Pachyderm Protest

Posted on by Thor

On January 6th I read in the Orlando Weekly that animal performers from Ringling Brothers and Barnum Baily Circus would unload at railroad tracks near 1035 W. Amelia Street, at 8:30pm then travel east on Amelia, south on North Hughey, west on West South Street, and enter the Garage behind the Amway Center. The railroad tracks were in an industrial complex in Parramore, so I decided to sketch the destination at the Amway Center. It was an unexpectedly cold night with temperatures dropping down to the 30’s. I sat next to an on ramp to I-4 and blocked in the Amway Center. I left the lower third of the sketch vacant, assuming I would put in the animals when they walked by.

A truck load of workers got out of a truck in the lot next to me. They each carried long coils of ropes over their shoulders. Maybe their job was to set up the trapeze inside the arena.  Cold winds forced we to huddle back behind an overpass pillar. A large fire ant mound behind me kept me from backing up any more. I blew into my gloves periodically to warm my hands. My denim jacket was no match for the cold. I could faintly smell hay. In the distance I heard a sound like race cars at the Indie 500. I soon realized the sound wasn’t cars, but lions roaring. It was only 7:30pm, so it couldn’t be the animals at the railroad stop yet. The railroad stop was probably a mile away. White tents were set up inside the Amway garage and I realized that the lions were inside. Periodically, Swift 18 wheelers would pull up to the garage. The sketch reached a point where I couldn’t go any further, so I decided I needed to warm up and pee. A hand blower in the public bathroom blew gloriously hot air onto my frozen hands.

I followed the parade route back to the railroad stop. Behind the huge vacant lot referred to as the “Creative Village” a bunch of RV’s were parked along with some Swift trucks. I assume this must have been the traveling circus camp. As I got closer to the railroad tracks I saw flashing police lights and a loud hissing sound. At the tracks the road was lined with protesters with signs that asked people to Boycott the Circus and to Google Ringling Cruelty. I sketched the protesters and police into my already started sketch.

Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus
is known for its long history of abusing animals. In 1929, John
Ringling ordered the execution of a majestic bull elephant named Black Diamond after the elephant killed a woman who had been in the crowd as
he was paraded through a Texas city. Twenty men took aim and pumped some
170 bullets into Black Diamond’s body, then chopped off his
head and mounted it for display in Houston Museum of Natural Science.
Ringling’s cruel treatment of animals continues today.

Elephants in Ringling’s possession are chained inside filthy,
poorly ventilated boxcars for an average of more than 26 straight
hours—and often 60 to 70 hours at a time—when the circus travels. Even
former Ringling employees have reported that elephants are routinely
abused and violently beaten with bullhooks (an elephant-training tool
that resembles a fireplace poker), in order to force them to perform
tricks. Since 2000, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has
cited Ringling numerous times for serious violations of the Animal
Welfare Act (AWA), such as the following:

  • Improper handling of dangerous animals
  • Failure to provide adequate veterinary care to animals,
    including an elephant with a large swelling on her leg, a camel with
    bloody wounds, and a camel injured on train tracks
  • Causing trauma, behavioral stress, physical harm, and
    unnecessary discomfort to two elephants who sustained injuries when they
    ran amok during a performance
  • Endangering tigers who were nearly baked alive in a boxcar because of poor maintenance of their enclosures
  • Failure to test elephants for tuberculosis
  • Unsanitary feeding practices 

I stood with the 30 or so protesters till 10:30pm waiting to see if the elephants would be walked to the Arena in the freezing cold. The Ringling animal railroad cars were converted passenger cars. I wondered if they were heated. Finally three elephants walked down the ramps exiting the cars. Rather than walk down Amelia, the handlers had the elephants walk away down the rail line towards the front of the train. The route was being changed, so I walked briskly to see what road the elephants were being lead down. Protesters ran past me. Julie Gross shouted out, “Run Thor!” Police blocked cars from entering the next block. A large Swift 18 wheeler truck already had the three elephants inside.  I wondered if the Swift cargo hold was heated. Swift maintains one of the largest temperature controlled fleets in the industry. Any cargo can be kept at a stable temperature from the moment it leaves your door to
the moment it is off loaded at the final destination. Perhaps the elephants were warmer than me. I had seen the elephants for at most two minutes.

