Compassion

How can we make a difference as tourists? 

As one who loves to travel, I have often struggled with witnessing the treatment of animals worldwide. Before I could even recognize my emotions as a child I was feeling sadness for suffering creature. I recognize that now as compassion. I can’t even fathom the idea of enjoying an elephant ride, while ignoring their looks of sadness. I can’t imagine enjoying a horse-carriage ride while witnessing the sad state of the horse’s overworked body. I can’t imagine enjoying snapping photos of a depressed caged animal in a zoo.

However, I do understand how people can turn a blind eye. Not long ago (2 years) I went to a circus to see the elephants. Elephants are my favourite animal. It was there that I had that familiar feeling in the pit in my stomach while watching the elephant. I was finally able to recognize this feeling. I didn't agree with using animals for our entertainment. I didn't agree with my contribution to the suffering of these creatures just so I could snap a photo of it. I spent the next two years pouring myself into research about animal abuse, reading blogs, articles and meeting like-minded people. Sometimes I reach a breaking point where I can’t take any more tragic information. But if I’m not a witness to these stories and if I’m not fighting this battle what can I expect from others? So on I continue. Through leading by example and educating myself and others I hope to make a difference – if only a small one.

This brings me to my point today – tourism. While travelling through Greece and Italy we witnessed exploitation of animals everywhere. From horse carriages to donkey rides. My question to you is this: is the suffering of this animal worth your entertainment? “See yourself in others. Then whom can you hurt? What harm can you do?” Make educated choices and do not place the value of a photograph or an animal “encounter” over the value of their life. Find alternatives while travelling. Support companies and causes that strive for a high moral standard. Do your research. And then return home with a happy heart, knowing you have done your part. 

A wonderful example of this is “Elephant Freedom Project” in Sri Lanka. 

Which place do you choose to support?

Having heard the term “sanctuary” in our travels before and realizing it was nothing but a money grab, we did our research. Turns out that out of the many “sanctuaries” in Sri Lanka, this is the first and only project of its kind in the country. It is possible to enjoy animals while you travel but again, you must do your research! And use your heart. It will always tell you what is right. 

Satsu, one of the two elephants at the project

Back to Elephant Freedom Project... I had my thinking challenged on this visit. While on the way there I discovered that they are still chaining up their two elephants at night while they are in the process of making the enclosure safe for them to wander. I immediately stated that I didn't want to go and support such a place. My friend challenged me in saying “it seems that you are more of an animal idealist, not an animal realist”. Of course my response was to think that of course I’m an idealist and that's how it should be. However arriving at the sanctuary, we chatted with the co-founder Tim. He spoke candidly with us about his struggles. He was honest in telling us that their two elephants  are still property of their original owner and he just rents them. The owner still gets a say in what happens with these elephants. Tim is fighting a battle with owner and a battle with the local government. He desperately wants to help the elephants of Sri Lanka but needs to be careful with all of his actions in order to keep peace with everyone involved. He was honest with us about his struggles with the enclosure and getting the architecture to work out. The rain causes the inclines to be muddy which runs the risk of an elephant breaking a leg. Because of this the elephants need to be chained at night and cannot be left unsupervised. 

The beginning stages of the elephant enclosure

While there are many things that still need to be improved, it is a start. Tim is in the beginning stages of his freedom project. It is places like these that we should choose to support. It reminds me of a quote I like “The journey of a thousand miles must start with a single step.” I had a shift in my thinking this day. It’s okay to have a high expectation and an idealist view. But to get to that ideal conclusion, we must have realistic ideas of how to get there. It won’t happen overnight. There’s no black and white here. And maybe it’s okay to be a bit of a realist too.

With Tim, the co-founder of The Elephant Freedom Project

I will continue to make educated choices. I will do my best not to contribute to the suffering of creatures around me. I hope you do the same. Remember:

“It’s better to light one candle than curse the darkness. There are so many people that sit back and say ‘we’re screwed’. But with that one candle, maybe someone else with a candle will find you. And that’s where movements are started.”

