Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Two of my Favorites: Running and Animals!

Today I got to celebrate two of my favorite things - running and animals!

Happy National Running Day to all! To celebrate - I did my last speed workout before my race. 3x1mile with an average pace of 9:40!!!

Mile one: 9:49
Mile two: 9:40
Mile three: 9:31

Woo hoo! i felt strong the whole time, it was a really great run. And a great way to start my day of advocacy!

Today was the first annual Animal Adovacy Day in New York State. Animal resucue organizations, pet owners, and animal lovers gathered in the NYS Legislative Office Building to lobby for the strengthening of Buster's Law, New York's animal abuse statute.



Buster was a kitten in Schenctady, NY that was doused with kerosene and lit on fire in 1997. When his owners found him, he held on for 3 brave weeks before he had to be put down. Buster's owner was at the event today, and she stated that she believed Buster hung on for so long because he demanded to be heard. At the time, abuse of an animal was a misdemeanor in NYS. Because of Buster's bravery, and his human family's perserverence, in 1999 Buster's law was passed upping ther crime to a felony punishable by up to two years in jail or a $5000 fine. Today we gathered to advocate for strengthening that law, as only 17% of animal abuse cases since 1999 have resulted in a conviction.



Both Videos courtesy of News10 WTEN.com.

It was a really fabulous event. I participated as a representative of the Mohawk Hudson River Humane Society. One of my other favorite local organizations, Out of the Pits, also participated. The "headliner" was Rescue Ink, a bunch of tough guys with big hearts rescuing animals from abusive situations. We were lucky enough to share a table with an organization in Saratoga County that works to foster pets of domestic violence victims. I think this is a great program as so much research shows that those people that are domestic violence abusers often abuse any pets in the house as well - including abusing the animal to terrorize the human victim in the home.

It was so great to see all the local organizations come together to work toward a common cause. Quite a rewarding day.

Saki

Smokey

Both Saki and Smokey are at the Mohawk Hudson River Humane Society waiting for YOU to give them a forever home.

1 comment:

Lindsey said...

Great run with an awesome pace!!