Category: Health

Who do you think you are?

Talk about extremes of topics!

Yesterday it was gliding, tomorrow it is going to be a celebration of Pharaoh’s 14th birthday and today it is about you!

Kadam Morten Clausen is a Buddhist teacher. Now I would be the first to stick up my arm and say that my understanding of Buddhism is pretty poor. But in the days many years back when I spent time exploring a number of Asian countries I found the culture surrounding Buddhism very appealing. (And I write as someone who is not a religious believer.)

Back to Morten Clausen.

The Kadampa Meditation Center in New York, where Kadam is a resident teacher, describe him as follows:

Kadam Morten Clausen is the Eastern US National Spiritual Director of the New Kadampa Tradition and Resident Teacher at the Kadampa Meditation Center New York City, and also Bodh Gaya Center in Bayside, Queens. For over 30 years he has been a close disciple of Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, who gave him the title “Kadam,” indicating that he is a senior lay teacher of the Kadampa Tradition.

Kadam Morten met his teacher, Geshe Kelsang, while attending university in England. He taught widely throughout the UK and helped develop many Kadampa Centers in England. Kadam Morten has been teaching in the US for more than 20 years and has established centers throughout the New York area, as well as Washington DC, Virginia, and Puerto Rico. In addition to his local teaching responsibilities, he teaches and guides retreats regularly throughout the United States and Europe.

Kadam Morten is greatly admired as a meditation teacher and is especially known for his clarity, humor and inspirational presentation of Dharma. His teachings are always practical and easy to apply to everyday life. Through his gentle and joyful approach and his peaceful example, he has helped many people find true happiness in their hearts.

So what’s this all about when I say that today’s post is about you?

Enjoy the following, recently published on the Big Think site:

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Science and Buddhism Agree: There Is No “You” There

by Lori Chandler

Evan Thompson of the University of British Columbia has verified the Buddhist belief of anatta, or not-self. Neuroscience has been interested in Buddhism since the late 1980s, when the Mind and Life Institute was created by HH Dalai Lama and a team of scientists. The science that came out of those first studies gave validation to what monks have known for years — if you train your mind, you can change your brain. As neuroscience has begun studying the mind, they have looked to those who have mastered the mind.

While Buddha didn’t teach anatta to lay people, thinking it might be too confusing, the concept  is centered on the idea that there is no consistent self. The belief that we are the same one moment to the next, or one year to the next, is a delusion. Thompson says that “the brain and body is constantly in flux. There is nothing that corresponds to the sense that there’s an unchanging self.”

[W]hen there is no consistent self, it means that we don’t have to take everything so personally.

It is useful to look at a video of yourself from the past, or read something you wrote years ago. Your interests, perspective, beliefs, attachments, relationships, et al, have all changed in some way. Anatta doesn’t mean there’s no you; it just means that you are constantly changing, constantly evolving, and shape-shifting. Why is this important? Why does it matter if there’s no solid “you” or “me”?

Buddhist teacher Kadam Morten Clausen says Buddhism is a science of the mind:

Dr. Rick Hanson, author of Hardwiring Happiness and Buddha’s Brain, argues that when there is no consistent self, it means that we don’t have to take everything so personally. That is, our internal thoughts are only thoughts and don’t define us. External events are only external events and aren’t happening to us personally. Or as Tara Brach says, our thoughts are “real, but not true.”There is tremendous liberation in not identifying ourselves with thoughts, or a set idea of who we are.

It is then that we can grow and change, with the help of neuroplasticity. There is then hope that we can overcome our vices or bad habits (of mind and body), because if we aren’t stuck with the self-limiting beliefs inherent with a consistent self, we may orient ourselves toward becoming more of who we want to be.

The belief that we are the same one moment to the next, or one year to the next, is a delusion.

As science and Eastern thought continue to hang out with each other, there may be more 21st Century studies to back up 2,600-year-old thoughts. But, as HH Dalai Lama said, “Suppose that something is definitely proven through scientific investigation. … Suppose that that fact is incompatible with Buddhist theory. There is no doubt that we must accept the result of the scientific research.”Hearing a pro-science stance from a religious leader is a relief to many. In the end it seems Buddhism and neuroscience have similar goals: What is this thing we call the mind, and how can we use it to make ourselves a little less miserable and a little happier? Maybe even just 10 percent happier, as Dan Harris wrote. If there is no consistent self, it is at least my intention that my ever-changing self be equanimous and, well, 10 percent happier. No matter who I am.

