War Victims

There's a million causes and a million places to donate money. I am not encouraging donations with this post. My aim only is to point out or to further connect animal-loving folks. Or at least to provide another reminder how much alike animal folks are, no matter where we reside, what language we speak, what religion we practice, or any number of other things.

Saw an AP story in The Kansas City Star today titled "Families flee, but pets stay." The article references BETA -- a group in Beirut that encourages the ethical treatment of animals. The group was established two years ago and is Lebanon's first animal welfare and rescue organization. According to the AP article, humans that were evacuated were prohibited by their embassies to take any pets with them on the helicopters and ships that rescued the folks. Here's a link to the AP story on The Washington Post's site. I think you don't have to register to view.

BETA reportedly had 113 dogs and about 100 cats sheltered on July 12 as the battle started. Volunteers are actually driving animals to farms and other spots through the shelling and bombing. There's plenty of other pets that have been left by locals and others as they flee the area. I can't even imagine.