Amazing animals: a kissing lion, a painting elephant, a bovine ambassador,
an albino ASL pit bull, and an amazing horse
A LOVING, GRATEFUL LION......
I had seen this wonderful picture of a huge caged lion in Columbia seemingly ready to hurt the woman pounding on his cage. You probably have already seen it too. It was on TV news, and now I received it as a You Tube forward. Instead of hurting her, he trust out his huge paws and pulled her towards him in an amazing embrace, and gave her which I imagine was a big wet kiss. Unbelievable. As the reporter mused --this
lion must have a soft spot. Agreed.
The woman had rescued him from starvation 6 years ago and tended to him during that time. When he was well enough, she took him understandably to a zoo. They say elephants never forget. Obviously, this is a trait many more animals have, and they never forget their human rescuers.
ONE TALENTED ELEPHANT......
I also received another wonderful You Tube account of an elephant in Thailand painting a picture of himself! Maybe you saw it too. Obviously, his handler or someone else was very gifted in teaching the elephant to paint with a brush in his snoot, and I found his self-portrait remarkable.
This was no spatter- painting picture. This was a drawing which showed depth perception, and I was mesmerized as I watched incredulously as the telling outlines of paint took shape. I was glad that this was on the You Tube, because it is a medium with a lot of exposure. More and more we are beginning to realize that animals are not crude, unthinking beings, and that this was certainly an amazing experience for so many of us to witness.
As we already know, elephants are special and amazing social creatures and, in my opinion, a baby elephant is a work of art-- though I probably feel this way about all animal babies. (Of course, human babies are all works of art too.) I still remember a picture of one of them at an African elephant sanctuary lying near his keeper-- extending his snoot to him in a comforting way. This orphaned baby needed this bonding because as the beautiful, compassionate lady who heads the sanctuary noted --the baby would die without it. Sadly, she learned this from first hand experience when she lost a baby elephant who died of a broken heart because he was left alone during the night.
GOOD BYE OPIE, BOVINE AMBASSADOR EXTROADINAIRE......
I find baby calves very endearing. I was able to come close to them when I spent my last year at a Catholic boarding school in Pennsylvania. They had cows on the property, and the new-born calves were brought to the barn where I was able to slip in to visit them. They were so beautiful! I didn't know then but the males would be slaughtered for their veal. It would have broken my heart. And of course, it still does. And even more distressing is that on some cruel factory farms, they are put in small crates unable to even turn around. Imagine -being in a crate for the 6 weeks or more before being mercifully released and finally slaughtered. One day would be hell for any of us placed in a similar crate. Why are men so cruel? I remember writing I veal company about this cruelty, and of course, someone responded in a way that showed, in my estimation, complete lack of compassion. He asked me if I would be willing to help foot the bill to provide needed changes. I can't print what I thought of the person who wrote me such an insensitive letter. Was he trying to make me feel guilty because of his cruel money-making operation?
Not all men are cruel and uncaring though. Gene Baur, a young factory farm activist in 1990 found an abandoned sickly calf left for dead near the slaughterhouse. He rescued this calf, lovingly nursed him and named him Opie. In time, he became a young, happy frolicking calf. I saw the video on the Farm Sanctuary site. Opie was the first rescue of Farm Sanctuary and years later he had become a loving-- very large bovine ambassador for the sanctuary. Visitors were sometimes intimidated
by his size - but his heart and gentleness soon won them over.
So, it is with sadness that Farm Sanctuary notified its members that Opie had died. For eighteen years he lived a life free from all the cruelty inflicted on so many factory farm raised cattle. People who saw him daily and cared for him will miss him greatly I'm sure. How lucky they were to have Opie this long. How lucky Opie was to have them as well. His life was filled with love, sunshine, and fresh air which is denied so many of his brothers and sisters. Thank you Gene et al.
DUNCAN, THE ALBINO, DEAF PIT BULL.....
This month's LHJ had the story of Duncan, an albino pit bull. He had been turned into the Animal Care and Control shelter in Brooklyn, New York after his owner had been nabbed in a drug raid. The uncle of the alleged drug dealer came to claim him only to return him to the shelter because the man said that the dog was stupid.
The staff knew that albino animals are often deaf and so they tested Duncan's hearing. Sure enough - Duncan was not stupid. He was deaf. No one it seemed wanted a deaf albino pit bull but happily he was rescued on the day before he was to be euthanized by Hot Water Rescue, a New England-based animal rescue organization. This group headed by president Barbie Perry specializes in helping misunderstood breeds like pit bulls.
Sabrina Brini who knew Barbie Perry agreed to foster Duncan until Perry could find him a permanent home. "Brini" was one special lady who realized that for Duncan to be adopted she would have to LEARN and teach him some ASL hand movements. And indeed she did. It would soon become obvious that only she should adopt Duncan because they already had a communication hand- signaling vocabulary. What a lucky dog. What a lucky Brini. I believe they were meant for each other.
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
