Today, we visited the newly-renovated Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito. If you already didn't know, I am a huge animal lover (land, sea or sky), so everyday I thank my lucky stars for granting me the fortune of living in such an amazing place that is filled with a plethora of nature's magnificent wonders.The Marine Mammal Center is a nonprofit organization that rescues, rehabilitates and releases injured, sick and orphaned marine mammals (seals, sea lions, dolphins, porpoises, whales and sea otters) along a 600 mile stretch of California coastline. There were 110 'patients' there today. My heart breaks to see the reasons why most are there - negligence and ignorance of the human race - from fish hooks, plastic bags, fishing nets, water bottles, etc. Environmental and other causes such as abandoned pups were also high on the list. Luckily, these sweet little loves are given the greatest care, by an amazing staff of veterinarians, scientists and volunteers, with the highest hopes of being released back into nature once they are 100% healed and recovered.
This is an incredible facility, not only for the TLC that is given to each mammal that arrives, but also for its environmental-friendly design (recycled and sustainable building materials, solar panels, use of reclaimed water, efficient fixtures and lighting and more). With over 800 volunteers, one can easily see that people are very passionate about making a difference. We are all connected on this great planet and being considerate of every living species is a vital commitment we all need to make.
"The greatness of a nation and its moral progresscan be judged by the way its animals are treated."~Mahatma Ghandi
[photograph by Simply Mel]
This sounds like a great place. Thanks for sharing!
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It makes me so mad that they have to suffer because of ignorance. Really!
ReplyDeleteBut I'm so grateful for the wonderful people in this world who make a difference and are SO loving and caring. Could not agree more with Ghandi's statement.xxxoo
Such a wonderful place to support! I am glad you brought attention to such a great cause! Take care, Caroline
ReplyDeleteHi Mel thanks for sharing such an important story with hopefully a beautiful ending, that these lovely animals are being cared for and healed by caring people. We have a lot of pets and are hopefully getting a pony and chickens so we are crazy happy animal lovers!!
ReplyDelete(I also would like to order your Je t'aime pillow and a 1 violet tea towel, should I email you?? Lastly, I was able to increase the size of my pics on my blog and make them very large but something happened with the text and when I published my post the pics were small again, do you know how to change the margins ?? I am so disappointed it didn't work)
Have a great day
me too. land, sea and sky. i think i love them more than people. don't all animal lovers say that though? you are very lucky to live around such beauty. and i love that you recognize it. so many people don't. it just becomes part of the background. that's why animals suffer.
ReplyDeleteyou should volunteer there.
Such a stunning photo and a beautiful message. Kellie
ReplyDeleteYour posts are beautiful~ Thank you for sharing and I see your perfect balance~
ReplyDeletexox's
Janet
What a great place -- I'm definitely going to set up a visit soon! It's so sad that what is happening to animals is so much of our faults.
ReplyDeleteI so agree with Mahatma Ghandi! But we've got a long way to go...
ReplyDeleteMel,
ReplyDeleteYou do live in a beautiful city and you are so fortunate to have the opportunity to interact with marine life in Sausalito. I can't imagine how heartbreaking it must be to see these animals suffering...You're right we shouldn't be so careless.
Good lord hearing about these poor things caught up in all of our trash is just so enervating! What a wonderful facility though, thank goodness places like that exist.
ReplyDeleteunbelievable photo! - great site!
ReplyDeleteWhat an unbelievable stunning place. I so love animals and the fact that they are environmentally smart too while helping the marine life. It is so touching.
ReplyDeleteThat Ghandi quote is one of my faves. I'm a big softie for animals too, and volunteer every week at a rabbit rescue shelter. It's heart breaking to think of all the animals that are victims to humans' negligence, but it's important to look at the good side and appreciate the professionals who spend their time working with the unfortunate critters. What a gorgeous photo, and lovely post!
ReplyDeleteLove this post and picture! Just found your blog and am mesmerized by all your images! Will be visiting again for sure!
ReplyDeletekristine
Oh, I've added this to my (growing) list of local places to visit with my family. Beautiful photo.
