Kinship Circle

One Country's Companion Is Another's Cuisine
Red rivulets flow past a cage where he and others huddle in the airless heat. Hands abruptly tug him through metal slats. They bash his head with a pipe and shove an electric prod against him. He is a carcass, but awake, dunked in boiling water and blowtorched. Finally, everything goes black...

Born In A Missouri Puppy Mill
She waddles over, a puffy "hair-do" perched upon stubby legs. The four-pound pup nestles against my chest and gives me the goofy sideways glance. I'm a goner. I'll call her Mandy. I first laid eyes upon this irresistible Lhasa Apso at Flawdogs Adoption, a rescue dedicated to "little puppy mill leftovers" about 45 minutes...

Stanley Schmanley Shoss - 7/2/91 to 12/27/05
In Loving Memory Of Stanley, My Inspiration For Kinship Circle...

Pet Theft Thugs: They're Real. They're Nearby.
His muddy ID tag recalled another place: A home defined in sloppy kisses, tail-wagging reunions, and a warm spot at the end of the couch. But a bullet to the head erased that life. The dog lay among the carcasses uncovered in an August 2003 raid of Class B dealer...

IAMS Doublespeak: Experiments On Cats And Dogs
Yes, my animals are spoiled. Stanley the Lhasa Apso, gets acupuncture to treat kidney disease and arthritis. Cleveland, the sensitive Lhasa-Poodle, takes a homeopathic version of Prozac. Rebekkah is our feline princess and Garfield-like Isaiah snoozes atop anything or anyone. Food is a big issue. Currently, my...

Leashed For Life
On a steamy St. Louis day in August, workers at Petropolis Pet Center found an odd delivery hitched to the store's lamppost. A scrap of twine around the visitor's neck had etched a ring of pink skin. His tail wagged cautiously as if caught between instinct and fear. Beneath a lopsided grin, broken teeth conveyed the dog's...

Witness To A Greek Tragedy
Marijo Anne Gillis is a bomb-throwing mad woman. At least according to certain dignitaries with "Greek" or "Hellenic" in their titles. On August 10, Gillis raised heart rates from New York to Belgium with her Boycott Greece! protests outside Greek embassies. Government phones buzzed with the burning question: Who is...

Surviving Loss: Excerpts From A Life
As a twentysomething "serial girlfriend" with a penchant for destructive men, I could barely care for myself much less a houseplant. So when my cousins found a homeless cat, I seemed the least likely candidate for feline foster mom. Still, I went to check out the orphan. I figured two lost souls ought to meet. At our first...

Goodbye Kitty, 1985-2002
Kitty crossed over today. The 17-year-old striped tabby leaves behind his human parents, Brenda and Grady, along with animal siblings Stanley, Cleveland, Rebekkah and Tikvah. When my husband and I wed two years ago at Farm Sanctuary, I acquired more than a good-looking guy willing to inhabit a meat-free home...

Uncaged: Legal Rights For Animals
Overwork, mutilate or kill an animal in California and you face a year in prison and a $20,000 fine. In Oregon aggravated animal abuse is a Class C felony and Missouri's repeat offenders rate a Class D felony. Yet in court an animal is only worth his or her market value. The law views nonhuman beings as property...

Canine Cuisine: A Custom Or A Crime?
Last December, Hope stood with activists outside the Korean Embassy in London to protest President Kim Dae Jung's U.K. tour. Amid cries of "Shame, Shame, Shame!" Hope volunteered a few auspicious bow-wows. The rescued four-legger joined her human guardians to object to the Korean dog-meat...

Dying For A Home: America's Pet Overpopulation Crisis
The white poodle trembled as cars whisked past his mangled body at the busy Chicago intersection of Augusta and Central. Cara pulled over, as she had done countless times before, to rescue another animal. She was inches from the dog when a blue car charged over him. The little pup flipped in a morbidly...

The Violence Link
My kids thought I was a major-league nerd when I boycotted the movie "Something About Mary." But I refused to fund a flick that invited viewers to snicker over the abuse of a dog. "It's only a movie," my husband said. "They didn't really hurt that little dog." Maybe not, but real-life abusers do hurt animals...

The Buy-And-Sell Puppy Trade
Right now, in rural Missouri, dogs are tethered to stakes or packed in cramped wire cages. Forced to stand in their own fly-infested urine and feces, the emaciated animals stare listlessly through metal bars. Eye ulcers cloud their vision and the blood from long forgotten wounds hardens over matted fur...

