We have also had people question our involvement in
animal "welfare" events, such as some listed below. First of all,
START is not involved in every one of these events.
Some are just being listed here as a courtesy to other animal-loving
groups. While we may not have total agreement with every group on
every issue, we are not in a moral position to judge how
another organization goes about helping animals.
Regarding the events in which we do take part, for those who have
the perception that START cannot be committed to animal rights if
we take part in animal welfare events, this perception is
groundless. START has always participated in tabling at community fairs
and festivals, such as Greentree and dog walks. These are ideal venues
for displaying materials on a wide range of animal rights
topics. Large numbers of people take literature, ask questions, seek
advice, and so on. Not only do these events provide excellent
opportunities for outreach, they also show people that having animal
rights ideals does not make a person crazy, possessed, or naive. Once
again, these are animal rights goals well worth pursuing.
B. Mastiff Day at the Dog Museum
Booths and presenters with
information on properly caring for large and giant breed dogs.
Information on rescue and adoption of Mastiffs and similar breeds, with
booths from some unusual breed rescues.
START will be there. Sunday, September 30, 1:00 to 4 or 5:00 pm,
at the Museum of the Dog in Queeny Park.
C. Canine Carnival
Hosted by the
APA,
this annual doggy event will take place in Tilles Park on Sunday,
October 7, from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm. There will be games,
contests, information booths, and rescue groups. START will be
there. Let us know if you'd like to help with our booth.
D. "Works of Arf"
This "evening of music, wine, and art" will
benefit the MO Alliance for Animal Legislation, and
will take place Monday, October 8, from 6:30 to 9:00 pm.
It is being held at
Framations Art
Gallery, and you can check out all the details on their
website.
E. START Monthly Meeting for October
Tuesday, October 9, 7:00 pm, at the
Brentwood Community Center. Humane Investigator, Bob Baker,
will talk about his former undercover work while a member of the
Humane Farming Association.
He will also discuss his work investigating puppy mills for the ASPCA.
Please bring an Auction item to donate to
our two theme baskets. See #7 below.
F. Hands/Paws on Kirkwood
Bring your canine companion for an
off-leash social and pet blessing! This free event is open to
the public and will be held at the Kirkwood Baptist Church,
at the corner of Adams and Woodlawn. It takes place on
Saturday, October 13, from 9:30 am to 1:00 pm. (The blessing
of the pets will be from 10:00 to 11:30 am.) For
all the details, be sure to check
http://www.kirkwoodbaptist.org/_events. (Details like, no
puppies under four months, no unaltered dogs, no pinch collars, etc.)
G. Halloween Costume Party for Dogs
Booths with information and games for the dogs.
Prizes for best costume. Hosted by the
Gateway American Pit Bull Terrier Club. Sunday,
October 14, 3:00 to 5:00 pm, at the Museum of the Dog in
Queeny Park. Cost is $5 per dog. Games are
free. START will be there. Let us know if you'd like to help with our
booth.
H. Trivia Night for Weimeraners
The
Heartland Weimeraner
Rescue is hosting a Trivia Night, Saturday, October
20, at Assumption Church, 4725 Mattis Road, in
South County. The doors open at 6:30 pm, and the
trivia begins at 7:00 pm. The price is $18 per
person, $144 per table of eight. To reserve a
seat/table, call Lesley Hunt at 314-275-2124, evenings
and weekends; or 314-485-6412, workdays.
I. An Evening for the Animals Silent
Auction
Saturday, October 27, 6:00 to 9:00 pm, at the Regional Arts Commission
(6128 Delmar). START's biggest annual fundraiser
is a lot of fun, but also a lot of work. Soooo, WE NEED PEOPLE.
The following is our Wish List for the Auction. We need:
# Volunteers to help
decorate and to set up the tables with the auction items and their bid
sheets
# Volunteers to staff the
admission table
# Volunteers to help serve
the food and clean up tables as needed
# Volunteers to help clean
up at the end
# Donations of gift
certificates, gift cards, gift baskets, etc. Gift certificates, cards,
and baskets could be from restaurants, grocery stores, sporting events,
hair stylists, dog groomers, gyms, movie theaters, video rental, pet
supply stores, maid service, etc. We have a tax-exempt letter you can
give to the businesses if they need one. Just let us know and we can
e-mail/mail it to you or directly to the business.
# Donations of one item
relating to either theme: "A Night at the Movies" or
"Companion Animals." START will put
together two theme baskets to auction, and we'd like members (and
non-members) to donate some item that fits any aspect of these themes.
It could be a DVD or package of popcorn or box of Raisinettes for the
movie night. It could be a dog chew or a bird toy or a bag of cat litter
for the companion animal basket. Use your imagination; it needn't be
expensive. Please bring your item to the
October 9 Monthly Meeting.
There will be a buffet dinner and dessert, drinks, prizes for best
costume, trick 'r treat goody bags, and a whole range of auction items to
fit any budget. Tickets are $15 in advance, or
$20 at the door. Call or e-mail START to reserve your tickets.
J. Howlin' Halloween Festival
This is another event to benefit the
MO Alliance for
Animal Legislation, Missouri's only official legislative
organization working to help animals at the state level. Even though
this festival is the same day as our Evening for the Animals (Saturday,
October 27), it is during the day and only two hours long. So,
you can easily make both events! Check out the MAAL website for
details.
K) World Farm Animals
Day ~ October 2
Tuesday, October 2, is World Farm Animals Day, a day that is set aside to
remember and mourn the untold billions of animal lives stolen each year in
the name of food. START does not have any specific event or activity
planned, but individually each of us can take any number of steps to
commemorate these lives and to try to decrease future numbers:
1) Bring a vegan lunch to work and tell everyone ahead of time that
you will be bringing enough for all. Make sure it's something most
carnivores will be interested in, like sandwiches made with Tofurkey Deli
Slices, or roasted vegetable pitas. (This is not the time to try out some
oddly spiced tofu and sprouts dish.) Be sure to make or pick up some
vegan cookies for dessert, and if you have a freezer handy at work,
nothing says "Veganism is Fantastic!" quite like Purely Decadent Soy
Delicious.
2) Leave some vegan literature in the cafeteria or lunchroom at work.
3) Spend an hour handing out vegan leaflets in a busy public place.
4) Put a temporary sign in the window of your car, giving the phone
number or website address for vegan starter guides. GoVeg.com and
TryVeg.com are two good ones.
5) Or, write the number of farmed animals killed every year in the US
(10-billion) on the sign. For even more impact, tell people the
number slaughtered every single second in the US alone is 317.
6) Take this opportunity to write to companies that still put cruelly
produced, unnecessary animal ingredients (like egg whites and whey) in
their products. Companies like Morningstar Farms could easily omit these
ingredients from their otherwise vegetarian products and save the lives of
millions of animals.
8) Write a letter to the editor of the Post-Dispatch
regarding the bulls who were involved in the highway crash last week. (See
M below.)