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MARK-TO-MARKET: Bitcoin surges to $100,000 – and here’s why – The Dispatch Argus

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President-elect Donald Trump fulfills a campaign promise by tapping crypto advocate Paul Atkins to chair the SEC.
Created in 2008, Bitcoin was the world’s first cryptocurrency. For better or worse, Bitcoin’s continued rise to prominence has been less as a new-age form of digital currency and more as a type of high-risk investment. Let’s be honest, how many people do you know who have actually used Bitcoin, or any other type of cryptocurrency, to pay for something?
In its first few years as a digital currency, the value of a single Bitcoin was less than $0.10. In 2017, its price quickly jumped to $2,000, then to $5,000, before eventually breaking the $10,000 mark. This soon triggered a flood of investor dollars seeking quick returns. More importantly, it caught the attention of Wall Street. By 2021, Bitcoin had risen to more than $60,000.
On Nov. 4, the day before the U.S. presidential election, the price of Bitcoin was at $67,811. The day after the election, on Nov. 6, Bitcoin quickly surged to $75,637, a record high. On Dec. 4, it breached the $100,000 mark and closed at $103,340. That’s right. In just one month, Bitcoin had gained more than $35,000, an increase of 52%. So, what caused this sudden surge in Bitcoin?
During their respective campaigns, both Donald Trump and Kamala Harris advocated for a more government-friendly relationship with the cryptocurrency industry. This was in stark contrast to the Biden administration, which aggressively used regulatory agencies — especially the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) — to crack down on cryptocurrency exchanges and investors.
But Trump’s support for the cryptocurrency industry was much more vigorous and expansive. In July, at a Bitcoin conference in Nashville, Tennessee, Trump vowed to make the U.S. “the crypto capital of the planet.” After he won the presidential election on Nov. 5, investors sent Bitcoin’s price soaring.
A key element of Trump’s strategy is to remove current SEC Chair Gary Gensler, who led much of the Biden administration’s crackdown on the cryptocurrency industry. Gensler will likely be replaced by Paul Atkins, Trump’s presumptive nominee. Atkins is currently CEO of Patomak Partners, a financial consulting firm. He also served as an SEC Commissioner from 2002 to 2008. It’s expected Atkins will be less antagonistic toward the cryptocurrency industry and will be more apt to embrace Trump’s broader deregulation goals.
Trump has also announced that David Sacks will be the nation’s first “AI and crypto czar.” Sacks is a venture capitalist with an expansive list of investing in high-tech companies including PayPal, Palantir, SpaceX and Facebook, among others. In his new role, Sacks will look to refine and provide clarity to the often-confusing U.S. legal framework that governs the cryptocurrency industry.
The biggest knock against Biden was that his regulatory oversight over the cryptocurrency industry was too heavy-handed. It forced much of the investment and technological innovation within the industry to flee the U.S. and move overseas — primarily to competing markets in Asia. But there is also significant risk for Trump if his regulatory framework is too lax. The cryptocurrency industry has a long, painful history of fraud, theft and corruption.
Many would likely agree the goal should be to allow investment and innovation within the cryptocurrency industry while also providing a framework of consumer protections. It’s a delicate balancing act. We’ll see if Trump succeeds.
Mark Grywacheski is an expert in financial markets and economic analysis and is an investment adviser with Quad-Cities Investment Group, Davenport.
Disclaimer: Opinions expressed herein are subject to change without notice. Any prices or quotations contained herein are indicative only and do not constitute an offer to buy or sell any securities at any given price. Information has been obtained from sources considered reliable, but we do not guarantee that the material presented is accurate or that it provides a complete description of the securities, markets or developments mentioned. Quad-Cities Investment Group LLC is a registered investment adviser with the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission.

