I live on the Treasure Coast of Florida with my family and 4 dogs and 1 squirrel. I have been an animal lover and advocate for as long as I can remember.
My first dog was a mutt. She was the sweetest thing you can imagine. I was 16 years old and overheard some neighborhood kids talking about someone who was throwing puppies off a roof. I ran up to those kids and made them tell me where. I ran to the house and all the puppies were dead except for one. I picked her up from where she was laying barely moving with all her dead siblings and walked away. She was such a fighter. What happened to these people? NOTHING!
A few years later, I was working nights at a local hospital. I received a call from my landlord that my dog was running around my apartment chasing something (her ball) and they couldn’t sleep. When I got home, he told me that if the dog kept them up again, I would be sorry. The following week, I came home and found her barely clinging to life. The landlord had poisoned her. I took her to the vet and the vet said she had to be put down. I gathered her in my arms and told the vet in no uncertain terms that I wouldn’t do it. I spent 3 days nursing her, trying to keep some type of nourishment in her. On the third day, as I lay sleeping on the floor, she dropped her ball next to me and wanted to play! And of course, the following weekend, I moved! What happened to the landlord? NOTHING!
We relocated our family to Florida. The first week that we were here, I headed to the store with my boys. Traffic was stopped because several families of ducks were crossing the road. One couple in a truck couldn't wait and plowed through the ducks, killing dozens and injuring even more. We chased the truck for blocks and got the license plate number. What happened to them? NOTHING!
Since then, my home has become a refuge where hurt, injured or sick animals seem to show up. I can’t turn my back on a living creature. They need someone to hear them since they can't speak for themselves.
Our squirrel is one example of this. He came to us 2 days before Hurricane Francis hit us. His mother had been hit by a car and he fell out of the nest. A neighbor brought him to us. His 2 sisters came to us the following day, but after being without their mother or food for over 24 hours, they were too weak to survive. Since the hurricane was imminent, there was nothing we could do other than to pack up this tiny little thing that didn’t even have his eyes open yet, and hit the road and try to outrun the hurricane! He is now part of the family.
Living in an area that I do now, it’s frustrating as animals have very little voice. You watch television and see shows like animal cops and you think, wow, that’s great that they care about what happens to the animals. Not so here and in many areas. So what happens in areas that no one seems to care? It’s up to us!
Many ask, why I write the articles that I do. Many times, people read an article about animal cruelty and even though they are horrified at the time, they quickly dismiss it as being an isolated incident. Animal cruelty is not an isolated incident, but a national problem. It won't stop without more involvement.
In reading some of my articles, you may notice some sarcasm. I apologize in advance to anyone this offends. I also thank everyone for reading the National Animal News Examiner! If you would like to be notified of new articles, please subscribe at the top of the page.
Debbie
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