Autism Spectrum Disorders - Gomey, and My Brother

I was unsettled, to say the least, to read this story about Gomey, an autistic boy in Canada who was removed from his family by a misguided, if well-intentioned, social worker.

My brother has Asperger's, which is on the Autism spectrum. He is extremely high-functioning, both living on his own and holding down a full time job. However, his life has definitely been impacted by Asperger's in many ways. He has limited grasp of social norms which has caused him grief and unfortunate outcomes. He has some repetitive behaviors such as clicking and hand shaking, very common in autism spectrum disorders, but which make him seem strange to people who are not familiar with them.

I credit the fact that he graduated high school to persistence by my parents, and a progressive school district who provided alternative learning environments to students. Rather than attending 6 classes simultaneously each semester, he was presented the material one course at a time. This allowed him to focus on the subject at hand and really learn, rather than praying to squeak by. This program also allowed for tests to be administered verbally, or whatever "alternative" style necessary for the learning style of the student. This school was actually within the larger high school community, so he still had the opportunity to interact with the rest of the student population during breaks and lunch.

I admit, after 20 years of living with him, I sometimes fail in being patient. Thankfully, my darling husband reminds me to give the kid a break. It's hard sometimes to remember that my brother isn't trying to be a pain in the ass, he really doesn't understand the social "norms" that make polite society. He tries to learn, but imagine having to memorize what body language means, or puzzle out inflection in someone's tone of voice, or what is appropriate to say in various social situations. These are things that the "normal" person inherently understands with little effort.

There's no reason that Gomey should have been removed from his family and placed in a psychiatric facility. If he's high functioning and living with his family who cares for him, any type of separation is baffling. Asperger's isn't mental illness. My brother isn't sick. Yeah, he's weird, but who isn't? I like butter and sugar in my grits, and eat my skittles in a "balanced" color order. It's the uniqueness of all of us that makes us interesting.

Please, consider clicking the link above to read more about Gomey's situation, and spread the word.

Care Package For Our Troops!

A friend of Brigitte, owner of Barkalounge Doggy Daycare, is stationed at the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. Barkalounge is collecting items to ship to them.

The list of requested items:

• Packages of Baby Wipes (NOT in plastic containers)
• Tabasco Sauce (the field food is pretty horrible)
• Lawry’s or other Seasoned Salt in a plastic container
• Eye Drops (like Visine or similar)
• Pocket packets of Kleenex/Tissues
• Skin Cream (primarily for men—dry, dry, dry!)
• Roasted nuts (such as salted or honey roasted peanuts or mixes)
• Skoal Pouches (these are heavily used for bartering/bargaining)
• Beef Jerky (pepper and teriyaki are favorite flavors)

Sorry for the short notice, but they are shipping the package THIS weekend. If you're interested in contributing, let me know and I'll figure out how to get the stuff from you on Friday.

Going...Flexitarian?

Many of the animal advocates I know are vegetarian, if not vegan. That is wonderful. They've searched their heart and decided that it's the right answer for them.

I've done a lot of thinking on the subject and decided that it's okay for an animal to die to feed me. Animals die to feed other animals. We ALL die, eventually. It's their quality of life and death that matter to me. And let's face it - the current factory farming model doesn't provide any quality in either.

What I do object to is the miserable treatment of our feed animals. I stopped eating veal in high school after I learned that the tender meat was a result of miserable confinement. A number of years ago, I read "Fast Food Nation" and it opened my eyes to the disgusting practices that not only violate my ethical principals, but endanger the health of our food supply. I have actively avoided purchasing ConAgra Foods since then. We also switched our milk and eggs to organic.

We're taking the next step this year in committing to buy only free-range meat. I suspect this will significantly reduce the meat content of our diet, as it's much more expensive. I'm okay with that. It's the demand for cheap meat that got us in this mess in the first place. I'm also planning to buy most of our produce from farmers markets. That means shopping every weekend, but so be it. My conscience demands it.

It's easy to get started on the flexitarian path. If you had one meat free day a week, the benefits are pretty impressive. In one year, you'd save 84,000 gallons of water, 7,700 sq ft of rainforest and and 245 lbs of grain, which could feed someone in a developing nation for approximately 6 months. One meatless day a week for me turned in to mostly meatless meals. Even for someone who is lazy like me and travels - Kashi, Amy's and CedarLane make delicious frozen meals that don't have meat.

