Heart Like a Dog

The Good, the Bad, and the Oh My God of living with dogs!

W.T.F./WOO HOO Wednesday

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My W.T.F. Wednesday is pretty light in terms of quantity but the W.T.F. content  is strong.

In case you haven’t figured it out, I’m a little behind in news and slightly scattered about writing topics down to save for W.T.F. posts.  Which is why a BIG W.T.F. should have gone out last week to the  Maryland Court of Appeals for ruling that all pit bull type breeds are “inherently dangerous.”

Yes, you read that right.  America’s dog is labeled inherently dangerous by a panel of people suffering from HUMAS (Head Up My Ass Syndrome.)  That’s like saying all 52-year-old red heads write dog blogs.

What?

Exactly.

So hey Maryland COA, siriusly, W.T.F. is wrong with you?

Punish the deed, not the breed.  Don’t think your setting any precedents here, dog lovers united will not tolerate this.  Take your head out of your ass and look around you.  Go talk to someone who rescues pit bulls, check out the Humane Society.  Some of the sweetest dogs on the planet are….yes pit bulls.

I’d tell you to open your eyes but with your head so far up your ass you’d only see your stomach anyway.

Turning from the stupidity of the Maryland Court of appeals, I found some Woo Hoo news about animals today!

The County of Frederick, Maryland is defying the Maryland COA and refuses to “Profile pit bulls into extinction.”  Instead they will address issues of aggression on an individual level.

See, not everyone with the authority to make decisions in Maryland has their head up their ass.

And yes, there are already animal activists asking the Governor to overturn the ruling.

In the ‘I’m proud to live in CT’ news, we had three great pieces of legislation pass the house last night!

H. B. No. 5409 “To facilitate the reimbursement to consumers for veterinary bills incurred for the care of sick dogs or cats adopted from pet shops, to clarify certain pet shop penalty statutes and to prohibit pet shops from selling dogs and cats obtained from substandard domestic animal mills. ”

CT pet stores are you reading this?  You can’t get your animals from mills anymore!!

H. B. No. 5446 “To allow pounds to complete and retain vouchers for the purpose of payments to veterinarians for the sterilization and vaccination of certain dogs and cats and to require initial training and continuing education for animal control officers.”

I’m not 100% sure I understand what this means, but I’m hoping it means when someone adopts an animal from the shelter or pound they will need to pay the spay/neuter/vaccination fee up front and the pound will follow-up to ensure the animal is altered and vaccinated.

I do know it will give animals control officers the information they need which should help make their jobs easier.

H.B. No. 5289 “To classify a second or subsequent offense of cruelty to an animal as a felony punishable by a fine of not more than five thousand dollars or imprisonment of not more than five years, or both. ”

While I’d like to see this type of punishment levied on first time offenders, I can settle for this.  I would like to see (as Jan suggested) an animal abuser registry similar to the ones for sex offenders.

I found out last Saturday that the Labs 4 Rescue group keeps their own registry and I imagine they are not the only ones.

Did you come across anything this week that made you shake your head and say “W.T.F.”  or did you see more of the jump for joy and scream Woo Hoo news?

One From The Bucket List

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I don’t have a bucket list, at least not one that I’ve written down.

I have things in my mind that I’d like to do before I die, mostly things that require a bit of money…..like visit Ireland and Venice, take a cruise to Alaska, leave a hard-working waitress a really BIG tip, welcome a soldier home.

Today I mentally crossed the last one off my list.  My sister, ‘S’ and I drove up to the Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester, New Hampshire, to welcome our nephew home from Afghanistan.

 

The 368th left for Afghanistan with 170 members, today they returned with 170 members. 

It was an amazing experience, to be there with so many other families, watching and waiting for a glimpse of their loved ones.  The National Anthem was sung, the Governor of New Hampshire welcomed them home, thanking them for their service. A Congresswoman and then a number of other representatives for other politicians spoke, and military personnel spoke and then they asked the battalion to rise and face their families and friends.

Eyes and necks strained as members of battalion searched the crowd for their loved ones.  Arms waving and huge smiles as eyes sought and found the faces of those they loved.  They were ordered to turn around and sit back down.

The commander entrusted with the lives of those 170 men and women then told us of all the things they had accomplished on their missions and we all listened and waited.  Waited for the words. And finally he said them.

DISMISSED.

Then the chaos ensued as everyone searched and tried to reach their loved ones as quickly as possible.  I waited a couple of minutes, so he could savor his first moments with his son and then his parents.

I thanked a couple of soldiers as I made my way forward and suddenly he was in front of me.

“There you are” he said and then he was in my arms. And the worry of the last year melted away as if it had never existed at all.

Welcome home baby, I love you so much and am so proud of all you’ve done and I thank you for your service to your country.

Ladies and gentlemen, SSG Stevenson and his very proud aunt.

 

 

 

A Little Goes A Long Way….Day Three Hundred, Fourteen

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I’m WAAAAAAAYYYY behind on the 31 days to a better blog challenge over at Blog Paws.

My post for today will complete task 7 “Write a Link Post.” I am still working on task 6 while the rest of the crew is up on task 9. Geesh, I wish I could get it together! Do any of you need more time in your day?

Enough rambling;  on to the task at hand. I was lucky enough to go to the Pet Exposition at our local convention center yesterday. I spent about an hour meandering about and what I found was a great deal of opportunities to help our furry friends.

If you want to get involved, here are some great organizations:

Vest-A-Dog – “We are committed in our mission to protect K-9 lives and build a community network that will learn, share, and grow. Whether you need funding for a K-9 vest, are interested in donating a K-9 vest or starting a local program, or are just plain interested, join us and with your support, we can make their protection a reality.”

Vitas (Paw Pals) “Registered Paw Pals bring joy to hospice patients by visiting them at home, in nursing homes and assisted living communities as well as hospitals.” 

I couldn’t find a direct link on their website, but an internet search of Vitas Paw Pals and your state should bring up a list of local chapters.

Kado – “We provide lifetime care for animal companions living with low income seniors and those with serious medical conditions.”  While this foundation appears to be exclusive to CT; they may be able to put you in touch with a similar organization in your area. Or maybe you can start your own local chapter!

I even found an organization supporting animal legislation. When I did an internet search it seems the groups devoted to improving legislation for animals is based at the state levels and doesn’t have a central website. In CT the website is www.CTVotesForAnimals.org; if you are interested in animal legislation; try an internet search with your state and votes for animals. You should some great resources.

If you have a breed passion (mine is labs) they probably have a rescue group. Most of these groups are volunteer based and need help with everything from bringing animals to vet appointments, training, fostering, adoption needs, event organizing; you name it. You can donate as much or as little time as you have. I saw at least four different rescue groups there yesterday; one of the lab groups even had dogs on site.

As you can see, there are many ways to get involved on a local level.  Even if you only have an hour to two to spare each week; a little goes a long way.

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