Street Dogs and People Heal their Inner Anger in Different Ways

                                       My column can you now read Swedish Tidningen Nara

The insecurity inside of us can make it difficult to balance a direct communication with balanced feelings. Often it is our own egos that put a stop to the unconditional love for ourselves and others. When we understand that it is ourselves that we have to love without criticizing, the fears that pierce our hearts will disappear.

We are created by the Universe and are perfect.

Once again, I read from my notebook. How could a dog be that spiritual deeper than myself, a human?

Immediately I was ashamed over my own thought. Who was I to judge or condemn?

The wise street dog that sat beside me would not be owned by anyone.

His eyes were glittering humbly, and still I was ashamed even more by my previous notion of superiority.

I realized that although his freedom would be short on the streets, he was ok with it. For him the freedom was not to be on anyone's "leash" and moreover, freedom had no sense of time.

Once more, I felt shame over my own faith experiences. The more people (and street dogs) I encounter, I come to realize that it is about how I reacte to other people and animals. It shows who I really am.

There are no suicides among stray dogs.

When you have love for yourselves and for all, no one will be able to destroy you. We stray dogs give each other respect, and respect where we are in our own development.

We see you as lovable people. Your attitude to us animals shows where you are on life's path. When you stop receiving lessons you will be hard-hearted and dare no longer to love anymore. You become judgmental people. An aggressive dog has not been badly treated by life in itself, but by man within that life. An aggressive street dog also knows that it is difficult to survive with aggression, and walks away to be alone and heal itself. While an aggressive man is not only attacking himself, but the entire Universe, the Earth, man and Animals.

Love the Universe with all your heart, mind, and strength. Then you can love your neighbor as yourself. We all come from the same source.

That's Amore!

MY DOGS ARE MY MINI BUDDHISTS

     My weekly column in Magazine NARA (Sweden) but I translated it into English for you.        

      MY DOGS ARE MY MINI-BUDDHISTS

Living with former stray dogs is a wonderful learning experience. For several years I have followed individual street dogs or families groups among the strays.  The sense of freedom I feel with them is a kind of independence, as in constant meditation!

For me, stray dogs are my mini- Buddhists. They teach me a lot about being in touch with the present.  I am their student, invited to take part in the school of life.  Street dogs have no expectations!  And so, they have no disappointments.  Expectations are something I wrestle with in many different situations. Stay dogs are unconditional love.  I often try to love unconditionally.  In my “pack” of former strays, when we rest together during the day everything feels like fulfillment.  

Street dogs’ intuition is outstanding. They listen to their inner compass; their intuition is as a survival tool for them.  I practice with my own inner compass, to rely more on my intuition.  If they receive food, they are happy, content and satisfied.  They don’t seek to have more than they need.

Yet I still practice my desires, with dreams that I can strive for and share with fellow human beings.

When (stray) dogs are adopted, within two weeks they stop to use their internal compass.  In most cases they will be “reprogrammed " by their new owners, just as what happens with most children.  Children also drop their intuition, as they get older.  As adults and parents, we think for the children.  It is hard not to, they need our direction, guidance and experience to learn and grow.  Or so we tell ourselves.  The same things we do for most of the dogs.  We teach them the human language, which eventually replaces their inner knowledge, their intuition.  When we dare to rely as much on intuition as children and stray dogs do, we find our own divinity within our purpose and ourselves.  We can learn and teach out our knowledge and have more compassion. To find a balance with the inner knowledge and to dare share the wisdom together with our community. Close your eyes!  Do not look at who's coming with a wisdom message for you, but listen and the book of knowledge opens up in your mind.

We do not know who our teachers are! Let your expectations vanish and open your heart to your inner compass.  I thank my mini- Buddhists for this life's wisdom.  They have a free mind without an ego, such that I aspire to myself.

I'm trying to remember what my soul already knows.

That's Amore !

Photo Ulla Linders, Lori Garcia

NEW HELPING PROJECT MOUNT VESUVIUS

AWL is starting a new project to help the abandoned dogs and strays on Mount Vesuvius here in Italy. It is a big and tragic problem with several dogs lost, some say there are up to 100 dogs roaming around the garbage piles. They are sick or dying, and confused searching for their former owners who left them at this place, protected by cloak of darkness.