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President-elect Donald Trump fulfills a campaign promise by tapping crypto advocate Paul Atkins to chair the SEC.
Square features an innovative Colorado winemaker who blends tradition with technology by converting 1% of his yearly fiat wine sales to Bitcoin.
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MARK-TO-MARKET: Bitcoin surges to $100,000 – and here’s why – Quad-City Times

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President-elect Donald Trump fulfills a campaign promise by tapping crypto advocate Paul Atkins to chair the SEC.
Created in 2008, Bitcoin was the world’s first cryptocurrency. For better or worse, Bitcoin’s continued rise to prominence has been less as a new-age form of digital currency and more as a type of high-risk investment. Let’s be honest, how many people do you know who have actually used Bitcoin, or any other type of cryptocurrency, to pay for something?
In its first few years as a digital currency, the value of a single Bitcoin was less than $0.10. In 2017, its price quickly jumped to $2,000, then to $5,000, before eventually breaking the $10,000 mark. This soon triggered a flood of investor dollars seeking quick returns. More importantly, it caught the attention of Wall Street. By 2021, Bitcoin had risen to more than $60,000.
Mark M. Grywacheski
On Nov. 4, the day before the U.S. presidential election, the price of Bitcoin was at $67,811. The day after the election, on Nov. 6, Bitcoin quickly surged to $75,637, a record high. On Dec. 4, it breached the $100,000 mark and closed at $103,340. That’s right. In just one month, Bitcoin had gained more than $35,000, an increase of 52%. So, what caused this sudden surge in Bitcoin?
During their respective campaigns, both Donald Trump and Kamala Harris advocated for a more government-friendly relationship with the cryptocurrency industry. This was in stark contrast to the Biden administration, which aggressively used regulatory agencies — especially the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) — to crack down on cryptocurrency exchanges and investors.
But Trump’s support for the cryptocurrency industry was much more vigorous and expansive. In July, at a Bitcoin conference in Nashville, Tennessee, Trump vowed to make the U.S. “the crypto capital of the planet.” After he won the presidential election on Nov. 5, investors sent Bitcoin’s price soaring.
A key element of Trump’s strategy is to remove current SEC Chair Gary Gensler, who led much of the Biden administration’s crackdown on the cryptocurrency industry. Gensler will likely be replaced by Paul Atkins, Trump’s presumptive nominee. Atkins is currently CEO of Patomak Partners, a financial consulting firm. He also served as an SEC Commissioner from 2002 to 2008. It’s expected Atkins will be less antagonistic toward the cryptocurrency industry and will be more apt to embrace Trump’s broader deregulation goals.
Trump has also announced that David Sacks will be the nation’s first “AI and crypto czar.” Sacks is a venture capitalist with an expansive list of investing in high-tech companies including PayPal, Palantir, SpaceX and Facebook, among others. In his new role, Sacks will look to refine and provide clarity to the often-confusing U.S. legal framework that governs the cryptocurrency industry.
The biggest knock against Biden was that his regulatory oversight over the cryptocurrency industry was too heavy-handed. It forced much of the investment and technological innovation within the industry to flee the U.S. and move overseas — primarily to competing markets in Asia. But there is also significant risk for Trump if his regulatory framework is too lax. The cryptocurrency industry has a long, painful history of fraud, theft and corruption.
Many would likely agree the goal should be to allow investment and innovation within the cryptocurrency industry while also providing a framework of consumer protections. It’s a delicate balancing act. We’ll see if Trump succeeds.
