Exciting taping this weekend with FAIR and the Jim Rose project folks.

(Me almost a year ago on February 13, 2011, not long after I gave my hair a fresh start.)

I'm really looking forward to my next project in the TV studio this Saturday.  I've arranged to host FAIR, the Foundation for Animals In Risk, who of course had a huge role in rescuing Chewy and his being nursed back to health.  We'll have a few animals from FAIR right on the set to tape some PSAs calling for support of this great organization.  I don't know yet if Chewy will be there, but another famous dog, Boo-boo, will be there.  Boo-boo was found right around the same time as Chewy by a Good Samaritan who brought him into touch with FAIR.  He had been horribly hurt and abused as dogfighting bait and shot with a pellet gun, and apparently left for dead.  He's been recovering from serious injuries but he's plugging away and has a great personality.  His story even made it into newspapers and onto TV newscasts around the state.

Also happening in Studio A that day is a follow-up to the Jim Rose project for which I coordinated the crew and equipment back in April of last year.  Two of the documentarians behind the project will stop by to work with me on one last aspect of the film.  This was a real feather in my cap and I'm thankful to have had this opportunity to connect with more people, participate in a documentary, and put this responsibility on my resume.

Efforts to Send Help to Philippines Flood Survivors

In order to expedite our implementation of our plan for humanitarian aid, I decided to go out on a limb and approach people in high places while we were on vacation in Scottsdale for New Year's weekend. On Tuesday the 3^rd, we took a ride down to downtown Phoenix and visited the Episcopal Church's diocesan office at Trinity Cathedral. The goal was to meet briefly with Bishop Kirk Smith, the bishop of the Diocese of Arizona, and obtain his endorsement of the charity drive idea. I would later present this support to the folks I spoke with already in Tucson and we'd ideally be on our way to launching the plan.

Once we found the diocesan office, the bishop was actually engaged in a conference call, so his assistant met with us for a few minutes. I introduced myself, gave her my business card, explained the Exist Kind concept and TV show origins, and summarized the charity plan. She had some valuable information for us: Apparently, many, many people come to their office seeking endorsement along the same lines as us. Bishop Smith is very reluctant to endorse anyone's project for what I think are obvious reasons, and we may well not receive the assistance that we're seeking. However, she is willing to look over my portfolio, as long as I put it together concisely and cleanly for the bishop's ease of reading. She'll then turn it over to him for his review.

At first, I was a little disappointed that we didn't get to actually speak to the bishop in person and that the odds aren't good for getting his support. However, I then realized that this was all valuable information and may possibly change the plan for the better. At this point, I think what I'll do is contact my old acquaintance, the retired Reverend Allen Breckenridge of St. Philip's In the Hills, and review the project with him. Another point that Bishop Smith's assistant made was that I need to demonstrate my connection to the Episcopal Church. I grew up in the church and I worked as a sexton for one church, so the connection is there, but I need someone to vouch for my character and involvement. If my contacts at St. Philip's and St. Francis can do that, I'll return to the diocesan office and be in that much better a position.

Another alternative I'm toying with is a variation on a project I carried out years ago in Mississippi. I might send letters to several Episcopal bishops containing a short grant proposal of sorts. I'd be requesting donations from the church to send to the Philippines Red Cross and the money would be sent on behalf of congregation members from around the country.

So that's the latest on the flood relief project and I'll keep posting as I make progress. I still plan to tape a video clip discussing the situation and my ideas if any of them are reasonably successful.

Emergency: Deadly Floods in the Philippines

I have an associate who is Filipino-American and the last I knew, he was writing for a Filipino newspaper.  Several years ago, we collaborated on a successful project and I have since followed his progress and have been pleased to see him do well.  I had a chance to visit with him today to talk about a project I have in mind to benefit the survivors of the floods going on in the Philippines.  I looked to him for input or assistance in implementing this.  Here's what I have in mind.

As well as facilitate and promote people's good causes and efforts, we at Exist Kind of course like to coordinate efforts with the Exist Kind name on them.  We want to arrange a donation drive to benefit relief efforts in the Philippines and involve the Filipino-American community in Southern Arizona, as well as anyone else who would like to help.  One approach we want to take is to speak with the staff of local Filipino-American businesses and members of cultural organizations to promote a donation drive, passively solicit monetary donations, and direct people in their networks to this blog to get money to organizations such as the Red Cross and Global Giving (most likely those two in particular).  We're specifying monetary donations because so many relief efforts nowadays prefer cash over goods, unless a donor is an entity who can provide large quantities of bulk items.  The second possibility for this plan is to solicit donations of goods to sell on eBay, the proceeds from which would be diverted (via eBay's tools) to one of these organizations.  We'd be looking to donate 85 to 90 percent, with the remainder paying for the operating costs of packaging, shipping, and any fuel expended to pick up donations around town.  Either way, we will provide receipts and proof of donations being given to the organizations to assure donors of our intentions.

I'll tape a short video to promote this and post it here and on YouTube shortly.

Breaking from dog rescue for a moment to return to humanitarian concerns.

Not too long ago, I volunteered with the Samaritans, who I hope to return to in a couple of weeks.  I'd like to volunteer in blocks of time of about a few weeks so that I have time in between to work on my usual tasks of editing and publicity.