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Lori Chandler is a writer and comedian living in Brooklyn, NY, which is the most unoriginal sentence she has ever written. You can look at her silly drawings on Tumblr, Rad Drawings, or read her silly tweets @LilBoodleChild. Enough about her, she says: how are you?

PHOTO CREDIT: Chris McGrath/Getty Images

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So if there are times when you find yourself talking to yourself, perhaps the first thing to do is to ask if it is you! (Golly! I can feel a headache coming on!)

Wonder if it is the same for dogs?

The ways our dogs speak to the world.

A republication of my post from August, 2016.

I am sharing this with you again because it so nicely complements the posts of the previous two days.

The ways our dogs speak to the world.

First published August 8th, 2016.

Dogs are very vocal creatures.

Anyone who has been close to dogs in their lives knows that they are frequently very vocal creatures. Likewise, anyone who has been close to a dog or two quickly learns to understand the basic emotions being conveyed by a dog’s vocal sounds.

But, nonetheless, there was an item over on the Care2.com site recently that provided a comprehensive tutorial on listening and interpreting the sounds from our dogs. I wanted to share it with you today.

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How to Interpret Your Dog’s Growls

1387750.large By: Vetstreet.com August 3, 2016

About Vetstreet.com

Your dog communicates with you and other dogs in a variety of ways — including growling. Depending on the context, a growl can be anything from a sign of enthusiastic play to a warning of an impending attack. It is important to understand why your dog growls and when you should be concerned about this behavior.

A growl doesn’t always signal an unfriendly dog. Here are some common reasons your dog might growl and some situations where you may need to seek outside help.

ThinkstockPhotos-200269653-001-e1470235141646Growling in Play

Dogs often growl during friendly play with other canines. This type of growling is typically higher pitched and shorter in length than other growls. To ensure that play is friendly, watch for the proper play signals and keep arousal levels low by taking frequent breaks.

Your dog may also growl when he plays with you. Pay attention to your dog’s body language during play — sometimes growling can indicate discomfort. Avoid rough play with hands and physical wrestling. If you are unsure about the distinction between acceptable play interactions and aggression, seek help from a professional.

ThinkstockPhotos-532272992-1-e1470235138455Growling as a Warning

A dog who is afraid of something may growl to fend off potential harm; the message he’s sending is that he will defend himself if necessary. Some dogs may growl at any unfamiliar person, while others may respond only to specific types of people, like men with beards, or to sights they are uncomfortable with, such as a horse. If your dog growls only at specific people or things, remedial socialization help is needed.

Or your dog may growl at another dog as a way to tell him to back off before a confrontation occurs. Many times, the other dog will heed the growl and give your dog the space he desires. There are dogs, however, who will not back down when they are growled at; in this situation, a fight may ensue.

If your dog’s warnings to back off go unheeded, his growling may increase into other aggressive behaviors, making it difficult for him to be around other canines. Some dogs do best with only select doggy playmates, while others should be limited to socializing only with humans.

ThinkstockPhotos-148078297-e1470235157748Growling for Medical Reasons

If your dog suddenly starts to growl when he is approached or touched, it may be a sign that he is in pain. Dogs with arthritis, abscessed teeth or other forms of illness or injury may experience increased pain when they are moved or touched and may growl to avoid it. A pet in pain is also more likely to bite than a healthy pet.

Pregnant or lactating dogs, or dogs in false pregnancy, are more likely to be protective and defensive with people and other animals, and are also more likely to growl at approaching humans. If you think your dog is growling for medical reasons, talk to your veterinarian.

ThinkstockPhotos-186145956-e1470235153492Growling Out of Frustration

Your otherwise-friendly dog may growl as an expression of barrier frustration. A dog may growl or bark when he is on leash or behind a fence, even if he is comfortable with other dogs when he is off leash. Dogs who growl in these situations need to be trained to relax when on a leash or behind a fence, as territorial or frustration-based behavior can escalate over time. Your dog should never be chained up outside, as this can lead to extreme territorial and protective behavior, which puts the dog, other animals and people in danger.

