For My Friends With Paws

You may well wonder why I have chosen this particular subject to write about after having just returned from the Dominican Republic. The well treatment of the homeless animals where we travel has always been a major concern of mine, plus I contracted a serious illness my last week there and had a LOT of time to think about how the Dominican Republic and the people differed from other Latin American countries.... Oh, all right....who am I kidding? I'd like to pretend I was thinking of such philosophical things but, like I mentioned, I was really sick, full of strange medication, couldn't string words together to make a sentence, slept for sometimes 32 hours straight during which I would have the wildest, most vivid, dreams I have ever had....all about dogs! Big dogs, little dogs, spotted dogs, striped dogs, dogs playing the tuba in fields of daisys, my Aunt Vennies singing chihuahua, dogs wearing capes, talking dogs, (Gee, I thought they would never shut up!), dogs I knew, dogs I didn't , my first dog 'Dixie", and on and on... But they all seemed happy and content in my dreams. So, there. That's the real reason this post is about stray dogs. A message, if you will, from the deep recesses of a dog lovers delirious mind.

The Dominicanos treatment of the stray and homeless dogs that live among them IS a direct reflection of the Dominicanos gentle and compassionate nature. The dogs are allowed everywhere. Cab drivers sit on the curb and share their lunch with them. Waiters in restaurants never chase them away. They are never abused in any way. A tourist kicking a dog would result in some very angry words from the locals I'm sure. These strays behaved like none I've seen elsewhere. They don't fight each other, and they are comfortable and secure enough to fall asleep even on the wide pedestrian street of El Conde, in Santo Domingo. ( picture above)

"Animals are now more than ever a test of our character, of mankind's capacity for empathy and for decent, honorable conduct and faithful stewardship. We are called to treat them with kindness, not because they have rights or power or some claim to equality, but in a sense because they don't; because they all stand unequal and powerless before us." Matthew Scully - Dominion: The Power of Man, The Suffering of Animals, and the Call to Mercy (suggested, yet disturbing, reading)

I'm almost jealous of this little guy below asleep under a coconut tree on the beautiful beach at Las Galeras.

Here's how you can help homeless animals a little here at home and it won't cost a thing! You may have seen an email going around letting people know about the Animal Rescue Site. Go to their website at www.theanimalrescuesite.com/ (First you have to give them a valid email address, which only takes a few seconds, and they do NOT send unsolicited emails to the address.) Then, book mark or put the site into your favorites, go there daily, click on the purple box and .6 bowls of food is donated to the shelter. It only takes a minute. I hope you'll make it a part of your day. Please tell everyone you know. If we all collectively click the purple box everyday, it will make a real difference! Some other sites you might like to look at are http://www.animalsvoice.com/ They have some spectacular photos! For the horse lovers Another Chance for Horses at http://www.ac4h.com/ and this great site for the Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary http://www.inetdesign.com/candykitchen/ and www.bestfriends.org is a sanctuary for all animals!