In 2004, Peony Lane Wine planted its first plot of pinot noir, a natural wine, in one of the highest elevations for  wine-growing in North America—Paonia, Colorado. Owner Ben Justman takes a unique approach to winemaking, marrying a process that dates back thousands of years with a modern-day approach to business operations by accepting Bitcoin transactions and even featuring a Bitcoin-inspired Satoshi’s Reserve wine.
Justman grew up on the pinot noir vineyard he operates today, a vineyard his dad tended to throughout his childhood as a hobbyist. After graduating college, he knew he wanted to start a business, and despite having no background in wine-making, the winery was a natural business opportunity. “We started the winery in 2019 and didn’t sell any wine until 2021. In that time, I committed, made, and invested in three vintages with zero proof of concept, zero proof of my ability to do this,” said Justman. Despite these challenges, Square reports the wine received positive reviews from customers and sommeliers alike.
Justman is a big believer in Bitcoin. He not only empowers customers to pay for his goods with it, he has converted 1% of all fiat wine sales to Bitcoin in the last three years using Square as an early adopter. “That 1% of Bitcoin, it’s cool to go sell wine and then come home with a little bit of Bitcoin,” said Justman.
He’d like to increase how much he converts to Bitcoin in the future as the winery’s sales grow, but for now, he leaves what he converts untouched. These sales are converted to Bitcoin and appear in his Cash App Bitcoin balance. This process is so automated as a part of Justman’s business operations that he hasn’t purchased Bitcoin on an exchange in the last few years. 
Justman says Bitcoin is one of the fundamental human inventions in monetary technology that can move society forward. “I think of it as if my business succeeds and Bitcoin succeeds, great. I win. If my business fails, and this is the only business I’ve ever really run, and Bitcoin succeeds, I win,” said Justman. If Bitcoin fails in his lifetime, he says, then he’d worry about his ability to access financial freedom without it. Justman is aligned with the mission of Bitcoin, creating freedom from relying solely on fiat money. He uses his business to help spread awareness and found that customers paying in Bitcoin are willing to be patient when it comes to a much more friction-full checkout experience. 
As of now, he says a small but not insignificant amount of his online sales occur in Bitcoin. “I’ve never or hardly ever met Gen Zers that are into Bitcoin,” said Justman. When it comes to customers, his winery is typically an older demographic. “It’s more millennials through boomers. I mean there’s a lot of 60-plus-year-olds that are really psyched to buy my wine with Bitcoin.”  
From 2021 to 2024, Peony Lane Wines was available exclusively in person at farmers’ markets and online. Justman started selling exclusively at farmers’ markets, on the road six days a week throughout the summer, and navigating hardships like wine going bad or having to extend the aging of certain batches by a few years. 
“All of my capital was invested in the wine whether it was being made or aging,” said Justman, who also sells wine online. “I’ve been slowly whittling that down to where first it was five farmers markets, then four, then three, now I’m at two a week during the summer.” Selling wine in person gave him the gift of seeing people’s reactions to the product firsthand, exposure that led to sales without a ton of upfront capital. However, hitting the road six days a week made it hard to scale the business. One of the keys to taking a step back from in-person sales was tapping into the Bitcoin community. 
The Bitcoin community isn’t the only one helping grow his business. He continues to learn about Bitcoin and winemaking regularly, listening to personal finance podcasts and Bitcoin podcasts, and reading marketing-focused business books. Justman also often looks to a group of neighboring winemakers who share a mission to grow awareness of Colorado wine in the U.S. Farmers’ markets allow new and returning customers to try his pinot noirs and maybe a neighboring stand’s cabernet sauvignon too. He hopes in the coming years Peony Lane Wines scales up, becomes known for pinot noir, and the region broadly gains more recognition for its wine industry.

