Last year – 2008 – I was truly honoured to become the UK Ambassador to World Animal Day. Throughout the year we try and do our bit, however small, to improve the lives of animals, in whatever capacity we can achieve those aims. It seems like such an uphill battle, I have nothing but admiration for those folks who are on the ‘frontline’ witnessing what must seem like a tidal wave of abuse, neglect, cruelty or just plain ignorance that causes animals to suffer in one way or another. So for this year’s World Animal Day I’d like to extend an appeal to everyone to help, it will take literally seconds out of your day and can/will mean so much.The World Wide Web seems like such a great hub via which World Animal Day can grow and achieve more.

As such, if you have a passion for animals and 30 seconds to spare RIGHT NOW, please do this one thing:

Please go:to twitter.com/worldanimalday and follow World Animal Day.

Why?

Because by doing this we can try and make October 4th 2009 a starting date to mobilise and empower more people to stay in touch throughout the rest of the year.

It will enable all the World Animal Day International Ambassadors and supporters to have a central location to exchange news, ideas and information – fast, instantly and we know – because we’ve seen it in action – just what CAN be achieved when animal lovers mobilise in numbers.

So, I’m not asking for your money. Not asking for you to write to anybody. Not asking you to do anything other than visit twitter.com/worldanimalday and follow. If you don’t yet have a Twitter account, please take just 30 seconds to set one up – if for nothing else than this worthy cause only.

Let’s make World Animal Day 2009 the start of World Animal YEAR 2010 (and beyond).

Go:to http://www.twitter.com/worldanimalday

Thank you!

Learn more about World Animal Day

Now the city Pit Bull lovers love to hate and economically boycott, Denver, Colorado, will play host to protesters who will descend on City Hall, August 25, and demand the end of the City’s breedban. Denver is considered a worst-case example of the scientifically and statistically baseless, useless breed-specific legislation (BSL) that violates human and animal rights, and breaks taxpayer hearts and public funds.

Opponents of BSL are hoping for national media attention on Denver, and the cast of players and participants promises to command scrutiny.

The playbill includes:
- a Denver Assistant City Attorney who hasn’t confined his hatred of Pit Bulls and murderous campaign to Denver, but has sometimes taken his show on the road to other cities;
- a woman who suffered a 5-second “attack” by a Pit Bull in another state, who now solicits donations for her for-profit effort and holds herself up as an authority on dog bites, all the while quoting suspect “statistics”;
- a scrappy California veterinarian, herself a survivor of a vicious dog attack that might have turned lethal – who instead of blaming a breed, founded anti-breed-specific-legislation efforts, has ranted and raved effectively against BSL, and who is owned by one of the world’s sweetest and most unflappable rescued Pit Bull boys, named “Brad Pitt Bull”;
- a Denver Councilwoman who is working on a compromise to allow Pit Bulls back into Denver. However, some activists are critical of any compromise that includes special requirements or fees for any breed, or “temperament testing” conducted by laypeople – an ill conceived practice that is regularly condemned by the world’s most qualified animal and canine behaviorists.

Will protesters show up with Pit Bulls, or only empty leashes and collars meant to symbolize the almost 2,000 dogs Denver has murdered under its breedban?

Will protesters clean up any dog poo from the lawn of City Hall, or be tempted to throw it at a mayor or city attorney? Will media do a good job reporting on the issue, consult with true experts, and help expose Denver’s ignorance and baffling disregard for the Constitutional rights of its citizens? Will every animal lover urge a total economic boycott of Denver, until the municipal government stops terrorizing humans and persecuting dogs? Will every animal lover who can descend on Denver City Hall, August 25?

And for those who can’t attend, will you take a minute and civilly express yourselves to Denver public officials?

doug.kelley@denvergov.org; milehighmayor@ci.denver.co.us; michael.hancock@denvergov.org; charlie.brown@denvergov.org; linkhartatlarge@ci.denver.co.us; carol.boigon@denvergov.org; paul.lopez@denvergov.org; rick.garcia@denvergov.org; Carla.Madison@denvergov.org; chris.nevitt@denvergov.org; jeanne.robb@ci.denver.co.us; jeanne.faatz@denvergov.org; pegg.lehman@denvergov.org; marcia.johnson@denvergov.org; judymontero@denvergov.org;

Thank you for your participation!

