Who would have guessed that a press release about human tragedy would be what brought national press to Catskill Animal Sanctuary? People losing their farms--and their animals--due either to foreclosure or to an inability to care for their beloved 1,000-pound friends: horses, donkeys, mules. That story has captivated the national media. The rescue of 1,000 chickens left in crates to drown in city streets didn't pique their interest. Nor did the big starvation cases. But the ability to put a face on the price of all the grim economic news is bringing them here: the Daily News and NBC News today. The Associated Press and Fox News are also interested.

Last week, Joe Mahoney of the Albany bureau of the Daily News wrote a fine piece. I was concerned when he showed up in a suit, but despite being nuzzled by Hannah and Rambo the sheep, Hazel the pig, and an assortment of horses, Joe left looking exactly as he did when he arrived. I'll post a link to his article when I have a minute to locate it.

Today, we welcome Hilary Guy and Mike Taibbi from NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams. They, too, want to put a human face on this sad, sad story. Their piece will air, unless it's bumped by breaking news, next Thursday, January 22, at 6:30 pm.

We'll post that link as well.

Meanwhile, volunteers are saying, "This is way cool!! Aren't you excited to be on national TV?"

Well, sort of. It's not about me. I feel the same way about TV as I feel about the book. It's not about being able to say, "I've published a book." It's certainly not about being able to say, "I'm on TV tonight!"--the 15 seconds of fame thing. It's about this and only this: voiceless animals--these beautiful friends whom we at CAS love at least as much as we love the humans in our lives. It's about highlighting the beauty and the love that Catskill Animal Sanctuary embodies, about revealing that farm animals are more than people know , and are entitled--simply by virtue of being alive on our shared planet--to happiness. It's about drawing attention to this place. It's about raising funds to respond effectively to a crisis.

For these reasons, YES....I'M EXCITED!!

When a film crew from NBC Nightly News came to Catskill Animal Sanctuary a couple weeks ago, producer Hilary Guy warned us, "We'll let you know when your piece is schedule to air, but keep in mind that stories get bumped by breaking news..."

First we got bumped by the Wall Street freefall.

Then, we got bumped by a Las Vegas casino fire.

Last week, Hilary told us that the piece wouldn't air until after Super Tuesday.

So, while vacationing in a stormy Hawaii--no sun or surf for this paleface, I'm afraid--I'm hoping for a good day for Obama, and also hoping that in addition to campaigning politicians, NBC will air the story of Catskill Animal Sanctuary by the end of the week.

In the meantime, the requests to take animals--mostly horses--that people can no longer afford keep coming at the rate of one or two a day.

Stay tuned!

Sorry to be absent!!

My trip halfway around the world to idyllic Hawaii turned out to be...um...a bit of a challenge. First, rain pelted the gorgeous North Shore of Kauai for virtually my entire stay. It was heavy; it was relentless. Second, I got sick--don't think I've been sick in over a decade, but bone-weary when I got on the plane and surrounded by coughing, sniffling children, I succumbed. Third: I came home with a SERIOUS case of "jungle funk." Four doctors, including two tropical disease specialists in Manhattan, are raising their eyebrows and saying "you got me."

What started as a freckle-sized red dot on the palm of my right hand became within two weeks a silver-dollar sized oozing blistery mass that itched like mad. It felt much like poison ivy but was UNDER the surface of the skin. As soon as I arrived back at CAS, it began spreading up my arm.

SHIT!! I must have had a tiny tear in my skin--a splinter? too much playtime with my boyfriend's pet goose--who loves sitting in one's lap for hours at a time, but who'll also peck and pinch one's palm....hmmm? a little tear when I slipped on a muddy hill and went backwards onto my hands? However it happened, there was an opening, and something VERY unwelcome entered and announced itself with flair.

I'll spare you the drama. Whatever it was could have been deadly. But while four doctors have no idea what it is, they all agree on what it isn't. And what it isn't are all the scary things -- you know, the stuff that can cause liver and kidney damage, loss of the affected limb, even, potentially, loss of life.

In the meantime, while we're anxiously awaiting the results of bacterial and viral cultures, I'm trying not to scratch, taking STEROIDS--which freaks me out--and antibiotics, and trying to dry this grossness on my hand with a topical powder diluted in water.

Anyone know a good liver and kidney cleanse? I want to be good to my poor organs once I get off this damned prednisone.

All this, by the way, is merely a long-winded apology for tuning out for the last ten days. I'm back, guys, festering hand and all, with lots of news!!

Wouldn't you know that the NBC piece aired while I was in Hawaii? I got a cell phone call, but not in time to contact more than just a few of my peeps. If you want to see it, go to our website: http://www.casanctuary.org, and click on "What's new at CAS" for their video. Also, be sure to check out all the great TV and radio coverage of the last couple months by clicking the "In the News" button.

Hmmm...the piece on Catskill Animal Sanctuary was a quick one. Would we hear from people?I wondered. Well, let me say to anyone who runs a nonprofit that if you have a story with national implications, three minutes on national news will do more for your organization than all your previous efforts combined!!

We've heard, to date, from over 200 people from at least thirty states, including Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, Vermont, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Iowa, Illinois, New Mexico, Texas, California, Washington, and Oregon. Volunteer offers have flooded in, as have adoption applications, warm e-mails and letters of support and encouragement...and one marriage proposal.

Mostly, though, what's come are donations: $5, $10, $50, $500, $2,000--and one check for $25,000.

Thanks, NBC, from all of us at Catskill Animal Sanctuary. A new barn--our third this season in response to the foreclosure crisis--goes up beginning Wednesday.

I don't envy Custom Forest Products.

It's 15 degrees outside. Temperature's not expected to rise above freezing, and three lightly-dressed men are positioned at the site of our newest barn, ready to go with their generators and 2 x 4s and 6 x 6s and a pallet's worth of shingles.

Of the 27 (GOOD LORD!!) buildings we've erected since we moved to Fortune Valley (22 shelters, 2 hay storage buildings, one office, one house, and one "Welcome Hut"), eight of them have been put up by Custom Forest Products. They do sustainable, ecological logging, have their own sawmill, and build a solid building for a fair price--in the dead of winter.

Our newest barn, one of four being built in response to the foreclosure crisis that's forcing people to give up their animals, will be a 1,200 sq. foot pole barn. No stalls...they can be added later if necessary. Instead, lots of open space, front and back doors, 9' head clearance, and 12 windows.

We didn't budget for this crisis--how could one anticipate something like this? It's been the reach of the NBC Nightly News piece that is enabling us to build not three as originally planned, but four new shelters. Donations from $5 to $25,000 have poured in from around the country -- and all of them are needed, as the shelters will total just over $50,000.

Thank you to those of you who've extended yourselves so generously during a time of hardship for so many sad human beings....and a few animals fortunate enough to find love at Catskill Animal Sanctuary.