Here’s a great comparison between dogs and wives, you will have to judge who’s the winner.

This came to me in an email today and I just had to share, you can share it with your friends too by clicking on the share this button below.

1. The later you are, the more excited your dogs are to see you.

2. Dogs don’t notice if you call them by another dog’s name.

3. Dogs like it if you leave a lot of things on the floor.

4. A dog’s parents never visit.

5. Dogs agree that you have to raise your voice to get your point across.

6. You never have to wait for a dog; they’re ready to go 24 hours a day.

7. Dogs find you amusing when you’re drunk.

8. Dogs like to go hunting and fishing.

9. A dog will not wake you up at night to ask, ?If I died, would you get another dog??

10. If a dog has babies, you can put an ad in the paper and give them away.

11. A dog will let you put a studded collar on it without calling you a pervert.

12. If a dog smells another dog on you, they don’t get mad. They just think it’s interesting.

13. Dogs like to ride in the back of a pickup truck.

14. If a dog leaves, it won’t take half of your stuff.

If you still can’t decide then try this:

Lock your wife and your dog in the trunk of your car for an hour. Then open the trunk and see who’s happier to see you…..

Thanks for doing your part and keeping animals safe, it’s cold outside so make sure your dogs are all inside, safe and warm!

So I write about animal cruelty, donate money, time and talk about animal abuse topics but it finally has hit home on a personal level! One of my best friend’s brothers chains his dog! OMG, what am I going to do! 24 hours a day 7 days a week that poor German shepard is outside in the cold all day. From my understanding that is how this little guy has lived his entire life since he was a puppy.

I have been thinking about it the last few days and it very well could be the beginning of the end of a good friendship however the safety of the dog comes first!  I spoke to my girlfriend about it and she knows I am going to attempt to get the dog from her brother without getting anyone else involved. I have been researching the internet to see what other legal tactics I can use to help this dog. I have heard of organizations that will assist in talking to the owners to educate them on the cruelty of chaining dogs. My thoughts on that is, if you are so heartless that you can chain a dog and his sad little eyes cannot change your mind then there is little possibility of human changing it.

If anyone has any suggestions please, please let me know!

The Circus Is Coming To Town, Please Do Not Support Circus Animal Abuse!

Most of us grew up looking forward to the circus coming to town.  The anticipation of the ring master leading in acts of performers, clowns and animals under the big top.  The magical feeling of watching aerial trapeze artists virtually float through the air, packs of clowns zipping around the tent, honking their horns and making us laugh, eating your snacks while seeing enormous elephants doing tricks like the ones we teach our own dogs.  As good as this may sound to you and your little ones there are a few alarming things you should know before purchasing your tickets to the circus again.

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus paints a picture of happy animals performing tricks because they like doing them. Consider the following, then decide whether that’s true. Here are some of Ringling’s frequent claims juxtaposed with the facts about the circus’s treatment of animals:

Ringling:
Our training methods are based on continual interaction with our animals, touch and words of praise, and food rewards.
Reality:
Video footage taken between 2001 and 2006 of Ringling trainers and handlers shows that elephants were aggressively hooked, lame elephants were forced to perform and travel, and a trainer inflicted a bloody bullhook wound behind an elephant’s ear flap. Former Ringling employees that left the circus in 2006 and 2007 describe violent beatings as well as the routine abuse of elephants, horses, camels, and zebras.

Ringling:
The ankus (bullhook) is used as an extension of the handler’s arm to guide the elephants.
Reality:
The bullhook, by design, is intended to cause pain and puncture the skin. Despite its appearance, an elephant’s skin is as sensitive as humans’ skin. The sharp metal hook on the end of the bullhook bruises, punctures, and tears elephants’ skin easily and often. Former Ringling animal crew employees report that the circus keeps a bag of topsoil handy to cover up bloody bullhook wounds on elephants.

