Wednesday was a perfect day. In fact, all my days have been perfect lately. Maybe there really IS karma! I woke up, went to town, came home, had a riding lesson on Khemo, who was a big sweet dream horse, met up with the hubby, drove to the Edmonton Airport and picked up my new Galah aka Rose Breasted Cockatoo!!

She is SO beautiful, cuddly, outgoing, and very loving. She was another lucky break. I got a $2500 bird for the cost to ship her here, $99.00. She was hand raised, just couldn't be sold, and luckily word of mouth that I have been looking for a rescued or surrendered parrot got out there! Now Sage, my Timneh African Grey parrot has a new friend, I named her Holly Golightly. She LOVES chin scratches, and to have her crest preened. It is hard to believe that these parrots in Australia are akin to pigeons here in North America. They have the most amazing coloring, pink and grey! ANd not to say that I have anything against pigeons, I adore them, but that is what people compare them to.

So Guzoo is closed, I bought a TON of new rare trees and plants, I got my new baby bird, I guess the only crappy thing is the rain is back for until tomorrow, but I can roll with that!

Guzoo is finally CLOSED!

It has been a LONG time since I last wrote, I am not too concerned, because I don't have or try to get any followers, this a just a diary of sorts. A journal of my personal milestones, wisdom, and the betterment of myself in such areas as controlling my PTSD, in my animal rescue, in my advocacy of animal welfare, and other important issues in my life.

As of late I have been working as a member of Concerned Albertans for Animal Welfare and Public Safety (caawps.com) to shut down Guzoo for 4 years now. I knew that problems have existed at Guzoo for YEARS, but have recently been donating my time and money to help fund and work on the CAAWPS campaign to get Guzoo investigated, as well as many other members too.

Well, we DID IT! The Ministry of Alberta Sustainable Resource Development did a 60 day investigation of Guzoo, contracted a third party (CAZA- Canadian Association of Zoos and Aquariums) to interpret the AZS and investigate Guzoo using these standards and not their own.

Unsurprisingly, they issued their finding, saying it would be IMPOSSIBLE for Guzoo to become compliant to Alberta Zoo Standards due to the ENTIRE facility, the operation, enclosures and the inability to stop the spread of diseases. To say that MY pictures, observations, interpretations of the Alberta Zoo Standards and opinion have been vindicated seems to soft to me. We were proven to be 100% right, Guzoo is beyond repair, close the doors and stop this inhumane treatment of animals.

Every February, since 2007, I have made 2 trips per year, a month apart, to take photos and document the Alberta Zoo Violations and Animal Protection Act or, to photograph any improvements the zoo has made. I have NEVER witnessed any upgrades before the media published Nic Burgess's, mine, and other CAAWPS members photographs also prove the conditions. As for Nic Burgess's photographs being manipulated is just a complete lie. Lynn Gustafson admitted the photographs by Nic Burgess of the bleeding goat were authentic, he just tried to justify giving no vet treatment to his animals.

Many animal rights groups have tried getting the government to listen, but to no avail. CAAWPS was able to attract everyday people due to our varied membership and simple agenda. This is about animal welfare and public safety, and due to our 14,000 FB members and over 33,000 people signing our petition, we made sure the government could not ignore this issue anymore.

Too busy...too sick...kinda sad.

It's Wednesday, and it's been a decent week! I am getting my gall bladder out, which has had me on Morphine for the past 6 weeks...never thought I'd ever take that drug again, other than in a hospital, but apparently my gall bladder is filled with "innumerable stones". This constant stabbing pain started about 8 weeks ago, and was diagnosed 4 weeks ago, and Monday, it GONE! That useless little organ has been the bane of my existence for quite some time, and other than being a little scared about going under then knife, I'm relieved it will be done!

I had the best riding lesson of my life yesterday, two weeks in a row now with no frustration, just pure fun riding. It's all I have right now when my mind can be free, and all I think about is getting my body in sync with Abu, the beautiful arabian stallion I've been riding this year.

My babies have kept me busy, and unfortunately a Lhasa Apso we rescued is sick, might have to be euthanized. He's in pain, and the vets can't diagnose him. His medicines haven't helped, and we have decided one last trip to see if we can relieve or stop the pain, if not,then Smurfy's time has come. :)

GUZOO MIRACLE!!!

After too long time of sorrow, heartbreak, a lot of letter writing and networking, the efforts of me and other animal rescue / rights activists, especially Devon MacDonald, GUZOO finally has to stop it's abuse, neglect and exploitation of animals by a mandate from Sustainable Resources and Fish and Wildlife. I took so many pictures of their violations, and am so happy to hear that their main draw of letting the public handle baby lions, wolves, whatever they can mass produce for each spring, is to be stopped. I am sure they will still breed, as they sell a huge amount of their babies. Hopefully they will do the right thing and send what animals they can to sanctuaries. But they won't, they will keep doing the same old, same old, and I doubt they will stop letting people handle the babies. Watch out Guzoo, many spies will be making sure that if you have one single infraction, it will be recorded and forwarded to Fish and Wildlife. Trust no one, we will get it on camera, as we have infiltrated and you will never know when we are there...

Just back from the Great Bear Rainforest

Just got home from a yacht trip through the most beautiful place on Earth, the British Columbia Inside Passage. My mom and I took an amazing trip in the Great Bear II with expert wildlife viewing couple, Trish and Eric Boyum. Spirit, Grizzley, and Black Bears everywhere, Humpback whales, Dahl's Porposies, Sea Lions, Seals, Sea Otters, Eagles...and the nightime unseen but completely heard howlings of the amazing coastal wolves, a sub species of the Gray Wolf. I saw the untouched beauty of a place unknown by many, and had the best time of my life!

Today we euthanized our oldest dog, PJ age approx 23

Today was a day we were hoping would never come, today we put down our 23 yr old Shitzu poodle cross, PJ. My husband rescued him from the Edmonton SPCA in 1992, he was a stray, and they estimated his age at a conservative 6. At age 6 his teeth were already rotten, and I didn't meet my husband till 2000, so he was 14 when I met him. He was still like a puppy, playful, kooky, huge separation anxiety, he hated us leaving the house without him, but just for a bit, once we were gone he never got destructive, just went about the house, chewing on a bone, playing with his food,or his favorite, a nice cozy nap!

So today is a day to grieve for PJ, the undocumented world's oldest dog, the documented most loved dog in our pack.

Youth

This week I have my 12 year old nephew out at the Farm with me. This kid is my everything, I love him so much, I have one other nephew and two nieces, but we have a special bond. Watching him grow, form his own opinions, and become the coolest kid has been one of my most favorite things, just thinking of him makes my heart swell with love and protection. He has never known his father, he abandoned him at birth, thank goodness for the strength of his mother and our family. He has been a huge part of my life since he was born, and I put my life on hold for a while to help my sister while she worked full-time to support him without any child support from his biological father.

We talk politics, video games, animal rescue / rights, and about a million other things, he has always spent more time with adults, especially before he started school, and he has a higher understanding of the world than most teenagers and adults. He is one of my favorite people to have a conversation with. We watch CNN together, and discuss current events locally and worldwide. We also watch The Military Channel (his favorite), The National Geographic Channel, and Animal Planet (Whale Wars is our favorite!).

I see hope in him, hope for our planets future, innocence but not ignorance, and I love watching my little man grow up.