This story was produced by Square for its publication The Bottom Line and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
Mark Grywacheski is an expert in financial markets and economic analysis and is an investment adviser with Quad-Cities Investment Group, Davenport.
Disclaimer: Opinions expressed herein are subject to change without notice. Any prices or quotations contained herein are indicative only and do not constitute an offer to buy or sell any securities at any given price. Information has been obtained from sources considered reliable, but we do not guarantee that the material presented is accurate or that it provides a complete description of the securities, markets or developments mentioned. Quad-Cities Investment Group LLC is a registered investment adviser with the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission.

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President-elect Donald Trump fulfills a campaign promise by tapping crypto advocate Paul Atkins to chair the SEC.
Mark M. Grywacheski
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Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie return for an 'Encore,' reminisce about 'The Simple Life' – USA TODAY

Life isn’t quite so simple anymore for Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie.
The two socialites-turned-businesswomen, both 43, have separately created empires in fashion (Richie’s House of Harlow brand), music (Hilton is a successful DJ with a new pop album, “Infinite Icon”), television (Richie’s comedy series “Great News” and Hilton’s reality turn on “Paris in Love“) and beyond. It’s a far cry from the twentysomething OG nepo babies on one of the OG reality shows, “The Simple Life,” which transplanted them into rural American towns and revolutionized reality TV with their blonde ambition and antics.
Hilton and Richie reunite onscreen more than 20 years after their hit Fox show for the three-episode “Paris & Nicole: The Encore” (now streaming on Peacock).
“We were both just in a place of saying to ourselves, ‘We really loved doing that show. Twenty years feels like a perfect time to celebrate it. And let’s do a reunion,'” Richie says, seated next to Hilton. They traded sunny Los Angeles for a floral greenroom backstage at “The Drew Barrymore Show” in New York, from where they call in.
“Paris had sent me a photo of this little boy (who) was 3 when we shot with him in Arkansas, (who) is now 23,” Richie says. The two “got together and talked about how we felt about” the possibility of honoring the show’s 20th anniversary. “We’ve been asked to do a 10-year reunion (and) we’ve been asked to do it all over again, which you simply can’t do” in a smartphone, social-media era.
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Richie says in plotting a reunion, they agreed on “a nod to ‘The Simple Life.'” The show, which premiered in 2003 and ran for five seasons, thrust the childhood friends into the real world, forcing them to milk cows, work at Sonic and wear camo. It also made them incredibly famous. It’s transcended the early aughts and found its way to modern day, as moments from the series became viral TikTok fodder and younger generations adopted the pair’s Y2K fashion.
‘The Simple Life’:Are Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie returning to reality TV?
In “Encore,” they revisit Altus, Arkansas, a destination in Season 1 of “Simple Life,” bringing adult versions of their high jinks to the town’s residents, dive bar Alligator Rays (where Richie infamously poured bleach on the pool table) and, of course, Walmart.
The show was “so much fun, so carefree, so wild,” Hilton says, “and just looking at my life now, I’ve been through so much. I’ve grown so much as a person.”
They still bring a zany, madcap energy to “Encore” as they embark on creating an opera around “sanasa,” a made-up word and song from their youth made famous on the original series (“I think the world would be a better place if everybody sanasa-ed,” Hilton says).
“Let’s throw ourselves in a world that we don’t know anything about and go up for another adventure,” Richie says. Participants often look to the camera, wondering if they’re getting “Simple Life”-ed; as with the original, Hilton and Richie are always in on the joke.
The reunion is mostly lighter fare for Hilton, who’s taken on political advocacy since her 2020 “This is Paris” documentary revealed the abuse she says she faced at a Utah school in her teens. But a rift between the two friends during and after “Simple Life” was widened, in part, by unrelenting tabloid media.
“The media was just so toxic in the early 2000s and they loved to invent stories, exaggerate, create rifts between people (and) feuds. They loved pitting women against each other, and Nicole and I were always targeted by the media in those ways,” Hilton says, calling it “painful for people just to be making up so many stories all the time.”
“Well,” Richie pauses before getting serious about their falling out. “It sucks being separated from somebody that you love, and so I think when you really hear about someone, you always find your way back, because it’s not fun (being apart).”
Paris Hiltonopens up about abortion, Harvey Weinstein in memoir: Must-read revelations
But the friends have evolved. “Back then, it was more about going out partying, having fun,” Hilton says. “Now, my favorite thing to do is just to be at home in bed with my babies and my puppies and my husband chilling on the weekends and cooking. I (couldn’t) care less about going to all the parties and things like I did back in the day.”
Richie, the less nostalgic of the two, says she hadn’t rewatched the show before texting with Hilton. But now it “puts a smile on my face. When I see these younger versions of us, I’m just looking at the look in our eyes: We did not know what the next day was going to bring. What a fun time to be in your early 20s, to just not know what was coming your way, but (knowing) that you were with your friend and you were going to take (on) an adventure and do it together.”
For Richie, “The Simple Life” success “was a big surprise, because we didn’t know. Even Fox didn’t say, ‘This is going to be the biggest show.’ They were taking their chance on a new style of show. “Then immediately it was go time” as “the show took off, and then we were on the road again, and then we were gone for another month,” Richie says. “It was a really crazy time.”
The hotel heiress’ mom Kathy Hilton, now a reality TV star in her own right on Bravo’s “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,” wasn’t entirely on board with the show.
“When I told my mom that I got a call about doing this reality show, she immediately said, ‘No, do not do it,’ and was very against it,” Hilton says. “But then the night after it aired, she called me and she said, ‘Oh, my God, I was wrong. The show is incredible. You and Nicole are comedy gold. It’s the funniest thing I’ve ever watched,’ and she was very proud. So I’m happy that I didn’t listen to her.”
They’re both now moms themselves: Richie to 16-year-old daughter, Harlow, and 15-year-old son, Sparrow, and Hilton to son Phoenix and daughter London, both 1.
“‘The Simple Life’ is very, very special to me. … I love watching it with my husband (Carter Reum), I love watching it with my kids,” Hilton says. “My baby Phoenix, he loves just singing the song ‘Sanasa’ now. And it’s just the cutest thing in the world to hear him sing it.”

