Mickey Rourke and Loki

Before the 2009 Academy Awards, on an interview with Barbara Walter’s, we saw once more a transparent and at peace with himself Mickey Rourke talking about his life and how he was able to come out of his “demons,” as he calls it.

Barbara: “Why would someone want to destroy his own career?”

Rourke: “Hardness is a shield that hides other things.”

Barbara: “In what way were your dogs there for you?”

Rourke: “Somehow I was sleeping in my closet. I didn’t want to be here anymore, and my dog makes this almost human sound. He looks up to me with this look like saying:’Who’s gonna take care of me?”

For those who have pets you can attest to the fact that it is very hard to stay upset or mad when your beloved dog comes along wagging his or her tail offering you a dose of unconditional love. According to a study by researchers at the UCLA School of Public Health, “owning a pet provides a certain level of companionship that helps people cope better with the stresses of their lives,” said psychologist Judith Siegel, a UCLA professor of public health and lead author of the report. “This is one more study that demonstrates the health benefits that owning a pet can provide.”

“The phenomenon cannot be explained simply by the extra exercise one gets walking their dog — the emotional bond between the animal and the owner adds something more,” said Siegel. “Pet ownership is not necessarily a substitute for human support, but it’s another way to express and receive love.”

There is a lot to be grateful for when it comes to what our pets do for us. As people of intellect, we look into living life to the fullest. And those who are considered the “smartest” strive to evolve through their lives in an attempt to become the best that they can making sure we hurt the least amount of people and we leave some form of legacy to the world.

Taking things from this premise I was recently analyzing the behavior of one of our pets at the Sanctuary, Dulce. She is a quiet and analytical dog. She will wait for her friend Daisy, whom she understands can not control herself, and think she is the bellybutton of the world, to eat first before she gets close to the plate. She accept the fact that Daisy has devoured all the “wet food” on the plate and all Dulce has left is soggy dry food. But she eats it quietly and gratefully almost as if she thinks to herself: “I am happy and grateful to be alive. These humans at the Sanctuary have taken care of me regardless of if I can return the favor or not. The best I can do is be patient, loving when they need me to, obedient with our caretakers, and hope that one day I can return the favor to a Master that could really use some unconditional love.”

Dulce gets a chance for LOVE!

Dulce will be traveling to the United States to a shelter where she has more chances to be adopted than the chances she might have in her homeland Puerto Rico. She will go in the cargo section of an American Airlines Jet enduring a 12 hour trip that includes land and air to an unknown place. She will be pulled away from what she knows, not knowing what happened. But she will be safe. She will be treated with love and care. Dulce is a brindle color Lab Mix who places her head next to mine for minutes at a time as if she was trying to tell me a story. So I end up telling her the story. A story of hope where she is the star. Where she will “make it” and someone out there across the ocean will see how special she is and won’t take her for granted. Someone that will treat her like Mickey Rourke does to his clan of simple and worthy friends.

We saved her from being potentially poisoned by some people who had previously poisoned part of her family. In my story  I tell her that it was so worth saving her and her sister Sasha. I reassure her that everything is going to be OK. And that her trip to the US will be her big chance for LOVE.

All I can say is that fostering both these beautiful creatures has made me a better person. I have learned that God put these amazing creatures in this world for a reason bigger than feeding time. Letting go of them triggers all kinds of emotions from pain in my heart to true upsets with the world out there. My only hope is faith. Faith in that the Creator will not over look her and will make sure that her life has a big purpose for her existence.

We humans should spend some time with our friends of four legs. For all of those who are abandoned on front of our property….the least they deserve is a chance.

Our condolences to Mickey Rourke for his deceased beloved Loki, a Chihuahua terrier mix, and one of his 5 companions for life.

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Mickey’s PETA Interview: