FURRY FRIEND OR FURRY FAMILY?
In last year’s pet issue, I wrote an editorial about how animals are like children in that they are both unable to communicate and defend themselves, and the way one treats each is indicative of the quality of their character. Recently, though, I had firsthand experience that taught me just how similar having a pet is to having a child. They’re annoying at times, you love the hell out of them, and you are entirely responsible for keeping them alive.
My dad went on a six-month Buddhist residency, and I was tasked with caring for my two childhood cats: Puffypants and Mittens. They’re siblings, from the same litter, and they’ve been in my family since the moment they were born, about 12 years ago. To say I love these cats is an understatement, and that love grew so much deeper when it became my sole responsibility to take care of them.
To preface this story, I have to note that Puffypants is the fattest cat you’ve ever seen. He is the poster child for gluttony, so it’s a common occurrence for him to eat his food way too quickly and immediately throw it up. So when I came across cat vomit, I didn’t think anything of it. I just cleaned it up and went about my day.
After several days of cleaning up barf, however, I noticed Mittens had stopped eating altogether. I put out her food like normal, and she wouldn’t touch it. Mittens is notoriously picky, so I didn’t panic. I bought the most expensive cat food at the grocery store, I put out her favorite treats, I even cooked her chicken. She wouldn’t touch any of it, and I started to panic.
During this same time, I was finishing a COVID-19 quarantine and my car got towed. So it was a couple days before I was able to take her to the vet. During those two or so days, she quickly lost almost all her weight and started isolating herself in the corner of my bathroom. My childhood pet was dying before my very eyes, and save for my grandmother on her death bed, it was the saddest thing I’d ever seen.
Luckily, I was able to take her to the vet just in time. They gave her an IV and ran some tests to deduce that she has stage 2 kidney disease, which was impacting her appetite. They gave me an appetite stimulant and a prescription for some special food, and soon she was as good as new.
Actually, she was better. Mittens had a new lease on life. Before, she could be a bit standoffish. She didn’t like people petting her too much, and she would more or less keep to herself. But after, she was much more affectionate. She wanted me to pet and hold her constantly, and she would lie on my chest while I was in bed (something she never did before). Mittens had known she was going to die, and I think she knew that, without my help, she wouldn’t have survived. Every time she went to the bathroom to isolate herself and die, I took her out, held and kissed her, and told her she was going to be all right. I took her to the vet, and she came back feeling great. I swear to god, she knew that I did all of that for her. She knew that I kept her alive, and she was genuinely grateful.
Cats get a bad rap for not being the most loving animals, but after that experience, I truly felt like she loved me — or, at the very least, I knew with 100 percent certainty that she knew I loved her.
Our pets aren’t just our companions and buddies. They’re our family, just as our own children are. That experience cost me an arm and a leg and some serious emotional distress, but protecting and caring for Mittens, I experienced a love so deep and sacrificial, I truly felt like a mother. That is a feeling I will cherish for the rest of my life, and once Mittens does eventually pass away, I know I’ll mourn her with the same devastation I would any other member of my family. For now, though, I’m eternally grateful that she’s alive and I get to enjoy the privilege of loving her for a little while longer.
Read these stories and more online at thegavoice.com
Sens. Ossoff, Warnock Working to Address HIV/AIDS Epidemic in Metro Atlanta with New Grant
U.S. Senators Reverend Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff have secured new resources to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the Metro Atlanta area.
Sens. Ossoff and Warnock announced new resources for the Fulton County’s Department for HIV Elimination to help Georgians with HIV/AIDS access the health care, treatment, and support services they need.
The U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration awarded approximately $115 million to 60 HIV/AIDS Bureau EHE recipients to link people with HIV who are either newly diagnosed, or are diagnosed but currently not in care, to essential HIV care and treatment and support services. Almost $4 million has gone to Atlanta, with Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton, and Gwinnett Counties as priority areas of focus.
The new resources will also help provide workforce training and technical assistance.
“Working alongside Senator Warnock, I will continue strengthening health care services, facilities, and access for the people of Georgia. The fight against HIV/AIDS continues, and this investment will help prevent and treat disease,” Sen. Ossoff said in a release.
“I’ve long been committed to fighting for care and justice for those living with HIV, and as a voice for Georgians in the Senate I’m proud to continue that work as a lawmaker,” said Sen. Warnock. “The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that what impacts one of us impacts all of us, so I’m proud that we were able to secure vital federal investments to combat the HIV epidemic.”
Atlanta’s Out on Film Announces First Wave of Films for 35th Festival
Out on Film has announced the first five films that will comprise the 35th edition of the Oscar® qualifying Atlanta-based LGBTQ film festival, held from September 22 to October 2, 2022.
The five films are Bryan Darling and Jesse Finley Reed’s All Man: The International Male Story, Micheal Rice’s Black As U R, Matt Carter’s In From the Side, Daresha Kiyi’s Mama Bears and Connie Cocchia’s When Time Gets Louder.
“We are very excited to celebrate our landmark 35th anniversary,” Jim Farmer, Out On Film’s festival director, said in a statement. “Last year’s event — a hybrid festival with in-person screenings and guests and a virtual one as well — was very successful, with more than 155 films in all, and we look forward to another great event this season.”
The full schedule will be announced August 22. A special July 23 double feature of the comedic “Cop Secret” and the lesbian romantic comedy “Girl Picture” will begin the Countdown to 35 series. It will take place at 7pm at Out Front Theatre Company, serving as a first preview of this year’s festival.
For information on purchasing passes, tickets, and additional details on Out on Film, please go to outonfilm.org.
GLAAD Gives Social Media Failing Grades Over Lack of Protections for LGBTQ Users
GLAAD, the world’s largest LGBTQ media advocacy organization, released the findings of its second annual Social Media Safety Index (SMSI), a report on LGBTQ user safety across five major social media platforms: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and TikTok.
The outcome reveals that all platforms fail to protect the safety of LGBTQ users.
The 2022 SMSI introduces a Platform Scorecard, which utilizes twelve LGBTQspecific indicators to generate numeric ratings with regard to LGBTQ safety, privacy, and expression. After reviewing the platforms on measures like explicit protections from hate and harassment for LGBTQ users, offering gender pronoun options on profiles, and prohibiting advertising that could be harmful and/or discriminatory to LGBTQ people, all platforms scored under a 50 out of a possible 100:
Instagram: 48 percent Facebook: 46 percent Twitter: 45 percent YouTube: 45 percent TikTok: 43 percent
Primary Platform Scorecard indicators include:
The company should disclose a policy commitment to protect LGBTQ users from harm, discrimination, harassment, and hate on the platform.
The company should disclose an option for users to add pronouns to user profiles.
The company should disclose a policy that expressly prohibits targeted deadnaming and misgendering of other users.
The company should clearly disclose what options users have to control the company’s collection, inference, and use of information related to their sexual orientation and gender identity.
The company should disclose training for content moderators, including those employed by contractors, that trains them on the needs of vulnerable users, including LGBTQ users.
“Today’s political and cultural landscapes demonstrate the real-life harmful effects of anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and misinformation online,” said GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis. “The hate and harassment, as well as misinformation and flat-out lies about LGBTQ people, that go viral on social media are creating real-world dangers, from legislation that harms our community to the recent threats of violence at Pride gatherings. Social media platforms are active participants in the rise of anti-LGBTQ cultural climate and their only response can be to urgently create safer products and policies, and then enforce those policies.”