Well, here we are again folks. Two months into the New Year and we have a new President, more wacky weather, and some yahoo named Gorilla Glue Girl. Yup, here we are. I was hoping for a more glorious and rose-filled start to 2021, but it’s been more like a lousy rain-soaked beginning. In our family, we’ve been hit with some health issues, which came screaming out of the blue like a flock of Wizard of Oz monkeys.
Well kids, the year 2017 has finally tucked its tired tail between its legs and is officially leaving the building. Let’s all say it together; good riddance! What a tumultuous twelve months it’s been, and we’ve seen it all from the Good; an amazing Total Solar Eclipse, the Bad; Mother Nature’s wrath of wildfires and hurricanes, and the Ugly; cruel terrorist attacks and heartless massacres.
During my 15 years in the Bay Area, I adopted a rescue dog from a San Francisco shelter. Hap was a black and tan Terrier mix, who’d been abused by her previous owner. I was going through a rough patch at the time, and when I saw her curled up in the back of the kennel, I thought we needed each other. And so began a wonderful journey between myself and Hap, who enjoyed nothing more than herding me on long walks, cuddling on the couch, and trying to lick my face off.
For some people who volunteer in the rescue world, taking care of dogs in their community is high priority. Since there are hundreds of organizations all over the country, many rescues prefer to stay close to home, getting dogs adopted out locally. A noble cause indeed. But at Animal Rescue of Fresno (ARF), we like to think out of the box, and completely out of the Golden State. ARF believes in not only adopting dogs out in the Central Valley, but also in distributing the wealth of animals to other areas as well.
If you missed the giant Reptile/Pet Show at the Fresno Fairgrounds a few weeks ago, you didn’t miss one little thing. What you did miss was one BIG selection of brightly colored creatures, inching through glass display cases, and scavenging for tasty treats. And I’m not just talking about the crowd. I’m talking about the creepy, crawly, scary, slimy, bearded, bug-eyed critters that kids and adults alike just couldn’t get enough of.
Some people collect snow globes and shot glasses, while others collect animals. They rescue the dozens of undernourished and unwanted dogs and cats roaming their neighborhood. The Hoarding Animals Research Consortium defines animal hoarding as: “having more than the typical number of companion animals; an inability to provide even minimal standards of nutrition, sanitation, shelter and vet care.
Well, it’s been crazy busy at Animal Rescue of Fresno, and this blazingly hot weather is making us all a little nuts. Despite soaking our hats, downing gallons of water, and even cooling off with garden hoses, we volunteers just keep sweating ourselves silly. This unbearable heat is like a never-ending blast furnace, destroying any brain cells we have left.
So you’re out in the wilderness, enjoying a scenic hike amid the pine trees, with a glorious river racing below you. The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and you’re feeling like Snow White frolicking amongst the clover and wildflowers. You’ve made friends with the squirrels, fed a few deer, and have thankfully not crossed paths with anything larger, for instance, an angry mama bear. Life is good.
Welcome to the rumor mill, where all Pit Bulls are man-eating monsters, all Chihuahuas are barky brats, and all children behave like perfect angels. Right, and Donald Trump respects women. Whether it’s a nightly news story, a Facebook post, or just something you overheard, a rumor can spread like wildfire. Any organization can get a bad rap from just one rumor, and Animal Rescue of Fresno is no exception.
Anyone who says that size doesn’t matter, never spent three long days in a building the length of an airplane hangar, while crammed into a tiny space the size of a postage stamp. Thus began the great 2017 Fresno Home & Garden Show, where the spas are spacious, the crowds are colossal, and the cinnamon rolls are bigger than your head. At the Fairgrounds early in March, it seemed like almost everything was larger than life. Well, except for our 10x10 baby booth, which had just enough room for a couple volunteers and a handful of dogs; but only if you held your breath.
