Real Rescue

 

 It's been a while since my last post on this blog, and this is partially due to lack of motivation but as of recent, I've been going through unexpected and devastating loss regarding my animals that has only served to further impede any progress in breaking this cycle.

 In recent news I've been following the harrowing stories of Nowzad Animal Rescue and the miraculous escape of 150+ dogs and cats from the Taliban-controlled Afghanistan and the sad and unfortunate failure of Kabul Small Animal Rescue to do the same. 

Both Nowzad and KSAR faced down tear gas, chaos, sleepless nights and Taliban soldiers sticking guns in their faces. Sadly the staff of both rescues who are Afghans were not permitted to leave by the Taliban. Only KSAR's founder, Charlotte Maxwell-Jones, was allowed to leave being from the U.S., but despite ongoing donations including my own, KSAR's chartered plane(s) did not arrive on time and the cats were not allowed to enter the airport by the Taliban for some reason. 

The dogs actually managed to get into the airport, but thanks to the wonderful rules of the CDC barring dogs from Afghanistan from entering the United States, they could not be placed within the cargo (where humans are not allowed) of departing military planes headed for the U.S. 

The remaining U.S. soldiers "assisted" Charlotte by releasing those dogs in a section of the airport, and they prompted her to get on a flight and leave a disabled puppy she had in her arms behind. She refused, and she is now stranded in Afghanistan, still rescuing pets that have been abandoned by their fleeing owners, dogs that are roaming the streets, and contracted working dogs (not the military dogs belonging to the U.S military) and headed into an uncertain future. 

I just thought I'd show people who I consider a "hero", and someone who deserves piles of donations. Charlotte and her staff, I'm sure, would love it if another animal did not need their services. They do not rescue animals they "want" or those that are worth thousands. They do not rescue "as needed" to further their business or for any other self-serving purpose other than the pursuit of happiness by helping animals who desperately need it. Apparently in Afghanistan, dogs are considered "dirty" and some have their noses chopped off.

Recently I've been made aware of more "Youtubers" who have begged for donations so they can buy animals or have the ones they've chosen to buy financially accommodated, and I really want to document it, despite my small readership here.

I began to wonder at some point, if those who literally sent Brock Afentful of 2canTV thousands of dollars to upgrade his house or the single individual who bought him a hand-raised, perfect, baby channel-billed toucan have donated to Nowzad, Kabul Small Animal Rescue, or any other causes where hundreds of animals or humans are in peril. I of course, have no evidence they have not, but forgive me for being very doubtful that they have.

Brock Afentful's (2can.TV) Proposed Luxury Fake "Rescue"

I think I ought to emphasize that the things Mr. Afentul is posting are actually intended to make him look good. Each upload that he creates is carefully designed to lure the viewer into feeling like they are contributing to a greater good by helping to pay for his bills, a house upgrade, and very expensive pets.

In my last post regarding the creator of 2can.TV, I was completely and utterly aghast that he chose to flagrantly defy his past claims that toucans shouldn't be pets and go ahead and purchase yet another toucan chick with someone else's money to further complete his "rainbow" collection of different species, akin to the picture on his Youtube banner and the artwork he uses at the end of his videos.

He presented this decision to his fans in such a way that presented such bratty behavior as quirky and innocent. 

His reasoning? He needs to buy toucans to teach people not to buy toucans. He certainly needed another rarer toucan species to accomplish this, despite the fact that he already had a tame, hand-raised, and well-behaved baby to be an "ambassador" (Rhiannon). And after receiving essentially a $5000+ donation to buy the new, non-rescued bird, he continued to solicit donations for a new house (!!!).

The brazen lack of understanding of what he's asking for and the audacity he would need to consider a new house to be a "donation" is further displayed in another video, called "Designing a Toucan Sanctuary (For Real)".

In the video, Brock is using a computer game to give his fans a realistic idea of some ideas for his new house, which he calls a "toucan sanctuary".

Outside of Brock's fantastical imagination, his conceptional designs are not a sanctuary for birds but a human bird lover's paradise. Aside from several rooms for the humans, one plan includes 3 large indoor walk-in aviaries that are actually incorporated into the construction...just on the first floor! 

This design is needlessly expensive. What's worse, some of the cages will apparently be glass-fronted, which will look fabulous, but is actually to the bird's detriment, simply because sometimes toucans like to land on the screen of their cage. 

Covering the front with glass will just reduce the opportunities the birds have to fully use their enclosure, but it will look fancy and high end for Mr. Afentful, who also discusses his preferences for a more industrial design look (I bet there's other outrageous statements made in the video but it's over 3 hours so long, so, I'll never know).

One of his followers even suggests that maybe the birds will fly into the glass, but Brock replies something to the effect that zoos have glass on their enclosures. Why yes, zoos, who have very expensive and enormous enclosures that are designed for the public's viewing pleasure, not a single, undeservedly spoiled human. 

I wonder if his fans believe that they can pay for his bills for the next potential 20 years of the bird's lifespan? Brock's latest video at the time of this writing suggests that his keel-billed toucan, Beatrix, is "wild" because she's not as cuddly as Toupac, Rhiannon, and Lalo(?). He suggests this is due to the poor treatment Beatrix received from the previous owner.

Which is it Brock? Are they bad pets because they aren't cuddly? Are they not cuddly only when they've been abused? And if they're supposed to be cuddly doesn't that make them good pets? Wouldn't a "wild" and bitey toucan be a much better "ambassador" for toucans making bad pets?? You make NO SENSE.

Furthermore, Brock is pretty scummy for obtaining another bird when he has inadequate room for the ones he has. Beatrix is in need of an upgrade, and I believe she is still housed in a divided enclosure next to another toucan that may be chronically stressing her. 

Brock's hoping his fans will keep paying for his living expenses. He suggests that only special people of his approval are qualified to care for toucans and only people without jobs like him can do it, and that's why WE need to send him money, or the poor birds have nowhere to go (and also, non-accredited zoos are not good enough for Beatrix! And that's why re-homing her is not possible).

Brock has excuses for everything that make perfect sense, after a certain level of inebriation.