving them even in death and asking for their forgiveness for our species’ abject cruelty and thoughtlessness towards them. The activists ranged in age from early twenties to seventy, men & women of different ethnicities, backgrounds, jobs and incomes who came together to mourn the animals. I truly believe we are now forever united due to this experience. My friend, Jessica Schlueter, wrote this about her experience holding a chicken. “Standing with sweet Clark (who I named while holding him; he seemed like a Clark). I promised him his death was not in vain, because his message will be spread and his story will be told.” Another friend, Alec Pederson, who held the dog, wrote this about his experience. “I had a choice to be there today holding this beautiful being who did not have a choice to be there. This pit pup was killed by human choice because there were too many animals at the shelter and not enough humans to adopt him. He was a healthy, 30-40 pound pit who had his whole life ahead of him. Breeders continue creating puppies to sell for profit and people keep buying them when there are so many amazing beings alive already waiting for a loving home. I did this because I see no difference between beings – I, and that other, are one. And as long as I have a voice, I will use it to raise awareness and reduce suffering for all expressions of life. This dog had no name so I named him after my son. Jake, thank you for allowing me to hold you today. My hope is that at least one person makes a choice after seeing you and possibly reading this, to begin practicing compassion every day. That person will hopefully teach another and so on. You did not die in vain. You are beautiful. And you are loved. Thank You.” And another activist, Meggan Anderson, wrote this- “Holding a battery hen who must have been kicking for her life, still had awful sores on her feet from the wire floor she was forced to stand on her whole, short life…she would have loved to feel the sand beneath our feet. She made me think of my little Scooby and how I have no reason to make another living being my breakfast, lunch or dinner, when I have SO MANY other alternatives available.”  Another advocate, Rima Danielle Jomaa, who did not participate but witnessed it instead, wrote this about her experience- “Today… we saw firsthand the remains of the animals that fall victim to exploitation by this society. Beautiful rabbits, chickens, ducks, cats, pit bulls, fish… lay battered and abused, lifeless, in the hands of my friends. They received a proper ceremony filled with love and appreciation for the life that was taken. They were physically seen, touched, smelled… their death not in vain for once for countless people, families, walking in Santa Monica and on the pier stopped for extending periods of time and sought information. Many took pictures and cried… considering the messages they send to their children by the lifestyles they lead. Although a few people may have laughed today at the rights of animals, they did not leave unchanged.”

It was obvious that all of us who care about and fight for animals were deeply touched by this memorial. I wonder how those who were just going to the beach for fun thought and felt about this respectful but upsetting demonstration. Obviously, our hope is that we made people think about this issue & how they personally take part in animal cruelty and I am quite sure that many children were shocked, educated and changed by our presence. What I think is most important for the viewers about this wake of sorts is that we activists modeled caring and grief for the animals of the world, and not just our pets but animals we never knew and rarely, if ever, come in contact with. As we all cried or mourned quietly and shared our grief, we showed the strength of our compassion and hopefully, made it more acceptable to others to show their care & concern and yes, even grief, for animals. We brought gravity and acceptance to having deep feelings for animals, which I believe we all have as children. Sadly, we are taught to abandon these feelings so we can be accepted and fit into our society that wants to continue to exploit them. To many, I think they may have seen for the first time the immense pain and grief that we live with daily because we are animal advocates. People generally see us protesting, shouting, angry and rebellious but they never see the pain we feel for all the animals and therefore, never think about that. Grief is non-threatening and something we all experience as we all have losses that devastate us so perhaps we reached them on this deeper level; I can certainly hope that is the case here. As Mike Miura wrote from just seeing the moving photos- “the raw emotion of the participants should be what the ‘outsiders’ felt”. I also think those of us participating could not help but to feel guilty for not saving that individual we were holding and all the others being held there. Our guilt is always there as we know that millions die everyday that we didn’t save but we don’t usually see and hold them in our arms. They became individuals in our hands and, collectively, they represented all the others who live & die at the hands of humans.

As important as it is to reach others, I think this memorial was most important to us activists. We joined together not to protest or demonstrate but to MOURN all of the billion animals murdered- and we did it as a community, which always becomes intensified because of that shared experience. We grieved publicly together & I believe that each of us left feeling deeply touched and further bonded with the other activists. We joined together, left our egos and groups behind and came together to share the pain we usually keep inside or share with only a few friends or family. As one friend, Kara Kapelnikova, who helped obtain the deceased animals, wrote- “I was so deeply moved and inspired by the commitment and strength of my vegan brothers and sisters, standing united under the cause of animal rights, paying our respects to the animals we held in our hands.  Animals who had every right to be alive but had been deprived of that right by the greed, gluttony and vanity of humankind.  We broke down, we cried on each other’s shoulders, we held each other up — we came together.  We were one.”

