"Woman on a Mission..." Personal Page by JessH

I've decided that my life's mission is to help animals, prevent animal abuse & cruelty, wherever possible and whenever needed.

So much is being done for animals by many international organisations, but it's never enough! I will continue adding websites, links and articles in this section for anyone interested in helping animals as well!

---

>>> What you can do - without leaving home & for free!
There are many great websites & organsations posting action-alerts on the web. Anita Roddick, the founder of the Body Shop once said: "Many people do not have the time to be an Activist, so help from your computer and be a 'Sit-ist', using the power of the Internet".

I fully agree. I try to help whenever I see the need (and when I have time!). I carry water, bowls & food with me for stray cats (thank goodness we hardly have any stray dogs in Dubai), I've caught kittens/cats for spaying/neutering, worked together with local animal rescues, and my future holidays shall always involve volunteer work for animals (e.g. my travel pages to Ko Samui, Thailand!).

Here are some links for those of you who want to join the 'Sit-ist' network!

Born Free Foundation Travellers Alert
If you come across wild animals being exploited, cruelly confined, used as tourist props, etc. on your travels fill-in their online Complaint Form. The Born Free Foundation has freed numerous animals from deplorable conditions after receiving complaints & photos from tourists!

The Animal Rescue Site
Click the button every day (for free!) to feed rescued animals. I love their shop where you can purchase anything from letter paper to clothes... with paw prints on them! Aaaawwww... ;-)

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
PETA may be the most "aggressive" & radical animal rescue organisation, but at least they get the message across. You can also order free literature like their "Cruelty-free Shopping Guide" for a list of products not tested on animals!

Have your say and protest the planned Dolphinarium in Dubai! (you will also find an "action alert" about this on the Peta website...
I alerted Peta about this project) Click here for PETA's alert on Dubai!

The Animals Voice
A great website with many links on vegetarian/vegan/cruelty-free products, activist networks, organisations, and much more.

The Petition Site
A fabulous website with online petitions from around the world, covering issues such as animal rights, child protection, environment, politics, etc.
*
*
*

I don't want to sound like a hippie, but nonetheless here are some beautiful, some powerful, and some thoughtful quotes from history's greatest minds and the world's greatest "crusaders of truth" that I want to share with you:

"Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened".
- Anatole France

"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." - Mahatma Ghandi.

"All beings tremble before violence. All fear death. All love life." - Buddha.

"We are visitors on this planet. We are here for ninety or one hundred years at the very most.
During this period, we must try to do something good, something useful, with our lives.
If you contribute to the happiness of others, you will find the true goal, the true meaning of life."
- His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama

"We must fight against the spirit of unconscious cruelty with which we treat the animals. Animals suffer as much as we do. True humanity does not allow us to impose such sufferings on them. It is our duty to make the whole world recognize it. Until we extend our circle of compassion to all living things, humanity will not find peace." - Albert Schweitzer.

"We think caged birds sing, when indeed they cry." - John Webster.

"Most people are on the world, not in it; have no conscious sympathy or relationship to anything about them; undiffused, separate, and rigidly alone like marbles of polished stone; touching, but separate." - John Muir.

"Non-violence leads to the highest ethics, which is the goal of all evolution. Until we stop harming all other living beings, we are still savages." - Thomas A. Edison.

"Man is the only animal that blushes; or needs to." - Mark Twain.

As a non-meat eater and animal-lover, I only buy cosmetics & household chemicals that are not tested on animals.
This is not as complicated as it seems, as many major international brands have switched from "cruel-to-cool" and adopted anti-animal testing principles in their research.

By purchasing cruelty-free products, you can help save rabbits, mice, cats, guinea pigs, rats, dogs, monkeys & other animals. Hundreds of thousands of animals are poisoned, blinded & killed every year to test shampoos, household cleaners, cosmetics, hairsprays and other products. These tests are not required by law, and they often produce inaccurate or misleading results-even if a product has blinded an animal, it can still be sold to you.
Although more than 500 companies have banned animal tests, some corporations still force substances into animals' stomachs and drip chemicals into rabbits' eyes.

> I use a pocket-sized shopping list provided to me for free by PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals)
Request their cruelty-free shopping guide or other publications for free!

> The full list (constantly updated) of companies that do & don't test on animals can be found here...

