Honoring the ‘supreme sacrifice’ innumerable animals have made

“We do not know one promise these men made, one pledge they gave, one word

they spoke; but we do know they summed up and perfected, by one supreme act,

the highest virtues of men and citizens.  For love of country they accepted death,

and thus resolved all doubts, and made immortal their patriotism and their virtue.” 

            -- James A. Garfield, May 30, 1868, Arlington National Cemetery  

  

Today is Memorial Day, a day when we remember those who have died in service to our country.  It is a deserved and fitting way to honor the men -- and women -- who died for our freedom.

Over the centuries, incalculable numbers of animals have also “died in service to our country.”  Of course, they did not volunteer; they were drafted to serve.  And die.  They knew no “love of country” and did not knowingly perform that “one supreme act” or “accept death.”  They had no choice.

How do we remember and honor those animals, yanked out of their own lives and forced to serve in people’s wars and campaigns?  Is there a national monument to them, as is the case in other countries?   I don’t know of one.  (Nor do those hypocritical posthumous honors awarded to dead “service animals” even begin to suffice.) 

     

Since 2004, England has had “Animals in War,” a glorious national memorial dedicated to “all the animals that served and died alongside British and Allied forces in wars and campaigns throughout time.”  From glow worms and pigeons to dogs, horses and elephants, the countless millions of animals who died in human warfare are represented by images and sculptures as well as those words, and these, the saddest of all:  “THEY HAD NO CHOICE.”

        

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On 'animal words' & seasonal cat issues

Cookie

There’s so much to say about the words used in the animal world.  Some are hideously boring clichés, as in our “furry (or “feathery”) friends” -- there must be another way to refer to cats, dogs and birds.

Beyond that, there’s the forever “sweet” kitten, puppy, baby animal of any kind. This word’s mindless overuse is enough to sour a reader or listener.  What happened to spirited, darling, cuddlesome, feisty or even moody or shy?  Yet most are simply “sweet.”

(Any chance I’m so down on “Sweet” because too often I’m called “Sweetie, if not “Honey,” by waitresses, salespeople and others?)

Then come the mixed-up words, like scrapegut and scapegoat.  The first refers to a violinist who can sound as if s/he is scraping the instrument’s strings.  (Violin strings were traditionally made of “catgut” -- actually the gut or intestines of sheep or goats, not cats.)

“Scapegoat,” the “sound-like” word, has a distinctly different meaning of its own.  This unlucky animal, or person, is blamed for the wrongdoings, mistakes, or faults of others, especially for reasons of expediency.  Biblically, the sins of the people were loaded on a goat, who was then sent into the wilderness.  (Presto! no more sins -- at least for now.)

                                           APLNJ pic

Onto euphemisms, like “hog producer,” a business-like term that really means a farmer who raises pigs, or hogs, to be killed so they can be eaten.  Then there’s the sign at a nearby farm for “pork,” instead of dead pig.

Kitten (& claw) season

Yes, it’s kitten season, and the world can seem full of cats -- moms and babies, and many, many more of the same.  Active, playful and lovable, in need of help, protecting their young, whatever they’re up to: cats can scratch people, and some scratches are serious.  Just in time, here are five tips for dealing with cat scratches from online Catster magazine. 

https://www.catster.com/cat-health-care/at-home-cat-scratch-treatment?utm_source=WhatCountsEmail&utm_medium=Catster%20Ful%20List&utm_campaign=CED20190308  

                                                                      Catster pic

Honey was the surprise for me -- I wouldn’t have thought of it for cat scratches (and in fact a couple comments here dispute that idea), even though I’ve seen it used in hospitals for wounds.  Baking soda sounds like a good bet for relieving scratch itch, in paste form, I assume.  (Of course, depending on seriousness of the scratch and what you know about the cat, a round of antibiotics might be your best bet.)

Keep calm, treat your scratches and carry on!  