We must stay in touch with that sadness, that grief that was as deep and immense as the sand we stood on. I have said before that we activists are in a war that never leaves us, that disturbs us everyday and it never goes away. That is why grieving is so important and why communal grief is so powerful and healthy. We must grieve- to go on with this war- with new energy, more strength and less anger. “Grief can be a burden, but also an anchor. You get used to the weight, how it holds you in place.” ~ Sarah Dessen, The Truth About Forever

We do carry a very heavy burden by our knowledge of human brutality towards all species of animals and our daily commitment to fight these prejudices but I know that each of us who participated knows our place, our purpose in this life. We will continue to fight for the animals- with renewed commitment and inspiration and with these animals who we held, and all the other innocent animals, alive and deceased, as our anchor.

Eva Gutierrez

Speaking To Us Without Words–Art and Animals Posted on May 4, 2013 by Diana Webster of Humane Advisor

Patty Shenker Founds the Animal Advocacy Museum to Touch Our Hearts

Animal Activist Patty Shenker

She’s petite, elegant, and beautiful but the power of Patty Shenker’s advocacy for animals makes her larger than life. Recently she has taken her advocacy visual by co-founding theAnimal Advocacy Museum, located in Pasadena, CA. The first exhibition (open until late May 2013) includes many pieces from Patty’s personal art collection, notably the work of artist Sue Coe, whose works are powerful, iconic statements against animal cruelty.

“Modern Man Followed By Ghosts of His Meat” by Sue Coe, 2001.
Currently on Exhibit at the Animal Advocacy Museum, Pasadena, CA

Advocating against animal cruelty became the raison d’être for Patty after her transition to vegetarianism over 40 years ago opened her eyes to the horrific abuses of slaughter houses and farmed animals. “In 1970, I decided to work for peace, and demonstrating peace to me meant accepting no violence at all towards any living being so I became a vegetarian, then vegan,” Patty said in our recent interview at one of L.A.’s most popular vegan restaurants. “After I realized how our culture has accepted cruelty to animals to satisfy our need for food, entertainment, and as beasts of burden, I knew that I’d found my life’s work to speak out for animals and change these injustices.”

 

Since then she has worked tirelessly, supporting animal rescue and advocacy with her own money and time. For example, in 1990, when she learned that the South Central Shelter in Los Angeles killed the most animals, she mounted a free spay/neuter program for the area, providing free transportation by herself, and fixed nearly a thousand pets. “My father instilled in me a sense of responsibility for the underdog. He came to America as an immigrant and became a criminal defense attorney to fight for justice for those who were innocent. Now I fight for the most innocent creatures of all—animals used and abused by humans,” Patty said.

 

 From a Dream to Reality—A Museum Celebrating Animal Advocacy

Patty shared with me that it had always been her dream to create a place where works of animal advocacy art could be exhibited. Especially after she heard that there was a museum for the meat product in a can, Spam! After sharing this with her good friend and fellow activist, Prabhat Gautam, they decided to take action and make it happen. Thus, theAnimal Advocacy Museum was born. Currently located in a wing of the Throop Unitarian Universalist Church in Pasadena, the Museum is quickly becoming a mecca for Angelenos who care about animals. After a star-studded launch party in March that brought together the best and the brightest from the local animal advocacy scene, the Museum continues to welcome visitors interested in the art exhibition and has also started hosting animal welfare/vegan lectures and educational events. The Museum is currently open Thursdays and Saturdays from 11am-4pm at 280 S. Los Robles Avenue, Pasadena, CA 91101. For more information, check out the Museum website(http://www.animaladvocacymuseum.com/) and make sure to spread the word and “like” the Museum on Facebook.

Finally! An Animal Tourist Attraction that Promotes Their Humane Treatment

As this is a blog about tourism and animal welfare, I asked Patty if there were any plans to add the Animal Advocacy Museum as a tourist destination in Los Angeles. She said not yet, but that she would add it the list of ideas to promote the Museum. Imagine animal advocates from around the world adding the Museum as a stop on their trip to Hollywood and Southern California! WOW! Ms. Humane Advisor likes this idea! What a wonderful addition to an already exciting travel destination known for being the top media center in the world. By adding the Animal Advocacy Museum to tourist “must-see” travel plan checklists, the local tourism industry could support the great work being done to raise awareness of animal rights. Are you listening, Los Angeles Visitors Bureau?