Jim Willis
World Animal Day Ambassador-USA

I will be celebrating World Animal Day by speaking to various media about the incredible role animals play in our lives and in societies all over the globe.

Animals are special. That we should take a day to recognise them and promote the need to cherish and respect them seems to me to be an incredibly worthwhile idea. As such I wanted to take this opportunity to share a personal story. This is the true account of how I got my first dog and how the day changed my entire life forever.

—-

“Every boy should have two things: a dog, and a mother willing to let him have one”
- Anonymous

Me and My Dog: by Ryan O’Meara

Since as far back as I can remember I wanted a dog. Probably like a lot of children who want a dog only I can safely say my desire for a dog was bordering on obsessive. My family were never really ‘doggy people’ and so I never got a dog as a child, instead I was ‘fobbed off’ with ‘practice pets’ such as fish, birds, rabbits etc. All of which were designed to prove that I was not responsible enough to own a dog. In the end, it worked. My parents won. I would always eventually prove myself disinterested in anything fur or feather unless it was attached to an animal with a wagging tail. As a result of failing the challenges of the practice pets, the dog I always wanted looked further and further out of my grasp. I never lost hope though.

My obsession for dogs followed me through my school days. I decided very early on in life that the only job I ever wanted to do was to become a dog trainer. I was actually quite specific about it too. I didn’t want to be a vet, a groomer, a puppy socialiser or a dog food salesman, I specifically wanted to train dogs for a living, which was quite odd considering I hadn’t got a dog of my own or the faintest idea how to go about achieving the career of my dreams.

I remember every careers meeting I ever had at school was always very difficult for the person tasked with advising me. They just didn’t know what to tell me to help me on the path to becoming a dog trainer so again, I was left disappointed.

When I turned 16 I had an idea one day. It dawned on me that I was legally old enough to own a motorcycle. I didn’t actually want a motorcycle but I did know for sure that there was one person I knew who would be even less keen than me about the whole idea, my Mum.

So one evening I casually mentioned that I would be selling my computer and pretty much all my other possessions of value in order to fund a motorcycle. I dropped the bombshell, then waited. 3, 2, 1, bingo! “What? Why? No!” She was absolutely aghast at the idea. She pleaded with me to reconsider, to wait another year and get a car, to do anything but get a bike. Anything? I thought. Now that’s interesting.

“Well. I suppose I might go off the idea if I had something else to fill my time. I don’t suppose it’s even worth asking – after 16 years – if I can get that dog I’ve always wanted. Now that would be something that would distract me from my motorcycle dreams?”

Like a treat, my plan worked. I was made a deal there and then, set it stone. I could (finally) have a dog provided I solemnly promised never to own a motorbike as long as I lived. “Deal!”

I had finally got the green light to get a dog and even though I was no longer 10 years of age, I felt like it. I had spent my whole life preparing. I knew what type of dog I wanted, I knew what I was going to call it, I knew what I’d be doing with it every day.
First clause of the ‘dog contract’. I had to be 100% responsible for this dog. I had to raise the money to pay for it and I would be responsible for looking after it forever (and ever). No problem. The same day I put all my worldly goods up for sale and waited for the phone to ring.

After a week, I had the cash and the ‘right’ to and get that dog I’d always dreamed of.
I wanted a Labrador. I’d already been to see the litter I was picking from but finally the day arrived when I was going to pick out MY puppy and bring him home. I was at the gates of the kennels before they were even open, waiting to go in and choose my dog.

After several pacing sessions up and down the blocks of kennels where these 8 Labrador puppies were all paired up I made my choice. Or more to the point, he chose me. I’d tired all the pups out with my dalliance. They went back to their beds after the excitement of my initial arrival had died down. All bar one puppy. He was still just as excited.

I called him Jackson and he, without a shadow of a doubt, changed the entire direction of my life forever.

I spent every waking (and sleeping) hour with him. I had dreamt about what it would be like to be a dog owner but I didn’t think for a second it would be as good as I’d imagined. In reality, it was a thousand times better. Me and Jackson were inseparable.

