Blind Dog Rescue UK

 

 The other week I was approached by Katy, the founder of Blind Dog Rescue UK, to donate my Dog Poop and Vomit earrings for an auction to raise funds. After I got over the initial amazement that someone not only ventured over to my shop but felt that those particular earrings were donation worthy, I was delighted to participate, after all, I'm a warm and fuzzy kinda gal and I do love and adore all living things (except most humans and monkeys...but only the smaller monkey, and the ones that throw crap, however I have heard tales of raccoons exhibiting similar behavior and I'm none too keen on that).


When relaying this in conversation, the general assumption was that the charity was aimed for guide dogs aiding blind people (much hilarity at my expense...) and for a moment, or a while, I was so deeply confused.....

Anyway, it turns out that Blind Dogs Rescue Uk is aimed to help and home dogs with blindness or impaired vision, which, as you can imagine, results in euthanasia or a lonely life of misery for these domestic creatures due to the lack of desirability as pets.  I don't know the extent of this issue but I do know hard it is to find homes for perfectly healthy animals, never mind ones that are hindered in some fashion. I was quite touched. What a wonderful opportunity to offer these poor little souls a chance at living a peaceful life.

In my life I have spent some time working and volunteering in animal shelters and it's a depressing business. If you don't actually attempt to adopt at least 1/3 of every animal you see, you can almost explain away the benefits of euthanasia. Where I lived there were two forms of shelters, kill and no-kill. Self explanatory. Both, in my opinion are equally harsh, but if you can provide a comfortable living up until a, hopefully, painless death, I am more in favor of that, only because No-Kill shelters suffer overcrowding, underfunding and neglect. Just in the same way I would prefer to eat animals who have had a natural and healthy life. They are slaughtered for consumption but treated humanely in life and death, hopefully.  And then....and then... you come across breeders and you ask yourself (in big capitals with triple exclamation points) WTF!!!.

And, I don't just mean the backyard breeders, I mean even "respectable" breeders. Why, when there are so many unaccounted for, would you add more to the mix?  (I suppose you can apply this to other living species.)  Well, I can only assume that people want certain types of creatures to carry in their pockets or be seen walking through the park with, or chained up to the fence their whole life, to fight, to compete, to run races. Animals can display status in much the same way a car can, I reckon. 

I was brought up with lots of household creatures. It was literally an animal house. Four legged orphans that showed up on the doorstep, we took them in, loved them and they were family for life. I still miss them all. It didn't matter what breed or color, how many eyes or toes, how they simply could not manage keeping litter inside the litter box, and how the dinner table was fair game, I loved them. 

Fatty and Nina, original ganstas

I don't want to knock someones lively hood or degrade what they do. I am sure that there are responsible breeders, but quite frankly, if there wasn't demand there would be no cause to supply (not unlike prostitution). In the meantime, there are people who care enough to pick up the pieces and do their bit. People who take time to pay attention to the discarded, the orphans, the unwanted. 

I am pleased that I could offer something so seemingly insignificant to something like this. I hope it helps at least a little. 


The Auction is held on Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.498362320227323.1073741850.161489160581309&type=1


http://www.blinddogrescueuk.webs.com/

-J