How to tell if you’re Mom’s favorite

Breakfast at Ginger’s

Video: Breakfast at Ginger’s

They Came To Play

This morning I went to sign my Dogs up for welfare.  At first the lady said, "Dogs are not eligible to draw welfare."  So I explained to her that my Dogs are mixed in color, unemployed, lazy, can’t speak English and have no frigging clue who their Dads are.  They expect me to feed them, provide them with housing and medical care, and feel guilty because they are dogs. So she looked in her policy book to see what it takes to qualify. My Dogs get their first checks Friday. This is such a great country!! I will be taking our four down for their checks tomorrow!

How to Prevent Dog Bites

New York City graduate student Lacey Brown was walking her roommate’s German shepherd last fall when the dog lunged and bit an elderly neighbor on the wrist.

"The dog had been growling at people when we were out together, something he never did when he was with his owner," she laments. "I should’ve stopped walking him when the growling began."

Dr. Katy Nelson, an emergency veterinarian in Virginia, concurs: "You have to know your dog and what it’s capable of. This dog probably viewed his owner as the alpha, and the roommate as the beta – the dog was protecting Lacey, whom he considered to be his. You have to make sure your dog knows you’re higher in rank to prevent incidents like this one from happening."

The Facts on Dog Bites

According to the Centers for Disease Control, over 4.5 million Americans are bitten by dogs each year. Of those, one in five requires medical attention. Additionally, around 31,000 people need reconstructive surgery each year as a result of a dog bite.

Children are most likely to be the victims of dog biting incidents, as are people with multiple canines in their home. To raise awareness and combat dog biting, the American Veterinary Medical Association sponsors National Dog Bite Prevention Week each May.

Protect Yourself and Your Pet

In honor of National Dog Bite Prevention Week, Nelson offers the following advice on protecting yourself and your pet from strange dogs – and protecting strangers from your best friend:

• Don’t Make Assumptions Based on Breed: "Sure, pugs and golden retrievers generally have gentle temperaments, but every single breed is going to have an exception to the rule," emphasizes Nelson. "I’ve seen everything from aggressive pugs to pit bulls who like to roll around on the floor kissing their owners."
• Ask Permission: Never touch a strange dog – or let your own furry friend approach another dog – without first checking with its owner. "It dumbfounds me when people let their kids walk around my waiting room petting the dogs there, but I see it all the time," says Nelson. Most people will be happy to tell you if their companion is good with strangers in general, and with children and other dogs specifically.
• Proceed with Caution: "Just because someone says their dog is great with people and other pets doesn’t mean they’ll be great with you or your pet at that moment," warns Nelson.
• Be Aware of Your Body Language: Dogs are more likely to bite when they are anxious. Approaching them in the wrong way can only exacerbate their anxiety. Nelson recommends sticking your hand out, palm facing up, for the animal to sniff. "If it’s a big dog, I might do this from a standing position," she says. "With a smaller dog, I crouch down. If you move toward them with a non-aggressive posture, you decrease the likelihood of aggression coming back at you."

Protecting Others From Your Dog

• Know Your Dog: Be realistic and honest with other people about what your dog is capable of. If your dog is a biter, it’s up to you to prevent it. Know your pet’s telltale signs of anxiety and aggression: If its ears go back and its hackles go up, the dog is saying it’s uncomfortable and needs to get out of its current situation.
• Teach Your Dog Who’s Boss: In her own home, Nelson has made sure her dogs know that her 2-year-old son is alpha to them. "It’s a daily thing in my house, showing them that I’m first, then my son and then them," she says. Nelson does this by monitoring all dog-child interactions and quickly putting a stop to it if one of the dogs tries to challenge the boy.
• Minimize Your Furry Friend’s Anxiety: If you know your dog gets excessively anxious in the presence of strangers or at the dog park, lock it up in your bedroom when friends visit, and don’t take it to the playground. Keeping your dog calm will minimize the chance that it will become aggressive.

Lucky for Lacey Brown, her roommate’s shepherd only broke her neighbor’s watch – and not his skin. "The man was angry, and I felt horrible, but it could have been worse," she says. With Nelson’s advice, Brown doesn’t have to worry about the shepherd’s bad habits any more.

by Darcy Lockman – PetPeople’sPlace

HIS EYE IS ON THE SPARROW OR SWALLOW

Swallows

 
Here a female mate is injured and the condition is soon fatal.

She was hit by a car as she swooped low across the road.

Here he brought her food and attended to her with love and compassion.

He brought her food again but was shocked to find her dead.

He tried to move her … a rarely-seen effort for swallows!

Aware that his sweetheart is dead and will never
come back to him again, he cries with adoring love.

He stood beside her, saddened of her death.    
Finally aware she would never return to him, he stood beside her body

with sadness and sorrow.

Millions of people cried after seeing these photos
in America, Europe, Australia, and even India .

