As Time Has Gone By

It has been years since I have spent time, composing in my head, thoughts, emotions, insight, recent experiences, conclusions, disappointments, airing frustrations, failures or successes.

Life, as we all know, has a tendency to remove us all from what we may love to do.  Life, takes away all too often, the quiet time required to take a breath, to touch base with oneself.

Such has been the case with this delinquent blogger.  While I have posted regularly on Loki’s FB page:  Friends of Loki – Soul Survivor, posting new pictures and recounting to our extended worldwide family, I will admit that even at times I have found myself absent from even doing that.

I continue to be amazed and ever so grateful for the on going support of Loki’s family which now number over 11,000.  I give to all of you a Thank You.

Loki, if you have followed his story from the very beginning, lived wild for three years.  Through patience, respect and quiet time spent together in his environment, by allowing him to make his own decisions as to where he wished our journey to take him, Loki has for the last three and a half years been a loving gentle member of my family.  Enjoying the warmth and comfort of a loving home, much affection, dare I say to many home made treats and of course his own quiet spot in the living room which he himself picked out from the very start.  This shot is in Our Bedroom, as you can see he is more than comfy and content on one of two beds he has in this room.

This update is a brief one at this moment, however, I do promise more.  Loki is the most gentle and wise soul I have ever known.

I do believe he has inspired me yet again, to return to the things I love doing, things that life got in the way of.  We, Loki and I, hope to be back soon.

Feel Good Sunday: Clydesdales Help Purina Deliver Surprise to Horse Shelter in Need

Straight from the Horse's Heart

Source: Purina Mills TV

“Annually, many Americans wait to see the ultimate and final “Big Game” of the year which just concluded in our own backyard, here, in Houston.  But also there are many who may not be football fans but annually look forward to the next installation of the heart tugging, mini-sagas put forth by Budweiser featuring the gentle giants of the equine world, the Clydesdales.  This year, the fans of horses were disappointed when Budweiser benched the ponies and went a totally different direction and suffered poor reviews on their attempt to document immigration history.  The result was a lose/lose on both-sides with Bud slipping in the ratings and the Clydesdales fans left without a horse fix, so we are here to help correct that oversight, today.

We issue a “tissue alert” in advance and would also like to add that we are not endorsing any one horse…

View original post 90 more words

Canine Profiling threatens thousands

While it has been a few years since I found it necessary to take a self imposed respite from my advocacy work, that does not mean that I have not continued to witness the continuing horrors inflicted upon the innocent.  Each and every account, each and every horrific graphic image is permanently etched into my psyche and adds to the unhealed scars that remain hidden, adding to the dark cloud that covers my very soul and which has essentially destroyed what little faith in mankind I had left.

First a question.  Do any of you still feel the knots of frustration and anger when you, as well, continue to witness the many injustices that we are bombarded with daily?  Be it the autrocities inflicted upon the human species or the animal species?  If you do not, then stop reading this post.

We are all aware of the ramifications and negative results of ‘racial profiling’.  Judging all by the actions of others, based upon their colour and beliefs.  Many likely support that notion, but many do not.  This bias is at best, motivated by fear and prejudice, and many around the world believe it to be totally unacceptable.

There is another type of profiling that is currently going on in today’s fearful society, resulting in the destruction of innocent lives and which rips at the heart of loving families.

Currently Montreal, Quebec, Canada plans to use “Canine Profiling as their bandaid solution to a problem which is not a dog problem, it is in fact a human problem!  This planned Canine Profiling is biased and prejudicial, based upon fear and ignorance (at least in this writers opinion).

Given that the Animal Legal Defense Fund lists Quebec in the Bottom Tier for Animal Protection Laws, as it has for over a decade, it comes as no surprise that the animals in this province continue to be subjugated.  A province well known for it’s continuing puppy mills and apathy.

For those of us who remember LENNOX and BRINDIE, for those of us that remember the Whistler Massacre, The Howl Heard around the World, we also remember the sheer anger, our gut knotted in disbelief and total frustration.  If you are like I am, each incident, inflicts upon you a striking blow.  It is not just the innocent life that has been taken, we lose part of ourselves as well.

