Dear Diary, I found something today that I had written in 1970. It was sad. I wanted to hug the me of then. Though I witnessed the power of the activism of the 60s, I was removed from it. Though I witnessed my parents standing for what they believed in when pushed by an incident, I saw so much hatred, and slumped in hopelessness. You can’t witness life; you must be a part of it.

Ha! Speaking of being a part of it, Nanny just walked in the office to tell me she wants a snack. Mercy, our neighbor’s dog whom we are watching for a few days is now hiding under my desk. There’s a resolution. Treat on the way. Oops! Not my notes. I have a different treat in mind.

I’m back. Nanny has been served an apple. I have to cut it up for her. She is getting old, and her teeth aren’t that great.

Back to my thought. How different it is when you relatively control your life. When you have choices, and can act on your convictions. Though the grimness of the knowledge I have now exceedingly surpasses the evils I knew of then, I can chose to stand, even alone, and face a tidal wave of wrongs. Acting for good gives hope – or at least peace.

So much has happened this week: ups and downs, blessings galore, and overwhelming challenges. The treats of life came unexpectedly. My trailer almost went up in flames. Smoke was filing the living room, and coming out the ceiling. Tina spotted it just as Gay and I were leaving for PETsMART. I calmly began removing important things, like the carriers Merry, Duchess, and Cloud sleep in. I have some of my important stuff stored there so we moved what we could into my small building that I currently use for IDA storage.

If we had filmed the incident it would have made a great slapstick comedy. Gay had her cell phone, but I didn’t know how to unlock it. She was alarmed by the smoke, and I wanted calm action. I couldn’t remember the Sheriff’s number, and we don’t have 911 addresses in Carroll County, so I called a neighbor who wanted to hang up and call me back after he found the phone book. I didn’t know the cell phone number, and let him know I wasn’t hanging up.

I called the Sheriff’s Dept. and the dispatcher told me to turn the breakers off to the sections of the trailer. Thank God that my neighbor absorbed my predicament and came down and turned the main breaker off.

In the meantime I had called general 911 because the dispatcher I spoke with didn’t seem to understand that my trailer was going to go up in flames. The 911 dispatcher couldn’t fathom that I was calling from an area without 911 addresses. I was really relieved when she put someone else on the line and he said he knew who I was and he would send help. My lip was beginning to tremble.

Duck Hill, MS. may be one of the smallest towns in the universe, but the volunteer Fire Dept. astounded me with their rapid response. They checked everything, and concluded that the smoldering wires had cooled down when the breaker was shut off. They said to call on them if I saw anything that made me think that the trouble wasn’t over.

Robert, my neighbor said he would keep an eye on things. Tina would be at the sanctuary for a while longer, and Gay and I needed to get to PETsMART; not only was it Sunday, but also it was the annual Adoptathon. We had a full van of hopeful dogs ready to go.
The breaker will not be turned back on! The doggies who have called my trailer home since their arrival at Project Hope will move over to our canine care center. Though they will miss their abode, and rich green backyard, they will probably love the new activity. Merry loves to direct, and Duchess loves excitement.

My tirade of the week >

Tuesday, April 29th Gay and I went to the Montgomery County Justice Court for the prosecution of Melvin Williams for the neglect of two pups. He was reported for chaining the pups to his cyclone fence without shelter. This was in February when it was not only freezing, but raining too.

The evening that I responded to the complaint, Melvin wasn’t home. I was with a Montgomery County Deputy, who aided me with speaking to Melvin’s fiancé. She clearly didn’t want to be bothered with the pups, and told us to take them. We did. The officer was a real dear. He made room for the sopping pups in the rear seat of his patrol car. I took them to Doc’s.

The next day Melvin showed up at the sanctuary asking for his pups, and reporting that he bought them each a doghouse. Since he did not surrender the pups, and on a Friday night we hadn’t contacted a judge to get the pups pout of the rain, I was sunk. I did tell him I would be back to check on the pups, and gave him instructions as to their care. I told him he had to take them to Dr. Bailey for their shots, and a check up. That he did.

