Blind As A Bat(ty)

Been away for a while and thought this would be the perfect way to come back with a bang.

Many of you know that a quarter from each sale of Almost Perfect, our book about disabled pets, is donated to Animal Welfare Karpathos, the only animal rescue on the Greek island. The author of the final essay in the book, Roberta Beach Jacobson, runs the rescue with her partner, Alf Meier.

They made this delightful little vid about Batty, a blind kitten there. I wanted to share it with you, because it reminds me very much of the way my blind cat, Idgie behaves, and shows what a full, happy life blind pets are capable of leading. It also carries a poignant message we all need to be reminded of. So take a few minutes and give it a look, won't you?

Roberta Makes Headlines for Greek Animals!

Roberta Beach Jacobson, one of the illustrious contributors to our Almost Perfect anthology, has made the front page of the Greece & Cyprus area of the Best Friends Network website with her story, "The Sea Dog of Karpathos Island."

Opi and friend

It's a heartwarming, true story of Roberta and her husband, Alf, adopting a scruffy little one-eyed dog. Roberta and Alf are cofounders of Animal Welfare Karpathos. Karpathos is an island with no resident vet or animal shelter and the idea for creating AWK came about in 2001.

Since that time, German veterinarian Martina Greve has been volunteering on Karpathos twice a year to neuter and spay dogs and cats. She also tends to any farm animals in need of medical treatment.

The organization's clinic is always busy. In between vet visits, Alf gives routine injections, hands out flea and tick treatments and does lots of dog grooming. 25¢ from each copy of Almost Perfect sold goes to support this worthwhile group.

Thanks, Roberta!

Well, bust my buttons! I'm holding my head up high this morning -- this blog has been given the Sisterhood Award by fellow author and blogger Roberta Beach Jacobson (also a contributor to Almost Perfect!).

Roberta blogs over at the Seattle Post Intelligencer site, and had this to say:

Almost Perfect Pets
Mary Shafer is a wonder who balances twenty projects at once. Her blog offers a pleasing combination of opinion, news and humor. How she has time for it with all her books and other endeavors, I have no earthly idea. I suspect she never sleeps.

Well, THANK YOU, Roberta! It's always nice to be recognized by someone you admire. Roberta is something of a wonder herself, what with all her own books, her blog and her tireless work on behalf of animals. 25¢ from each copy of Almost Perfect goes to support Animal Welfare Karpathos, an all-volunteer animal rescue organization that Roberta helped found and still volunteers with.