a beautiful tribute...

you may have watched some of bite size vegan's videos - i've shared a few over the years - however this one i'm about to share is one of her most personal stories... you see emily's beautiful companion ooby died last week - a beautiful canine girl, a 'bulldog' born and bred to human specifications, human dictates as to how she should look, regardless of the health problems that designer-breeding would cause...

it is beautiful and yet heart-wrenching... it is a tribute to ooby, and to emily's love and guardianship, yet it is also a sad testament to the horror that the breeding of animals by profiteers to be sold as commodities, chattels, has wrought on many animals...

in emily's words - "This is the story of Ooby the bulldog. It’s a story worth knowing. For every purebred dog suffering from man-made afflictions, for every homeless or abandoned dog out there, let Ooby’s story and her life help change how we treat our companions.

farewell beautiful ooby...

please adopt, don't shop - there are far too many languishing in shelters waiting for their chance to experience love, happiness, companionship...

the vegan revolution is happening...

and people say vegans don't have a sense of humour...

i just had to share this.... as someone on google+ commented after viewing it - 'it's thug kitchen meets martha stewart'...

please, go vegan - for the animals, the planet and because it's the right thing to do....

draw my life...

one of my favourite vegan activists, emily of bite size vegan, has put together the following video which speaks volumes on the short life of farmed turkeys from the viewpoint of one young turkey... it is poignant, moving, eye-opening - there is no 'real life' graphic horror footage here, just a simple illustrated story that hopefully you find thought provoking...

if this touched you, perhaps you may also find the draw my life videos on the vegan break site illustrated by vegan artist sooyeon jang - 'a chickens life', 'a pigs life', 'the life of a dog in south korea' - as impactful as i did - please take the time to view them, they are breathtakingly moving... http://www.veganbreak.com/vegan-draw-my-life/

love, the bond that ties...

did you know my mother? 

by mary lynn

Did you know my mother?

I'm told her name was Belle.

I don't know what she looked like

but have memories of her smell.

Did you ever hear my mother?

Did her cries pull at your heart?

I remember them quite clearly

when the men pulled us apart.

Did you drink from my mother?

Did you ever taste her milk?

Did you feel her face against yours?

Was her skin as soft as silk?

I've been told I had two brothers,

and my sister's numbered four,

Then my mother went to slaughter

of no value anymore.

Were you there with my mother?

Did you look into her eyes?

Did you see the fear within them?

Did you listen to her cries?

And now MY end is coming,

I am waiting with my friends,

We are huddled close together

In this place where all life ends.

Will you be there at our slaughter?

For the flesh you want to eat.

Will you ever think about us?

When you buy that piece of meat.

It’s my turn now, I’m moving,

I am going to my end.

I am urged with shouts and kicking

and with sticks that never bend.

I am thinking of my mother

and remembering her smell.

And I know we'll meet in Heaven

and forget this life called Hell.

Weronika Kolinska has created some stunning black and white artwork reproducing this poem graphically which adds even more poignancy if that's possible...

and this is the perfect post to share this video of a reunion between a mother and her child - beautiful - it's something no mother or child should ever have to experience, they should never be forcibly separated... you can read more on the background to this heart-rending/heart-warming story "Crying Mother Cow Greets Lost Baby In Breathtaking Reunion"