TMB Trial and Tribulations

What started as a google search for “popular hikes around the world” put the wheels in motion for this trip. We wanted to do a hike because we love being out in nature and we love physical challenges. We also wanted a challenge so that we could use this hike as an opportunity to raise awareness about 2 causes we are very passionate about: animals and this world. So, tshirts and pamphlets made, trip booked, and we were our way...

I wish I could say that our hike was only full of beautiful scenery, blissful walks and joyful memories – but that would be too much of an embellishment! The truth is, we had some tough times. So, before I get into describing the beautiful scenery, blissful walks and joyful memories, let me tell you what we learnt from this:

1. Just because the TMB is described as a hike AROUND Mont du Blanc doesn’t mean it will be a flat walk around a mountain. 170km sounded like a long enough trail to walk when I thought it was a straight walk. BUT it wasn’t. Every day began with either a descent down a mountain or an ascent up a mountain. Had I done more research beyond “which refuges serve the best food” I would have known that there are countless mountains along the whole trail around Mont du Blanc!

first break 30 minutes into the first day

    2. One should not laugh at the thought of buying hiking poles and assume they are for the unfit or elderly. I’ll tell ya, the second day we were only ¼ done our hike and we still had more than 500m of climbing to do when I sat on the side of the mountain to catch my breath and muster up enough energy to keep going. I sure swallowed a lot of pride when I had to step over to the side and tell a group of middle-aged men to pass me. But, their response was a laugh and one of them said “oh no worries, we are going slowly too. You keep going and that way if we pass you later we will feel really good about ourselves.” Naturally my response to that was to speed along as fast as I could so that I wouldn’t have to feel the embarrassment of them ever passing me. Unfortunately, 10 minutes of this had me nearly gasping for breath, hunched over, faking a laugh (while silently cursing) as they made their jokes and passed by me on their way up.

The first stop the next day was to the local hiking store to buy ourselves some hiking poles.

Life's just better with poles

   3. Don’t even think about lugging along camping gear and sticking to a budget. For two reasons: One – to hike for 170km, even a little extra weight feels like you are carrying a horse. Two – after a long day of hiking (and often in the rain) it feels like you have just finished a marathon. And in my world, when one is finished a marathon they are ravishing, feeling starved to death. The last thing one cares about at this point is a budget. Instead, the comfort of stepping into a warm refuge, taking a shower (sometimes hot, sometimes ice cold) and having a home cooked meal is pure delight. Especially when that home cooked meal is accompanied by a large mug of hot chocolate… or more often than not, a soothing jug of wine.

    I’ll admit, this was a hard and expensive lesson for us as we ended up leaving 20lbs of excess weight at the second refuge – tent, sleeping bags, 2 books, a towel, pair of mitts and a bottle of shampoo.

    4.  Don’t always opt for the cheapest option when choosing your accommodations. Sometimes a difference of 10 euros can make the difference between sleeping in a comfortable and clean room or sleeping in a converted cow barn with 12 mattresses piled beside one another. With the second option one should not be surprised when they wake up to one of their fellow hikers running out the door after being woken up by a rat.

our GREAT room at Refuge Bonatti

our NOT GREAT room at Refuge Mottets

Now, lessons aside, obviously we had beautiful scenery, blissful walks and joyful memories. For those of you who don’t know, the TMB is a 170km hike around Mont du Blanc. It passes through Italy, France and Switzerland. We started in Courmayeur, Italy and walked counter-clockwise towards Switzerland and then France. Our first day was one of our favourites. We hiked 6.5 hours up to Walter Bonatti Refuge. Here we had an amazing view at the top of a mountain, looking right at Mont du Blanc. 

View from Refuge Bonatti

The refuge was a rustic mountain hut with beautiful wooden architecture. Although the beds were set right beside one another in a room of about 20 people, it didn’t feel cramped, it felt cozy. The main floor had a dining room and a bar. Everyone gathered in here and outside, enjoying conversations and planning the next day of hiking. Like every refuge we visited, at 7:00 pm they put place cards on the table and you find your name and wait for dinner to be served. 

