The Heloise Diaries

Yes, Heloise is real and healthy, although I had a bit of a scare a couple of weeks ago. I’ll tell you about that in a moment. And yes, that is the ceramic pumpkin that she somehow manages to squeeze herself into on the days we have sleepovers (don’t ask me how). Need proof? Here she is curled up inside her pumpkin this morning.

Today, however, I want to talk about something that has been bothering me more and more as the war in Ukraine drags on. At this point I’m friends with quite a few Ukrainians, many of whom have chosen to stay in Ukraine. Some simply don’t have the means to leave but others stay because of their animals. One husband and wife team in particular - Leonid and Valentina Stoyanov (collectively known as the “Vet Crew”) - has captured my heart. They are exotic and wild animal veterinarians who have chosen to stay to help the many animals that have lost their people and homes because of the invasion. These include everything from dogs, cats, monkeys, tigers, lions, and pythons to geckos, turtles, owls, a gray swan, and a pair of orphaned baby marmosets. Their skill is impressive, but even more remarkable is their boundless optimism. I don’t know how they do it, but they bring hope and smiles to my life every day. Follow them. I will list their sites at the end of this piece.

Another Ukrainian I like and admire is Tetiana Kopytova. Tetiana is an immensely gifted illustrator. I’ve shared her chronicles of the invasion several times. See:

• A Grief That Can’t be Spoken

• Magic Light

• Fire in Sky

Each of their stories reminds me how the human-focused world we’ve manufactured takes deliberate and often deadly steps to separate us from the other lives that share the planet with us. Every day, in so many ways we affirm that their lives matter less than our own and work hard not to have to feel the suffering we inflict on them. This despite the fact that we are only one small part of an interconnected and interdependent network of life on this planet. Creatures like bees, bats, vultures, coyotes, raccoons, wolves, ants, and yes opossums play an essential role in keeping us alive.

Now Putin, and people like him, have gone even further, declaring that only humans they deem acceptable have the right to live. This is beyond narcississtic and cruel. It is, to put it bluntly, a fast track to extinction.

But back to Heloise. One evening about two weeks ago she arrived on my porch with a cut on her right front foot. At first I didn’t notice, but when she began scratching on the glass of the sliding glass door that leads to my living room and I saw streaks of blood covering the glass I was alarmed. I opened the door and went out to see if I could help. Mistake. The moment she heard the door open she panicked and scurried away to her favorite hiding spot around the corner of the ledge at the end of my building. There, I could neither see nor reach her.

In retrospect, I’m not sure what I thought I could do. Even supposing I could catch her, where would I take her at 10:00 pm? None of the vets in my area specialize in wild animals and the rehabbers I know focus most of their attention on injured birds. Would I even be able to get a vet to look at her?

By the next morning my entire porch was covered with tiny bloody pawprints and Heloise had done her usual disappearing act. She typically shows up every other day, spending the daylight hours in the pumpkin, then heading out around 10:30 or 11:00 to find food. When I didn’t see her for four days I began to worry. Maybe her injuries were worse than I thought? May be a predator had killed her?

Then I stumbled on a quote by Paul McCartney:
”Many years ago, I was fishing, and as I was reeling in the poor fish, I realized I was killing him -- all for the passing pleasure it brought me. And something inside me clicked. I realized as I watched him fight for breath, that his life was as important to him as mine is to me."

McCartney’s words hit me hard. Animals have always been my touchstones, my reminders that there is a larger awareness at work in which unconditional love abides. You only have to look into the eyes of a dog, stand forehead-to-forehead with a horse, or stare into the beady black eyes of a wary opossum to know you are in the presence of a sentient being that loves its life as much as you love yours.

This is what I dream of touching in kids and reawakening in adults - the ability to tap their self-awareness, spend time in their centers where outside differences fall away and all that remains is unconditional love. The absence of this awareness in others is what concerns me most. It’s also why I have this quote from Rumi at the bottom of all my emails. “Stop acting so small. You are the universe in esctatic motion.” Remember who you are dear friends.

Love and Hugs,
Jena and Heloise

P.S. Heloise’s foot is completely healed.

LINKS

The Vet Crew

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vet.crew

• Website: https://sites.google.com/view/vetcrew

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vet.crew/?hl=en

• Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@vet.crew?lang=en

• Twitter: @crew_vet

Tetiana Kopytova

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tetiana.kopytova

• Pet Family Fund: https://www.facebook.com/pet.family.fund

• Art: https://kopytova.com

• Shop: https://shop.kopytova.com/