Mountain Views News, Pasadena Edition [Sierra Madre] Saturday, November 24, 2018

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BEST FRIENDS & MORE 

Mountain Views-News Saturday, November 24, 2018 


Happy Tails

by Chris Leclerc

BEST FRIEND

THANKFUL GIVING 
HELPS KEEP 

THEM LIVING

Stewie was with us at the shelter as a kitten, when 
he was known as Mick Jagger. He was recently 
returned by his former family, through no fault 
of his after living with them for over three years. 
Stewie is now four years old and looking for his 
forever home. He is a big handsome guy with an 
athletic build, a bushy tail and gorgeous eyes as 
green as grapes. Stewie still has the big personality 
of the star he was named for as a kitten. He is very 
friendly, enjoys being around people and has a 
unique voice which he uses to ask for the attention 
he loves. Once Stewie finds a fan, he will take his 
place on a lap, allowing his silky gray fur coat to 
be brushed. Head massages are also appreciated. 
He is mesmerized by the moving red laser dot. But 
instead of chasing it, he decided the light should 
come to him. Come meet this show stopper at 
the shelter in Meow Manor during visiting hours, 
Tuesday through Sunday from 10:30am-4:30pm. 
His adoption fee is $99 and includes neuter surgery, 
vaccinations, microchip and a free wellness exam 
at a participating veterinarian. Feel free to call us at 
(626) 286-1159 for more information. He currently 
resides at the San Gabriel Valley Humane Society 
located at 851 E. Grand Avenue in San Gabriel. We 
are located off San Gabriel Blvd, north of Mission 
and south of Las Tunas Drive. To arrange a ‘Meet 
and Greet’, please stop by any time from 10:30am 
to 4:30pm Tuesday through Sunday. Website: www.
sgvhumane.org

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. Not just 
because I get to stuff my face with more food than 
I should without embarrassing myself, but because 
it’s a time to gather together with family and friends for 
the sole purpose of showing gratitude, and I must say, I 
have a lot to be grateful for. It is also a season for sharing 
with others who are less fortunate than ourselves.

 There are numerous ways one can participate in 
helping facilitate the thankful giving process. So many 
charities are in need of support these days, it can be 
hard to choose. I have personally come to appreciate the 
non-profits that are focused on helping animals. With 
countless precious pets locked up in shelters hoping for a 
second chance at life, and certain few who’ve temporarily 
escaped euthanasia through the kindness of rescues and 
foster families, there is no shortage of ways one can give 
to help animals live.

 This week I decided to make a list of non-profit 
organizations that offer unique and easy opportunities to 
help animals in need. These are groups with which I am 
personally familiar and have had positive experiences. It is 
actually the short list, as there are far too many to include 
in this brief column.

 Animazonia Wildlife Foundation - www.animazonia.
org - Located in Perris, CA, Animazonia provides a 
permanent sanctuary for big cats and other exotic 
animals rescued from threatening conditions in captivity 
or displaced from the wild. Visit their website to learn 
about the wonderful work they do, find out ways you can 
participate through volunteerism and to make a monetary 
donation. You can also “Like” them on Facebook for 
updates of their activities throughout the year.

 Basset Hound Rescue So. Cal. (BHRSC) - www.
bassethoundrescuesocal.com - BHRSC’s mission is to 
offer hope, healing and forever families to distressed, 
abandoned, injured or homeless hounds. With a 
dedicated team of good-hearted hound lovers, they 
succeed in placing hundreds of otherwise homeless, 
hopeless hounds in permanent caring homes each year. 
Join them on Facebook and peruse their website for 
details on fostering, volunteering and donating to this 
awesome, pawsome cause.

 Companion Animal Rescue Effort (CARE) - www.
carepets.org - CARE is a “no-kill” rescue group whose 
mission is to find forever loving homes for owner-
relinquished, abandoned, abused or otherwise neglected 
puppies & dogs. Be sure to visit their website for heart-
warming stories of successful adoptions they have 
facilitated and detailed information on how you can lend 
hands-on help or make an instant cash donation.

