Archive for February, 2009

A Fostering Attempt

February 22, 2009 at 2:09 am · Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged ,

It has been quite some times since my husband and I fostered a dog. You see we’ve had our hands full with our own failed fosters making a bustling house with four big dogs. But my brother is a vet and his tech found a dog. They asked for help so let me introduce you to our new foster Nate.

Name: Nate
Dob: 2/1/08
Vet Care: Neuter/eye removal 2/16/9, Rabies/DPPV 2/20/09
Temperament: Good with people, dogs, cats and kids

Nate the dog is available for adoption at www.mixedupmutts.net

Nate the dog is available for adoption at www.mixedupmutts.net

Where do I start my life story? That’s a tough question for anybody much less a formerly homeless pit bull. Well I could go on and on about how life sucked but I’ll just start from the moment things started looking up for me. You see I was sitting in the middle of a busy road. I was SO confused and scared! All these cars were swerving around me and honking at me. I didn’t know what to do so I just sat there. Then this nice guy stopped and opened his car door for me. He looked so friendly; I jumped right in! How lucky was I? Turns out this guy works for one of the best vet clinics in town, www.vetmetconsultatnsaz.com. He took me right to work where the doctors looked me over. I was in rough shape.

My right eye was totally screwed up. They said something about having a trauma but I don’t really know what that means. All I know is that it hurt a lot! So they took it out. Yep, they took my whole eye out but, hey, it doesn’t really bother me much. I just have a little trouble if someone stands on my right side, I kind of bump into them a lot but people seem to think that’s kind of funny. The good news is that vet said I shouldn’t have any ongoing problems with the eye.All these nice peps at the vet office kept saying what a sweetie-pie I am. Well, shucks. What can I say? I just know that a little bit of manners go a long way. That’s why I always sit nicely when someone comes to pet me. I haven’t jumped on anybody and I don’t even lick people all over like some dogs do. These people at VETMED are so fun! They set me up in a kennel and let me play with one of the vet’s dogs at night when everybody is gone. They take me for walks and gave me toys. This is a totally new concept to me. Well I guess they said I couldn’t live at VETMED forever so these really kewl peps from Mixed Up Mutts said they’d help out.

Nate the dog is available for adoption at www.mixedupmutts.net

Nate the dog is available for adoption at www.mixedupmutts.net

Now I’m at this beautiful foster home. Can you believe my luck! I get to run around this huge yard. My foster mom and I are still learning about each other but so far we’re getting along just great! She’s already teaching me to sit and play fetch. Of course this is just temporary cuz my fosters have like a zillion other dogs. I’m looking for a forever home where someone will luv me forever! I’m a really good boy and smart … that’s what they tell me. All I know is I like to RUN around the yard and PLAY with my toys … oh yeah and food is good too. I may only have one eye but I have a big heart to make up for it.

If you are interested in being my lifelong companion, please fill out an application at http://www.mixedupmutts.net. You must be able to commit to me for my lifetime, which could be 10-15 years no matter what happens in your life – divorce, marriage, kids, moving, etc.

I’m pretty hooked up so if you want to keep in touch or watch my videos, check me out online.
Twitter: http://twitter.com/natethedog
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/jamminjosieluvsdogs

Nate the dog is available for adoption at www.mixedupmutts.net

Nate the dog is available for adoption at www.mixedupmutts.net

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Earthlings: A Must Watch

February 22, 2009 at 1:52 am · Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged , , , ,

Earthlings movie

Earthlings movie

If you haven’t already watched Earthlings, a documentary narrated by Joaquin Phoenix, run … don’t walk to rent it. I’ve just watched it and will write a commentary once I can digest it all. In the meantime, you can take this man’s word for it.

“This is the single most powerful and informative movie about society’s treatment of animals . A must see for anyone who cares enough to know”

- Woody Harrelson

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To Love or Hate Ingrid Newkirk

February 19, 2009 at 3:53 am · Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged , , , , ,

Ingrid Newkirk: animal rights activist, author, and the president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).

I was very excited a few days ago when I noticed a documentary on HBO about Ingrid Newkirk. She is someone that grabbed my attention a few years back. Yet the more I came to know of her, the more puzzled I became. I hoped this documentary might help shed some light on her work as an animal activist and the co-founder of PETA.

That it did … and even more so than I could have thought. It’s not like anything described in the documentary was new. They portrayed Ingrid as a passionate animal rights activist, a media whore, and an extremist. Many people think Ingrid is absolutely nuts. I do think she creates this “buzz” for herself. At one point in the documentary she says that she wants her flesh carved up after she dies to be barbecued (like that of an animal), her skin made into a wallet or handbag, and one eye to be delivered to a high powered government official to remind him that PETA will always be watching.

Now that may sound crazy but I truly feel that whatever Ingrid wants to do with her body when she’s dead is her issue. What I have a problem with are her tactics to uncover animal cruelty in factory farms. She has a whole team of people that land jobs as factory farm workers. Their job – as an animal rights activist – is to act like a factory farm worker would and to document cruelty while there. This means that these undercover PETA workers kill thousands of animals! In the documentary HBO interviewed two men who killed literally thousands of turkeys in a Butterball factory to get just two hours of video footage which was a bit disturbing but rather blurry and ineffective.

