I wanted to volunteer as a farm hand and get some real gritty work in me. I had found that bartendtending was making me soft--I didn't like getting muddy or smelly. But I knew there was still a little kid in me who would have ran amok in any pasture or across any field to do something fun, and I needed to go find her.
Pasado's Safe Haven is a 45 minute drive, so I knew I had to be committed to the weekly event, but then I fell in love with Tyson and he took up all the time I had intended spending with the rest of the critters. He got inside my heart and hasn't left.
Since my involvement with Tyson began I have met some extraordinary people who give time and effort to a cause that saves four-legged critters from horrible circumstances, sometimes too horrible to mention. I thoroughly enjoy the people I see when I get to Pasado's on Monday mornings: Pam, Holly, Virginia, Mahlie, Greg and more... My husband and I are thrilled to stop at the local Pet Food store and pick up treats for little Mary and Trigger, and even Tom, who is the most cantankerous dog I have ever met. But I have that Tom melting, even if it is through bribery. Something about helping a dog (or cat or llama or goat...) makes your soul or Hado or spirit of whatever kind--coo. All the anxieties you may have about your job or your life just disappear when you get there. It's a mental massage.
From curious llamas that greet you at the gate, to the pair of meth house rescued African geese and a turkey named, Wishbone, to the very friendly and chatty pigs, Nora, Splash and Wilbur, that just want to tell you about their day...If only the critters knew that they are truly the volunteers in my life, and not the other way around.
One of the few last times we were there, my husband and I happened down the wrong road and upon the bovine pasture. This gallantly white bovine caught my eye, and yes, I use gallant to describe a cow. She was gorgeous, proud, and one of whom I would love to know the personality. Another, a Jersey named Eddie Cheddar, caught my eye. Jerseys have always been my favorite with their velvety fur and big eyes. I love cows. At any fair, I always head to the cattle barns, and maybe it's because I come from a long line of farmers, so it's in my blood, and yet maybe now it's because I find such respect for them. What they go through in life is tougher than any one of us has to. Your children are removed from you, you are fed to be slaughtered, and you are oft considered emotionless--but and yet, like any animal, you have deep emotions that you mainly keep to yourself. (I am not allowed to watch PETA videos anymore per my husband. I cry for days and have ruined vacations...)
What struck us, though, is that they have a memorial hillside for critters of past. Pasado's remembers.
It started long ago with a little guy named Pasado who was intentionally harmed and died as a result of that harm. Here is the result taken right from their website:
“The Pasado Law”
After the notoriety of Pasado’s case, legal reform to protect the animals was at the forefront of everyone’s mind. The proposed new law was entitled “The Pasado Law,” and while it was basic, it was also excellent. The proposed law stated that any intentional act of animal cruelty would become a Class C felony. While this was the lowest felony rating in Washington State, it was a vast improvement from the long-standing misdemeanor status for torturing an animal.
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