 Gentle Barn - www.gentlebarn.org - With a mission 
to save neglected, abused or retired barnyard animals 
while making a positive impact on special needs children, 
this organization has facilities in various states including 
California (just 40 miles north of LA). Donating to this 
group is guaranteed to reap a win-win benefit for both 
barn animals and needy kids alike! Their website provides 
details on how you can help.

 National Disaster Search Dog Foundation - www.
searchdogfoundation.org - With a motto of, “From 
Rescued to Rescuer”, this group is committed to saving the 
lives of would-be shelter and otherwise euthanized dogs, 
and training them to save the lives of humans through 
their Canine Disaster Search Team program. What better 
time then now to join them in their mission to strengthen 
disaster response in American? Visit their website for all 
the details you need to get involved or make a donation.

 Ojai Raptor Center (ORC) - www.ojairaptorcenter.org 
- ORC’s core goals are to rescue, rehabilitate and release 
birds of prey and other wildlife back into their natural 
habitat. They are equally dedicated to educating the public 
about local raptor species and how human intervention 
affects them. The important work they do is definitely 
worthy of your support. Visit their website to learn more 
about how you can take part in helping keep our bird-of-
prey population in a healthy balance with nature.

 Recycled Love Dog Rescue - www.
recycledlovedogrescue.org - An all-breed dog rescue 
dedicated to the belief that humans are morally responsible 
to assist and/or rescue homeless, abused, neglected and 
abandoned animals, to be a voice for the voiceless. They 
rescue dogs from high-kill shelters and those about to 
be surrendered to the shelter system from all over the 
US. They take in sick, broken, elder, terrified, mom and 
babies. All are examined by their contracted veterinarian, 
treated and rehabilitated until they are ready for the new 
chapter of their life. These services and provisions cost 
money, but thanks to the donations of animal-loving 
angels such as yourself, they are willing and able to carry 
out their mission.

 I hope you will join me in giving with a grateful heart 
this holiday season, knowing that your contribution - 
great or small - will make a difference for the better. Love 
and let live!


TWO’S COMPANY!

Meet AVA & 
LOLA, age 2 yrs. 
These bonded 
sisters are soooo 
sweet and loving! 
They are easily 
held, and love to 
be pet and sweet-
talked. They will 
look at you with the most beautiful eyes, willing you 
to love them. Ava & Lola are being fostered at The 
Cats Pajamas, where you may call to arrange a Meet 
& Greet, 626-449-1717. Our “Twofur” Offer is a 
great savings, as they will come current on vaccines 
and health exam, spayed, and microchipped. See 
more pictures and adoption info at http://www.
lifelineforpets.org/teens--adult-cats.html


THE WORLD AROUND US


OUT TO PASTOR 

A Weekly Religion Column by Rev. James Snyder

CHRISTOPHER Nyerges

BECOMING AWARE OF 

OUR LARGER PICTURE

Introducing Initiative-2217

IT WAS A GOBBLE-GOBBLE KIND OF DAY

I do not know about 
anybody else, but I truly 
enjoy Thanksgiving Day. It 
is not just because of the turkey that the Gracious 
Mistress of the Parsonage prepares so brilliantly, 
although, I cannot think of any other reason.

 Of course, there is the idea of family getting 
together. I enjoy that all the time. I like to hear the 
stories and get caught up with the latest happenings 
that have to do with my family.

 I remember years ago good old Uncle Bud was 
my favorite uncle. He could tell a story that was so 
unbelievable that you ended up believing him.

 Even today, I can remember some of the stories 
that he would tell and I could see now that he was 
exaggerating very well. I guess it’s in our family.

 So, it is wonderful to get together with family 
and get up-to-date with all the happenings in our 
family.

 However, when it comes to Thanksgiving, my 
focus is on the marvelous food. Everybody in 
the family is to bring their special dish to share 
with everybody else. Some are good at baking 
pies, some at doing vegetable dishes (although 
this year we were not allowed to use lettuce), 
some at casseroles and a host of other delicious 
delicacies.