Many people drive their dog up to the tourist attraction and leave them, some dogs even have two collars on them.

Some people cannot afford the veterinarian visits or medicine, and to put one dog to sleep can cost them one third of their monthly salary, but many are "just" heartless bastards.

Some think that God will take care of their dogs and believe the garbage will feed them.

AWL wants, together with the Mount Vesuvius rescue team, to help as many animals that are suffering from different diseases or have been abandoned. You also can make this effort possible by supporting us. Your voice is their voice, your money is their health. Your kindness makes AWL do some kind of magic in the middle of the darkness. That's Amore!

AWL SPAY AND NEUTER PROJECT

These two dogs were brought by Giulia to have them spayed and neutered, since they always got puppies and lived on the street. We arranged appointment and paid for the visit and surgery.

The male had ehrlichiosis and couldn't be neutered, he is on a 30 day antibiotic treatment, and when healthy he will be castrated.

Thank you for sponsoring AWL so we can get the puppy population down.

STRAY' S IN THAILAND

One of the course delegates went to Thailand working in a shelter. Walking on the beach you can find many. This is one she is feeding. What a sweet heart!

FAVORITE PICTURE

This is my favorite picture and it was taken without me knowing it. I am always so focus on my own work I don't see or hear other people around me. This is my passion, walking the streets visiting strays.

I am better together with them than with most people around me...sorry but I have to admit that.

I was out on my regular mission drive and ran into this old rough looking guy. He was very gentle but shy.

I take pictures so I can document them. That's my Amore passion. What's yours?

Picture Ulla Linders (c) 2009 November

Feeding Missions

Every day since June am I still feeding Cucci and Grace, my beloved friends. They are so wonderful, and my biggest hope is for them to find a home together.

Little One is new in my feeding schedule. She is so adorable, very shy but so nice.

These beautiful guys....what can I say...I hope for their best; good health and amore respect from people

Every Morning

Every morning I drive and feed Grace and Cucci, and every morning it is a pleasure to be greeted with love and wagging tails. Grace is having problem standing up for to long....I need a hospice to her. My passion are with the strays....what is your passion?

A Soldier and His Dog

A soldier and his stray

US military personnel overseas are not allowed to adopt stray animals. The reason, say officials, is to protect soldiers from diseases strays may carry. Click on the link above.

Meet Abby

On Wednesday, I wrote about the young puppy who was found by Brian where he works.

Well, we have an update:

First, she has a name now: Abby. We think it suits her well.

On Wednesday evening, she took her first-ever car ride and had no problems with it. She spent the night with her foster family, even sneaking upstairs from her quarantine in the garage. Thursday, she took a longer car ride to LegaProAnimale, and was so non-plused by the whole thing, she comfortably snoozed in the backseat of the car most of the way. What a trooper!

She is now with LegaProAnimale, and Dr. Friz is giving her the full treatment: spaying, de-worming, and treating that ear wound. She won't get her initial shots until at least 10 days after the surgery, which was Thursday. Dr. Friz, by the way, estimates Abby's age at just 3 months.

Her foster family is doing wonderfully with her, but she will need a forever home soon.

I'm still under the weather with pneumonia, but Animals Without Limits continues ever onward...

... because of universal amore

A Tragedy For All

It made my heart ache when I read this article, please read the whole article so you can see the whole picture. It is a tragedy.

I never let Olivia, my daughter, out of my SUV when we are "on mission". She can sit on her knees at look out from the window while I am working with unknown animals. ---Those few times she goes with me-- Normally I do the missions in the mornings when she is in school.

Dreams

Last night I got a question about when my next book will be done?

I blushed, and realized I haven’t been writing much the last couple of months. I have hired babysitters and during that time I've been running around doing other things…like starting up the heretofore sleeping foundation Animals Without Limits.

I also want to translate my other three books into English. I get many e-mails from people wondering when they can buy the translated books . Some of my Swedish readers beg me to translate them so they can send them to their friends in foreign countries.

