Now that Jack is 1, I have decided to involve him with saving the world, one animal at a time. Since my nickname for him is Bear and I feel passionately about bears, I have sponsored a bear called Freedom who was rescued by the AnimalsAsia Foundation from a life in a cage, catheter stuck in his side to extract his bile for a Chinese "remedy".

Freedom's Profile
Freedom is a female cub. As she stared out of her cage with frightened eyes we were shocked to see that both of her front limbs were missing as a result of traps which had caught her twice.

It took weeks of gentle encouragement before she would come to us from the safety of her new den - but, to see her now as she hops to the front of the queue to lick honey from our fingers, is a wonderful reward. Her den mates seem to sense her disability too and play gently with this sweet, forgiving bear.

Helping others brings a joy that is unparallelled in many other fun but thankless activities like surfing for goss (ahem), clubbing, well... anything hedonistic and temporal. It leaves a glow long after the fire has died. I hope to pass on the love of helping others, in particular animals, to Jack.

To befriend a bear or make other kind donations to the MoonBearRescue, visit the AnimalsAsia Foundation. For those with concerns, I have checked their financial statement and with an administrative spending of 6.8%, truly 86.1% of the donations go back to running the programmes. It is a worthy cause.

If you have a child, consider befriending a bear on his or her behalf. It will be a wonderful feeling for your baby to know he or she is helping an animal in need and better yet, possess ownership of that enduring act of kindness.

Technorati: China Bear Rescue, Animals Asia, rescue bear, bear bile, animal welfare, gift for your baby