Typical Dinner: 

1st course: Soup (often with cheese in it), 

2nd course salad or bread (with more cheese) 

3rd course: main course (quiche with cheese was a common theme with us vegetarians) 

Dessert: A platter of cheese 

Let’s just say it took us a few days to get used to all of this cheese, but we are now embracing this cheese way of life. (In fact, if we make it to lunch without some type of cheese it’s a rarity). It was on this first day that we made friends with an elderly couple from Australia. One of which was also a teacher. Early to bed and early to rise to start the next day of hiking was a common theme. We were often on the trails between 7-8:00am.

The second day is definitely worth mentioning. It was the day that broke us both... It began with a long descent, taking us down to the Ferret Valley. I was having such a wonderful time literally stopping to smell and photograph the flowers that Justin soon left me in the dust.

one of my many flower photos

I slowly hiked along, taking in every sight and smell that I could. (The views and the flowers were made so much more beautiful by the fact that our views at home consist of sand and more sand). Getting to the bottom, I was in for a rude awakening when I met up with Justin and got a view of the mountain we had to climb. Close to 1000m of ascending to tackle. After 300m and dozens of water breaks later, we made it to a refuge for a pit-stop. After catching my breath enough to muster a conversation, we ran into our friends, the elderly Australian couple who quickly exclaimed “Wow! What a magnificent view!”(Meanwhile, my thoughts were about how I would keep my breaths constant enough to speak). I was just about to congratulate us on making it to the top when I noticed the monstrous climb behind the refuge that still had to be done. Feeling deflated, I commented that it looked tough and rather than agree with me they enthusiastically replied “It will be great, see you later!”  and “Make sure you have the pie here, it was delicious!” (Pie? How did they beat us there AND have time for pie already?) After the monstrous climb, we hiked down into Switzerland, and after a “shortcut” that we took with some fellow hikers, we arrived at our refuge after 9.5 long hours of hiking. And by arrived, I mean crawled to our refuge. This day took such a toll on us. Justin ended the day with a rolled ankle and I ended the day with two sore knees and one bad hip! 

Some highlights from the rest of our trip were the Swiss lake town Champex, meeting an elderly couple from Israel (who who gave us some insight into what life is like for them and their family in Israel) and staying with a French teaching couple who live in a school in Chamonix, France. We also loved the variety of sights and challenges along the way. From standing beside waterfalls to crossing streams or glaciers to looking for marmots and birds.

Champex - a beautiful lake town hidden up in a mountain

We also really enjoyed spending a couple days with another older couple from Australia. They were fellow animal lovers at heart and I stayed up longer than any other night chatting with the woman about our shared views of life and the world. Justin spent the night chatting with her partner about his time in the Australian army, survival in the wild and different hikes and rock climbs.

One of my favourite days I had to hit the trails solo because Justin was still injured. It was pouring rain so the trails were empty for the first few hours. I remember standing still and not hearing a single sound other than the rain. It was a beautiful but slightly eerie feeling. 

my quiet solo hike

crossing one of the waterfalls

To sum it up, the trip was a mixture of rain, tough ascents, injuries, scenic views, delicious food and great conversations at refuges. We met a lot of like-minded people on this hike which at first seemed like a random coincidence. But after reflecting on that, I think it’s more than that. People who spend their lives appreciating nature and the world around us are likely to respect it more. They are likely to have similar views about protecting the world and the species that live in it. It is with people like this that I feel the most at home.

and this is the beauty of our world - please join our cause!

Amidst all of our failures and trials, I am surprised at how joyful the hike was. Maybe the feeling of accomplishment every day when we would make it to the top of a mountain was enough to keep us going. Or maybe it was the people we got to meet along the way. Or maybe it was the strength we felt knowing that we were hiking for a cause we are passionate about. I guess it is a combination of all of those things. But overall, the experience was such a positive one that we are already talking about our next hike. Any ideas?

feeling great after reaching the top of Col du Bonhomme

Our 170km trek to "be the change"

Did you know that the Illegal Wildlife trade is the fifth most profitable trade in the world? It is estimated to be upwards of $10 billion annually.

