Another senseless killing of the family dog by police?

I am becoming increasingly concerned about this. I feel that this is occuring more and more with alarming frequency. This time it never should have happened.

KOB TV an NBC affiliate reported once again about Albuquerque Police shooting a family dog over a FALSE 911 call! This is heartbreaking and very upsetting as the dog was shot with a rifle, not killed, but critical. The dog according to the article, was not running at the officer, was not agressive but did approach the officer. The officer shot the dog through the jaw and it shattered one of the front legs. They say the officer felt threatened. Oh excuse me! No mention was made about whether or not the dog was acting agressive, growling, baring teeth etc. And again the news and or APD label the dog as  a Pit Bull. I don't think that anyone in either of those agencies really know what a Pit is anymore.

Sorry on a rant here.....

The last time I remember reading about a situation like this happening, the the officers were responding to a possible domestic violence call. When I wrote the mayor and police chief that I found it concerning that APD is shooting more and more family animals that I felt perhaps were unprovoked, they at least made a case on their side explaining why they did the action they did. I did write back that perhaps their officers should look to other attempts to defuse the situation where an animal is concerned BEFORE they apply deadly force. Those suggestions were disregarded. And this time they used excessive deadly force in my estimation. And what in the hell was the officer doing storming a home based on a false 911 call in a tightly housed neighborhood with a high powered rifle? Was this a little excessive? You bet.

So I did a bit of a net search on incidents of police shooting family dogs. This happens far more frequently that you might imagine, and there were numerous articles out there of officers waiting for the parents to turn away before purposely shooting the family dog in front of the kids. I'm sorry, this is cruelty in my book. And is no different than the dairy workers I blogged some about yesterday. Many officers can have power trips through their guns and abuse that power, especially in an adrenaline charged situation.

Personally I think there is much that can be done to avoid these heartbreaking situations. One would be training the call center operators to ask if there are dogs on the premises, and if they are agressive and if the caller would kindly put them up before officers arrive to protect the animal. Sometimes this can't work, because it may be a 3rd party calling about a volitile situation. HOWEVER.... knowing that there is a dog on premises can forewarn officers, and an animal control officer could be dispatched to at least contain the dog safely. The dog should never have to suffer for doing his job as protector of his family. And dogs are much more sensitive to charged situations than you would think. They are reactionary. Officers could be taught too, to ask the people involved to please control or contain the dog so it won't be injured, and they can use non deadly force on an animal also, like pepper spray, it will stop a dog if the dog is agressive and charging. He will run away then. There is much that can be done to help the animal who ultimately ends up being the innocent victim, as do children who might witness their beloved pet being shot to death for trying to protect them.

Come on APD and police.... This type of incident is not good public relations, and will make people even more unwilling to be cooperative with you. Personally I think this officer and APD should pay all vet bills and lifesaving measures for this poor dog.

Ok, rant over for now.

Why do we allow this?

Or rather why, when we know this happens do we turn a blind eye to it and allow it to continue? I am speaking of abuse, cruelty to animals. On any given day there are at least 10 news stories of extreme abuse or cruelty to animals. One of the 10 I read this morning was about a animal welfare's undercover video release and charges against a dairy showing intentional and sadistic cruelty to the dairy cows and calves there.

I acknowledge that cruelty exists, and much of it goes unreported or found. And I really cannot even pretend to understand what makes a person be intentionally cruel to an animal. And they have proven that there is a strong link from abusing or sadistically killing animals to stepping up to abusing and killing people. And to expand this, I simply don't understand why if so many are against animal cruelty or abuse don't most of them stand up and report it or help stop it?

The ASPCA gives 10 simple guidelines to recognize and do your part to help stop abuse in your area. But there is more you can do on a bigger scale too. You can choose to not buy products from companies who have shown to have abuse or cruelty at their facilities, like the dairy. You can become informed as to where that milk is processed and refuse to buy milk from that facility who receives it's milk supplies from the abusing dairy. Same goes for farms for pigs, chickens, etc. In the case of the seal hunts in Canada, yes, it's not a good thing and there really isn't a need for it anymore, so encourage your local stores to NOT carry any Canadian seafoods in their stores, refuse to buy Canadian seafood. The way to get legislation and laws changed is to hit the pocketbooks. Buy from responsible companies who practice humane animal raising and harvesting practices. Watch your area, where you live, know who to report possible cruelty and abuse to. Be proactive.

Stop ignoring it, it won't go away. By your ignoring it, you are allowing it to continue, and the perpetrator to get worse and possibly cause the death of a person. And yes while I don't understand what the perpetrator must be thinking or feeling or how they can justify the abusive actions, we won't get them to stop if we don't report it.

And yes this is a global problem, not just here in the US. We as the "higher intellegence" beings agreed to care for all life and protect it. Do your part.

