Buck, a "horse whisperer"

To kick off a few posts on our unique connection to horses, I'm grateful to Nick Olson and Christ and Pop Culture for allowing us to share this poignant review of Buck (Meehl '11), "a powerful documentary that shows how even inhumane circumstances can be redeemed into something beautiful, creative, and compassionate" ... 

Early in the documentary Buck, Dan “Buck” Brannaman tells a crowd of attentive, aspiring horse trainers that there are rarely “people with horse problems” but most often “horses with people problems.”  Yes, Buck is interesting because he’s a primary inspiration for Robert Redford’s 1998 drama The Horse Whisperer, but his story becomes especially fascinating as we learn of what this real-life horse whisperer has endured to become a magical horseman.

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new life for rescued lab beagles

A couple of friends just shared this very touching video from Beagle Freedom Project, which shows 9 rescued research lab beagles taking their very first, tentative steps outside.  It's such a simple thing, to see a dog walk on grass for the first time, but a profound reminder of God's most basic intentions for His creatures, regardless of how humanity might otherwise designate them for use (and often dubiously) ...

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closing tracks, a win for all

It was great to see Citizen Link, a Focus on the Family affiliate, address horse and dog racing earlier this year in a blog post by Chad Hills.  In "Closing Tracks, A Win for All," Hill mentions some of the harsh realities which racing horses and dogs can face, including whipping in the case of horses and inhumane warehouse kennelling for greyhounds, and all too frequent injury and euthanasia for both of these noble creatures.

Hills also mentions the gambling machine supporting both racing industries, even gambling unrelated to the actual races: "Today, if a track survives, it’s likely dependent on revenue from highly addictive slot machines.  Empty stands surrounding the tracks replay past generations’ entertainment to a mere handful of spectators like a dusty, broken record."

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against animal violence

A few months ago I bumped into Kurt Willems on Twitter, a writer and pastor who journals at The Pangea Blog on theology, ethics, ministry and recently even animals!  Kurt kindly offered to share a post I wrote on the theme of nonviolence which is close to his heart as an Anabaptist evangelical.  Here's a preview of "The Nonviolence of the Kingdom ... Towards Animals":

Witnessing such acts as Lincoln and Sobosan did, and the resulting agony of noble and harmless creatures, would have been hard for me to process as a child well.  I don’t know that I would have reacted more approvingly of explicit cruelty as I grew into adolescence and something resembling adulthood.  But I do know that the deep-seated fascination and heart which I had for the animal kingdom as a boy was replaced with a practical indifference to their existence, and wellbeing.

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closer than a brother

The last post in our animal death and grief series is a deeply touching tribute to a scarred dog who became the most loyal companion and protector, sent by personal message from our dear friend Cherie Sindall of Bravehearts Horse Haven & Animal Shelter in South Africa ...

One of my beloved rescued dogs died of cancer 2 weeks ago.  I knew he had a tumour and that it was inoperable, so I let him 'be' to live, love and be loved, and have quality of life.  He was abandoned when he was about 3 or 4 years old, and was taken to Animal Welfare.  At the time, I had just relocated to the farm I live on and the only dog I had was a rescued miniature doberman!  The neighbour farmers told me I need additional security reinforcements or I would become another South African farm statistic. 

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a neglected horse and a study in value

The last post in our companion animal series is about Max, a former racehorse who lost his value to his owners and the industry he served, but not to his rescuers or to Lauren Merritt who reflects on Max's treatment.  But she also acutely points the way to our next series, when we'll be asking whether even the countless and often faceless farm animals we raise and consume for food have value before God?  Here's "Max: A Study of Extrinsic Value," from The Christian and Creation's series Addressing Animal Welfare and Suffering ...

The last post in this series defined “sentience” for the purpose of discussing animal welfare.  A sentient animal is “an animal for whom feelings matter.”  Feelings of pain, suffering, anxiety, pleasure, contentment and more.  This post about sentience was necessary to now talk about how we think about – and treat – sentient animals.

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not one sparrow and bravehearts

Earlier this year I received an email from a not one sparrow reader in South Africa, Cherie Sindall, and we quickly struck up a running conversation.  Cherie's story of decades of faithful work among the animals and people of her adopted homeland, despite intense seasons of economic and other need (including recent months), impacted me deeply. 

We'll be sharing more of Cherie's amazing story and experiences in the coming months, but as not one sparrow is celebrating our 2nd anniversary this week, I tentatively asked if she might be willing to introduce herself and share a bit about how not one sparrow has been an encouragement to her and her work.  I'm deeply grateful to Cherie for doing so, and for the steadfast encouragement she has been to me, and to our community ...

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antifreeze, tragedy and a girl's mission

The following true story of genuine evil and tragedy is shared by Ginni Ham, in no small part because of the tremendously courageous response it prompted in her daughter Haley:

Sam came to live with us in 2003 when he was only 8 weeks old.  The memory of my daughter Haley holding this soft, furry bundle is so clear.  She was seven at the time.  Sam's head was tilted back and his puppy eyes, round and brown, were looking adoringly up at her.  It was as if he knew this was his girl.  And in that moment I knew these two had formed a bond that was unbreakable.

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animal hoarding

Thank you to Rosie Andre for taking the initiative to write an excellent post about a form of keeping animals which often starts with good intentions, but inevitably demonstrates a conflicted personhood, with dire consequences for the animals themselves:

Animal hoarding is a very serious problem which has been getting more attention in the media and on the news lately: a bust on a home, rescue compound or supposed sanctuary where authorities were given a tip about unsafe and unhealthy conditions, with sometimes hundreds of animals overcrowded in one place.  This kind of situation is much more intense than what we tend to think of when it comes to the socially misunderstood and eccentric animal lover, or ‘cat lady,’ who keeps more than an average amount of pets.

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seven times seventy: a collie named Max

The following is a beautiful reminiscence of dog fostering by Cindy Crosby, originally featured on Today's Christian Woman's Kyria blog and scheduled to be published next summer in a collection by Revell tentatively titled Great Dog Stories:

I’m a good hater and a slow forgiver.  It took a dog to show me I was wrong.

He was a tri-color, collie-shepherd mix whose whole world was a cardboard refrigerator box with a short kennel run, tucked behind a seedy motel.  A Rottweiler shared the same space.  As the bitter months of winter bore down on Illinois, the two huddled together for warmth.  But a cardboard box isn’t much protection against the cold.

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