ThinkstockPhotos-497104866-e1470235166887When to Seek Outside Help

Growling is a way of communicating — for instance, his way of saying, “Give me space,” “Stop it,” or “Back off.” But certain situations — growling when approached or handled, and growling as part of resource guarding — require professional help. A dog who is engaging in resource guarding may be protecting food, toys or people, or his favorite places, like a sleeping space. Even with the best management plan in place, a guarding dog may escalate his aggression, which is why this behavior calls for professional intervention.

Your dog may also growl when he is handled, either because he is uncomfortable or afraid. He may growl when his collar is grabbed, his toenails are trimmed, his ears are touched or his mouth is opened. He may also be uncomfortable with direct eye contact, a person leaning over him, hugs or other forward greetings. Again, this behavior can escalate to something much more dangerous.

Talk with your veterinarian about these behaviors as soon as possible; have your pet’s health evaluated and, if necessary, ask for a referral to a behaviorist or trainer who can help you teach your dog strategies for coping with these situations.

By Mikkel Becker | Vetstreet.com

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You can imagine that with nine dogs here in the house there are times when Jean and I struggle to hear each other over the top of the doggy conversations.

But we wouldn’t have it any other way!

Back to today.

Just slightly sad that in those months since last August our doggie family has reduced to seven.

But on a brighter note, in just three days time, on June 3rd., we will be celebrating Pharaoh’s fourteenth birthday!

Those nine rescued dogs.

The good news keeps coming in.

A week-and-a-half ago I published a post called Little by Little. It was the story of “9 Dogs Successfully Rescued From Backyard Breeder Thanks to George and Amal Clooney.”

Thanks, you two!

Well a few days ago there was an email that contained more wonderful news about these nine dogs.

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UPDATES on the nine dogs rescued from the backyard breeder (now known as the “Mojave 9 dogs”)

It’s been all kinds of hectic with the intake of nine dogs all at once.   What we were most unprepared for was that every single one of these dogs had never been to a vet in their entire lives.

The medical bills have been piling up so quickly and we’ve been asking for donations for the last several weeks.

Abigail, the girl with the massive mammary tumors that were hanging down and dragging on the ground, she had a bi-lateral mastectomy and her biopsies came back clear!   Yaaay!

Piper had her cherry eye surgery, and a half of a mastectomy for some smaller mammary tumors up and down her right side of her mammary chains.   Her biopsies just came back clear as well (whew!).

McKenna just had a double ear ablation surgery (ouchie!).   There was no avoiding this, her ear drums were destroyed and her middle ears were so painful from years of untreated infections, it’s amazing she is still such a sweet doggie.

Hunter is on the waiting list for a right ear ablation surgery.

Abigail just had her dental this week and needed 19 teeth extracted!  (dogs have 42 teeth)   Her mouth is going to be feeling a whole lot better once the bacteria and inflammation goes away.   Poor girl, she really has had it the worst of all these dogs, yet she is happy and wagging her tail and so eager to get any human interaction.

All nine dogs have needed dentals (several are on the upcoming schedule in the next few weeks, we’ve had to stage everything so we can raise donations).    Six spay surgeries, a cherry eye surgery, a full mastectomy, a half mastectomy, two ear ablation surgeries, blood work, urinalysis, thyroid tests, deep ear cleanings/antibiotics, it’s all turning out to be one of THE most expensive rescues ever in the history of Camp Cocker.

We need your help now more than ever!

Please consider making a donation and no amount is too small.

For the rest of the month of May, we have a matching donation campaign going on, click HERE to DONATE!

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Please don’t go until you have watched this video of the surgeries that have been carried out so far.

There are so many good people out there!

A nose for doing good work!

A dog’s nose, of course!

We all know how good are the noses of our dogs. Yet, I suspect, many do not know how truly good is that nose. The Science ABC site has a detailed account of Why Do Dogs Have Such A Great Sense of Smell?
Here’s part of that article:

Dog Nose vs. Human Nose

When we try to smell something, we inhale air with our nose and we use the same passage in our nose to exhale that air. Therefore, all the smell that we get when we are inhaling is lost when we exhale that air. However, a dog has two different air passages, one for breathing and another for smelling. This means that dogs are able to store the smell in their nose even while breathing out the air!

When dogs exhale, they send air out through the slits of their nose, but the manner in which this air is exhaled through their nose helps the dogs to draw in new odor molecules. This also helps dogs capture more smells when sniffing.