Pet lessons?

Ok,  I read another article today that I think most of us already know about the topic of. It was about Love Lessons from Dogs? Well, I thought perhaps I would expand on it.

Of course we've always labeled dogs as "Man's Best Friend", however, everyone seems to forget the quiet and stoic cat. They are just as good at being best friends as the dogs. And the writer thought that the dog would be the one you'd seek out to play catch with, not necessarily go to for love advice. Actually I'll agree with the writer as our pets can teach us much more about love and relationships that we might choose to realize.

Here were some of the pointers:

Forgiveness: Pets are the ultimate forgivers. They are good at letting the past be in the past. Our inabilities to get over issues and problems is a roadblock to our happiness. Animals always live in the moment, and even though you just might have disciplined them for being naughty, they've already forgiven you your temper within a matter of moments. Now, the writer noted that they don't hold grudges, generally this is so. However...... some animals can hold a grude, then once they've repaid you  to their satisfaction, they're over it. As a general rule they will always forgive you over and over. If we could let the little things go as easily as our pets do, think what a better place the world would be in.

Unconditional Love: Ah, those of us who choose to share our lives with animals already know all this. And it provides security, knowing you're loved no matter what you look like, or act like. When an animal loves it's human partner, the bond is very, very strong and real, and it lasts throughout the lifetime. Perhaps we need to emulate our animal companions more, by making genuine offers of love, kindness and warmth.

Consistency:  Consistency in any relationship is a comfort. What's not to love about someone who is never has mood swings or changes their mind  or whims in a second.  We do crave consistency even though we don't always show it. With your furry companions you pretty much get the same behaviors unless they are ill. And whether or not we're aware of it, we do derive comfort from that aspect of sharing our lives with them. Now apply that level of comfort to a relationship. Mmmmmmm, nice.

Need to be playful:  Animals have a good time playing and keeping things light and not so serious all the time. And yes, you can burn out a pet bey working them all the time, same applies to relationships. You need to balance play and fun with work. You relieve stress and pressure of the workday through play.

Importance of good communication: Pets like people will have to be communicated with in different manners, and it's up to us to find the way to communicate with our partners in the way that works best for them and us. No one soul animal or person communicates in the same way. And taking time to find out your partner's or companion's needs is the key to a strong bond.
While this is a great thought, it isn't as easy as they make it out to be. It can be tough to figure out the communication angle. However, using love and compassion is a good start to figuring it out.

A fervent plea to keep your beloved kitties inside!

Yes, once again I am making the plea to you all to be responsible pet owners. Especially where your cats are concerned. Cats DO NOT need to be outside! :(

Here is a very compelling reason why:
In this morning's news on our local station, KOB TV, an NBC affiliate, was posted the headline:
Neighbors worry someone may be severing cats' heads.  With an awful news clip about it and graphic images. Parents who found the heads at a children's bus stop area feel the mark of decapitation is too clean to be done by another animal, they felt someone was doing it deliberately. And the police will not investigate unless the Animal Welfare party feels there might be foul play.

I am sorry, but this is highly upsetting to me and I am sure it put many children into tears if they happened to watch the broadcast. I don't feel it was responsible of the news station to broadcast it with images. And I can't even begin to allow myself to imagine what the poor cats must have endured or gone through. But I can tell you either way, it was terrifying! It all just breaks my heart. I love my cats way too much to even contemplate exposing them to any of the dangers of being outdoors. When I agreed to care for these animals, and share my life with them, I also made that silent agreement that I would protect them to the best of my abilities. We make these silent but known agreements with them when we agree to share life with them, we agree to provide care, shelter, food and water for them. We agree to minister to their health, love them, and protect them. And we agree to be the compassionate one to help them transistion with grace and dignity. They aren't with us for our amusement or "use". They choose to share their lives and lessons with us. They give us comfort and healing and yes, entertainment when they choose to, and in return for these wonderful gifts we promise to care for them.

Ok, enough, I get it. But hopefully you get the message and will love your kitty enough to keep them inside, safe and loved. Don't let kitty's last living thoughts be of absolute fear and terror.

Trying to show patience while dealing with irritating pets....

Ok, Yes, I'll admit it, I have a couple of pets in my household that frankly while they are actually sweet animals are irritating and some days I feel like they hate me. And yes, there are times I yell and my patience wears thin with them. And yes, I know that workday stressors compound the issue and sometimes make me more snappish at them than usual.

I believe we've all had at least 1 pet that despite all our care and trying to get them trained, or all our attempts at sharing our lives and home spaces with them, are frankly irritating or seem to hate us enough to fully thwart every attempt we make at housetraining, or behavioral training, or just simply and peacfully cohabitating.

