Rescue (Ink) me….

As the lolcats would say, “I has a big mouf?” Sometimes it gets me into trouble.

In this current instance, it hasn’t. Not yet, anyway. See, my gal Jill, the pet blogger over at our local rag (ahem, esteemed and historically significant paper of record), started a contest for the best idea to get the burly, animal-loving guys of Rescue Ink to make an appearance here in Baltimore. (Full disclosure: Turns out they were here several months ago to honor the police officer who tried to save Phoenix, a pitbull girl who had been doused in lighter fluid and set on fire. Their visit was very low-key, so most people didn’t know about it, including me.) I’ve wanted a tattoo of Lucy’s pawprint for a while, so I threw that out as my idea, inviting the guys to come to town for a tattoo date. I was hoping to win a copy of their book.

“Are you really getting a tattoo of Lucy's pawprint?” Jill asked. “You HAVE to send some pictures!” I was (and am) totally serious. Serious in a fun way, that is. If going under the needle to get my sweet girl’s paw etched into my skin will garner some publicity for Baltimore’s animal-cruelty problem, I’m there. I thought it was a good idea.

So, apparently, do Jill’s other readers. Someone else offered to get inked as well. Then someone else. Over the last three days, more than 80 animal lovers have pledged to get pawprint tattoos if (when!) Rescue Ink makes an appearance in our fair(ish) city. At this, I was floored, as I imagine Jill was as she tried to keep track of the tattoo promises pouring in. I nearly passed out when she told me she was doing an actual story (with ink! on paper!) about the tattoo pledges. She called me, I tried to sound coherent as I gave her a quote, and voila, there it is on the back page of today’s Movies (?!) section. Read it!


We’re starting something here! The energy is palpable, even through the wires and tubes and magic and whatever else makes the Internet work. I’m sure Rescue Ink is busy, what with their show premiering tonight and cluing us in on their animal-rescuing, abuser-scaring adventures, but I have a tiny inkling that we might be able to pull it off. I’m thrilled I won the book (thanks, Jill!) and I want to do what I can to make sure the guys get here to autograph it personally, but it goes deeper than that. This is about my Lucy, who was thisclose to being thrown into a fighting pit and/or forced to have puppies until she could no longer walk. It’s about Phoenix, whose picture is taped to my computer and moves me to tears. It’s about the feral cats I fed last fall and winter, and the dog who trotted past us one morning but disappeared before I could grab him. The guys of Rescue Ink know what so many need to learn: that it takes real strength to show kindness and mercy to beings that are weaker than you, and to fight for their protection.

Read, watch, and repeat. And get inked, if you dare!

Photo of Phoenix courtesy of The Sun.