Ringling:
Ringling is a leading expert in the care of Asian elephants. Our staff is dedicated to meeting our animals’ physical and behavioral needs.
Reality:
Ringling’s U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) inspection reports are riddled with serious citations of problems that directly impact animal welfare. In 2006 alone, the circus was cited three times for failure to provide adequate veterinary care to a disabled elephant, to an elephant with a large swelling on her rear leg, and to a camel with bloody wounds. Also in 2006, Ringling was cited for causing trauma, behavioral stress, physical harm, and discomfort to two young elephants who sustained cuts and abrasions when they ran amok in an arena in Puerto Rico; improper handling of dangerous animals; and an enclosure in disrepair.

Ringling:
Ringling has never been adjudged to have violated the Animal Welfare Act.
Reality:
Ringling attempts to confuse the issue with legal terminology. The USDA refers to a citation on an inspection report as a “noncompliance” rather than a “violation.” Each citation by the USDA is an indication that federal inspectors found that Ringling Bros. is failing to comply with the minimum requirements of the Animal Welfare Act.

In addition to being cited on inspection reports, Ringling has also been warned by the USDA for causing trauma and stress to two baby elephants who suffered painful rope lesions when they were prematurely pulled from their mothers and for improper euthanasia after a caged tiger was shot to death. Ringling also paid a $20,000 penalty to settle USDA charges of failing to provide veterinary care to a sick baby elephant who died shortly after he was forced to perform.

Ringling:
All circuses are subject to stringent animal welfare regulations at the local, state, and federal level.
Reality:
No agency monitors training sessions, in which animals may be beaten behind the scenes. Most state and local agencies defer to the already overburdened USDA for matters concerning exotic animals in circuses. The federal Animal Welfare Act (AWA) has no regulations that specifically pertain to elephants. For example, space requirements for animals ranging from elephants to zebras simply state, “Enclosures shall … provide sufficient space to allow each animal to make normal postural and social adjustments.” Ringling consistently opposes proposed laws that would ban cruel training methods, such as bullhooks and the chaining of elephants. Although inspections by the USDA are supposed to be unannounced, several former Ringling employees claim that the circus always knows in advance when inspectors are coming.

Ringling:
Our staff are experts in their fields.
Reality:
Staff caring for animals in circuses may have little experience or formal training, increasing the potential for improper handling. Ringling regularly hires inexperienced people, some directly out of homeless shelters, and allows them to work with animals.

Ringling:
Ringling is attempting to save endangered Asian elephants from extinction.
Reality:
Ringling breeds elephants solely to perform in its circus. None of Ringling’s elephants can ever be released to the wild. Of the approximately 62 elephants owned by Ringling in 1990, 57 were captured in the wild. And at least 24 elephants have died since 1992. Ringling has not been successful in breeding more elephants than it has captured and imported for use in its traveling show, and its elephants are dying at a faster rate than they are breeding. Ringling routinely pulls unweaned elephants from their mothers to train them and put them on the road.

Ringling:
The animal routines in our circus showcase our animals’ natural behaviors.
Reality:
In nature, elephants don’t stand on their heads, walk trunk-to-tail, skip, crawl, or twirl, and adult female elephants do not mount one another. Tigers don’t hop on their hind legs and roll over in unison. In order to force wild animals to perform difficult and confusing circus tricks, trainers use whips, sticks, and bullhooks.

Ringling:
The public display of exotic and endangered animals contributes to a heightened awareness of humans’ responsibility to safeguard and protect these animals.
Reality:
According to David Hancocks, former director of the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, “When [circuses] portray animals as freaks and curiosities, devoid of context or dignity, circuses are perpetuating outdated attitudes. Wild animals in the circus are reduced to mere caricatures of their kind, exhibited just for financial gain. In this way, they corrupt our children, promoting the notion that exploitation and degradation is acceptable, even brave or funny.”

