Introduction

I've felt a special compassion to other people and animals all my life. I've always wanted to make things better, always wanted everyone to "just get along". I've always felt better when I thought everyone else was cared-for, too. Although my mother was not much of an animal lover, I brought home as many strays as I could get away with: a pigeon, a turtle, a cat.

I moved to Chicago in 1988. I had a roommate named Sasha who was also a compassionate person. We were both vegetarians. We had worked together at a natural food store while we attended the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign.

One bitterly cold night in Chicago Sasha came home and told me she and her friend had seen a tiny, freezing, muddy poodle on their way home. A couple blocks further they had seen a poster for a "Lost Puddle" with a bad photo of, undoubtedly, the same dog.

"Did you go back for him?" I asked.

"Uh, ... yeah, but he was gone by then." she stammered. She seemed surprised at my question.

I was mortified. It was about 60 degrees below zero with the wind chill. "Why didn't you just bring him home when you first saw him?", I persisted. "He can't possibly survive out there long." I wasn't completely sure I believed she'd gone back to check on him.

She looked as if I'd struck her and she said defensively, "I couldn't bring him back here. We can't have dogs here... I'm allergic to dogs... Where would we put him?..."

Her voice drifted off and I could tell she wasn't convincing herself any more than she was convincing me that these were valid reasons. The dog had needed to be rescued. He could have stayed in our bathroom overnight and we could have figured out what to do with him the next day. We could have given him a bath, fed him, called the police and asked what to do.

I could see that she was angry with herself for not realizing these reasons were merely collective programming, and I could see that she was angry at me for calling her on it. For my part I had to admit that I might have made the same decision she had, hurrying home in the freezing cold, not having any game plan in my head for coming across a distressed animal, not wanting to get into something I might not easily be able to get out of.

I knew Sasha cared for animals. I knew that she had just not known what to do. She hadn't been prepared to make a decision that could have saved the dog's life in the window of time she had to make it. It was a learning experience for both of us.

I see this blog as a way to explore and help improve the way we coexist with animals. I encounter animals every day. Growing up I had my own dog, two parakeets and (briefly) a mouse. Now I have cats that I have either rescued or that I am fostering. Since I have moved out of the city I come across more wildlife.

I have worked for an animal shelter where I was in charge of the sick animals; I have volunteered for another shelter where I mainly socialized and worked with special-needs cats; I work with a TNR (trap-neuter-return) group that helps people care for feral cats; I have rescued, fostered, rehabilitated and placed cats, dogs, rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, mice, rats, birds and one squirrel...so far.

I'm hoping by relating some of my everyday experiences I can help others start thinking about what they can do if they stumble upon a lost pet or wild animal in need. We can all do something even if it's only to find someone else who can do something.