A word of warning - this video is graphic and shows a dog being shot, including her agonizing suffering as she writhes in pain on the pavement.
The video starts seconds before the dog - a healthy looking Pit Bull named Star is shot. You see an alert dog barking while her guardian lays unconscious on the ground. A bystander attempts to help the man and guess what? The agitated dog chases her off.
This is important, chases her off. Star does not chase the woman down and rip open her stomach. She attempts to do the same with the aggressive police officers, but before she can get five feet, they both shoot her.
In front of a crowded bus and a large crowd of people.
Monday, August 27, 2012
Sunday, August 26, 2012
It's the Ears
Everyone loves Celeste's eyes, but my favorite feature of her is the ears. Celeste suffered from multiple ear infections throughout her puppy years, so she is really sensitive about people touching them. Which is sad, because they are velvet soft.
They've been the same size since puppyhood:
Monday, August 13, 2012
Police Dog Shootings: 8/4/2012-8/10/2012
8/10/2012 - A Labrador Retriever was shot by a neighbor after the dog broke through a chainlink fence and attacked the man's Beagle. The dog was not attacking anyone when he was shot. In lieu of delivering the injured dog to a vet, police arrived and decided to shoot the dog in the head, killing him. Apparently this is yet another town that has no veterinary hospitals to take a dog to!
LINK
8/10/2012 - A mixed breed dog is shot and killed by Kentucky police because maybe something awful would happen if they hadn't! Police defend the shooting, because that is what they do.
LINK
LINK
8/10/2012 - A mixed breed dog is shot and killed by Kentucky police because maybe something awful would happen if they hadn't! Police defend the shooting, because that is what they do.
LINK
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Happy Travels, Kassie Adopted
After 22 days of fostering, Miss Kassie has found her perfect home. She has settled into her new home lovely, I've already received glowing reports on how she is doing.
Kassie has been, by far, one of the easiest dogs I have fostered.
I strongly encourage anyone interested to consider fostering. Your local rescue can partner you with the best candidate for your living situations. It is a relatively easy way to help an animal. It can literally be a lifesaver for dogs who cannot thrive in a kennel environment.
Thanks, Kassie, for being such a gentle soul, I wish you the best!
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Kassie Has a Date
True fact, people. Kassie is meeting prospective adopters this Friday at 5:30 pm. If these people can make it through the county fair traffic that destroys my idea of order and control, I feel they should be great guardians.
In other news, I rescued this dog from a livestock auction. He is available for adoption too.
In other news, I rescued this dog from a livestock auction. He is available for adoption too.
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Why Haven't You Adopted this Dog?
It's been 21 days since I started fostering Kassie.
That is ridiculous, people.
She should already have been adopted five times over.
She IS kinda perfect.
Adopt her, now!
That is ridiculous, people.
She should already have been adopted five times over.
She IS kinda perfect.
Adopt her, now!
Monday, August 6, 2012
Asparagus
I love asparagus. My favorite way to cook asparagus is to pan-fry it in some oil, lemon juice, mint, fennel seeds, coriander, and a dose of mango salsa at the event to spice things up.
It is really easy to pan-fry asparagus. Trim off the tough ends, and pan-fry in a small amount of oil for 5-8 minutes until the asparagus gets bright green. I add the mint a minute before the end. The fennel I add a couple minutes into cooking as well as the coriander. Both the lemon or lime juirce and the mango salsa I add a minute before the end too.
Yum.
It is really easy to pan-fry asparagus. Trim off the tough ends, and pan-fry in a small amount of oil for 5-8 minutes until the asparagus gets bright green. I add the mint a minute before the end. The fennel I add a couple minutes into cooking as well as the coriander. Both the lemon or lime juirce and the mango salsa I add a minute before the end too.
Yum.
Saturday, August 4, 2012
Police Dog Shootings 7/29/2012-8/3/2012
8/3/2012 - Apparently Highland County, Ohio has a dearth of veterinarians who could evaluate and determine whether elderly Ginger, the dog, really was suffering and if euthanasia really was the kindest option. Instead, a deputy took matters into his own hands, decided the old dog was "suffering" and shot her. After ten minutes passed, he noticed the dog was still breathing and obviously shot her a second time, killing her. Her guardians are a bit upset.
LINK
8/3/2012 - A dog described as a German Shepherd, and with a history of aggression, escaped from his yard after biting his owner. Officers arrived. The dog bit two of them before the decision was made to shoot the dog. He is alive but the family wants him dead. In a great move, police took a non-aggressive Pit Bull because the family didn't have a license to have her/him, and that dog will be murdered by authorities. I mean, "euthanized"!