Blind Love

Posted on by Thor

I fired off a tweet asking, “Why are children taught that animals are put on this earth to entertain us?” This was along with a link to an article I wrote about abuse of animals at the circus. Mark Baratelli replied that his cat entertained him. I couldn’t argue with that. He later put out a call for help asking someone to adopt a blind Tabby cat named Smokey. Smokey was born without eyes. The Orange County Animal Services had put out an announcement that he needed a home. Mark, who re-tweeted the announcement also said he would donate money if this blind cat found a home. Though I’m not a cat owner, I tweeted back that I would match his donation if Mark’s buzz on twitter resulted in this cat getting adopted. I grew up with a gray cat named Smokey. I had to chip in. Thanks to this internet campaign, $400 dollars will be donated to the Orange County Animal Services.

Within 24 hours Smokey had a home when a mother and her son went in to adopt him. The little boy said the kitty will be able to sleep in his bed. Smokey still needed shots and to be neutered so he couldn’t leave the shelter right away. Mark texted me and asked if I would like to go to animal services to meet Smokey. I jumped at the chance. I got to Animal services before Mark and Brian Feldman arrived. Kathleen Kennedy greeted us all when we were all assembled. Mark shouted out as he hugged her, “What are you doing here?” “Living the dream.”she replied as she walked us back to the holding area. We walked by row after row of cages. Smokey’s cage was opened and she let Mark hold him. A baby kitty in the next cage kept pawing at Mark through the cage bars, trying to catch his attention. After a quick video interview and a flurry of photos, Smokey was put back in his cage.

As I started to sketch, one of the volunteers named Christopher, took Smokey back out and held him for quite some time. Smokey liked to feel the breeze on his face and he crawled up Christopher’s shoulder to sniff the fresh air. Later as I sketched the abandoned cats in their cages, another volunteer took Smokey out and held him. He is a bit of a superstar and every volunteer is happy he found a home. That didn’t detract however from the fact that there are so many cats that still haven’t found a home. Wide eyed cats stared back at me as I sketched, their future remained uncertain.

Circus Abuse

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I went to the Amway Center (400 West Church Street) to see if there were any animal cruelty demonstrators. Ringling Brothers Circus was in town. As I approached I could hear an announcer saying, “Welcome to the Greatest Show on Earth!” I was taken to the circus only once as a child, but the memory flooded back and my pulse quickened. There was a cluster of perhaps 5 demonstrators as soon as I arrived. I asked if there were more demonstrators and was told there were. I walked around for a bit expecting to find a larger crowd. I returned and decided this woman in the blood red jacket was the perfect subject. I let her know I would be sketching her and then got to work. She stood silently the whole time I sketched. There was no shouting in protest, just a silent stoic vigil. The photograph on her protest poster showed handlers choking and using a sharp billhook on a baby elephant. This protest was organized by the Animal Rights Foundation of Florida.

The brochure handed out by the protesters stated that Ringling had consistently racked up U.S. Department of Agriculture violations including: improper handling of animals, inadequate housing, failure to provide veterinary care and failure to allow inspections. Since 1992 twenty six Asian Elephants, including four babies, died under Ringling’s care. The protesters feel circus life is inherently cruel to animals. One elderly woman took a flier and when she realized what it was about she irately gave it back. She then walked on to enter the Amway Center. As I sketched more and more people walked by to the circus. Most people ignored the demonstrators, a few asked to take pictures. It was very cold that night. I put up my hood and I imagined the woman in red must have been freezing. A homeless man from Tennessee asked me if I knew where he could find a meal. On the walk over to Amway I had noticed a long line for food behind the Greek Orthodox Church. I offered the man directions. He shook his head and walked away.

