Nov 22, 2017

Most people don’t know that our contemporary customs at Thanksgiving, namely the serving of turkeys, were shaped and popularized by a magazine editor, Sarah Josepha Hale, in the mid-1800s. Whatever meaning we attribute to this Thanksgiving holiday is most certainly not lost (in fact, it is enhanced) by creating...

Nov 22, 2017

If you’ve never met them, turkeys are magnificent animals, full of spunk and spark and affection. I’ve introduced many people to the critters at farmed animal sanctuaries, and the animals with whom people have the most transformative experience are the turkeys. Every time. Never fails. Join me as I tell some stories...

Nov 1, 2017

A desire to be close to animals compels us to seek out ways to interact with them, but lack of awareness compels us to support industries that exploit and hurt animals for our own entertainment both when we’re at home (like going to the zoo or circus) and when we travel (like swimming with dolphins, getting...

Oct 7, 2017

I discovered an ancient story about justice brought to an abused horse, then found out it was turned into a poem by a well-known American poet in the 19th century. Then I discovered that poem was made into a film by a humane education organization, founded by an ordinary citizen who (after learning about animal abuse)...

Sep 22, 2017

We have many words built from the English word for “bear,” the Latin word for “bear,” and the Greek word for “bear,” and we have many expressions and phrases built from the same furry animal. Of course there are also expressions using the verb “to bear,” as in “to carry,” such as in “bearing fruit,...