Musings from Left Field

Pet fur is help­ing to clean up the oil spill in the Gulf, and every­one who owns a dog or cat can do their part.

Mat­ter of Trust, a non­profit in San Fran­cisco, has been col­lect­ing dona­tions of hair and fur for more than ten years now. An absorbent, renew­able nat­ural fiber, fur is per­fect for remov­ing oil from spills. The hair and fur received from styl­ists and groomers by Mat­ter of Trust is stored in ware­houses. Vol­un­teers then stuff it into nylon stock­ings to make mats and booms that are used to con­tain oil spills, such as the cur­rent one in the Gulf of Mexico.

Check with the orga­ni­za­tion to see if they are cur­rently accept­ing boxes of fur — some­times they are at capac­ity. But they will soon need more and they must always be pre­pared for more disasters.

If you go to their web­site, www.matteroftrust.org, you can sign up for their Face­book fan page or Twit­ter alerts and you can watch a video about how the process works. They keep a donor data­base and will let you know when they are in need, in addi­tion to pro­vid­ing instruc­tions for col­lect­ing and mail­ing donations.

Your pet’s fur can be part of the effort to pro­tect the Gulf envi­ron­ment and the aquatic and bird life that has been affected.

–Jura Kon­cius (Local Liv­ing, Wash­ing­ton Post)