Gosh! I am so behind schedule, and my inner soul is screaming to be writing. But it is hard to be a mom with two small children, and even here is my guilt-voice telling me I am not giving them all my time either--seven dogs in the casa.

Ah yes, the strays…I do want to create so much for them.

But if I want my dream(s) to become true, I have to get the book(s) project(s) going.

My dream(s) are to be a bigger and greater Animal Ambassador, and I want an olive plantation with 23 strays, together with my family…to have this I need to write a best seller... and not just in Sweden. Hah!! Amore Dreams!

October 2008, Olivia and I lighting a candle for the stray souls that our need help, in Notre-Dame Cathedral, Paris, France. Photo Copyright (C) 2008, Todd A. Mercer. All Rights Reserved.

Feeding Strays?

This morning we went back to the skeletal houses (read below) to feed Truffle and Hunty. As we drove up, from the car I could spot Truffle's white tail wagging, far away. I got out of the car and was greeted by Hunty and Truffle with a lot of affection ---I nearly lost my balance. Hunty's eye looked much better, and both seemed in such a good spirit/mood.

I saw they hadn't been eating much of the dry food that left for them last night (returning for the third time), but when I opened the can of juicy meat they where all over it, and inhaled it with great joy.

A friend of mine later asked why they didn't finish the dry food....if they are so skinny and bony?

The answer: Strays are mostly surviving from humans' garbage; from pasta and other wet food. Good and soft. For them that is a delicacy.

It does make me wonder when some people say you shouldn't give your dog table scraps...well ask a stray!

When strays are eating "wet" food, they don't have to search for water to drink. But when they get dry food, they need to drink a lot. Sometimes, it can be hard for them to find water, especially when the summer here is more than 8 months long, and hot! Don't tell me that the strays didn't figure this out in a splendid way.

This is darn Amore surviving intelligence!

Copyright (c)2008 Mia Mattsson-Mercer

Truffle Update with Friend

(Update from October 29th)
We visited Truffle this morning, and found out he is taking care of a young, female. She is thin as a skeleton, and we named her Hunty. So sweet that it tears your heart in pieces, painful because you cannot provide them a warm home. A drafty skeletal house, dirt, weeds and mud.

It was so nice to see Truffle again, he and my daughter Olivia were cuddling up to each other, him closing his eyes letting go in human-child love.

Both Truffle and Hunty were famished! We offered them the can of dog food I always carry with me, and they inhaled it! Truffle seems to be doing well, although he limps from what appears to be an old wound, and has a scar on the right side of his face that looks like a grin. Hunty is doing much worse, it seems. She is skin-and-bones thin, with her hip-bones jutting out through her skin. I know she'd make somebody a great companion and maybe a hunting dog.

Truffle stayed close to Olivia. He seemed to sense her animal Amore, even at her young age. She's a great partner on our "missions".

Dr. Inga and I will visit Truffle and Hunty again soon, to check up on Hunty's eyes, and Truffle's limp. Hopefully, we will be able to routinely feed them too, to make sure they gain some weight, especially Hunty.

Here's some warm Amore for two loveable strays as the weather gets colder.

International Veterinarian Help

Animals Without Limits is delighted to report, that we now have a fantastic veterinarian (Inga) with us in the Animal SUV going out on missions. It is so educating and life saving.... and time saving. Before, we guessed at ailments and brought the dogs in to the veterinarian clinic for treatments. Now Inga can diagnose and we can treat directly on the spot, or if it is an emergency we will bring them into LegaProAnimale, but with the foreknowledge of the problem. Inga diagnosed my dear little stray Pimpinella (who comforted me at the cemetary when we buried Ranger) that she has a Hernia. I made a phone call to the vet, and tomorrow I am bringing her in for surgery--and a three legged Pit Bull "Gigi" for castration, as well.

We also are now able to do "following ups" with our dogs, if they need to be medicated we return to the dog every day until he/she is healed.

I have seen and heard about some people from different organizations/foundations that goes out on the street and try to rescue dogs. Many don't know how to approach stray dogs on the street and they end up chasing the dogs out onto the street... potentially getting hit and killed by a car. Certainly, putting them at risk. Not what is desired.

