Pet Monologues

Winding down a pleasant day when this post found its way here. The story provided by The reality of what humans do needs few words from us. Their post “a picture worth a thousand words” is compelling. Visit their site for a more complete story.

The graphic picture shows the grim reality of pet over-population. The photo caption reads: Two days’ worth of euthanized animals sit in barrels in cold storage at the Kern County Animal Shelter on Mount Vernon Avenue. The small animal shelter euthanizes about 25,000 animals every year.

Stories like this are difficult to report. But with dialog solutions come easier. Here are two more posts that mention the issue of neutering at lady omega and animals as friends

The HSUS offers reward in Indianapolis horse shooting.

The Humane Society of the United States is offering a reward up to $2,500 for information leading to the identification, arrest and conviction of the person or people responsible for the shooting death of ­a 29-year-old quarter horse, who was found dead in the back yard of an Indianapolis woman’s home. Read the rest of this entry »

My grandmother is ill and cannot care for her aging Yorkshire terrier.

Editor’s note: This is a letter to Cary Tennis, advice columnist, Salon Magazine

Dear Cary,

I am stressed and wrestling with an ethical dilemma: Would it be right to put down the 11-year-old dog of my grandmother, who has middle-onset Alzheimer’s disease?

It’s the eve of Thanksgiving and my grandparents are both here, with this dog, a tiny, whiny Yorkshire terrier who has learned to beg constantly. It’s not her fault; my grandmother forgets that she has just fed her, hears her whine (oh the sound of that whine!) and gives her another largish helping of steak or chicken or cookies, or whatever anyone happens to be eating at the time. As a result, the dog is overweight, out of shape (she will not walk more than five feet before stopping and dragging her feet), largely incontinent (I just wiped up hot dog pee 10 minutes ago), and the most annoying creature on the planet. I mean, I don’t have kids yet (I’m 24), but if this were my kid I would send it straight to boarding school.

Unfortunately, though, this dog is the center of my grandmother’s small and dimming world, along with my grandfather, who is in fine mental condition but has some cardiac problems — I think she likes to feel that the dog needs her and isn’t judging her for mental lapses (not that the rest of the family is, I think we’re doing a good job of stimulating and caring for her). My mom asked her once whether she would be more upset if she (her daughter) died or if the dog died, and she indicated that the death of the dog would make her more upset. Read the rest of this entry »

Is this a “punish the deed” episode two? PM has in less than a year been exposed to a lot of animal stories finds these “death row” stories a bit too commonplace.

This quilt was recently auctioned on ebay. The image on the quilt looks a bit like Duke the pitbull currently on death row.

The accused animals in these stories both have pretty good cases. Is it enough to save them? Is this a case of a bad animal, a neglectful owner, or an act of self defense? Are the rights of animals different than the owners/victims?

Here is the latest story.

Congo is a 2 1/2-year old German shepherd from Princeton Township, N.J., who was sentenced to death for mauling gardener Giovanni Rivera, 42, on June 5. The dog’s owners maintain that he was simply defending his family from a perceived threat. Read the rest of this entry »

Man gets 6 months for killing wife’s kitten.

A BITTER husband who killed his wife’s kitten by putting it in a tumble drier is starting a six-month jail sentence. Read the rest of this entry »

by Lucia Blinn

A body on the beach as long as my arms are wide.
Large glassy eyes crossed and staring in disbelief.
A family of round white barnacles
fastened to his hard brown hide.
Yellow marks like graffiti.
Paws outstretched. Tail too.
Poised to crawl but not crawling.
The tough old tortoise was never
meant to be seen like this.
Nor was he meant to be scooped
by the sand patrol who hauled him away
on an otherwise beautiful day.

About the author: Lucia Blinn

TGIF.
Check out the Friday Ark roster for this weekend. And Carnival of the Cats which goes up every Sunday and this weekend hosted by Justin’s Random Thoughts.

In racing jargon the Oct. 26-27 Breeder’s Cup was a “sloppy track.” This was his second start on dirt and his only start on a sloppy track. Having been pulled up at the sixteenth pole, George Washington was then euthanized on the track at the request of trainer Aidan O’Brien.

According to Dr. C. Wayne McIlwraith, the on-call veterinarian, George Washington had cut off all blood supply to his ankle but was quoted that no studies had been performed regarding a relationship between injuries and sloppy tracks. All other races that day were incident free.

The 4-year-old thoroughbred had been retired to the breeding shed for a time after a disappointing sixth-place finish in the 2006 Breeder’s Cup. George Washington will always be remembered because of his charismatic attitude and unique character.

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A tribute to George Washington.

This post celebrates World Animal Day and Bless the Animals. Follow the links to learn more about PM’s initiative which started on October 4.

Clever doesn’t begin to describe
the canny soul who, for nearly seventeen
years, walked and wagged among us,
affecting the affect of the duke of all dogdom,
a dachshund, but who, in fact,
worked the world like a room and got mail.

Sly his disguise as this most glorious
of canines; peerless, flawless, albeit
not immune to vanity–that ravishing red coat.

The question remains: Who was Harvey?
Moses back with a bark?
The Babe without a bat?
Gandhi with a growl?
MR. PRESLEY?

Come on, Harvey, speak!
We know you’re up there emailing.

Written by Lucia Blinn

Can a “doomsday” pet site save dogs?

A dog is killed approximately every 9 seconds. Read the rest of this entry »

Older than us?

George Mackenzie Dunnet was a well-known Scottish ornithologist who passed away in 1995, aged 67. The photograph that accompanies his obituary shows a timeworn face, mostly bald head and grey locks clinging to temples. However, his sense of fun survives—literally.

Throughout his life George studied fulmars on Eynhallow in the Orkney Islands.He had his picture taken in 1951 holding a ringed fulmar when he was a young man and, by great coincidence, had it taken again 30 years later with the same bird. Personal vanity was brushed aside in his admiration for the fulmar’s unchanged looks.

Meanwhile, the bird lives on. It is a sobering thought that, when ringed, it was already a mature breeding adult making its true age a mystery.

Unlike humans, birds do not go grey or develop wrinkles. If their outward appearance does not change, how can we tell their age? In most cases ringing provides data on lifespan and longevity. Natural clues to the precise age of a bird are few and only serve to chart survival into adulthood—not beyond. Small birds replace distinctive juvenile plumage with that of an adult within months of being born. After this, their looks do not alter. Larger birds take several years to reach maturity during which time they grow progressively more adult-like feathers. Brown juvenile gannets acquire white plumage resembling their parents’ through a series of moults over a five-year period. Read the rest of this entry »