Thursday, August 31, 2006
Angus' Trading Card
Early last year, Bridge, Jen and I loaded up the dogs and headed towards Buffalo to get some portraits of them taken. Yesterday, Angus' pictures finally came. We already packed them securely away so they won't get messed up with the move but here is his trading card.....happy now, Jen? :-)
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
PS Hello Alyssa
PS Hello Alyssa
December 1996-August 2006
Bridget's Alyssa was diagnosed with bone cancer several months ago. It is untreatable and she has been on medication to manage the pain. Last night she took a turn for the worse so tonight Bridget and Bill are going to say goodbye to her and send her on her way. Alyssa is their first greyhound.
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
A Change Is Gonna Come
Props to Sam Cooke for my title :-)
There've been times that I've thought I couldn't last for long
But now I think I'm able to carry on
It's been a long time coming
But I know a change is gonna come
This is something I have been thinking about lately. I spent probably an hour talking Jen's ear off the other night about it. I think that there might be a societal shift in the offing as far as animal exploitation goes. Now, I am fully aware that in our history, this is probably by far the worse time to be an animal.....almost 10 billion are slaughtered in our country alone each year. I can't even hardly get my mind around that number. That is billion with a B. It doesn't bear thinking about.
I gave up eating meat in 1993. I went vegan in the fall of 1997 (wow! 9 years!). I have seen a shift in the public. Yes, in a social event, a vegan is going to be odd man out. It still sucks to try to eat out sometimes. People still look at you like you are a tree hugging freak sometimes (well, I am a tree hugging freak but still.....you know what I mean). But it *is* getting better. I have seen this in the past 13 years. Grocery stores are carrying more natural food. There is a strong local agriculture movement. It is easier (not easy, but *easier*) to eat out. We are invited to a wedding in October that offers a vegan dining choice. There are major vegetarian magazines published. And I am starting to see some of the issues so dear to our hearts being discussed in the popular media.
In the past year, two of Newsweek's columnists have written positively about vegetarianism and animal rights, George Will and Rabbi Marc Gellman. Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser, published in 2001, indicted our food industry practices. Supersize Me by Morgan Spurlock was a documentary hit in 2004. What is amazing to me is that these aren't the 'usual suspects' with this subject matter. Part of what I fear is that things have gotten so bad that these people are compelled to speak out against the horror and travesty. They are not specifically advocating vegetarianism but argue more along the lines that our current system is out of control and we have to establish a more reasonable and compassionate model, for our health, our environment, our animals, our workers. But I don't care what their reasons are, I am happy they are speaking. They are reaching an audience that needs to hear what they say, an audience that might be receptive to the ideas if it comes from them instead of us. How does the saying go? It is always darkest before the dawn? As bad as things are now, I hope, hope, hope, that I am right and that the dawn is coming, that a change is gonna come.
There've been times that I've thought I couldn't last for long
But now I think I'm able to carry on
It's been a long time coming
But I know a change is gonna come
This is something I have been thinking about lately. I spent probably an hour talking Jen's ear off the other night about it. I think that there might be a societal shift in the offing as far as animal exploitation goes. Now, I am fully aware that in our history, this is probably by far the worse time to be an animal.....almost 10 billion are slaughtered in our country alone each year. I can't even hardly get my mind around that number. That is billion with a B. It doesn't bear thinking about.
I gave up eating meat in 1993. I went vegan in the fall of 1997 (wow! 9 years!). I have seen a shift in the public. Yes, in a social event, a vegan is going to be odd man out. It still sucks to try to eat out sometimes. People still look at you like you are a tree hugging freak sometimes (well, I am a tree hugging freak but still.....you know what I mean). But it *is* getting better. I have seen this in the past 13 years. Grocery stores are carrying more natural food. There is a strong local agriculture movement. It is easier (not easy, but *easier*) to eat out. We are invited to a wedding in October that offers a vegan dining choice. There are major vegetarian magazines published. And I am starting to see some of the issues so dear to our hearts being discussed in the popular media.
