More Great Animal Photos

And My Favorite…….. A smile from God!

I love God’s sense of humor

One in a million shot!!

h/t to Claudia Johnson

Merry Christmas – Dogs Saying Grace Before Meals

 

Video: Best of Dogs Saying Grace Before Meals – Cute

Related:

Animal Nativity

‘Dogs Have The Intelligence of a Human Toddler’

Tails of Love

GoD and DoG

Dogs and Heaven

On the First Day God Created the Dog!

Until One Has Loved an Animal, Part of Their Soul Remains Unawakened

My Goal in Life

The No Kill Movement

Dedicated to All Those Humans Who…

Pakistani Blogger Slams Islamic Feast of EID: Call Me an Infidel’, But I Can’t ‘ Make Merry’ at ‘Mass-Murdering’ Cute Animals

Stress in Dogs (Pets) *Birds tend to suffer from more stress than most and the holidays provide stress for most pets!

Explanation of Life

THE EXPLANATION OF LIFE

On the first day God created the dog. God said, "Sit all day by the  door of your house and bark at anyone who comes in or walks past.

   I will  give you a life span of twenty years." The dog said, "That’s too long to be barking. Give me ten years and I’ll give you back the other ten." So God agreed.

   On the second day God created the monkey. God said, "Entertain people, do monkey tricks, make them laugh. I’ll give you a twenty-year life span."

   The monkey said, "How boring. Monkey tricks for twenty years? I don’t think so. Dog gave you back ten, so that’s what I’ll do too, okay?"

And God agreed.

    On the third day God created the cow. God said, "You must go to the field with the farmer all day long and suffer under the sun, have calves and give milk to support the farmer. I will give you a life span of  sixty years."

   The cow said, "That’s kind of a tough life you want me to live or sixty years. Let me have twenty and I’ll give back the other forty."

And God agreed again.

   On the fourth day God created man. God said, "Eat, sleep, play, marry and enjoy your life. I’ll give you twenty years."

    Man said, "What? Only twenty years?! Tell you what, I’ll take My twenty, and the forty the cow gave back and the ten the monkey gave back and  the ten the dog gave back…that makes eighty, okay?"

   "Okay", said God, "You’ve got a deal."

   So that is why the first twenty years we eat, sleep, play, and enjoy ourselves; for the next forty years we slave in the sun to support our family; for the next ten years we do monkey tricks to entertain the grandchildren; and for the last ten years we sit on the front porch and bark at everyone.

   Life has now been explained to you!!

(For us dog lovers… the change in nutrition and life circumstances for most pets has expanded their lifespan.  The oldest dog alive, that I am aware of is 27-years-old and many live to be somewhere between 16 and 22.  Small dog generally live the longest.)

Originally Posted on June 30, 2005 by Ask Marion

A Dog’s Life… Can Be Longer Than You Think

Dogs Know

Rainbow Bridge

Pets and Heaven

Sometimes “Rainbow Bridge” Prayers Are Answered

Meredith and Abbey… A Beautiful Soul at the Post Office

Man’s Best Friend in Shariah’s Cruel Crosshairs

Is Your Pet a Voiceless Victim of the Tanking Economy?

‘Until One Has Loved an Animal, Part of Their Soul Remains Unawakened’

GoD and DoG

The People Have Spoken: YES! on Prop 2

Friends, take a bow. Open the window and give out a whoop. Don’t hold back. Let fly the corks.

In big, bold, indelible letters, you just wrote history. Proposition 2 passed with an overwhelming majority (now more than 62 percent, with 40 percent of the vote in), despite a massive, multi-million dollar campaign by the opponents.

© iStockphoto

Life is going to get better for millions of farm animals.

And that’s thanks to so very many of you—those of you who voted for California’s Prop 2, those of you who donated time and money and support in the campaign, as well as the countless others of you who cheered from other states. This is the most ambitious ballot measure for animals ever undertaken. The energy that propelled us to victory was incredible—and that’s not overstatement. From the thousands of people who helped gather the petition signatures to put Prop 2 on the ballot to those who staffed the phone banks and knocked on doors to get out the vote, this was a show of grassroots might.

As a result, you’ve brought forth a new, more compassionate age.

Giving farm animals a little extra room to stretch their limbs, to move like animals should, is a small matter for us humans. But it’s a very big thing for a hen who would otherwise be confined with a half-dozen other birds in a cage about as big as a filing cabinet for her whole life. It’s a really big thing for a sow who would otherwise be stuck in a crate so small she couldn’t turn around. It’s a way big thing for a calf who would spend life chained inside a miserably tiny crate.

With hundreds of  Prop 2 supporters gathered in Los Angeles.