I returned the pups, gave instruction to the children present on the care, and reasons for specific care for the pups. Melvin was away at school, and his fiancé again was disinterested.

The next two times I checked on the pups they had no water, they had knocked their houses beyond their reach, and again were in the cold. The last time the fiancé told the officer and I that she was being harassed, and would call a lawyer. She didn’t want us to come back, and she was going to have Melvin move the pups to his mom’s house.

Time to file neglect charges.

Funny how a month of documenting what clearly was neglect can become so insignificant before some judges.

Melvin said he was taking care of the dogs, had a letter from the vet that they were in good health, and all was forgiven. The judge was a lovely person, who truly seemed to be compassionate to the people before her, but my dismay was that her since for a compassionate resolution swayed her to believe he would care for the pups, and she dismissed the charges.

I am drafting a letter to the judge. I will praise her demeanor in court, but appeal to her reasoning that justice isn’t served by an assumption that someone has repented. In Melvin’s defense he termed me “unstable” for not understanding him when he first said he had purchased doghouses. Hello, it was a windy afternoon, and dogs’ were barking. Then he said that it was his opinion that I filed the charges because his girlfriend had “a few choice words for me” on my last visit. It’s interesting how offenders, who do not recognize there fault either really think we are motivated by ego, or believe that they can veil their offense if they can manage to discredit us. I felt that the Judge should have noted that such a defense signals a lack of repentance.

I will also give her the example that if I receive a traffic ticket in her jurisdiction that my defense will be that the officer was having a bad day so he decided to ticket me, and she doesn’t need to worry because I never speed. Of course I will expect her to dismiss my citation. May be I will add that if I am smoking pot when stopped I will say that the officer just wanted my joint. Surely that is why he stopped me.

Why is it that so many courts have the notion that because someone says they are taking care of the animals they have clearly neglected, and abused that all is well. Seems we are head & tail backwards.

It was only two days later that I sat with a West Point, MS officer in the carport of Claretta James explaining why her two pups, and small adult dog needed shade, available water, shots, and the matted dog needed to be groomed. We will probably have to seize the dogs. We didn’t do so that day because pressing issue confronting the dept. and Court was the robbery of 20 homes while women were alone. Truly the five officers that listened to the plight of the dogs were compassionate. Yet, it was brought up that the robberies might be foremost in the judges’ minds. Why did I grow up thinking that crimes were made crimes because they were wrong, and laws were passed to stop the crimes, punish, or rehabilitate the offenders, and fashion a true civiliz – ation?

In another case Rita and I responded to a call that two “hunting” dogs were dead, and others were in peril. It was dark, but our lights lit on a dead beagle in one pen, and two emaciated hounds in the pen beside him. One small pregnant emaciated beagle was free, but too unsocialized to allow us to aid her.

As our request for the Holmes county Sheriff’s Dept. to send an officer fell through, I spoke to one of the two men inscribed on the collars of the dogs. It was after 9:00 pm and he was in bed, but cooperative. He told me the other man was responsible for feeding the dogs, and that I could remove the dead dog and feed & water the others. Now, reportedly there were at least four dogs loose. We left food for them, filled the feeders for the hounds; d with the aid of the complainants carried enough water to carry the dogs through until we could take proper action. I took photos by spotlight, removed the beagle for Doc to write a report on, and removed the collar of the second dog, who was nearly decomposed.

The complainants have notified us that the two hounds have been turned out without their collars, and water and feed were placed in the pen of the dead dog that we removed. Hum! Seems like someone is trying to “veil his or her offense”. Rita and I will be taking action tomorrow.

Bob and I will be addressing a complaint that a trainer knowingly spread “Strangles” to at least three groups of horses, and that his horses are not only sick, but are confined in filth.

And, and, on & on & on…

What’s the good news that I one day wish to reflect on. Yes, Heather. Thank God for Heather. The Melvin Williams case was held up for an hour because the prosecuting attorney was involved in another court. Gay and I left for a snack and on our way back we simultaneously spotted Heather lying in a ravine near the highway.

