Tuesday, March 24, 2009

A guardian angel for animals

So there I was this morning, on the treadmill, crying my eyes out while reading an article in MORE magazine - which by the way, is really dangerous to do, crying and reading on the treadmill, I don't recommend it.

I was crying because I was reading an article about Cedarhill Animal Sanctuary in Calendonia MS. It is run by Kate McElroy, a 64 year old woman who has spent the last 20 year dedicated to saving all kinds of animals, but particularly big exotic animals, like lions and tigers and cougars. They also have a house for senior domesticated cats, and a variety of dogs as well as some pot bellied pigs on the premises. The website gives a history of some of the animals there and their rescue stories. That is what gets me the most, the rescue stories. I think tigers are among the most amazing animals on the planet. It is astounding to me how cruel people can be to animals. It makes you wonder how they treat the people in their lives. Or how they have been treated themselves that this is what they think is okay to do to another living creature.

I often joke that in my next life I want to come back as my boss' dog. That dog has a GOOD life. She comes to the office everyday, hangs out with the people she loves most in the world (she is under my desk as I type this) and gets long walks on the weekends in the woods. There are people in the world who just know how to treat animals well. Kate and her staff are those kind of people.

You can read more about the sanctuary here, or if you get MORE magazine, check out the March edition. The sanctuary is always in need of donations, which you can do at their website, via PayPal, as a one time or monthly donation. There is also a wish list for the animals. Kate is not a completely healthy individual herself, suffering from renal failure and having to be on dialysis at night. She has dedicated her life to this cause and has reinvented herself in the second half of her life in a way I can only hope to. Finding a cause like this and being able to make it a reality is such an accomplishment.

Check them out.

1 comment:

Audubon Ron said...

As an animal lover myself, I'm right with you. I'm being terrorized by a racoon at night but can't bring myself to shoot it. It wins, I give it all the bird seed it wants. Just hope it doesn;t go for the ducks.