#old drum

They say everyplace has a story worth telling and this is a story from my hometown.

Hello everyone!

I don’t know how much traction that I have on this website (I know that it is not a lot) but I’d like to take this time to use it.

I live near Warrensburg Missouri, and I own two cats that used to be strays. I love them with all my heart.

Because of the pandemic (which is clearly an excuse, btw) the ONLY ANIMAL SHELTER IN THE CITY IS LOSING ITS FUNDING. If you didn’t know, Warrensburg Missouri is known as “The Home of Mans Best Friend.” There was a huge court case about a dog, Old Drum, that was shot and killed. The court case is where the term “mans best friend” became famous, if not where it was coined. There’s a reinactment of the case every year.

You’d think that we’d care more about our animals. Where Mans Best Friend came from, and they have one lousy dog park, and their only animal shelter is getting its small amount of funding taken away. Did you know that roughly 500 cats and dogs go though it every year? They NEED THE SHELTER, AND THE GODDAMN GOVERNMENT IS SCREWING THE ANIMALS THAT WE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR. *deep breath*

Old Drum and Friends Animal Shelter needs major donations and volunteers. You can donate through the Warrensburg Cat Advocates Facebook page. I’ve linked that above.

I’ll be doing what I can to help the shelter, and the animals. I volenteer there, and they are the sweetest animals. They are so eager to love, even the shy ones. As soon as you make that connection with them, they will love you forever, and will die for you if they could.

There’s something to be said for love. Love between family is warm and familiar, love between friends is strong. Love between two lovers is intimate, and sometimes bordering on holy. But the love of an animal is true, and pure. They love you so innocently, and unwaveringly. They will throw themselves away for you, wasting away a little more each day if they do not see the sun that is your face, and hear the music that is your voice.

You are their world, and their sun.

When I see those is the shelters, I see ships lost at sea. And every time I come and open up their cages, with each one it’s the same. It’s as though I have become a lighthouse, the glow reflected in their eyes.

I, in truth, an ashamed of those that approved the defunding of Old Drum, and as well, I feel sorry for them. I have little doubt in my mind that none of them have ever known the affection of an animal, an innocent soul that relies on you for everything. They have forgotten one crucial detail.

Whether or not you believe in God, we are meant to be stewards of the earth, and all of its creatures. We have a responsibility towards those lesser beings, to take care of them. They know no better, they are pure and unselfish, a good lot better than any human that I know.

Please, do what you can for Old Drum and Friends! Prove that we are good stewards, and that we are not afraid of anything. Dogs are suppose to be mans best friend, so we SHOULD FUCKING ACt LIKE WE ARE THEIRS AS WELL!

This is an Illustration I did for the “Muleskinner” newspaper about Old Drum, the heroic dog. 

I loved this song instantly upon first hearing it— then I learned the translation, realized what it meant, and my heart nearly broke from the understanding of such richly ancestral and heartfelt lyrics.