Canine Profiling does not focus on the real issue.  Canine Profiling is biased, prejudicial and based upon the ignorance and fear which is a direct result of the mistreatment, uneducated handling and training of targeted breeds.  It is born from the  questionable personal agendas and the irresponsibility of far too many “humans” who own targeted breeds.

I am asking all of you who continue to advocate and fight for the lives of the innocent, to join us in our fight against “Canine Profiling”.  Please help this campaign go viral by sharing.

Thank you.

https://www.facebook.com/BoycottBSLMontreal/

http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gopetition.com%2Fpetitions%2Fmy-montr%25C3%25A9al-includes-all-dog%2Fsign.html%23se&h=yAQG8GqI9

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHDC lays a wreath at The Animals in War Dedication Monument in Ottawa

Canadian Horse Defence Coalition's Blog

Today, a wreath was laid at The Animals in War Dedication Monument in Ottawa, in remembrance of all equines who have served during wartime.

The CHDC joins all people in remembering the sacrifices made by the thousands of horses, mules and donkeys who gave their lives for our war efforts.

The CHDC would like to thank Evangeline Flowers in Ottawa for creating and laying the wreath.

View original post

Sarge, a poster child for everything wrong (Range Management, a Layer of… Bricks, Part Two)

BLM ….. a total waste of time and taxpayers money. These wild horses do not deserve this continued exploitation on the government lands that were given to them by decree

Wild Horse Education

Sarge during release

Sarge, a wild horse from the Fish Creek Herd Management Area (HMA) managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), has become a poster child for a broken system. Sarge has become a “brick in the wall.”

The Great Wall of Denial

Entrenched behaviors create a dysfunctional environment that repeatedly enables the continuance of imbalance, injustice and a multitude of corruptions of the intent of law and morality. This dysfunction is creating an increasingly violent situation.

We began our series on the “Bricks in the Wall,” with a focus on advocacy at the time the 1971 Act and the Wild Horses sold to slaughter buyer, Tom Davis. To read the introduction go here: http://wildhorseeducation.org/2015/10/31/the-great-wall-of-denial-brick-one/

Our second “layer of bricks” is built on the range.

When we address issues on the range these statements overlap to create a layer of… bricks.

When an interest that puts a profit…

View original post 2,559 more words

Gratitude for Our Eden

I owe “Our Boy” a thank you this morning. Perhaps he knew that I’ve not spent any real time with his family as of late, perhaps that is why his gentle nudges, his bumping of my bed this morning, his yodels and finally his wolfen throaty “oof” is something I needed to experience.

I’ve often said that life gets in the way, takes from a person the quality time to do what is truly important to them in their lives. While I thought I had mastered the fine art of finding that quality time, at least some times, I suppose now that was a personal deception, because I again fell into the ‘demand trap’ of getting things done.

Now I have always been rebellious in nature, and yesterday I rebelled and did nothing…of course that means that today, I will have to hump it, getting as much done as I can before heading into the new work week. Aahhh the sins of sloth take their toll on the unwise. Tell you what though, I fully enjoyed sitting in front of the TV watching my favourite series run back to back all day. You guessed it, my satellite is up. I don’t know if that is a good thing or not.

Loki has expressed his concern….hence we have reached a compromise and an understanding. Each evening, we spend at least an hour in the living room (his fave room) listening to music together before it is time to go to bed. It does not matter if there is a show on that looks interesting, an hour before bedtime we all head to the living room to be together. Thank you Loki for ensuring that quality together time is given to each of us each night. He is the ‘Wise One’ is he not?

The snow that has remained is slight, yet it is crunchy beneath our feet. The morning air is crisp and chill, yet so clean and invigorating. The trees are now barren of their foliage and have settled into their long sleep. Soon the winds of winter shall be heard…loud and powerful, unlike the whispers of summer which made the leaves rustle and the trees dance. ‘Snow Birds’ will arrive and the Ptarmigan will turn white, mink and bunnies take on the colors of winter and one is reminded of the cycle of life, the cycle of change.