In the past year, two of Newsweek's columnists have written positively about vegetarianism and animal rights, George Will and Rabbi Marc Gellman. Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser, published in 2001, indicted our food industry practices. Supersize Me by Morgan Spurlock was a documentary hit in 2004. What is amazing to me is that these aren't the 'usual suspects' with this subject matter. Part of what I fear is that things have gotten so bad that these people are compelled to speak out against the horror and travesty. They are not specifically advocating vegetarianism but argue more along the lines that our current system is out of control and we have to establish a more reasonable and compassionate model, for our health, our environment, our animals, our workers. But I don't care what their reasons are, I am happy they are speaking. They are reaching an audience that needs to hear what they say, an audience that might be receptive to the ideas if it comes from them instead of us. How does the saying go? It is always darkest before the dawn? As bad as things are now, I hope, hope, hope, that I am right and that the dawn is coming, that a change is gonna come.
Monday, August 28, 2006
Bringing some home
Saturday, Bridget and I drove a leg of a haul that brought two retired racers from the track to an adoption group that would place them in homes. Frannie (race name: Sveet) and Adam (race name: Mahzora) came off a track in Massachusetts.
They were approximately four years old and littermates.
They were so well behaved and sweet - they were no problem! They hopped right in the car and settled right down. Somebody is going to be lucky to get these dogs - they will be wonderful companions. It was a fun and rewarding way to spend a few hours on a Saturday morning. Frannie is the black tuxedo girl. She was very vivacious and outgoing. You could tell she never met a stranger.
Adam is the big brindle. He was also very friendly but a little more reserved than Frannie. He was very watchful and observant.
Whenever I do these hauls, I think what it must have been like for my two boys, coming off the tracks, being passed from car to car, volunteer to volunteer, in 1, 2 or 3 hour drive legs, making their way to our family and home. I wonder what they thought as it was going on, if they could somehow sense that their lives were going to be opening up and changing. I wonder if they remember that time of transition today and think back on it. Especially for Mal - he was brought over from Ireland to race and I often wonder how....probably by plane. Oh well, I would just love to know what goes on in their minds and what they really think :-)
They were approximately four years old and littermates.
They were so well behaved and sweet - they were no problem! They hopped right in the car and settled right down. Somebody is going to be lucky to get these dogs - they will be wonderful companions. It was a fun and rewarding way to spend a few hours on a Saturday morning. Frannie is the black tuxedo girl. She was very vivacious and outgoing. You could tell she never met a stranger.
Adam is the big brindle. He was also very friendly but a little more reserved than Frannie. He was very watchful and observant.
Whenever I do these hauls, I think what it must have been like for my two boys, coming off the tracks, being passed from car to car, volunteer to volunteer, in 1, 2 or 3 hour drive legs, making their way to our family and home. I wonder what they thought as it was going on, if they could somehow sense that their lives were going to be opening up and changing. I wonder if they remember that time of transition today and think back on it. Especially for Mal - he was brought over from Ireland to race and I often wonder how....probably by plane. Oh well, I would just love to know what goes on in their minds and what they really think :-)
Sunday, August 27, 2006
My Dog Has Issues, Part III
Today, we were on the highway, heading towards the park to meet up for the greyhound walk. Tooling down the highway at 65 mph, I notice Cosmo standing in the back of the car, circling around. Now if you have seen his previous video, you know he nests. I thought he was digging in the car beds, and I told him to settle down and lay down. I look in the rear view mirror and what do I see?
In our little greyhound community, there are a few things Cosmo is known for. One of those things is.....to be blunt......his poop ability. He is a good pooper. He poops a lot.
I looked in my rearview mirror, and, yes, Cosmo was pooping in my car. I guess he really had to go. He pooped in my car. And as I just said, he poops a lot. This time was no exception.
Angus, who, as a terrier, has never witnessed naughty behavior he didn't want to participate in, was in the back of the car and he launched himself like a bullet over the back of the passenger seat to the front. He did not want to be associated with that crime scene, in a way, shape or form. I holler at Cosmo to try to keep him from stepping in the pile but I really didn't need to. He was standing, frozen in horror at what had just happened, unable to move, in complete noncomprehension.
I pull over, hit the emergency flashers, grab a poopbag, some napkins and with the dog water supply, try to clean up as much as possible. We drove the rest of the way with the windows open.
