Guardian of the Month - 2005
December 2005 - Guardian of the Month ~ Mariana Tosca
"Christmas in the Clouds" Star Combines Acting with Activism
In "Christmas in the Clouds", a new movie that opened nationwide last weekend, California native Mariana Tosca gets to play a vegetarian. While this might be a stretch for most actresses, it was in a sense the "role of a lifetime" for Mariana because she's been a real-life vegetarian for over 15 years. She was especially drawn to the project because the script had such a positive message that resonates with her strong feelings about animals. For instance, a chef in the movie (played by veteran actor Graham Greene) hates to cook meat and tells carnivorous diners personal stories about the animals they're consuming as he serves up their flesh. While this might sound morbid, "Christmas in the Clouds" is actually a romantic comedy for the holiday season, and these scenes effectively raise both laughter and awareness while poking fun at meat eater's usually disguised discomfort with the truth about who their dinner was made from. Perhaps because of this running joke, Mariana was able to convince the makers of "Christmas in the Clouds" to feature vegetarian catering on the set for the second half of the shoot.
A lifelong animal lover and IDA member for over 15 years, Mariana got one of her first lucky breaks in acting through advocating for animals. As a result of participating in one IDA Fur Free Friday event years ago, she appeared on a newscast in San Francisco's Union Square shouting "Meat Is Murder!" into a bullhorn. A theatrical agent saw the story on TV that evening and offered to represent her. That was back when Mariana, a Mensa member with an IQ of 168, had just finished studying drama at San Francisco State University and was about to enroll in the Master of Fine Arts program at the American Conservatory Theatre (ACT). She now studies with Larry Moss and Gordon Hunt, two of Hollywood's most respected acting coaches, and sits on the Board of Directors of several award-winning theatre companies.
Throughout her life, Mariana has always had animals around to keep her company, and she expresses a special affinity for dogs and rats. She believes that rats are among the most intelligent species, and often fosters them for various shelters. She is currently the guardian of two dogs, Bleu (a Dalmatian) and Jasper (a black lab/Italian greyhound mix). Sadly, her beloved 14-year-old Shepherd/Saluki/Collie mix Galahad passed away only last month.
As a volunteer, Mariana devotes her time to companion animal organizations like the Glendale Humane Society, the Burbank Animal Shelter and Actors and Others for Animals. She enjoys being able to use her growing celebrity to increase companion animals' visibility at mobile adoption events around Los Angeles. Mariana also founded Canine Cinema, a company that produces short films of companion animals for guardians to enjoy, and donates half of the proceeds from this enterprise to a variety of animal welfare groups. She often contributes Canine Cinema films as auction items for animal shelter fundraisers, each one bringing in between $2,500 and $4,000 for the animals. From Canine Cinema, Mariana also got the idea to make 30-second promotional films for adoptable dogs at the Glendale Humane Society highlighting each animal's unique personality. After posting the films on their website, the shelter reported a 200% increase in adoptions.
IDA is proud to name Mariana Tosca our Guardian of the Month for December. As for Mariana, she says, "I've been a proud IDA member for many years, and it is an honor to be associated with this intrepid organization, so tireless in its pursuit of giving voice to those who cannot speak for themselves." IDA wishes Mariana continued success in her endeavors as an actress and animal advocate, and we look forward to working with her in the future.
Visit www.mtosca.com/index.html to learn more about Mariana.
August 2005 - Guardian of the Month ~ Toni Phillips
Toni began rescuing dogs in 1990, after moving to the rural D/FW area from San Francisco. Originally from Seattle, Toni had never been exposed to that dark side of humans who could just 'dump' a dog or puppy to survive on it's own ... Soon her husband Mike joined her in helping dogs abandoned in the country. Mike figured Toni would never pass up a dog on the highway or byway, so if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. They moved in late 1992 to the Branson, MO area where they continued their rescue efforts, due to the need of the stray or abandoned animals that found their way to their hearts and home. In late 1998, they moved to Colorado, where once again Toni became involved in animal rescue in Teller County. In 2003, they purchased the land that now holds Rescue Animal Fund's Sanctuary, Mariah's Promise, in Divide, CO. In April 2005, they heard the ban would be reinstated in Denver on May 9th.
Already they were getting calls from shelter workers who, when they arrived at work, were finding pit bulls tied to their front doors, or citizens calling looking for a place of refuge for their soon to be exiled family pets. They began to post signs around Denver and getting the word out that they would take their pit bulls either temporarily until they could relocate outside Denver, or permanently to re-home them. Trust was slow to build, but soon people discovered the couple were sincere in their offer to help them help their pets. With seed money that came from donations made to Denver's Max Fund on behalf of the Denver pit bulls, Mariah's Promise purchased additional kennels, dog houses and other items for the 'Denver Refugee Camp'. Many of the dogs were not spayed or neutered, which is a requirement to coming to Mariah's Promise, many dollars were spent getting the dogs altered, vaccinations and rabies current. Toni is a HUGE ADVOCATE of reducing the pet over-population problem and thereby reducing the needless deaths of hundreds of thousands of animals each year. Working together with the Max Fund's Outreach Program, Toni coordinated two low cost spay/neuter/shot clinics last year in a rural area of Teller County, where they reside, in an effort to reduce the pet population and spread of disease. In those four days, 121 dogs & cats were altered, 190 were vaccinated. This year, the Clinic is scheduled August 26th & 27th in Victor, CO.