LINK
8/1/2012 - Illinois police fatally shot a dog, described as a Pit Bull, after the dog was let out in his own backyard where officers had positioned themselves in an attempt to arrest a fleeing suspect.
LINK
7/31/2012 - Even though unarmed animal control officers were later able to safely round up these dogs without them eating anyone, a San Diego police officer found it completely unfathomable to try any other tactic than aiming his gun and shooting at two loose dogs. He missed. Thankfully no one was accidentally nailed by the now roaming bullets!
LINK
7/31/2012 - A New Jersey police officer was bitten but did not immediately draw his weapon to shoot and kill 10-yr-old and also obese Storm, a Pit Bull. The dog had bitten the officer under a misguided assumption that she needed to protect her guardian from being arrested. The owner of the dog plans on getting Storm out of the shelter.
LINK
7/30/2012 - Lorain police shot and injured a loose dog, described as a Pit Bull who "lunged" at bystanders so scarily that the dog didn't actually hurt anyone.
LINK
7/30/2012- New Jersey police shot and killed a dog, described as a Pit Bull. Three dogs were running loose when a woman called police. Obviously the most logical thing to do is to stand outside amongst the three loose dogs and discuss them. One of the dogs nipped the woman, and so the police officer shot the dog multiple times. The woman and her child were so traumatized by the shooting that they had to go to the hospital.
LINK
Updates:
Back in May, a Monroe Animal Control officer picking up three dogs at an animal shelter managed to screw up the entire affair by somehow letting all three dogs loose, then shooting and killing two of them after they "became aggressive". Police have deemed his dog killing actions totes cool. Just don't ever call this dude to pick up loose dogs!
LINK
Other animal shootings:
7/31/2012 - An Elmsford, NY police officer shot and killed a rabid cat who chased and attacked him.
LINK
LINK
8/3/2012 - A dog described as a German Shepherd, and with a history of aggression, escaped from his yard after biting his owner. Officers arrived. The dog bit two of them before the decision was made to shoot the dog. He is alive but the family wants him dead. In a great move, police took a non-aggressive Pit Bull because the family didn't have a license to have her/him, and that dog will be murdered by authorities. I mean, "euthanized"!
LINK
8/1/2012 - Illinois police fatally shot a dog, described as a Pit Bull, after the dog was let out in his own backyard where officers had positioned themselves in an attempt to arrest a fleeing suspect.
LINK
7/31/2012 - Even though unarmed animal control officers were later able to safely round up these dogs without them eating anyone, a San Diego police officer found it completely unfathomable to try any other tactic than aiming his gun and shooting at two loose dogs. He missed. Thankfully no one was accidentally nailed by the now roaming bullets!
LINK
7/31/2012 - A New Jersey police officer was bitten but did not immediately draw his weapon to shoot and kill 10-yr-old and also obese Storm, a Pit Bull. The dog had bitten the officer under a misguided assumption that she needed to protect her guardian from being arrested. The owner of the dog plans on getting Storm out of the shelter.
LINK
7/30/2012 - Lorain police shot and injured a loose dog, described as a Pit Bull who "lunged" at bystanders so scarily that the dog didn't actually hurt anyone.
LINK
7/30/2012- New Jersey police shot and killed a dog, described as a Pit Bull. Three dogs were running loose when a woman called police. Obviously the most logical thing to do is to stand outside amongst the three loose dogs and discuss them. One of the dogs nipped the woman, and so the police officer shot the dog multiple times. The woman and her child were so traumatized by the shooting that they had to go to the hospital.
LINK
Updates:
Back in May, a Monroe Animal Control officer picking up three dogs at an animal shelter managed to screw up the entire affair by somehow letting all three dogs loose, then shooting and killing two of them after they "became aggressive". Police have deemed his dog killing actions totes cool. Just don't ever call this dude to pick up loose dogs!
LINK
Other animal shootings:
7/31/2012 - An Elmsford, NY police officer shot and killed a rabid cat who chased and attacked him.
LINK
All Your Pit Bulls Belong To Us, and We Will Destroy Them
Here is a fun fact. The crime of owning a Pit Bull in Independence, Missouri is about on par with the crime of assaulting someone. Truth!
If I get caught a second time with a dog who resembles a Pit Bull, I can be fined $500 and spend 90 days in jail. If I physically assault someone, I can be fined $500 and spend up to 6 months in jail. I will receive the same penalties of nearly beating someone to death if I am found with an illegal Pit Bull a third time.
Beat someone with a lead pipe? $500 fine, 6-mos in jail. Walk your dog for the third time? It's JUST LIKE BEATING SOMEONE WITH A LEAD PIPE. Logic!
Awesome.