We joined up with the group and had a great walk. Here are some pictures of Mo that Jen took Friday and I scarfed from her blog:
He is very handsome.....
The silly boy had been eating grass and left some hanging out the side of his mouth like a hayseed farmer....
In our little greyhound community, there are a few things Cosmo is known for. One of those things is.....to be blunt......his poop ability. He is a good pooper. He poops a lot.
I looked in my rearview mirror, and, yes, Cosmo was pooping in my car. I guess he really had to go. He pooped in my car. And as I just said, he poops a lot. This time was no exception.
Angus, who, as a terrier, has never witnessed naughty behavior he didn't want to participate in, was in the back of the car and he launched himself like a bullet over the back of the passenger seat to the front. He did not want to be associated with that crime scene, in a way, shape or form. I holler at Cosmo to try to keep him from stepping in the pile but I really didn't need to. He was standing, frozen in horror at what had just happened, unable to move, in complete noncomprehension.
I pull over, hit the emergency flashers, grab a poopbag, some napkins and with the dog water supply, try to clean up as much as possible. We drove the rest of the way with the windows open.
We joined up with the group and had a great walk. Here are some pictures of Mo that Jen took Friday and I scarfed from her blog:
He is very handsome.....
The silly boy had been eating grass and left some hanging out the side of his mouth like a hayseed farmer....
Friday, August 25, 2006
A cause for celebration!
Things have been busy so I haven't had time to write much - I will do a recap soon - I have a lot of things on my mind! In the meantime though, I got a bit of very welcome news.......
We have a new member of our family (the Veg family!) Bridget of 5CrazyGreyhounds is giving meatfree life a shot. Yep, that is right, she is contemplating leaving the dark side and coming over to the light!!! If you get a chance, drop by her blog and lay on some words of encouragement.......we all know that these habits are hard to break and it is so good not to feel alone on this journey.......
We have a new member of our family (the Veg family!) Bridget of 5CrazyGreyhounds is giving meatfree life a shot. Yep, that is right, she is contemplating leaving the dark side and coming over to the light!!! If you get a chance, drop by her blog and lay on some words of encouragement.......we all know that these habits are hard to break and it is so good not to feel alone on this journey.......
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Self censorship
I just deleted my last two posts. I went and took a good long shower and played in the backyard with the dogs for a bit and decided that I didn't want them to stand as my thoughts for the day. The world sucks sometimes but it is our duty to fight the good fight and not wallow in self-pity. Check here if you want to see what got me so down:
Candi's blog (caveat - I read Candi's blog everyday and love it......Holla Candi! I just found the pictures from her slide show to be such affecting and powerful images. They really felt like a knife in my heart - which is good because it means they will have the power to affect change in people)
Final Salute - Rocky Mountain News
When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts
and my own personal 'push a person over the edge' - Involuntary Marine Recall
Anyways, instead of the depressive wallowing, I am going to focus on the positive (Accentuate the positive, Eliminate the negative, Latch onto the affirmative.......not a bad theme song, heh?):
This weekend is the second annual Syracuse Vegfest. Gonna be there and it is gonna be great!
We have a day trip planned in September for the New York Farm Sanctuary. Gonna hang with some pigs and goats!
Dewey Beach in October. Gonna hang with the hounds!
And lastly, Eric's End of Active Service date is November. So long, Marine Corps!
Candi's blog (caveat - I read Candi's blog everyday and love it......Holla Candi! I just found the pictures from her slide show to be such affecting and powerful images. They really felt like a knife in my heart - which is good because it means they will have the power to affect change in people)
Final Salute - Rocky Mountain News
When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts
and my own personal 'push a person over the edge' - Involuntary Marine Recall
Anyways, instead of the depressive wallowing, I am going to focus on the positive (Accentuate the positive, Eliminate the negative, Latch onto the affirmative.......not a bad theme song, heh?):
This weekend is the second annual Syracuse Vegfest. Gonna be there and it is gonna be great!
We have a day trip planned in September for the New York Farm Sanctuary. Gonna hang with some pigs and goats!
Dewey Beach in October. Gonna hang with the hounds!
And lastly, Eric's End of Active Service date is November. So long, Marine Corps!
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