As of 8/8/2005, Mariah's Promise has taken in 73 pit bulls from Denver, with more needing to come in weekly. Of those, 22 dogs & puppies have been given a fresh start in new, loving homes outside of Denver. They are also working with other no-kill rescues outside of Colorado to take some of the dogs who need to new homes to make room for other Denver exiles. With the threat of Denver's neighboring cities considering a breed ban, Mariah's Promise is preparing themselves to help more dogs as needed. Winter will present a whole new set of circumstances because of the long, cold winter months. Presently, the dogs are housed in outside kennels. Come winter's cold, these dogs are not suited for outside living, hence they are needing a large shelter to house dogs during the winter. Again, in partnership and seed money from Max Fund, they are building 10x10 climate controlled dog houses with outside runs to house dogs, called the 'Titus House'. In the past, the dogs all came into the couple's house at night, using seven rooms as housing. With the current count of 85 dogs, that won't be possible this winter. Hence, their efforts to move dogs to other no-kill rescues and build more 'Titus Houses' to accomodate 'all that we can'.
Contact info:
www.mariahspromise.petfinder.com
Mariah's Promise
4027 CR 5
P.O. Box 1017
Divide, CO 80814
V. 719-687-4568
C. 719-651-4733
July 2005 - Guardian of the Month ~ Debra Mendelsohn
IDA's Guardian of the Month for July is Debra Mendelsohn, rat and rabbit rescuer extraordinaire. Debra founded Bay Area Rats Rescue in 2003 in memory of Latkah, her first rescued rat, to re-home rats and other small animals who have been abandoned. Debra is also very active as a volunteer in the community. She is a longtime member of The House Rabbit Society, and has volunteered to work with the small animals at the Marin Humane Society for the past 10 years. She recently began volunteering at Oakland Animal Services to assist with their rats, and transports "unadoptable" iguanas from San Francisco Animal Care and Control to a reptile sanctuary in Sebastopol, California.
Currently, Debra and her husband David live with three rescued rabbits and seventeen rescued rats in their Marin County, Calif. home. Although rats normally tend to bully rabbits, the two species complement each other well in the Mendelsohn household. Debra prefers to adopt animals who have been classified as "unadoptable," usually due to temperament and/or health issues. For example, two of their rats are nearly blind, one is deaf and responds to hand signals, one is missing part of a tail and another has only one eye. Yet no matter what they've been through in the past, all of Debra's rescues become social and trusting under her care. "It simply takes understanding, patience, a healthy environment and lots of love," she says.
Debra has a passion for improving the lives of as many animals as possible, but rats and rabbits hold a special place in her heart. IDA is proud to honor her as our Guardian of the Month for July. To find out more about Bay Area Rat Rescue or to inquire about adopting an animal, write to Debra at BayAreaRats@aol.com. For more information on IDA's Guardian Campaign, please visit www.guardiancampaign.com.
June 2005 - Guardian of the Month ~ Pali Boucher
IDA's Guardian of the Month for June, Pali Boucher, knows what it's like to be without a home, so she has a special place in her heart for the pooches waiting in animal shelters for loving guardians. As a young girl, Boucher was placed in a foster home, and then later lived on the streets of San Francisco. Always an animal lover, Boucher visited the dogs at the SPCA constantly, hoping they would get adopted before being euthanized. One hound dog stole her heart and turned her life around. After adopting Leadbelly, Boucher made a home for herself and started fostering other dogs. After Leadbelly's death, she founded the non-profit Rocket Dog Rescue in 2001 as a tribute to his courageous spirit.
Rocket Dog has been going strong ever since. The organization specializes in rescuing dogs from Bay Area shelters that are in danger of being euthanized, then socializing them until they are adoptable. With decades of experience between them, Boucher and her network of foster parents bring out the best in every dog. Their collective dedication saved the lives of about 180 dogs last year, and that number promises to grow as the organization gains allies and raises more funds. Rocket Dog's success has even attracted the attention of TV's Animal Planet, which plans to produce a one-hour special featuring their exceptional work. Stay tuned for details!
April 2005 - Guardian of the Month ~ Kelly Palmatier, founder of Compassionate Kids
In 2004, Kelly Palmatier, a vegan foster/adoptive mom with a background in business, communications, and web design founded a non-profit called Compassionate Kids. "As a home schooling family, we were already teaching our own children compassion," says Palmatier, "and I realized I was ready to share these lessons with the world."