I stopped and quietly moved down the slope towards the precious dog that clearly was leathered from mange. I could tell that she was weak, and hoped that she wouldn’t hear me and bolt. I was within yards of her when she must have smelled me. I could see a chain hanging from her neck, and thought to grab. Or step on it if she fled. She stood and turned to face me. She was leery, but seemed to hope that I would not bring harm to her. I was thrilled when she let me touch, and then lift her in my arms. As emaciated as she was she was sizeable. Her leathered body was cracked and nearly hairless. I couldn’t remember seeing a dog with such a long neck. At first I thought she was a male with an enlarged scrotum, but when I picked her up I realized that she had but a fraction remaining of her left hind-leg. Precious angel! What all had she been through?

While court was in session we left the back doors of the van open, and parked the van under a shade tree. Court let out at lunchtime. Dr. Bailey wasn’t available, so Heather accompanied us to aid us with another case. A woman was reported to have a number of “mangy dogs”. Yes, the dogs she took in had mange. They also weren’t altered. She agreed to let us take two of them for a skin scrapping. It was clear that she had her hands full taking care of her 38- yr-old disabled daughter.

DR. Bailey looked at Heather and cautiously ventured to suggest that her rehabilitation was going to be a “long-term” commitment. Before the word euthanasia was verbalized, I said, “That’s okay. She has suffered so much, she deserves to be saved”.

Heather is slightly heartworm positive, but is responding really well to the two dips she has had. Most of her scabs have given way to slick black skin. She wags her tail, kisses me, and thankfully is eating really well. When Tina and I dipped her this a.m. she was almost too heavy for me to carry. I plan to call all the vets in the area to ask if they remember removing the hind-leg of a black female lab. She had aged stitches hanging from her limb. It’s possible that someone good loved her at one time. Maybe she got lost, or stolen and an “offender” chained and neglected her. Anyway, Hurrah for Heather.

Other great news. Lucky, Pekingese I recently rescued got a great home. His new guardian will complete his heartworm treatment. Thanks also to Sherri of the Cleveland Animal Shelter who fostered him while he was under the care of Dr. Marble.

Catherine fostered a number of pups for us, and has placed all but two. She is readying to take seven more.

The McIngvale’s are our saints. They are fostering seven of eight pups we received Saturday. The eighth pup was adopted Sunday at PETsMART. They have a splendid home, and are so loving. The “Lucky” we received after he was thrown from a moving vehicle is also with the McInvales. When I went to give shots to the pups I was greeted by Kate, who was cracker when we rescued her from neglect. She gave me her full grin, nose pulled almost to the eyebrows, as she invited me into her new luxurious home. The dog that ran 404 searching for victims of autos now all but eats from a silver bowl.

Savannah may be moving to TN. A wonderful couple who adopts dogs that under most circumstances would never get a home is considering her joining their large canine family.

There’s more good news. My little Marshall got a home. I thought I would miss him terribly. He was my shadow here. He was also the best little fella who ever graced my room. What heart he has. Rescued with mange & a horribly broken knee with a prognosis of permanent debilitation, he and his splint hobbled without complaint wherever I went. Oh, but the joy of knowing that this little angel got his very own guardian, and other precious dogs will need my room has given way to satisfaction.

So much more to savor for memories, but so much wok on my desk to complete. It’s 10:57 and the stack of correspondence calls to me. My replies will have to be brief, but they require my still fairly alert mind.

How strange that we are so constrained by the dictates of tasks, rules, and schedules of others that we must fit paperwork in while tragedies are occurring. The loggerhead turtle I stopped traffic to save yesterday was such an example of how we must fight constraints to do what is right. The trucker behind me was annoyed that I dared to hold him up for a few minutes. Possibly the other drivers too were annoyed that I would hold them up to remove an injured turtle from the road. The loggerhead wasn’t cooperative. I was thankful to get him into a carrier without losing a pound of flesh, and I prayed that none of us should ever need when those around us are calloused to our plight. How dare we neglect an opportunity to preserve life. Each time we pass a need we breed apathy. Sweet is the reward of a clear conscience.