Cats & birds can mix

The twain can definitely meet, but in a very indirect way.  Without even knowing it, cats can contribute nesting materials to area birds, according to the Tufts Wildlife Clinic in North Grafton, Mass.  Human hair, pet fur, bits of string or yarn and small strips of cloth can be offered to birds to line their nests.  

So if you brush your cat(s) anyway, think of the fluff as “for the birds.”  And, btw, for squirrels too. How’d you like to hang out in a drafty nest high up in a tree during a gusty spring rain storm?  Soft car fur could make the difference.  

Cats as victims, not predators

Tis the season . . . for all sorts of painful-or-worse things that can happen to cats outside (including of course community cats and kittens who have never -- yet! -- been indoors).  They can be stung or bitten by wasps, bees, spiders and snakes.

 

Black widow spider

This Catster article by a veterinarian spells out how to help an afflicted cat if bites or stings happen.  And it makes the basic point that indoor-only cats will be much safer from all these hazards.

https://www.catster.com/lifestyle/cat-health-snake-bites-bee-wasp-stings-black-widow-spiders-fda-ask-a-vet?utm_source=WhatCountsEmail&utm_medium=Catster%20Ful%20List&utm_campaign=CED20190409

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Read away your animal worries (& then take action!)

                       Pangolin                                   Washington Post pic

The news about animals is depressing, at best.  Humans can be horrible, at least: Today there are more tigers in cages than in the wild.  In China, tigers are farmed -- so they can be killed for body parts believed to be beneficial to people and their skins, seen as status symbols. The Chinese also run frog farms -- not to fight extinction, but to produce edible frog legs.

Pangolins are the most poached creatures in the world right now, but ironically, they facilitate their capture by coiling into balls for protection.  Fourteen (14) tons (!) of their scales were seized not long ago in a trafficking bust In Singapore.

Endangered animal stamp

We can continue talking about crimes against animals later.  Infinitely more frightening now is the recently released UN report, showing that “Humans Are Speeding Extinction and Altering the Natural World at an ‘Unprecedented’ Pace.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/06/climate/biodiversity-extinction-united-nations.html?em_pos=medium&emc=edit_sc_20190507&nl=science-times&nl_art=0&nlid=20760274emc%3Dedit_sc_20190507&ref=headline&te=1

Take a reading break

Despite the rain that won’t go away, by this point in May we start thinking of summer and the countless pleasurable things it can include -- travel, exploring, beaches and -- does anyone do this anymore? -- sitting under a tree and reading.

Whether a tree, hammock or beach chair’s involved, here are a few new “animal books” that might be just right for relaxing reading.

*  Mutual Rescue: How Adopting a Homeless Animal Can Save You, Too, by Carol Novello.  (Grand Central Publishing)  In short, adopting a shelter/rescue animal has two-way benefits: for the “saved” animal, certainly, but also for the person involved, who might just be “saved” too.  “Animal people” already know “the healing power animals can have for people of all ages and in all manner of physical, mental and emotional trauma,” as this book’s stories illustrate.  

*  Our Symphony With Animals: On Health, Empathy, and Our Shared Destinies, by Aysha Akhtar. (Pegasus Books)  Empathy is the key word here, as in how a family dog helped the author through a horrific sexual molestation by a family friend.  Not having known an animal before, she then becomes aware of other aspects of the bond between humans and animals, to the point that losing pets can be just as devastating as losing humans.

Dr. Akhtar, whose dedication, “for Sylvester,” honors the dog who helped her, also explores the living conditions of animals “used for food, giving stark and disturbing details.” 

*  Tears of Battle: An Animal Rights Memoir, by Brigitte Bardot.  (Arcade)  The French movie star and sometimes sex-symbol retired in 1973 (nearly 50 years ago!) to advocate for animal rights.  One of the earliest issues she took on was the plight of seals in Canada.  (That was in 1977, and btw, the horrors continue today).  Having experienced the worst traits of humans herself, and become ashamed of  human abuse of animals, she has eschewed her relationship with people to focus instead on her own animal instinct, nature and soul.

