Update, 2/10/10: Woot, woot, Sherman has been adopted! (By a nice Sasquatch family, no doubt!)

Sherman the snow-dog. Photo courtesy Animal Haven.
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This week’s featured adoptable is a tank. Errr, Yeti. Errr, Abominable Snowman. Retriever Mix? All of the above?

Whichever breed/species Sherman hails from, one thing is certain: he’s five stones+ of pure bliss. Or is that boulders? Meh, who cares. He’s a big hunk of adorable, and that’s all you need to know!

Here’s what the good folks at Animal Haven to say about ol’ Sherman:

Sherman is a BIG boy (he may have been named after the tank!). He is a happy-go-lucky fellow who loves to meet new people. His needs are simple: food & water, a nice cozy bed, an outdoor spot to potty, and a family who loves him. He does well with dogs and cats, as long as he has a chance to get to know them. His favorite toy is a chew bone, so be sure to have plenty of those handy. This guy is house trained and will do great with just about any family (though any kids in the house should be at least 8 years old). Sherman is ready to move into his new lifelong caring home, so come meet him today!

To get in touch with Sherman’s temporary guardians, visit his Petfinder listing or go straight to Animal Haven’s website.
 
 

One of many stray/feral Haitian dogs.
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By the way, I’ve been wanting to say a little something about the recent earthquake in Haiti, but…words escape me. Really, there’s not much to say. Instead, I encourage you to give what you can to help the millions of people who have seen their homes destroyed, their families torn apart, and their lives uprooted by this natural disaster (which was/is being exacerbated by centuries of oppression and exploitation resulting in crippling poverty).

For a list of nonprofit organizations providing assistance in Haiti, see:

CNN: Impact Your World

Haiti Earthquake Relief: How You Can Help at the Huffington Post

Charity Navigator: Help Survivors of the Earthquake in Haiti

InterAction: InterAction Members Respond to the Earthquake in Haiti

Also, Kansas City @ About.com has an ongoing list of local events, activities and fundraisers to assist with the relief efforts in Haiti.

Finally, the many nonhuman inhabitants of Haiti and the Dominican Republic will need aid in the upcoming weeks, months and years as well. While not much has yet been written of anticipated future animal rescue efforts, you can find an excellent summery here. A number of animal welfare groups have joined together to form the Animal Relief Coalition for Haiti (ARCH). Spearheaded by The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and The World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA), at the time of this writing, the following animal advocacy groups have joined ARCH: American Humane Association (AHA), American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), Best Friends Animal Society, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and Humane Society International (HSI), In Defense of Animals (IDA), Kinship Circle, and the United Animal Nations (UAN).

Of course, I encourage you to research any and all organizations before making a donation; check that is legit, will use your money wisely, and is consistent with your beliefs. A few good resources in this regard are Charity Navigator, the American Institute of Philanthropy, and the Better Business Bureau. Be wary of email and telephone solicitations.

Thanks much – and stay shiny, people.

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Please take a moment to read through the following Kinship Circle alert and contact Raymore officials if you feel as outraged as I do.

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Kinship Circle – info [at] kinshipcircle.org
Date: Sat, Oct 10, 2009 at 4:36 PM
Subject: Act/ Cop Shoots Deaf, 19-Year-Old Family Cat

KINSHIP CIRCLE PRIMARY / PERMISSION TO CROSSPOST
10/10/09: Cop Shoots Deaf, 19-Year-Old Family Cat

Tobey the cat who was shot and killed by Raymore, MO police. (source)

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———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Jim French, Oxfam America
Date: Fri, Sep 26, 2008 at 11:54 AM
Subject: Join Me for a Very Special Event in Kansas City

I am writing today to invite you to a very special event, The Human Face of Climate Change: A Sisters on the Planet Event. On Friday, Oct. 3, Oxfam America welcomes to Kansas City, MO, two women who truly represent the human face of climate change. These women will inspire you, as they’ve inspired me, to join the fight against climate change.

Mrs. Woré Gana Seck from Dakar, Senegal, and Sharon Hanshaw, of Biloxi, MS, will be with us to discuss the impacts of global warming on their regions and outline the policies needed to build communitywide resilience to climate change, reduce gender inequality, and help overcome poverty.

The Human Face of Climate Change event details:

* Friday, Oct. 3, 2008
* Reception at 6 p.m. and the Program runs from 7-9 p.m.
* Truman Forum, Plaza Branch, Kansas City Public Library
* 4801 Main Street, Kansas City, MO

For more information go to www.kclibrary.org/event/2008/ or email me at jfrench [at] oxfamamerica.org.

I hope to see you there!