We've already committed to giving up red meat for Lent, and I am planning to take it the step further and give up all meat for lent, including fish.

Going full blown vegetarian would be easy for me. I live that way 80% of the time anyway. I had my gallbladder out a few years ago and I simply prefer the way I feel eating vegetarian. That doesn't mean that I won't indulge in a nice filet every now and again. I do, and I enjoy it. And I'm not apologizing. I don't feel like I love animals any less because I eat them. I also love flowers, plants and trees, but I'll eat those and their products too!

Saving Bella

This is Bella. Bella is a 5 year old female pit bull who was brought in as a stray by Gary, IN animal control. She's got a short ear crop, filed incisors and has been repeatedly bred - sound like a dogfighting victim to anyone else? They don't think that she was a fighter or a bait dog, as she doesn't have the telltale scars.

She is, however, a victim. She's completely shut down, unsure of who to trust. She isn't dog aggressive and doesn't resource guard - she simply just doesn't react at all. Thankfully, I've got experience in dealing with scared, shy dogs, courtesy of Ellie Mae, my coonhound mix rescue from Hurricane Katrina.

I posted her on the Indy Pit Crew Facebook page today hoping that folks would pass it on and somehow, miraculously, she would find rescue. And she did, in my own backyard. Humane Society for Hamilton County agreed to take her, provided we could find her a short term foster home as their shelter is currently full. Not a problem there, we already had an Indy Pit Crew volunteer willing to foster her.

HSHC has been on my gold-star list for a while, especially after reading about Nico, the deaf Dogo Argentino they saved from a high-kill shelter in Los Angeles. I have not had an opportunity to work with them, as I live in another county, but have a good friend who is one of their "pit bull angels". Having them offer space for Bella was a dream come true.

You know the saying, it takes a village? Well, it applies here too. A village, and a powerful social networking tool called Facebook.

1. The independent rescuer, Dawn, who posts the animals at the Gary animal control on Facebook and sends out emails BEGGING for their lives. Gary doesn't do adoptions, so when the stray hold expires on an animal, their time is up if they haven't received a rescue commitment. She doesn't work for the shelter, she has just committed herself to saving these animals, singlehandedly. In the last 18 months, she has saved over 1000. She is truly my hero.

2. The Indy Pit Crew volunteer, Miranda, who brought Bella to my attention, and who offered to foster her

3. The Indy Pit Crew volunteer, Becky, who worked out a vetting arrangement with another rescue group near Gary, and who offered to transport Bella

4. Sherry from We Care Rescue agreeing to pull Bella tomorrow and take her immediately to the vet to get checked out

5. Humane Society for Hamilton County director, Rebecca, who offered to take Bella once space opened up in the shelter

6. Indy Pit Crew volunteer, Mindy, who bought Bella a crate and a "welcome" goodie bag

7. Casa Del Toro founder, Laurie, who agreed to take Bella as a transfer from the Gary "on paper" until HSHC could take her in

7. And me, although, all I did was make some phone calls and send a bunch of emails. The rest of these ladies are the superstars.

Bella's journey is far from over. We'll see what the vet says and then we'll spend a decent amount of time teaching this gal to trust people and how to be a pet, rather than a possession. Those beautiful eyes tell me that she's worth it.

Update on Severely Injured Pittie from NW Indiana

The little girl I blogged about last week has been named Destiny and has been transferred to a foster home with Chicagoland Bully Breed Rescue. She had hundreds of bite wounds on her legs that clearly indicate she was used as a bait dog. She spent approximately a week at the vet being treated with antibiotics for a bone infection. She is severely emaciated and will need a significant amount of care before she is fully healed.


A note from her foster mom, from a CBBR note on Facebook:
I picked up Destiny yesterday. She is a sweet, sweet dog. I've seen a lot of dogs in horrific condition but I've not seen a dog with so many puncture wounds on their legs. I agree she was most likely a bait dog. She has puncture wounds covering all of her legs, some new, some old and some partly healed. I think she is still a pup - not much older than 7-8 months. She has a very solid temperament, calm and non-reactive. She has met all of my dogs through the gate and she has been loose this morning with Surrey and Peanut. She gives the best possible reaction - sniff and move on, interested but not focused. I know she has a long road of recovery ahead but feel very positive that she will not only heal but be very adoptable. So, once again, a big thank you to all of you who helped in rescuing her!

