It is easy to become sad, even overwhelmed, when much of one's time is focused on the cruelty and neglect that animals suffer. Many animal rescuers and advocates end up with what is called “compassion fatigue” and get burned out.

That's why it is important to be sure that we celebrate every victory for animals whether it is a legal one or the improvement of just one animal's life. There is a story by Loren Eisley that illustrates the latter:

“One day I was walking by the ocean's edge. In the distance. I saw a youth, bending and reaching and appearing to dance on the beach.

“As I approached, I realized that the youth was not dancing but rather bending to sift through the debris left by the night's tide, stopping now and then to pick up a starfish and then heaving it back into the sea. I asked the youth what he was doing. He replied, 'The tide has washed the starfish onto the beach and they cannot return to the sea by themselves. When the sun rises, they will die, unless I throw them back to the sea.'

“‘But there are more starfish on this beach than you can ever save before the sun is up. Surely you cannot expect to make a difference.'

“The youth replied as he threw another starfish into the ocean ‘I made a difference to that one!'”

Here are some recent developments that improve the life of animals:

€ Funding has been restored in the NYS budget for the program that offers $20 spay/neuter for the animals of low income owners. Call (888) 669-0870 for an application. Funding was also restored for the pet dealer oversight program.

€ The Duke University School of Medicine has stopped using live pigs in its third-year surgery course. This means that only 13 medical schools of 125 continue to use live animals in courses.

€ New bills, S 714 and H.R. 1280 have been introduced into Congress that would prohibit the sale of “random source” dogs and cats for vivisection. Call or e-mail your support to your representatives.

€ Proctor and Gamble has stopped using animals on roughly 80 percent of its total product testing and has spent $150 million in developing and promoting alternatives to animal testing.

€ Burger King is improving its animal welfare policies to begin addressing some of the worse abuses endured by farm animals. The company is taking action on three critical areas: battery cages for laying hens, gestation cages for breeding pigs and slaughter methods for chickens.

€ The National Marine Fisheries Service has proposed listing the imperiled and rare species Cook Inlet beluga whale as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act.

€ Cargill Foods, one of the world's largest pig meat producers, has followed Smithfield's and Burger King's lead in stopping the use of gestation crates in 50 percent of its pig factory farms. It's a start.

€ There is a boycott of all Canadian seafood products in protest of the grisley clubbing of baby seals.

€ This tax season a citizen of Long Island is spearheading an effort to convince Congress that guardians (owners) should be able to claim companion dogs as dependents on their income tax.

€ The U.S. House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to restore a 34-year-old ban on the commercial sale and slaughter of America's wild horses and burros. The bill would ban the sale and transport to slaughter of all American horses, and it has cleared a critical Senate committee by a decisive 15-7 vote.

€ On April 10, the U.S. Senate unanimously approved the Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act (S. 261). This follows closely on the heels of the House of Representatives' passage of the same bill (H.R. 137), by a landslide vote. Once signed, the new law will take effect immediately.

Judy Vorreuter is the founder and director of Animal Advocates of the Finger Lakes