Something that surprised me about the Samaritans was how mainstream and positive they are.  They seem conservative but with an open-minded, tolerant edge.  I want to assure you that they do not break any laws in performing their work.  Following the law is very important to them.  My prior work with No More Deaths made these traits more obvious.  Both groups are great and serve a good purpose, but their differences are noticeable and they have different strengths and weaknesses.  I'd have to say that I like the Samaritans' more cooperative attitude and philosophy, though it's a subtle difference from No More Deaths.  NMD's strength is in how cutting-edge it is in terms of tactics.  In the end, I decided to write about the Samaritans--their very name tells me that they're more my style.

The blog-style webpage I made was delayed due to some losses of data that I needed to fill it out, but I've decided to move forward with it anyway and take my lumps.  With each block of time I devote to the Samaritans, I look forward to learning more and bringing more to their table, and then reporting on the latest progress and happenings.  Click on the word "link" to open the webpage, which I'll continue adding to like a blog. (link)

“Chewy's” rescue story, continued.

The folks at Acacia Animal Hospital gave the name Chewy to the dog I brought in. After talking with them and FAIR a couple of times, I visited him this afternoon with my significant other. While we waited to see him, we encountered a nice woman who volunteers her time to animal rescue efforts. It turns out that she was at Acacia the day that Lisa and I brought Chewy in. Even niftier, she works with the Shelter Pet Project and expressed interest in helping him find a permanent home. What a great chance meeting!

Since we brought Chewy in, his ruined eye was removed and he has turned out to be blind in the remaining eye, but his other senses are doing fine in compensating for his lack of sight. He's clean and cuddly, calm and friendly—he just needs a couple of days to get used to new people. We chatted with a technician for a while we petted him and took some photos and video footage throughout our visit. The following is a rough draft of a video telling Chewy's story and some of it will later end up in a more polished package that I'll upload to YouTube and submit to cable access channels. Thank you FAIR for helping Chewy!

Stand by for more updates.

Follow-up on the little dog's rescue.

The first thing I want to say is that the dog is being cared for at Acacia Animal Hospital and I continued to receive a lot of helpful phone calls from all kinds of good, kind-hearted people.

It was very important to me to bring the dog to a rescue organization and not Pima Animal Care Center so that he would have a better chance of survival.  In order for him to be taken in by a rescue group, though, he had to be evaluated by a veterinarian.  Jennifer from the Foundation for Animals in Risk (FAIR) saw my ad on Craig's List and called me to offer assistance.  She ended up arranging for him to be seen at Acacia and stay in their care until she could find a home for him.  I also heard from a lady named Lisa, who offered to help me bring the dog to Acacia and even wants to help raise money towards his medical expenses.  She's an animal lover who likes to help out where she can with rescue efforts.  Overall, I received a very strong response from quite a few people who were concerned for the plight of this little dog, and I'm very thankful for all of the suggestions and offers of help.

Below are some pictures I took so that you can see what the little guy looked like.

This is him inside the lean-to I set up in the front yard.

Outside in the sun of the front yard.

Nestled into a tote in preparation for transport to the hospital.

Relaxing in the veterinarian's office because help is on the way!

Later I'll post some reference information in case you ever find yourself faced with an unwell pet who still has a chance for survival but needs urgent help.

Dog rescue is always somewhere in the background of my everyday life.

After all, my girls, Velvet and Jane Doe, were troubled dogs who I rescued and have had the pleasure of calling my pets for years now.  They're a constant reminder of the value of taking in stray or unwanted pets.

The other day, another dog in need came my way.  He's blind and angry, and I'm not even sure if he's a he or a she.  Something happened to his eye, perhaps both eyes, and I found him running around in the middle of four-lane, forty-mile-per-hour Swan Road.  Cars were screeching to a halt to avoid hitting him and when they stopped, he would run around and bump into them.  I tried to steer him away from the road but hesitated at first because he growled and got rather nasty with me when I tried to get close to him.  After watching the traffic cycle repeat itself a couple of times, I knew I couldn't in good conscience leave him out there either to get killed or cause a motorist or two to get killed.

I went back to my house, grapped a soft tarp, and went back to the road, where I corralled the dog inside the tarp.  Back at the house, I brought out an old folding door that had been removed from a closet and put it in the front yard, on top of the tarp, folded to make a lean-to for the dog.  An old window screen on the end made for a screen door of sorts and I took a small space heater out to the other end and plugged it into an outdoor outlet.  I've been feeding him and giving him some water to hold him until I take him to the pet emergency room for treatment.

I'd like to share with you a couple of great resources that I found for getting rescued pets the triage they need while they await foster care or adoption.  I haven't yet chosen which one I'll go to, but here's what I've found so far:

Southern Arizona Veterinary
141 E. Fort Lowell Rd. (24-hour emergency room)
Tucson, AZ 85705
(520) 888-3177
www.southernazvets.com

Pima Pet Clinic
4832 E. Speedway Blvd.
Tucson, AZ 85712
(520) 327-5624
www.tucsonveterinaryhospital.com

I'll be deciding on one of these tonight and I'll post another blog entry with the conclusion of this story.