Compassionate Kids is a network dedicated to helping teach children compassion towards the Earth, people, and animals. The website, www.compassionatekids.com, offers articles, book reviews, and free printable activities. There currently local chapters in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Minnesota, Tennessee and Washington. Each chapter hosts compassion-oriented field trips and community service events approximately once a month.
To join any of these Local Chapters, or to start a new chapter, please sign up for your free membership to the national organization and specify your location. Thanks, Kelly, for building this active network so we can come together to help the Earth, people and animals.
March 2005 - Urban Tulsa Magazine
This winter, Tulsa Oklahoma residents opened up their free copies of Urban Tulsa Weekly, an alternative weekly newspaper to find an in-depth feature detailing how animals help make like better for humans, and reporting on how, statistically, humans could do a little more for animals. One article asks, "Are we being good keepers of these little creatures?"
But Urban Tulsa didn't stop at challenging readers to think about their relationship to animals. They introduced their own commitment to the term "animal guardian" in their newspaper, stating: "You may have noticed that we have been using the term 'guardian' rather than 'owner.' In Defense of Animals is dedicated to raising the status of animals beyond & that of mere property. For more information on the Guardian Campaign log onto idausa.org or call IDA at 415-388-9641."
Their reasoning for promoting the new term? Michelle Oakley, Urban Tulsa Office Manager responds, "The issue is a great community concern and deserves the most complete coverage possible. Our readers expect us to lead by example and to keep them informed and involved in the affairs of the metro area so that they, in turn, can do their part to become more active in the community."
Urban Tulsa Weekly is read by 106,000 people per week in the Tulsa Metro and surrounding areas. Thank you, Urban Tulsa for setting such a motivating example of social responsibility by a newspaper.
February 2005 - Anthony Marr - Founder of the HOPE-CARE Foundation
In the last decade of full time campaigning in defense of animals, Anthony Marr created another way to spread awareness of animal issues and rally activists from coast-to-coast. In May, 2002, he bought an old 21' RV and a 10' trailer which he converted into a "Raw Truth" trailer, equipped with a 54" TV so that educational videos could be aired to the public on the streets of cites all over North America.
A few months before the seven-month, 41 state CARE tour was launched, Anthony's tour group expanded. Kelowna-based dietitian and best-selling author Brenda Davis (Becoming Vegetarian, Becoming Vegan, Dairy-Free and Delicious and Defeating Diabetes), and her then 14 year-old son Cory Davis joined the tour to round out the message of compassion towards all animals, wild and domestic.
The CARE tour's staff partnered with hundreds of vegetarian and animal advocacy groups throughout the United States to successfully deliver educational speaking engagements at over 100 universities, 100 high/middle schools, 100 public venues from September 2003 through April 2004!
All along the way, the CARE tour spread the message of the importance of using the term "animal guardian." Anthony comments, "If one insists on having an animal for companionship or partnership of some kind, it is a responsibility above all else, to safeguard the well-being of the animal. The prime currency should not be money, nor utility, nor performance, nor even companionship; it should be love, unconditionally given, gratefully received and joyfully returned." Thanks, Anthony!
January 2005 - Nancy Furstinger, Author
Nancy Furstinger is a true animal guardian in every sense of the word. As an author of books for children that grownups can also enjoy, she finds creative ways to help readers understand what being an animal guardian really means. Nancy is totally dedicated to the guardian campaign in both her professional and private life. “I am adamant that the word ‘owner’ or the pronoun ‘it’ (referring to animals) never appears in any of my books,” says Nancy. “This reflects the respect that I, as an animal guardian, have for the eight fur babies who comprise my family!”
Her books include fun activities that both people and animals can enjoy. For example, in her book, “Fun Stuff with Your Best Friend: The Interactive Dog Book,” Nancy offers endless ways to keep any pooch’s tail wagging. In “Creative Crafts for Critters,” she provides even more ideas for making dog and rabbit animal companions happy. Nancy is an advocate for wild animals, too. In “Catskill Creatures,” she describes practical advice for co-existing harmoniously with wild animals. For example, she provides instructions for building a bat house and checking chimneys for raccoon nests before starting up the fireplace. “I hope to show children and adults how to help creatures struggling to survive in increasingly shrinking habitats,” Nancy says. “I try to instill a love and respect for all creatures in children.”
Nancy’s empathy for all creatures led her to volunteer for various humane organizations,
and to stop eating meat at age 16. “I feel that the goal of those who
share this wondrous planet, in the words of Albert Einstein, ‘must be
to free ourselves by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all
living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty,’” she says. Thanks,
Nancy for your inspiration. For more information about IDA's Guardian
Campaign, please visit www.GuardianCampaign.org.