The day I finished my exams at school I wanted to leave full time education there and then. I knew I hadn’t done well. I never tried at school. I wanted to be a dog trainer and could never work out how fractions and French was going to help me achieve it. I was told by my parents that I could leave school providing I immediately looked for a job. So as soon as I got home I went straight to the jobs section of the local paper. Tucked away in a little corner of the ads page: “Dog trainer wanted”. To this day I’ve never seen an advert like it in my local paper. If there is such as thing as destiny, it was on my side on that day.

I decided I didn’t need a CV when I went for my interview. After all, I had no experience. All I had for my ‘portfolio’ was Jackson. He was evidence of my work. I took him along and showed him off. I pleaded for the job. I stressed how important it was to me and I even said I’d do the job for no pay. I’m pretty sure offering to work for nothing was proof of my commitment but it was Jackson who was proof of my connection with canines.

I got the job. I became a dog trainer. Life was perfect.

After a couple of years I got a promotion from my dog training job. Jackson, along with some new charges, won some competitions and I actually got pretty good at what I was doing. I moved to Suffolk to work under the guidance of one of the world’s most successful dog trainers in his field. I learned more and I improved my techniques. I met thousands of dogs. I trained all day. I was living my dream with Jackson alongside me. He and I had the perfect lives together.

However, fate dealt me an unwanted twist. I was diagnosed with Chrons disease. A debilitating condition that affected my stomach. It stopped me in my tracks on regular occasions. Many stays in hospital, a few by way of ambulance, more drips, injections and blood samples than I care to remember and all round a thoroughly unpleasant experience.

I knew I would have to consider my long term health. Doing a physically demanding outdoor job was going to be a struggle. So I started to look around. I thought long term the best thing I could do is become a kennel owner. If I could run the business rather than be the relied upon hired help, I could have more control over what I did.

It was in doing this research that I discovered something. There was very little in existence in terms of magazines, websites or general information for people who are into dogs. A light bulb moment. I’ll become a publisher of pet related media.

And I did.

In 2008 K9 Media Ltd is the largest independent publisher of pet content with a portfolio of two national magazines and 37 websites aimed at pet owners.

The business took an award in 1999 and has gone from strength to strength in terms of audience and financial growth.

In the process of enjoying this new career I have seen and experienced things I never would have dreamt of when I was wasting my time at school preparing to become a dog trainer. I never would have thought I would get to appear on TV and radio shows to talk about dogs, I never would have thought I would publish a magazine that has made fans of celebrities such as Mariah Carey, Carmen Electra and even a member of the Royal Family. I never would have dreamt any of it. But more to the point, I never would have DONE any of it had it not been for Jackson. He did, genuinely, shape my entire life. Everything I have today, everything I’ve enjoyed thus far in my life is because of Jackson.

I still remember the nights where I’d be doubled up in pain, suffering with my stomach during a Chrons flare up, Jackson would, somehow, make it more bearable. I still remember relying on him when I’d literally be unable to walk upright. I still remember him doing what dog’s do and somehow understanding whenever I was ill and acting in a more considerate way around me. I always dreamt of what it would be like and my imagination was filled with images of fun. I never dreamt that having a dog would also get me through the darkest times in my life.

In November of 2005, on a dreadful Saturday afternoon, Jackson died. I was the last person he saw. He didn’t suffer and he didn’t even leave me having to make that traumatic life of death decision of having to have a loved pet put to sleep. He woke up in the morning his usual self, a lively – albeit more pedestrian – 13 year old Labrador. By six o’clock in the evening, he was gone. As long as I’m alive, no person could ever have the impact on shaping my life as much as that dog did.

In 2007 I launched a website by the name of DogsBlog.com. The aim was simple. To try and help get more homeless dogs out of the UK animal welfare shelters and into new, loving, permanent homes. By April of 2008 over 1700 dogs had found new owners as a result of DogsBlog.com. If just one of those dogs can have the impact on someone’s life that Jackson had on mine then Jackson’s impact will continue much farther and wider than I could ever have imagined on that day when I went to pick him up from the kennels. He threw up on me on the car ride back home. It was the best day of my life.

www.worldanimalday.org.uk

—

My best friend. Ever.

According to co-organizers of the creative coalition, authors Stacy Mantle and Joy Ward, “Our relationships with animals define us as humans and it is through their eyes that we can learn to live with respect to nature. Remind others how our pets enrich our lives and how other species as a whole assist us in establishing balance. We urge you to join your human and animal brethren across this miraculous world to help us use this opportunity to remind others what animals contribute to our lives.”