The circus animals don’t perform because they want to, but rather because they fear the painful punishment they will get if they don’t. Kept confined and fearful in chaotic, loud and unnatural environments the animals are always on edge. Trained to amuse they sometimes lash out against the abuse, and the resulting rampages have lead to property damage, injuries and deaths. A policeman walked up to me and asked how I was doing, we had talked at several other events and he liked my work. He asked what I planned to sketch tomorrow and I told him, “The Highland Games.” He told me he is Scottish and he wished he could go, but he was always working. When I finished, I showed the woman in red the sketch and she was amused. As I walked away down Church Street, family’s flooded by me all taking their toddlers to see “ The Greatest Show on Earth.“

Mounted Police Horses Struck

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On October 1st the Amway Center opened its doors to the public for the first time with much fanfare and an obligatory ribbon cutting. Mounted Police were dispatched not so much for crowd control but as a display of Orlando’s finest. The Mounted unit barn is a bucolic spot right next to the Citrus Bowl. Rather than loading the horses in the trailer they decided to let them get some exercise by riding them to the Arena.
On the way two of the horses were struck from behind by a vehicle traveling an estimated 30 miles per hour. The horses legs buckled and the two volunteer riders were thrown clear. There was broken glass and the horses were bloodied. Both horses bolted once they got back up and they returned to the barn without the riders. The struck horses were named Captain and Peanut. Katherine and Katie were the volunteers. Katie was scraped and bruised and she had to be taken to the hospital. Her riding helmet was cracked. After a barrage of tests to be sure there was no concussion, she was released. The policeman, named Joey stayed at the scene and called for help. His horse named Farran, had bucked but he managed to stay on. The horses didn’t suffer any broken bones but they were bruised and cut up. Captain had a bloody patch above his eye and Peanut had a nasty gash around his mouth possibly from the bit.
Thankfully no one was seriously injured.The driver involved is the father of City Commissioner Sam Ings. He is 90 years old and said he couldn’t see due to glare and his visor was down. It is unknown if charges will be filed. Veterinarians were quick to respond and the horses have been eating so hopes are high that they will pull through this tragedy.

Gatorland

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Terry arranged a tour with the Audubon Society to see the nesting birds in the sanctuary behind Gatorland. The tour guide who was the grandson of the founder of the place kept up a constant banter. He also kept the group constantly on the move. I finally escaped the tour and settled in to sketch this white gator. It turns out a white gator would never survive in the wild and the two gators in this compound were found together and saved when they first hatched. Sea World kept them hidden away from the public for years until they felt they were large enough for their Giant White Gator marketing campaign.
Drawing a white gator is a little easier than drawing a regular gator since all the ridges and wrinkles are easily visible. I was of course in a rush since every line I put down meant I was falling that much further behind the tour. As I was working a thunderstorm rolled in. there were loud claps of thunder and illuminating blasts of light. In the lagoon outside the larger gators rose to the surface and started to let out an unearthly bellowing noise. Pairs of gators would bellow and roll in the water. Perhaps it is some sort of rain appreciations dance. Regardless it felt like I was back in the age of the dinosaurs.
Gator land is someplace I should really look into sketching at more often. It is a real Florida treasure right in my backyard.

