Happy Holidays!

Wow! It’s been a crazy year for me. I made some big life changes and accomplished many of my personal goals. This website is one of those goals and I’m so thrilled to have a platform to talk about issues that are important to me, and hopefully, have a chance to help others – human and animal alike.

Here are a couple of fun, dog-related Christmas posts I’m enjoying right now. The first one is DIY Dog Ornaments courtesy of Bark Post. It’s a super easy and cute art project.

The second is a Pit Bull Christmas, full of photos of the most adorable pitties celebrating Christmas. This makes me smile so much!

I also encourage people to check out Together For Animals in China. They are a non-profit dog rescue group working hard to improve the lives of animals in China and to promote a cruelty-free lifestyle. Now that I’m settled here in Beijing, I’ve been itching to work with dogs again and volunteering with TACN sounds like the perfect opportunity.

I also stumbled across this interesting document while visiting the now defunct website of Animal Rescue Beijing :

UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF ANIMAL RIGHTS

Preamble

Considering
that Life is one, all living beings having a common origin and having diversified in the course of the evolution of the species;

Considering
that all living beings possess natural rights, and that any animal with a nervous system has specific rights;

Considering
that the contempt for, and even the simple ignorance of these natural rights cause serious damage to nature and lead man to commit crimes against animals;

Considering
that the coexistence of species implies a recognition by the human species of the right of other animal species to live;

Considering
that the respect of humans for animals is inseparable from the respect of man for another man.

IT IS HEREBY PROCLAIMED:

Article 1
All animals are born equal and they have the same rights to existence.

Article 2
a) Every animal has the right to be respected.
b) Man, like the animal species, cannot assume the right to exterminate other animals or to exploit them, thereby violating this right. He should use his conscience for the service of the animals.
c) Every animal has the right to consideration, good treatment and the protection of man.

Article 3
a) No animal should be submitted to bad treatment or cruel actions.
b) If the death of an animal is necessary, this should be sudden and without fear or pain.

Article 4
a) All animals belonging to a wild species have the right to live free in their natural environment, and have the right to reproduce.
b) Each deprivation of freedom, even for educational purposes, is in opposition to this right.

Article 5
a) Every animal that usually lives in a domestic environment must live and grow to a rhythm natural to his species.
b) Any change to this rhythm and conditions dictated by man for mercantile purpose, is a contradiction of this law.

Article 6
a) All animals selected by man, as companions must have a life corresponding to their natural longevity.
b) To abandon an animal is a cruel and degrading action.

Article 7
Working animals must only work for a limited period and must not be worked to exhaustion. They must have adequate food and rest.

Article 8
a) Experiments on animals that cause physical and mental pain, are incompatible with animal rights, even if it is for medical, scientific,commercial or any other kind of experiment.
b) A substitute technique must be investigated and developed.

Article 9
In the eventuality of an animal bred for food, it must be fed, managed,transported and killed without it being in fear or pain.

Article 10
a) No animal should be used for entertainment.
b) Animal exhibitions and shows that use animals are incompatible with an animal’s dignity.

Article 11
Every action that causes the unnecessary death of an animal, is cruel which is a crime against life.

Article 12
a) Every action that causes the death of a lot of wild animals is genocide, that is a crime against the species.
b) Pollution and destruction leads to the extinction of the species.

Article 13
a) Dead animals must be treated with respect.
b) Violent scenes, where animals are the victims, must be forbidden at the cinema and on TV, unless they are for the demonstration of animal rights.

Article 14
a) Protection and safeguarding associations must be represented at government level.
b) Animal rights must be defended by law as are human rights.

The text of the UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF ANIMAL RIGHTS has been adopted from the International League of Animal Rights and Affiliated National Leagues in the course of an International Meeting on Animal Rights which took place in London from 21st to 23rd September 1977.

While I don’t like their acceptance of working animals or killing animals for food (Articles 7 & 9), I really love everything else about this Declaration of Animal Rights and I wish this was a worldwide philosophy. One day soon I think it will be.

Happy Holidays to all my compassionate women and men out there. Keep doing what you’re doing to make this world a better place. Every voice and every action matters.

Jillian♥

P.S. Josie says Happy Holidays! My mom sent me this picture of her soaking up the mild winter weather back home in Texas. Best present ever 🙂