Ditch your family pet to save the planet – I Think NOT!!

TAKE out the recycling. Check. Save water. Check. Cycle to work. Check. Turn down the thermostat. Check. Get rid of the pet …

A new book has highlighted that a medium-sized dog has the same ecological footprint as driving 6,000 miles a year in a large 4×4 car.

Hailed as the real guide to sustainable living, the book says that owning a dog or a cat is not environmentally friendly and that they should not be kept.

Other options would be not to have a pet, to share one with other families, or to choose an animal with a small carbon footprint – such as a goldfish – the authors say.

The average cat has as much impact on the planet as a Volkswagen Golf, according to writers Robert and Brenda Vale.

And next time a parent considers keeping a child happy by buying a hamster, they should remember that two of the animals are as bad for the planet as running a plasma television.

In Time to Eat the Dog: The Real Guide to Sustainable Living, the New Zealand-based pair estimate the ecological footprint of pets from dogs to budgies based on the amount of land needed to grow their food.

Meat-eating swells the eco-footprint of dogs, and cats are not much better, the Vales found.

They say a collie eats 164kg of meat and 95kg of cereals a year, giving it a high impact on the planet.

However, rabbits or chickens can make good pets and also provide meat for the owners, they say. A pair of rabbits can produce 36 young annually, which would provide 72kg of meat – thereby decreasing the owner’s carbon footprint.

In the book, the authors say: “For years, animals have been given a good life and their company enjoyed, and then they have been eaten.

“Children are well able to cope with this situation if they know what is going on, and the process links them into the natural cycles of life and death.

“However, even with this background, there are going to be some people who will never cope with the idea of eating their pets.”

A large dog such as an Alsatian has an ecological footprint of about 0.36 hectares, according to their calculations.

This compares to six hectares for the average human in the developed world.

Mr Vale, an architect, said: “There are no recipes in the book. We’re not actually saying it is time to eat the dog.

“We’re just saying that we need to think about and know the (ecological] impact of some of the things we do and that we take for granted.”

He added that sustainability issues will “require us to make choices which are as difficult as eating your dog”.

“It’s not just about changing your lightbulbs or taking a cloth bag to the supermarket,” he added.

“Once you see where cats and dogs fit in your overall balance of things, you might decide to have the cat but not also to have the two cars and the three bathrooms and be a meat-eater yourself.”

By Jenny Fyall

Source:  http://news.scotsman.com/uk

Posted:  Just One More Pet

Rainbow Bridge…

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.

When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor. Those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.

They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent. His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.

You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together….

Author unknown..

Source: In Honor of FiFi

Posted:  Just One More Pet

Adopt Just One More Pet… There Is Always Room For Just One More

THIS IS BUDDY NOW!!!!!

Tracey’s Photos – Buddy, my sweet and handsome foster (slash that) adopted boy

I got Buddy about 4 weeks ago. Initially I was getting a black female pitty…and after paying for basic vetting, I heard nothing. Then one Saturday I get a call that a brindle will be delivered on Sunday. He was perfect when he went into vets’ in Georgia, she told me, but has nicks from an aggressive dog that they crated him with. So I thought nothing of it. Then it appeared to spread. Turns out it was Demodex.

I had him on a probiotic as well as awesome dog food and gentle essential oils. It didn’t help. I took him to vets’ and they gave me a strong anti-biotic (because of infection), a medicated shampoo and Demodex med. It got worse in just two days..LOOK AT HIM!!! I called several vets including my own, who said that it would indeed get much worse before getting better. The mites are freaking out and the infection is working it’s way out..thus the hugely swollen jowls and throat. I wonder would it have gotten to this had I known he had Demodex. He is in pain and I am now broke!! It CAN be very costly, especially if it becomes infected. So far it has cost $800., not including initial vettiing. I got it covered, but this is PRECISELY why pitty’s get returned if they have skin disease. It isn’t as easy to clear up as one might think.

I HAVE BEEN SLEEPING WITH HIM ON HIS DOG BED EVERY NIGHT!!! I AM WITH HIM ALL DAY LONG. HE IS GETTING MUCH LOVE AND PROPER CARE.

Good job Tracey!!  We would do it for our newborn baby and these fur babies are just as much our family once we commit!!

This is a great story!!  You are feathering your nest in Heaven!

As story goes…  “At the head of the Rainbow Bridge waits every animal that he/she encountered during his life time.” ~ some of us will need a lot of room at the bridge; sounds like you will!

Ask Marion – Just One More Pet

Let us all adopt just one more and help many more find a home!!

Rainbow Bridge

Tell Gaston Co NC Animal Control No to Gas, etc – Same In Michigan!!

My husband and myself have been horrified by the failure of care given to the animals kept at Gaston County Animal Control. They also gas animals twice a day, they are over crowded. So basically if a dog is picked up it will be dead in a few days. Its a sad situation. They are crowded into dog runs, left wet and cold in winter (I’ve seen puppies like this there). They are racist against large breed dogs and chose to kill them instead of giving them a chance at a home. We pay taxes to keep this place going. They have failed inspection for the past several years, they have been warned but keep being allowed to fail inspection and continue their cruelty. They have gassed a dog twice that lived and a local rescue group took her after all she had been through. If that doesn’t tell you that gassing animals is painful and wrong then you must be a sick person. And try telling your 6 year old nephew why animal control was dumping dead dog bodies in our public landfill during the day. How would they feel if they were dumped as trash when they passed away. Have the respect to take a sec when its time for a dog or cat to die to take that animal and lay them down and give them an injection and a pat on the head because that may be the only affection and love that animal has ever had from a human. They need to stop throwing them in mass numbers into the gas chamber where they fight for their lives out of fear and die without respect or dignity.  Tell Gaston County Animal Control to clean up their act, pass inspections, treat the animals with respect and stop using gas chambers. It should be against the law.

Its a good thing our Nation isn’t judged by our treatment of our animals because we have failed them bad. Please add you signature to help us correct this wrong that is being done to these precious animals. The least they can do is take out the gas chambers and use injection only. Please tell Gaston County NC Animal Control to change their policies and stop gassing animals.

Target:  North Carolina & Gaston County Representatives

Sponsored by: Heather & Brandon (Private home dog rescue in Gaston Co)O

Tell Gaston Co NC Animal Control No to Gas, etc – The Petition Site

This is horrible! This is abuse and murder!!! How about trying to get a grant… from the leftover Fed Stimulus Money to build a bigger facility to take care of the animals in your charge until you find them a home?? Run some fundraisers with volunteers, set up a foster program for temporary homes for the overflow of animals. There is a special place in Heaven for people who go the extra mile for children and pets. There will be a special in Hell for people who treat this animals and children like you do!! You are an embarrassment to our Country… and God sees everything! This place needs to be shut down!! Perhaps there is some in the County who could volunteer a facility to house these and more pets in exchange for a tax break or write it off as a charitable contribution?!? There is always a better way… if you look!! Ask Marion/JOMP~

 

Ban the Gas Chamber for Animals in Michigan! – The Petition Site