On July 5^th Justin and I will be hiking the 170km Mont du Blanc trail over the course of 10 days. We want to use this hike to raise money to donate to a cause that is dear to both of our hearts. But, most importantly, we want to raise awareness about many issues we are learning more and more about – animal exploitation and the current state of our world. We want your help to spread the word and to become the critical change needed in this world. At the end of this blog I have two birthday requests of you. But first, let me explain:

My thoughts for this blog began in Thailand where I witnessed heartbreaking animal abuse and exploitation. Many animals are used as a form of financial gain in Thailand. They are often poached from the wild and are made to live a life of misery. They are passed from tourist to tourist all day and then spend the rest of their time in terrible living conditions, confined to cages and chains. Sadly, to the average traveler, this life of misery may not have been noticed – all we see are the “happy” animals that we get to take our photos with. I certainly don’t judge people I know who have been a part of this. In fact, just two year ago I myself was naïvely snapping photos of elephants in a circus. How many of us wouldn’t love to have our photo taken while riding an elephant? Or while you’re cuddling a baby tiger? Or holding a cute monkey? The sad reality is – by doing this we are supporting this industry. We are supporting the kidnappings, the tearing babies away from their screaming mothers, the murders, and the torturing. Are these photos and “experiences with wild animals” really worth it?

The Animals of Thailand

Gibbons

In the wild where the belong

photo taken by Chantal Tremblay

After asking a traveler why they would get their photo taken with a gibbon they responded: “The monkey was treated very nicely by the owner”.

Fact 1: This poor monkey was poached from the forest while he was still a baby.

Fact 2: It is likely that 5-6 family member were murdered in this traumatic kidnapping.

Fact 3: When the baby reaches approximately 5 years of age, it will become violent and aggressive – often resulting in it either being locked in a cage for life OR being murdered or tortured. One gibbon we heard about at the Gibbon Sanctuary in Phuket had his arm ripped off from his previous owner.

Tigers

Visiting the “Tiger Temple Sanctuary” one might be able to fool himself that he is helping save tigers, given the name “sanctuary”. And who wouldn’t want a cute photo with a tiger? I love tigers! I don’t blame people for having this desire – however, once knowing the truth, I assume not many people would be visiting these tiger temples. Yet hundreds of tourists visit this temple daily, making it a very lucrative business. The sanctuary’s claim is to “eventually free the tigers and retrain them to live in the wild”. Great claim if it were true…

Fact 1: The cubs are taken from their mother as early as 2 weeks. In the wild, tigers are often 2 years of age before they reach independence.

Fact 2: Tigers at the “Sanctuary” have been reported by many visitors and investigators to be extremely lethargic during photo sessions, leading to concerns they may be drugged. (Really, how else would these otherwise aggressive, WILD animals be tame enough to pose for photo after photo?)

Fact 3: Investigators have reported that tigers at the facility are being regularly beaten with wooden sticks and clubs, being forced to sit in direct sunshine for hours, and being kept in poor conditions with inadequate food.

Fact 4: When tigers are not obedient before, during or after the photo-sessions they are sprayed by the keepers with urine from bottles in their eyes and faces.

                    The poor living condition of the tigers                                    Does he look like he is enjoying this?
                                                         photos from www.aroundtheworldin80jobs.com

Elephants

As many of you know, my visit with the elephants touched me deeply. Before visiting, I did my research on this one and the word “sanctuary” truly means sanctuary. They have acres upon acres to roam freely and just be elephants. These magnificent creatures have gone through torture, abuse and hard labor before being rescued. They are often rescued from years of tourism. Sadly, that elephant we so badly want a ride on has very likely been taken from its mother - who often scream and cry for hours – and will often grieve for months. That elephant we get to ride likely spends it's nights chained by it's ankle to a pole, rocking back and forth all night to ease it's own stress.

raw puncture wound from her previous owner before being rescued

photo taken by me

Fact 1: It takes 2 years to make a baby elephant.

Fact 2: Elephants are highly emotional animals who share many of our own feelings. They form close-knit bonds with their herds and if a family member dies they will actually cover the body with leaves and are known to revisit the site.

Fact 3: The capture of wild elephants for domestic use has become a threat to some wild populations, seriously reducing numbers.

