Bear Bridge Rescue

Now here is a bear rescue you won’t want to miss. There are 3 links listed to the same photos with slightly different write-ups because news stories sometimes are archived and disappear within a few days and this is one of those once-in-a-lifetime rescues.

Telegraph.co.uk

Seattlepi.com

Nevada Appeal

The ability of men to come up with innovative ways to overcome a problem or meet a need is amazing. So, why is it that some men will go to great lengths to save the life of an animal while others treat animals with disdain and brutality?

www.mercyandpercy.com/

Snippets, Sp 29, 2007

Tanya Head. It is sad to read the recent news story of Tanya Head, who is accused of posing for the past six years as a 9/11 survivor. My question is, if Head is not who she says she is (even her name is now in doubt), why has it taken six years to figure this out?

On the surface, it would seem she might have been drawn to the attention and status her survivor’s claim accorded her. Although she did not apply for nor receive financial compensation, this did put her in the limelight where she had occasions to meet prominent politicians, lead tour groups, and become a fundraiser and president of the charity World Trade Centre Survivors’ Network.

For the past six years, she was somebody – a survivor of the World Trade Center attacks and the subsequent collapse of both towers. If she did lie about being on or above the 78^th floor when the plane hit the south tower, she must be some actress!

Did she lie? If she did, she must be a very lonely person with some deep needs her pre-9/11 life and friendships couldn’t fill.

*****************

Locked in a CT scanner. Yes, this is a true story.

Elvira Tellez, who has been diagnosed with bone cancer, went to a clinic in Tucson, Arizona one afternoon for a CT scan to see if her cancer has spread. After being placed in the scanning machine about 4 o’clock, the lights were dimmed to relax her, she was told not to move, and the technician walked away, forgot about her and went home.

Hours later, after screaming for help, Elvira managed to wiggle out of the machine, only to find she was locked in the clinic. Panicked, she called her son and then 911. She was able to unlock the door for deputies. They then contacted the office manager who claimed to be unaware of the situation. Elvira spent the night in the hospital.

That’s not bad enough. A physician at the clinic admits this is not the first time a patient has been locked in the office after hours. How does one forget a patient left helpless and scared in a CT scanner?

The moral of this story is that the next time you have to visit a clinic for any type of testing, take along a friend with a good memory, one who will miss you when the clinic doors are being locked and you haven’t returned to the waiting room.

www.mercyandpercy.com/

End of a Chain

I have no sympathy for anyone who would tie one or more dogs in the yard and allow them to die at the end of a chain, without food, water, or medical care.

Anti-tethering laws are popping up here and there across the nation and gaining momentum. Chaining a dog outside is inhumane and can lead to aggression. Consider this; would you want to spend your life on a chain that constricts your ability to exercise and in some cases on a chain so short you can barely move at all? Or even on a longer chain that wraps around any nearby object as you pace and has the potential to choke you to death? If you have a kind owner, you might have a doghouse, but many chained dogs don’t have any type of shelter, not even a nearby shade tree in the summer or a place to curl up in when the weather turns stormy or cold.

Many chained dogs are neglected. It is easy to “forget” to feed and water the chained dog. Out of sight means out of mind in too many cases. In an open yard, chained dogs are vulnerable to attacks by other dogs. They can’t hide or get away. They are also susceptible to “teasing:” abuse by children. That dog doesn’t think it is funny to be poked with a stick or to have his food or water bowl taken away “in fun.” But when the dog eventually bites someone taunting him, stealing his food, or entering his chained territory, he is deemed dangerous and disposed of.

Dogs are social animals. Chaining them denies them interaction with other canines and with their owners. Picture yourself living in prison in solitary confinement, without interaction with others of your own species.

Thankfully, many areas are passing anti-tethering laws. There are times when tying a dog outside for a short period of time is a necessary or temporary convenience, but to confine a dog solely to a lonely life at the end of a chain is cruel.

It is suspected that those who would most vocally oppose an anti-tethering law would be those who own but neglect a dog and those involved in dogfighting. Fighting dogs are kept chained separately because they are trained to be highly aggressive to other animals.

