I'm excited to introduce a new member benefit beginning Friday, July 31! I have some wonderful members here who also have animal-related Skool communities, and I'd love for everyone to have the opportunity to discover the amazing work you're doing. Empowering Animals isn't a promotional community. It's a community for people who love animals and want to make a difference. I want to keep our feed focused on that mission. That's why the last Friday of every month will now be Free Friday for Level 5! If you've reached Level 5, you'll be invited to share your animal-related Skool community in the monthly Free Friday thread. If your community isn't directly about animals but has a clear animal connection, such as pet photography, animal art, video creation for animal lovers, or helping people make financial plans that include caring for their animals, you're welcome to share it too. Just keep it reasonably connected to animals, please. 😁 A few simple guidelines: 🐾 You must be Level 5 or higher. 🐾 Please share only your Skool community link. No links to websites, social media, or other platforms. 🐾To keep our community focused, promotional posts are only allowed in the monthly Free Friday thread. Posts shared elsewhere will be removed. 🐾 If you'd like to share an animal organization instead of your own Skool community, please DM me first so I can review it before it's posted. My hope is that, over time, this grows into a collaboration where animal-focused communities can support one another, learn from each other, and ultimately make an even bigger difference for the animals. ❤️ You have a whole month to reach Level 5! Share your companion, tell an animal story, ask questions, encourage others, and join the conversations. Before you know it, you'll be there.

I saw something this morning about using AI to help monitor what is going on with your dog. Plus the use of blood sample(s) as a Prevenative Health Measure for your dogs. I believe it's called WonderDog. Any thoughts or more input about it?

I saw something along the lines that the Orca whales were attacking boats / ships along the Spain / Portugal shorelines for the past couple of years. It seemed like they were attacking rudders of some boats and breaking them off. However, it doesn't seem that there were any reports of the Orca attacking humans. That's about all I caught, and was just wondering if anyone knew anymore about this or what might be the cause of it. Thanks!

Have you ever heard of a pangolin? A lot of people haven't. Yet this quiet, gentle little mammal is one of the most extraordinary animals on Earth, and one of the most threatened. Pangolins have been roaming our planet for millions of years, surviving incredible changes to the world around them. Today, however, their greatest threat isn't nature. It's us. These remarkable animals are the most trafficked wild mammals on Earth. They are illegally hunted for their scales and meat, despite the fact that their scales are made of keratin, which is the exact same material found in our fingernails and hair. There is no scientific evidence that the scales have medicinal value, yet the illegal trade continues to push all eight species toward extinction. Pangolins are insect-eating specialists, using powerful front claws to open ant and termite nests. Their incredibly long, sticky tongue can reach farther than their entire body, allowing them to eat thousands of ants and termites every day. They have no teeth, so every meal depends on that amazing tongue. Despite their armor, pangolins are surprisingly gentle. When frightened, they don't fight. They simply curl into a tight ball and trust their overlapping scales to protect them. They are also devoted parents. Most female pangolins give birth to just one baby at a time, making population recovery painfully slow. Babies are born with soft scales that harden within a few days. Before long, you'll find them riding safely on Mom's tail or back while she searches for food. Young pangolins often stay with their mother for many months before beginning life on their own. These beautiful animals have so many fascinating attributes. One of them is that they've survived for more than 80 million years. Let's make sure they survive us.

@Kate Galli asked me to share a little about myself, and I immediately went into a writing spiral. I'd write, rewrite, set it down, pick it back up... I've traveled down so many avenues that it's hard not to make a book out of it. Today, completely unrelated to my spiral, I was digging through some of the stories I write when my heart gets full. It's my way of releasing emotions. I grabbed Feral and Free, thinking it was about Silly Boy, my inspiration behind C.L.A.W.S., the TNR feral cat rescue I founded in 1996. I was shocked to discover it wasn't about Silly Boy at all. It was about me. This one I wrote about 12 years ago, right about the time I stopped drinking. Rereading it today, I realize just how deeply I believed my journey hadn't begun yet. Just recently, while I stood at my kitchen sink washing dishes, I had a life-affirming aha moment. I realized I had actually begun that journey 30 years ago. This story shares a little about me. The journey continues. Enjoy.