Mountain Views News     Logo: MVNews     Saturday, July 25, 2015

MVNews this week:  Page 9

JUST FOR BEST FRIENDSMountain Views-News Saturday, July 25, 2015 9 JUST FOR BEST FRIENDSMountain Views-News Saturday, July 25, 2015 9 
LOOKING FOR A BEST FRIEND? 


Happy Tails 

by Chris Leclerc 

Last week turned out to be a rather challenging andfrustrating one for me. As hard as I try to avoidfocusing on issues that are less than up-lifting, thereare times when I find myself inadvertently faceto-
face with news of vicious violence or needless 
neglect, often delivered by talking heads who areable to voice such news as if it were nothing morethan a lunch menu. Most recently, a grim yet truetale came to me from a way less likely source. Arandom acquaintance who happens to know I careabout animals and thought I should know becauseI might be able to do something about it. I sure hopehe was right.

I try to digest and work through those ‘hard-tohear’ 
stories when they do sneak in, but when I hearreports of animal cruelty I find it very difficult toremove myself emotionally and carry on with dailylife as if nothing happened. Because I am a sensitivesoul, I tend to let sad news get to me, and in the wakeof reports about animal abuse, I find it extremelychallenging to ignore and move on. It gets to be toomuch at times, but I try to surround myself withfriends who share my immense love and respect foranimals. I always know they will come alongsideand give me encouragement and hope.

The precious pets I get to spend time with alsoplay a big part in keeping me from plunging intothe depths of depression when news of animalabuse succeeds in penetrating my space. Sincereand heart-felt appreciation go out to all my friends,
both two-footed and four, who help keep me from“going off the deep end” when I might otherwise beoverwhelmed. 

Just when I think we humans are on the goodpath, moving in the right direction towardkindness and compassion in our interaction withother species, something happens to remind methat we still have a long way to go before we achievea healthy balance. It is as if we take one step forwardand two steps back. Therein lies my frustration thispast week, as I continue to help my friend in herpursuit of justice for Gracie, her beautiful 2 1/2 yearold husky pup that was brutally kicked to death by alocal dog walker two months ago.

The frustration I’ve been feeling over Gracie’scase somehow brought back memories of how I feltwhen those 50 big cats were needlessly gunned downin Zanesville, Ohio in October of 2011 after their 
“caretaker“ opened the gates and let them out in thestreets before he committed suicide. It is an awful 
feeling, like you’ve been punched in the stomach.
While the death of one dog may not be comparableto that of 50 big cats, the disappointment in how thehumans involved handled both situations is verymuch the same. 

I believe in God 
as sole Creator of the 
universe, and I also 
believe that God gavethe human respectfuldominion over other 
animal species, but 
most importantly, I 
believe He appointed 
us as stewards to 
ensure the well-beingof the animals, not to 
ensure our position ofcontrol or power over 

ONE STEP FORWARD, 
TWO STEPS BACK? 


them. 

In some ways I wish I could “un-know“ what Isaw on the news back in October, 2011, and more 
recently, the gruesome details of how Gracie wasbrutally murdered by someone who professed tobe her trustworthy and caring handler. However, Iam convinced that there is a reason for me knowingthese sad facts. We can run but we cannot hide 
from reality. We can’t bury our heads in the sandwith regard to animal cruelty. There is a season forsadness and anger, but it should be a short seasonthat ultimately prompts us to positive action.

The Zanesville tragedy broke my heart, but italso had a very positive impact on me. It forced 
me to start educating myself about animal-
protection laws, and to find out what part I canplay in making things better. I began tuning in tocurrent related issues and signing all the petitionsand initiatives I could find, designed to helpprevent animal abuse.

Early on in my constant quest to stay abreast ofcurrent affairs having to do with animal advocacy,
I came across a group called Social Compassionin Legislation. Among the many good things theydo, they provide information and advice to peoplewho are interested in being more proactive in theirdesire to help protect the animals. They also offervaluable resources that have proven quite helpfulto a novice advocate such as myself. I learned a lotperusing the pages on their site. It gives me a senseof accomplishment to sign the petitions they havelinked in, and I have been also able to put a fewof their free tools to use in assisting with Gracie‘s 
case. 

There are a lot of things in this world that Isimply do not have control over when it comes topreventing animal cruelty, but when given theopportunity to take action on those things thatare within my reach, the untouchables somehowseem to fade away and that overwhelming feelingof frustration, anger and sadness is replaced witha renewed sense of hope. That’s what keeps memoving forward!

If you are like me and want to make adifference for the better on behalf of the 
animals, I highly recommend visiting 
socialcompassioninlegislation.org. It is my hopethat all true lovers of animals will do what theycan to help prevent animal abuse whereverand whenever they can. Let’s make it our job asstewards, to ensure that what happened in Ohio in2011, and what happened to Gracie in May of thisyear will never happen again. Keep praying thatjustice will prevail for Gracie. Love and let live. 

To enjoy the summer with? 
Meet Adele, a very pretty, 
friendly rabbit. She has a 
beautiful silky soft white coatwith unique grey markings onher ears, toes and around the 
eyes with some grey sprinkledon her back. She is a big carrotlover and will happily munch on 
one as a treat. She has a calm 
temperament and would make awonderful pet for rabbit lovers.
Rabbits make ideal indoor pets and are brimmingwith personality. They are very social animalsand need lots of exercise and enrichment activities 
to keep them at their best. They can be litter boxtrained and happily hop around your home waitingfor some snuggle time on the sofa!

Please stop by, feed her some carrot or beet tops 
and get to know her. She would love to be part 

of a family and share with you 
the unique pleasure of living 
with a companion rabbit. 
If you want a fascinating, 
funny, warm and wonderful 
companion animal, think of 
Adele.

 Her adoption fee is $40 which 
includes her spay surgery, a 
microchip, first vaccinations 
and a free wellness check-up 
at a participating veterinarian. 

If you are interested in meeting Adele or Harvey 
and Adara, our other rabbits, or any of the other 
wonderful animals at the shelter, visit the San 
Gabriel Valley Humane Society at 851 E. Grand 
Ave., San Gabriel, Calif., 91776, Tuesday through 
Sunday. (The shelter is closed Mondays.) For 
more information, call (626) 286-1159 or visit our 
website at http://www.sgvhumane.org/. 


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Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com