Fact 4: The tourist elephants we see that offer rides or perform in circuses once had it's spirit broken. This is done so it will be submissive to humans for the rest of its life. The elephant is tied up in a confined pen and beaten mercilessly with sharp instruments. This disgusting practice is used when an elephant is around 4 years old. The calf is usually never reunited with its mother. 

photo from PETA

The bigger picture – beyond the tourism trade in Thailand, let’s take a look at a few other facts:

Fact: The last of Indonesia's tigers - now fewer than 400 - are holding on for survival. They could be extinct - GONE FOREVER - if this does not stop. Why? Habitat loss and poaching - due to humans of course


 Fact: In 2012, the Sumatran elephant was deemed "Critically Endangered" because half of its population has been lost in one generation - mostly due to habitat loss (caused by what? Humans yet again are destroying habitats to build pulp, paper and palm oil plantations - for products we likely use daily.)

Fact: The African elephant population is falling rapidly. The Forest Elephants of Central Africa are nearing total annihilation, and many former Elephant Range States have been left with none at all!

Fact: Orangutans have lost well over 80% of their habitat in the last 20 years due to extreme habitat loss due mostly to palm oil plantations. They will be extinct in 5-10 years if this does not stop. Palm oil is used is many everyday products we use today. In fact, it is used in so many products, we likely don't even know we are using palm oil. 

                                what products do you use that have palm oil?
                                                           photos from www.rainforest-rescue.org

What is the cause of all of these tragedies? The human race of course. To illustrate my point of the selfishness of the human race I want to tell you about Qumquat. She was a famous Matriarch (meaning wise elephant). She was born in l968.  Below you will see her recent brutal killing. For what? Simply her tusks. The rest of her remained intact. It is estimated that this happens to 104 elephants every day.

                                                                                   Photo from Sheldrick Wildlife Foundation

Now onto my point.

These visits really got me thinking about the bigger picture. When did it become normal for us to view these wild animals as a source of entertainment? And when did our desires to consume and consume matter more than their environments? When did our wants become priority over every other species? And to take it further- over the state of our environment? The way we view animals is just the tip of the iceberg.  It goes so much deeper than this. From the way we treat animals to the way we over consume to the way we don’t care much for conservation. We don’t care how our actions greatly affect the very earth we live on.  The behaviour of many repulses us all – who could kill so many elephants that they are named a “critically endangered” species? Who could kill and skin beautiful tigers simply for their fur? Who could destroy an entire forest just for some palm oil? The answer is simple – someone who has placed their want before all else. And while our actions aren’t nearly as repulsive, they are just as damaging.  

We are killing this world. Many of us hardly know the state of our current world and the species that live in it. There is a separation between what we purchase and what we consume and where it comes from. We hardly know that we are supporting this destruction with our daily choices. Do we even know what our country is doing to contribute to the world's greenhouse gas emissions? By not doing anything to stop this, and by not educating ourselves, we are contributing to this problem. This is due in part to our misconceptions about the news we watch – if we don’t hear about it on national news we often don’t think of it as a big deal. Does it not frighten you that so many things happen in this world that we have no idea about? That should say something about our news right there. The fact is, this is so important it should be on every news station in every country! 

Do we stop to think about the products we are buying or the organizations we are supporting? Where do they come from? How do they get here? How many animals had to die or how much of our environment had to be ruined for us to get it? What about the food we eat? What about the cars we drive? What about the companies our government supports and their devastating impact on our world? 

Do we really want to be responsible for the end of all of these life forms? What about the end to earth as we know it? We have our children and our children’s children to think about here.

This could be the greatest tragedy of our generation.

Final Facts: The selfishness of our species is contributing to the loss of species, the cruel treatment of animals and the destruction of our own world:

If everyone lived like we do in the developed Western world, we'd need six Earths to sustain life.

Scientists believe that the Earth has gone through 5 major extinctions.

Biologists predict we are in the midst of the 6^th mass extinction.

Scientists predict we will lose half of all species by the end of this century.

Now, my birthday requests:

I’m not asking you to instantly change your life. I understand that things like this need to trigger or touch you personally. 

However, my most important request - I am asking you to watch the documentary “Revolution” filmed by Rob Stewart. A regular Canadian who wanted to be the change. It is full of information, insight and some inspiration. (You’ll also be surprised at how much air time Canada gets in this video). And as they say, knowledge is wisdom and you will learn much more from this documentary than from my blog.

