mary martin's Profile

He's 79 pounds of muscle, he sports a tuxedo, he's got gorgeous teeth (a first for the hounds in our house) and he's very shy. And afraid of men. On the upside, he's a mellow youngish guy (he turns four... Continue reading

Posted Dec 17, 2011 at Animal Person

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Happy 12th Birthday Violet Rays!

There she is . . . my girl. She has beaten the odds and made it another year. The life expectancy of greyhounds is 12-15 years. If they've raced, you subtract a year for each year of racing. Violet Rays... Continue reading

Posted Dec 2, 2011 at Animal Person

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On Dogs and Unconditional Love

Saturday was the one-year anniversary of the tragic death of my Charles Hobson Booger, III and it got me thinking about how easy he was to love. Everyone loved him. Okay, not everyone. There was that little Westie whose vulva... Continue reading

Posted Oct 17, 2011 at Animal Person

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Where Does Vegan Baby Sky Get Her Protein?

I'm constantly asked about the details of Baby Sky's life. Where does she get her protein? How are her bones going to grow without cow's milk? You mean she's never eaten bacon? Are you a communist? At Baby Sky's 15... Continue reading

Posted Oct 14, 2011 at Animal Person

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On "Imposing" Our Beliefs on Our Children

It's fascinating, how what 98% of Americans do with their children is called "parenting" and "guidance." It can also be referred to as "transmission of culture," with its handing down of the trappings, rituals, holidays and even mutilations of religion... Continue reading

Posted Oct 7, 2011 at Animal Person

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Vegan Atheist 40+ Parenting

I was going to change Animal Person to Vegan Atheist 40+ Parenting and come back to blogging. Doesn't have a ring to it at all, but a young man at Whole Foods yesterday called himself an "animal person" while ordering... Continue reading

Posted Aug 18, 2011 at Animal Person

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Hal Herzog's "Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat"

Hal Herzog’s “Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat” (Harper 2011), though fascinating, is ultimately depressing for vegans and animal rights activists. Over at Animal Rights and AntiOppression, we’ve been discussing tactics and sharing our thoughts and experiences... Continue reading

Posted Aug 16, 2011 at Animal Person

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Clarification on Messaging

Vegan education/advocacy for animals is easiest for me when I know my audience. And by "know," I mean I have a relationship with them and/or I understand what drives them, what they appreciate and what they can tolerate. From there,... Continue reading

Posted Apr 7, 2011 at Animal Person

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On Fighting for "Animal Rights"

Being featured on ARZone's worldwide Live Guest Chat has reinvigorated my thinking about a couple of topics (here's the transcript). And then I read the "OMG!!!!!OED!!!!!LOL!!!!!" in today's New York Times, and I couldn't resist posting. A couple of years... Continue reading

Posted Apr 5, 2011 at Animal Person

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Animal Person at ARZone This Saturday

I'm honored to have been asked to be interviewed at the next worldwide Live Guest Chat hosted by ARZone. Questions must be submitted to Carolyn@ARZone.net by midnight GMT on Wednesday. Here's the link to the page, and I hope to... Continue reading

Posted Mar 28, 2011 at Animal Person

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"The Animals We Use," Revised

As anyone who writes and edits knows, it's far easier to produce a longer powerful, thorough piece than a shorter one. I intentionally deleted the entire section on the environment, I'm not dealing with the health benefits of not using... Continue reading

Posted Jan 11, 2011 at Animal Person

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The Animals We Use

After failing miserably at a long pamphlet in 2007, I decided to shorten it by 50% and focus on a different audience: people who use animals. I think part of the original work's problem was that it was too ambitious--not... Continue reading

Posted Jan 5, 2011 at Animal Person

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On Individuals and Thanksgiving

Yesterday, I was on my way to the Foster and Adoptive Parents Association, which has a "store" and allows those parents to "shop" for clothing, toys and baby gear at no cost to them. Basically, they give stuff away, unlike... Continue reading

Posted Nov 25, 2010 at Animal Person

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On Jeff Corwin's 100 HEARTBEATS

When I was asked if I wanted to read Jeff Corwin's 100 HEARTBEATS (Rodale 2009) I was ambivalent. I know he's a "conservationist," therefore I know he will advocate for "managing" the "resources" that are sentient nonhumans. And managing means... Continue reading

Posted Nov 21, 2010 at Animal Person

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To My Friends at Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving 2010 will be Baby Sky's first, and our opportunity to introduce her to the notion that our family doesn't eat animals (not to mention that other historical story we'll be correcting). There will be no greyhound corpse on our... Continue reading

Posted Nov 18, 2010 at Animal Person

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On THE DOG WHO COULDN'T STOP LOVING

When I agreed to read and review Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson's THE DOG WHO COULDN'T STOP LOVING (Harper 2010), the regal Charles Hobson Booger, III was still with us. When it arrived, the day after Charles died, I'll admit to wanting... Continue reading

Posted Nov 1, 2010 at Animal Person

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On HIGH IN THE CLOUDS

HIGH IN THE CLOUDS, by Paul McCartney, Geoff Dunbar and Philip Ardagh is supposed to be for Grades 2-4, but its themes, vocabulary and syntax are more advanced. From Barnes and Noble: "Wirral the Squirrel is homeless. The evil Gretsch... Continue reading

Posted Oct 30, 2010 at Animal Person

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Is Charles with Lars Axl Fokker?

Charles died a week ago today, and if you haven't seen Deb's tribute, it's a must-see and we're very grateful and humbled by her post as well as all of the e-mails and cards and calls we've received. In all... Continue reading

Posted Oct 22, 2010 at Animal Person

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Charles Hobson Booger, III 6/3/03-10/15/10

My boyfriend. That's what I called him. Loverboy, Charles, Charlesez, Gorgeous. My husband called him Charlie. He's no longer with us, and our hearts ache. Charles' death was sudden, tragic and avoidable. He had a corn removed Thursday morning, left... Continue reading

Posted Oct 16, 2010 at Animal Person

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On Veganism and Adoption

I've been under the radar for a bit, anxiously awaiting the adoption finalization of Baby Sky. But now that she's officially ours, I feel like I can write about a topic that means a lot to me without the fear... Continue reading

Posted Oct 13, 2010 at Animal Person

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My New Favorite RSA Animate

Posted Sep 4, 2010 at Animal Person

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On the Keeping of Endangered Fishes

An Animal Person reader wrote me with the following question: There are many species of cichlids in Lake Victoria that are on the verge of extinction, and most are hardy and small enough to be kept in an aquarium. There... Continue reading

Posted Aug 25, 2010 at Animal Person

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On Betraying Your Family

Yesterday, in the comments of An Affront to the Idea of Family, Brian wrote: I understand your concern for those cows that were beat by that man and the unfortunate death of all the cows that died in the snow... Continue reading

Posted Aug 13, 2010 at Animal Person

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More Clarity About Family Farms

In "Move to Limit 'Factory Farms' Gains Momentum" in today's New York Times, we learn that farmers in Ohio have agreed to phase out gestation crates within 15 years and veal crates by 2017. I won't get into whether I... Continue reading

Posted Aug 12, 2010 at Animal Person

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An Affront to the Idea of Family

I'm not one of those people who thinks family is composed of only humans or humans who are biologically related. That's one of the reasons adopting wasn't a stretch for me at all mentally. The idea of family is currently... Continue reading

Posted Aug 10, 2010 at Animal Person

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