"We acknowledge and affirm the kinship and interdependence of human and animal, and adopt
ethics of interspecies compassion as an integral component of liberal religion."
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Animal Rights 2008 National Conference
in DC a Huge Success!

More than 900 participants and visitors from throughout the U.S. and six other countries attended the Animal Rights 2008 National Conference, August 14-18, just outside our nation's capital. An extraordinary 97 speakers from 60 groups presented in 120 sessions, including plenaries, workshops, raps, and campaign reports. Nearly 90 organizations exhibited their literature and merchandise. More than 50 videos of animal abuse and protective actions were screened, including several premieres. Read the whole story, with photos, video, etc.

Overstock.com To Stop Selling Fur

"Living Together...Without Meat"
by Constance Young
About Town Magazine Summer 08

1. Anemia and Vegans
2. Other Religions Support Humane Goals
3. A Religious Proclamation for Animal Compassion
4. A Theology for UU Vegans/Vegetarians
5. Henry Bergh, Founder of the ASPCA
6. Vegan Eateries {NY Times reprint]

View the newest UFETA ad Here

Want to save the environment?
Read the statistics

See the VEGGIE AD this summer
in UU World !

OPRAH & ELLEN TALKING VEGAN !

A Life Transforming Experience: Jaqi Passing Away by Gretchen Ostrander

I adopted Jaqi and Kody from the A.S.P.C.A. in Anchorage, Alaska in August of 1995. Jaqi  pronounced “Jacky”, but spelled J-A-Q-I just to break the rules of spelling, was named after a jackal.  Kody was named after Kodiak, Alaska.  Together they were referred to as “The Girls.”

The two of them came from the same litter.  They were amongst a group of 100 dogs that were rescued from a dog sled musher that neglected dogs in Fairbanks.  From day one, they did everything together: play, run, sleep and eat.  I got so much joy watching the glow in their eyes just being together.

When I got divorced and moved back to my home state of New York, my dogs and my 2 cats (Ricochet and Camile) came with me.  Unlike Alaska, there are ticks in New York.  Jaqi acquired Ehrlichiosis and Leptospirosis: two diseases that came from deer ticks.  Despite the fact that Kody and Jaqi were twins, during the last few months of Jaqi’s life, people kept telling me Jaqi looked older: one of the symptoms of Leptospirosis.  I always thought Jaqi was fat. Not knowing about these diseases, I ignored her gray muzzle, and gave her less food.

On May 3, 2003 Jaqi passed away.  The last week of her life was spent at The Katona Bedford Animal Hospital. Despite the fact that she had a 5% chance of recovery, I felt like it was giving up if I let her die at home.  The Tuesday I found out about her terminal diagnosis I had to leave the school.  I couldn’t participate in the after school graduation portfolio presentations for my high school students. I ended up taking the rest of the week off.

When Jaqi died, my Dad arranged for burial in his backyard: the home I grew up in.  He dug a 6 foot deep grave, found a tupperware container large enough to fit a 70 pound husky-mix, made a contraption with a belt to lower her into the grave, and put flood lights in the trees.  Because we waited several hours for Allen to drive from Albany to my Dad’s house, we had a night funeral.  With the flood lights on, Allen, my Dad, my Mom, Kody and myself said, “Good-bye” to Jaqi.

At the backyard funeral, as Machalle Small Wright put it on page 93 in her book Behaving as if the God in All Life Mattered, I experienced the “…Smack-‘Em-Across-the-Head-with-a-Board School of Spirituality...”    During the funeral, I remember falling on my knees, crying as I sang Jaqi’s song: “Brown Eyed Girl” by Van Morrison.  I remember my Mom planting pansies at her gravesite.  From that day on, pansies were referred to as “Jaqi’s Flower,”, which is also the title of a short story that Rita Reynolds will publish in a future book of hers.

After the ceremony I read a lot of books.  Some of these books were by Reverend Gary Kowalski, including Good-Bye, Friend, Healing Wisdom for Anyone Who has Ever Lost a Pet and Souls of Animals. I started reading about how other people loved their dogs, and how dogs brought meaning into their lives.  Then I started reading about cats, horses, mules, birds, etc.  I started watching the Animal Planet more often.  My favorite Animal Planet show at that time was “That’s My Baby”.  Seeing animals like orca whales or giraffes give birth were very healing. 

Then I started to incorporate my “Smack-‘Em-Across-the-Head-with-a-Board School of Spirituality” into my U.U. life.  During the G.A. of June 2003, I met Rev. Kowalski in person.  He was very kind to me.  He sent me a sympathy card for Jaqi, which I recently found.  In the fall of 2003, I enrolled at LaGuardia Community College, as a veterinary technician.  Unfortunately, because the required core classes are only offered during the day and I am not able to quit my job, I was unable to complete this degree.  On July 4th, 2003 I purposely adopted a male dog from an animal shelter, so that Kody would have a friend, and so that I could not call them “The Girls”.  (While Spencer was in the Beacon Animal Shelter, his guide was a real wolf dog. So, Spencer and Kody were a perfect match!)  Starting the summer of 2004, I volunteered at the local SPCA. 

In May of 2005, Allen and I drove to Burlington, Vermont to observe a U.U. Animal Blessing, led by Rev. Gary Kowalski.  In August of 2006, Allen and I had animals (not just cats and dogs) as our wedding reception theme.  During the G.A. of June 2007 at Portland, I volunteered for the 1st time at the UFETA booth.  I met other U.U. animal activists, including Dr. Will Tuttle.  Because my plane was late, I missed Dr. Tuttle’s speech.  So, in October of 2007, I drove to Concord, Massachusetts to hear him talk about his book World Peace Diet.  Because of the World Peace Diet, I am currently a vegetarian. I am recognizing the value and worth of chickens, cows and turkeys.  And on June 1st, 2008, after losing elections for lay-led services 5 years in a row, my minister Rev. Dawn Sangrey led an animal service entitled “Animal Blessings”.  This was not an animal blessing, but four members of the congregation (including me) were on a panel.  We shared how non-human animals transformed our lives.  I read this essay out loud.

Despite the fact that I have lost Jaqi, I’d rather suffer through the pain of future deaths and save lives of shelter animals.  Last summer   I have, and this summer I will stay home to be with Ricky.  Ricky is my 18 ½ year old shelter cat from Anchorage, who I thought was dying.  My other option is to leave Ricky at home, go away for a few weeks, and raise my salary as a high school physics teacher.  I give  Cammi (my 10 year old shelter cat from Anchorage) eye medicine 3 times   a day, rather than have her eye removed.  And today, I let my dogs (Kody and Spencer) run in the woods.  That way they can live for them,  rather than be inside safe from ticks to live for me…  

From Marisa Miller Wolfe:
We've been screaming for our day in the talk-show sun, and it has finally arrived. Oprah and Ellen both did vegan segments...all in the same week.Oprah announced on the show that she's adopting a sugar-free, wheat-free, caffeine-free, alcohol-free vegan diet for 21 days as part of an effort to be more conscious about her eating, as recommended in vegan author Kathy Freston's book, Quantum Wellness. Oprah actually mentioned concerns for animals on her show, a huge coup for animal rights. Read about her experience on her blog:
http://www.oprah.com/foodhome
/food/cleanse/blog/blog_2.jhtml