Written by Patrick Boyer | 19 February 2011

There are different ways to achieve solitude, which is good, because this state of being alone is needed as counterpoint to relationships with others and as counterweight to today's steady bombardment of information.

Solitude is the joy of being alone, interacting with oneself, not having to explain anything to anybody. Solitude gives opportunity to tend to oneself, one's affairs, and one's personal station in life.

An escape into solitude, however one can achieve it, is essential for mental stability and private order.

Reading a book is one of the easiest means of making this escape. Through reading, one can even achieve a state of solitude despite others being around, as people generally respect the privacy of an individual evidently absorbed by the pages of a book.

Companionable books, like passports to the entire universe and all that is in it, help us step out of the daily moil and into places that stimulate and refresh the inner self.

Written by Dorris Heffron | 19 February 2011

I’ve not been idle since my last blog, responding to the news of the sled-dog killings at Whistler, British Columbia. I stopped reeling and got on with trying to do something about it.

This included conferring and consulting with experts: sled-dog breeders, mushers, veterinarians, vet colleges, dog rescue shelters, and the official sled-dog clubs of Canada — the Canadian Eskimo Dog, Alaskan Malamute, and Siberian Husky Clubs. I also boned up on the laws against cruelty to animals, the work of the SPCA in British Columbia, and the licensing of commercial dog sledding companies.

Not everyone wants to get publicly involved in this appalling case, but everyone cares.

The B.C. Government created a task force about it, and on Wednesday this week, I was invited to participate in the inquiry’s consultation, through a conference called The Sled-Dog Industry Consultation.

In case you don’t know, at the heart of my novel City Wolves is the story of how wolves were turned into sled-dogs in ancient times by Inuit in our north. Many years of research and personal experience about sled dogs, their origins, history, and importance in our heritage and current culture went into and came out of writing that book.

Of course I’m against cruelty in any form, but I feel a big responsibility to do what I can in this particular British Columbia case to see justice prevail, and further action taken that will prevent this happening again and in other places.