My recent letter to the New York Times Magazine editors: “Thank you so much for your article about seeing bugs for ‘who’ they are. Not inferior to humans or other animals. Just different, each with their own unique skills and sensitivities. “Since I was four, I’ve been connecting with various bugs. Most become still […]
The Human-Animal Connection
‘My’ Dog is a Workaholic
Sweetgrass, the Workaholic Dachshund, is a grassroots kind of female. Need I say more, except that it’s pretty obvious why she chose her name. She loves digging down to, and beyond, her grass roots. The sweetest thing on earth to do, in her opinion. I could go on and on with silly stuff about my […]
Reminiscence of a True Sense of Horse Sense
We hiked up a gold grass foothill in the far eastern edge of Milpitas. Not a tree, not even a trace of green on that hill. Just solid gold rolling up to the big clear blue sky. Atop the hill was a herd of paint, alabaster white, and bay horses. One of the whites perked up […]
Rehabs for Meat Addicts
I could have used the support of a rehab while I was in recovery from meat addiction in 1978. It was pretty lonely back then. Now, you can go online and instantly receive support and encouragement if you’re a vegan newbie, or wannabee. Thanks to All Creatures posting yesterday an article about the new book, […]
The Summer My Love for All Life Began
I kept straight ahead trailing in his wake, in footsteps he and multitudes of others, human and nonhuman—the rats, the roaches, the pigeons—left behind on that sidewalk…some dancing, some not, on my way home. That summer, my dance of love for all life on earth, began. In the summer of ’69, while everyone was at Woodstock, I […]
Ew, a Hare in my Whole Foods Rabbit Stew
Typo: hair, not hare. Nothing worse than finding a hair in your rabbit stew. You immediately imagine the hair’s origin. A greasy head. Or worse, a greasy, scaly head belonging to a body whose owner thinks “hygiene” is a greeting. The worst: What if the hair belongs to the rabbit in the rabbit stew? Even […]
Secretly Wanting Her Cat Dead
Wanting her cat dead was so secret, even she didn’t have a clue why she forgot to close the window the day he fell to earth. But her cat lived to tell his tale, and was quick to clue her in, in our chat. You might shudder, thinking what a nasty person she is. She’s […]
Our Planet. Theirs too.
Dear animal loving friends: I know how much you love your dogs, your cats, your bunnies, your sweet birds, your horses. You love them as much as your own children. Some animals even more than your own children, you have told me. You refer to yourselves as their guardians, not their owners. I know the […]
A Sentimental Swim with a Sea Turtle…
This turtle painting by Artist Susan Clifton takes me back to the time I was straddling the bow of a boat sailing full stream ahead over the Bermuda Triangle. I clung to the rails as I was swept through dimensions of our ancient past. That was the feeling I got from the brilliant gold turtle […]
9 Pet Ways of Surviving the Holidays
1. Breathe deeply like an animal. After all, you are one. Oh yes. You are. 2. Smile. Your pets don’t roll their eyes when dust balls roll into view. So what if your guests by the Yule log sipping vegan eggnog roll theirs? Shrug off their reactions the way a dog shakes off bath water. 3. Feel […]
