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TUESDAY, MAY 17, 2011
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Spencer and his partner, Romi Chandra Herbert
‘What advice would you give your 15-year-old self, knowing now what you didn’t know then.’ There are GLBT folks, and allies all over British Columbia who will stand with you against hate and bigotry, and with you for a world where we love diversity and the uniqueness of all of us. You are not alone. You are worth it. Build up some support around you, for you, and then let your light shine, and when you can do that, find a way to support someone else be themselves. Everyone’s coming out process will be different — there is no one right way to be gay, bi, lesbian or trans. The only right way is to be yourself. As RuPaul so eloquently says it: “If you can’t love yourself, how are you ever going to love somebody else?” Spencer Chandra Herbert, Vancouver-Burrard MLA
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Shannon Broderick, manger of the SPCA’s Sunshine Coast branch, holds May, a poodle that survived after being dropped by a bird of prey in Sechelt.
Dog’s survival a ‘miracle’ Animal was picked up by a large bird of prey before being dropped Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals amazed by dog’s plight MATT KIELTYKA
@METRONEWS.CA
It wasn’t quite raining cats and dogs in Sechelt earlier this month, but the B.C. SPCA says it’s a “miracle” a dog is alive after being “dropped from the sky.” May, a six-year-old toy poodle, is being treated for painful gouges on her back and multiple broken
ribs after being picked up by a large bird of prey and dropped from an unknown height. Residents of the Shorncliff Nursing Home were shocked to see the dog fall from the sky and crash to the ground. Nurses at the care facility assisted the dog until the B.C. SPCA arrived. The SPCA says the dog had obviously been on its
own and unattended for a while before being snatched by the bird. Its teeth were badly decayed and its nails were so long they had grown into its paws. “It’s ironic, but this bird may have saved her life,” SPCA Sunshine Coast branch manager Shannon Broderick said. May had no ID on her and attempts to find her
possible owner have failed. The branch is now trying to raise $4,000 to cover for two dental surgeries and other medical costs. “It’s an absolute miracle that she survived, and we want to do everything we can to help her,” said Broderick. May is recovering in the care of the SPCA before she undergoes surgery.
Local woman charged with human trafficking A shocking tale of servitude and slavery has led police to lay human-trafficking charges against a West Vancouver woman. The RCMP’s Border Integrity Program announced today that 55-year-old Mumtaz Land-
ha was charged May 12, and a warrant remains outstanding for her arrest. Landha is accused of hiring a 21-year-old woman from Africa with the promise of a work visa and a Vancouver-area
job at a hair salon in 2008. Instead, Landha allegedly forced the victim to work 18-hour days, seven days a week, at her home with no pay. Police say her passport was held by the suspect. After a year of servi-
tude “living in a state of fear,” police say the young woman managed to flee her alleged captor and escape to a women’s shelter. That’s when police were notified and an official investigation began. MATT KIELTYKA
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