The Interloper!

My name is Quizz. If you haven’t read my page, I am the adorable dog of the owner of this blog. I am taking over. My owner rants about many things on this thing called a blog and I feel that I must do my part.

 

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I have a bone to pick with my Mom. Last night she took me to visit my favorite little humans. She calls them her nieces. They give me scritches, feed me cookies and treat me the way that I should be treated. They always come over to my house. This is the first time I went to their new house. Boy does it smell really cool! And there are things called horses there. They are HUGE! But mom won’t let me anywhere near them. Sigh.

There is an interloper! (I had to ask my Mom what that word meant, I liked it!) Everyone said he was cute and I had to be nice. Nice! I’m always nice. Anyway, this is the interloper (Don't let his supposed cuteness fool you, he's a menace! My mom says something about payback but I don't know what she's talking about.)

 

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All he did was jump around and bark at me. Then! Then, he started eyeing my tail. He nipped here and there. I’m telling you! Can’t a dog be left in peace! My tail of all things! A dog’s tail is sacred! I had to hide my tail and keep my tail away from him. Until I got distracted and CHOMP! The little thing got me!

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Of course, I’m bigger. I went WOOF! The interloper went off to the corner and all my people came to my rescue, they knew what had happened. But I knew that it was a puppy. So I forgave him.

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BUT, we’ll see where that takes us. I’m keeping my eye on him.

A Dog's Courage

     Once more I am astounded at the great capacity that human being have for cruelty and compassion. I was lead to the Montgomery Alabama Humane Society website for an unrelated story regarding the seizure of 27 pit bulls from a possible fighting ring. The investigation is on going. In the left hand corner was a link with a picture of a truly damaged looking dog with the caption of See How Louie’s Doing. I was unable to resist. I clicked.

     And my heart broke at the pure viciousness of the act of one selfish individual, who through a complete act of delibrate cruelty irrevocably changed the life of a dog, and ruined his own life because of his immaturity.

     Because this individual was ‘denied’ the use of his parent’s vehicle, in retaliation he doused the parent’s dog, Louis Vuitton, with lighter fluid and set the dog on fire.

     Louis was brought to the Montgomery Humane Society with 60% of his body covered in burns, his nose, eyelids and ears sloughing off and his toenails and the pads of his feed completely burned to where he couldn’t stand on his own feet. But he couldn’t lay down either because of the rest of his burns.

     Here’s the kicker in all of this. You would think that Louis would become afraid of people. He would snarl and snap. Bite and lash out from the pain at his care takers. No. He wagged his tail at his care givers at his first examination. He has been a trooper through his treatment. His burn wounds are healing and his temperament has not changed. He proved to be an amazingly resilient example of the extraordinary well of courage & love that a dog has.

     The Montgomery Humane Society staff have been stellar examples of the other end of the spectrum of the perpetrator of the act of cruelty that put Louis in the hospital. The MHS staff have cared and loved this dog and reinforced that the world, while it can be scary, is not a bad place.

     The person who committed this heinous act is in jail awaiting trial. I won’t revel in his capture, because I don’t believe that anyone should celebrate the ruination of a life. His thoughtless selfish act destroyed any trust his parents could ever have in him and destroyed his own life. I can never understand what causes the need to hurt another creature, human or animal.

     If you go out to the site and you see pictures of Louis, some people will say why not let nature take its course and let the animal die. If you are one of those people, I can honestly say that you have never known or acknowledged the unconditional love that a dog can give you. Or the unconditional love that a pet can provide you.

     It is not that we humanize the animals, it is that they make us more human and help us keep the gifts of love and compassion in our lives.

Dictator Deposing & Other Pleasant Thoughts

Oh Goody!  Foxnews.com just cited “a veteran Japanese expert on North Korea” has declared that Kim Jong Il is really dead (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,418205,00.html), and has been dead since 2003.  According to this experts sources the man died of diabetes related complications.  But due to his paranoia about threats on his life, he had four stand-in actors that would go to events in his place.  So the person who has been representing North Korea on the world stage is an impostor.  Of course the 'expert' is pushing a book.

 

Don’t get me wrong, the world would be a better place without the man.  His selfishness has impoverished and starved his people.  His greed has his average citizens living in standards that are unfathomable to most of the industrialized world.  The favored few are feted and given perks that are lavish and gluttonous in comparison to the rest of the country. 

 

Frankly, I see this 'death' as wishful thinking on the part of a person who wishes that an era was over.  North Korea represents a threat in the Pan-Asian arena.  Not because they are a vast army.  But because they have a selfish, pompous mad man who plays dice with the lives of his people, Kim Jong Il is crafty and seizes every opportunity that the more well behaved nations of the world provide him.

 

He is dangerous because he is irresponsible enough to use nuclear armament to get his way regardless of the cost. He possesses processed uranium which allows him to have a say in United Nations.  Every time things do not go his way, like a spoiled brat, he breaks his word and starts to take the steps to processing weapons grade uranium.  That gets the world to back down and he once more gets what he wants.  