Ringling:
We operate a 200-acre state-of-the-art facility dedicated to breeding, research, and retirement of Asian elephants.
Reality:
The elephants at Ringling’s breeding compound in Florida only have access to a fraction of the property. When they are not chained, the elephants are confined to barns and small, barren outdoor paddocks. Ringling’s Williston, Fla., facility—also referred to as its retirement center—has several elephants who are infected with or exposed to a human strain of tuberculosis, Mycobacterium tuberculosis (TB). In September 2006, two male elephants at its breeding center also tested positive for TB and three female elephants were pulled off the road because they had been exposed to diseased elephants.

Ringling:
Our elephant care practices are in line with those set out in the “Elephant Husbandry Resource Guide” published by the International Elephant Foundation (IEF) with the support of the Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA) and the Elephant Managers Association (EMA).
Reality:
As a founding board member of the IEF, Ringling helped develop the “Elephant Husbandry Resource Guide.” Ringling may have felt a need to develop this guide because the circus does not comply with the existing AZA Standards for Elephant Management and Care. Ringling does not provide its elephants on the road with AZA’s minimum space requirements, and the elephants are subjected to prolonged chaining.

Ringling:
Ringling Bros. elephants are healthy, thriving, vigorous, and content.
Reality:
The USDA has noted on Ringling inspection reports that some of the circus’s elephants suffer from lameness, foot abscesses, and arthritis. At least eight of the 24 elephant deaths at Ringling since 1992 were attributable to either osteoarthritis or a chronic foot problem—a common problem in captive elephants caused by lack of space and forced inactivity. In a book titled The Elephant’s Foot, former Ringling veterinarian Gary West contributed a chapter about foot care. West wrote, “Foot-related conditions and arthritis are the leading cause of euthanasia in captive elephants in the United States.”

What can you do to help?  It’s as easy as not supporting animal abuse!  No ticket sales = No Abuse!

Best Friends is a rescue organization dedicated to helping animals that are from mills, unwanted, abused, etc.  About a month or so ago Whispering Oaks Kennels in West Virginia surrendered close to 1000 dogs, mostly dachshunds and Best Friends came to the rescue.  Please read this post to learn about why we should never buy from animals from pet stores, online, and most breeders.  Please do not support mills (which means pet stores, most people do not know that) and adopt!

Parker is one in a thousand—literally. Our little brown Dachshund was one of nearly that many dogs and puppies surrendered by Whispering Oaks Kennel in Parkersburg, West Virginia last week. Until he was rescued, Parker lived in a rabbit hutch with three other dogs; it’s likely he never left that cage. Ever.

Until last week Parker’s sole purpose in life, his reason for being worthy of food every day in his owner’s eyes, was to make puppies. Whispering Oaks sold thousands of puppies online over the years, getting from $300 to over $700 per puppy. Customers had no idea that all the dogs lived in barns and rabbit hutches, because they were never allowed to see where the adult breeding dogs lived. And they couldn’t have known that their puppies may have had a dad like Parker.

I first met Parker last Sunday, when I was on a team of three whose job it was to go cage by cage and put an ID band on each and every dog. My volunteer partner Travis called the ID bands “the ticket out of here.” He and I went along methodically along with Deputy Shanna Modesitt to make sure we had tagged every dog in every cage, and then teams came along behind us and loaded the dogs in crates so they could be taken to the staging area where an army of rescue workers and volunteers waited. Parker was in a free-standing rabbit hutch-type cage outside. All the cages looked like they’d been slapped together with whatever scrap material the breeder could find. I can’t imagine what it must have been like to live in that cage every single day, with nowhere to get out of the sweltering heat, and nothing but a plywood box with no bedding to curl up in during the freezing winter.

Heavy welding gloves protected my hands, just in case we encountered a biting dog. I remember that Parker’s cage was especially tricky because the only way to access it was to lower a large wooden door, leaving a good two-foot hole for dogs to pop out of if they wanted to escape. Travis had the ID bands ready, and Deputy Modesitt was on the other side of the cage, shooing the dogs our way so we could reach them. All the dogs in the cages around us barked furiously at us—I don’t know that they’d ever seen so much action in their lives! I was able to hold one, then the next miniature Dachshund in the cage for Travis to put ID bands on them. And then from the other side of the cage Deputy Modesitt shouted over the barking, “DO NOT let this one bite you; he’s got horrible teeth!” I shouted back “okay!” and opened the wooden door one more time as a scruffy brown Dachshund with huge, snaggly brown and white teeth came zipping to our side of the cage, urged by Deputy Modesitt. He allowed me to pick him up without a fuss, Travis secured his ID collar around his neck, and we let him go back in the only cage he’d ever known.

