“Why would anyone keep a tiny tiger in the house?” I asked my immediate circle approximately 1,000 times over the course of the last 20 years. Never mind that I’d made it a lifelong habit of always having at least one tiny wolf by my side. To me, housecats were miscreants who spent their days … Continue reading I Brought a Tiny Tiger into My Home—and Did Not Get Eaten
Lip Gloss' grin made me smile again. And now we're healing from our pain together.
Today's story is a little different. Today I invite you to become a little part of the story of a serene place called Ranger's Refuge--a slice of paradise where hundreds of unwanted and discarded farmed animals have found a new lease on life. Tucked away in rural Virginia, Ranger's Refuge has been special to me, … Continue reading Cover Your Snout and Save a (Pig) Snout!
Peppercorn the potbellied piglet, all 12 pounds of him, came into my life squealing one April afternoon about five years ago. He was skittish and jumpy, obstinate and forever hungry--and really, really tiny. It was love at first oink.
Saltwater aquariums, though prized for their glorious colors and living reefs, are a massive undertaking. And the havoc the exotic fish trade wreaks on tropical sea life is no secret. But for people who are itching to adorn their homes with vibrant fish, science came up with an easy solution: fluorescent freshwater fish. And the pet industry lapped it up--but at what cost?
He was supposed to live 70 years. Instead, as he traveled to his forever home in paradise, a series of mistakes and, ultimately, negligence killed him.
At the door of a Maryland townhouse, I stood in the rain as a man thrust a plastic container into my hands. I ran back to the car, dripping, and hopped in. There, we opened the lid—and we were immediately floored by a pungent odor much like that of a fishing pier. I was pretty … Continue reading All She Had Was This Plastic Cage and Some Pebbles
Meet Beacon. Hunched over, timid, and hardly bigger than a gallon of milk -- you'd think he was just a piglet. But Beacon was two years old when he was rescued and given a chance to truly live. He was born February 6, 2016. "That date is also the date I got married in 1996," … Continue reading Meet a 2-Year-Old Pig the Size of a Milk Jug. Where He Came from Will Shock You.
It took a lot of courage to let them go. But it was easy to set them free. And if I ever doubt that it was the right thing to do, I just whisper to myself these words of the late, great Maya Angelou: "The caged bird sings with a fearful trill of things unknown … Continue reading These Cockatiels Found Their Paradise
In 2003, when I was 15, I screen-printed a t-shirt with a photo of my albino rat, Hammy, and paraded it around school. The other kids laughed, but I wasn't fazed. I'd made a best friend--one who was a whole lot more loyal, and maybe even a little smarter, than my classmates. It was February … Continue reading The Red-Eyed Rat Who Stole My Heart
