Self-Knowledge and Self-Realization

Although some readers have complained that I should write about animal stuff and Infinity elsewhere, and reserve this site only for talking about going free, my life with Robert, or associated ideas, in the end, this is my blog and I write about what is important to me.


For the second time in six weeks we animal lovers and rescuers in Los Angeles have scored a huge victory against forces that would kill animals.


About a year ago a lawsuit by Urban Wildlands ended with a judges order that prevented the City's Animal Services Dept. helping residents of Los Angeles feed, trap, neuter/spay cats, and then return them to the environment. This is called TNR. 


Unfortunately, in their zeal, the actual street level enforcers of the laws at Animal Services were telling people that feeding feral cats itself was illegal and they could go to jail and be fined $1,000.


This was all bull. They cited a law against feeding coyotes, saying if you left food out for feral cats, the coyotes could get it. Therefore, you'd be breaking that feeding law, and could be fined and jailed.


However, I pointed out to the head of Animal Services that that was not the intent of that law. The intent was to not feed and attract coyotes leading to dangerous run ins between people and coyotes.


Animal Services personnel across the city were also banning feeding homeless cats under another law called the kennel law. However, if the person feeding ferals was also getting them fixed and adopting them out, they were exempt. There were other exemptions that the department was not telling people about. They either did not understand the law (which is not that complicated), or they were enforcing it out of spite.


With the help of an Animal Services cat-friendly Commissioner, the new General Manager, Brenda Barnette, admitted her own people didn't understand the judges ruling and she was now sending out an email to enforcement personnel stating that there was no ban against private citizens feeding feral cats.  


We won!! The lives of well over 1,000,000 homeless and feral cats was in danger due to the harassing and incorrect enforcement of the wrong laws by Animal Services. They are no longer in danger. Dealing with this problem has eaten an enormous amount of time I could have been working on this blog and setting up online Satsang, and I apologize.


I should mention that the new GM, Brenda Barnette is an Advaitin, although an advocate of Eckhart Tolle. She is on facebook. Say hello sometime. Perhaps that is why enforcement is changing in Los Angeles. Advaitins working together, or as Seung Sahn called, it, "Together action," acting through "correct understanding."