Rabid: A Cultural History of the World's Most Diabolical Virus

Rabid: A Cultural History of the World's Most Diabolical Virus
by Bill Wasik and Monica Murphy
2012
Weight: 1 lb
Method of Disposal: Lending Library

I am sure I bought this book because it was on bargain somewhere, and it seemed like it somewhat fit into my alley.  It was information about something I likely should already know a lot about.  I bought it, and I promptly put it away and never thought of it again until one day when I was mindlessly grabbing a book off the shelf at random and grabbed Rabid.  I am so glad I did.  I learned a lot and, by the end of it, felt much less secure that I was safe at work--or even just hiking in the woods.  While being infected with rabies in the U.S.A. is rare, that will seem like little comfort after you hear about the story of Bali--once rabies free.  Or what about the American man that proclaimed, "What disturbs me is I smashed his mouth off, I smashed his teeth in, but he still wanted to continue in the attack mode.  I was actually terrified at the resilience of this animal (pg2)." This is a description of a rabid raccoon.  Maybe more frightening are the stories about people being bitten by rabid bats in their sleep and not even knowing until they start showing symptoms a month later.  I think of the woman hiking who had to drown a rabid animal in a small puddle of water to save herself from being infected.

It makes you think twice when you get that new cat dumped at the shelter, and it bites the shit out of you because it is scared and the owner, of course, left you with absolutely no information or history whatsoever.  Even with the security of something being uncommon, it feels much less secure when you handle animals of unknown backgrounds on a daily basis.  It is way past time to get vaccinated.

The Voice of the Infinite in the Small: Re-Visioning the Insect-Human Connection

The Voice of the Infinite in the Small: Re-Visioning the Insect-Human Connection
by Joanne Elizabeth Lauck
2002
Weight:1.4 lbs
Method of Disposal: Leaving in a Lending Library

I thought I was ready for this book, but I do not think it would be possible to be ready for it.  It is not because the author asks you to reconsider your relationship with insects.  I can absolutely get on board with not doing harm to other living creatures and with admiring the unique traits and behaviors of bugs.  The leaps in this book were too much for me though, and the New Age/Spitituality aspect left me feeling a little ridiculous.  There was some interesting information but mostly interesting opinions.  I did not find a lot of concrete or specific insight into the insect-human bond.  Why don't you check it out for yourself? 

Here is an excerpt for you on lice (pg. 33):

 "Few of us wonder if there is another way to think about lice, not knowing that native people accepted their presence with aplomb.  In a charming Navajo creation myth, Louse pleads for his life, telling Monsterslayer that if he is killed, people will have to live without lice and suffer loneliness.

Native peoples on every continent also had a strategy for keeping lice populations down--they simply ate them.  Most believed that eating lice was healthy (it probably is), and people picked off and ate lice from family members and friends as an act of courtesy, favor, and friendship."

And on ants (PG. 109):

" A Swiss business woman, Kathia Haug, also had success in communicating with ants that visited her home each summer.  Although in previous summers she had tried to solve her 'ant problem' by killing them, she had never been completely successful.  One year, she embraced a new spiritual discipline that brought a change of heart and prompted her to try talking to the ants mentally.  She told them that she wished them a happy life but that she wanted them to stay out of her house.  In one day, the ants were gone from her house, although they still passed across the doorstep from her kitchen into the garden.

Those who practice this kind of communication agree that it requires a combination of compassion, positive expectation, and the ability to hold a visual picture in your mind, since animals communicate with images not words."

Cattitude

Cattitude: Boxed Set Photographs by Kim Levin and Written By Christine Montaquila
2007
Weight: 2.5 lbs
Method of Disposal: Donation

       

Meet Heather!  Heather is living outdoors but would love to be an indoor kitty.  She never leaves my stoop these days and frequently begs to come in.  I am allergic to cats, but I got her vaccinations, testing, and deworming taken care of.  She is also spayed.  She is incredibly sweet and will stand up on her hind legs to get a pet from you.  She is a svelte little girl with beautiful markings.  She is FREE to a good home, and I may be willing to transport her depending on where you live.

                   

This is Crumpet.  She is one of my favorite cats of all time.  She has been at PAWS for two years, and she desperately needs a home.  If you are someone I know well and trust I would be willing to pay her adoption fee and transport her to you.  If I do not know you, I am afraid you will have to go through the regular channels.  She is totally worth it.  She is a smart, serious girl that is very independent but still craves chin scratches and ear ruffles.  She gets along with other cats.

The General is the kitten I have fostered since he was 5 days old.  he is probably around 6 weeks now.  He was bottle fed and is very loved.  He will be available at PAWS Atlanta once he is neutered. 

Shelter Dogs

Shelter Dogs: Amazing Stories of Adopted Strays  by Peg Kehret
2005
Weight: 4 oz
Method of Disposal: Leaving at Joe's in EAV

What is second best to a young adult book with LGBTQI characters?!  A young adult book (really more of a "chapter book") about shelter dogs!  I loved animals as a child, so many of us do and so many of us lose that passion and emapthy as we grow up.  It is encouraged when we are young, but it is something you grow out of.  You may still love cats and dogs, wax poetic about dolphins, but it is not as awe-inducing as it was and it should not effect your life dramatically.  If your canine companion is not allowed at the new apartment you are dying to move into get rid of him.  You can't let a mangy mutt get in the way of your happiness!  So what if the burger you are eating is actually a cow that suffered tremendous cruelty in a factory farm?  Nothing you can do about it.  One person cannot change the world!