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Cancer patients' health worsens as they use only medicinal herbs – VietNamNet

14/12/2024   07:00 (GMT+07:00)

Phu Tho Hospital recently received a patient suffering from exhaustion, necrosis, ulceration, and bleeding after using herbal medicine to treat breast cancer.
Diagnosed with breast cancer two years ago, the 58-year-old woman refused treatment at the hospital and used medicinal herbs instead. As a result, her conditions have become worse with the tumor growing and ulcerating.
Doctors say breast cancer has a high success rate if the disease can be discovered and treated promptly. But in this case, the female patient missed her chance for treatment, and underlying conditions worsened. The only thing doctors can do now is provide palliative care.
She is not the only cancer patient with declining health by relying on herbal remedies without guidance from a doctor or specialist.
The Poison Control Center at Bach Mai Hospital in Hanoi once had a case involving the use of traditional medicine for treatment. N.T.M, 44, was hospitalized with acute liver failure and breast cancer. Two months before, she had been diagnosed with breast cancer and goiter.
The patient bought a medicinal herb which she described as having yellow color and drank the powder every dat. This led to jaundice and fatigue, poor appetite, nausea, and dry heaving.
Tests found that M’s liver enzymes were high, and her condition worsened upon hospital admission, requiring intubation. Despite treatment, her conditions didn’t improve. M passed away shortly after leaving the hospital.
In another case, patients suffered immediate complications right after using hebrs recommended by others. In November 2024, Cam Khe District Medical Center in Phu Tho received a female patient who drank wild taro juice to treat thyroid cancer. The patient experienced breathing difficulties and swelling in her mouth and throat.
Dr Ha Huy Men from Cam Khe District Medical Center said wild taro contains irritants causing skin burns and swelling, especially around the tongue, mouth, and lips. The timely intervention allowed the patient to recover within three days.
Despite repeated warnings about the dangers of invalidated, traditional treatment methods for cancer, many people still trust in their effects. Misplaced trust exacerbates the patient’s condition, and opportunities to improve their condition are lost.
Nguyen Trung Kien from Phu Tho General Hospital said some patients feel better after using traditional herbal medicine because of psychological effects. Some contain anti-inflammatory, analgesic, immune-boosting, and restorative properties. Therefore, patients might mistakenly believe their health has improved because of the herbs. 

