Clear The Shelters Day Is August 17

Yes, I know I do not write enough lately. I may return to the absolutely faux impeachment shenanigans Nadler is perpetrating soon, we shall see. Those caveats aside, there are some important real life things going on this weekend

The Clear The Shelters day is coming this weekend on August 17. It is an awesome and worthy effort. Please give it consideration and a try. You will get a new family member and enjoy unconditional love, even if there is the traditional pet rambunctiousness.

Marcy has been fantastic, forever, in adoption doggies. I will fully admit to being bad in this regard because many decades ago (no I will not say how many, because it is a lot), a college roommate in Boulder brought home a Samoyed puppy. I fell in love with and, upon return to Arizona, I got a Sammy. The third in succession, Kiki, is still alive and kicking, though quite old. I stubbornly stuck with kind of a rare dog that you don’t find at the shelter. Our dogs have been fantastic. But dogs are almost always fantastic, and saving them is truly a wonderful and admirable act.

So, I have not done so well at adopting and rescuing dogs. Yet. But, hopefully, that will change with the next critter.

But you can.

Saturday August 17, 2019, is Clear The Shelters Day. You feel low about all the outrageous bunk going on in America, much less the world lately? A pup will help you deal with it. Pups are universal, and they will love you as much as you love them, if not more.

Go get a pup, and Clear The Shelters.

On a parting note, I’d like to commend and support the effort that Glenn Greenwald and David Miranda are doing in Brazil to not only rescue dogs, but homeless people as well. It is a fantastic thing. And, done correctly, maybe something that could, and should, be done here in the United States.

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20 replies
  1. harpie says:

    Thanks, bmaz!
    The other day, you retweeted this, happening on 8/16 [Friday] :
    https://twitter.com/DavidBegnaud/status/1161377578030161923
    1:42 PM – 13 Aug 2019

    This is Antonio Basco. His wife of 22 years, Margie, was murdered in El Paso. Mr. Basco says he has no other family so he’s inviting anyone, who wants to come, to attend his wife’s services in El Paso: Friday, August 16th Perches Funeral Home Northeast 4946 Hondo Pass 5-9pm / The funeral home has shared the wishes of Mr. Basco on its Facebook page.

    Just now, for some reason, these two stories connected in my brain.

      • Savage Librarian says:

        Yup. Sometimes we have the good fortune of them finding us. That’s what happened to me. I was a caregiver for many years for my mother who lived to be 95. Shortly before she passed, Boo showed up at my door. He didn’t have any teeth and was at least 7 yrs old, probably older. He is the sweetest cat I have ever known. Even his outside cat buddies love him. Now he is at least 12 or 13.

      • Democritus says:

        That could be a lifesaver. That poor man, I was glad to see a lot of people saying they were going, sending flowers, amazon gift cards, and the like. ☹️

        I know have an great cat that has kept me sane since becoming disabled, and many cats are as loyal as any dog I’ve known. I’ve trained them to do a few tricks and everything.

        • Americana says:

          My farm is in the middle of feral cat heaven. All of our cats are feral adoptees that I’ve tamed by sitting out on our front steps feeding them by hand. (PJs in the wintertime, argh, not so fun!)

          I had the SAR dogs loaded for a search and was just about to start the engine when I heard a strange noise from under the hood. I get out and there it is again… turns out to be the tiniest meow I’ve ever heard. It was 5 a.m. and pitch dark when I discovered there was a kitten in the engine compartment. I crawled under the van, opened the hood, my fingers flying everywhere trying to catch it because I’ve got to get to this search in time for the briefing and it’s a 3.5-hour drive in good weather never mind wintertime. The meow is a whisper. It’s got to be a kitten around 5 weeks old.

          I don’t know much about engines and didn’t know if I’d kill the kitten if I started the engine to try to scare the kitten out. I was getting frustrated. Time was flying by. Finally, I figured out the kitten was moving in the opposite direction I moved. So I got a big broom and started brushing back and forth under the van to scare the kitten upward to where my other hand was waiting. She darted up and down for about 40 mins. I finally grabbed her tail as she turned to go back down into the vicinity of the fan. The kitten turned out to be a Halloween black cat so I could hardly see her in the dark. She’s now named KIA!

  2. Tracy Lynn says:

    I, too, did the unthinkable WAY back and bought a purebred Cocker Spaniel. She lived to twice as long as most folks thought she would, but when she passed over the rainbow bridge, I said “Never again,” to the idea of a purebred dog from a breeder. Our next dog was an amazing chihuahua-dachshund mix, who also lived to a very old age, and who I mourn to this day. Two years ago we decided it was time for a new furry baby in our lives and we went to our local animal shelter (euphemistically called “The Animal Care Center).” It isn’t as much of a high-kill shelter as it was (the rescues come through regularly and pick up the adoptable dogs), but because of that, the only types of dogs they have are pits and pitbull mixes, chihuahuas and chihuahua mixes. We decided to adopt an older dog, because there are so many who have lost their owners, and probably won’t be adopted owing to their ages and health.