Later, we found him at the staging area where he had been kept with his cage-mates. He’d likely need extensive dental care, and what better “poster dog” for the all-too common dental neglect found in puppy mill dogs? So he was one of the first dogs we directed Michelle to as she went around to select dogs to come back to Best Friends.

Before we loaded him into a travel crate on our van to come home to Utah, the only experience I’d had with Parker was taking him out of his cage at the puppy mill. But his personality soon presented itself—and what a personality he has! We stopped every few hours to get the dogs out of their cages, since we’d had to really pack them in to fit everyone in the van. My biggest fear was that we’d lose a dog, considering that they’d never ever been walked on a leash before, and probably hadn’t ever walked on the ground before. But little Parker handled it like a pro. He got so excited when we came to his travel crate, he’d SMILE with that crazy mug! Many dogs smile when they’re excited, wrinkling their noses and showing their teeth in a big grin. On Parker, that smile was quite a sight to behold. But what a great little guy.

Soon he was walking on the leash pretty well, sniffing the grass, and going potty outside like a good boy.

After nearly forty hours on the road, we finally arrived at the sanctuary where everyone got to meet Parker for the first time. I can’t wait to watch him blossom here with the care and love that he has deserved, but has been denied until now.

For more information about Best Friends Animal Society please visit their website, http://www.bestfriends.org

Please educate people on the terrible attrocities that happen at puppy mills. We can stop this by not purchasing dogs but adopting instead. Please remember that for every dog that is purchased one dies in a shelter.

Hey Everyone!

I came across this website that I feel extremely necessary to share with everyone. It is called Dogs In Danger, http://www.dogsindanger.com . This site is all about the last chance to save a dogs life before they are euthanized in a shelter. It is very sad but very real, it actually shows you the number of days the dog has before it is put to sleep. It looks like there are few shelters that participate in this program when in actuality thousands of shelters are euthanizing tens of thousands of animals on a daily basis.

I commend the founders of this site and admire their commitment to truley putting forth the maximum effort of saving dogs’ lives!

So please, please forward this site to everyone you know! Please educate people on shelter adoptions vs. pet store purchases! You can be a voice for these poor dogs and animals, please help save them!

Thanks so much for reading!!

Most children have no idea how their daily habits affect animals or how easy it is to change. Kids typically want to be kind to animals but need someone to show them how!

In order to educate your children and others, educate yourself first! Peter Singer’s Animal Liberation is a thorough and easy-to-understand primer on animal rights. You can order it from PETA or you can try a local bookstore or library.

The following books, are also available from PETA:

• 50 Awesome Ways Kids Can Help Animals by PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk—full of fascinating facts and more than 100 fun and easy projects and ideas that show children how they can get active for animals
• Diet for a New America by John Robbins—a moving and well-documented book that describes the inhumane and unhealthy conditions under which animals are raised for food and shows how our health and ecological well-being are linked to the adoption of a vegan diet

What you and your children can do to help stop animal cruelty

• Choose to Refuse to Dissect!
• Give Your School Board a Lesson in Circus Cruelty
• Help Modernize Medical Education
• Join the peta2 Street Team and Earn Free Stuff!
• Try Peta’s Monthly Great Idea for Helping Animals

Once you are familiar with the issues, share the knowledge! Create fliers, write letters, hold demonstrations, organize an information table at a concert or outdoors event, and encourage others to join you in your efforts to speak out for those who have no voice. Check out PETA.org regularly for updates, factsheets, and answers to “Frequently Asked Questions.”

Together, we can make this world a better place for all living beings….