I have learned to appreciate the Arctic Winters, the stillness in the forest and on the trails. I listen to our footsteps, I see our footprints in the snow, I see the stories of the forest creatures as they have searched for food, their own footprints, some tiny, some large. I marvel at the imprints made by Ravens wings in the soft fluffy snow.

With the trees now barren, I see the secret places that Loki once lead me to, where we would spend hours together, sometimes in total silence and sometimes when I would sing to him. Places where he would hide his treasures and the blankets I would take to him. I have left all of his toys out there right where they lay, amongst them, a glove or hat that he had stolen from me, in his game of follow me. So many beautiful and wonderous memories this beautiful boy has given to me.

When I look back over my life, when I look at what it was that I ever truly wanted in my life, what I never believed I would ever find, I bow in gratitude now, that I, in the ‘autumn of my years’ I have been given this great gift. Decades have passed and I went through the daily motions of the expected, the social and cultural expectations of conformity. Get an education, get a job, survive one day at a time and face whatever is thrown ones way, good or bad, fall, slip and slide, regain ones balance and for every two steps back take another one forward. We have all been through the trials of life, felt the sadness, relished the simplest of pleasures and the tiniest of joys. And if you are human, you have felt the need to find a place of gentle solace, where the world stops it’s unholy spin and all is quiet, even for a brief time so that your own deep breath of relief could be heard above the din of the expected.

I truly wish that I could share the great gift of calm, of spiritual awareness, of the shining light that Loki has brought to me, to the home I share with mom and our companions. I wish you could feel the wonder of snow crunching beneath your feet as you walk on silent trails, feel the crisp ice laden air and watch in wonder this gentle spirit who walks beside me.

All of you can, I believe, find your own Eden. As you walk with your beloved companion, as you run and race along side each other, as you watch ears perk, nose scent, even as you hold the hand of a loved one, know for sure, that those moments, however brief, can never be undone, can never ever be taken away from you. Remember that there is great strength in each memory together that is being created, it will be the medicine for your soul.   Please feel free to visit Loki’s FB page.  The link is below.

   https://www.facebook.com/Friends-of-LOKI-Sole-Survivor-188340937903082/

As Time Goes By

Life and it’s demanding realities take away from much loved writing, blogging, and I have been away far too long.

For all of the 10,800 followers of Loki’s FB page updates have been frequent.

For my readers here, I extend heartfelt apologies.

Much has transpired since Loki was rescued and joined my family.

Much has also transpired in the world of animal exploitation and the autrocities continue unabated.

My return to blogging will likely be slow as I am still recovering from Compassion Burnout (a form of PTSD) that all who fight for animals worldwide know too well.

Hence this first post in a very long time, is a happy one.  I hope you enjoy the latest video of Loki enjoying all the mud puddles he can find.

LOKI is doing GREAT!!!!!

It has been some time since I last did an update about this amazing, highly (scarily) intelligent boy.  Loki’s followers get thier updates on his FB page:  I hope you will follow him there.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Friends-of-LOKI-Sole-Survivor/188340937903082

Summer has finally arrived in the Northwest Territories and of course we are all enjoying this long awaited time.  Longer day,s higher temps and hours upon hours of daylight.  The birds are singing, the wild roses are in bloom, the Boreal Forest is thick and lush and the skies, the most amazing and the clearest of blue.

Winters here are too long, too cold and too harsh.  Temperatures are brutal, the winds off the Great Slave Lake are fierce and chilling.  One thing, if it is extremely cold, we do not get that much snow.  A small gift of the heavens to compensate for the extreme and lengthy hours of darkness we experience during winter.

LOKI has been in the family now since September 27, 2013 and this amazing fellow, and I must again stress his high intelligence, has settled into his new family and home life.  I did not have to housebreak him, leash train him or go through the normal training exercises associated with adding a new family member.  He did all of this totally on his own.  What we, mom and I, as his new family did do was give to him a great deal of love, patience, respect and trust.  From the moment he entered my home he was and still continues to be the perfect gentleman.

This recent video:

shows this happy boy enjoying one of our many evening walks, just look at that tail folks!!

