Blog the Change for Animals: A Sunrise Sanctuary Follow-Up

It's time for the quarterly Blog the Change for Animals bloghop and today I'm following up with the organization I wrote about on the Blog the Change homepage back in April. I didn't plan to write about Sunrise Sanctuary again but something happened back in June that made me feel like I simply had to once again spread the word about the wonderful people who make the sanctuary a home to nearly 200 abused, neglected, and unwanted farm animals.

On June 8, 2015 a truck carrying thousands of piglets crashed on a state route near Xenia, Ohio, which is about an hour away from my hometown of Cincinnati. I found the headline so disturbing that I couldn't stand to read any articles about the crash, but did see that hundreds of the pigs were killed immediately while the rest were rounded up to continue on their way to their ultimate destination, a slaughter house.

I would not have expected something heartwarming and life-affirming to come out of something so upsetting to read about, but that is exactly what has happened. As it turned out, one little pig survived the crash and wasn't rounded up with the others. Instead, he was found tangled in the wreckage by a Good Samaritan who managed to get the piglet to Sunrise Sanctuary.

Little Nathan sleeping with his toys not long after he arrived at Sunrise. Photo courtesy of Sunrise Sanctuary

Mindy Mallett, the founder of Sunrise, took the piglet under her wing and named him Nathan after Nathan Runkle, the founder of Mercy For Animals. Though traumatized and suffering from a respiratory illness that required hospitalization at the Ohio State University veterinary hospital, Nathan managed to thrive. He now charms everyone he meets.

The darling piglet has become a social media star and I can't deny that his pictures and updates are one of my favorite things that I see in my Facebook newsfeed. My sister and I plan to visit Sunrise next month and we can't wait to meet little Nathan.

When I first visited Sunrise back in April the farm reminded me of a real life Charlotte's Web or Babe. Now the little piglet named Nathan has only added to that feeling. Sunrise is definitely a place like no other and one that will bring a smile to anyone who visits it.

If you'd like to learn more about Sunrise Sanctuary and the amazing work they do for animals, visit their site or find them on Facebook.

If you're interested in joining the Blog the Change hop add your name to the list below and hop around to check out some of the other bloggers. :)

The Humane Cosmetics Act

Back in October I posted about the use of animal testing in cosmetics and how I found this practice barbaric and deplorable since humane alternatives exist and have been in use for years by many companies. I posted this as my entry for the Blog the Change for Animals hop, which is held four times a year and aims to highlight issues concerning animal welfare and rescue.

I was thrilled and pleasantly surprised this week to read about the introduction of the Humane Cosmetics Act, which proposes to prohibit animal testing for all cosmetics sold or manufactured in the United States. The act enjoys bipartisan support and was sponsored by U.S. Representatives Martha McSally (R-AZ), Don Beyer (D-VA), Joe Heck (R-NV) and Tony Cárdenas (D-CA). The act is also supported by cosmetics industry powerhouses like Paul Mitchell and The Body Shop, both of which already prohibit animal testing on their products.

There has been so much horrible news in recent weeks that it was a treat to read something that actually made me smile. I especially love that this act has bipartisan support, as the word "bipartisan" seems increasingly rare nowadays.

The Humane Society launched a Be Cruelty Free campaign to help end animal testing and provides a contact form on its website for Americans to contact their own representatives and ask them to support the new legislation.

Cruelty Free International, the largest organization working to ban animal testing in the world, states that the United States will join the European Union, Israel, and India among those who have banned this outdated practice if the legislation. New Zealand, Brazil, Vietnam and South Korea are also working on bans. As you'll see if you click on this link, Peter Dinklage is the US Ambassador to Cruelty Free International and an advocate to end animal testing on cosmetics and toiletries. If Tyrion Lannister is behind it, it has to be a good thing.  :D

In all seriousness, I think anything that can reduce the amount of cruelty in the world is a wonderful thing. This legislation is a step in the right direction.

The Letter M & Blog the Change for Animals

"Don't tell me the MOON is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass." ~ Anton Chekhov

I love this quote because I've always loved staring up at the moon in the sky, but it also intimidates me because it relates to the thing I find most difficult in writing. To me nothing is harder than description and while I like to think I could show the glint of light I'm certainly not confident of it. I sometimes think I should try my hand at writing a script because I love to write dialogue. If I could write all dialogue and skip description all together I'd probably be a happy camper. But I'm going to keep trying to capture that light on broken glass. 

Blog the Change for Animals is a hop that is held four times a year to raise awareness about animal-related causes and issues. Today marks the first hop since I joined the BtC team as a blogger, and I am excited to be able to share my first post for the blog. You can also see the list of other bloggers who are participating in the hop and sharing their own great causes.

I visited the Sunrise Sanctuary, a rescue for farm animals in Marysville, Ohio, this past Saturday and fell so in love with the place that it's inspired me to try to make more compassionate choices in my own life. To read about my visit, go to the BtC site here.

Since I wrote about my visit at BtC I will keep this brief, but suffice it to say that the Sanctuary is an absolutely wonderful and enchanting place that I am proud to support. I hope to visit again this summer. If you would like to learn more about the farm and the cows, pigs, goats, horses, llamas, ducks, and many others who call it home, visit their page here.

Blog the Change for Animals & Cruelty Free International

Blog the Change for Animals is a blog hop held four times a year to help spread awareness about animal related causes and charities. I haven't participated in a long time, but when I saw that the hop was coming up again this month I thought it was a perfect chance for me to get back to one of my original goals for this blog, which was to write about animal welfare.

The timing was actually perfect too as I've just recently become aware of an organization called Cruelty Free International, which works to end animal testing on cosmetics and household cleaning supplies and to support businesses which have already stopped (or never started) testing on animals for these products.

Source: publicdomainpictures.net

A bunny like the one pictured above seemed like the perfect photo to complement this post as from what I have read rabbits are among the animals most frequently used for cosmetic testing. In fact, the leaping bunny logo is considered the international standard for recognizing cruelty free products and companies.

Honestly, I hadn't ever thought much about animal testing before as I kind of thought it was just something that was done in the past. But once I learned more it felt very hypocritical for me to be supportive of animal rescues for dogs and cats while turning a blind eye to rabbits being blinded so companies can make mascara or other cosmetics.

Since humane and safe alternatives exist I decided it was important for me to support companies which are using these alternatives and putting out safe products for people to use without harming animals to do it.

So I started on a journey of replacing the cosmetics and cleaning supplies I was using with those made by cruelty free companies. This is an ongoing process but so far I have had very positive results. I have super sensitive skin and can break out in a rash just by looking at some products, so I was a little concerned about trying new ones. But so far the new products I'm using have actually been better for my skin, and my hair has never felt healthier. The laundry detergent I bought also works great and seems perfect for my sensitive skin.

From what I have found, the companies using cruelty free methods also use primarily natural ingredients, so I feel like I am getting healthier products as an unexpected bonus. I figure if I can cut back on the amount of chemicals I am using that has to be a good thing, both for me and for the environment in general.

This has been a rewarding process for me so far but as I said it is an ongoing one. Some of the products are significantly more expensive so I'm working on finding affordable alternatives. Still, it feels good to know I am at least making an effort, however small, to be the change I want to see.

If you'd like to learn more about Blog the Change and see other participants, visit the Be the Change for Animals site here.