I found this story on the ASPCA website and had to pass it along. It’s a beautiful example of how devoted, intelligent, and sensitive animals are.

ASPCA Success Story of the Week: Love Hurts

Rebecca Shaw of Portland, OR, knew her beloved Sascha, who passed away in 2007, was a rare feline. “She loved to play tag with my two cockatiels, play fetch with flip flops and took walks with me on a harness and leash,” says Rebecca. “We got lots of stares and waves.”

But something else told the new mom that this singular feline had come to her for a reason. Rebecca was living with diabetes and soon discovered that Sascha knew to alert her just before a seizure was about to occur. “If I was going low during the night, she would slide under the covers and find a toe to bite to wake me so I could test my blood sugar,” she reports. “Sascha was accurate 99 percent of the time after our first year together.”

As for this feline’s bedside manner? In a word, persistent. “If I ignored her,” remembers Rebecca with a smile, “she’d bite my behind and run into the bathroom, knowing that I’d follow her.” These sharp little warnings gave Rebecca an average of thirty minutes before a seizure set in.

Though Sascha’s job at home was her top priority, this dedicated nurse needed a little TLC herself. “She gave a very petite meow when she wanted attention,” says Rebecca. “Then she’d hop into my lap, put a paw on either side of my neck and lay her head down on my left shoulder, purring all the while, as though she was giving me a hug.”

With the recent coverage of celebrities protesting horse-drawn carriages, I felt it was time to bring it up myself. Just like eating a burger, people tend to plead ignorance when it comes to enjoying a ride in a horse-drawn carriage. What could be wrong with it? You’re giving the horse much needed exercise. He’s just taking a stroll. It can’t be harmful.

And that’s where you’re wrong. It can be incredibly harmful and detrimental to a horse’s health. Think of it this way: this activity is most common in big, bustling cities. What does this mean? Toxic exhaust fumes from traffic. Extreme temperatures. Loud noises of honking horns, music, construction, festivals, street performers etc. These horses work long hours and are often kept in walk-ups, which are very cramped stalls where the horse can barely move. Sound familiar? Oh yeah, chickens, cows and pigs are put in extremely cramped spaces for the sake of the food industry.

Horses are incredibly sensitive animals. They can’t be expected to roam the streets all day facing the elements unprotected, not getting enough water, and not being allowed to rest comfortably at night. When they hear loud noises, they get spooked. Ever been near a horse when it’s spooked? Watch out! They high tail it away from whatever scares them. One horse, named Smoothie, got spooked by street performers and crashed into a tree. That’s when Smoothie’s Law was born.

Smoothie’s Law, initiated by New York City Councilmember Tony Avella, is a proposal for a citywide ban of horse-drawn carriages. Backers of this proposal include Pink, Alec Baldwin, the Pretenders’ Chrissie Hynde, and of course PETA.

On a more positive note, horse-drawn carriages have already been banned in London, Paris, Beijing, Key West, and Santa Fe.

I’ve decided to add more posts about design into my blog. Since I’m a designer and a vegan, I’m one happy camper when I find companies that put both good design and cruelty-free methods on their agenda.

vegetarianshoesandbags.com is a lovely place to find stylish shoes (for men, women and children) and fantastic bags. It’s wonderful that you have cut animal products out of your diet. Now it’s time to cut the cruel fabrics out of your wardrobe. But it’s OK! Because you’ll look even hotter with your new conscientious threads.

Why fake leather is better than real leather. Let me count the ways…

My boyfriend had been given a hand-me-down leather wallet years ago and he felt it was high time he get a new cruelty-free wallet. After searching high and low for a wallet that fit both his cruelty-free needs and his desire for unique design, he stumbled upon this site: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=43161.

You’ll find some fantastic designs, on a cotton canvas-style fabric by Chikabird Inc./RandL Wallets & Accessories. They have wallets, coin purses, and even notebook holders. I’ve got my eye on some of the plaid patterns. Fantastic.

Just like Atari went out of style, and we moved on to bigger and better gaming systems, it looks like the old method of testing on animals will be replaced with more advanced (and more humane) testing within the next ten years. A brief article in this month’s VegNews states that:

The Environmental Protection Agency, the National Toxicology Program, and the National Institutes of Health have joined forces to phase out animal-testing…In their place, scientists would grow human-cell cultures in a lab, then expose them to lasers and analyze their reactions with computers. Because this technique enables thousands of chemicals to be tested at the same time, the agencies say this will be less expensive and time-consuming than injecting toxic substances into living organisms, yet also yield more reliable results.

Now it’s one thing for scientists to argue they need to test on animals to ensure the safety of their products on humans, but it looks like now they have no excuse not to move forward with this new practice. Less expensive, more efficient, less time-consuming AND more reliable? Sounds almost too good to be true. Think of all the thousands of animals that will no longer be subjected to experimental torture and neglect if this goes through. Hooray for science!!!