When the law went into effect in 2006, authorities made it virtually impossible for existing Pit Bulls to remain in the city with the following restrictions:
Dogs have to wear two leashes and two collars.
Dogs have to wear a basket or leather muzzle.
Dog must be confined in a crate while traveling in a vehicle.
Dog can only be walked by someone 18 and older.
Dog must be castrated and vaccinated against rabies.
Premises where dog resides must have signage indicating a "dog on premise"
External fencing must be 6' tall and buried 2' underground with only once entrance into the outdoor area, which really means the dog must be confined in an outdoor kennel.
Entrances to any structure must be padlocked.
Guardians must have $300,000 liability insurance.
Guardians must pay an annual $100 licensing fee.
If I did not know better, I would have thought these were licensing requirements for owning a liger which, by the way, no matter how you cut it, is way more dangerous than your average dog of any breed.
This type of law leads to this kind of story.
This family has a dangerous dog. By dangerous, I mean the dog bites people and poses a valid public safety risk. The guardians of this dog know he poses a risk, which is probably why he spends most of his time outdoors. Their other two dogs do not pose a safety risk, which is probably why they are inside the home.
The dangerous dog - a German Shepherd - attacks his owner. Police arrive, upon which the dog is so interested in biting people that he digs his way out of the yard and proceeds to bite two officers before one of them shoots the dog. The family wants the dog killed because they failed to either rectify his aggressive tendencies or find someone who could (or humanely killed the dog).
But what gets me is that police discovered that one of the other two dogs on the property looked like a Pit Bull. A non-aggressive family pet confiscated. Because the dog is not licensed, the dog will be murdered. I mean, "destroyed". Whatevs.
I tried my hardest to find out how awesome Independence, Missouri's breed specific legislation has been at eliminating Pit Bull bites. I cannot find anything. One would think that something as important as improving public safety would garner an annual or bi-annual report touting the praises of this program of dog killing.
So Independence? Where's the statistics? Where's the rock-solid evidence that killing dogs who look like Pit Bulls and excluding their guardians from your town has improved public safety?
Cue crickets.
Maybe the female Pit Bull used a mind meld on the German Shepherd. Phew, order of the universe restored - it really WAS the Pit Bull!
If I get caught a second time with a dog who resembles a Pit Bull, I can be fined $500 and spend 90 days in jail. If I physically assault someone, I can be fined $500 and spend up to 6 months in jail. I will receive the same penalties of nearly beating someone to death if I am found with an illegal Pit Bull a third time.
Beat someone with a lead pipe? $500 fine, 6-mos in jail. Walk your dog for the third time? It's JUST LIKE BEATING SOMEONE WITH A LEAD PIPE. Logic!
Awesome.
When the law went into effect in 2006, authorities made it virtually impossible for existing Pit Bulls to remain in the city with the following restrictions:
Dogs have to wear two leashes and two collars.
Dogs have to wear a basket or leather muzzle.
Dog must be confined in a crate while traveling in a vehicle.
Dog can only be walked by someone 18 and older.
Dog must be castrated and vaccinated against rabies.
Premises where dog resides must have signage indicating a "dog on premise"
External fencing must be 6' tall and buried 2' underground with only once entrance into the outdoor area, which really means the dog must be confined in an outdoor kennel.
Entrances to any structure must be padlocked.
Guardians must have $300,000 liability insurance.
Guardians must pay an annual $100 licensing fee.
If I did not know better, I would have thought these were licensing requirements for owning a liger which, by the way, no matter how you cut it, is way more dangerous than your average dog of any breed.
This type of law leads to this kind of story.
This family has a dangerous dog. By dangerous, I mean the dog bites people and poses a valid public safety risk. The guardians of this dog know he poses a risk, which is probably why he spends most of his time outdoors. Their other two dogs do not pose a safety risk, which is probably why they are inside the home.
The dangerous dog - a German Shepherd - attacks his owner. Police arrive, upon which the dog is so interested in biting people that he digs his way out of the yard and proceeds to bite two officers before one of them shoots the dog. The family wants the dog killed because they failed to either rectify his aggressive tendencies or find someone who could (or humanely killed the dog).
But what gets me is that police discovered that one of the other two dogs on the property looked like a Pit Bull. A non-aggressive family pet confiscated. Because the dog is not licensed, the dog will be murdered. I mean, "destroyed". Whatevs.
I tried my hardest to find out how awesome Independence, Missouri's breed specific legislation has been at eliminating Pit Bull bites. I cannot find anything. One would think that something as important as improving public safety would garner an annual or bi-annual report touting the praises of this program of dog killing.
So Independence? Where's the statistics? Where's the rock-solid evidence that killing dogs who look like Pit Bulls and excluding their guardians from your town has improved public safety?
