This one's for the girl

I've recently hopped back on the vegetarian band wagon, but this time, my seat belt is fastened.  I'd been flirting with the idea for years, on again, off again, no red meat, only fish, oh, all right, NY strip rare, please.  But even as a trained chef who knows exactly how we go from heifer to hamburger, I still couldn't seem to cross that line.  Until now.

After I lost my first dog Lucky, a loving mutt, in February 2010 (the same week as the per se trip), another loving mutt wandered in.  Lolli was adpoted from a shelter even closer to home.  Once she was trained and settled in, I had the time to volunteer at her alma.  Working with animals who have been abused, abandoned, or born on the streets has changed me into a better person.  I'm more compassionate, patient, and have a tendency to speak softly, even in conversations with other humans.  But Mabel pushed me over the edge.

As a dog lover, it's emotionally easier for me to work with the cats at the shelter.  It's also where the greatest need for help is.  I can't resist, though, wandering over to the neighboring trailer, to pet my four legged and say hi to my two legged friends there.  One of our recents was a small terrier named Mabel.  From afar, she looked like a puppy, no more than 10 pounds and able to fit in a lunch box.  I asked Carla, one of the other volunteers if I could pet her, thinking she was only a few months old.  As I sat with Mabel, Carla told me her sad story.

Mabel was thought to be about 14 years old and up close, certainly looked her age.  Her eyes were almost useless and her back legs were ridden with tumors.    Common sense told us that she had been abandoned, most likely by someone who did not want to foot the vet bills.  There was no possible way for a small dog that potentially sick to survive to that age without care.As she had not yet been to the vet, there was still hope that her tumors were benign.

2 weeks later, I returned to the shelter and stopped in to see Mabel before I left for work.  Sadly, there was no little Mabel to see.  And that was it.  I could not, with good conscious, continue to personally contribute to more animal suffering.

So that leads me to where I am right now.  It's only been a few weeks, but my hair is shinier, my skin is insanely clear, as is my mind and heart.  I urge every single one of you to start eating with a conscious.