I would also like you to personally message this request/blog to one other person that you feel it will touch. Please be the change with me.

Lastly, please research the product you use and the companies you support. Find ways to make changes - write to companies, political leaders, reduce your own carbon footprint and try to make educated choices.

“It’s better to light one candle than curse the darkness. There are so many people that sit back and say ‘we’re screwed’. But with that one candle, maybe someone else with a candle will find you. And that’s where movements are started.”

If you would like to donate to our cause, you can do so at:

http://www.gofundme.com/94ubsc

All money will be going towards:David Suzuki Foundation – this one hits home as David Suzuki dedicates his life to improving Canada and bettering the world:

http://www.davidsuzuki.org/donate/what-we-do/

The Orangutan Project – one of the many species to be critically endangered of becoming extinct in the next few years:

http://www.orangutan.org.au/

While I don’t have all of the answers about what we can do to be the change here are some resources to help and inspire your journey:

http://www.therevolutionmovie.com/ - click “world issues” to read about how you can help make changes
http://www.davidsuzuki.org/what-you-can-do/ - amazing resource with links on the side that advise us how to take action in Canada. From how to reduce our carbon footprint, to what we should be requesting of our current government.
http://6themovie.opsociety.org/ - a new documentary set to come out this year about the earth's sixth great extinction. It also has many links and resources on this site
- Or google any issue I spoke about to read hundreds of articles: Earth's sixth extinction, deforestation and habitat loss, palm oil problems, etc.

To watch Revolution:

Purchase it:

On itunes

Stream it for free on:

www.solarmovie.tl or www.primewire.ag

-       

Download it for free on:

www.torrentz.com

-          Will need the utorrent player downloader on your computer first.

For the love of animals

I am writing this blog to document my encounters with animals and to share my experiences with the people I care about! In a previous blog written I had promised to use our rescue cat, Rocky as my inspiration and example of how loving animals can come with great rewards. I wrote that blog expecting that I would not have a cat here with me today. But this (not so little anymore) guy is as happy and healthy as can be! In fact, we are woken up daily between 4-6am by a very playful kitty who desperately needs someone to play with him. My feet have become chew toys and any glass, phone or remote that is left on any surface will quickly be swiped onto the floor. 

Sure we have to take Rocky into Dubai for regular vet appointments, give him meds 3x a day and arrange a babysitter when we want to have a bit of a social life - but when I get home at the end of a stressful day and I get to cuddle with a kitty who adores nuzzling up in my arms - I know it's all worth it. I look at pictures and I see just how much he has grown and how healthy he has become. 

I want to use his story to inspire you all to question your views on buying pets - if you haven't done so already:) Please think of all of these strays/abandoned animals/shelter animals before you go ahead and purchase from breeders, pet shops or sites like kijiji. I know all too well the thinking of "I want a certain breed" or "shelter animals are diseased or have bad behaviour". But this is just misconceptions that we have in our minds - the truth is, these animals often have the most love in their hearts to give us. And when you have that much love, who cares what breed it is??

Now please don't think I will be spending my time lecturing about my viewpoints - I simply want to share my thoughts with you. I recall a time 2 years ago that I was sitting in a circus, waiting anxiously for the the elephant act. Not because I didn't care about the cruelty, but because it was just simply something I didn't think about. I want to share the truths that I know with you - because I know if you are reading this then you care about these truths.

I will leave you with a thought from a man we all seem to love. Let's be part of the movement against animal violence. Your voice does make a difference.

Rocky - our little fighter

I'd like to share with you a blog written over two months ago about our cat Rocky - the inspiration for this blog:

Monday, 17 February 2014

"I love cats because I enjoy my home and little by little, they become it's visible soul."

Rocky has been a little piece of joy in our lives. He added extra humor, laughter and love to our otherwise quiet home. He wasn't expected - or even wanted - he just happened. And he quickly won over our hearts - especially mine.

