Loyal Dog Won't Leave Injured Friend Behind - HELP JAPAN'S LOST & INJURED...

This video has been all over Yahoo and the web and I feel like I need to also spread it and keep passing it along.  The video is in Japanese and you can click the link, scroll down and read the translation. The title of this post says it all and if you haven't watched this touching scene, then please do so now by clicking here.

Or watch it here now without the translation.

Now can anyone honestly tell me One Life is not worth saving? Look how loyal and caring, protective and loving this dog is for the other- we don't know if they knew each other before the earthquake and tsunami yet we are putting them down in shelters every day. There is something very RIGHT in this video and something terribly wrong in our society.

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Idle Is Back In The United States

Wonderful news for Idle, the war-hero service dog who was stranded in Iraq with six of his companions (click here to go to that post).

I received an e-mail update and I'm thrilled to announce that Idle and Nugget are back home in the U.S.

Plans and arrangements are bring made through Operation Baghdad Pups to bring home their other five companions by mid-March. Any and all donations are appreciated and used to re-unite dogs with their service men and women back in the States.

I will post more as I receive updates.

Many thanks to those of you who signed the petition!

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Charity's Law

I never thought the day would arrive that I would be sending out a plea for something like this.

A plea to make Bestiality illegal in this, the United States of America.

And the World.

But here in the States, I naively thought it was ALREADY illegal in every state.

It is NOT.

Only 31 states have laws protecting animals from bestiality.

Only 31!

These innocent beautiful puppies in the photo were bred by a man intending to fight them and/or sell them to dogfighters but the reason for their surrender was that he caught his 13 year old son committing sexual acts on them. The shelter was going to euthanize the dogs, however, a rescue group stepped in to try to save them. They were named Charity, Hope and Faith.

These Pit Bull puppies only a few months old were surrendered to a North Carolina animal shelter injured and in pain with the man who dropped them off stating "the big dogs down the road got to them". Through other information collected by members of the rescue community, a witness too afraid to come forward and a vet assessment the unthinkable would be discovered about what really happened to these puppies.

This Petition aims to bring justice to Charity who did not survive her injury by this perverted boy and although Hope and Faith have a long road ahead with many surgeries to correct the damage Charity's death cannot be in vain without any justice. The boy not only sexually molested them but foreign objects were found inside when trying to repair the damage. This is why we are asking everyone to sign this Petition asking all states without adequate protection for animals from acts like this to create Charity's Law making acts of bestiality illegal and a felony. Technically the act of bestiality could be construed to fall under some animal cruelty statutes as is but there should be uniform and stringent laws that address bestiality directly so ambiguity about this act does not exist and the proper vehicle is provided within the law for prosecution of an individual engaging in this cruel and perverted practice. While the teenage boy in Charity's case may have eluded the law ensuring there are laws ready and able to prosecute any individuals in the future engaging in this activity will help further protect the innocent animals of our society.

States with laws providing a misdemeanor punishment for the crime are:

Arkansas, California, Iowa, Maryland, Maine, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah and Wisconsin

States with laws providing a felony punishment for the crime are:

Alaska, Arizona, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia and Washington.

States without any laws regarding bestiality (note some of these states may have statutes about bestiality that only address crimes against a minor):

Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Vermont, Colorado, Louisiana, Montana, New Jersey, Wyoming, Connecticut, Hawaii, New Mexico, Ohio, Texas, Kansas, Nevada, West Virginia,

Only 17 states make this crime a felony. There are no federal laws specifically prohibiting bestiality although the subject is covered in relation to books and pornographic materials as well as in the arena of exploitation of minor children but there is no universal law or consistency amongst the U.S. states making bestiality the crime it should be.

Please click here or the box in the upper, right hand corner and sign the petition NOW. Then, please pass this along.

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Scully's Birthday

Yes, today is the day we celebrate Scully's birthday.

February 17th.

I don't know if it's really his birthday.

I really don't know where he was born, but I do have the feeling he's a local boy.

I brought him home from the Warren Animal Shelter on November 17, 1999.

The vet who treated him really couldn't tell how old he was because he was so underdeveloped- just a little-bitty pup.

Starvation will do that to a growing body.

The vet's best guess was between nine months and three years old. So, I counted backwards to February 17th and marked the day ever since.

As for our birthday celebration, we started out with cookies in the car on the way to the park, where we went for a nice walk. It was a glorious, spring-feeling walk. We stopped and smelled grass, leaves, twigs and branches, fence posts and footprints in the melting snow. He and Dovi played in the snow and I detected several doggies smiles.

He had a nice nap in the car, looking like Tarzan because he managed to pull one arm out of his sweater. Coming back up the stairs, he curled up for another nap on his bed with his favorite blanket.

Smelling a nice dinner cooking, he got up and patiently waited for a nice bowl of yummy birthday dinner...a little dry dog food mixed with ground beef, rice, potatoes and some nice vegetable broth.

Of course he came and thanked me when he finished. He's always so grateful and loving. Dovi came and thanked me,too.

My eyes are welling up as I write this...I pray I have many more years with my Scully Boy. He's been such a blessing to me- my Best friend and Faithful Companion.
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Help For Idle And His Companions

I received this e-mail today and am sending out a plea that you take action and pass this along.

I am asking that you take the simple action of clicking here and signing the Wall to bring Idle and his companions home, where they belong!

A pop-up will appear for the International SPCA. You can fill it out or close but please sign Idle's Wall, which is at the bottom of the article.

Thank you. Time is of the essence. They need the signatures by next week.