The photographer sold these pictures for a nominal fee to the most
famous newspaper in France.  All copies of that edition were
sold out on the day these pictures were published.
And many people think animals don’t have brains or feelings?

You have just witnessed Love and Sorrow felt by God’s creatures.

The Bible says God knows when a sparrow falls.

How much more He cares for us.

Live simply, love generously, care deeply and speak kindly.

Grace is God reaching down.
Faith is man doing what God wants us to do, without questioning it.

————-

On a fun side note, if you didn’t see it, the new SJC Regency Theatre, that Tim worked on is obviously in San Juan Capistrano CA, where the swallows return yearly.  The Capistrano Insider came across a an old cartoon that features the swallows returning to the mission:  Swallow the Leader.  They suggested that maybe the new Regency theater might add it to their screen next March, when the Swallows make their yearly return again… 

Regency Theatre San Juan VIP Opening – the Beginning of an Era

Morocco and Hollywood Coming to Old San Juan??

 

Posted:  Just One More Pet

‘Member of the Family’ Pet Photos

Sanders is named after the person who found him for me, Paula Sanders. I first called him Sandy but everyone thought the name was for a girl. So I changed it to Sanders. His nickname is Sandman. He is a beagle/Bassett mix and was a stray. He can sit, high five with each paw, speak and mimic a dead dog. He loves stuffed-animal toys and a nap on the sofa. (Sanders belongs to Lois Bean.)

Submit your ‘Member of the Family’ photos to kparks@ourtribune.com

© 2008 Ourtribune.com – (Lake Houston Tribune)

Posted: Just One More Pet

Rabbit woes continue to multiply at University of Victoria

Rabbits congregate around students at the University of Victoria campus.

Photograph by: Debra Brash, Times Colonist

VICTORIA — There’s bad blood on the bunny front at the University of Victoria.

As the university struggles with the question of what to do with between 1,500 and 2,000 feral rabbits — which are chewing and digging their way through the campus grounds — emotions are running high, fuelled by accusations of misinformation from both sides.

Leaders of the protect-the-bunnies movement claim the university is secretly killing rabbits at night and that there are "poison boxes" on the grounds. Bunny supporters claim that officials have only paid lip-service to trap and sterilize programs as they always regarded a massive slaughter as the final solution.

"The University of Victoria has been for years conducting a misinformation campaign in order to justify their killing of abandoned domestic rabbits on campus," said animal rights activist Roslyn Cassells.

"Betrayal is the order of the day at the University of Victoria, where a large-scale nighttime shooting of over 1,000 abandoned pet rabbits is imminent," Cassells said in a recent e-mail to the media.

But the university’s facilities management director Tom Smith denies the activists’ claims.

"I think it’s an effort to draw attention to it through sensationalism," he said. "I don’t think this would be happening if it was snakes."

There is no secret cull, no poison boxes, no nighttime sharpshooters and no plan for a mass extermination, Smith said.

And there will always be a place for rabbits on campus, he added.

But the university does want to have rabbit-free zones in sch areas as the playing fields — where students have tripped in rabbit holes — and the grass outside residences, which is now black with rabbit feces.

"It’s where students used to lie and study outside. They can’t do that anymore because of the feces," Smith said.

The university’s rabbit population has been a bone of contention for more than two decades.

Most of the bunnies are offspring from pets abandoned on the grounds in the 1980s and 1990s — their stripes, spots and unusual colourings are easy proof they aren’t indigenous.

Since then, the animals have been destroying trees, digging holes, and ruining sidewalks, said Bentley Sly, University of Victoria grounds manager.

"We just can’t keep up with them and they all have this impulse to dig," he said.

University officials estimate the cost of rabbit damage at $100,000 over the last three years.

Source: The Gazette

MUST SEE VIDEO!. ASPCA, PETA AND HSUS .. EUTHANIZATION "THE COVER UP"

Celebrate Be Kind to Animals Week

The Mission Viejo Animal Services Center and the American Humane Association will celebrate the 96th annual "Be Kind to Animals Week" May 2-8.

The event was started by the American Humane Association in 1915 to celebrate the human-animal bond and encourage kindness toward pets and wild animals who enrich our world. In 1952, Be Kind to Animals Week received the official endorsement of the U.S. government. It is now one of the oldest special week-long observances in the country.

This year’s theme is "So many animals, So many ways to be kind." In honor of Be Kind to Animals Week, the Mission Viejo Animal Services Center suggests the following ways to show appreciation for the animals around you:

– Commit to adopting your next pet from an Animal Shelter.

– Report any suspected animal abuse or neglect.

– Donate to your local Animal Shelter.

– Spay or neuter your pets and encourage friends and family members to do the same.

– Make sure your pet has a license and a microchip.

– Spend quality time with your pet.

Kindness to animals is one of the building blocks of a humane and compassionate society. The Animal Services Center encourages everyone to recognize the value of animals in our lives during this special week.

For more information about the Mission Viejo Animal Services Center, visit the City’s Web site at www.cityofmissionviejo.org