Jimba

My Mum is the most wonderful person I know. She has not had an easy life, her set backs are too numerous to write about but despite all of what life has dished out she has remained true to herself and given her all so that we (children) could rise above our meager surroundings. I often feel guilty when I think of all the times she has helped me out of trouble or been the first one there to lend a shoulder or a warm hug – I cannot say the same. She is a standard bearer of love and magnanimity who puts a lot of us to shame. For her I will try to be a better person.

Procrastinators unite!!!!.... tomorrow.

Specifically China. After spending a bit of time here I can say without a doubt that there needs to be more pressure on the Chinese government to lift the level of pet care awareness and veterinary standards with in the country. This last month I have had to put down a poor puppy who attracted parvovirus, and the local stray-cat who had its face kicked-in by an unhappy security guard. Given proper care I feel in both cases their deaths could have been prevented. Veterinary staff often have little experience and do not have appropriate drugs or knowledge to fight even the most common ailments. My experiences with Chinese vets or clinics has not been good at all.

In China you are either in the circle of love (relegated to close family and friends) or you are an outsider, in which case not a snigger of consideration is given. For pets, theyre even further down the ladder so naturally animal neglect and cruelty is comparably high. This is not to say every pet owner harms their pet; let it be known that there are a lot of very responsible pet owners in China. But in many cases when an animal is harmed the authorities will not even blink, so the people who do this feel no social obligation or fear of legal retribution to curb their ways. Ignorance and pride gets in the way of so much here and I tend to let a lot of it slide, but when I see a defenseless and innocent animal crying silently it breaks my heart and makes me want to do so much to stop this from occurring again, and again, and again…