Cue crickets.
Maybe the female Pit Bull used a mind meld on the German Shepherd. Phew, order of the universe restored - it really WAS the Pit Bull!
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Can You Imagine if this was a Puppy Mill?
The ASPCA recently granted $150,000 to a poultry farm so that they could raise more chickens for slaughter.
Specifically, a barn will be built to house thousands of chickens throughout the year. The barn will then be converted to a hatchery that will hatch 600,000 chicken and 10,000 turkey eggs per season so that the "larger poultry" industry can obtain "heritage" breeds of chickens and turkeys for slaughter.
Chickens and turkeys are exempted from both federal farmed animal welfare laws - one that requires animals be watered/fed every 28 hours of transport and the other that requires animals be stunned unconscious before their throats are slit.
On smaller farms, most chickens and turkeys are also not stunned insensible to pain. Most have their throats cut while they hang upside down in inverted cones.
Does that strike you as preventing cruelty?
To contrast, imagine if the ASPCA was instead giving $150,000 to Puppy Forward, Incorporated, a "humane" breeding facility that breeds and produces inexpensive puppies. The hope of Puppy Forward is that eventually shelters will no longer be necessary as all puppies will be produced and safely homed by Puppy Forward.
To do that, they need a new building to house their innovative, forward-thinking kennel systems. These kennels give breeder dogs enough room to turn around, and no one is housed on painful metal mesh. Exercise areas will be provided, particularly during the few weeks the females are not pregnant!
Puppy Forward, Inc. is dedicated to providing a good and humane end of life experience for the adult female and male breeding dogs. They will be sacrificed in the pursuit of medical knowledge, information that will benefit companion dogs everywhere - only approved research facilities will utilize these dogs, and they will be provided superb care before they are humanely killed.
No one would support the ASPCA in this endeavor, except perhaps supporters of Puppy Forward!
Yet, as a community, we have arbitrarily labeled chickens as food, dogs as "pets" so it becomes strangely acceptable for an organization with "prevention of cruelty to animals" in their name to fund animal-slaughter endeavors.
Strange.
Specifically, a barn will be built to house thousands of chickens throughout the year. The barn will then be converted to a hatchery that will hatch 600,000 chicken and 10,000 turkey eggs per season so that the "larger poultry" industry can obtain "heritage" breeds of chickens and turkeys for slaughter.
Chickens and turkeys are exempted from both federal farmed animal welfare laws - one that requires animals be watered/fed every 28 hours of transport and the other that requires animals be stunned unconscious before their throats are slit.
On smaller farms, most chickens and turkeys are also not stunned insensible to pain. Most have their throats cut while they hang upside down in inverted cones.
Does that strike you as preventing cruelty?
To contrast, imagine if the ASPCA was instead giving $150,000 to Puppy Forward, Incorporated, a "humane" breeding facility that breeds and produces inexpensive puppies. The hope of Puppy Forward is that eventually shelters will no longer be necessary as all puppies will be produced and safely homed by Puppy Forward.
To do that, they need a new building to house their innovative, forward-thinking kennel systems. These kennels give breeder dogs enough room to turn around, and no one is housed on painful metal mesh. Exercise areas will be provided, particularly during the few weeks the females are not pregnant!
Puppy Forward, Inc. is dedicated to providing a good and humane end of life experience for the adult female and male breeding dogs. They will be sacrificed in the pursuit of medical knowledge, information that will benefit companion dogs everywhere - only approved research facilities will utilize these dogs, and they will be provided superb care before they are humanely killed.
No one would support the ASPCA in this endeavor, except perhaps supporters of Puppy Forward!
Yet, as a community, we have arbitrarily labeled chickens as food, dogs as "pets" so it becomes strangely acceptable for an organization with "prevention of cruelty to animals" in their name to fund animal-slaughter endeavors.
Strange.
A Bouquet of Edible Flowers
Bachelor buttons are an edible flower that is easy to grow. Also, pretty.
They don't have a real strong flavor to them, so they are beautiful for decorating cupcakes or soups.
They don't have a real strong flavor to them, so they are beautiful for decorating cupcakes or soups.
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Goldfinches
The early morning hours are magic time for goldfinches. Flocks rush to the dew-speckled flowers and plants to enjoy breakfast. This goldfinch is enjoying some mountain spinach, or orach. I enjoy it too - tastes just like spinach. It's bolted in the picture, which makes for a bitter-tasting leaf.
While a telephoto lens is a must-have, the birds don't have an enormous flight distance. Patience, not one of my strong suits (hence why I don't do a lot of animal nature photography), is a better gift than an expensive lens.
What a beautiful little bird!