"Michael Jackson Loved His Animals", Interview With Animal Rights Activist Tippi Hedren

Let us dream of tomorrow where we can truly love from the soul, and know love as the ultimate truth at the heart of all creation - Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson made the painful decision to give his animals up for adoption following the court battle he went through in 2005. Shortly after the decision, rumors started popping up all over the place regarding Jackson's mistreatment of the animals by organizations like PETA and others.

In honor of Michael Jackson's untimely passing I was blessed with the opportunity to help dispel this myth and show the depth of loving that lived in this man by speaking with Tippi Hedren.

Tippi Hedren is best known as the mother of Melanie Griffith and the blond bombshell who was made famous by Alfred Hitchcock starring in The Birds. She is also known for her lifelong love and commitment to animal rights, particularly "the big cats." She considers herself the "den mother" and close friend to sixty-odd big cats -- lion, tiger, leopard, cougar, and serval at The Roar Foundation's Shambala Preserve near Acton, California, which she founded in 1983.

This is the place where Jackson's Tigers Sabu and Thriller were blessed to go live when he had to give them up for adoption. I asked her about the treatment of Jackson's tigers knowing that her experience qualifies her to know when animals arrive at her sanctuary having been abused or mistreated, "They were absolutely beautifully treated. Animal organizations actually doctored photos." I also learned that for a three year period she and Michael Jackson shared their veterinarian, Martin Dinnes, who she has been in partnership with (in her animal work and her love life having almost married him) for over 30 years. She said, "Everything was perfect for those animals, they had the best food, best human care, wonderful areas to live, it was spectacular. He loved those animals. When Michael had the financial problems he asked Marty (her vet) to find the best homes in the U.S. for them. Michael once said about his animals, "Everything that I love is behind those gates. We have elephants, and giraffes, and crocodiles, and every kind of tigers and lions. And - and we have bus loads of kids, who don't get to see those things. They come up, sick children, and enjoy it."

Michael Jackson's tigers: THRILLER AND SABU

Michael Jackson's legacy will not only live on through his music and the people who love him, but also through the animals who love him.

One way to honor Michael Jackson's legacy would be to support the sanctuary caring for his animals by making a donation in the names "Thriller and Sabu," at www.shambala.org

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Comments

[Ed and Deb Shapiro - Huffpost Blogger]

Hi dear Jason - yet another heartwwarming post. I rememebr bringing my godson to see Michale Jackson concert ... it was spectacular ... as he owned the stage and moved like he was ..The Moonwaker... Tippi Hedren .. always loved her...

It is great that you support www.shambala.org

It's unfortunate that people will only really know ..the myth of Michael Jackson.

He was a rare and precious jewel.

Big Love,

Ed

[LMPE]

If anything, Michael Jackson probably treated animals better than he treated himself.

Amy Goodman interviewed some psychiatrists who said that Michael Jackson was probably abused as a child, and that's why he only wanted to be around children.

PS: even though Tippi Hedren's career never proliferated to the fullest extent after "The Birds", she's made far more of herself as an actress than Lindsay Lohan or Miley Cyrus ever will.

[cucumber]

I think he enjoyed animals, but the reality is that he did not provide adequately for them, while he had them or afterwards . Some of them are now in roadside zoos - completely unacceptable for anyone who really cares about the welfare of animals - and others are in limbo - including Bubbles, whom he did not provide adequately for. See news article:

http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/people/stars-death-leaves-bubbles-and-co-in-limbo-20090629-d2hi.html

[Eli Davidson - Huffpost Blogger]

Dearest Jason,
Thank you for the precious tenderness of your post. I love that you are sharing the wonderful kindness that was the essence of this beautiful and very complex soul.

I so deeply appreciate that you are supporting the incredible work of www.shambala.org. I hope that many of Michael's fan's will have the awareness that they can support the animals that he loved so dearly.

It was SO wonderful to meet you at our HuffPo service project! I am so looking forward to more juicy Jason time!

Love,
Eli

[pcuvie]

Michael Jackson kept animals not because he loved them and wanted what was best for them, but only to satisfy his own selfish narcissistic desires to see and be around the splendor of the animals. In the 80's Michael carried around "Bubbles," a young chimpanzee that was taken from his mother. Once Bubbles reached maturity, an age where chimps are hard to control, Bubbles, a highly social animal, was relegated to a cage on the ranch. If Michael Jackson loved Bubbles so much why didn't he send Bubbles to a sanctuary or create a sanctuary with all his millions. Because Michael didn't really care about Bubbles, who was just the animal of the day for Michael. Michael also had an elephant on his ranch and used a bullhook, a weapon resembling a fireplace poker, to control and dominate the elephant, a weapon also used by Tippi Hedren's husband. If Michael truly loved this elephant he would have sent the elephant to the Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee, where this highly social animal could live on hundreds of acres with other elephants. Michael's "love" for animals was on par with people who like to see animals held captive in zoos or subjugated in circuses. They don't love the animals for who they are, and thus don't respect the needs and desires of the animals, they merely love the feeling of seeing and being around the majestic animals, no matter what the cost to the animals. Michael was no friend to the animals.

[sallythewerewolf]

I remember that a baby giraffe died because there was no vet to assist at he birth--something necessary for giraffes in captivity. I think he treated the animals like toys. People have no business using wild animals for pets or amusement--I'm just glad Bubbles didn't hurt or kill someone.

[Anne Naylor - Huffpost Blogger]

Hello Jason,

Thank you for your thoughtful post. It is too easy to make false assumptions about who Michael Jackson was and miss the truth about him.

I think it honours his spirit to remember the best of who he was, and to be revealing more of it.

I appreciate your care in letting us know more of his goodness.

Blessings to you,
Anne

[Dr. Judith Rich - Huffpost Blogger]

Dear Jason,

It's disheartening to hear yet more evidence of how Michael was misinterpreted and misunderstood. Thank you for dispelling this myth about him and his treatment of animals.

Michael was a loving and complex soul, too complicated to be understood by most of humanity. He didn't fit into anybody's pre-conceived notions of how a person should be. It was his genius that also made him unable to connect in an ordinary sense.

There are some wonderful stories on my post of people who met him and their experience of his humility. I can't imagine he would abuse animals. They were his world. Animals didn't judge or misunderstand him. They were safe.

Thank you, Jason for helping to flesh out the real story of Michael.

Blessings,
Judith