 Here’s what I like about a good old-fashioned 
family gathering at Thanksgiving. No matter what 
the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage says to me, 
I feel obligated to eat every dish brought in by a 
family member. After all, I surely do not want to 
embarrass anybody or shun them.

 And, the best thing about this is, I need to have 
seconds and thirds and sometimes even more. 
After all, I do not want to offend anybody in my 
family.

 I’m not sure, but I think everybody brought 
a pie. There were so many different pies on the 
table that I could not choose which one I wanted. 
Therefore, being the wonderful family person that 
I am, I took a slice of each.

 My reasoning is simple, if it is a Thanksgiving 
dinner and the food is brought by family there 
absolutely no calories attached to it. That’s my 
story, and I’m sticking to it!

 Although everything else was rather delicious, I 
must say that the turkey was magnificent. And, as 
you might know, my wife prepared that turkey.

 She began the preparation for our Thanksgiving 
Day Turkey somewhere in August. There were some 
turkeys on sale and she scooped them up as much as 
possible. After all, she wanted to make sure she had 
enough turkey for everyone. And, according to her, 
it is against family rules to leave the family dinner 
without taking leftovers with you.

 To prepare for this, the turkey had to be huge. 
That meant two and maybe even three turkeys to 
be prepared. It took her days to cook the turkey. 
Since I have no cookery imagination, I am not sure 
how she cooked it or how long it took her to cook 
it. All I know is, the kitchen smelled delicious for 
several weeks.

 Please, do not let this get out. But she had one 
turkey that was done and she put it on the shelf 
to cool down a little bit before putting it in the 
freezer. I looked at it. I thought it looked back at 
me. I looked at it again and I got to the point of 
nonresistance. After all, why should I fight with 
the turkey?

 Very carefully I sliced bits of turkey where I 
thought nobody would notice it and walked away 
munching on very delicious turkey. My problem 
was, the turkey was too delicious and I was too 
hungry. I went back several times and cut off just a 
little bit so nobody would notice. The nobody that 
I did not want to notice, of course, was my wife.

 I happen to be chewing on a bit of turkey when 
the wife came into the room and asked the question 
she always asks me, “What are you eating?”

 “Oh,” I said rather hesitatingly, “I’m just chewing 
on a little bit of meat I found in the refrigerator.” 
I thought that would solve the problem and for a 
while it looked like it did.

 I just got seated in my chair when she, looking at 
the turkey, said, “Did you get a piece of this turkey 
to eat?”

 When you’re found out, you're found out. And 
trust me, I was found out.

 Not all the lying in the world could get me out of 
this predicament that I was in.

 I thought I had come to the end. She had caught 
me with turkey in my mouth. I was sure I was in 
some deep trouble.

 Then she said something that totally surprised 
me. “How was that turkey? Was it any good?”

 I like to take advantage of situations so I said, 
“That was the best turkey I have ever tasted in my 
life.”

 With a smile, she turned and walked away. How 
I got away with that, I am going to have to ponder 
for quite a few days.

 As I pondered my situation, I thought of a verse 
in Proverbs. “A man hath joy by the answer of his 
mouth: and a word spoken in due season, how 
good is it!” (Proverbs 15:23).

 I do not often say the right thing, but when I do, 
what a joy it is.

 

 Rev. James L. Snyder is pastor of the Family of 
God Fellowship. He lives with the Gracious Mistress 
of the Parsonage in Ocala. Call him at 1-866-552-
2543 or e-mail jamessnyder2@att.net. His web site 
is www.jamessnyderministries.com.

[Nyerges is the author 
of “How to Survive 
Anywhere,” “Extreme 
Simplicity: Homesteading in the City,” “Foraging 
California,” and other books. He can be reached 
at www.SchoolofSelf-Reliance.com, or Box 41834, 
Eagle Rock, CA 90041]

 We’re all more-or-less aware of certain realities 
that surround us and define our day-to-day reality. 
We live here in Southern California, in the Sierra 
Madre area, with hills to the north, and various 
waterways to our east and west in this coastal 
desert plain. Approximately 80% of the water 
that we need for daily life comes from afar. We 
know there are way too many people living here 
for the local ecology to support, so not only does 
our water come from afar, but so does our food, 
our power, and nearly all of the goods that fill 
the supermarket and hardware store shelves. The 
streets and apartments get steadily more crowded.

