Welcome to SWIVL

Baby is Looking for a Special Family

Are you looking for a cat that will always be waiting for you when you come home?  Have you been hoping for a kitty that is well behaved, loving, and can’t wait to sit in your lap?  If so, then Baby may be that special cat for you.  Baby is about 7 years old, has all her shots, and is spayed.  Baby is a healthy, playful, fun loving cat.  She is well mannered and is much interested in associating with humans then other cats.  If you are looking for a one-cat family, Baby may be your Top Cat.   Contact SWIVL for more information.

Lucky Lady Truly has Nine Lives

Lucky Lady truly has nine lives.  Thanks to quick action by SWIVL Director, Dr. Kathleen Wishnick, a tiny little kitten is alive, healthy, and purrs when you hold her close to your heart.  According to Kathleen, she thought the worst when she came upon the tiny little kitten.  The baby kitten was found in a pool of blood, barely breathing, and close to death. Picking the kitten up into her arms, Dr. Wishnick drove quickly to the local Arivacan veterinarian, Dr. Lyle Robinson.  Dr. Robinson took immediate action and quickly determined that the young cat was pregnant with a still born baby.  Dr. Robinson operated on the kitten with Kathleen assisting.  Five hours after Kathleen found the little kitten, surgery was completed and it was waiting time.  Kathleen asked if she would be okay and Dr. Robinson responded by saying   .   .   .   Let’s see if she makes it through the night.  During her first few days, the tiny kitten made slow but steady progress and after one week she had turned the corner.  After three weeks of constant care, medication, and most of all love, Lucky Lady, as she came to be called, was full of life.  Yes, Lucky Lady is very lucky and most important; she has a permanent, safe home with SWIVL.

Eleven Goat Family Joins SWIVL

A family of 11 goats has joined SWIVL: 6 babies and 5 adults.  The new goat family joins a family of four that came to SWIVL in November, 2008.  Both families have adjusted to each other and occasionally share a dinner meal. The new goats were about to be sold off to the highest bidder without any regard for the relationships and bonds established in the 11 goat family.

For SWIVL, family is a universal concept and is not limited to the human community.  Family is indivisible and is an expression of life itself. Without family, life cannot exist. Family is a process for creating and becoming a place for love and compassion – where life begins, develops and thrives.  As humans we have a responsibility to protect the sanctity of the family, regardless of format, structure, or species.  Further, once we begin to distinguish the human family from the families of other sentient beings, we diminish the overall value of families everywhere and should not be surprised if the human family begins to have a corresponding deterioration.   In other words, we cannot hold the idea of family as the centerpiece of the human community if we so carelessly disregard the importance of family within the web of life. 

Humane Education Program

The SWIVL goats will be part of a school-to-community humane education program. As part of this program, students, with their parents and teachers, will (1) Learn about the history of goats; (2) Investigate how goats socialize with other goats and animals; (3) Research goats as a companion animal, the pluses and minuses, and (4) Explore how goats have been portrayed in the world of literature.  A state certified SWIVL teacher will work closely with parents and teachers to insure that state standards are part of the humane education curriculum.   Contact SWIVL if you would like more information about humane education for your school or family. 

Goats, Capra hircus, are extremely social, playful, intelligent sentient beings.  Too often, however, goats are treated as machines – considered to have no sensual or emotional life.  Goats enjoy both the company of their own species as well as humans.  Goats are even tempered and make wonderful companions.  You are encouraged to share your ideas and opinions.   Click here to become a Goat Central Author.

Your support to help these animals is needed at this time.  All contributions go directly to support the animals and the school-to-community program for children.  SWIVL has no paid staff and no contributions go to administrative costs.  Tax deductible donations are needed to build fencing and shelter and provide veterinary care and food.  Click here to make a private and secure donation.

Creating a Culture of Success

A global education is a humane education.  To prepare our children for an unpredictable, turbulent world requires more than a set of facts, figures, and body of information.  While policy makers and political leaders agree and disagree over the appropriate set of universal standards to be taught in our schools, a deafening silence exists on providing our children with the requisite conditions that drive a culture of success.  As the United States becomes a multinational country, it is critical that the set of values and

  

A culture of success is driven by certain universal factors: (1) A powerful work ethic; (2) An independent spirit and resilient character; (4) Committed parents and family to education; and (5) A democratic and egalitarian philosophy.

 

beliefs that have created the exceptionality of the US are not lost and that our families, schools, and communities insure that our children are taught to value liberty and freedom so that they can pursue and maximize their natural talents.

