A few years ago, an old country gentlemen and I were talking as I loaded my pickup truck.  He admired my dog Sona, who frequently rides along when I run errands.  As he looked Sona over, he quietly confided that a good dog is better than a good woman (he hastened to ask that I never mention this to his wife).

He overstated the case, but I really do love animals, starting with my three dogs and lone kitty.  Their genuine affection, loyalty, gratitude, joy in the moment, and honesty compare very favorably to some homo sapiens I have known.   I recall the great American poet Walt Whitman from Leaves of Grass:

I think I could turn and live with animals,
They are so placid and self-contain'd,
I stand and look at them long and long.

They do not sweat and whine about their condition,
They do not lie awake in the dark and weep for their sins,
They do not make me sick discussing their duty to God,
Not one is dissatisfied, not one is demented with the mania of owning things,
Not one kneels to another, nor to his kind that lived thousands of years ago,
Not one is respectable or unhappy over the whole earth.

Those sentiments reflect closely my feelings and experiences.  Here is the current group, all of whom are adopted strays:

Evan: Whippet mix, male, 50 lbs, b. 2002	Sasha: Calico, female, 7 lbs, b. 2002	Sona: Terrier mix, male, 60 lbs, b. 1997	Tendi: Chow mix, male, 35 lbs, b. 1999

In 2007,  I went horseback riding for the first time ever.  Lois has been active in horses since she was a young girl and owns a Warmblood (Ned) and a Quarterhorse (Dakota).  She snapped these photos while coaching me as I rode Dakota.

 

Animal rescue can be very rewarding.  When you help to give an animal a home, you have done something about which you can take some pride, not to mention the gratitude and love of your new-found animal companion.

To get involved in your community with animal rescue, you can start by visiting these websites: