Abe (formerly known as Damian)



Damian

This handsome guy is Damian. He's a resident of AniMeals, a no-kill shelter in Missoula, Montana and, although he's not going to be euthanized, one of the volunteers believes he may very well die there from a broken heart ... and his past ... if someone doesn't adopt him soon. Here is what that volunteer had to say.

"Yesterday was photo shoot day at the shelter where I volunteer as a photographer. Today is edit and recovery day. It’s a long drive home from the shelter and it snowed all the way, but I was glad for the delay. It gave me time to cry hard and still get a grip on myself before I walk in the door at home and start selling my story that the purex seems to be burning my eyes more than usual.

The girls that work at the shelter are young, sweet, and full of ideas they’re going to try and programs they dream of implementing. It’s a no-kill cat shelter and there is some wiggle room there, but not near as much as the public pretends to believe. I don’t go and take pictures as often as I feel I should. I don’t want those vibrant girls to know that I don’t have enough heart left to manage it. There’s only a little piece left and it’s important to keep it beating though sometimes I wonder just what for, exactly.

At every shoot, there’s 3 or 4 cats that threaten to destroy the little thread of control I try to hang on to while still walking the floor at the warehouse. Yesterday it came down to one male tabby named Damien. He was terrified, destroyed. He had come in a group of 3 cats a woman had to relinquish. One had been 20 years old, and already succumbed to the horrors and confusion of the vast land of fear and misunderstanding that they are bombarded with. Damien, was supposedly the closest....her soulmate. He hides behind some posts, but I managed to pet him. I could feel all the points of his backbone. They say he won’t eat. I pray he is adopted soon. I pray my pictures will help him. I mostly pray he doesn't die there. Sometimes I’m selfish and pray that I don’t die there either.

There’s a world of Damiens out there. They are the broken, betrayed, scared and confused victims of our lack of morality. I wonder how much heart they have left, and how long they will be able to keep beating."
 
If you live in Missoula, consider adopting him or one of the other needy cats.
 
If you don't live in Missoula, RUN don't walk, to the nearest shelter and save the life of one of Damian's counterparts all over this country.

Justin Bieber's 2nd Ad for PETA

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) announced on its website that Justin Bieber stars in his second ad for that organization.  (I only know who he is because I have an almost-12 year-old granddaughter.)

The grammy-nominated artist stars in his second Public Service Announcement to ask the public to adopt animals from shelters rather than to purchase them from pet stores or breeders.  For more info on his PSA, click here.

Nationally, PETA says, six to eight million cats and dogs find their ways into animal shelters--and half of them wind up being euthanized.  If you'd like to follow PETA's blog, it's called The PETA files.

What's YOUR Favorite Animal Shelter?

At the moment, I have two:  AniMeals and Missoula Animal Control, both in--you guessed it--Missoula, Montana.

AniMeals is a no-kill shelter and animal food bank that has more cats than anything else.  We adopted Grace and Molly from AniMeals.  Here are a couple of their kitties, Conrad and Sophia:

Sophia

Missoula Animal Control has dogs and cats, and we adopted one of each from them:  Charlotte and Max.  Here are some of their critters:



Gus

John Henry

Lebowski

Tell us about YOUR favorite animal shelter and show us some of the faces you can't resist.

Parrot Rescue

This is Pete the parrot.  He's a blue and gold macaw my husband recently adopted from Montana's Parrot and Exotic Bird Sanctuary. Actually, we surrendered two cockatoos and took Petey in trade!

I've developed severe allergies this winter:  to wood smoke and the bird feather dust emitted into the air by Angel (the sulphur-crested cockatoo) and Sammy (the Moluccan cockatoo).  The dryness of the air and the elevation haven't been helping my breathing much, either.  After having my doctor dose me with steroids and an inhaler, the birds had to go, the woodstove had to be shut down, and the humidifier has been pumping between 6 and 8 gallons of water into the air at my house on a daily basis.

Now, back to the birds.  The bird sanctuary and its director, Lori McAlexander, were kind enough to relieve us of Angel and Sammy. In exchange, we adopted Pete, who does not emit bird feather dust.  Sammy, who is both affectionate and friendly, will be visiting nursing homes and schools with another of the sanctuary's Moluccan cockatoos, Peaches. Angel is having the time of her life, hanging out on a Manzanita stand at the sanctuary and befriending one of its newest inhabitants, Ricky, another sulphur-crested cockatoo.  At the time we visited, the sanctuary was home to another blue and gold macaw, a scarlet macaw, three African greys, and several conures. The sanctuary also has quite a number of other birds staying in foster homes.

When we think of animal adoption, dogs and cats immediately come to mind. But many parrots and exotic birds need homes too. If you're interested in adopting a bird, visit the website of Montana's Parrot and Exotic Bird Sanctuary to learn about their Available Birds.