I say, get em started early and then encourage them to be repsonsible/respectful in adulthood.  There is no need for breeding and animal homelessness.  There are millions of wonderful, loving pets out there looking for permanent homes, and they have some really increbible stories.  I can tell you hundreds just from the one shelter I work at.

Here is one of the best:

Turner is a handsome pit bull that was rescued from a life of dog fighting.  He came to PAWS Atlanta covered in scars, emotionally and physically.  Despite the fact that he was saved from a terrible, unthinkable situation, his troubles were not over.  Due to fear of the breed and his past, he sat at the shelter for years.  We began to wonder if he would ever find a home, but one day his hero (and ours) walked through our gates and took Turner home.

Turner is now an ambassador for his breed.  He has helped raise an infant to toddler-hood.  He lives with other rescued dogs and helps comfort pups that need a place to stay until they can be transported to other places where they can be adopted.  He has been in his loving home for many years, and he still regularly visits us with donations and supplies for the shelter.  You can see him, as he makes regular appearances on Facebook, cuddling with his kid and sleeping soundly under the covers in bed.

Picture taken by owners in their home

 

Scent of the Missing

Scent of the Missing: Love and Partnership with a Search-and-Rescue Dog by Susannah Charleson
2011
Weight:10.4 oz
Method of Disposal: Leaving in an EAV neighborhood book box

What a pleasant surprise?!  I bought this book when it was something like 75% off--a bookstore was going out of business.  I bought it because I love dogs and because it was inexpensive.  Then, I kept hesitating to read it.  So many times books about animals are not written well, even if they are interesting.  I knew I would struggle through this one.  I was wrong.  Susannah did a great job.  Sometimes she had me laughing, alone in my house, while my own dogs gave me quizzical stares.  I respected her drive and her dedication.  I was pleased to see that Search and Rescue dogs are still dogs after all.  They have to learn how to coexist with people just like the shelter dogs we adopt out every day.  It can be so frustrating when someone returns a puppy for chewing or for not being housebroken.  If only those same people realized that even canine heroes have to go through that phase.  I really loved this book and this glimpse into Susannah and Puzzle's lives. 

National Animal Consumption Month

Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer
2009
Weight: 1.2 lbs
Method of Disposal: Giving to ex-girlfriend

“In the typical cage for egg-laying hens each bird has 67 square inches of space—the size of the rectangle above. Nearly all cage free birds have approximately the same amount of space.”
I was driving to the animal shelter when NPR informed me it was National Hamburger Month. It was around 7:30 am, and there was a lot of talk about a “Ghetto Burger” that you can buy at Ann’s in Atlanta. This acclaimed burger has two “fist-sized” patties, bacon, chili, cheese, seasoning, and whatever “salad” you want on top. It was made famous by a Wall Street Journal reporter, and long lines of people have continued to come to get a taste of it ever since.
A quick search of the internet also let me know that it is National BBQ month and National Egg Month. May is pretty hoppin’ when it comes to celebrating the consumption of animals. In case you were curious, October is Vegetarian Awareness Month. Do note how only one of these four month-long celebrations includes the word “awareness.” The majority of Americans are raised to eat meat and many of us question it only when we are young. We are then given the excuses, the demands, the reprimands, and the overall socializing necessary to keep us eating animals for the rest of our lives.
In honor of National Hamburger/BBQ/Egg Month I am disbanding Eating Animals from the library. This is a book that exposes the horror of factory farms and not just for the animals but also for the people who are unknowingly eating filth. Safran Foer talks to multiple farmers with a variety of ideas on how to produce a more humane, healthier meat industry. He also speaks with a vegetarian involved in the slaughter of farm animals and writes about his personal struggles in becoming a vegetarian.
Safran Foer writes:
today a typical pig factory farm will produce 7.2 million pounds of manure annually, a typical broiler factory will produce 6.6. million pounds, and a typical feedlot 344 million pounds….All told, farmed animals in the United States produce 130 times as much waste as the human population—roughly 87,000 pounds of shit per second. The polluting strength of this shit is 160 times greater than raw municipal sewage. And yet there is almost no waste-treatment infrastructure for farmed animals…(174).
And about battery cages he writes this analogy:
Step your mind into a crowded elevator, an elevator so crowded you cannot turn around without bumping into (and aggravating) your neighbor. The elevator is so crowded you are often held aloft. This is a kind of blessing, as the slanted floor is made of wire, which cuts into your feet
After some time, those in the elevator will lose their ability to work in the interest of the group. Some will become violent; others will go mad. A few, deprived of food and hope, will become cannibalistic.
There is no respite, no relief. No elevator repairman is coming. The doors will open once, at the end of your life, for your journey to the only place worse {see: PROCESSING} (47).
I could pull out more and more from this book. I could pull out so much you would beg me to stop or you would just quit reading. I could give you some quotes about “processing” and “cosmetic blemishes.” All of the above and all of those things I am not inserting here were flying through my mind first thing this morning, on my way to the shelter, when I heard it was National Hamburger Month. Those three words sound like 87,000 pounds of shit per second to me.