 

The Role of the State and a ViolenceFree Environment

Individual freedom and personal responsibility are marginalized as we become increasingly a dependent people and less reliant on ourselves to determine our own destiny.  A dependency state creates an imbalance between our talents and strengths and our ability to actualize our full potential.  This disparity increases personal stress and internal conflict which leads to increased social turmoil.  To maintain order, elected officials make political decision to control individual and group behavior which results in greater personal stress and the cycle of violence continues expand.  Reducing violence is an illusion as personal and social behavior cannot be controlled by the state through rules and regulations.  Rather, ViolenceFree can be created by providing individuals a maximum amount of freedom to explore and actualize their personal talents and strengths.  The role of the state, within a ViolenceFree environment, is to encourage and support a culture of success where individuals are able to transform their personal talents into strengths within a climate of independence and freedom.

SWIVL Brisenia Flores Memorial Award - Intermediate students from Sopori Elementary School (Amado, Arizona) will have the opportunity to participate in the SWIVL Brisenia Flores Memorial Award.  This award honors the young life of Brisenia Flores by offering to intermediate grade children the opportunity to display and share their creative ideas around the care and responsible treatment of companion and farmed animals.  Students have the opportunity to promote kindness and compassion towards animals through creative writing, poetry, art, and music. 

To participate in the Award Program, students will need to complete an application and return it to SWIVL, P.O. Box 670, Arivaca, Arizona, 85601.  Applications need to be post marked on or before December 4, 2009.

The loss of nine-year-old Brisenia Flores is a reminder of how valuable and precious life is and that our children should be treasured.  Brisenia loved life and cared deeply for animals. She brought joy to everyone she touched and it is the memory of her playful spirit and love that will be permanently part of the Arivacan community.  Join with SWIVL in honoring this beautiful little girl for what she was and might have been – for all the children.

Latino Dropouts and Often Overlooked Talents

Character Development, Civic Education, and Service Learning - Fernando Reimers is the Ford Foundation Professor of International Education and the director of global education and of international education policy at Harvard University.  Reimers talks about the importance of developing global competencies, the nation's growing Latino dropout rate, and the often overlooked talents and opportunities that Latino children bring to classrooms across the US.  Click here to hear Fernando Reimers.

Moving the Schools to a Strength-Based Model

Schools more than any other social and political institution require a transformation from the deficit to the asset model.  Focusing on strengths and what works in our schools encourages optimism and a culture of success. This is especially important in low performing and high poverty schools where the achievement gap is widening for Black Americans and Latino students and the dropout rate is on the increase.  These schools are also extremely violent.  It’s no surprise that there is a strong connection between student success and ViolenceFree.  Continue Reading.

Do You Really want a Dog?

Before you decide to look for that companion dog, please review the following questions.  If you answer no to any of the questions you may want to consider buying a pet rock.

1. Will you look for your new friend at the local pound or shelter?

2. Are you ready to be awakened in the middle of the night because your new companion is afraid or lonely?

3. Will you keep your new friend in the house and not outside?

4. Will you make sure your dog has all his/her vaccinations and visits the veterinary for regular check-ups?

5. Will you provide a heartworm pill to your dog each month?

6. Will you make sure that your new companion always has clean water, healthy food, regular exercise, and play toys?

7. Will you always be willing to receive and give a big kiss and hug to your new dog?

8. Will you spay or neuter your new dog as soon as appropriate?

Source: swivl

If you answered Yes to these questions you are worthy of the unconditional love you will receive from your new, best friend.

Violence Begins at the Dinner Table

What did you have for dinner last night? Do you know where your food came from? Too often our food originates from a place far, far, away. In the global economy, our food is no longer local and the rules that regulate our food are frightening. Most countries in the world, China, Middle East, and India have few rules that regulate their factory farms.  Continue Reading. 

 

Factory farming began in the 1920s soon after the discovery of vitamins A and D; when these vitamins are added to feed, animals no longer require exercise and sunlight for growth. This allowed large numbers of animals to be raised indoors year-round. Continue Reading

Making matters worse, most of the meat on your table is filled with antibiotics to compensate for the filthy conditions farmed animals inhabit. Continue Reading.  With the push for health care reform, it makes no sense to not consider the food we eat. Powerful evidence exists that meat and dairy products result in cancer, heart disease, and diabetes. It’s time for the President to stop defending the cruelty of factory farms and the unhealthy food protected by government regulators.  Continue Reading.