You must have noticed that dogs’ noses are always wet, but have you ever wondered why? The mucus on the dog’s nose helps it smell by capturing scent particles. A dog also has the ability to smell independently from each nostril, this helps the dog to understand from which direction the smell is coming.

The passage through which dogs smell the air contains highly specialized olfactory receptor cells, which are responsible for receiving smells. A dog contains about 225-300 million smell receptors, as compared to just 5 million of these receptors being present in a human nose.

Dog Brain vs. Human Brain

By now, we clearly know that dogs have a nose that can smell about 1,000-10,000 times better than a human, but how are dogs able to remember all the different smells that they have sensed throughout their life?

The answer lies in the difference between the brains of dogs and humans. A human brain has a larger visual cortex than dogs, whereas a dog’s brain has a much larger olfactory cortex than humans. The visual cortex is responsible for processing visual information, whereas the olfactory cortex is responsible for processing the sense of smell. A dog’s olfactory cortex is about 40 times larger than that of a human.

Read the full science article here.

All of which makes a slightly longer introduction than normal to a fascinating article over on Mother Nature Network published two days ago.

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5 ways dogs are used for species conservation

May 16, 2017 Jaymi Heimbuch

Photo: Jaymi Heimbuch

Working dogs are an amazing asset not only for people, but for wildlife, endangered species and even threatened habitats. Expanding on the skills dogs have for tracking down scents and guarding something important, we humans have enlisted their help in many ways for conservation.

Here are five ways dogs are contributing to environmental protection efforts.

Smell for scat

It’s amazing the amount of information that can be sussed out of an animal’s poop. We can determine diet, health, genetics — even whether or not an animal is pregnant. Scat is really important to biologists studying elusive, sensitive or endangered species. Putting dogs on the track is an ideal solution.

Take cheetahs, for example. Scientists in Africa are using dogs and their unparalleled sniffing power to find cheetah poop, all in an effort to get an accurate count on the endangered big cats. (Only 7,000 cheetahs are left in the African wild, according to estimates.) And it’s working. Two trained dogs found 27 scats in an area of 2,400 square kilometers in western Zambia, according to a study published in the Journal of Zoology. Humans, looking for cheetah tracks over the same area, found none.

Groups like Conservation Canines (a handler and dog from the program pictured above), Working Dogs for Conservation and Green Dogs Conservation specialize in this area. Conservation Canines rescues highly energetic, “last chance” dogs from shelters and trains them to track down the scat of dozens of species, from wolves to moose to owl. Even things that are nearly impossible for humans to find — the minuscule scat of endangered pocket mice or orca scat floating on the ocean surface — dogs can track down. They are able to make huge contributions to scientific studies, all without ever bothering the wildlife being studied.

Sniff out problems for wildlife

Whether it’s sniffing out invasive species like giant snails in the Galapagos or detecting disease in beehives, dogs’ noses can be put to work in searching out what shouldn’t be there so that humans can act.

Dogs are able to sniff out particular plant species, pointing ecologists to tiny patches of invasive mustard so that the plants can be removed before they take over an area.

Conversely, dogs can sniff out rare or endangered native plants so that the species can be protected. Rogue is one such dog. The Nature Conservancy writes, “The 4-year-old Belgian sheepdog is part of a Nature Conservancy collaborative project to test the efficacy of using dogs to sniff out the threatened Kincaid’s lupine. The plant is host to the endangered Fender’s blue butterfly, found only in Oregon’s Willamette Valley.”

Surveying for the plant species is difficult work for people. It can only be done when the plant is in bloom so people can visually identify it. However, dogs like Rogue can sniff out the plant even when not in bloom, which can potentially double the length of the field season.

“More refined regional mapping of Kincaid’s lupine could promote the butterfly’s recovery and delisting — and contribute to larger habitat goals and wildlife impacts.”

Track down poachers

The trade in rare or endangered wildlife is a lot tougher for traffickers thanks to wildlife detector dogs. Trained to smell anything from tiger parts to ivory to South American rosewood, dogs are used in shipping ports, airports, border crossings and other locations to sniff out smuggled products.

It doesn’t stop there. Trained dogs can lead rangers to armed poachers in the wild, tracking down the culprits over long hours through heat and rain. They can catch poachers in the act, rather than just the products.