 

Whether the man is alive or dead, that really doesn’t matter.  What matters is the health and well being of the North Korean people.  They starve as their leaders grow fat as pigs. 

 

Pit Bulls in Lipstick

Pit bulls in Lipstick, what a thought. When Republican Vice-Presidential Candidate Sarah Palin made the comment, “I love those hockey moms. You know, they say the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull? Lipstick.”

I thought to myself well wouldn’t that be a sight, a bunch of pit bulls driving mini-vans or SUV’s, coiffed and adorned with lipstick taking their charges hither and yon. You have to admit that your funny bone has to be tickled just a little. And if the pit bulls had opposable thumbs and driver licenses, they’d do it too!

I think she meant the traits of tenacity and endurance when she referred to the pit bulls. Perhaps, she is familiar with the breed. They have been a family dog, working dog and was have even been honored as heros.

But like most things or people who are tenacious and stubborn, they have a tendency to be misunderstood and labeled ‘difficult’, ‘high risk’ or even ‘dangerous’. I hope that as Ms. Palin is taking the national stage, that she will remember that pit bulls are not only tenacious and fearsome looking, but they are more than meets the eye. They have a dignity and gentleness that is seldom acknowledged by their detractors.

Ms. Palin may be ready to fight during this campaign, but I hope that she exhibits grace and dignity as she embarks on this journey.

Mud-slinging and Politics

In one of the dirtiest sports on the planet – politics, I applaud Barack Obama for telling people to lay off Vice Presidential Candidate Sarah Palin’s family.  Please note that I am not endorsing either candidate.  To be perfectly honest, as of yet, I’m not sold on either party.  But a line has been crossed, when people feel free to start taking pot shots at the various candidate’s children.

 

A candidate’s spouse knows the score is when they get into politics and work with their respective mates to groom themselves to the image that they want to create.  But when children enter the picture, all bets are off.

 

Children are still learning and developing; they make good decisions and not so great decisions.  When thrust in the public eye, their every move scrutinized and magnified, their every emotions and actions called into questions by people who have no right to judge them, some hold up under the pressure and some fold.

 

These children need to be protected from the media and declared off-limits in the slings and arrows of the political campaigning.  If the politicians choose to have family photo ops or showcases that is their prerogative, but it still doesn’t bring the children into the line of fire.

 

So as the mud starts flying keep the children safe and out of the line of fire.  They’ll be eligible soon enough when they reach the age of majority.

Animal Emergency Preparedness - Are you Ready?

I've posted a lot of animal centric posts lately.  But this one is more serious. 

With Hurricane Gustav bearing down on the Gulf Coast, the recent Iowa Floods, and the Spectre of Hurricane Katrina looming in my mind.  If you are an animal owner, do you have a preparedness kit for your animals in case of evacuation or emergency?

Katrina illustrated the lack of preparation that people and government had in the care of domestic animals.  I'm not casting stone here.  People didn't know how  bad the effects of Katrina would be.  Pet owners were devastated by their choices.  But so many pets were lost. On the brighter side, as rescue groups went through they marked homes that had animals for the animal rescue teams that went in to know where to go.  Amazing organizations from across the country went in and volunteered their time and resources to get the pets out of the horrifying situations they were in.  Many pets were reunited with there owners and those who were not were given new homes.

Whether you live in a hurricane & flood zone, tornado alley, or blizzard country you have to realize that your domesticated animals can not fend for themselves.  In an emergency situation, you can not just turn the animals loose and think that they will survive on their own.  You are their primary care providers of food and care. 

The ASPCA is an excellent resource for getting prepared for any sort of disaster related emergency information (http://www.aspca.org/site/PageServer?pagename=pets_emergency), the Federal Emergency Management Agency otherwise known as FEMA (http://www.fema.gov/individual/index.shtm) or contact your local SPCA or animal control office for information. 

You need to be prepared for yourself, your family and your animals.

A Moment in a Dog's Life

Stolen Fair and Square! Let me in before she gets it!

So my dog is a thief.  Behold the evidence hanging out of my dog's mouth.  Above is Quizz and Maddie, best of friends yet the bone of contention is that Quizz feels that what is hers is his without reciprocity.  On a nearly daily basis, he will help himself to the treat du jour at Maddie's home and run madly back to his home to stash it at the top of the stairs. 

All Maddie wants to do is share, she patiently waits for her moment to claim back whatever is the prize of the day.  I often go into Quizz's toy box and retrieve something he likes and give it to Maddie.  She will grab it and head for the door with a flirtatous toss of her head.  She knows how to get her boy.  Quizz not being big on the sharing takes off after her to retrieve his lost prize.  It is a game repeated day after day.

To make things equal, I gather up Quizz's toys and bring them to Maddie's regularly. 

So, is it really stealing if it is your own?