 My Heroes Have Always Been Animal Advocates

During our talk, I asked Patty who were her heroes. She gave it some thought and came up with a few names of people that she had the greatest respect for. But ultimately, she settled on another answer. She said, “Everyone who helps, rescues, fosters, speaks out for and fights for the animals are my heroes. We are all needed to end this horrific treatment of our fellow earthlings and I am comforted everyday to know that there are animal heroes everywhere in the world now. They all are my heroes!” Spoken like a true hero, who having been in the trenches herself, knows how hard it is to keep doing this often heart wrenching work, every day in any way, for animals, without losing hope. So for all of you animal advocates out there–animal rescuers and fosterers, nonprofit leaders and grunt workers, animal lobbyists, and anyone else who has put animal welfare at the top of their agenda, often at great personal costs, your work is recognized, appreciated, and admired!

Puppy Mill Raid with Animal Rescue Corps

 Patty’s Top Five Ways to Help Animals

No interview with this dynamic spokesperson for animal rights would be complete without getting her input on how we can all make a difference for animals starting right now. Patty’s top five ways to help animals are:

1. Go Vegan. Period. Bottom line. If you can’t go vegan, start with vegetarianism but with the ultimate goal of becoming vegan. Vegan also means no leather or suede, no silk and no fur! It’s easier than you think and means the world to the animals who suffer for all these products.
2. Shop Aware. Make a conscious decision to not buy products that are tested on animals or impact animal habitats, such as products containing palm oil.
3. Adopt, Don’t Shop or Breed Your Pets. With over 5 million healthy, adoptable dogs being euthanized every year in the U.S. alone, give a rescue dog or cat a chance at a new life and adopt.
4. Never Support Entertainment that Uses, Therefore, Abuses Animals. We all grew up going to circuses, zoos, and amusement parks where animals were part of the show. But behind the scenes, these animals often endure lives of abject misery and suffering. Just say NO!
5. Be a Political Animal. Here’s your chance to speak up to let our government officials know that there are voters out there that care about animals. Write letters. Lobby. Vote Humane.

To hear more from Patty, please check out her awesome blog, Patty’s Perch, where she shares her insights on animal welfare and how you, too, can be a powerful advocate for animals! With her work, she’s set an amazing example for all of us. What an honor it is to know her.

 Websites:

Patty Shenker Blog:  www.pattyshenker.com

Animal Advocacy Museum:  www.animaladvocacymuseum.com/

BOYCOTT MONSANTO!

I just had to share this poster as it lists all the companies owned by the very evil company, Monsanto, based in my home town of St. Louis, Missouri. Not surprisingly, Monsanto plays a huge role in the imminent extinctions of the orangutans, the pygmy elephants and the Sumatran tigers, as I see many of the companies listed are involved in the deforestation of  the Indonesian forest for palm oil, as well as the poor farm animals being fed their poisonous & deadly rBGH for more milk production!  Years ago, they tucked away their own research into the Bovine Growth hormone (rBGH)- when the research concluded that the cows given this hormone died prematurely with bones as “brittle as potato chips”. They are truly one of our Mother Earth’s biggest enemies. Please boycott these companies- for the animals, for the health of humans & for our magnificent planet!  As the Dalai Lama so eloquently said- “Morally speaking, we should be concerned for our whole environment.”

A Letter from a Shelter Manager – anonymous in North Carolina

I think our society needs a huge “Wake-up” call. As a shelter manager, I am going to share a little insight with you all…a view from the inside if you will.

First off, all of you breeders/sellers should be made to work in the “back” of an animal shelter for just one day. Maybe if you saw the life drain from a few sad, lost, confused eyes, you would change your mind about breeding and selling to people you don’t even know.

That puppy you just sold will most likely end up in my shelter when it’s not a cute little puppy anymore. So how would you feel if you knew that there’s about a 90% chance that dog will never walk out of the shelter it is going to be dumped at? Purebred or not! About 50% of all of the dogs that are “owner surrenders” or “strays”, that come into my shelter are purebred dogs.