Here is Rocky's story
We returned home from our Christmas holidays and were moping about, sad at the thought of 3 long months until our next break. Weekdays consisted of: work-gym-sleep-repeat. While walking to the gym that first week back we saw a small ball of white fur curled up on road. After inspection and some prompting we realized he was un-responsive to our sounds or the sight of us - this cat was not moving at all - just sitting there staring straight ahead. Our initial concern was leaving him on the road to get hit by a car so we rounded up the help of our friend Emma and tried to coax him with some cat food. That didn't work. So we stood there in the road, debating if we should leave him or not. After much discussion, Justin was voted to try to pick him up to move him off the road. With two fingers - and scared of the cats reaction - Justin bent down to touch the cat. As he placed two fingers on the cat we watched nervously. That's when we heard the cat begin to purr. Needless to say, from that moment on, the cat was no longer a random stray - he was our Rocky.

We attempted to nurse him back to health but he was skin and bone and was not accepting any food or water. We visited a local Madinat Zayed vet - who spoke no english and made his first impression by jamming a thermometer into Rocky's behind. He handed us medicine proclaiming Laryngitis. After 2 days he was slowly slipping away from us. He refused food, could barely hold his head up and simply layed there.

 With the help of another good soul - Chelsea - we drove late into the night to the Vet Clinic in Abu Dhabi. He stayed until 10:00pm to see us - bless him. Rocky weighed in at 1.1 pound - the weight of his bones alone. He was 4 months old at the time. He was diagnosed with an ear infection that was so deep it was affecting his balance which is why he couldn't keep his head up. We received meds and some high fat food to boost his weight fast. Dr. Fadi encouraged me to be hopefully but said that unfortunately the infection was very deep.

But our Rocky is a fighter (that's why he was given his name, of course). In 1 day he was eating on his own (even though that meant resting his face right in the food as he licked up the food). In 2 days he was attempting to walk around - even though it always resulted in him falling over on his poor head. In 5 days he was walking without falling over. In one week he was scaling the couches, jumping on and off all by himself. In two weeks he was a playful kitten who loved following Justin around and jumping on my dresser while I got myself ready in the mornings.

He loved to cuddle and would nuzzle his way up into your neck if you picked him up - trying to kiss you face. He demanded attention and would climb his way up your body if you were ignoring him. He was most content when he was in the arms of Justin - he adores him. If Justin was walking to the kitchen, that's where Rocky went. If Justin was cooking eggs - Rocky was trying to climb on the stove. I do believe the love was equal both ways.

Sadly, Rocky only had a few normal and happy weeks as a happy little kitty. On Wednesday he started to have seizures. On Thursday he had another. With the kindness and the car of our friend Dan we drove into Abu Dhabi to Dr. Fadi. He was hopefully it was due to Rocky's prior infection and he sent us away with some meds. From Friday to Saturday Rocky had 2 more seizures. On Saturday night he began to have them very frequently - about 15 minutes apart. In total he had more than 10 in 2 hours. We woke up Dr. Fadi at 11pm, called him again at midnight and by 3am we were in his vet office in Abu Dhabi. Rocky was given meds to stop the seizures and was hooked up to an IV - spending the night at the vet. Dr. Fadi began bloodtests on Sunday, saying it was most probably epilepsy which is very treatable. Unfortunately he was wrong. Rocky has now tragically been diagnosed with FIP-the dry form. We picked him up Sunday from Abu Dhabi and he is home with us now. Based on what I have read, FIP is 95%-100% fatal in the first couple months. It can range from weeks to months, usually ending in euthanasia as the quality of life is just not acceptable. 

 Our affectionate, mischievous and affectionate cat is gone. He is not interested in playing. He is not climbing up to sneak kisses. He is not even interested in sitting outside and watching his reflection like he used to. He doesn't seem to want to be alone, clinging to Justin or I. But he is not cuddly, purring or happy. He is lethargic and sleepy. This could be due to his meds or a symptom of the progression of his FIP. Or it could be both.

I'm asking you today for your prayers for this guy. I'll be the first to admit, I haven't been much for prayers - but today I am. I am praying that Rocky has some fight left in him. I am praying that he is one of the rare and miraculous survivors of this virus. I am praying that his rescue wasn't in vain and that he will go on to live a long life - firstly, for my own selfish reasons and then to be an example of how we can help and change animals lives. How love and kindness to a helpless animal can be worth the burdens that come with it. The positives far outweigh the burdens.