The Cyberactivist

Well, we have new rescues again. We have been trying to get the photos for this entry loaded all morning. Something is wrong with the photo site, and it is driving us crazy! Grrrr!!!! After three hours of trying we have only gotten three out of four photos loaded. Hopefully it will all be straightened out by the time you read this.

The little dog was dumped in the woods right in front of our place about a week or so ago. Since it was dark we weren't aware of what they were doing until we heard the sound of a dog crying in the woods. We tracked him down by flashlight and found him sitting there, looking lost, scared, and confused. He was a little hungry, too. After we brought him a little food and petted him a bit, comforting and reassuring him, he was all too happy to follow us down into the yard. He is the sweetest, most well-behaved dog, too. Always s-o-o-o happy! Why do people do this???? What kind of a person dumps a poor little dog in the woods in the dark and leaves him all alone???? Some people are just so low. They make me sick. There is no excuse for treating him that way. NO EXCUSE!!!!!!!!

Breathe, Virgil. Breathe....

Okay. I am calmed down again now. Sorry about that ranting, but it has been awfully frustrating around here lately. Back to what I was saying...

Annie, the little hen, was found right right in the middle of the highway right after she fell off the truck. We had just passed the live-haul truck and seen the cage door open and swinging in the breeze when we came across her. This time it was a Sanderson Farms truck, though - not a Tyson one. I wasn't even aware that they had farms around here. Well, now I know. And I will be watching them too, now. Got that, Sanderson! You are also on my shit list now! Somebody was asking me about you recently, wondering whether you were any better than other companies, after seeing your advertising. Well, guess this proves you are not, huh?! You are just as big a liar as Tyson when it comes to your unethical business practices and uncaring attitude. And, of course, there is the matter of treating growers the way you do and using arsenic, too. Shame on you!

There I go again. These situations just make me so mad, though. Don't they have that same effect on you? Okay, let's try this one last time...

Anyway, we screeched the truck to a halt and blocked both lanes of traffic while we got her. Luckily, she only had a little road rash on her legs and a wing, which is all healed up now. Of course she was terrified, but she quickly settled down in my arms on the way home.

Now, she is doing great, but desperately in need of more room. Unfortunately, since we are so squeezed for space now, with the roosters still in that large infirmary cage, we had to resort to putting her in a cat carrier when we got home. But, we went out and fortified one of the old dog yards for her to be out in during the day, so she only has to be put in it and brought inside with us at night. We have been working hard on finishing up the new yard and house. Hopefully we will be done this weekend. I haven't been able to spend as much time on it as I had hoped when I started. Between being busy with my activist work and the condition of my back since I hurt it when the tree fell on me, it has been a slow process. Too slow. It's been really bothering me. They need to be out in a yard of their own. Badly.

You want to know something interesting, though? A couple of days after we got Annie home I was holding her while Laura was cleaning out the cat carrier. She was sitting there in my arms, all calm and watching what was going on, when all of a sudden a big diesel truck came down our road. She went nuts and was scared to death! Apparently she must have remembered what had happened to her and associated that sound with her terrible ordeal. She has never done that again. Another argument for chicken intelligence? I think so. What about you?

It is really looking like we will become another chicken sanctuary. We just keep finding these poor birds. I don't know what we will do once we run out of room. We have thought about that quite a bit. Perhaps when that time comes we will be in a little better financial position and can find someone around here with a little bit of land they will let us use for the chickens. Hopefully. Hey, I can hope, can't I? Stranger things have happened. Look at me, for instance. Someone that used to kill chickens for a living now goes out of his way to save them!

Never lose hope. There is always a reason for hope.

I am going to keep this post short today as we intend to get out there and try to get the new house and yard finished this weekend once and for all. I just thought that I should update you on what was going on around here and explain the reason behind my absence of posting lately.

I really want to thank those of you who have generously given to help me to give these new rescues a home. I have written you all personally, but I think you deserve to be publicly thanked. I just can't thank you enough for opening your hearts and doing what you can to assist in giving them a new life. I truly could not do what I do without the help of other caring people like you. The world certainly needs more caring people in it. And, like I have said before, I can use all the help I can get.

Oh, and I want to take a quick moment to let you know one more thing. You know the book, "The Pig Who Sang to the Moon," that I was asking for? Well, a reader kindly sent me a copy. Thanks again, C! Laura has finished it, and I will start it as soon as I am through with "Animal Factories."

Guess what? After I finished writing all of this, just before publishing, I got a phone call. The little dog has a new home! A very nice family. I know the name and where they live. Nice place. Laura's grandmother is on her way to take him over there right now. They were so excited to get him, too. I am so glad. It's a good thing, too. We were getting pretty attached to the little guy. So, I get to end this post with a very happy ending! :)

So, now you are all up-to-date. I hope that you all have a good weekend. I'm going to get me a bite to eat and get back to work. Hopefully, the next time I post it will be to announce more pictures showing the roosters and their new yard!