chosen by a horse

To close out a series on the special connection we have with horses, I wanted to share one of the more poignant animal-themed books I've read, and one of the first I reviewed for not one sparrow. Susan Richards'
Chosen by a Horse is an honest and beautiful account of two intertwined stories of tragedy and redemption, the memoir of a scarred middle-aged woman wrapped around an unexpected adoption of an abused and emaciated racing horse breeder.

Susan's own story had quite a few ghosts in it, along with two horses of her own, when she suddenly got a call from a local chapter of the SPCA that several horses needed immediate rescue and housing from a filthy and derelict Standardbred farm.  The horse she ends up taking home, appropriately called Lay Me Down, fights to restore her health while at the same time demonstrating an unbelievably tender and loving spirit despite all she'd gone through. 

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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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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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the end of the track for Dairyland

Last Fall we featured a post on greyhound racing, which went up just before Massachusetts happily voted to end racing in the state.  I mentioned in the post that Wisconsin's sole remaining greyhound track was just a few blocks from our apartment complex in Kenosha.  In fact, I've driven by Dairyland Greyhound Park's shut-up kennel buildings countless times, and have prayed often for the operation to end, hardly knowing if or when that would ever take place.

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yes!

You may have already heard, but yesterday was a very good day for animals ...  Both Proposition 2: The Farm Animal Cruelty Prevention Act (CA) and Question 3: The Greyhound Protection Act in (MA) were passed!  What an answer to prayer ...

My most sincere congratulations and commendations go to all of the people who worked so tirelessly to see both ballot measures through.  What a day to celebrate, and many thanks to everyone who followed the posts here on Prop 2 and the other ballot measures.  Speaking of which, here is a bit more information:

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important state ballot measures for animals tomorrow

Please be sure not to miss the previous post on Prop 2 resources, the last in a series starting with this post.  But with election day tomorrow, I wanted to be sure to remind about all of the animal-related measures on state ballots.  Here is a personal note I sent around to family and friends in Arizona, California, Massachusetts and Oklahoma, and posted on my Facebook profile:

As some of you many know, I’ve been working on a faith-based animal advocacy effort over the past half-year, not one sparrow.  While I fully recognize that a great deal more is on the line in tomorrow’s elections, I did wonder if I could pass along a quick note about some very important ballot measures related to animal welfare which you might not have been aware of in your home states, or states you may currently be a resident of ...

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news and notes, Oct. 28 '08

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- Tomorrow, Wednesday the 29th, a student-based Christian creation care group called Renewal is calling for a day of prayer "for the renewal of God's creation" (Facebook invitation).  They are extending the invitation for groups to gather on campuses, churches and in homes, but also for individuals to take a few moments out of their day to pray.  While Renewal is an environmentally-focused group, I think this is an excellent opportunity for those of us who have a special heart for animal welfare issues to pray as well, even more so with some crucial ballot measures coming up for a vote next week (read on ...).

- Speaking of ballot measures, I'll be blogging more this week about Proposition 2: The Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act which is coming up for a vote next Tuesday, November 4th, in California.  Here is a brief (2 min.) preview in the meantime ...

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greyhound racing

Updated on November 17, 2009 by Ben DeVries

More times than I can remember in the past few years, including many nights I've driven to a coffee shop to work on not one sparrow, I've passed a greyhound racing track tucked behind an otherwise normal subdivision.  At first I thought little of it, other than that it seemed like an unfortunate way for the locals to waste their time and money.  But recently, as I've become more aware of other animal welfare issues, I've had a growing sense that something must be very wrong for the dogs at the track as well.  I didn't know quite what that was, but I began to pray that God would close the place down as I drove by the backlot rows of short concrete sheds behind an imposing security fence.

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