I feel that people working towards the compassionate treatment of animals are generally doing a good thing. Yet after watching this biography, I could not help thinking that the means absolutely do not justify the means. How can an animal rights activist literally kill thousands of animals just to get some video footage? I think in the end, the footage didn’t have a large effect in passing legislation anyway. Other organizations seem to find a way to get footage without slaughtering animals.

I was also really puzzled by Ingrid’s continued discussion that some animals need to die. At one point they show her “rescuing” a pit bull off a chain only to put it to sleep. I have participated in dog rescue for many years and I think they could have saved the dog. It had tick fever and needed a blood transfusion … all of which can be treated by compassionate vets. Yet, Ingrid chose to put the dog to sleep. Why? Was it too much of an inconvenience to help this dog? Was it too expensive? Would it be too hard to find a home for a pit bull? None of these questions were answered and Ingrid felt justified in her decision. I, on the other hand, was greatly puzzled by it.

To me the definition of an animal rights activist is someone who works day in and day out for the welfare of all animals. Whether they be dogs or cows or chickens, a true animal rights activist would not bring harm to any animal in order to achieve some strange personal goal that has little effect for the animals or on people. I am so troubled by this documentary, I’m just not sure how any person that truly wants compassion for animals could support PETA.

I say this with a cautious heart because I am grateful to PETA in may ways. I attended a conference several years ago and it was my first exposure to veganism and animal suffering on a large scale. I am thankful for PETA bringing the animal’s plight to my attention. However I am apalled at their tactics at gathering the information to pursuade people to choose this lifestyle. How can one say to themselves, “I’m goign to go kill 2,000 turkeys today, so that people will stop eating them.” That is just absurd!

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On being vegan in Vancouver

February 11, 2009 at 8:56 pm · Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged , , , , ,

Today I must first apologize for not writing in quite some time. I was fully consumed with tidying things up with our business so I could spend a week with my husband in the lovely Whistler, Vancouver, British Columbia. Alas the life of a small business owner … but I would not trade it for anything.

Now on to more important topics. I have not been to Canada since I was a wee child. In my mind I had a flowery idea of what this country would be like. Love everywhere, free health care … and optimistically I envisioned more compassionate food choices. Unfortunately the Canadians proved me wrong on all of these. I must have watched too many Michael Moore films. Don’t get me wrong, this is a beautiful part of the world. Greenery and natural wonder are everywhere. People seem fit and healthy when compared to Americans (in Whistler at least where locals probably ski 100+ days a year!).

Yet I have found the food choices to be less than what I hoped for. In all honesty I found it easier to eat vegan in Nebraska. Shock, I know! At least in Nebraska we stay with family. I can go to the grocery store and buy ingredients to make vegan foods. In Whistler were are staying in a fantastic hotel yet lack access to a kitchen. So I find myself at the mercy of the airport, restaurant and ski lodge menus. Every place has allowed me to choose a vegetarian meal but sadly none have had vegan choices. Worse yet, several of the restaurants here serve foie gras and veal! I am shocked to see these horrific food choices on menus! I feel compelled to walk into each restaurant and ask the manager why they feel the need to serve foods that require so much cruelty in order to reach a person’s palette. What I have decided instead is to boycott any restaurant serving foie gras. Veal on the other hand seems to be served in every single one! ARGH!

It seems on the whole, Canadians (at least in this part of the province) are a bit more ecologically minded than the whole of Americans. I know full well I could be sitting in the San Francisco of Canada so I don’t want to make this generalization to the entire country. In the National Post (Canadian newspaper) today I read an article about Albertans (in Calgary) making the earth-conscious decision to use beef tallow as fuel for city vehicles in an effort to make Calgary a “sustainable city”. WHAT? Are Calgary officials ignoring the devastating effects of cattle production on the environment. The city manager claims that beef tallow is a “waste product” of the cattle industry. Ahem … just like leather, right? They believe that using beef tallow for fuel will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 90%. In actuality, what they are doing is creating a demand for a “byproduct” that we wouldn’t need if cattle were not slaughtered and consumed anyway!

Luckily the reporter was wise enough to quote a Greenpeace coordinator in addition to the “environmentally-minded” city officials. Dave Martin, from Greenpeace, said “It’s (beef tallow) is only cleaner if you ignore the environmental cost of production…But what happens if you take into account the carbon from the feedlots, growing corn for feed, getting those cattle to market?…There’s no free lunch for any fuel.”1 Thank you Dave. At least other forms of fuel do not require the torture and slaughter of animals in their production.

Alas, Canada is not what I thought it would be. The national health care system does not cover things such as cancer drugs. Citizens experience bankruptcy as a result of medical costs just as Americans do albeit at a smaller percentage. They have an army just like we do that trains young people to kill others with guns not kindness. Vancouver is home to gangs that wear body armour to spare their lives from rival gangs. I will say however that Canada does know how to treat its elementary and secondary education teachers who earn nearly $90,000 Canadian (roughly $73,770 US) per year. Now if only Canadians could be more enlightened about their food choices and philosophies about reducing greehhouse gas emissions. Could Michael Moore create a film about that?

1. Libin, Kevin. “Calgary looks at beef tallow as fuel for its vehicles,” National Post. Feb. 11, 2009. Vol 11, No. 89. Page A3.

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