Prop 2 will phase out those inexcusable confinement systems and usher in a new era. No state in the U.S. and no Agribusiness titan anywhere in the nation can overlook this mandate: people do not want their farm animals treated with wanton cruelty.  photos © Tony Chang

This proposition follows less sweeping but still significant ballot measures passed in Florida and Arizona in recent years. The trend is unmistakable, and it’s time for agriculture and those other businesses in the food chain to drop the last of their opposition and implement the future, starting now. That’s what animals deserve; that’s what voters insist upon. At The Humane Society of the United States, we’ll be ready to go to work tomorrow to make it happen.

Let me say plainly: We’ll engage constructively with farmers and businesses that take responsible steps to improve the welfare of animals. The others, unfortunately, will learn their lessons the hard way—beginning with the wrath of consumers. There is no valor in defending the abuse of animals.

For now, though, grab someone close by and give them a hug. In disturbing economic times against a deceitful, fear-mongering $9 million campaign directed by the regressive egg industry, millions of California voters chose stewardship, responsibility, mercy, care and selflessness.

Posted by Wayne Pacelle, President HSUS on 05 November 2008 at 3:00 AM 

Shock Collars, Crate Training, And Needing To Control

Sharing a comment left on one of the pet sites I/we belong to…

Putting a shock collar on a dog is THE MOST OFFENSIVE, NASTY, HORRIBLE thing you can do to your ‘best friend’, or, as I think of my dogs, your child.  I am ashamed to say, that in trying to make my second marriage work, I let my ex put shock collars on my dogs to keep them off the sofa and loveseat.  It will haunt me for the rest of my life. 

My older dog, Joey, is very intellegent.  The first shock from the collar and he knew……..stay away from the living room furniture.  My younger Lab mix is not exceptionally smart…….has a HUGE heart and is loving and loyal, happy and exuberant, and is the most compassionate dog I have ever had.  She did not understand the shock collar.  She freeked out.  Cut her head on the glass coffee table and learned only after SEVERAL shocks that the furniture was off limits. 

Today, the sofa is THEIRS.  I get the recliner……because the sofa is always ‘full’ of my ‘sofa loafers’.  The ex went the way of the garbage… OUT ON THE STREET, where he belongs.   Shortly after I kicked the ‘dog hater’ to the curb, my son tested the shock collar on his arm………………….needless to say, he was suprised to find out that it’s not just a ‘little zap’……..IT HURTS………ALOT!!!  If you EVER think that this device is not a painful, torturing, frightening training device you are wrong…………don’t ever do it.  Your conscious wil come back to haunt you.

And I don’t feel much different about locking your dog in a cage either.  These creatures are your best friends.   Is this how you would want to be treated??  Perhaps it is time to watch the origianl Planet of the Apes, again?!?

So what if your house or yard isn’t perfect?  So what if your dog barks a bit.  So what if you have to clean up some messes and do a few repairs.  That is what parenting is all about.   And in general, they will actually be better if you don’t cofine them and shock them, but instead smother them with love!!

These ideas and methods like shock collars, crate training, etc etc were created by people, who probably shouldn’t have pets, for their own convenience or ease or because they live in areas not friendly to pets and animals.  How would you like to be shocked when you tried to speak out of turn or express yourself or have to sit in a tiny cage all without being able to relieve yourself… so someone who supposedly loves you has it easier or doesn’t need to clean up a mess??  Think about it, isn’t being home all day alone, especially in an apartment or condo punishment enough??  And, a little mess is good for the soul!!  

Just because it is done… or someone calling themselves an expert says it is okay… doesn’t make it so!!!

Vote For Positive Change For California Farm Animals

California Animal Advocates,

When you go to the polls on November 4, don’t forget to vote in positive change for California’s farm animals! Proposition 2 is a landmark ballot initiative that combats some of the worst abuses in factory farming. If passed, it will end the practice of keeping veal calves, breeding pigs and laying hens in cages and crates so small that the animals cannot turn around.

This law will not only prevent cruelty to animals—it also will improve food safety and reduce the devastating environmental impact of factory farms.

What You Can Do
Please visit the ASPCA Advocacy Center to learn more about Proposition 2 and send a note to friends and family asking them to vote YES! on Prop 2.

Thank you for your support, California!

Here are two important ways you can get involved this week in the campaign to pass Prop 2:

	Tune in to the Ellen DeGeneres Show tomorrow, September 26th — I’ll be talking with Ellen about Proposition 2, and how it will help millions of farm animals in California and across the country. Click here to see when the show will air where you live.   And you can bet I’ll have my dancing shoes on…
	Watch our new video to hear straight from the, ahem, pig’s mouth about how you can help farm animals.   It’s a funny animation, with a tune I bet you’ll recognize, but don’t get me wrong — the heinous treatment of farm animals is no laughing matter. Watch this short movie, then be sure to share it with everyone you know.

Related posts:

• Don’t Let Them Get Away With This… Vote Yes on Prop 2
• Slaughter-bound Calf Falls onto Highway 99, Lands at Farm Sanctuary