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Stepping Up for Animals when Disaster Strikes. Via Devorah Rose on Oct 24, 2017
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get elephant's newsletter As a pet owner, sometimes I have terrible nightmares about animals in strife. The animals aren’t always the same, but there’s a narrative pattern: something horrible happens, and I’m struggling to rescue them, whether from the jaws of a predator or a sea’s angry waves. I think I can guess what a therapist would tell me. Probably something about my need to be in control of vulnerable parts of life and myself—pretty good, right? But when real-life natural disasters arise, I’m reminded that dreams aren’t just patchworks of the subconscious: they are an echo of reality. We are all at the whim of nature’s wrath or mercy in some respects, just like the animals in my dreams. But in so many ways, animals are at the whim of our actions too—and not just when disaster strikes. When Harvey slammed Texas, and Irma hit the islands and southeastern coast of the United States, it was a reminder to Americans that life as usual can be uprooted in an instant. Luckily, the response has been overwhelming, both for the people and animals a ected. Hundreds of millions of dollars have been donated to many forms of disaster relief. This includes charities like The Red Cross and, to a lesser extent, animal-speci c organizations like The American Humane Society.