So, this said, you can guess I am not on the side of the folks who used to own a dog rescued from death in a yard at the end of a chain and named Doogie by his rescuer. His rescuer’s name is Tammy Grimes and she is scheduled to go on trial in Pennsylvania for saving the dog, getting him medical care, and refusing to return him to die at the end of a chain. The way the previous owners treated him was cruelty, against the law, but the law there has refused to prosecute them. Instead, they are prosecuting Tammy Grimes.

When will men stop thinking of animals as inanimate objects? It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out animals can experience fear and pain, and deserve far better than they often receive. If you want something to help you relax at the end of a hard day that requires no financial commitment for upkeep and no effort to care for, get a porch swing. But if you want to be greeted with enthusiasm and affection, get a dog. He’s worth the effort and expense.

But don’t chain him in a far corner of the yard and forget he exists. Doogie had five months of freedom from a chain before he died. Five happy months with vet care, medication, nourishing food and loving contact.

And for that freedom, for Doogie and other chained dogs, Tammy Grimes is willing to go to jail. Perhaps the DA will have a change of heart and the previous owners who chained him and left him to die will be prosecuted instead. When you read the story of how law enforcement and the judicial system has dealt with the rescuer instead of the abuser, you might wonder which species – animal or human – in certain cases best fits the derogatory term “dumb animal.”

Click here to visit Tammy's website, Dogs Deserve Better.

www.mercyandpercy.com/

Sneaky Snake Bite

You can add another reason to your list of why over-imbibing disconnects your brain cells from reality.

First of all, I have doubts about the mentality of anyone who would keep a snake as a pet, and I know a number of people would argue against me on this subject, but I stand firm on this point. And here is a good example.

An Oregon man had a few beers with friends, opened his mouth and inserted his pet Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake’s head. (This is North America’s largest venomous snake.) What would most people assume would happen? Well, it did.

He was rushed to the hospital with enough venom in him to kill 12 to 15 people. His tongue swelled, filled his mouth and obstructed his airway. With an obstructed airway, he had only seven minutes to get major medical help before he died of asphyxiation.

The doctors put him in a medical coma for three days. Three weeks later, he is home, recovering well, and still handling his rattlesnake as casually as someone else would a pet Chihuahua. Since he is keeping the snake, he would be smart to give up the beer. But I doubt it.

To read one news report, click here.
www.mercyandpercy.com/

Tomorrow Has Come

A tribute to my mother, who passed away one year ago today.

TOMORROW HAS COME

By Janice Price

How swiftly do the years flow by (comparing now with then).
The hands that rocked my cradle then, now barely hold a pen.
The feet that paced the floor with me are sore and wracked with pain.
The sturdy legs that climbed the stairs reluctantly abstain.

A stroke, some falls, a shattered hip – all things we couldn’t share.
Determinedly, her swollen feet propel her “rolling chair.”
Where once we could stand back to back and match at five-foot-four,
Her body’s lost the war with time. Her neck bends toward the floor.

Her eyesight faded years ago. She legally is blind.
She keeps up with the daily news to exercise her mind.
She once could hear a silent sin. Her hearing was acute.
She now maintains volume control is languishing on “mute.”

Her hair remains quite dark and fine, with just a touch of gray.
She misses how her gardening once brightened up her day.
Tomorrow was a future date. No way we could foresee
She'd live in prison, physically, though technically she’s free.

One day tomorrow came to pass. My mother has grown old.
We need to share more memories - relate the tales untold.
She smiled her way through failing health. One day she’d rest a while.
Tomorrow’s here. Let’s share a joke. And launch that impish smile

Epilogue:
But now her time on earth has passed. Her steadfast faith endured.
No longer deaf or blind or lame – of this we are assured.
We buried her beside her son, through tears – emotions numb.
Though death is not the journey’s end, tomorrow sure has come.

© 2000, 2007 Janice Price

www.mercyandpercy.com/