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Stella’s Rescue Journey

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stella's rescue journey

This is Stella. Do not be alarmed by her sad looking face. She is one happy lady! She just has what I call “resting sad face” but in reality she is a happy, sweet pit bull whose tail is constantly wagging. I wanted to share the story of how Stella came into my life (and the raucous she has caused!) in the hopes that it will not only dispel the stereotype of pit bulls being aggressive dogs, but also in the hopes that it will motivate people to adopt not shop. Stella also has outstanding medical fees for $975 that are due this month and we need help – you can visit her Gofundme page to learn more: https://www.gofundme.com/sweet-stella039s-tumor-fund

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Homemade Vegan Dog Food

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homemade vegan dog food

Homemade pinto beans and cooked sweet potato pureed in a blender, with dry steel cut oats stirred in.

 

homemade vegan dog food

My adorable, sweet foster dog Opal has made some vast improvements over the past five months that she’s been with me. Especially in these past couple of months. When I first rescued Opal, her fur was patchy and coarse from fleas and mange. Now she’s getting compliments about how shiny her coat is. She used to be scared of everything, including me, and she didn’t like to run around and play. Now she loves to snuggle, go on walks, and do zoomies around the yard. I attribute a lot of this to being in a stable home instead of living on the streets. But I also think her most recent improvements are due to a change in her diet.

About two months ago, I decided to try giving Opal homemade vegan meals for a week or two to see how it went. It was so easy to do and Opal loved the meals so much, we just made it a permanent change! I had done research in the past about feeding dogs vegan food. I hate processed dog food, there’s so many icky things in it, even in many of the natural brands. Plus, as a vegan myself, I didn’t like buying dog food products made with meat.

I wanted to share how I made the seamless transition to a plant based diet for Opal. It doesn’t take a lot of effort or money, and the effects are noticeable. I’ve also included the recipes to some of Opal’s favorite vegan meals!

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Yaqui Animal Rescue

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yaqui animal rescue

yaqui animal rescue

wilbur the pig

I first heard about Yaqui Animal Rescue while walking through one of the buildings on my university’s campus. I noticed handmade signs directing people where they could drop off donations for the group. I soon found an event that Yaqui was having near campus and decided to go check it out. After meeting lots of cute dogs at this event, I learned that the group rescues all kinds of animals: horses, donkeys, bunnies, cat, pigs, chickens, geese, and more! When they invited me to visit the ranch, I immediately said yes!

The Yaqui ranch is located in Sullivan City, a small town in South Texas. The founder of Yaqui, Sonia Venecia, purchased the property in 2004 for the sole purpose of using it as a no-kill shelter for animals in need. It once belonged to her grandparents and was a working ranch. Sonia decided to name her new rescue group after her grandmother’s ancestors, the Yaqui Indians.

I brought my camera along to observe life at the Yaqui ranch. It’s pretty much an animal lover’s dream. For me, there’s nothing better than being able to watch animals be animals without the threat of harm or exploitation. I wish all animals could have such a peaceful experience on this planet.

Check out the photos from my recent visits to this awesome rescue ranch, plus a short video (directly below) detailing daily life for the beautiful creatures that reside at Yaqui Animal Rescue.

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Life Lessons of a Dog Foster

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life lessons of a dog foster

I’m pretty sure I’ve lost count of all the dogs I’ve fostered over the past 8-ish years. Not to say that I don’t remember each and every one of them, and have pictures of each and every one of them. But there’s been so many sweet dogs in my life, and fostering becomes a delicate balance of wanting to both remember and forget.

For me, fostering dogs means giving my entire heart to care for each animal as though I’m keeping them forever, and then having my heart ripped to shreds when they are adopted because it feels like I’m losing my child. But that’s what being a foster parent is. Any kind of foster parent. It’s taught me about letting go and not being afraid to have to go through the whole wonderful/painful process all over again for another dog in need.

With each dog there are snuggles to be had, potty accidents to be cleaned up, injuries to be tended, and countless kisses. Like, so many kisses 😘 Good times, great times, rough times – they’re all worth it. Below are just a few of my special foster babies and the life lessons they have taught me.

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The Taste of Injustice

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the taste of injustice

I recently went back to school to finish my undergraduate studies as a 29 year old sophomore. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, in fact, I was somewhat dreading it. I was worried that as a full time student, my free time would be nonexistent and I would be struggling to pursue any outside projects. But actually, the opposite happened. Being in school made me more proactive to work on my passion projects, and what I was learning in my classes directly affected those same projects and made them, like, 100% better. With my first semester complete, and a 4.0 GPA under my belt, I’m officially a junior woo hoo!

Going to school in a South Texas town right next to the Mexico border has certainly immersed me in a whole new culture and I’m learning more about how my beliefs and passions for animal rights and veganism parallel some of the same issues occurring in the lives of immigrants and Mexican workers. For me, it really reinforces my belief that humans will continue to struggle with peace and kindness until they can extend the same courtesy to animals. We forget how much we mirror our animal counterparts and that if we want respect and compassion, we should first be able to give it out regardless of species.

I made a 2 and a half minute video for one of my classes titled The Taste of Injustice. The main purpose of the video is to get people thinking outside of the box. The more connections we can make between humans and animals, different cultures and races, the struggles of various peoples and animals, then the more we begin to see that we all want the same thing – to be free to be ourselves.

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