Sometimes a miracle

Sometimes a miracle slides your way mysteriously by divine intervention. So Kangaroo one to Kangaroo two - Told you she'd be back. Amen. Sphere: Related Content

Rabbit hole. Mental illness. And as if I were a sparrow.

Just another labyrinthine thunderstorm journey down the mental illness rabbit hole. Scary being an adult sobbing uncontrollably. Dad dead eight years old. Edna many years later. Lovely I cannot talk about incidents in New York and Amsterdam. No amount of clonazepam can stop the avalanche. Scary realizing you're not who you used to be. Scary living in a foreign environment. Seemingly past repair and redemption. Detritus. Not the opposite. Chaos not order. Relentless sea of overwhelmedness and where do I go from here. Where do I start. Maybe the truth will set me free. I dunno. Maybe. Looking for hope. Joy. Purpose. Peace. A house that's not a monster but a home. Dear God. Please watch over me. As if I were a sparrow.

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Let's talk Edna

Let's talk Edna.  Let's talk Roughedge, North Carolina. 

That would be the intersection of NC 200 and NC 522, also known as Rocky River Road.

People who are in a position to know say — Warning: Graphic footage, viewer discretion highly recommended — 3:39 "ANTI Dog Fighting Music Video" is too graphic to get a lot of views.

Perhaps those people are right.  But it's a damn shame if you ask Edna —

 

Don't get me wrong.  I'm all about change, positive images for these dogs, all of that.

But I believe that unless we look evil in the eye, confront the blood sport and stone cold serious coin that keeps it going, we're not gonna hear Aaron Neville singing "A Change is Gonna Come." 

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Troy — Unspoken, noble. Hero.

Photo courtesy Hampton Police Division

Strong and noble heroes walk among us every day.
We don't always see them.  They are among the most revered members of Tribe Dog — the K-9s. Trained to work with police and other law enforcement officials,
these dogs have unique and remarkable jobs.

Some are trained to apprehend and detain suspects; others to detect illegal substances, or find explosives; arson dogs to pick up the scent of an accelerant.  Search and Rescue dogs are trained to locate missing people. Cadaver-sniffing dogs are trained to find corpses and human remains. Their job may seem sad, daunting, but untold families world wide are grateful to these dogs.

The first image you may have for a K-9 is a German Shepherd Dog or a Belgian Malinois,  but other breeds are used as well.  Only in the days following 9-11 did working K-9s come to  national prominence as SAR dogs from all over our country came to ground zero.

Troy is one of these majestic and noble dogs who protect and serve.  A Dutch Shepherd, he arrived at the Hampton Police Division in April 2006, origin the Netherlands.  He was two years old.  Troy had already received five weeks of intensive training with the American Society of Canine Trainers.  He then received an additional three weeks of ASCT training with MPO Angie Dipentima — MPO stands for Master Police Officer.  MPO Dipentima has been with Hampton Police Division since 1999.  She is also an instructor for HPD, training officers to work on the Crisis Intervention Team.

Certified as a Master K-9 handler by ASCT on May 5, 2006, she and Troy were on the job the next day.  He accompanies her to work five days a week.  Troy's specialty is narcotics detection.  A typical day in their lives includes random inspections in the business districts of Hampton in hotels, restaurants, bars, parking establishments and warehouses.  Troy receives sixteen hours of training each month with MPO Dipentima.

I first saw Troy in a video from a PBS special called  The dogs are alright:  The Vick dogs make a comeback. 
To me this video is  mesmerizing.  All fourteen minutes and thirteen seconds — a story that sent shock waves across the country in 2007.  The story continues, but now it's about grace and redemption.  Inspiration.  Troy appears in only the first :32 seconds but he steals the show, in the very best sense.  Take a look.  You'll see.  He was then and is now a star.  Every day that Troy works in the city of Hampton, Virginia the citizens can rest easy.  He protects and serves, 24/7.



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Safe — Twenty dogs in Hawkins County Tennessee

Photo courtesty FAMILY TAP.  Not from this fire.

Monday, November 19:  "By the time the sun set Monday evening,  the Hawkins County Short Mountain forest fire — which started Thursday afternoon — had scorched about 2,200 acres west of Rogersville."  

Sunday, November 18:  "While fighting the fire on Sunday, crews came across a property where about 20 dogs were chained to vehicle axles that were buried in the ground. They called the Hawkins County Sheriff's Office, which sent deputies to investigate."

Firefighters in the Tennessee's Division of Forestry and deputies in the Sheriff's Department of Hawkins County.  Heroes.

The Sheriff's Department's deputies evacuated the dogs down the mountain to safety .  Took about nine hours.  "The fire was coming across the ridge, and they (firefighters) were worried that if the wind hit the right direction that it would put them dogs in danger," Allen [Chief Deputy Tony Allen] said.  "As a matter of fact, that place did end up burning Sunday night."

All 20 dogs are safe.  Confirmed.   Charvez Franciso has been charged.   Detective John Pruitt is investigating the case.  I believe he is a man who does not back down.

These dogs — as their 65 brothers over in Ashland County over Thanksgiving —were surrounded by fire.  They're real grateful to the firefighters, the deputies, and the people in four counties taking care of them.  So am I.  Sphere: Related Content

star light star bright

kit fox - san joaquin co california

Star light star bright, first star I see tonight.  Wish I may, wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight.

I wish the 20 dogs in Hawkins County TN to remain safe and sound. Tonight and all the days and nights to come. Move away from fear and toward peace.  Namaste little guys. Holding you close to heart.

Looking now at most wonderful of wonderful white dogs. He's keeping you close to heart as well.

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like giant search beams in the sky

like giant search beams in the sky there are always other pictures.  just keep scrolling.

Animal Rescue Corps - photo by Amiee Stubbs

Funny thing about holidays.  If you have family you go wherever they are.  If you can.  If you don't have family - maybe someone invites you to their home.
If you've lost someone holidays are  unsettling. Wisps and unruly tendrils of conversations and pictures and afternoons and laughter blow across your face and refuse to be tamed.  When the distractions and the people who've opened their homes and hearts to you fade to black those wisps become splinters.  And the blue gray maya landscape of denial protecting you flies out the window.
  
Yesterday a little after noon I read about 65 dogs in Tennessee.   No amount of inside chores and outside Edna-ing picking up sticks in my leaf engulfed yard could stem the tide - 65 dogs in Tennessee rescued from a suspected dog fighting operation.  65 dogs in Tennessee surrounded by a brush fire on Thanksgiving.

But then as almost always now when walking through the valley of the shadow of - I remember Nigel.  Nigel Buggers.   A Decade of Nigel.   Because in moments like these the only thing to do if you don't want to drown is turn to those far flung stars that light up life like giant search beams in the sky.  Like Nigel.  And Life With Dogs.  Because his stories make you laugh. Sometimes flat out howl like a Basset and snortle like a female pig going to ground for truffles. Because Life With Dogs tells stories of love and hope and  inspiration.  Stories that may not always have a happy ending but always have a reason.  For being.  For shining.  I thought about how Nigel and Life With Dogs would tell the story of the 65 dogs in Tennessee.   And waiting for that story I am smiling at the most wonderful of wonderful white dogs whose picture dots Facebook whenever there's a new LWD story or photograph.   Dear God how we do love stand up guys, don't we, Nigel?  Thank you Cheatham County Animal Control,  Animal Rescue Corps, New Leash on Life, Agape Animal Rescue, The Nashville Zoo, and the Tennessee Highway Patrol.

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