I know about a month or so ago there was an article on this on MSNBC online. They just seemed to focus on the few owners they'd interviewed and all the negative comments, offering no real solutions.

I have one dog who pretty much from the day I inherited her has flat out refused to learn that the potty is outside. And boy she is stubborn. You can put her outside with water etc, for hours, and she will simply hold it and within 3 minutes of letting her back in she'll have done all her business in the house. :( And usually this is worst just after you have deodorized and cleaned all the tile floors. And even closing her in her kennel for the night, most dogs won't mess where they sleep? HA! She does constantly. And yes, I will humbly admit it all makes me crazy and I used to yell a lot. There was never any point in disciplining her, she would turn on you and bite you for even swatting her butt or picking her up to put back outside. And as she gets older, she is crankier, so that if you even trip over her accidentally or try to herd her out the door, she'll bite and snap and snarl. She even snaps and snarls at any other animal or person she perceives in her space. Of course this doesn't faze the old blind and deaf dog, he is blissfully unaware. However..... her snarling and yelping at all hours is very startling and wakes us up all night. So she is my penance I say. She's the one who truly tests my patience and I find it lacking most times where she's concerned. So I have a very hard time being close to her, or wanting to pet her etc.

Now, I also have a visiting dog with us who has his own idiosyncracies. He is a sweet dog, and if he's paying attention to you will listen to commands. Problem is that he's developed some behavior problems lately. Being a beautiful Border Collie, he has to herd things. Usually in my backyard it's birds, problem is he barks at them incessantly. This riles the neighbors and kinda rubs me wrong at 5:30 in the mornings. And he is so focused on the happy chirping birds at dawn that he doesn't listen to us saying hush! He also has an absolute obssession at trying to get through the fence at the neighbor's dogs. And if pulled off he growls and snaps at you because he is so focused on the other dog. While those are irritating. they aren't the ones that tend to drive me a bit batty. And I try very hard not to yell at him over this one. He has this behavioral problem about putting his feet and muzzle into the water dish for all the animals, and then dribbling it all over the floors, carpeted or otherwise. Making the floors soaking wet. And you certainly cannot leave the lids up on the toilets. There are some days he just cannot stop this behavior. And this ends up with empty or dirty water dishes so that none of the other dogs can have water. You put water back in though because you know the others need it. But I've seen him, he'll go over and drink a bunch before anyone else and then do the water all over bit again! I have bought numerous mop heads over the months because they wear out so fast. I do my best not to yell, and I fail again miserably at this. I usually yell at him to try to get his attention about barking. In the house it's different, I don't have to yell at him about it. He knows it's the wrong thing to do, but I don't think he can help himself. And I don't know how to help him stop this. I am open to all suggestions or thoughts on this. As I said, he is a very well behaved dog with a couple problems. He won't soil in the house, loves kids and people. And overall minds pretty well.

So back to the irritating parts, I suppose an irritating pet might be happier with another, however, my nemesis is firmly bonded with my husband, she adores him. But she still has her irritating behaviors. I have tried everything to include Ttouch to change them, nope, she's very determined to not change and she can definitely outstubborn us. And I know when we've all had a pet like this that drives us to distraction, we all hope something will happen to change their living situations with us. And I know (and it shames me to admit this) we've all thought about not so nice thoughts about ending their stay with us. However..... my guilty side won't let me do any of that, such as drop the pet off at a shelter, etc. I would feel terribly guilty about it. So I do my best to bear it and know that this one is getting into her senior years, and pray (although I shouldn't) that she won't be one of those senior pets who lives forever.

For me and my family, add to these exasperations the fact that we have a very elderly little male chihuahua who is both blind and deaf. He isn't completely blind yet, I think he can detect shadows and movement still. He has a very bad habit lately of chasing movement and winding up underfoot. We constantly trip over him or step on him. He's quick about moving, so where you think he is, he isn't anymore. And because you just tripped over him and almost fell yourself, it raised your blood pressure and adrenaline levels, you want to yell at him, but you know it does no good and you need to remember to be patient with him, it can fast cause you to growl at your loved one instead out of sheer frustration. Most times thought with the old man, I try to find the humor in it or the compassion so I don't get growly.

I guess I am much like many other pet owners, except I won't beat them, wont' hit them, I might swat a fanny with the flat of my hand, but I won't beat them. I tend more to yell when at my limit. :(

Any insights or ideas on Border Collies is much appreciated. For the little female, I am pretty resigned to the fact that there is no changing her at this stage.

Science is now studying Happiness and Compassion...

Ah, science has finally gotten round to studying human happiness and compassion. This is happening apparently in Wisconsin at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and bascially came about from the Dalai Lama.

The more I read about the article (see here ) the more I thought about how much you can learn about happiness and compassion from animals.