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Meghan Markle's influence behind Prince Harry and Donald Trump hostility; What expert says on duke still – The Times of India

At TOI World Desk, our dedicated team of seasoned journalists and passionate writers tirelessly sifts through the vast tapestry of global events to bring you the latest news and diverse perspectives round the clock. With an unwavering commitment to accuracy, depth, and timeliness, we strive to keep you informed about the ever-evolving world, delivering a nuanced understanding of international affairs to our readers. Join us on a journey across continents as we unravel the stories that shape our interconnected world.
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Army-Navy game: Predictions and odds for Black Knights vs. Midshipmen – USA TODAY

One of college football’s great traditions returns for 2024, with the No. 18 Army Black Knights and Navy Midshipmen meeting for the 125th time at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Md.
Army (11-1) is having one of its best-ever seasons, having won the American Athletic Conference. The Black Knights are headed to the Independence Bowl to take on Marshall, and have had a solid hold on national rankings in the last two months. The only team to best Army this season has been College Football Playoff-bound Notre Dame, and head coach Jim Monken’s team could make history by winning 12 games in a single season for the first time.
Navy (8-3) has clinched a spot in the Armed Forces Bowl against Oklahoma, but taking down Army is always the top goal in Annapolis. Doing so will require recovering the strong performances the Midshipmen put on early in the season in a 6-0 start. Since then, blowout losses to Notre Dame and Tulane have slowed down head coach Brian Newberry’s group, though Navy will enter this game on the back of a solid road win against East Carolina.
Here are odds, how to watch, and what you need to know for the 125th edition of the Army-Navy game:
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ESPN Analytics give Army the edge for Saturday, with the outlet giving the Black Knights a 65.9% chance of winning. Navy, meanwhile, is being given a 34.1% shot at getting what would be its third win in the series since 2016.
Reed Wallach writes: “The familiarity between both teams is quite high as each runs similar concepts with a triple option scheme on offense. While this type of scheme usually throws teams for a loop, the service academies are prepared for this as the team practices against it all the time… For what it’s worth, the under is 45-10-1 since 2006 when service academies play.”
Eric Froton writes, “The Army vs. Navy Under has been a long time meme-play among CFB gambling enthusiasts. However Navy has gone Over the 38.5 game total 8 times, while Army is a cool 9-3 to the Over as well. SP+ has this game pegged at 31-23, for a total of 54 points. I’m taking the value and betting this game to go Over the 38.5 game total.
Kyle Vander Schauw writes: “I do expect [Blake] Horvath to be active for Navy, but a nagging back issue for a run first quarterback against a talented Army defense is going to hurt the Midshipmen offense. Lastly, the dynamic duo of [Bryson] Daily and [Kanye] Udoh is going to wear down the Navy defense and allow Army to win and cover the spread.”
Army is favored to beat Navy, per odds from BetMGM. Looking to wager? Check out the best mobile sports betting apps offering betting promos in 2023.
All odds as of Tuesday, Dec. 10.
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‘Nothing short of incredible’ – Eureka Times-Standard

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Hundreds of people took a break from the bustle of holiday shopping during last weekend’s Humboldt Artisans Craft & Music Festival to stop by the Companion Animal Foundation mobile adoption unit.

Folks walk through the Companion Animal Foundation mobile adoption unit last weekend. (Heather Shelton/The Times-Standard)
Folks walk through the Companion Animal Foundation mobile adoption unit last weekend. (Heather Shelton/The Times-Standard)

