The Baha’i faith is a religion that originated as a sect of Islam but has since then evolved to be its own independent religion. This house of worship, occasionally referred to by its Arabic name “Mashriqu’l-Adhká,” is located in Wilmette, Illinois. Some of the main tenants of the Baha’i faith are that it is a constantly changing. That is to say, the religious history is told through a group of messengers who are viewed as holy. Some of the most prominent messengers include: Abraham, the father of all Abrahamic religions, Buddha of Buddhism, Jesus commonly attributed to Christianity, and Muhammad of Islam. In my opinion, one of the neatest parts of this religion is that it can adapt to suit the time and place (for example dietary restrictions). Also, the Baha’i faith is monotheistic. This means that they do not believe in multiple gods; more so, they believe in one God who is eternal and has a purpose and will. He dispenses his desires through his messengers stated above. While this is only a brief summary of a very complex religion, as all are, hopefully this exposes some of you to a new religion that you may not have heard of or know much about before. If you want to learn more, hit-up the wikipedia page to get some basic knowledge and then take some time to follow their references to see some more legit articles.
Thanks for taking the time to read,
Evan
Posted in LandscapeTags: Baha'i, Beauty, cold, Contrail, illinois, lumen, night, photography, Star, Temple, Wilmette
DISCLAIMER: This post is about dog blood donations. While no especially graphic images are included, there are images that involve needles and blood.
For pet owners around the world, we know and understand that taking on one of these little critters means we’re responsible for every facet of their lives – be it dog, cat, or spider monkey. One of the things I had never thought about was how, in emergency situations, our dogs get blood. The answer is a small group of dedicated and awesome volunteers who take time out of their days to have their dogs donate blood. Earlier in the documentary, we introduced “Adventures with Bailey.” Adventures is a non-profit based in the Chicagoland area. They focus on providing animal assisted therapy and activities free of charge. One of the things that Susan and her five leonbergers also do is donate blood. Earlier this week, I drove out to the Animal Emergency & Treatment Center to follow the dogs as they donated blood. It was a phenomenal experience and the incredibly talented vets and vet techs their made the process easy and painless. On average, they take about 450 grams of blood per dog. Before they get to that though, they give each dog a thorough physical examination and an updated blood screen to ensure that their are no contaminates in the blood. Then they give the dogs some electrolytes to ensure that the blood that is donated isn’t missed by the dog. When the time comes they go ahead and bring each dog into a examination room individually and work to hoist the 100+ pound dogs onto the table. The blood is taken from a vein in their neck and gravity driven into the bag. One would think that the initial entry of the needle would frighten the dogs but the skilled ladies who were working with the dogs today made it painless donation. Afterwards, everyone was nice enough to take me back to where they process the blood and seperate some of it out into plasma in their huge centrifuges. The AETC supplies area clinics with plasma and blood along with a few other locations including one in Boston. I want to thank everyone from the AETC and Adventures for letting me illustrate to everyone a side of dog ownership that is rarely considered. If you have a dog that is large enough and healthy enough, you should definitely consider becoming a donor. Your contribution could save someones best friend.
Thanks for reading,
Evan
Posted in DocumentaryTags: Adventures, Bailey, Blood, cloudy, cold, Dogs, Donor, evan, February, Leonberger, Plasma, Susan, with
Today, I bring you the next part of the documentary – “Dog People.” One of the trends now-a-days in the animal shelter movement has been a paradigm shift towards no-kill shelters. In the vanguard of Chicago’s no-kill shelter movement is the PAWS Animal Shelter. Founded in 1997, since its inception, PAWS has dropped the number of euthanization of dogs and cats from its peak of 42,000 a year to just over 15,000 a year. Their goal is to reduce that to none. Not only have they done a great job at reducing Chicago’s stray animal population but they are leaders in changing the way a shelter has to be viewed. While all shelters serve an important purpose, PAWS has reinvented the notion that shelters have to be barren and solely efficient. The best way to describe PAWS is that their animals are kept in the five star hotel of animal shelters. Many dogs have a roommate who they have been matched to, to keep them company. Their rooms are gigantic and they’re given opportunities to go on daily walks and have time outside on their rooftop play space. All in all, if I were going to adopt a dog in Chicago, PAWS would be the first place I would look to get my new family member. They have awesome people who care about animals who both work and volunteer there! Thanks again to everyone from PAWS – hopefully you enjoy the images!
Evan
Posted in DocumentaryTags: Animal, chicago, Documentary, Dogs, evan, illinois, Lincoln, lumen, No-kill, park, PAWS, photography, Shelter, sunny
The next portion of my documentary, “Dog People,” is about therapy dogs. Today I bring you a small post about a non-profit called Adventures with Bailey. Adventures works with people in the community to provide animal assisted therapy – free of charge. I was lucky enough to join with Susan, the founder of Adventures, on two separate occasions. The first portion of this post has images from Avoca West Elementary School. This program is a wonderful opportunity that provides students with a chance to read aloud to a non-judgmental audience. The looks of excitement on some of these kids faces as they get to spend time or cuddle with Bailey, Kubla, or Sunny is amazing. These dogs are mostly Leonbergers; though, Bailey is a mix of Collie and Bernese Mountain Dog. These guys could be compared to the largest, most cuddly pillows in the world. They’re incredibly obedient and docile.
This is only one of the amazing services that man’s best friend can do. Therapy dogs serve strong and important purposes. Stay tuned for the next portion of the “Dogumentary?” (My apologies, I couldn’t resist). There are some exciting things in the mix including Chicago’s biggest animal shelter PAWS and a doggy blood donor session.
Thanks for reading,
Evan
Posted in DocumentaryTags: Adventures, Bailey, Books, cold, dog, Dogs, evan, fun, lumen, photography, Reading, school, Susan, winter
Some more personal work that I grabbed the other day. Just a few landscapes that hopefully everyone can appreciate!
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