INTRODUCTION

“The fate of animals is of greater importance to me than the fear of appearing ridiculous; it is indissolubly connected with the fate of man.” ~ Émile Zola

As far as I’m concerned and as far as I can remember, my life has always been as indissolubly connected to animals as… yes, my body to my spirit, or my substance to my essence, if you prefer. The fact is, dear readers, I can’t even begin to grasp the concept of “being” outside of this connection… without which, quite frankly, and with my apologies for the redundancy, I am simply not able to conceive myself as being a “being” at all. Rather than “I think, therefore I am”, it is really “They are, therefore I am”, to this friend of yours.

Throughout the years, there have been many episodes that I would like to share with those of you who also sense this “indissoluble connection” between yourselves and those wonderful beings we call – not always totally conscious that we are, in fact, what they are – ANIMALS.

So, under this main title, “INDISSOLUBLE CONNECTIONS”, I will be posting a collection of true stories of animals of different species, of their connection with people, or of their connections (some of them, rather surprising) with each other – some of those many episodes I have witnessed, in which I’ve been “indissolubly” involved, or which occurred somewhere and with someone very close to me.

Each one of the stories in this collection will have its own title, and I’m not sure exactly how many there will be, because I keep thinking of more and more… and, as life itself does, they keep happening. I hope, however, that you may come to enjoy each and every one of them. Also, whenever possible, I will illustrate each episode with photos of those who played the leading roles in it – some of them no longer physically with us, others, to our joy, still “writing stories” each and every day! :0)

“INDISSOLUBLE CONNECTIONS” is dedicated to:

-          My maternal grandfather, Joaquim Ferreira, through whom I first learned love and respect of other species and of the environment which we all share, and also that the fates of the human species, of all the others, and of the above mentioned environment which we all share, are, in fact, indissolubly connected, for we are ONE with each other and with Nature.

-          My sister, Paula, who, in spite of her many – and often overwhelming – family and professional responsibilities, never gives up on her grueling campaign, developed in collaboration with some non-profit organizations, to prevent the abandonment of pets (and to find new homes for those who are actually abandoned), as well as on the backbreaking task of caring, flawlessly, for a varied and varying  population of dogs – which, between her own family’s dogs and those temporarily in her care, never drops to less than the average 50…

-          “Nougatine d’Or”, a rescued thoroughbred mare, victim of abuse and a model of forgiveness.

-          “Bota”, one of too many dogs dumped due to a health condition… now cured and very happy.

-          The Baiji – the shy, gentle, rare white dolphin that survived for 20.000.000 years and has just been declared extinct – because we have failed to fully understand, so far, that “the fate of animals is (indeed) indissolubly connected to the fate of man”.

Check back soon for the first installment within this collection – a very cute Christmas story! - Meanwhile, to all of you and your own “indissoluble connections”, all my love.