The most common excuses I hear are; “We are moving and we can’t take our dog (or cat).” Really? Where are you moving too that doesn’t allow pets? Or they say “The dog got bigger than we thought it would”. How big did you think a German Shepherd would get? “We don’t have time for her”. Really? I work a 10-12 hour day and still have time for my 6 dogs! “She’s tearing up our yard”. How about making her a part of your family? They always tell me “We just don’t want to have to stress about finding a place for her we know she’ll get adopted, she’s a good dog”.

Odds are your pet won’t get adopted & how stressful do you think being in a shelter is? Well, let me tell you, your pet has 72 hours to find a new family from the moment you drop it off. Sometimes a little longer if the shelter isn’t full and your dog manages to stay completely healthy. If it sniffles, it dies. Your pet will be confined to a small run/kennel in a room with about 25 other barking or crying animals. It will have to relieve itself where it eats and sleeps. It will be depressed and it will cry constantly for the family that abandoned it. If your pet is lucky, I will have enough volunteers in that day to take him/her for a walk. If I don’t, your pet won’t get any attention besides having a bowl of food slid under the kennel door and the waste sprayed out of its pen with a high-powered hose. If your dog is big, black or any of the “Bully” breeds (pit bull, rottie, mastiff, etc) it was pretty much dead when you walked it through the front door.

Those dogs just don’t get adopted. It doesn’t matter how ‘sweet’ or ‘well behaved’ they are.

If your dog doesn’t get adopted within its 72 hours and the shelter is full, it will be destroyed. If the shelter isn’t full and your dog is good enough, and of a desirable enough breed it may get a stay of execution, but not for long . Most dogs get very kennel protective after about a week and are destroyed for showing aggression. Even the sweetest dogs will turn in this environment. If your pet makes it over all of those hurdles chances are it will get kennel cough or an upper respiratory infection and will be destroyed because shelters just don’t have the funds to pay for even a $100 treatment.

Here’s a little euthanasia 101 for those of you that have never witnessed a perfectly healthy, scared animal being “put-down”.

First, your pet will be taken from its kennel on a leash. They always look like they think they are going for a walk happy, wagging their tails. Until they get to “The Room”, every one of them freaks out and puts on the brakes when we get to the door. It must smell like death or they can feel the sad souls that are left in there, it’s strange, but it happens with every one of them. Your dog or cat will be restrained, held down by 1 or 2 vet techs depending on the size and how freaked out they are. Then a euthanasia tech or a vet will start the process. They will find a vein in the front leg and inject a lethal dose of the “pink stuff”. Hopefully your pet doesn’t panic from being restrained and jerk. I’ve seen the needles tear out of a leg and been covered with the resulting blood and been deafened by the yelps and screams. They all don’t just “go to sleep”, sometimes they spasm for a while, gasp for air and defecate on themselves.

When it all ends, your pets corpse will be stacked like firewood in a large freezer in the back with all of the other animals that were killed waiting to be picked up like garbage. What happens next? Cremated? Taken to the dump? Rendered into pet food? You’ll never know and it probably won’t even cross your mind. It was just an animal and you can always buy another one, right?

I hope that those of you that have read this are bawling your eyes out and can’t get the pictures out of your head I deal with everyday on the way home from work.

I hate my job, I hate that it exists & I hate that it will always be there unless you people make some changes and realize that the lives you are affecting go much farther than the pets you dump at a shelter.

Between 9 and 11 MILLION animals die every year in shelters and only you can stop it. I do my best to save every life I can but rescues are always full, and there are more animals coming in everyday than there are homes.

My point to all of this DON’T BREED OR BUY WHILE SHELTER PETS DIE!

Hate me if you want to. The truth hurts and reality is what it is. I just hope I maybe changed one persons mind about breeding their dog, taking their loving pet to a shelter, or buying a dog. I hope that someone will walk into my shelter and say “I saw this and it made me want to adopt”. THAT WOULD MAKE IT WORTH IT.
~ UNKNOWN AUTHOR

TRUMPETS TO PAT DERBY- June 7, 1943- Feb. 16, 2013 MyTribute to My Friend

“The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a servant.” —Max DePree

On February 16, 2013, I lost a good friend; the wild animals, both captive and in the wild, lost a great friend. Pat Derby, co-founder of Performing Animal Welfare Society and ARK 2000 Sanctuary, passed away after a long battle with cancer. She will be sorely missed, not only by her human admirers but by the myriad animals she took in and cared for throughout the years and the ones still in need of her ferocious voice and tenacity.

