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World Vegan Month, with Sandra Nomoto, and Helping Women and Companion Animals in Crisis, with Amy Morris of the Vancouver Humane Society

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This show is dedicated to all animals who have died in the name of war. Lest we forget.

Art of a purple poppy

This Wednesday, November 11th marked another day of reflection and remembrance, for soldiers who lost their lives in the past for serving their country in the way our countries thought was best. But, did you know that 16 million animals “served” in the First World War? This is a topic that is not often acknowledged. To begin the show, we do take some time to acknowledge the “soldier” animals in World War I, and do some readings of an excellent article by Philip Hoare published in The Guardian called “The animal victims of the first world war are a stain on our conscience.” Indeed, they are. Philip Hoare’s full article can be read here.

Amy Morris, Executive Director of the Vancouver Humane Society, on helping women and their companion animals escape homelessness

Woman peers lovingly down at a small taupe and cream tabby cat who has their eyes narrowed in bliss. The cat is in the woman's jean jacket and held by her hand.

Women and their companion animals experience homelessness in more potentially dangerous ways than men. Women are uniquely affected by homelessness because they are less likely to appear in shelters, drop ins, public spaces or access social services. They may continue living in a risky situation, such as staying on couches or living with a person who is abusive, to avoid shelter situations that feel unsafe and ensure their pet has housing.

The Vancouver Humane Society is doing something about this, and in this interview with Executive Director Amy Morris, we shall learn more about this issue, and how VHS will be partnering over the next year with social service agencies to decrease the barriers to companion animals entering housing.

With your matching donation, VHS aims to assist more than 100 animals over the next year. Our hope is that these animals can continue to be a valued family member, providing the mental health supports that women in crisis need. Their animal companions will no longer serve as a barrier, preventing women from accessing services.

If you would like to donate to this cause, you can make a secure and tax-deductible contribution here (at the bottom of the page).

Vegan Blogger and Social Influencer Sandra Nomoto joins us for World Vegan Month

Photo of vegan blogger and social influencer Sandra Nomoto standing with a backdrop of

November is World Vegan Month! It’s a time to celebrate the lifestyle of veganism, which embraces compassion and joy for the planet, as we strive to do the least harm to our fellow creatures with whom we share this planet.

For our feature interview and discussion, we have local Vancouver vegan blogger Sandra Nomoto on the show. She is an Asian Canadian, spiritual, health-conscious, vegan content writer and editor, on a mission to empower others to make small, meaningful decisions and actions that will help make the world a better place.

Sandra recently wrote an article on her blog on sandranomoto.com called “The Five Reasons Why I’ll Be Vegan Forever“, covering many critical points and resources! In this interview, we learn about Sandra’s vegan journey, how she rebranded her business to align with her new vegan ethics, and we speak about many of the reasons to go vegan and stay vegan, for World Vegan Month!

You can also find out more about Sandra’s cruelty-free writing business The Content Doctor here.

The resources mentioned in this discussion are as follows:

Show produced by Alison Cole and co-hosted by Leah Thompson, with web content written by Alison Cole , and formatted by Asami Hitohara.