Described as “an emotional, highly personal testimony of her decades of animal activism,” Bardot’s book describes the personal and social change that occurred during those years, and pleas for "humanity to evolve toward . . . mercy."

Need a temporary escape from today’s animal news?  Judging by the reviews, you can’t go wrong with any of these three books.  One warning, though:  if it’s still raining when you go outside to read, don’t sit or stand under a tree!

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Justice comes to Hamilton Twp’s animal ‘shelter’ & a burger update

Good news FLASH!

Let the following excerpt from today’s Times of Trenton tell the story, with specifics to follow in future posts:

“The embattled Hamilton Township Animal Shelter violated state law on animal euthanasia and euthanized more than 300 animals over a two-year period without following proper procedures.  Now the township’s health officer and its former shelter director are charged with animal abuse and mismanagement, the Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo Onofri announced Friday evening.”   

                                                                                      Alley Cat Allies pic

Huzzah and Hooray!  Ruthlessly murdered animals will posthumously get justice!  And guess what: according to the same story, Hamilton Mayor Kelly Yaede, long a denier of anything wrong at the shelter, “called the arrests 'part of a political witch hunt. . . .’”  (Hmmm.  Whose playbook is “her honor” borrowing from?)

Buster

A longtime Hamilton Twp. animal advocate says, “Stay tuned.  It made Newsweek and News12. More troubles coming.”  

Hurry up, “witch-hunters”!

A meaty argument

“One of my biggest problems with human meat consumption is the perverted way we collude in sanitising and Disneyfying it: those boards outside butcher’s shops in which a smiley pig in a striped apron and hat holds aloft a tray of chops. He’s thrilled to be serving up himself see! WTF is all that about? Take the national outcry when Marcus, a school lamb raised by children, was slaughtered and his meat shoved in the school raffle. This is traumatising, said parents. Children should be protected from such brutal reality. Why? Everyone who eats meat should be required to visit a slaughterhouse and then if they still want to eat it at least it’s an informed decision.”    --Carol Midgley; Don’t Hate Me Because I Refuse to Eat Meat; The Times (London, UK); Nov 19, 2013.   -- (quoted in A.Word.A.Day)  

Of the alternatives to beef burgers, the “Impossible Burger” has seemed to get the most publicity lately.  While waiting for it to arrive at area Burger Kings (see April 18 post), I heard it’s available at the Trenton Farmers Market, of all convenient places.  So a friend and I tried it last Thursday.

The much-heralded burger can be had at the Savory Leaf Café, serving “good food for good souls.” (hungry ones too)  Pleasant proprietors Marie and Eddy have been there for about two months now, serving vegan-only food, including the “Possible Impossible Burger.”  In a plastic basket lined with chips, it comes in a nice roll with sliced tomato, lettuce and Violife cheese on top, with a side of tasty coleslaw ($11).  

Organic coffees and teas and bottled water appear on the menu, but we enjoyed cucumber-lemon-flavored water.  Five sandwiches and three specialties are also offered, with soup, salad and desserts.    

Debbie's Herbie

My co-taste-tester, who eats mostly chicken, with other meat only once in a while, said, “It tasted to me just like a delicious hamburger I’ve had in the past,” also citing its juiciness and texture.  She especially likes spaghetti sauce with meat in it and decided “this could work!” for that too.

Fairness dictates that I mention the other side of this coin:  Google “impossible burger and stomach upset,” and take a look.  Parts are, well, unsettling.  I have to believe that some of the after effects mentioned could happen, since -- despite the impossible burger’s deliciousness and appealing presentation -- my own reaction was closer to this side than to my friend’s take on the possible impossible burger. 

For awhile anyway, I’ll stick with Field Roast burgers, with a taste and texture that are more appealing to me.  

Finn, the runaway calf

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