 If you live here, you’re aware of these physical 
realities. You’re no doubt doing your best every 
day to get to work and the store and school and 
to support your family so your life situation can 
improve. Most of us are aware of the larger physical 
reality of living here, but the necessities of our life 
keep that reality as a subtle background awareness. 
It isn’t something we tend to think about a lot. 

 That is, we don’t think about this unless there is 
an immediate, or impending, crisis. 

 The recent several-years drought forced most 
of us, including city and state leaders, to begin 
the slow process of re-thinking how we do things, 
especially as it relates to water. This is because the 
lifestyle that we have all somewhat automatically 
chosen to live is not sustainable. We’ve created a 
world in the sprawling Los Angeles basin that is 
powered by the auto, where houses are packed into 
every imaginable piece of ground, where developers 
seek to maximize the economic utility of every bit 
of real estate, and local politicians are all too happy 
to support this unsustainable mindset. 

 Our chosen lifestyle is stressful on the landscape, 
and stressful on our nerves. It requires bringing 
in water from afar, with electricity generated far 
away, a world kept alive by countless services from 
within and without. 

 One of the great ironies of this dream world is 
that, though we must bring in water from afar to 
support our population, we then divert the water 
that we do get here quickly out to the ocean in 
the network of channelized rivers that have been 
created over the past century. We know why this is 
done, of course, because natural rivers want to go 
this way and that when the heavy rains are falling. 
So we channel our valuable water out to ocean 
as quickly as possible to protect our valuable real 
estate that was built too close to the river in the 
first place.

 Solutions abound, of course. Many pioneers 
have been taking bold steps to move us away from 
the disasters that will be the consequence of our 
choices. Let’s explore just a few of those solutions.

 The trend towards drought tolerant lawns is a 
step in the right direction. Since about 80% of our 
water comes from afar, we don’t need green lawns 
just for the sake of aesthetics.

 With the water that we do use, everything but 
the toilet water can and should go into yards, 
where it is feasible to do so, to water landscaping 
plants, fruit trees, and gardens. This naturally 
requires the use of safe detergents, such as the 
Seventh Generation brand, or the Ed Begley Jr. 
brand. Plus, the building and safety department of 
each city needs to seriously review its view of gray 
water recycling. Gray water recycling is something 
that can be done very easily, economically, and 
safely, but the city’s stringent requirements are 
costly and more of an impediment than any sort of 
encouragement to go this route.

 Composting toilets are another idea whose time 
has come. Yes, they must be maintained properly, 
and they are not as care-free as flush toilets. Yet, 
consider the vast swath of human history where 
the toilet contents because a fertilizer for certain 
crops, with no need to waste vast volumes of water. 
As we think to a sustainable future, the compost 
toilets can be improved so they can be a staple in 
most households.

 The Southland’s water issues will only get 
worse as time goes on, as a function of increasing 
population. It is instructive to review records of 
our area from 100+ years ago, when the water table 
was higher and when the landscape looked green, 
not like a desert. One of the solutions looking 
to the future is to quit planting inappropriate 
landscaping plants, some of which are incredibly 
water-thirsty. The eucalyptus tree, for example, is 
one of the highest water-users and wells have been 
known to dry up after they are planted. They also 
“poison” the soil so that other more useful plants 
will not thrive. Far better is to follow the lead of 
such groups as Tree People and other tree-planting 
groups plant appropriate native trees. 

 These are just a few ways in which we can go 
back to the future. I envision a plan that will look 
200 years into the future, allowing us to voluntarily 
move into a culture that is sustainable for this area. 
I call this Initiative-2217, a long-term vision which 
will be a unifying project of numerous groups 
working towards viable solutions. I will be sharing 
more of these details as the months proceed. 

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