Deer dining

I love this photo... it's feeding time at the shelter for the rescued babies... awwww.

Defenders of Wildlife

It's been a long time since I've joined any national wildlife or animal welfare/rescue groups. There are a lot of them that I like and a lot of them do good work. The only one I dislike intensely is PETA. PETA is often right on the issues, but the methods they use to bring attention to those issues are often stupid and offensive. I feel that they do more harm than good. They turn people off and no one hears what they're saying. And many of us who work to help animals, then get painted with the "crazy animal-nut" brush. Thanks to PETA. Anyway, the main reason I don't join the ones that I DO like is because I have very little money. And it makes more sense for me to use the few resources I have...to help animals in my own backyard. Literally. And I like to help the few animal welfare/rescue groups that we have in this rural area.

On Saturday, I got some information from Defenders of Wildlife. I have been a member in the past and I do like this organization. And for just a mere $15 a year I am going to join again. Mainly because I want to do everything I can to help them in their campaign against the Governor of Alaska's cruel wildlife policies. Specifically her methods of controlling the wolf population. And why does she think that's important? Probably because wolves kill moose and caribou to live. And Palin and other trophy hunters (who bring money into Alaska) want to have plenty of moose and caribou to shoot. Plenty of heads to put up on their walls. These are not people who kill animals because they need the food. These are people who shoot animals for the fun of it.

From Defenders of Wildlife: "All season long in Alaska, there will be the drone of low-flying aircraft with trophy hunters chasing wolves to exhaustion before shooting them from the sky or landing and executing them at point-blank range. Now they're using helicopters. It's a brutal, cruel practice and Governor Palin is determined to expand the aerial killing spree. She even pushed to pay a $150 bounty to any aerial hunter who presented the severed left foreleg of a dead wolf killed in certain areas of the state. Defenders fought her gruesome bounty plan...and blocked it.

But now Palin's Board of Game has unleashed a horrible campaign to slaughter wolf pups. Painful snares will be placed in the opening of wolf dens to catch young puppies and hold them so they can be shot. And poison gas grenades will be tossed in the homes of wolves, turning them into deadly gas chambers."

Hard to believe that someone who is so kind-hearted about children, can be so horrible and uncaring about animal suffering. I've heard Palin refer to Defenders of Wildlife as an unimportant fringe organization. She's wrong.

Horses in the water

We had some horrible rains here recently, flooding many of my neighbors homes during the night. We were lucky as it stopped about 5 inches below my door. The next morning as I watched the local news I saw a story about some horses that were caught in the flood waters just miles from my home and I got very upset. A helicopter was flying overhead showing them swimming with nothing around but water. One of them was just a baby! I told Rick that somebody better get out there soon and save those horses. Sure enough, before the hour ended they had all been rescued. Read on...

HOUSTON - A small herd of horses is finally rescued from the flood waters at Addicks Reservoir in northwest Harris County.
Eight horses found themselves stranded by high water and spent much of Tuesday night and Wednesday morning looking for high ground.
They remained in a tight pack, alternatively swimming and walking through the high water.
Finally the SPCA arrived on the scene in boats to help herd the horses safely to land. A veterinarian was at the rescue site to help treat the horses and get blood flowing back in their legs.
Officials say the horses had been in the water for nearly 24 hours after heavy rains moved through the Houston region on Tuesday.
The horses came out of the water with fire ant bites and minor cuts. But they all appeared to be in decent shape after the ordeal.
Sanctuary buildings were flooded and saddles, bridles and feed were lost. The horses were taken to private pasture land in Montgomery County.
By noon, a total of eight horses had been rescued from the area near Bear Creek Park.

They were originally abused and abandoned animals that were being cared for by a horse sanctuary. The owner said she didn't care about the lost buildings or anything else...just the horses. I was so happy to see a good outcome...watching them swim for their lives was not a pretty sight.