The spacious rig was set up just outside the main hall at Redwood Acres in Eureka, where the festival took place Dec. 6 to 8. Folks who visited the Companion Animal Foundation site had the chance to learn more about the nonprofit animal rescue organization, peruse special treats and toys for their pets and meet some cats, dogs and bunnies looking for their forever homes.
“The (festival) was nothing short of incredible,” said Companion Animal Foundation founder and executive director Kim Class. “We had most of our animals spoken for, with some animals having more than one application. We do, however, have a lovely pair of bonded young Holland lop bunnies that still need to be adopted.”
Class added, “Everyone was really kind. We (were) not there to provide a petting zoo, so we asked everyone to contribute if they could to the mobile and our success, and I’d say around 90% of our guests gave a donation. Since we are 100% donation powered, this was incredibly helpful to us and the animals.
“Honestly,” she said, “the more generous our community is, the more we are able to say yes to taking in animals. We all know for our own animals how expensive it is to take good care of them. It’s not much different for Companion Animal Foundation or any rescue in the community. We get animals usually in poor condition, and it takes a village — and a lot of funding — to get the animals back on track so they can be adopted.”
The Companion Animal Foundation rig – nicknamed “Amazing Grace” after a woman named Grace Morton who donated a great deal of the funds to purchase the vehicle —  was originally acquired to be a veterinary unit, Class said.
“CAF was concerned that we did not have enough veterinary services in the area for people on a limited income,” she said. “Just two months after the purchase, COVID hit and the mobile sat. Since we now have two phenomenal low-cost clinics, Humboldt Spay/Neuter Clinic and now Critters Without Litters, it became clear that we didn’t really need to add an additional mobile veterinary unit. Gas has also skyrocketed making it expensive to move.”
The rig – purchased thanks to grant and donations – was manufactured by La Boit Specialty Vehicles, which is based out of Gahanna, Ohio.
“It is a beautiful unit and these units made by La Boit are quite rare because in addition to the medical capabilities in the unit (separate surgery room), it can also be used as an adoption unit as the side rolls up and you can view animals from the outside, or animals can view you,” said Class.
She added, “We flew to Texas to pick it up. The price was incredibly affordable considering the cost of the unit to buy it new would have been prohibitive — around $350K. While the original goal was to do surgeries we found this difficult to make happen as there were no veterinarians not stretched to their limit during COVID. There was a massive country-wide shortage of veterinarians as well. So, the mobile sat and sat until we decided to do something different, and that is to take it out to the public and put some of the animals that Companion Animal Foundation has up for adoption in it.”
At adoption events like the one at the Humboldt Artisans Craft & Music Festival, the goal with the unit is to bring adoptable pets to the people, Class said.
“People seem to like going up into the mobile and checking out the animals,” she said. “We are able to keep it warm in the winter and cool in the summer.”
Companion Animal Foundation representatives also provided an educational moment for everyone before they entered the mobile unit.
“It’s very important to take a moment and be real with people. We talked with every guest before going into the mobile,” Class said. “We do this at our adoption center, too. All of our guests were allowed to open the cages of most of the animals and interact with them rather than just looking at them through the bars of the cages. This is important for the animals so they get extra socialization. How we interact with animals is critical to their development. We asked all of our guests to refrain from playing with kittens in any way that would make them bite, swat, scratch or attack hands. Kittens’ brains are developing and we want hands to be 100% predictable.”
Class said some folks at the festival also took a moment to pull out their phones and show her pets that they had adopted previously through Companion Animal Foundation.
“I saw so many pictures and videos of cats we have adopted over the last 22 years. One woman I spoke with has a 19-year-old cat from CAF,” Class said. “Since I’m a huge cry baby, I spent a bit of my time crying happy tears at the love that people expressed in regard to the animal they adopted from CAF. I don’t give it much thought once an animal leaves CAF until someone tells me how much joy or comfort or companionship an animal has brought. Then, I realize how meaningful this work is even after the animal leaves CAF.”
The Companion Animal Foundation mobile adoption unit may be out again today from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at a CAF “Santa Paws” event at Arcata Pet Supply, 600 F St., Arcata. Folks are invited to take a full family photo while supporting the local animal rescue. Donations are appreciated.
In the future, Class says she’d love to also use the mobile unit for light medical procedures like vaccine and wellness exams for anyone on a limited income.
“We haven’t reached out to any of our wonderful veterinarians, but it certainly could be available,” Class said.
She added, “There has been some light talk of taking the mobile with animals out to children’s events, although I’m not into animal entertainment so there would always be education involved and getting the children to do some type of activity where they are learning about animals. One of my greatest passions is being with children and helping them to be their best around animals. In the meantime, we want to continue to bring animals to events so people can see them. There’s nothing quite as sweet as engaging with an animal. Everyone benefits and the benefits, while they may seem small, all add up to something beautiful for every being.”
For more information about Companion Animal Foundation, go to https://www.cafanimals.org.
 
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