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Current diary entries    I    Past diary entries Doll's Diary Account by Doll Stanley, 7-21-2005 Dear Diary,  The last couple of weeks have been truly exciting. I was blessed with the extraordinary privilege of attending the Animal Rights 2005 (AR2005) Conference in Los Angeles and speaking on four different panels: Running a Sanctuary, Effective Investigations, Engaging the Community, and Effective Tactics for Aiding Companion Animals. I also had the good fortune to share a room (and lots of fun times!) with my longtime friend Judy Jones, a strong advocate of IDA and Project Hope.  I had a wonderful time sharing, learning, and just plain engaging with so many inspiring people of like (and almost-like) minds. The conference offered so much for so many of us, and went off extremely well. The meals at the hotel were fabulous. I just can't tell you how important I believe these kinds of events are for the mind and spirit, especially for those of us who don't have enough animal-loving folks to mingle with in our everyday lives. Sonya and Heather did a beautiful job of holding down the fort while I was away. I am so grateful for their dedication. The load we carry here is heavy, and would tax the strongest souls if the heart weren't in play. At this moment I am totally exhausted from today's work - but it feels really good because I'm doing what I love. It looks 99.9% probable that Debbie Young will be coming on board here. Hurrah!!!! She is awesome and is just who we need to catapult us to where we know we can be. She has awesome experience in so many areas, and she's a truly hard worker. She's probably the only one I see as having the same Energizer Bunny mentality as moi.  While I was away, Debbie placed a couple of our puppies in new homes, and Sunday we adopted out two pups and a kitten. Heather has taken a job at Doc's, so I have been aiding with the sanctuary this week and haven't had a chance to download the adoption photos yet. Since my return from California, I've had hundreds of e-mails to respond to and a slew phone messages to return. It's a really good thing that my time at the conference was so valuable, 'cause I'm paying for it now by making up for the work I missed. As always, I have to run. It's 9:03 p.m. and I still have to drive into Grenada for supplies. Doll