Sincerely,

Jim French
Oxfam America

Bios:

Mrs. Woré Gana Seck is the director of Green Senegal and president of CONGAD, a consortium of 160 national and international nongovernmental organizations. Seck will speak on the increasing impact of climate change on the lives of families in rural West Africa. Her organizations focus on creating resilient and sustainable rural communities in Senegal.

Sharon Hanshaw, executive director of Coastal Women for Change, is the national ambassador for the Sisters on the Planet initiative. Hanshaw’s organization has been integral in the rebuilding process following Hurricane Katrina. Her current work centers on creating a broad infrastructure that will help communities in the Gulf Coast better prepare for and respond to climate disasters.

Donate | Who We Are | What We Do | What You Can Do | News & Publications | Contact Us

———————–

Tagged: kansas missouri ks mo kcmo kcks kansas city oxfam events environment talk climate change global warming lecture sisters on the planet Woré Gana Seck Sharon Hanshaw coastal women for change

FYI…

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Nuclear Age Peace Foundation
Date: Wed, Sep 24, 2008 at 9:00 AM
Subject: Next Wednesday Is Last Chance to Oppose New Kansas City Nuclear Weapons Plant

Nuclear Age Peace Foundation

Public Hearing: Oppose a New Nuclear Weapons Plant in Kansas City

Make Your Voice Heard — October 1

Last Chance for the Public to Oppose $40 Million in Tax Money for a New Nuclear Weapons Plant in Kansas City

Wednesday, October 1
1:30 P.M.

Planning & Zoning Committee Meeting
26th Floor, Council Chambers
City Hall, 414 E. 12th St.
Kansas City, MO 64106

If you believe that a subsidy for a nuclear weapons production plant is contrary to the stated purpose of using tax breaks to improve the quality of human life, tell the Mayor and City Council you want green jobs, not WMDs, for a sustainable Kansas City! City officials should be pushing for needed cleanup and economic development at the old plant instead of pushing for a new nuclear weapons production plant.

The agenda will be available at www.kcmo.org on Friday, Sept 26. Arrive at the hearing 10 minutes early to sign in on the cards provided by the city for the record. It’s not known exactly what time the proposal will be discussed that afternoon. The hearing will be broadcast on local tv on Channel 2.

If you can’t make the hearing, you can email comments to the Mayor and City Council members beforehand at www.nukewatch.org/KCNukePlant/index.html.

For more information, contact Ann Suellentrop at annsuellen@gmail.com, or check for more information at www.nukewatch.org.

Nuclear Age Peace Foundation | PMB 121, | 1187 Coast Village Road, Suite 1 | Santa Barbara | CA | 93108

——————–

Tagged: kansas missouri ks mo kcmo kcks kansas city Nuclear Age Peace Foundation action alerts events Nuclear Weapons Plant

UPDATE, 9/10/08: Saffron’s listing has been removed from Petfinder. I’m pretty sure this means she’s been adopted, as I believe REGAP is mostly a no-kill rescue group.

———————–

This week, I’m doing something a bit different for our Featured Adoptables column. In addition to featuring an animal, I’d also like to highlight a local rescue group – Retired Greyhounds as Pets (REGAP) – which will be in need of a little extra help come August 24. What’s so special about August 24, you ask?

The Woodlands Greyhound Race Track is scheduled to close down on 8/23. Consequently, the 600+ greyhounds who previously held down “jobs” there will find themselves “unemployed”. For racing dogs, this means they’ll be homeless. Many of them face euthanasia.

The following is excerpted from Kinship Circle’s July Digest:

2. Race Track Closing. Don’t Let Greyhounds Die

ALERT FROM / REPLY TO:

Buctale13 [at] aol.com

pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/AnimalRightsandActionAlerts/message/3915

BACKGROUND (edited for length):

7/23/08, Woodlands Greyhound Race Track closing in Kansas City: The Woodlands Racetrack in Kansas City is closing August 24th. I have spoken with REGAP (Retired Greyhounds as Pets) here in Kansas City. There are 600 Greyhounds at the track. Greyhound rescue estimates they will be able to get 200 into the rescue network.

The Woodlands is a last-stop track in the Greyhound racing industry, the remaining 400 will be ‘returned’ to the breeders and likely [killed].

CONTACT INFORMATION / TAKE ACTION:

REGAP can be reached at 816-763-3333
REGAP (greyhound rescue) needs urgent help for FOSTERS, ADOPTIONS, TRANSPORTS, etc. Please contact them if you can help and forward to friends you know who may be able to help. REGAP: 816-763-3333

If you can help by adopting or fostering a greyhound (or two!), please contact REGAP today. If you don’t have the room, means or desire to take in a dog, consider volunteering for transport (i.e., driving) duties. It’s not unusual for rescue groups to adopt out animals to homes in other cities or even states; in such cases, these groups need a few kind souls to physically transport the animals to their forever homes. And, of course, a cash donation is always welcome!

