Partnership not Punishment
Partnership not Punishment How Moratoriums and Bans on neighborhood breeders endangers community-based sheltering We acknowledge that caring for companion animals within shelters is exhausting, frustrating, and often heartbreaking work. Shelter staff and volunteers confront preventable disasters daily – from abuse and abandonment to overpopulation and euthanasia – all in pursuit of positive outcomes for pets. […]
Access to Care, One journey to become a Veterinarian
By: Khangelani Mhlanga Growing up, I spent most school vacations at my mother’s rural village in Mutare, Zimbabwe. Herding cattle, milking cows, and tending to corn crops were standard daily activities that never felt like chores, though they were, because that was just part of family life. I often heard neighbors speak of baboons raiding […]
Dr. Dolittle goes to ALEC
James Evans, CEO of CAREFeatured Illustration By: Hugh Lofting It seems everyone wants to be likened to Dr. Dolittle, and why not? The ability to speak to, and sometimes for, our wild and mysterious siblings is an intoxicating prospect. Let’s note now who Dr. Dolittle was before we lose ourselves in the magic and magistery […]
As American as Apple Pie
As American As Apple Pie: An Essay about Structural Racism Written in cooperation with Camelback Ventures. By James Evans, CEO and Creative Director of C.A.R.E Some time ago we endeavored to bake a large and fantastic Pie. The likes of which the world had never seen. It was an incredible undertaking requiring world-class baking experts and a […]
American History
Written by James EvansFebruary 2, 2021 African American History Month, or Black American History Month… either works for me, but celebrating this month requires knowing American History. After suffering the British Crown’s injustices for ten years, a far lesser torment than a singular moment in an American’s slave’s life, our founders launched a tenuous and […]
Adoption is Choosing to Love … A Father’s Story
a·dopt/ verb: late 15th century: via French from Latin adoptare, from ad- ‘to’ + optare ‘choose’. Hi James, I watched the Best Friends webinar last night and you did a great job. The explanation of prejudice in the pet adoption world was clear and powerful. Interestingly Jane and I experienced it first hand when we adopted Jennifer [I’ve shared the story below]. The extensive investigation […]
Moving Beyond Bias with CARE
A discussion with animal welfare leader and president of Companions and Animals for Reform and Equity (CARE), James Evans. James talks about how the animal welfare movement got to where we are today and how we move forward. Special thanks to our host by José Ocaño, Senior Director of Culture and Talent and Best Friends CEO, […]
Still Dreaming
I don’t think Dr. King dreamt of President Obama, Reginald F. Lewis, Condoleezza Rice, or Oprah per se. Too often, these individuals, and other gifted people, are presented as post-racial symbols of a struggle long passed. This type of loose logic ignores the challenges facing People of Color. Equally misconceived would be to suggest Warren […]
Leaning in and Listening
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In Pursuit of the Real Juneteenth
I heard the thud from upstairs. When you’re living with an adolescent German Shepherd and two children of similar temperament, crashes, thump thump thumping, a thud is nothing special. But this was different; there were no preliminary warning sounds before the impact, and no sound directly after—just a loud thud. Seconds later, my son was […]