Photo above (Pat Derby & Ed Stewart with their baby, 71!)

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Love Never Dies- The Story of Capitan

For the past 6 years, a German shepherd called Capitán has slept next to the grave of his owner every night at 6pm. His owner, Miguel Guzmán died in 2006. Capitán, the dog, disappeared while the family attended the funeral services. A week later relatives of Guzmán were visiting the cemetery when they were astounded to find the dog next to the owner’s grave. The cemetery director says that the dog comes around each night at 6pm, and has done so for the past 6 years.

Do Elephants Really Paint?! by Windy Borman of The Eyes of Thailand

The question of Do Elephants Really Paint? has & continues to be in debate. What is not debatable is that elephants do not paint in nature & they are “disciplined” to do this trick, which is what it is- another trick, just like doing headstands or riding bikes. Please do not support this abuse, any more than going to a circus or riding an elephant.  People really need to stop being so mesmerized by elephants to the extent that we lose sight of their natural lives. Really just think about it! Elephants don’t naturally paint, do tricks or carry heavy loads. Let these incredibly sensitive, family-oriented, near extinction pachyderms just live in the wild, for those lucky enough, and in sanctuaries like Derby’s PAWS for those who have been enslaved & cannot go back to the wild! I know you will get educated with this article & i urge you to see the touching documentary, The Eyes of Thailand! TRUMPETS FOR CARING ABOUT THE ELEPHANTS! Continue reading »

My Speech to Ban Bullhooks to LA City Council Committee- 9/12

Los Angeles City Council is considering a ban on the use of bullhooks which would seem to end the use of elephants on city property. The Committee listened to people from both sides of the debate and came back suggesting that Animal Services look into not only a ban on bullhooks but a ban on exotic animals in traveling shows, which makes so much more sense as it encompasses ALL the wild animals and a ban on bullhooks doesn’t stop their using electric prods, whips, chains or other “guides” they feel they need to use. Animal Services brought them a comprhensive evaluation of both proposals. Now City Council must decide which proposal to take. I ask all Los Angelenos to please contact your city council member & urge the complete ban. This is what i said that day at the committee meeting but as you will read, I encourage the broader, more effective ban on all wild animals as i could not speak just for the elephants. They all suffer; they all are enslaved; they all deserve better!  Contact Animal Defenders International for more info about this proposal & how to reach your city council member- www.ad-international.org. TRUMPETS & ROARS FOR HELPING! Continue reading »

Addressing Los Angeles City Council re. ban on selling pets in pet stores

I went to City Council in downtown Los Angeles this week to speak about puppy mills. The compassionate councilman, Paul Koretz, has introduced an ordinance to ban the sale of dogs, cats & rabbits in pet stores in our City of Angels. Pet stores sell puppy mill pets; that is an undeniable fact- so if we stop the pet stores from supplying them, the demand goes down & the people who run these disgraceful operations will suffer, finally, and we will eventually close them down. It does allow for these pet stores to show & sell shelter pets which is becoming the humane move with pet stores. One pet store owner in Glendale learned about the horrors of puppy mills & turned his store into one that helps the shelter animals find homes and he has been so successful that he is adding another store. I felt compelled to go to this meeting to talk about my personal experience with puupy mills as i have gone on three legal puppy mill raids with Animal Rescue Corps in 2011. You are only give 2 minutes so this is brief but honest.
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Superior Court’s Decision against the LA Zoo’s Elephant Exhibit

I have been very involved in trying to get the elephants out of the LA Zoo for many years. In fact, just a few years ago, City Council of Los angeles had to decide whether to go ahead with the $42 Million remodel of the elephant exhibit, which remains completely inadequate for these pachyderms. In fact, when Councilman Tony Cardenas decided to challenge the zoo’s plans, based on the zoo’s inadequacies to accomodating elephants living in captivity & their premature deaths due to it, he asked me if I would make a promise to donate $100,000. for Billy’s transport & housing at the PAWS Sanctuary in Northern California should the council decide to shut the exhibit down. I said I would as I was mostly interested in helping any of these poor animals suffering in and around this country. But even before this debate was heard in Los Angeles City Council, Pat Derby & Ed Stewart called me to see if i would donate that pledge before Billy’s arrival to accommodate Ned, a very young, emaciated Asian elephant who was confiscated from circus trainer Lance Ramos for Ramos’ failure to comply with the Animal Welfare Act. Continue reading »