Despite the horrible treatment she received at the hands of humans, she's an amazing example of the Pit Bull breed. I am so thankful that I could be part of saving this beautiful girl.

Why I Serve Others

When I was a small child, we lived in government subsidized (HUD) housing.

HUD housing is tough. The older woman a few doors down was raped by an intruder, prompting my grandfather to put bars on all our windows and an extra deadbolt on the door. Things were constantly stolen. There were sketchy people in the parking lots.

There were also a lot of nice people - like the apartment manager, Bob, and his wife who always had a candy for us kids. Or Fred, the first black person I ever met, who nurtured lovely plants on his deck, and gave one to me.

Most of the folks that lived in our complex were just regular people, trying to get by.

My mom went on welfare for a short period and went back to school. Without that, we probably would have stayed poor. Instead, my mom got a job as a legal assistant, met my step-father a few years later, and we became solidly middle class.

When I was in High School, we had a community service requirement for Civics class. I elected to help out with a holiday food and toy "bank" where people could come pick up items for their families. Seeing the way people reacted to this donated food, these small inexpensive toys and gifts, forced the epiphany of all the blessings I had in my life.

In college, I started to get involved with the Red Cross and their blood donation services. I also started volunteering through a group called LA Works. Through LA Works, I read to children, helped the elderly make arts and crafts, repainted a school, and various other projects.

I realized how much joy I received in giving back, nevermind the joy that others got from whatever the effort was. I believe helping others is the greatest thanks I can give for how blessed I have been. A good education, good health, safe housing, freedom. Like JLo says, "No matter where I go, I know where I came from".

It can be easy sometimes to blame people for their situations - assuming they are lazy or don't care. It's much easier than looking at the underlying causes of why people are in those situations, i.e. lack of education, health problems, development delays, etc.

However, the more I have talked with people, the more I have realized that they usually do care, and want to work hard, they just don't know where to start. They just need a little help to get them pointed in the right direction. And in my experience, "a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough" (Galatians 5:9).

Animal Fighting in Indiana

The irony of the timing isn't lost on me. Yesterday I begged for people to call their state Senator to request a hearing for Senate Bill 5. It worked - the bill has gotten a hearing. A similar, but different, bill in the state House of Representatives, HB 1258, will be heard today at 1pm.

Yesterday afternoon, I received an urgent email from a friend who lives in the Gary, IN area. Animal control officers there found two pit bulls, a male and a female, who had been chained up, starved and obviously abused. Unfortunately, the male died on his way back to the shelter. Despite all her wounds, the 1 year old little girl allowed the ACO to pet her and touch her teeth with no signs of aggression. Through the grace of God, Almost Home Foundation found space in their rescue. They picked her up yesterday afternoon and took her immediately to the vet.


Based on her injuries, it's believed she was used as a bait dog for fighting. Her legs are mangled. One of her front legs has an old break that healed improperly. She's severely emaciated. She has bite wounds that have become infected, down to her bones. She has been placed on IV fluids and antibiotics and will be x-rayed and given further bloodwork today. She has a long recovery ahead of her.


Through all of this, she wagged her tail and gave kisses. She must understand on some level that she is finally safe.

We MUST stop animal fighting. People who attend these events are just as guilty as those who own and fight the dogs. Their demand is driving the supply.

Look for signs of animal fighting in your own neighborhoods:

• Dogs with short ear crops, scars or wounds on chest, throat, head and legs
  
• Treadmills, spring poles, hanging tires in the yard
  
• Dogs with 3-4 inch wide collars with heavy rings
  
• Yards with multiple pens or houses for dogs
  
• Dogs left on heavy chains who appear in poor health

Indy Pit Crew is working hard to come up with programs to educate the public, primarily children, about dogfighting. We must stop this heinous "sport".

In the meantime, call your state Senator and Representative. Tell them you want them to support SB 5 and HB 1258.

And if you want to sponsor the medical care of that sweet pittie girl, you can call or mail a payment directly to the vet:
Forest South Animal Hospital
re: Almost Home Animal Rescue injured pitbull
24341 Western Avenue
University Park, IL 60940
708-672-6166

Your donation is tax deductible, and a receipt can be obtained by emailing animallover7@hughes.net.