The Companion Collection is an offering I do once a year, where the profits go directly to support an animal welfare fund or shelter project.
This year’s collection is going to support Harbin Slaughterhouse Survivors, an animal rescue that rehabilitates and rehomes cats and dogs from the brutal companion animal meat trade in China.
Their work is tireless, and it is difficult to imagine what they and the animals endure. I am endlessly amazed at their fortitude, and think often of all the animals that are living today, warm and peaceful in their homes across the world, because of their efforts.
All the proceeds from this collection will go directly towards getting a few more dogs out of China next month, as they have organized a transport going to Canada and the United Kingdom.
SHS has offered to send information about the rescues and exact dogs that your ring purchases and charitable donations will help rescue, so look for that information soon.
Whether you’d like a little tuft of quartz fur to remember a sweet animal you yourself have rescued, or whether you’d like to catch a ring to support a few poor dogs waiting in China for their ticket somewhere safe, please consider plucking a ring on Sunday.
Though if you aren’t able to catch a ring for you or for an animal lover in your life, you can always contribute towards the fundraiser I am running on my Instagram profile.
I am hoping to raise $1000 outside of the collection, enough to get one more dog out of China and into a safe, warm home.
Rings for Wangwang
There will be 30 rings available.
Sizes available:
5, 5.25, 5.5, 5.5, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6.25, 6.25, 6.5, 6.75,
7, 7, 7, 7.25, 7.5, 7.5, 7.5, 8, 8, 8.25, 8.25,
8.5, 8.5, 8.5, 8.5, 9, 9, 9.75
Price: $119
These rings are made with rutilated quartz, beautiful clear gemstones with hair-like rutiles of various hues floating through the stones.
Some are coarse like whiskers, others soft and wispy, like puppy fluff.
For this year’s offering, I carefully sifted through all my quartz gemstones to find the stones most similar to the color of Wangwang’s brown fur.
There are a few other hues in there, but most of them are the same sweet reddish brown that she was.
And on either side of the stones are little wobbly whisker engravings in the rectangle band.
There are windows to the backs of the stone so you can hold the ring up to the light and see all the rutiles, like the eternal bits of cat and dog hair that is always impossible to get rid of.
Rings to remember those companions of our heart, and those others around the world living in fear and waiting for their safe people.
The sizes are as read on the mandrel. Since the stone sits right atop the finger they are quite stable.
Please take note: Since these quartz gemstones are so heavily rutilated and have an irregular composition, some of the stones have imperfections on their surfaces. Some have pits or chips on the surface.
So be sure to look at all the photos. I personally love stones with all their imperfections and idiosyncrasies, but I do try to share lots of photos of the exact ring you’ll get.
Just a heads up! Though I know most of you love quirky gemstones like me.
(Trigger Warning: Discussion of animal abuse below.)
I chose to send the proceeds of this year’s collection to Harbin Slaughterhouse Survivors in light of the recent brutal torture and killing of the street dog Wangwang and her puppies in Jieyang, China.
A sweet dog that was filmed being beaten for over an hour and then ultimately burned alive.
China has no national animal welfare laws whatsoever, which has allowed, and even encouraged, this and endless other instances of torture for profit. Videos of animal torture, especially of cats and kittens, are sold online in China with zero recourse. It is estimated that a new torture video is uploaded every 10-12 hours.
And while not only is nothing done to combat these horrific torture rings, the Chinese government suppresses animal activism through censorship and arresting those protesting the brutality.
Beyond shameful for a country that wishes to be viewed as a modern global leader to not even have the most basic of anti-cruelty laws.
Boycott and protest however you can. Avoid Chinese products, send e-mails to Chinese embassies, look into local protests happening all around the world right now. My additional micro-activism was removing every piece of Chinese media from all my watchlists, and down-rating everything from that country that I possibly could.
(Speaking of, if anyone can suggest some active animal welfare/activist groups in Maine or New England, please let me know. It’s hard feeling helpless against the horrors.)
This collection will bound onto the shop shelves on
Sunday, August 9th at 7:00 p.m. EST.
Click here for a direct link to where they will appear.
And remember, refresh your page often once the clock strikes 7:00 PM EST, until they all appear.