Have you reached the point of hearing, reading
and seeing enough of the coronavirus for a while? We’re all (I hope) sheltering in place, but we
don’t need to be saturated w/ virus news and numbers . . . and numbness.
No wonder some commentators have suggested doing
frivolous things while at home – baking, playing games, binge watching junk,
sleeping in and/or napping.
I have another suggestion: think about shelter
animals and animals in need. One
newspaper describes how home-bound people are reaching out to shelters to adopt
or foster animals there. (After all, the
only thing worse than any animals in shelters is more-than-usual animals
there.)
“Forget toilet paper, milk and hand
sanitizer: There’s now a rush to stock up on real necessities, such as cats and
dogs. And rabbits and fish, and even a
couple of chickens,” one story says.
Temporarily out of work, people can cope
with isolation by bringing home a cat, dog or other animal. One family bought fish for their children –
both as distraction and responsibility-training. Another bowed to their kids’ wish for a dog,
visited a nearby shelter and brought home a two-years old, while a third family
enjoys the eggs laid by their two new chickens.
This could be an ideal time to get to know
and train a new pet, besides gaining companionship and someone to talk with.
If “free” time will be limited when work
resumes, fostering’s a fine alternative.
From all over the US, centers, shelters and “animal organizations” report
a great response to calls for adopting and fostering.
Helping hungry cats
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| Caster pic |
Society’s ills hit pets hard too. When people are hungry, their pets are often hungry
as well. At a time when many are off from/out
of work indefinitely, it can be hard to stock up on food for pets.
Online Catster comes through with a
series of sites and organizations that can help. These range from the Rescue (food) Bank of
GreaterGood.org, an international nonprofit (with regional affiliates) benefitting
pets and people, to numerous others.
Don’t need food for yourself or your
pets? Then maybe you can contribute to food
banks ready to help those who do.
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| Buster |
Shelter bill status
Eager as we are to see S1834, the animal
shelter bill, become law, we have to bide our time. First, blame the coronavirus, which has caused
countless people to operate from home.
Offices are closed and state budget time is approaching.
But while Senator Linda Greenstein’s bill
is on hold for now, I’m hoping behind the scenes machinations will ultimately aid
its forward movement. And a few things
have happened since its introduction on Feb. 24.
First, the bill was assigned to the Environment
and Energy Committee, where it must be positively acted on before moving for a
vote to the Assembly (where its number is A3632).
S1834 is a crucial bill for animal
welfare in New Jersey. Intimately
familiar with the bill, one legislative staffer has said, “It will right
every wrong people know about in animal shelters.”
As for those (myriad!) wrongs in mis-named
“shelters,” you need recall only the horrors of Helmetta or Hamilton to
understand.
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| Annie |
To
check on the shelter bill’s progress, simply go to https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/bills/bills0001.asp,
and click on “Bill Number” at the top left. Above that, enter S1834 in the long white box and
click “Find.” Next, click on the red bill
number for specifics on its introduction and committee. To read the bill’s 39 pages, click on the PDF
format and get started. I think you’ll
be elated by what you read!
If you’d like to comment, please go to
1moreonce.blogspot.com.
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