 

  Here you can see us sitting by the river, enjoying the daylight, this pic was taken around 9:30 p.m.

 

I invite all of you to become his followers, so that you can keep up on his photos, videos and his Blog.  Just go to his FB page.  Feel free to submit photos of your furballs so I can add to the growing Friends of Loki album.

 

   This is a picture of Bonnie C and China, China is the love of Loki’s life and he “oofs” every time he sees her, China in turn “yodels”.

 

 

 

Always the perfect gentleman in the house.

 

 

 

From the once skittish pup:

 

 

 

 

to a magnificent adolescent living wild and threatened:

 

 

 

Loki is now safe, happy and healthy in his loving forever home:

A Dear and Precious Friend has Been Called Home

We have all had the experience of the horrid emptiness in the loss of a Beloved Animal Companion.  It matters nothing whether that companion is a cat, dog, ferret, rabbit, mouse, hamster, or even fish.  There is a gaping hole left behind, that can only be filled with the Loving Memories of a life lived well, shared with complete devotion and unconditional love.

 

We can relish in the yesterdays, the many pictures, the fond memories of the antics, the unique personalities, the growing and developing years from infant to mature and loyal companion.  They have silently and willingly shared our sorrows, bringing us great comfort by their presence;  they have allowed us to rant and rave, to also sit in quiet contemplation,; they have been patient and tolerant of our moods or our delays to take them for the needed quality time together of a long walk.  They have sat in silence ever watchful over us, sensitive to every emotion even though we may have successfully hidden it from our human companions.  Each furry companion has taught us to sit in silence, to observe the world as they do, they have taught us to be kind, to be compassionate and gentle and they have taught us what it means to truly love unconditionally.

 

My mother and I, and I know many of you do as well, believe animals have souls, some also believe as we do that they are angels sent to comfort and protect us.

 

With all of this now said, it is with honest heartfelt sorrow that I must let all of you know that we have lost a loved one, the dearest and closest Friend of Loki.

 

Sarg

Sarg passed away at home last Thursday evening.  He was not alone.

Called Home, Sarg has now crossed that Beautiful Rainbow Bridge, healthy and strong once again..

Thank you Sarg for having taken such good care of Loki, for being his lifelong Best Friend

Thank you Sarg for having become my friend and for enriching the lives of those within my family.

Thank you to Sarg’s mom and Gord his dad, who so loved and cherished this beautiful soul.

Run Sarg Run and know that you will Never Be Forgotten.

HELD FOREVER IN OUR HEARTS

LOKI Update: ‘Our Boy’ is just Marvelous

So many of you have followed Loki’ story for a lot of years now.  From the early says in 2010 when I first began in the wilds with this boy, to present day, with him now part of my family.

From his days as a youngster, living feral in the Boreal Forest of the Northwest Territories Canada , when I would take food and fresh water to him each and every day and night, often 4 times a day our journey continued and our trust in each other grew.

     Watching this beautiful boy’s personality develop, his gentle and timid nature grow through out those years, was a precious gift that can never be taken from me.  The time we shared, hidden from view, from prying eyes was very special to both of us.  Silent conversations that taught me personally so much about what it is to love, to share my life with such an amazing and beautiful spirit allowed me to return back ‘home’ as I call it.  That inner place that the years had buried so deep inside that I had believed it lost to me forever.

      The struggles, the fight, the worry, emotional pain and days of terror and fear for his safety are now over, now it is time to relish in the life we two now share as one.

       No longer is “Our Boy” as all Loki’s close to 11,00 followers call him, going to face life alone.  No longer will he find himself wondering about  his next meal, dealing with mud to lay upon, snow and ice to cover him….now he is in his forever home.

       

As a beautiful pup, growing into a magnificent and mature Spirit, in the wild and now in my home, LOKI, continues to amaze and teach me.

  From this wonderful intelligent and curious pup to this magnificent and gentle Spirit, LOKI continues to amaze and inspire myself and so many others around the world.

This collage of our journey together is a history, the history continues and God Willing, Loki will continue to teach me as I have never been taught before.

LOKI Sole Survivor

PEEK – A – BOO…..HERE I AM