“Canine sleuths aren’t limited to the plains of East Africa, either,” reports National Geographic. “In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, bloodhounds are assisting in the fight against poaching in forested Virunga National Park, where the world’s last remaining mountain gorillas live. In South Africa, Weimaraner and Malinois dogs are helping to find wounded animals and track poachers on foot through the reserves around Kruger National Park.”

Guard endangered species

Dogs are also useful in putting their protective nature to use for endangered species.

Livestock protection dogs are trained to keep predators like cheetahs, lions and leopards safe, which then reduces conflict between ranchers and big cats and minimizes the instances of snaring or retaliatory killing of big cats. Cheetah Conservation Fund has a successful livestock protection dog program, which places Anatolian shepherd and Kangal dogs with ranchers. That not only has significantly reduced the number of livestock killed by predators but is also improving the attitude of local people toward cheetahs.

Sometimes the dogs are put to work guarding the endangered species themselves. One such successful program uses Maremma shepherd dogs to protect colonies of little penguins from foxes.

Keep bears wild

Karelian bear dogs are trained to keep bears from becoming too comfortable around people. A program by Wind River Bear Institute named Partners-in-Life uses a technique called bear shepherding. This specialized breed of hunting dog is used to scare bears away, and are an important part of the “adverse conditioning” work that keeps bears from becoming habituated. The ultimate goal is to protect bears from becoming habituated, a problem that leads to their being relocated or euthanized.

“Our Wind River Bear Institute mission, with the effective training and use of Karelian Bear Dogs, is to reduce human-caused bear mortality and conflicts worldwide to ensure the continued survival of all species of bears for future generations,” states the program.

This list is only a handful of ways that dogs help us with environmental conservation every day. More and more, we are figuring out new ways to put their skills to work, and more and more the dogs are proving they’re ready for the task!

Editor’s note: This story was originally published in July 2016 and has been updated with more recent information.

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Closing words from that Science ABC piece:

A dog does not care how you look or dress, but if he gets good vibes from your smell, then a dog will love you. The world is truly a better place because of these wonderful creatures that we are lucky enough to welcome into our lives.

Why not make the world smell a bit more beautiful for them?

Belay that!

Closing picture taken from the OregonLive website. A stunning picture of the “Fender’s blue butterfly, found only in Oregon’s Willamette Valley.”

Unconditional dog love

Couldn’t have a better story to follow yesterday’s news about Socks finding a new home.

I have lost count of the times that over the years I have featured on this blog the bond between a person and a dog. Yet that hasn’t blunted my mind or dulled my heart to hearing of new stories of this wonderful bond arriving over the ‘air waves’.

Such is the case of Ben and his dog that was featured on the Shareably site last July.

My pleasure to share this story with you.

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Doctor’s tell dog to leave owner’s hospital bed, but dog refuses and lays by his owner’s side

written by Jenny Brown on July 11th, 2016
There is the saying that a dog is a man’s best friend. It might be because a dog is by your side when you’re feeling down, is there to play catch when you feel like throwing around the frisbee, or simply there when you want some company.

As dog-lovers we are grateful for the things dogs do for us, but do we consider how dogs might be as grateful for the things we do for them? In this video, the beautiful relationship between one man, Ben, and his dog is shown from the perspective of not the man, but his dog.

The relationship between Ben and his dog begins in their earlier years. The two of them travel around the world. From camping in the deserts to hiking in the mountains, they discover their favorite places to visit and make new friends along the way.

Source YouTube/Ben Moon

As the story continues, however, Ben develops cancer. While Ben must spend his time in a hospital and away from traveling, his dog continues to stay by his side, night and day. The relationship between Ben and his dog seems that it may worsen due to Ben’s obstacle, but instead, their relationship only strengthens.

Source YouTube/Ben Moon

The story progresses years later, as Ben overcomes his battle and the bond between him and his dog continues to grow. Through the highs and lows of their relationship, Ben and his dog remain the best of friends until the very end.
This touching video is a dedication made by Ben to his dog, for all the best moments they spent together. This video also shows what is truly the essence of friendship, between a man and his best friend, his dog.

Source YouTube/Ben Moon

Please SHARE this with your friends and family.

(Ed: Note that the dialogue in the following professionally shot film is the voice of the dog.)