Hip Dog Hydrotherapy

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I arrived at Hip Dog Hydrotherapy (4965 Palmetto Avenue) just as Linda Brandt was getting in the pool with her dog Otis. Otis lost his right front leg to bone cancer just over 3 years ago. At the time she was told he would probably only live 6 to 9 months. They offered to do chemo and radiation treatments which might prolong his life to 11 months. She decided to spare Otis the radiation and chemo. For 2 months after the leg was gone Otis experienced phantom pain symptoms. Linda would hear him yelp in pain for no apparent reason. She bought him in for acupuncture and she feels that helped the pain. His recovery from the amputation was fairly rapid. He was up and walking within a week.
In the pool Cherylann Blay-Marques was massaging Otis’s hip joints. He floated peacefully as Linda held his outstretched paw for support. Hart Campbell, Cherylann’s assistant would often also help keep Otis secure and afloat. Hart’s basset hound, Brain, was curious about what I was doing. Hart warned me to watch my pallet since Brain would most likely stick his nose in it. Brain came over and sat on my foot the whole time I was sketching. In the pool Cherylynn grasped Otis at the base of the skull and he let out a moan of pleasure. When all his joints were loose Linda backed up to the pool steps and Otis swam over to her. His movements in the water were graceful and smooth even with 3 legs. He hopped up out of the pool and shook the water off of his fur. Linda went to change out of her wet clothes and he waited anxiously for her, standing stoically by the fence.
The next appointment was for Oakly a black pointer who was terrified of water. His owner Julie Thompson has to drag him to the pools edge with the leash. He dug his claws into the concrete and they scratched in resistance. He tried sitting and leaning back resisting the pressure of the leash. Julie had to lift him up and he squirmed as she placed him on the pool steps. He tried everything possible to get his feet out of the water. If Julie held his front quarters he would step his hind quarters up and out. It was a long comical struggle between owner and pet. When he went in deeper water, he panicked and thrashed his front legs high up above the water splashing like crazy. It was just like a child play acting like they were about to drown. Finally Cherylann grabbed him securely. She began to massage him and he relaxed instantly. She wanted to assure him that he was in control of the situation so she let him go and allowed him to swim out of the pool. This time he swam with grace and speed. He actually seemed to enjoy the swim.
Hip Dog Hydrotherapy has been around for 9 years. Tom Nowicki who is also an actor started the business. Cherylann started working there 4 years ago. The business has grown into a non-profit and they have helped over a thousand dogs over the years. The business rents the pool from the owner of the property and the place is now up for sale. They are now looking for a new home for this inspiring enterprise.
Driving home I was surprised when I got choked up thinking about what I had just sketched. It is rewarding to watch a pointer overcome its fears and find joy in its natural behavior. Otis proved the vets wrong and is still going strong and enjoying life. He isn’t letting his small handicap slow him down. As his owner Linda said, “I’m a very proud dog mommy! Otis is my hero.”

Tilikunundrum

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I decided to get up as early as possible on a Saturday morning to sketch Brian Feldman as he began his eighteen hours of confinement in a stranger’s bathtub, one hour for each year Tilikum the orca has been held captive in a space of comparative size at SeaWorld® Orlando. In a YouTube video, Jean-Michel Cousteau lamented the tragic death of a Sea World® trainer. Perhaps the time has come to stop keeping these beautiful mammals in captivity. Terry and I had the opportunity to see a pod of orcas as they hunted and played off the coast of Washington State. Terry, who grew up in San Diego, loved to watch Shamu perform at SeaWorld®. After seeing orcas in the open ocean, however, she no longer has any desire to see them jump through hoops for fish handouts.

I got to “Sea House®” at about seven in the morning. There were quite a few cars parked in the street outside the home, so I knew I was in the right place. The sun was just beginning to warm up the sky. I knocked once and then opened the front door. I followed the sound of splashing water and made my way to a tiny bathroom where I found Brian’s father sitting on a toilet trying to bring up some YouTube videos of the SeaWorld® Shamu show. Brian was just getting into the tub to begin his performance. On the laptop screen there were two video streams. There was a major problem however, the tub had no stopper! Brian tried to keep the water in the tub by pressing his foot over the drain, but I could hear the water flowing out into the drain. Brian’s father put out a request online for anyone to get a stopper. Brian had to lean forward every few minutes to refill the tub. Once he turned the wrong knob and the shower sprayed down on his head.

After I was halfway finished with my sketch, Lili McDonald arrived at the front door with a brand new tub stopper in hand. She was an instant hero. Brian’s father had to get to work so he said goodbye. Lili took his inglorious seat and took over laptop duty. For the duration of his performance Brian had the bombastic “inspirational” music from the SeaWorld® Shamu show playing in the background. Lilli, who is techno-savvy, set up the YouTube video to play in a loop so the music went uninterrupted. Having to listen to this music over and over again is enough to make any thinking breathing mammal go postal. I applaud Brian for the unconventional way he demonstrated against keeping orcas in captivity.

