Volunteers, we have our date

The brave souls who came out and met at John's Incredible Pizza on April 22 now have a volunteer orientation date, thanks to Cindy Holloway's determination and Maggie Kalar at Kern County Animal Control.

If you've been sitting on the fence about being a volunteer for the county shelter, it's time to get that application in and be a part of the solution. Be there or be square, gang. Need details on the orientation? Drop me a line and I'll be happy to oblige.

And geez, can someone who has an ounce of artistic talent create a logo for them? Besides their site being one of the ugliest on the Internet, it would be great to have a cool logo that can be dropped into posts like this.

Peace.

Pew Commission says it's time to change our ways

A two year study by the Pew Commission says it's time for us to move away from the factory farming practices that are making us, the environment and the animals in our food system ill.

Read the report here. Then support the Prevention of Farm Cruelty Act on this year's ballot in California.

Another lapse, but I have an excuse

O.K., I’m feeling guilty that I haven’t posted here for a bit, but I’ve been busy getting my official certification as a volunteer for the Emergency Animal Rescue Service (EARS).

EARS is a program run by United Animal Nations to respond to disasters, both natural and man-made. We’re not the people who go out in boats --- we’re the people who set up the shelter and provide a place for the people in the boats to bring the animals left behind during disasters.

We also do outreach in the community, letting people know about planning for their pets during disasters and letting local agencies know that we are here and available in the event of an emergency.

Obviously, I’m super cooled-out about the whole thing. I have to start working on getting my “deployment bag” ready, even though I have no idea when, or if, I’ll ever go out on a run. I’m sure I’ll eventually do something, even if it’s just a short stint at a long event.

Interestingly enough, one area where EARS is seeing more calls these days is to respond to puppy mill and hoarding situations. I would love, love, love to take part in a rescue of that nature.

If by chance another EARS person catches a glimpse of this, drop me an email. At my training it looked like I was the only one from this far south, so if there are more of you out there, let me know.

Peace

Someone found the lyrics to Kumbaya

Last night’s meeting of people who are interested in doing something to help out the situation at Kern County Animal Control was, in a word, great.

People who have frequently sat on opposite sides of the aisle on topics related to mandatory spay/neuter, licensing of breeders and breed-specific legislation got together at John’s Incredible Pizza and treated each other with kindness and respect.

We broke bread together (and a big shout-out to the kind benefactor who provided the meal), filled out the volunteer forms for KCAC, talked about some of the types of things we can/should do to improve the lives of the pets at the shelter, and resolved to move forward, as a group, to be a driving volunteer force.

It’s amazing what happens when people focus on one common goal. We stop treating each other as “them” and recognize that, at the heart of it all, all of us want to have a positive impact on a difficult situation.

If we can keep it up, I dare say that we will be unstoppable.

My thanks to all who came. Whether I agree with you on every issue or not, I appreciate the fact that you were there. Rather than waiting for someone to fix the problem, you are willing to “walk the walk” on behalf of the KCAC.

Kumbaya, indeed.

P.S. Just because you missed last night's meeting doesn't mean that you've missed your chance to be a part of the solution. If you're interested in more info on being part of the KCAC volunteer team, drop me a line and I'll get you on the list.

Looking to help? Now’s your chance

One of the more positive things to come out of the most recent Animal Control Commission meeting is some newfound resolve to no longer wait for the HOPE issue to be sorted out. Things continue to ebb and flow between them and the BSPCA over whether each side can meet the other’s expectations, and to be honest, I’m not anyone knows when it will all get sorted out.

In the meantime, those folks who signed up as potential volunteers in the cause are moving forward to create a coalition of volunteers to help support the Kern County Animal Control shelter and the programs they are trying to expand. Programs like education, community outreach at local events (think Thursday Night Street Faire, Farmer’s Markets, Craft and Art Fairs --- anywhere a booth might be able to be located) and other shelter projects.

We are planning to get together Tuesday, April 22. Anyone interested in getting involved should drop me a line and I’ll be happy to provide the details.

Peace.