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Friendship, as in true friendship, is very precious. That true friendship is rarely unconditional between humans. Not impossible, just rare.

For common examples of unconditional friendship, as in the unconditional love bond, we have to turn to our dogs.

What beautiful teachers they are!

Socks has been adopted!

It doesn’t get more beautiful than this!

On the 11th I penned a post under the title of Feathers and Socks.

I included a photo of Socks and wished him the very best of luck in finding a home.

Beautiful Socks!

Well, miracles of miracles, when I came to my emails last Saturday morning awaiting me was this email from John Zande.

Paul and Jean, Socks has a wonderful new home!

I really don’t want to jinx it by writing this email (I am the superstitious naked ape, after all), but the morning started out with not much hope as we drove and drove out into the countryside, wondering where on earth this petshop was that was hosting the adoption fair.

When we eventually found it, it was a tiny storefront, little more than a dog-bath business. We thought, “nothing is going to come from this.” They were just opening as we arrived and met the young girl who runs it. Lovely person. Literally two minutes later a family walk up the road dropping off their two dogs for a bath. We got to talking. They fell in love with Socks.

After a phone call to the woman’s husband (a serious, serious dog lover, we’re told, as she is too) we heard the words we did not think we’d hear: “If it’s OK, we’d love to give him a home.”

Ten minutes later we were in their house, which was about 50 meters down the road. Nice place, lots of room, and Socks has full run of the outside, and a huge enclosed laundry-come-Socks-home for the night. He won the lotto! Three young boys full of energy. He took to them like a champion. I still can’t believe it. It’s like this every time we find a home. It just doesn’t seem real.

Anyway, I’ve attached two short videos of Socks and his new home, and a photo. And yes, the family is keeping Jean’s name, Socks. They loved it. I’m sure G will write you later tonight, but you both played a huge role in this. Your help paid for his neutering, and for that we’re eternally grateful.
Here is that photo and those videos.
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A little later on ‘G’, John’s nickname for his wife, sent me these further details:
Hello Paul and Jean – I guess you’ve been cheering since John’s e-mail, right? So have we, since this morning.
Well, I have to say I still can’t believe how lucky we (and Socks) have been. Virginia and Fabiano and their three boys: Lago (11 or 12 y.o, not sure); Marcos (turning 8 tomorrow, Sunday) and Raphael, 6. Lovely family, she invited us to go to their place (he was working), showed us around.
As I said at the outset: It doesn’t get more beautiful than this!

Happy Endings!

All we all want is more good news than the other variety!

My sub-heading offers a great introduction to this recent essay over on The Conversation site. Republished within the terms of that site.

I don’t need to waffle on!

You all have a wonderful weekend.

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Will optimistic stories get people to care about nature?

By    David H. Smith Conservation Research Fellow, Georgia State University

May 7, 2017

Nature doesn’t make the news often these days. When it does, the story usually revolves around wildlife on the brink, record-setting climate extremes or ruined landscapes. However, that is not the whole story. There is also good news, but it often receives little attention.

It is easy to see how bleak accounts of the state of the planet can overwhelm people and make them feel hopeless. What is the point of even trying if the world is going down the drain anyway?

To muster public and political support on a scale that matches our environmental challenges, research shows that negative messaging is not the most effective way forward. As a conservation scientist and social marketer, I believe that to make the environment a mainstream concern, conservation discussions should focus less on difficulties. Instead we should highlight the growing list of examples where conservation efforts have benefited species, ecosystems and people living alongside them.

People’s Climate March, New York, New York, Sept. 21, 2014. CIFOR/Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND

The power of positive messages

This question is not new. Professionals in many fields have to consider how to frame their messages to maximize their impact. For example, public health agencies can make positive recommendations that emphasize benefits of being disease-free, or use negative messages that focus on the consequences of disease. A 2008 meta-analysis of 60 health communication studies concluded that messages focused on loss were less likely to be effective than positive messages.

Another study examined ads designed to persuade income support recipients to report their incomes. It concluded that messages focused on fear, shame or guilt could generate emotional backlash, in which people rationalized decisions to protect themselves from feeling ashamed of their behavior. This approach also caused emotional saturation that led people to “switch off” from the message because of its negativity.