ReplyDeletesuch a beautiful photo! The Marine Mammal Center is so amazing. {I love that quote!}
ReplyDeletewow, amazing photograph and an equally amazing organization.
ReplyDelete(when i was investigating child abuse, i often studied how a family treated its animals. it says a lot).
I'm so glad to be back...I've missed such loveliness here. Thank you for sharing such an important message. Is the center open to the public. I would love to take my daughter there--she, too, is a BIG animal lover and I love finding new places for her to learn and explore.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful day! I wish there were something like this near us! Lucky, lucky you!
ReplyDeleteWhat an amazing and important place. Thanks for sharing this post, Mel! xo
ReplyDeleteI love that quote....and I think there is a similar quote how the civility of a nation can be judged by how it treats the women of its society/culture. lovely post. thanks.
ReplyDeletei am crazy for animals!!! i wish i could work there and help out. and if they would let me pet and hug everything it would be a HUGE BONUS!!!
ReplyDeleteWow that sounds like a wonderful haven for those poor animals. And it looks quite beautiful too! I would love to visit sometime - I'm a huge animal lover.
ReplyDeleteI'm a huge animal lover too, and this sounds and looks like an incredible place-- one I'd certainly love to visit! Thanks for sharing. xo
ReplyDeleteThose poor babies. It's so wonderful that there is a place like that for them!
ReplyDeletethat photo is gorgeous and what a sweet post, too.
ReplyDeletejames and i hope to end up back in cali someday, hopefully near you :)
happy weekend!
I too share your love for animals AND Sausalito (I haven't been there in ages). It is sad how some animals get treated in the hands of some humans. My agruement for any animal abuse case is if one can do this to an animal what make it any different for them to reach out and harm a child/adult. I'm glad this place is able to help land, and water animals in need. Thanks for sharing! xoxo
ReplyDeleteI love that Ghandi quote, and have enjoyed reading it many times as a testament to respecting animal life. Beautiful post, thank you!
ReplyDeleteAww sounds like such an amazing place.
ReplyDeleteCheers to all the wonderful animal lovers out there! This photo is so CHARMING!! ~Lovely weekend darling... ~XO*
ReplyDeleteI want to kiss the sea lion right now. LOVE this place. Love this post. So great!!!
ReplyDeleteFirst of all , what a wonderful picture....you are a great photographer Mel....I see that this animal sanctuary is very near San Francisco....What a wonderful job they do...we drove from San Francisco to Laguna Beach but missed going there.....we did, however, go to a fantastic restaurant at Half Moon Bay called Papa Georgios..Do you know it ?
ReplyDeletealso, thanks for coming over and commenting....I could only really thank three people as my blog would have been soooo long, but thank YOU for your support. You're up there with them. XXXX
Hi Mel, you have some gorgeous photos on your blog. Sounds like an amazing place you have visited. We do need to become more aware and think what harm we may be causing. Thanks for visiting my blog and following [lucky me]. Julie
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ReplyDeletei am tagging you for an honeset scrap award!
ReplyDeleteso get to it woman!
Lovely post, love all the animals myself,too..
ReplyDeleteDear Melissa,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your adventure. Animals are a gift. Seals are among the most beautiful creatures on earth. Mohamed Gandhi's quote is right on!
Constance
I hope I can visit the center some time, it sounds great - I care so MUCH about animals!
ReplyDeleteThese poor animals! I hate what we've done to the world, and them.
ReplyDeleteYour picture is lovely.
It would break my heart to see those amazing creatures hurt & sick as well. Thank the good lord for all those dedicated, talented individuals that dedicate there time & possibly lives to these wonderful creatures. To right the wrongs of humans.If the ordinary person knew were forced to see what happens with the plastic holder from their 6-pack's, & a like when tossed into the ocean.
ReplyDeleteGreat post!
That is my favorite quote of all time. And what a wonderful organization!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing this special place with us. Sometimes the reality of the world can be quite depressing, however, it is centres and NGOS like this that show that there are caring and active people out there who want to make a difference.
ReplyDeleteThanks.