More than a number.

8888884. I just got those numbers tattooed on myself. They are numbers that mean a lot to me because I am not the first person to get them. These numbers were first tattooed on someone nearly 4 years ago. Someone who didn’t get to choose where he would get his number. Someone who didn’t want a number in the first place. His name is Liam. He’s my dog.

For the first 4 years of Liam’s life, he didn’t have a name. He was a laboratory testing animal and as such, a name wasn’t in the cards for him. A name would have personalized him. Made him real. Turned him into something more than the subject of an experiment, a tool to be used for human gain. It makes it harder to view a person as a thing when it has a name. A series of numbers says the opposite of a name. It denotes a lack of importance, it strips a living creature of its worth and makes it just a thing that is being used. Because thats what Liam was to the people who had him for the first 4 years of his life. A thing. A tool. Nothing more than a number.

People sometimes ask me how I can know that. How I can know what it was like for Liam in the lab? I know because I was the first person to see him when he came out. When Liam came to live with me, he was terrified. Not just of his new surroundings, but of everything. The sound of metal clinking, the feel of grass or anything soft, it all scared him. The thing that broke my heart most, was that he was afraid of me as well. When I touched him, he would put his head down and put his tail between his legs. The only touch he had known had been the touch that was always followed by something painful. Something unpleasant. I could see it in his eyes when I touched him, he was afraid of what I was going to do to him. Afraid that myself and my friends would treat him exactly how all the other humans he hadA ever encountered had. As a thing. A tool. Nothing more than a number.

But he proved himself to be stronger than I can even begin to understand. Somehow, even after everything he went through, slowly but surely, he began to trust the new people around him. He started to wag his tail. To learn that there was more to this world than pain, cages and concrete. The grass still scared him, but he wanted to be near the new people around him. So he would take one big jump into the yard to be next to us and then one big jump back to the sidewalk. Over time, he didn’t have to jump, he would simply walk through the grass. He had learned not to be afraid of the feel of something soft. He even learned how to play…sort of.

In preparation for getting him from the lab, my friends and I got tons of toys for Liam. Toys we quickly learned he didn’t understand or care about. We would throw a toy for him and he would just watch, unsure what was going on. He had never played before and didn’t have a clue what we wanted him to do. I remember vividly the first time he chased a toy. I got so excited and he saw it. He ran to the toy, picked it up, dropped it half way back and ran into me, knocking me over. He looked so happy. We threw it again and he would run to where it fell, leave it there, run back and bowl me over again and again in his excitement to be playing for the very first time. Watching him running back and forth through the house, wagging his tail and literally jumping into my arms remains one of the happiest moments in my life because I know it was one of the first happy moments in his. That memory still brings tears to my eyes.

To me, this tattoo is first and foremost about Liam. About someone I love and who constantly gives me the strength to not give up in the face of odds that nearly always seem insurmountable. But its about more than just Liam. Because Liam, despite all he has gone through, is one of the lucky few. The end of his ordeal was the beginning of something better. Millions of other animals in laboratories around the world and billions of other animal in exploitative industries don’t get a new beginning. Only an end. Liam reminds me of that every day. Because he got a chance the vast majority of them will never get. Its of them I think when I want to give up fighting. How Liam is getting the chance they all deserve. My dog, who I love more than anything is no different then any of them. The only difference between him and them, is he got the chance to become something more than a number.

Until every cage is empty,

-J

Our BIG RAFFLE has come to a crescendo once again. Congratulations to all the winners, and a BIG THANK YOU to everyone who donated prizes, bought tickets and made donations along the way. Without you, our doors wouldn’t be open.

Here are a few photos from our drawing:

We now have an account at the store Consign Me, in Long Beach!

For all gently used articles brought into the store and DESIGNATED to the SPCHS account, SPCHS will receive 50% of the sale.

Tell friends, neighbors, family members, and total strangers to bring in their items to Consign Me and help support us!

Consign Me
1806 Pacific Ave.N
Long Beach, WA 98631
(360) 642-4199

HOURS:

• Mon Closed
• Tue 9am – 5pm
• Wed 9am – 5pm
• Thu 9am – 5pm
• Fri 9am – 5pm
• Sat 10am – 4pm
• Sun 10am – 3pm

Simon says: please help me find my way home!

This handsome young Siamese mix boy is the beloved pet of one of our volunteers, Melanie. Melanie is a very dedicated member of the Humane Society, and some of you might know her from her extensive dog and cat rescues the past few years in Eastern Oregon.
Those of us who volunteer at the shelter rarely adopt the “shining star” members of our dog and cat residents. Instead, we more often take home the less adoptable critters- the ones less likely to find good homes.
But for Mel, Simon was the exception to the rule. Of all the kitties she has rescued and nursed back to health, she always wanted a Siamese, and when Simon came along, it was love at first sight.
Sadly, last Tuesday, Simon went out briefly into his   fenced back yard in the morning and just disappeared. Gone from his home near N. Washington and 13th St, and gone from Melanie’s heart.
She and her husband Curtis have looked for Simon in all kinds of weather and all times of the day and night to no avail. They have distributed flyers and talked to neighbors.
Please, if you have seen Simon or know where he is, call Melanie at home at 642-2114 or on her cell at 541-589-1104.She is offering a substantial reward for his safe return.

So far, little Lexi is anything but lucky…

Lexi is a pretty petite dilute calico kitty that came into the shelter at the end of December 2009. One does not have to be a math whiz to realize that this is a very long stay for her.
She is one of those quieter kitties that people often just don’t notice. Rather than the “look at me” flashy markings of a bright calico, Lexi has the softer more muted tones of apricot and gray. So, for months, this young girl has lingered in our kitty playroom, watching as literally dozens of other cats and kittens have found loving homes.
Lexi is still waiting for someone to lover her, but it will take a special person to seek her out and offer her his or her heart and home. We are hoping that special person, someone who feels sympathy for her plight of lingering her life away in a shelter, will give her a chance and come for her soon.

Shelter wish list

We have had a few donations of dry dog and cat food come into the shelter this past week, but are still in need of more. Next time you shop, please think about the needy animals and bring them some food. Thank you for your help.