Environmental advocates also confront this challenge. Much discussion has centered on the issue of climate change, where a number of scholars and advocates assert that doom-and-gloom messaging has not been effective. Yet until recently, we have not asked the same question about how we frame nature conservation.

Lost and found species

Today a growing number of scholars and activists are working to create a positive vision for protecting wildlife and wild places. One key effort started in 2014 with the launch of a marine conservation movement called Ocean Optimism, which works to “create a new narrative of hope for our oceans,” and by doing so, to help move towards “a sustainable future for our seas.”

In April 2017 the Earth Optimism Summit, organized by the Smithsonian Institution, brought together environmentalists, scientists, industry and the media to shift the global conservation movements focus away from problems and toward solutions. What started as a single event in Washington, D.C. soon turned into a truly global movement, with about 30 sister events in countries including Colombia, New Zealand and Hong Kong.

Lost & Found – Author provided

This effort has kick-started a range of initiatives that are all about communicating conservation bright spots to as many people as possible. One, which I co-founded, is the Lost & Found project, sponsored by the Society for Conservation Biology and the British Ecological Society. This online storytelling initiative focuses on a particularly inspiring kind of good news: rediscovering species that once were thought to be long extinct. After all, what can be more rousing than recovering something unique that you thought was lost forever?

Every year numerous species thought to have disappeared are rediscovered. Over the past century more than 300 species have been rediscovered, mostly in the tropics. On average, these species were missing for about 60 years before being rediscovered. Most rediscovered species have restricted ranges and small populations, which means they are usually highly threatened.

Lost & Found – Author provided

Our goal is not only to tell good stories, but also to showcase the dedication and determination of adventurers who lead these improbable quests and rewrite the history of species they care deeply about. While not every reader may be interested in a red-crested tree rat or a golden-fronted bower bird, all humans are curious about other people.

Lost & Found is making content available in various formats, including text, comics and soon, video animations. This helps make the stories more accessible to people who are not instinctively inclined to read about nature. Currently we have 13 stories freely available online that feature diverse species, from squirrels and toads to bats and birds. They cover a wide geographic range, from Latin America and Oceania to North America and Southeast Asia.

The response has been tremendously positive. More than 1,000 people from over 50 countries visited the website in its first 10 days. Some of our more popular stories, such as the Bulmer’s Fruit Bat and the Cave Splayfoot Salamander, are animals that would commonly not be considered particularly charismatic.

Getting these inspirational rediscoveries into the hands of as many people as possible is a first step toward creating a more positive vision for Earth’s future. The timeless principles of storytelling seem like the right place to start. After all, who doesn’t love a happy ending?

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Did you note the name of that website!!

Lost & Found. Go visit it and enjoy these wonderful happy endings!

 

More wonderful doggy goodness!

Such a wonderful and obvious thing to do!

Yet despite it being so obvious it hadn’t crossed my mind before.

I’m referring to the wonderful idea of using those people, who through circumstance have found themselves homeless, to care for animals via an animal shelter.

This fabulous project came to me when reading a recent item on the Democracy Now website. Do watch the video.

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Glenn Greenwald Unveils New Project to Build Animal Shelter in Brazil Staffed by Homeless People

Published on May 10, 2017

http://democracynow.org – Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Glenn Greenwald unveils his plans to build an animal shelter in Brazil with his husband David Miranda, a city council member in Rio de Janeiro. The shelter will be staffed by homeless people who live on the streets with abandoned pets.

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If you, like me, needed to be reminded as to Mr. Greenwald’s background there’s plenty online.

He has his own website here. Over at The Intercept website one reads:

Glenn Greenwald is one of three co-founding editors of The Intercept. He is a journalist, constitutional lawyer, and author of four New York Times best-selling books on politics and law. His most recent book, No Place to Hide, is about the U.S. surveillance state and his experiences reporting on the Snowden documents around the world. Prior to co-founding The Intercept, Glenn’s column was featured at The Guardian and Salon. He was the debut winner, along with Amy Goodman, of the Park Center I.F. Stone Award for Independent Journalism in 2008, and also received the 2010 Online Journalism Award for his investigative work on the abusive detention conditions of Chelsea Manning. For his 2013 NSA reporting, he received the George Polk award for National Security Reporting; the Gannett Foundation award for investigative journalism and the Gannett Foundation watchdog journalism award; the Esso Premio for Excellence in Investigative Reporting in Brazil (he was the first non-Brazilian to win), and the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s Pioneer Award. Along with Laura Poitras, Foreign Policy magazine named him one of the top 100 Global Thinkers for 2013. The NSA reporting he led for The Guardian was awarded the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for public service.