The article cites, "This weekend, the Dalai Lama will mark the opening of the Center for Investigating Healthy Minds at the university's Waisman Center, where more than a dozen researchers will study the science behind positive qualities of mind. Davidson said the center will be the only one in the world with a meditation room next to a brain imaging laboratory.
Davidson's research has used brain imaging technology on Buddhist monks and other veteran practitioners of meditation to try to learn how their training affects mental health.
His team's findings suggest meditation and other "contemplative practices" can improve compassion, empathy, kindness and attention. They support the concept that even adult brains can change through experience and learning."

Well, this then led me to think that perhaps they should note that some of the best teachers of happiness and compassion are our animal friends. We all ooh and aah over the stories of orphan animals being adopted by a mother of another species (as shown by the pictures above), that is compassion and unconditional love that knows no boundaries.  And animals tend to be in the moment of happiness, I would guess, better than 80% of the time. Or at least content, and when you're content, you are happy, safe, and loved.

We can learn a lot from the Dalai Lama, who is probably tops on my list of people I truly admire, he represents what it is truly like to live life with total compassion and he is a very wise man. However we can also continue to learn from the animals about loving and living in the moment, slowing down to enjoy the moment, never worrying about what's ahead, and when the moment warrants it, uncoditional love and compassion. I know the animals in my life do their best to remind me of it. And yes we do need constant reminders, and we need to have the self discipline to slow down and focus on our inner selves, and realize what is truly importants for our happiness and well being, and of those around us.


I believe there is a sentiment about this in a great history book, "And the meek shall inherit the earth".  And I believe I like this definition best of Meek: patient and mild; not inclined to anger or resentment, and it used to mean, Gentle or Kind. I would think that we are definitely out-populated by our animal friends we share this wonderful world with. Isn't it time we showed a little compassion, love, and kindness for our teachers?

Pet Obesity

As we all see on the news lately, some splash about the obesity epidemic in people and possible causes, etc. more notice is being brought to the problem of pet obesity also.Obesity has become an important health issue not only for us but for our fur family also.

According to a 2009 study, it was estimated that 89 million US dogs and cats are overweight. While they estimated that 26 million are obese. Unfortunately many will state that obesity is more complicated than intake and output or exercise. And obesity for pets is also being labeled a disease. I have a problem with labeling it a disease, for our pets it is not caused by a virus or germ, it is due to improper diet and exercise, period. Ok, I might concede that some obesity issues for animals may be caused by hormones such as thyroid dysfunction or diabetes.

Numerous health problems can be associated with obesity. They can range from Diabetes, insulin resistance, joint problems, skin problems, respiratory issues, heart disease, cancer, and decreased life span.

However, the majority of our overweight pets falls back on the owner. Much is due to the poor foods that are commercially available to us now. Many are full of fillers and cereals with very little real protein that can be used by the body. And food that is filler or not able to be used immediately for proper body function is either stored as fat or excreted. And the animal because they aren't getting the nutrition they need to keep up energy and body function, are always hungry, or you have to feed more. And then with all the carbs, they might have a sugar high for a bit and be active, but that wears off quickly and they slow down and sleep a lot. Carbs are converted to sugars. And if they aren't used right away they are stored in the fat cells.

Many Vets and articles state to reduce caloric intake and increase exercise. However, this really doesn't benefit them either. Feeding a correct, species appropriate diet is the answer. For cats, they are obligate carnivores, therefore they aren't "carbi"vores. Their systems are set up to get their needed nutrition from hunting and eating meat. Have you ever seen a cat stalk a wheat stalk? And contrary to popular belief, they don't get carbs from eating the digestive tract of their victims. Have you ever really paid attention to what is left behind when your cat ate a mouse or bird? They will not eat the digestive tract. Dogs are primarily carnivores, but are also opportunistic eaters. They will eat some vegetation, but they aren't built either to eat grains. And they really cannot digest them. A excellent site that talks about feline nutrition is by Dr. Lisa Pierson, DVM. And doing a google search on "species appropriate pet food" will give you many links on foods for dogs. However the best is one called BARF.

I also can tell you first hand that when I changed my cats (who were all overweight) to raw (which they absolutely love) or a good meat based canned, they lost weight on their own and their energy levels picked up so they were running and playing more. My dogs also profited from being fed better food without grains. And feeding correctly has helped extend their lives and be much healthier, happier, and more active. And don't worry, they will lose weight and reach the proper level of weight for them. Their coats will be sleeker and softer, they will be more engaging, active and attentive. And... the very best benefits, because they utilize more of their food, there is less waste and no odor. Odor in the stool comes from feeding fillers that they cannot digest and therefore are basically toxins then. Hey everyone likes less poo to clean up right? And having less odor is so much better! :)