> Another good website for lists of cruelty free products is LEAPING BUNNY.com -
For cruelty-free household products, cosmetics, etc.Click here...

> A newer publication specifically for purchasing organic, free-range and humane food in the United Kingdom by WSPA & CIWF (for free):
http://www.wspa.org.uk/helping/animalfriendlyliving/foodshopping.aspx
*
*

I have 3 pet cats... do you have pets?
Look into the eyes of your cat, dog, hamster, rabbit, etc. and then imagine them trapped in a dark, dirty cage, being injected with your regular household cleaner.
Or your every-morning shaving foan being rubbed into their eyes...

Do you still want to buy the brands that are doing that to animals just like your pets? I don't!

Some of the organisations I am involved with / have visited / support / etc.:

K9 Friends UAE
The one & only dog rescue of Dubai and the United Arab Emirates. Thanks to the founder, Jackie Radcliff, there are hardly any stray dogs on the streets & many have a second chance to find loving homes!
You can also read the BBC's coverage of K9 Friends' plight after almost being evicted by a heartless Dubai landlord.

Feline Friends UAE
The UAE's cat rescue, which spays/neuters, rescues and rehomes cats & kittens... This is where our cat Kazimir is from!

Animal Tracks in Goa / India
The local shelter for dogs, cats, cattle and India's abused wildlife.
For info & photos of my visit during my holidays, click here...

DRCS - Dog Rescue Centre Samui
The centre on Kho Samui/Thailand for homeless, injured or abused dogs and cats. Owned and operated by the lovely German couple Brigitte & Werner - thanks to their efforts Kho Samui is the only rabies-free island!
For info & photos of my visit during my holidays, click here...
*
*
*

This is Haloumi, a 7-week old male puppy (Labrador mix) that we rescued on a construction site in the emirate of Ajman, and who made us fall in love with him during his stay with us for 2 weeks.
Rescued: 8th March 2007.
Found a new home: 24th March 2007.

CLICK HERE for Haloumi's story...
*
*
*

Why I don't eat meat, and only buy organic, free-range eggs & dairy:

Billions of chickens, cows and pigs in factory farms are never allowed to spend a single moment of their lives doing anything that is natural to them.

From birth until slaughter, these animals are either crammed by the thousands into warehouses or confined to cages so small that they can barely move, and stand in their own faeces & dead "cell mates". Most of these animals will never feel the sun or breathe fresh air. Each day brings more physical pain and psychological trauma. Their deaths are the final injustice, as they are killed in a cruel & painful manner.

Some more of the reasons WHY I DON'T eat meat...

What do you know about YOUR FOOD? And do you really want to know? Click here:
http://www.ciwf.org.uk/
*
*

---

Click here for WSPA's Animal Friendly Travel Tips!

---

April 2006:
This is yours truly, bottle-feeding "Mittens", a tiny orphaned kitten that we rescued a few days ago.
Her name comes from the fact that my friend kept her warm in an oven glove (=mitten) until she could get her to me.
She is being fed a mixture of special baby-formula against diarrhea and camel milk (much easier to digest than cow's milk!).

Mittens weighed 180 grammes when she first came to us. She has now already put-on 20 grammes in only 4 days, and she has also started teething...
We keep her warm with a hot-water bottle in her basket & a heated cherry-stone cushion as well. Any drop in body temperature at this tender age can prove fatal, so being "roasty toast & as snug as a bug in a rug" is vital!

UPDATE: only 8 days in our loving care, and Mittens has found a home & a new name! She (Spot) has been adopted by one of John's British acqaintances is now living with 2 other cats in a house with garden. Success!

If you can't save them all, then save one! If everyone just did a tiny little good deed every day, this world would be a very different place :-)

September 2006:
This little bundle of joy came to us from my friend's auto repair garage. He had been feeding her but she couldn't stay there; the garage was located on a very busy road. An open day / adoption day of the local cat rescue group was coming up, so I agreed to take her in for a few days, get her checked by a vet and then try to find a new home for her.
I named her "Sayyara" (Arabic for "car"). She is totally at ease with strangers, loud noises, other cats, etc. I've never seen such an easy-going creature!

UPDATE: Sayyara was adopted by a German couple as their 3rd cat, and is now called Maya. Success! Gimme the next kitten! hahaha :-)