    So, of course, we end up with an approximate 10-year-old black purebred chihuahua — I really should never say “never.” She’s a wonderful girl, named Desi (short for Shakespeare’s tragic heroine, Desdemona). She’s amazingly calm, friendly, a former breeder that someone found on the street, so the shelter didn’t know much about her when she arrived. Desi’s my little pocket buddy.

    I’m all about adopting from shelters — I can’t imagine a better place to get a really good dog or cat. I encourage everyone to see what/who is at their local shelter.

  3. Tamar says:

    Nice blog post, especially about animal shelters and dogs. It is actually a nice break from all of the Trump talk and such. Its too much of the same in the news. This was a welcoming blog post break,

  4. mospeck says:

    Live near a nature conservatory. Now we have a mom wolf and her two kits that live right up the road. Her one little guy, I call him Junior, is only around 30 pounds, v inquisitive, v cute. He stares at me late at night on my trump walks. Just two little glowing eyeballs reflecting back at you when you shine the flashlight. I think he likes me. The mom I’ve met a couple times. First time, she freaked me out. She’s huge, around 200 I figure, and does not particularly like, or care much for, human beings. She avoids them. Almost everybody up here has guns, lots of guns. And they shoot the coyotes in various all sorts of different ways. But most of my neighbors do like the mom wolf and her two little wolfies.
    Adopt a wolf. I’m trying to make my best case to the mom that Junior would be safer with me.
    She is skeptical.

  5. Archie says:

    When I was in graduate school, I got myself a basset hound puppy. She was a delightful dog, a great companion, and lived to a ripe old age. Since then, though, I’ve opted for grown-ass adult shelter dogs and haven’t regretted it for a moment. And don’t turn your nose up at all those bully breeds that fill the shelters. My current canine buddy is some sort of bulldog/pitbull mix who has to be the sweetest, friendliest dog I’ve ever known. He comes with my to my local, where he soaks up the love of the other patrons while I sip my pint. He’s right next to me on the couch at the moment, gently snoring and farting. A quick trip to your local animal shelter, and this bliss could be yours as well!

    • Tracy Lynn says:

      I’m not a “bully” bigot — but my husband is afraid of them, unfortunately. We haven’t met a single pit that we haven’t liked (we have several friends and a couple of relatives with pit bulls). I’m trying to change the mindset, but, like the majority of Democrats in Congress on the impeachment inquiry, it’s s-l-o-w going.

  6. Jenny says:

    Thanks bmaz.

    Serendipity! I was just in the store talking to a couple about “Clear the Shelters Day.”

    As a part time dog walker, my day would not be complete without seeing Johnny, Scout, Buddy and Meli. Life is so fulfilling and rewarding with our furry and feathered friends.

  7. Bunnyvelour says:

    Whatever amount of sanity and equanimity I have at this point in time, I owe to my rescue dog. She is probably a corgi/terrier of some sort. Love her to bits. Would write more, but she NEEEDS me now…. :)

  8. Pjh says:

    Clear the animals shelter .i have a cat name Lucylu .i got her from the animal shelter from sandiego . She is now 9 years old and will be 10 year old in. Sept .2. She is very smart. Keep me happy. I love her. Please save these pets. Adopt one.

  9. di says:

    Remember and respect the uniqueness of nonhuman animals, especially in this human dominated world.
    Like many, I grew with dogs and cats, and cared for them. But sharing a lifetime with them is commitment, dedication and courage.
    There is nothing like sharing space and life with them, and committing to their non-human animal freedom and life that is more short-lived than humans. I learned much after my soulmate 4-legged animal passed. I learned from many others, that it can have a profound impact that differs from a human, not only when they live but especially when they pass, because they don’t live as long but give so much more of themselves. So, prepare yourself to commit, respect, and care for that being as an animal that is not human and deserves its own freedom in nature. apart from humans. This is because in many ways, their intelligence, senses, and emotions differ and are superior to humans in ways you will not know until you get close to committing yourself to its dignity. They need nature. Sharing life with an nonhuman animal (especially in my case. a dog, because we went everywhere together) can be the most unique challenging experience you can have in life. No book or human intellect equates to it. Just remember, it is not there to serve you. It is just there to be as it is meant to freely be, as best as it can in this planet that humans exploit rather than appreciate. You will be transformed and humbled when you respect and care for a nonhuman animal as a nonhuman animal. The least we can do is respect, care and protect them in as natural environment as possible, since humans have unnaturally altered this planet so much. Many I know have become more “natural”, vegan and broader-minded as a result of being more closely connected to nonhuman animals as fellow beings and not property or pets. Maybe because these fellow beings complete us limited humans.

  10. Karen N Erskine says:

    We lost nosey almost 4 yearsago. Looked to rescue in June.
    We were interviewed a person came to our home, they asked make a call three of our friends all done. We went to the open house and the dogs that were there we’re a bit too old for us they get expensive if they get sick. The a little young dogs,young like 5 or less we could not have because we r 75 too old they said. Like to know on long island New York
    We could find are you hungry without discrimination thank you Karen Erskine

  11. P J Evans says:

    We’ve always adopted cats, from friends or from neighbors. (We adopted box turtles, too: they’d wander in and we’d take care of them.)

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