If there's anything we've learned as Buddhists, it's impermanence. Things change... We received word last night that animals are being killed down in New Orleans for fear of spreading disease, so at the request of our teacher we scrambled into action. We had planned on connecting with a small Buddhist temple in a fishing village in Alabama, but our focus shifted to animal rescue. Our timeline moved up, no longer having the luxury of routine planning, we all worked through the night with a few naps here and there researching, organizing and gathering supplies. You can see here our white board, multiple computers, and the gang working hard.
We're not going into a blind situation, there's a nun from the sangha in Arizona, who is also a veterinarian, already established in an animal rescue camp about 100 miles north of New Orleans. There they are receiving animals brought out from the city at a large facility run by FEMA, in association with Best Friends. There's a pressing need for volunteers to not only go in on the boats and rescue the animals directly, but for folks who can help out at the camp with caring for the hungry, injured, frightened animals. Thus, we're able to plug in with this already established effort. All we need to do now is get ourselves down there!
Norbu and Tashi are leaving today (no time to waste!) and I will be following on Saturday (got to earn that paycheck), hopefully there's going to be a copilot!
In addition to the actual efforts at hands on rescue down south, we'll be building a shelter for displaced animals right here in Maryland, so when the need arises we can bring some of them here to be cared for until they find new homes. There will be many, many needs arising as we embark on this mission, your prayers are deeply appreciated, and guaranteed to bring benefit!
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