Kinship Circle

Kinship

The word ‘kinship’ usually means a connection by blood, marriage, or adoption; family relationship or a relationship by nature or character; some kind of affinity. Kinship Circle an all volunteer organization widens the meaning to include the relationship and connection of humans and animals. It helps beings who have been victims of disaster all around the world.

Bear witness; speak; demand; act is their motto. Kinship Circle has done so much around the world for the animal victims of disasters. In recent years, it has helped animals in: Japan Earthquake-Tsunami, Brazil Floods-Mudslides, Chile Earthquake-Tsunami, Gulf Oil Disaster, Haiti Quake, Iowa Floods, Hurricanes Gustav and Ike, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

I found a wonderful prayer/poem by Brenda Shoss, founder of

Kinship Circle

:

My prayer tonight is for all who
lie down in chains and cages.

Alone and afraid on a concrete floor.
Soundless screams behind the clang of metal.
Locked in rooms most will never see.

I feel their fear arise in my soul
Ancient yet new…
A primal flame burning against the walls of my heart.

I want to scream an endless note,
Loud and true:

Clubbed. Forgotten.
Dismembered. Forgotten.
Gassed. Forgotten.
Beaten. Forgotten.
Burned. Forgotten.
Electrocuted. Forgotten.
Abandoned. Forgotten.
Poisoned. Forgotten.
Skinned. Forgotten.
Shot. Forgotten.
Caged. Forgotten.
Shackled. Forgotten.
Murdered. Forgotten.

And with my eyes, they will be seen.

With my voice, they will be heard.

With my hands, they will know comfort.

With my action, they will be free.

Dear God, fill their oppressors with mercy and empathy.
Dear God, instill compassion where there is apathy.
Replace horror with grace.
Bloodshed with healing.

Restore all humans and animals to their natural place.
Liberate all humans and animals from greed, violence and hate.

So that tonight and evermore, ALL may lie down to sleep
unchained – uncaged - free.

AMEN

By Brenda Shoss, - Kinship Circle 2005

It is my fervent prayer that we humans may open our hearts to include all animal victims of suffering and work towards the end of all of our collective sorrow. Please visit

Kinship Circle

’s website: http://www.kinshipcircle.org/

A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor's book. ~Irish Proverb

The Nose Knows

Did you know that a dog’s sense of smell is 100,000 times more powerful than a human’s?. My Chinese crested/Chihuahua dog Chili has an interesting talent. If I have a headache, he sniffs around my head and begins to lick my forehead. When I had problems with acid reflux, he was sniffing around my neck. I’ve always know that dogs have an uncanny sense of smell and an innate sense of when something is amiss. Then I heard about disease sniffing dogs—there’s lots of research being done on the canine ability to pick up the odor of disease.

Scientists in Paris trained a Belgian Malinois shepherd, a breed with a powerful sense of smell often used as drug and explosive sniffing dogs to be able to tell the difference between urine from men with cancer and healthy men. The dog's nose turned out to be more reliable than current diagnostic approaches. Pretty impressive, I’d say.

A leading medical journal in Britain, the BMI, published the results of the first ever meticulously controlled, double blind, peer-reviewed study on the subject, stating, “The results are unambiguous. Dogs can be trained to recognize and flag bladder cancer.”

Check out this short video about a woman who saved her dog Peanut’s life and then he wound up saving her life: (http://fortheloveofthedogblog.com/news-updates/cancer-sniffing-dog-video)

The claim of the Pine Street Foundation, (http://pinestreetfoundation.org/2009/08/18/pine-street-in-people-magazine/)which runs the clinic, is this: that dogs, given as little as three weeks’ training, can, by smelling samples of people’s breath captured in a special tube, detect cancers of the lung and breast even in their earliest stages — and can do so to a level of accuracy as good as and beyond that being achieved in conventional hospitals by the latest Cat, Pet and MRI scanners. For more information about this research, check out the Pine Street Foundation’s website: (http://pinestreetfoundation.org/2010/05/03/can-dogs-detect-cancer/)

But don’t worry. Just because your dog is sniffing you it doesn’t mean she’s detecting an illness. She might just be saying “how are you feeling today?”!

“We can do no great things, only small things with great love”

--Mother Teresa

Baby Bear, The Journey Begins

In the summer of 1983, I was thinking of adopting a dog. I read about Hero, who was recovering from serious wounds from defending his owner from an attack. I applied to adopt Hero. It was a lazy summer afternoon, and after the interview I took a detour through Washington Square Park where I spotted a big, black furry dog tied to a big old tree. He looked forlorn. A torn cardboard sign around his neck, said: owner died, please take dog. As natural as breathing I approached this dog and untied the rope. Our eyes met and I fell in love. I thought of Hero; maybe I could adopt both dogs! But when I called, Hero was already adopted. At home, Baby Bear just plopped down on the floor letting out a deep sigh. It took a while for us to connect. We spent long hours lying together. Sweet boy, Baby Bear, this sadness will pass; you are home, safe, and I’m your new friend, I would whisper. I prayed he would open up to me; and I waited. Then one day as if out of nowhere, I looked at Baby Bear and his eyes lit up--following me around the room and his whole demeanor seemed to glow-- it felt like a miracle. He looked at me and not through me for the first time.

After five years, Baby Bear’s health declined and he left me and this world for his next journey.

During our relationship, we encountered numerous friends, both canine and human in the world of dog rescue. I learned lessons about how to rehabilitate and re-home dogs who had been through the mill of neglect and abuse.  Sweet Baby Bear--the first of many canine friends gracing me with lessons of patience, faith and most of all Love.