Many are also placing emotional aspects onto the animals, transfering human emotions onto the animal. For instance, they may try to comfort a sick or scared dog by hugging or kissing (it is not a baby). This could scare the dog more than anything, since they are not used to this type of contact. Moreover, kissing a dog with unknown diseases, can result in infections on the human. Nobody should want scabs on their lips from kissing a stray!!

One "rescuer" put the puppies she picked up in her back-pack, and went walking around in hopes of finding families to take them in. In the process, two suffocated and the other one vomitted and had di arrhea (and later died from dehydration). This is tragic, and a case where the attempted solution was worse than the problem. Not to mention, what horrible, cruel way to die!

Even after 10 years working with strays-- including in war zones, and having had had educators with me --- I realized that every situation is about a life and what I do is very important for many lives, human and animal.

Having "Dottore Inga" with AWL is fantastic Amore to many strays and people.

Help With the Strays

Up on our main road there is an animal store, with a great lady who answers to the name Antionetta.


Every day, before coming in to open up her store, she feeds up to 30 strays around our village! Outside her store there are always bowls with water and food. Sometimes the strays walk by eating a little and later move on down the hectic road, but some stops for good. Sometimes they get to sleep inside her store over the night.


This is true "cani" Amore lady!

Lost Project Dog

(This story began 6 September... read below)

The Ipercoop project is not going that well and the reasons are different, and many.

I went back to the shopping center and found out that one out of the three dogs was missing. He was the sweetest and least harmful out of the three dogs. According to the store workers I talked to, he got kicked away in a harsh way, that made him disappear. The other two were still outside the store when I visited, but no sign of the one pictured.

Based on my experience and knowledge, it must have been in a "very not nice way" because "just" being scooped away doesn't make a dog leave his pack, not when you are "just a young dog"

I have been there asking around, but many people don't care, they just shrug their shoulders. One dog among thousands. I can almost hear them thinking, "Come on lady you've got to be kidding!"

My heart bleeds, and it is a lost Amore feeling.

Dumping Pets

Dumping pets is illegal here in Italy, and we are obligated to report if we hear or see someone who does so. To the Base Security (if it is someone subject to the US/NATO military), and to the Carabineri (Italian national police), since many International people come here for 2-3 years, bring in a puppy or an older stray into their home, feeds him, loves him and then....time to return and doesn't want to bring their friend/pack member with them.

Why? Reasons are many. From not wanting to pay any money for the transport, wooden floor in their house "back home" or they "just" didn't make any "life commitment.

I spoke to some veterinarians and organizations here, and they have found many dumped dogs with American microchips, but no owner to find, they don't live at their Italian address anymore.
The Carabineri pick up dogs that are not behaving like "normal" strays. The Carabineri can spot that the dog isn't street smart or survival "educated". They won't survive many hours by themselves.

Some Italians are disappointed that many Americans complain over the situation with the stray problem here, but are helping to contribute with the stray population by dumping their "pet" the day before going home.

This is a frustration painful Amore!

Turkey Stray and Suffering

Read this information and please take a moment to think and feel, then take an action and write to tell the Governor in Turkey that you do not accept this treatment of the strays.

Your voice can make a difference. You will never walk alone.

Walking Amore, together for the strays in Turkey.

Waterbowls and Blankets

It is really hot here! Yesterday late afternoon was it still 35C.

We are now starting to drive out with water to the dogs (and cats). Bowls with cool water are being spread out in different areas. Cleaning, and filling up with new fresh water will be done frequently. It is a sad view to see many strays standing along the streets thirsty. In some cases you can see how their heart is working, beating fast. AWL (Animals without Limits) really need more bowls, cleaning detergent, protective gloves, dish gloves and blankets.

On one street where I came driving, there were three dogs laying near each other, killed on the road, hit by cars. I prayed that they were killed instantly. This is a terrible sight. And, I didn't have any more blankets to cover them up and put them to the side. It is a terrible situation to drive around them, seeing their body in my rear mirror being smashed by the car behind.

Water is an inside Amore, blankets an outside Amore!