Plus, there is more information about Glenn Greenwald on WikiPedia.

Well done, that man, and the rest of the team!!

More importantly, well done all those special people who are loving those dogs.

Another great move for dogs in Brazil.

Onwards and upwards for socks!

The dog, that is, not what we wear on our feet!

On the 26th April I published a post promoting the Vista Verde Help Fund for Strays. (And well done! That fund is very close to achieving the goal.)

That post in April also included a picture of a recent stray supported by the Fund. He was named Socks by Jean.

Socks starting a new and better life.

Anyway, a few days ago Dionete sent me an email that I wanted to share with you.

Hello Paul – how’s things with you & Jean & dogs? Fine, I hope.

We’ve got some news: Socks has just been neutered. We picked him up at the clinic an hour ago and took him to a temporary shelter. Unfortunately it is just for a couple of nights but at least he is safe and can recover from the grogginess tonight.

Here are the pics we’ve taken.

Thank you very much (again) for allowing it to happen.
All the very best,

Here are those photographs of Socks.

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Socks has a really gentle look in those eyes. Hopefully, he will find a new loving home before too long.

Little by little!

It takes so little good news to uplift one’s heart!

For reasons I can’t readily put my finger on it’s been feeling like a bit of a struggle recently. But that’s enough of that! For our gorgeous dogs have yet another lesson for me: How little it takes for a dog to wag it’s tail!

I so frequently share stuff that I read over on the Care 2 site and why not because as the home page declares:

40,107,687 members: the world’s largest community for good

Just three days ago there was a wonderful article shared on the Care 2 site about some dogs being rescued from a so-called backyard breeder. Better than that, it highlighted the wonderful consequence of a donation from George and Amal Clooney.

Here’s the story.

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9 Dogs Successfully Rescued From Backyard Breeder Thanks to George and Amal Clooney

By: Alicia Graef May 5, 2017

About Alicia Follow Alicia at @care2

Nine lucky dogs have just had their world turned upside down in the best way possible.

Camp Cocker Rescue, based in California, just took in the “Mojave 9″ who were being kept by a backyard breeder. They’ll be getting all the love and veterinary care they desperately need thanks to a generous donation made by George and Amal Clooney.

The nine dogs have had little human contact, and are all in need of extensive veterinary treatment for health issues ranging from mammary tumors and dental disease to skin and ear infections to ingrown toenails. The organization relies on donations, and expenses for this rescue operation were quickly rising.

“We literally didn’t know how we were even going to begin to start paying for all of these new dogs that we took in on the same day,” Camp Cocker’s founder Cathy Stanley told PEOPLE.

Now, the organization is celebrating a generous and unexpected donation of $10,000 made by George and Amal Clooney, who are parents to two adopted cocker spaniels from Camp Cocker — Einstein and Louie.

Their donation is going to help cover the cost of care for these dogs, who have never been to a vet. The Clooney’s will also be matching donations up to $10,000 for the rest of May.

“After we all did happy dances and cried with happiness for this unbelievable matching donation offer – we then asked the donors if (and only if they gave us their permission) . . . if we could reveal their names to our supporters in order to help us reach our big goal this month. They were so very gracious to give us permission to reveal their names,” Camp Cocker wrote in an update.

While this was a huge boost for them, Camp Cocker is quick to point out that no donation is too small to help.

“We have a philosophy where we want to be very inclusive of all of our supporters and it’s important to us that no matter how small of a donation, every person feels like their donation is meaningful and that we appreciate them,” Stanley added.

Hopefully news about the Mojave 9 and the attention it’s getting will help raise awareness about rescue and inspire more people to get involved … and will help find each of these precious dogs their perfect forever home.

For more on how to help, and info on how to adopt one of these dogs, check out Camp Cocker Rescue and follow updates on Facebook.

Photo credit: Thinkstock

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Here’s the video that accompanied that story.

And there’s only one way to close.

By thanking George and Amal for their wonderful generosity and their love for ex-rescue dogs!

Thanks, you two!

So little good news makes such a huge positive difference!