Notes from a rescuer...
perspective
someone sent this to me in an email today, I am sure it is an old fable, but I had not heard it before. it is about perspective:
One day the father of a very wealthy
family took his son on a trip to the
country. He wanted to show his son
how poor people live. They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a poor family.
On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, "How was the trip?" "It was great, Dad." "Did you see how poor people can be?" the father asked. "Oh yes," said the son. "So what did you learn from the trip?" asked the father.
The son answered, "I saw that we have one dog and they have four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of the garden and they have a stream that has no end. We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night. Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon.
"We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight. We have people who serve us, but they serve others. We buy our food, but they grow theirs. We have walls around our property, but they have friends to protect them."
With this the boy's father was speechless. Then his son added, "Thanks Dad, for showing me how poor we are."
sometimes it is good to step back and reevaluate your perspective on things, in all aspects of life. whilst walking dogs, I try to watch their actions and reactions and try to imagine their perspective. things we observe, experience can be very frightening from their point of view. when your dog or cat reacts to something negatively, try to see it from their perspective, and maybe change how you respond.
the loyalty of a dog
there is a story in the news today of a man who committed suicide in the wilderness and his dog stood guard over him until someone found them. FOR SIX WEEKS.
here is a link to the story: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26164548/#storyContinued
it is amazing the power of love and loyalty that a dog or cat will have for their humans, and people who say; "it's just a dog" or "it's just a cat" are oh so wrong.
there is also the story of mozarts dog going to the grave with his body and laying there for weeks, until he (the dog) died also.
these creatures are capable of so much more than we mere humans can ever begin to understand or recognize.
WE ARE HAVING A FUN FUNDRAISER
well several in fact. but the one I am going to talk about now is a 5k we are doing in October. it is going to be a blast!
the 5K (is it a big K or a little k?) anyway, it is going to be in the Belhaven neighborhood of Jackson, a run for the runners out there and a walk for those who wish to fast walk, walk or meander. participants are invited to include their dogs in the walk and if they dog is fit and in shape and accustomed to running with his/her human, they can do the run part as well.
We have titled it the FIRST ANNUAL DOG TROT/CAT WALK a benefit for ARF.
the dog trot is the run, the cat walk is the walk. we will have a course for 1k as well, for those who want to participate but 5k is too invigorating for them.
registration is $25 in advance and $35 at the gate. we will have prizes for the dogs, tshirts for the humans and large fun for all.
we have never attempted this type of event before, but are having a fabulous time planning everything.
so, if you are in jackson mississippi on saturday morning october 18th, come run/walk with us and bring your dog (on a leash).
it makes it all so worthwhile
last week, Jimmy, one of our rescue pups got a new home.
Jimmy is what we called a huggybear dog. he loved to stand on his hind legs and wrap his front paws around your waist and HUG hard when he came in from the play yard. he always wanted his hug.
now he lives in Buckhead Atlanta with a wonderful family, has three boys who love playing with him, has a new best girl named Daisy (an older girl at that, 2 year old yellow lab) and the biggest yard he could ever dream about in his puppydawg dreams.
he spent the weekend at grandma's house; romping, swimming, playing fort with the boys and basically forgetting he had been a shelter dog. His new family called with daily updates as to what a wonderful dog he is and how they love love love him.
yes, this is what it is all about. Jimmy has a fabulous family who gave him a chance, they love him, he loves them. and one more homeless animal is homeless no more!
musing on the joys of having a pet in your life
as I sit here at my computer, I have a pair of puppies on my feet, a kitten,cat on my desk and an older dog under the desk.
there is nothing to compare to the joy a companion animal brings, unconditional love is exemplified by a pet. and in my mind, a rescued animals love knows no bounds.
many of our rescues carve out a special cubby in my heart and if I had unlimited funds, time and land, I would probably want to keep them all. but then if I did, there would be people out there who would not be able to know and understand this affection of which I speak.
one of the happiest parts of my day is when I get an email or a card from one of our adoption families telling of the joys, exploits and activities the family has enjoyed with one of our rescues. a rescue that had we not crossed paths would probably been traveling down a much sadder road of life.
I am sitting here looking a a photo that Scrappy Doodles family brought me. Scrappy was a puppy that found us one Christmas eve several years back, running as fast as his little legs could carry him up to my arms. Don't know where he came from, we tried for weeks to find his home, thinking he was some Christmas present gone astray.
we never found where he came from, but we did find the most glorious home for him. now his days are filled with joy, fun, romping and playing dress-up. scrappy loves wearing his pink wig and a special outfit. he also loves to lie on his back and discuss his day. he has a special way of talking and inflection in his voice.
Yes, I wanted to keep little Scrappy Doodle, but had I kept him, he may never have learned of his desire to prance about in a pink wig.
pit bulls and their reputation
this morning a neighbor stopped me to ask me if I was involved in the recent confiscation of a "pit bulldog" in the news of late. blue eyes
it seems this "vicious" "pit bull" attacked a 3 year old child and killed him. it was nine thirty at night. the child walked across the street, unattended, up to a house where the dog was chained to the garage. and the dog attacked and killed the child.
I was not there, I only have second hand information, but from my information, the home where the child tottled from had a yard covered in beer cans, teenagers were in charge of the child and everyone in the home was drunk.
yet, the dog is the one who is in the news for the vicious attack.
any dog, whether it is a "pit bull" or a poodle, if chained will attack. chaining dogs is not an acceptable form of dog ownership or possession if you will.
I don't care who you are. chain a dog and it will become aggressive. all it knows is it has this one little bitty piece of space and it aint' gettin no moe.
dogs must be treated with love and care in order for them to learn love and care. and unfortunately "pit bulls" have gotten a bad rap for being killer dogs because in more cases than not, the people who have "pit bulls" treat them as property for either making money or making them look tough.
case in point, the dogs that Michael Vick had. those dogs were treated as property which the property's only function was to make money. the dogs were chained, trained to kill and abused. everyone upon hearing of his heinous actions with these dogs immediately said that the dogs most certainly would have to be put down. everyone except for some brave, informed, trained people who said; "not so fast, let us temperament test these dogs and see what they are capable of doing or not doing"
read this blog I have attached and tell me that all "pit bulls" are aggressive with no chance for redemption.
http://vickdogsblog.blogspot.com/