I later spoke with Mary Hill, who once worked at SeaWorld®. She pointed out how devastated she was by the conditions of the animals kept in captivity. They were treated humanely, but in the wild they have ranges of thousands of miles. Being restricted in an enclosure is hard for any animal. She used to conduct backstage tours for guests. Backstage there is an area where polar bears go when guests are no longer in the park. She told me there was super thick one-way glass which could keep the bears from seeing or smelling handlers. One bear was particularly neurotic. He would pace in a set pattern all day and rub his head up against a fiberglass “rock” until all the fur on his neck was rubbed raw. They would move the “rock” but then he would just reverse his pattern and then rub the fur off somewhere else in the process. She went into work early in the mornings just to sit with her back against the thick glass, and she would meditate and pray for the animal. On the second day of doing this, the bear sat with his back up against the glass where Mary sat. It is as if he knew she was there sending him good will.

The death of the SeaWorld® trainer is tragic and perhaps it will cause this multi-million dollar industry to rethink using orcas as a form of entertainment if only for a moment.

The Screaming of the Lambs

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Over the weekend Terry and I went to Chuliota to visit Eileen and Lewis. Eileen gave us a wonderful driving tour of the surrounding area and she pointed out some areas I should return to sketch. When we got back to the house Eileen and Terry sat on the porch and gossiped and I knew they would be occupied and happy for hours. I decided to wander up the street to see some of the livestock that live in the neighborhood. I wanted to do a simple bucolic sketch.
When I approached this holding pen, all the sheep bowed their heads down in alarm. When I put down my artist chair, they all scattered and ran to the far corner of the pen. If I moved they would run to the oposite corner. I decided I would never get just the right angle so I stood and just started sketching.
When I was halfway finished with the sketch, an unexpected drama unfolded. Two rams who were in the larger open area behind this pen started ramming the door to this pen with their heads and curved horns. A male sheep on the inside tried to stop them by ramming the door in the opposite direction at the same time. The door was thrown open and the 2 rams charged in causing all the sheep to cry out and run. The rams focused on a single female sheep and began chasing her relentlessly. I wondered if I should run to the farm house and warn the owners, what was happening was criminal.
All the other sheep ran out of the pen leaving just the female sheep as she ran from the two rams. One ram would butt her in the side to direct her while the other pursued from behind. Luckily the rams were not smart enough to ever isolate her in a corner. As you might have guessed by now I simply kept sketching. The young sheep who had broken free screamed Maaaa Maaaa at the top of their lungs. It sounded to me like they were screaming for their mother in alarm. The female never let her pursuers corner her. The chase broke out into the larger holding area and the second ram gave up, leaving just one pursuer. When the sketch was finished I saw the female still trotting at a safe distance with her tongue hanging out. The ram was equally exhausted and overheated. She had worn her opponent down. He was to tired for any more advances.

Blue Spring

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The past 2 nights have seen temperatures drop below freezing. In Florida this is big news. It means citrus crops get frozen and many plants that are not cold tolerant will burn to the ground. It also means that manatees make the pilgrimage to Blue Springs to enjoy the springs constant water temperature of 72 degrees. I saw on the news several nights ago that over a hundred manatees are now in the springs. I figured the park would be empty on a weekday but oh, was I wrong. There was a half hour backup waiting to get into the park entrance. I almost turned around but decided to tough out the traffic. It was worth the wait. I do not know the official count but there were lots of manatees along with Gar, and Cat fish schools. I did this digital piece on location but when the sun made its way to the screen, I could not see what I was doing. I actually had to lean over to block the sun enough so I could see the screen. A large group of manatees were lounging on the far bank of the spring, and once in a while one would glide by heading up toward the source of the spring.