Unconditional Love

We patronize the animals for their incompleteness.

for their tragic fate of having take form so far below our selves.
And therein we err ~ and greatly err.

For the animal shall not be measured by man. In a world older and more complete than ours,

they are more finished and complete, gifted with extensions of the senses we have lost or never attained ~ living by voices we shall never hear.

They are not brethren...they are not underlings...they are other Nations
caught with ourselves in the net of life and time ~

fellow prisoners of the splendour and travail of the earth.”

(Henry Beston)

The animals of the world exist for their own reasons.

They were not made for humans any more than

black people were made for white ~ or woman created for men.

(Alice Walker)

Recalling my childhood, Mom related that when my older sister was born, our part-Collie/Shepherd dog, was introduced to the baby in the crib. Nero placed his front paws on the crib...and looking at Mom...he chatted happily with her about his joy...and the baby 'cooing'at him,

It was a 3-way conversation.

Although a farm dog, Nero had a reciprocal bonding with his family humans.

'Tis said, Man's Best Friend is his dog ~

yet often, Dog's best friend is His Master.

Nero and my father had this reciprocal bonding. My favourite dog was Kiska, a black and white Siberian Huskie.we raised in the city when my son and daughter were teen-age. I was delightfully pleased when my son outfitted Kiska with a harness ~ so she could pull him on his skis.

A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself.

Today is Remembrance Day:

I submit to you excerpts from a writing by Lee Berthiaume

published in The Canadian Press:

Remembering Those Animals Who Served Canada ~ including 'Winnie'

Not all of those who served Canada ~ and in some cases, laid down their lives ~ have been people.
And while much attention in recent weeks has focused on 'Conan,, the U.S. military dog' who helped hunt down the leader of the Islamic State, Canada has its own legacy of animal heroes.

Tens of thousands of horses, dogs and other animals have served Canada

and the Canadian military during war and peace.

They have helped with everything from transporting equipment and supplies

to carrying messages ~ to saving troops under fire.

Their sacrifices are memorialized in a monument erected in 2012 near the National War Memorial in Ottawa ~ while a select few have also received the “Dicken Medal” which was created by a British woman in 1943 to honour those who have shown bravery and devotion. Here is a short list:

Gander: This Newfoundland dog was given to the Royal Rifles of Canada, while they were stationed at Gander International Airport at the beginning of the Second World War. He travelled with the regiment to Hong Kong, shortly before Japan attacked the British colony in December 1941. Gander attacked and chased off Japanese troops on at least two occasions.

Beachcomber, a carrier pigeon, who travelled with Canadian forces
during the ill-fated raid on the French port of Dieppe in August 1942.

Shortly after the battle started, Canadian soldiers released 'Beachcomber'

to relay the first news of their successful landing at Dieppe, back to England.

Bonfire: Many Canadians know of Lt.-Col. John McCrae who captured the horrors and loss of war in his poem 'In Flanders Fields,' during the First World War. Few may know, he took his horse 'Bonfire' when he went to Europe with the Canadian military. When writing home to his nephews and nieces under 'Bonfire's name' ~ he signed it with a hoof-print.

Hughes: Canadian military engineers purchased this pint-sized-donkey

from a group of Afghan National Army soldiers

to help carry heavy equipment and supplies during Canada's war in Afghanistan.

But 'Hughes' quickly became more than just a pack animal,

thanks to his role in helping Canadian military engineers unwind in Kandahar.

Winnie the Pooh: No list of famous animals associated with the Canadian military would be complete without everyone's favourite bear. Purchased by Canadian veterinarian and soldier, Harry Colebourn and named after his adopted hometown of Winnipeg, this black bear would cross the Atlantic to England with Canadian soldiers during the First World War.

Indigenous Deer Harvest This Month

When, a few years ago, we were informed through The Spec, about the hunting of deer tthroughout the Dundas Valley, I was sincerely upset with the 'killing of the deer.' Such beautiful creatures! It is important to understand, that culling them yearly, keeps their herd in check for the limited area in which they dwell. Deer meat is also beneficial to the existing aboriginal peoples.

The annual Haudenosaunee deer harvest in the Dundas Valley,

will take place again this year under similar rules as last year.

The Haudenosaunee Wildlife and Habitat Authority and Hamilton Conseravtion Authority agreed that harvesting will take place in two areas of the Dundas Valley from Monday to Thursday between November 11 and December 5. The number of deer to be harvested by archery, is limited to 60.

These Working Cats Earn Their Keep

The orange/white tabby with green eyes captured my attention

as this feline stares into a dark hiding to locate a meal.

Andrea Sachs recently reported to theWashington Post: “My friends call me the rat killer, says Ralph Brabham, standing in his back yard in Washington. Brabham is a gentle man who hardly seems capable of splatting a spider, much less offing a rodent, But with a rat burrow on his neighbour's side of the fence, he had no choice. “I put out a ton of traps,” he says, “ I caught 3 rats in 30 minutes.” The last time the unwelcome guests visited, they would meet a new weapon of rat destruction ~ Gypsy ~ a cat with a proclivity for pest control. Gypsy is one or more than 270 former strays enrolled in the Blue Collar Cats program run by the Humane Rescue Alliance. Two years ago, the organization created a third way for feral cats unfit for adoption, because of their misanthropic tendencies.

Previously, such cats were candidates for euthanasia.

But, with this program, available in the Washington area, the animals can remain semi-wild: They reside outdoors, but under the care of a home owner or business. In exchange for sustenance and shelter, they patrol places rife with rodents and other nuisances.

Compiled by MerleBaird-Kerr...November 11, 2019

To comment: mbairdkerr@cogeco.ca