Animal Companions -- Adopted. Gorillas in our midst

The mind may think otherwise but the heart knows no bounds...
and when it comes to all matters of love...is deaf to the mind.

Meet a couple and hear their story -- about life with a gorilla.

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Living Peace

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The fact that man knows right from wrong proves his intellectual superiority to the other creatures; but the fact that he can do wrong proves his moral inferiority to any creatures that cannot.  ~  
Mark Twain, What Is Man, 1906



Deep in the Costa Rican jungle, a fisherman named Chito discovered a crocodile that had been shot in the eye by a cattle farmer and left for dead. Chito was able to drag the massive reptile into his boat and brought him to his home, where h...e stayed by his side for months, nursing him back to health.

He named the croc Pocho. “I stayed by Pocho’s side while he was ill, sleeping next to him at night. I just wanted him to feel that somebody loved him, that not all humans are bad.” said Chito, ““It meant a lot of sacrifice. I had to be there every day. I love all animals – especially ones that have suffered.”

The day finally came when Pocho was strong enough to go back into the wild. Chito took him to a lake near his house and released him, but the animal simply got back out of the water and followed him home.
I just wanted him to feel that somebody loved him, that not all humans are bad.

“Then I found out that when I called his name he would come over to me.” says Chito. The fisherman has been hesitant to tell his story, even though 20 years have passed since he first rescued Pocho. Pocho is roughly 5.18 meters (17 feet) long. He and Chito play, wrestle and hug on a daily basis. That bond, Chito said, took years to forge.

“After a decade I started to work with him.”, says Chito casually, “At first it was slow, slow. I played with him a bit, slowly doing more.”

Chito has told his story now only to raise awareness of the cruelty that can be done to animals, and the difference that affection and treating other rightly can make.

“He’s my friend, I don’t want to treat him like a slave or exploit him.” said Chito, “I am happy because I rescued him and he is happy with me because he has everything he needs.”


An update on Chito and Pocho 

And the two performing their act...

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New for the Summer Reading List - Carol Upton Reviews Made That Way

Made That Way
Susan Ketchen
Oolichan Books
Soft Cover, 2010, $12.95
ISBN: 978-0-88982-270-2
Available from Amazon or local bookseller

Reviewed by Carol M. Upton


Usually it makes me feel better to wear my riding clothes. But today nothing helps, even when I buckle on my riding helmet and hop on my bike. Somehow I know I'm doomed. ~ Susan Ketchen

In this family fiction sequel to Born That Way, Susan Ketchen reunites readers with the intrepid young Sylvia, who is challenged by a genetic disorder, wild about horses, and determined to find solutions to the obstacles presented by her life in general. Sylvia wants to be a real horsewoman and she’s excited about getting her own horse, even if the horse is arriving at a less-than-perfect time. Brooklyn is, well, not quite a regular horse. He has big ears, makes strange sounds, and he’s already bitten the transport driver.

Ketchen captures, with humour and pathos, the developing personality and growing pains of a not quite fifteen-year-old girl who would just like to be normal. Sylvia also wants to be treated as an adult, but sometimes, no one seems to listen very closely, and she must puzzle things out on her own.

The strength of this book lies in Ketchen’s examination of some topics that parents and children may find difficult to discuss. What does it mean to be normal or disordered anyhow? Where does a young person turn when her parents don’t listen, when she is tormented at school, and is now faced, not with her dream horse, but one who appears to be complicating her life even further.

Ketchen’s writing is fast-paced, compelling and full of surprises. Made That Way can be read in one sitting, but Sylvia’s persistence and creativity in overcoming her life’s challenges will inspire the reader for a lifetime.

Susan Ketchen was born in Nanaimo, B.C. and had a successful Family counseling practice for many years. She now resides on a small Vancouver Island hobby farm with her husband, two horses, two cats and a flock of chickens. Grows That Way, the third book in this series will be published in fall 2011.

Visit Susan at: www.susanketchen.ca

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Simon's Cat is a treasure ...

Here's the newest post from Simon's cat... what treasure lies hidden where one might have forgotten to look?
Note to self: Clean houses have fewer "treasures" ...

I Heart Horses

The totem I was born with - I picked up my crayons and drew my hero the horse. If I had a moment to recreate, it would be sharing time with Sonny. It simply flew too fast for me to put anything more into the memory than feelings -- and then I was gone.



The guy in the video is Jean-François Pignon...

http://www.jfpignon.com/
http://www.horsetalk.co.nz/index.php/forum/19-natural-horsemanship/8530-jean-francois-pignon

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Born Free

We might hope what we see here is the debut of the new Fisherman's friend --- who happens to prefer fish staying in their home. ;) ...["Does the fish like me?"]

Side note: when my dad took me to fish (appx age 7), I hated to hurt the bait by putting it on the hook (worms and minnows) - so I chose to use worms and wrapped them around the hook -- liberating them as the flew out into the water.... Didn't catch much that way but I suspect the fish enjoyed my visits. :)