You can find out more about REGAP on their Petfinder page, www.petfinder.com/shelters/MO151.html or on their website, www.kcregap.org/public/

For more information on Woodland’s pending closure, here’s a Google News search with the latest.

Sticking with the greyhound theme, this week I’m proud to feature Saffron, a gorgeous greyhound girl:

Just look at that beautiful smile!

Here’s what REGAP says of the lovely Saffron:

This girl always has a big smile for anyone who comes by! Saffron is very outgoing and loving. She is ecstatic to greet the kennel staff in the mornings with tail wags, kisses, and a smile to take on the day! Saffron loves to play and gets along well with other medium to large sized dogs, but small dogs are not good playmates with this big girl. Saffron loves to go on walks in the park and gets so excited she can hardly contain it when she knows it’s time to go on her walk. She needs a home where ear scratching, walks, and love are given freely so she can give her love, loyalty, and silly grin to her special family.

REGAP currently has 11 greyhounds listed on Petfinder (you can also view them on REGAP’s own website), with (presumably) hundreds more to come. If none of these babes strike your fancy, consider calling REGAP about Woodland’s soon-to-be-ex-racing dogs.

Won’t you give these “working” dogs a happy retirement?

(more…)

Ladies and gentlemen:

There are times in the history of our nation when our very way of life depends upon dispelling illusions and awakening to the challenge of a present danger. In such moments, we are called upon to move quickly and boldly to shake off complacency, throw aside old habits and rise, clear-eyed and alert, to the necessity of big changes. Those who, for whatever reason, refuse to do their part must either be persuaded to join the effort or asked to step aside. This is such a moment. The survival of the United States of America as we know it is at risk. And even more – if more should be required – the future of human civilization is at stake.

I don’t remember a time in our country when so many things seemed to be going so wrong simultaneously. Our economy is in terrible shape and getting worse, gasoline prices are increasing dramatically, and so are electricity rates. Jobs are being outsourced. Home mortgages are in trouble. Banks, automobile companies and other institutions we depend upon are under growing pressure. Distinguished senior business leaders are telling us that this is just the beginning unless we find the courage to make some major changes quickly.

The climate crisis, in particular, is getting a lot worse – much more quickly than predicted. Scientists with access to data from Navy submarines traversing underneath the North polar ice cap have warned that there is now a 75 percent chance that within five years the entire ice cap will completely disappear during the summer months. This will further increase the melting pressure on Greenland. According to experts, the Jakobshavn glacier, one of Greenland’s largest, is moving at a faster rate than ever before, losing 20 million tons of ice every day, equivalent to the amount of water used every year by the residents of New York City.

Two major studies from military intelligence experts have warned our leaders about the dangerous national security implications of the climate crisis, including the possibility of hundreds of millions of climate refugees destabilizing nations around the world.

Just two days ago, 27 senior statesmen and retired military leaders warned of the national security threat from an “energy tsunami” that would be triggered by a loss of our access to foreign oil. Meanwhile, the war in Iraq continues, and now the war in Afghanistan appears to be getting worse.

And by the way, our weather sure is getting strange, isn’t it? There seem to be more tornadoes than in living memory, longer droughts, bigger downpours and record floods. Unprecedented fires are burning in California and elsewhere in the American West. Higher temperatures lead to drier vegetation that makes kindling for mega-fires of the kind that have been raging in Canada, Greece, Russia, China, South America, Australia and Africa. Scientists in the Department of Geophysics and Planetary Science at Tel Aviv University tell us that for every one degree increase in temperature, lightning strikes will go up another 10 percent. And it is lightning, after all, that is principally responsible for igniting the conflagration in California today.

Like a lot of people, it seems to me that all these problems are bigger than any of the solutions that have thus far been proposed for them, and that’s been worrying me.

(more…)

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Kinship Circle – kinshipcircle [at] accessus.net
Date: Sat, Jul 12, 2008 at 3:11 PM
Subject: Next Steps: Volunteer In Future Disasters

KINSHIP CIRCLE ANIMAL DISASTER AID NETWORK
Communicating during disasters to mobilize volunteers, supplies, and other resources for animal victims. www.kinshipcircle.org/disasters

7/12/08: Next Steps: Volunteer In Future Disasters
Over the summer, Kinship Circle Animal Disaster Aid Network is updating its volunteer database to keep your skills and experience on file — in the event we are recruited to directly deploy responders in future disasters. (We do NOT automatically send volunteers to every disaster).

=======================

1. Please Fill Out Attached Volunteer Form!

=======================

Your filled-out form will help us contact and send volunteers more efficiently in future disasters.