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		COMPANION ANIMALS Cruelty Laws, Puppy Mills, Violence Link, Overpopulation... "The smile beneath my tears: Images of my cat's cancer will fade behind memories of my mini-lion, with his studly strut and confident smile. Several weeks ago my father and I recalled Tikvah's wrestling matches with his inseparable playmate, my Lhasa Apso Stanley. Tikvah stalked Stanley with the stealth of a puma, until he moved in for The Pounce. Then he jumped on top of Stanley piggyback style. For the first time in months, I remembered Tikvah with laughter instead of tears. One bit of solace lies just beyond the horrible sadness and void: I cherished a special animal who returned that love every day of his life." — Brenda Shoss, Surviving Loss: Excerpts From A Life

One Country's Companion Is Another's Cuisine Red rivulets flow past a cage where he and others huddle in the airless heat. Hands abruptly tug him through metal slats. They bash his head with a pipe and shove an electric prod against him. He is a carcass, but awake, dunked in boiling water and blowtorched. Finally, everything goes black... Born In A Missouri Puppy Mill She waddles over, a puffy "hair-do" perched upon stubby legs. The four-pound pup nestles against my chest and gives me the goofy sideways glance. I'm a goner. I'll call her Mandy. I first laid eyes upon this irresistible Lhasa Apso at Flawdogs Adoption, a rescue dedicated to "little puppy mill leftovers" about 45 minutes... Stanley Schmanley Shoss - 7/2/91 to 12/27/05 In Loving Memory Of Stanley, My Inspiration For Kinship Circle... Pet Theft Thugs: They're Real. They're Nearby. His muddy ID tag recalled another place: A home defined in sloppy kisses, tail-wagging reunions, and a warm spot at the end of the couch. But a bullet to the head erased that life. The dog lay among the carcasses uncovered in an August 2003 raid of Class B dealer... IAMS Doublespeak: Experiments On Cats And Dogs Yes, my animals are spoiled. Stanley the Lhasa Apso, gets acupuncture to treat kidney disease and arthritis. Cleveland, the sensitive Lhasa-Poodle, takes a homeopathic version of Prozac. Rebekkah is our feline princess and Garfield-like Isaiah snoozes atop anything or anyone. Food is a big issue. Currently, my... Leashed For Life On a steamy St. Louis day in August, workers at Petropolis Pet Center found an odd delivery hitched to the store's lamppost. A scrap of twine around the visitor's neck had etched a ring of pink skin. His tail wagged cautiously as if caught between instinct and fear. Beneath a lopsided grin, broken teeth conveyed the dog's... Witness To A Greek Tragedy Marijo Anne Gillis is a bomb-throwing mad woman. At least according to certain dignitaries with "Greek" or "Hellenic" in their titles. On August 10, Gillis raised heart rates from New York to Belgium with her Boycott Greece! protests outside Greek embassies. Government phones buzzed with the burning question: Who is... Surviving Loss: Excerpts From A Life As a twentysomething "serial girlfriend" with a penchant for destructive men, I could barely care for myself much less a houseplant. So when my cousins found a homeless cat, I seemed the least likely candidate for feline foster mom. Still, I went to check out the orphan. I figured two lost souls ought to meet. At our first... Goodbye Kitty, 1985-2002 Kitty crossed over today. The 17-year-old striped tabby leaves behind his human parents, Brenda and Grady, along with animal siblings Stanley, Cleveland, Rebekkah and Tikvah. When my husband and I wed two years ago at Farm Sanctuary, I acquired more than a good-looking guy willing to inhabit a meat-free home... Uncaged: Legal Rights For Animals Overwork, mutilate or kill an animal in California and you face a year in prison and a $20,000 fine. In Oregon aggravated animal abuse is a Class C felony and Missouri's repeat offenders rate a Class D felony. Yet in court an animal is only worth his or her market value. The law views nonhuman beings as property... Canine Cuisine: A Custom Or A Crime? Last December, Hope stood with activists outside the Korean Embassy in London to protest President Kim Dae Jung's U.K. tour. Amid cries of "Shame, Shame, Shame!" Hope volunteered a few auspicious bow-wows. The rescued four-legger joined her human guardians to object to the Korean dog-meat... Dying For A Home: America's Pet Overpopulation Crisis The white poodle trembled as cars whisked past his mangled body at the busy Chicago intersection of Augusta and Central. Cara pulled over, as she had done countless times before, to rescue another animal. She was inches from the dog when a blue car charged over him. The little pup flipped in a morbidly... The Violence Link My kids thought I was a major-league nerd when I boycotted the movie "Something About Mary." But I refused to fund a flick that invited viewers to snicker over the abuse of a dog. "It's only a movie," my husband said. "They didn't really hurt that little dog." Maybe not, but real-life abusers do hurt animals... The Buy-And-Sell Puppy Trade Right now, in rural Missouri, dogs are tethered to stakes or packed in cramped wire cages. Forced to stand in their own fly-infested urine and feces, the emaciated animals stare listlessly through metal bars. Eye ulcers cloud their vision and the blood from long forgotten wounds hardens over matted fur...
Letter Library \| Fact Sheets \| Store \| Donate \| About Kinship Circle \| Email List \| Updates \| Digest Animal Rights Ads \| Columns & Articles \| Disaster Victims \| Stanley \| Links \| Mission \| Home