Scientific American wrote a more in-depth article on this topic, which you can find here.

If you haven’t heard, Peta has been negotiating with KFC’s Canadian branch for the last 7 months about improving the treatment of their livestock. And guess what? It worked! They have agreed to the following actions:

• Phase in the purchasing of chickens from suppliers that use controlled-atmosphere killing (CAK) up to 100 percent—the least cruel form of poultry slaughter ever developed. KFC Canada is the first major restaurant chain to commit to phasing in the exclusive purchasing of chicken meat from CAK slaughterhouses.
• Add a vegetarian “chicken” item to the menu of 65 percent of all Canadian KFCs. (Order it in a wrap without the mayo and it will be vegan!)
• Improve its animal welfare audit standards to reduce the number of broken bones and other injuries suffered by birds.
• Urge its suppliers to adopt better practices, including improved lighting, more space for birds, lower ammonia levels, and a phaseout of growth-promoting drugs and breeding practices that painfully cripple chickens.
• Form an animal welfare advisory panel to monitor the changes and recommend further advancements.

Victory! Now let’s see if the other KFC’s will follow suit. I already wrote a letter to the KFC in America urging them to alter their ways as Canada has. You can do the same here. I didn’t expect it, but ended up getting a letter back from KFC:

Thank you for contacting KFC. The topic of animal welfare is very
important to us, so we appreciate hearing from you.
KFC has strict animal welfare standards for all our suppliers and we are
committed to the humane treatment of poultry. We receive our chicken from
the very same suppliers as other fast food companies and supermarkets. The
industry has been working with these suppliers to explore alternative
methods of stunning. We look forward to learning whether our Canadian
franchisee’s action has any positive benefit on the humane treatment of
poultry.
Thank you again for contacting KFC and sharing your viewpoint.
KFC Consumer Affairs
Louisville, KY

Well, it’s no phasing out of meat production, but it sure is a huge step in the right direction. KFC is finally listening. And if a major fast food chain like KFC alters their ways, hopefully other fast food chains will hop on board!

It’s very upsetting to me when vegans are poorly represented because some crazy parents decide to starve their children to death. I bring this up because the father of those children, Blair Parker, is now on trial. Read here. Which means people are going to be reminded of this horrid case and will again be fearful of the vegan lifestyle. All diets are deadly when you’re severely depriving your children of sustenence. Obviously this couple should have seen that their kids were starving to death and done whatever it took to get them healthy again. The parents clearly had mental issues. They had “overblown fears of obesity,” which, when taken to such extremes, is quite plainly an eating disorder. They saw the statistics about how fat kids in America have become and they flipped out. They decided to do whatever it took to make sure their kids were not part of that statistic. But them choosing the vegan lifestyle gives veganism a bad name. Anyone wary of veganism will just assume that you can’t be a healthy vegan based on this tragedy. What they don’t see are are the perfectly healthy vegans all around them. Why? Because they’re perfectly healthy and aren’t making news headlines.

How great would that be, though? What a great promotion. You pick up your New York Times one day and on the cover “VEGANS: THE HEALTHIEST PEOPLE IN AMERICA.” A vegan can dream…

If you don’t know, I’m a huge fan of VegNews, a fantastic all vegetarian magazine. Anyway, I just found out that the next issue is their first ever music issue. If there’s one thing I love as much as veganism it’s good music. It’s kind of an obsession. SO, I’m stoked! They’re going to be talking about 50 veggie musicians and bands. And they’ll also have a summer concert guide, among other things. So if this is of any interest to you, be sure to pick up the July+August issue. Ah, summer!

Have you ever considered that what you consume may directly impact your love life? Indeed it can. And no I’m not just talking about wine and chocolates. So if you are ever feeling a bit low on luster, try some of these vegan delights on for size.

Celery contains androsterone, a potent male hormone. When a man eats celery and then works up a sweat, the hormone released is said to attract the ladies.

Coffee drinking has a correlation with an active love life. Drink a cup of day to keep more than just your brain frisky.

Bananas are rich in potassium and B6 which stimulate female hormone production. They are also the fruit of love in Asia and Africa.

Cinnamon and Nutmeg are believed to be sexual stimulants. And the smells alone can make your heart melt.

Ginseng aids in the virility of men when used long term.

Peaches inspire romance through shape alone! But they also contain vitamin A which creates sex hormones. Raspberries also contain this vitamin.

Sunflower Seeds contain phosphorous which enhances sexual desire.

Curry, Cumin, Chilli Pepper and Cayenne will put the spice back into your love life.

Source.