1. FILL OUT THE ATTACHED FORM:

www.kcfreecycle.org/images/KCDisasterAid_VolunteerForm.doc

2. EMAIL IT BACK TO: kinshipcircle [at] accessus.net

3. TYPE IN SUBJECT LINE: KC ANIMAL DISASTER AID NETWORK

(If you do not type this in subject line, your form may be overlooked).

If you are reading this message as a cross-post, not directly from Kinship Circle:

1. You must subscribe to Kinship Circle Animal Disaster Network email list.
2. You may subscribe when sending back your completed form.
3. In your email, type: SUBSCRIBE to KC Animal Disaster Aid Network

NOTE: KC Animal Disaster Aid Network will always remain a news service for anyone interested in animal disaster victims, but not hands-on volunteering.

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———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Farm Sanctuary – info [at] farmsanctuary.org
Date: Tue, Jul 8, 2008 at 7:40 PM
Subject: Iowa Pigs Still Need Help

I know that we recently reached out to you for help, but we are still in urgent need of funding to continue the mission to save pigs from the Midwest flood disaster.

This emergency rescue is historic, both in its mission and scope, and is expected to be one of the most expensive rescue operations Farm Sanctuary has ever undertaken. But we couldn’t turn our backs on farm animals in need; we couldn’t leave any pigs behind.

Farm Sanctuary’s emergency rescue team is continuing to work day and night on the ground in Iowa to save the pigs. The urgency of the situation is only growing, as we have now rescued 69 pigs, most of whom are in very poor condition and a number of whom are pregnant.

We need your help right now to provide emergency onsite care to the pigs and transport them out of the disaster zone, as we have secured all survivors on the Iowa levee. Given the condition, number and size of these animals, this endeavor is massive.

Right now, Farm Sanctuary’s National Shelter Director Susie Coston is onsite in Iowa providing triage care at a temporary holding facility. Here, the pigs are receiving care for third degree burns and treatment for abscesses and wounds.

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———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Kinship Circle – kinshipcircle [at] accessus.net
Date: Thu, Jul 3, 2008 at 2:49 PM
Subject: FLOOD: Last Images + Pigs Need Homes!

KINSHIP CIRCLE PRIMARY / MIDWEST FLOODS OF 2008

7/3/08: Images From A Flood + Rescued Pigs Need Homes
As rescue and emergency sheltering operations head toward maintenance, we share a last glimpse of the flood that covered over 80% of Iowa…and some of the animals who survived.

Photo courtesy of Molly Wald, Best Friends Animal Society.

www.bestfriends.org

IN THIS ALERT:

1. Iowa Floods: Pigs, Pups & Kittens
2. Red Rover, Red Rover…Send Piggy Right Over!
3. Homes Urgently Needed For Rescued Pigs
4. Tessa’s Reunion

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———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Farm Sanctuary – info [at] farmsanctuary.org
Date: Wed, Jul 2, 2008 at 11:33 AM
Subject: Midwest Pigs Urgently in Need of Placement

HOMES URGENTLY NEEDED FOR RESCUED PIGS – WE IMMEDIATELY NEED ADOPTIVE HOMES FOR PIGS IN ORDER TO SAVE AS MANY ANIMALS AS POSSIBLE FROM THE MIDWEST FLOOD DISASTER.

As we reported to you last week, Farm Sanctuary’s emergency rescue team is currently on the ground in Oakville, Iowa saving pigs stranded in the Mississippi River floods and providing them with emergency care and temporary shelter.

Thankfully, our efforts are proving successful as we now have 28 pigs in our custody. Many are in critical condition (suffering from injuries, pneumonia and third degree sunburns) and are receiving urgent care.

Now, as rescue efforts continue, we must quickly secure a large number of adoptive homes for pigs: www.farmsanctuary.org/rescue/adoption.html

We continue to find more and more pigs still alive, surviving against all odds in fields, on levees, anywhere they can find refuge. Pigs are extremely resourceful, intelligent animals they are fighters; they are survivors. After this tremendous demonstration of their will to live and all that they have endured, they deserve peace and comfort in their lives, as well as a chance to know that there is kindness in the world. PLEASE HELP by providing an adoptive home for as many pigs as you can.

Among those we have rescued is a brave, strong mother pig who gave birth to seven piglets within the past couple of days amidst the floods. She and her babies have survived the ordeal but this mother now needs a safe place to call home and nurture and raise her piglets.

Our need for homes is extremely urgent, as Farm Sanctuary already provides lifelong care to more than 50 pigs. We are continuing to rescue as many as we can, but our efforts can only continue with your participation in this extraordinary rescue.

Many of the rescued pigs swam for their lives to escape deadly flood waters. They were stranded without food or water, injured, sick, frightened, and confused. These pigs need you to give them hope for the future and keep them safe from harm forever.

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