Author, animal advocate and WAD Ambassador for the USA-East, Jim Willis said, “As Mahatma Gandhi so eloquently expressed it, ‘The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.’ I’m encouraged that World Animal Day unites us internationally in our common cause and I urge everyone to participate and help organize events in their own communities.”

“Creative talent” who wish to be included as signators of a letter endorsing World Animal Day should e-mail Joy Ward: joyward@sbcglobal.net and Stacy Mantle: stacymantle@yahoo.com with their name, affiliation, or title of their best-known work or project.

Please encourage any celebrities to send a photo and brief statement of support to Caroline: info@worldanimalday.org.uk (For examples, see: http://www.worldanimalday.org.uk/celebrity.asp)

Media inquiries should be directed to Debbie: debbie@worldanimalday.org.uk

You’ll find many ideas on the WAD website and you’ll find information about past and present events in other countries. Be sure to tell us how you’ll be observing the day. Please put a link to the WAD website on your site, and tell your e-lists and address books about WAD and direct them to: http://www.worldanimalday.org.uk

Thank you for being a voice for the voiceless and we hope you’ll join us in celebrating World Animal Day!

Jim Willis
World Animal Day Ambassador, USA-EAST
____________________________________
We Are Their Heroes
Copyright Jim Willis 2001, all rights reserved
If you worry that you have not made a difference, you have,
for only those who do not worry about it have not.
If you feel overwhelmed, if the weight of problems is too heavy to bear,
remember it is a shared burden
and the strength of numbers can accomplish much.

If you think society and government are blind,
it only serves to remind that we need to change
one mind at a time, one law after another.
We effect change by cooperation, not by isolation.

If you consider that we cannot save them all,
and what difference does one make?,
you ought to know the joy of the one who is saved.
Mourn those we cannot save, it is a eulogy to their being.
Do not let their loss be in vain.

Be kind to yourself, remember your needs
and those of your family and friends of every species.
If you give everything, what will you have left for yourself,
or for them?
Strive to be happy and healthy. You are needed.
Achieving balance in life is a lifelong struggle.
We who help those who do not have all that they need
should be among the most grateful for what we have.

Be proud of your accomplishments, not your opinions.
The quality of your efforts is more important than the quantity.
Forgive your own deficiencies – sometimes your caring is sufficient.
Everyone can do something, it is up to you to do the thing you can.
A kind word and a gentle touch can change a life.

If anger wells up within you, because people are the problem,
remember your humanity and that people are also the solution.
Concentrate on specific needs, pay attention to the individual -
they make up the whole.
See beyond the unlovable, the unattractive,
the impure and the wounded -
see that their spirit is as deserving as the rest. Help them heal.
Their eyes are windows to their soul
and the mirror of your sincerity.

All species, all beings, share this Earth in a chain of life.
Care more about what makes us alike than what separates us.
Policies, rules and regulations are not infallible.
Apply them judiciously, interpret them wisely.
No decision based purely on money is ever the right one.

Listen to your heart. Sometimes we have to do that which
we are most afraid of.
Be true to yourself and your beliefs.
Family may abandon you,
friends may disappoint you, strangers will ridicule you.
People shun what they do not understand.
Help them to understand – kindly, softly, gently.

Those who do not respect all life are to be pitied.
Often the wrongdoer is as in need of help as his victims.
Forgive, then teach by example.
Educate yourself or you cannot hope to teach others.
No action based in hatred is ever right
and anger drowns out wisdom.

Yours may be a voice crying in the wilderness,
make it a voice to be respected.
Listen more than you talk, be courteous and reliable.
Learn to ask for help. Never waiver from the truth.
Know that it takes a lot of strength to cry
And with every defeat, we learn.

All Creation celebrates that which is in its own best interest.
The Children are our hope – nurture them.
Nature is our legacy – protect it.
The Animals are our brethren – learn from them.

Your rewards will not be material, but they will be meaningful,
and the courage of your convictions can survive anything.
We are small boats cast adrift on a cruel sea,
but someday the tide will turn toward a safe harbor.
No matter how dark the storm clouds,
or deep the pain of heartbreak – never forget:
We are their heroes.