This is the email I received today:

Dear Jenny,

Your help is desperately needed.  Idle (shown here in the cage he now lives in) is a very special contracted working dog stranded in Iraq. This honorable canine served in Iraq as a contractor for the U.S. military and other Coalition Forces. He risked his life day in and day out by sniffing for landmines as well as car bombs at check points and on U.S. military bases.

Please sign the wall of support for bringing Idle to the United States! »

Since his career ended, Idle has lived in a kennel in Iraq with little human contact except from the people paid to give him food, water and short walks. When SPCA International heard about Idle's horrible situation and the plight of his six friends and kennel mates, they were heartbroken. Their team went to visit the kennel immediately and made a commitment to rescue these dogs and give them the retirement they deserve with a loving family in the U.S. Next week, SPCA International will return to Iraq, ready to fly Idle and his fellow retired friends to safe, caring, forever homes, but they need your help.
To ensure safe passage for Idle and his six friends, SPCA International is building a list support for Idle's safe and speedy rescue. Some in Iraq might see Idle as a commodity, rather than a deprived friend and wartime hero, and they may try to stop him from gaining freedom. 
By signing the "Wall of Support" for Idle, you will arm SPCA International with the grassroots support they need to ensure Idle's freedom and safe passage.

Thank you for helping a military hero! Emily Care2 Campaign Team

Take action link: http://www.care2.com/go/z/e/AgcN8/zK29/x8x.

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Barking Dogs Are Great Communicators!

I love to talk.

Those of you who know me personally know this is an UNDERSTATEMENT! LOL

I love to visit with friends and chat.

We laugh, share a meal or a snack and just talk about the news, world events, recipes...all the usual topics.

Dogs, I've noticed are a bit different. They don't waste words or " barks."

However, Scully and Dovi do enjoy being more "verbal" with me these days.

Scully barks at planes, as I've mentioned in an earlier post, and he barks and barks until the airplane is out of sight. He also scratches the ground and mumbles, as if to say "and don't come back!"

He also barks to "call me" and tell me something- usually "Mom, cover me with my blankie" or "Mama, I would like you to move my bed to the Living Room so I can be in the sunshine now" or "Mama, please move my bed back to the bedroom because it's time to go to sleep now." 

Simple communication but very effective.

I've come to understand now why sometimes Scully and Dovi bark in the car when there are no other humans around. 

Most humans think dogs bark just for the sake of barking but they really don't. For a dog to bark, they really want to tell us something important. Dogs need to be able to bark (as Scully is doing right now as I write this post).

As for Scully and Dovi, they get aggravated and start barking at stoplights. They just don't want to wait at the red light until it turns green so they bark at it and bark at it and actually become quite perturbed. I've got to get a camera to capture the indignant look on Dovi's face, as if to say "How DARE they make me stop and wait to go home!"

As soon as the car begins moving, they settle right down quietly and enjoy the ride until we stop at the next red light. The day I realized the barking wasn't random made me realize they are even smarter than I believed. I always believed animals are much more intelligent than we think but to discover that unlocked a whole new world of understanding them better.

They really DO tolerate us!

Take care until next time and see what your dog is trying to say when he or she is barking! I guarantee it's something interesting and important to them.
As for me, my Scully Boy is telling me he would like me to pet him and cover him so he can have a nice nap.

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Hero Kitty Does It Again While Dogs Sleep

I don't write often about Whiskers because he is a sweet, gentle, senior cat who enjoys life, gives me love and no trouble whatsoever. He is a joy.

Whiskers spent his first few weeks of life in a box at the animal shelter and didn't know what is was to be outside. That was in August 2001.

When he came home, he was just 6 weeks old and quickly adjusted to Scully and Dovi, even learning how to carry his toys in his mouth like the dogs.

This morning, Whiskers is my HERO! Once again.

Waking up at 6 a.m. to a very dry mouth and dry apartment, I got out of bed to put a pan of water to boil on the stove. We needed some moisture in the air.

The first hint of any sort of light was just barely showing as the crescent moon glowed in the pre-dawn hour. I really didn't want to wake up yet but knew I had to stay up for awhile. So, naturally, I came to the computer to check my e-mail. 

After a few minutes I added more water to the now boiling frying pan- it was a chicken fryer so it was pretty deep. I wasn't concerned about leaving it unattended- I was a few feet away in the next room.

I became engrossed in a weight-loss video and Whiskers would run to me every so often or come to the living room and vocally "call" me. I thought he was hungry but he had his bowl of dried food and water. He had already gone to his litter box for his morning constitutional. He was driving me crazy...It became incessant.

He was getting to the point of becoming frantic, running in and out of the living room, crying and wailing loudly...so I left the video and went to the kitchen to mix his wet food with some dry food. The pan was still on and the flame was pretty high. Flames do rise with gas stoves. I didn't have any light on, though it was getting a little lighter in the kitchen. It smelled odd and the sound of the water was very loud...different. I went to the pan and it was EMPTY and TURNING black! If it weren't for Whiskers, I might not have found it until it was too late!

I flipped off the gas as the pan continued to blacken...the smell of burning, scalding stainless steel permeated the air...I added a little water at a time to the pan and the water jumped and bubbled and turned to steam immediately...the smell was worse....I just added more and more until the bottom of the pan was completely covered...as I swished the water around in the pan, it turned black...

Whiskers calmly went back to bed, averting a terrible disaster...while Scully and Dovi slept deeply in their beds.

It isn't the first time Whiskers has saved us all but I'll save that for another day...

And it isn't the first time a cat has saved a family from fire while the dog slept peacefully. Thank goodness cats are pretty much nocturnal. 

Think about it, if you have a dog, you're covered during the day...and if you have a cat, he stands watch at night. Twenty-four hour protection, seven days a week...and they love unconditionally.

Now, they're MY kind of body-guards!
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