When It Rains, It Sure Pours

Posted by Susan

As many of you know, I lost my Lovely Louise to adenocarcinoma in April.

I still miss her terribly.



However, grief cannot slow a caregiver down when there are other critters in the household that still need love and care.




Winston Alexander has had vague symptoms for a couple of years. He's been through all the non-invasive testing the doctor could think of. He had an ultrasound last month to see if anything definitive could be seen, but there were only "possibilities" and non-definitive answers.


Left: Darlene - Right: Winston

The doctor and I decided that it was time to put him through exploratory surgery so a good variety of biopsy samples could be obtained. Nothing concrete could be determined from visual examination during the surgery although some areas of inflammation were found which might indicate IBD (inflammatory bowel disease) and some spots that might be pancreatitis.

The doctor sent the biopsies to a university that specializes in veterinary intestinal problems. My Visa card is sagging from the weight of all this.

Winston was in solitary confinement for 10 days with 24 staples down the middle of his tummy. He looked like he had a zipper.

While waiting for biopsy results, my satellite dish decided it doesn't want to work when it storms. It not only no longer finds a signal during bad weather when it's necessary to watch the weather folks (it's been a bad spring in the Midwest for storms), when it tries to reestablish a signal, it locks onto the incorrect satellite and still won't provide television service.

I've had the dish moved. It still didn't work. The dish has been "re-pointed". It still didn't work. They're coming tomorrow to try again. Of course, I had to threaten to cancel my account because they insisted that I had to be available to them between 12 and 5. It is not acceptable to me that I miss work for their convenience. (I was fully prepared to tell them to take their dish, that the cable company would be glad to get me back!) Eventually they promised to come between 4:30 and 5.

I purchased a dehumidifier because the basement is really damp. (I also purchased a new washer and dryer at the same time so it wasn't a small sale.) I was promised that all units are equipped to attach a garden hose so the bucket will drain automatically and I won't have to run downstairs twice a day to empty it. I went to a lot of trouble to buy it from a family-owned appliance store because I thought I would get better service. After all, there aren't many small appliance stores left and local reputation should be important to them. I also had a couple of recommendations that this was a good place to shop.

The wrong part was included and there is no nozzle with which to attach a garden hose. All that was included was a straight tube with nothing on either end.

I've been "communicating" politely with the dealer for almost a month about this. I sent specific descriptions of what I received. I provided a URL with the manufacturer's Care and Use Manual that has pictures of what I should have received. You can see the nozzle on the end of the tube, right?

First they tried to tell me that I needed to drill holes in the bucket and attach the tube. (That wouldn't work with the parts I have even if that was the correct answer.) I sent the URL for the Care and Use Manual again, plus embedded a copy of the page they needed to see right in the email.

They had GE send me two screws. This isn't rocket science. A dealer should be familiar with the products they sell.

I contacted the dealer again 10 days ago and have heard NOTHING.

I sent another email last night. If I don't hear anything within a week, I'll order the freakin' part myself (I finally gave them the part number, too, because it's right there on the GE website.). I will also make sure I steer people away from this dealer any chance I get as well as sending a written letter of "disappointment with their customer service".

My rolled roof is leaking. I had to have the light kit on a ceiling fan replaced because the bulbs pop and burn out frequently. I couldn't remove the flood light over my sink. The weather strip on my garage door was in tatters. I had light switches that simply flopped back and forth and didn't turn anything on. Luckily I have a superb handy-person, The Odd Job Grrl that takes care of issues like this perfectly. She does a great job and my critters adore her.

Then, last Sunday the vet called with Winston's biopsy results. It's bad news. Winston has small cell lymphoma (or small lymphocytic lymphoma).

With chemotherapy and steroids, the median survival time is 18 to 20 months. With animals, you don't go for a cure for cancer because it's not fair for them to be so completely miserable. You just go for the best quality of life you can provide.

We've mapped out a plan of Chlorambucil ($3 a pill), Prednisolone (somewhat inexpensive) and he was already on Norvasc ($3 a pill) for high blood pressure.

Of course, the chemo suppresses white cells so he'll have to have frequent trips to the vet for bloodwork.

The MasterCard is now sagging along next to the Visa card.


Winston is unaware he is ill. He got his staples out and is now alternately annoying the other critters and enjoying a lot of lap time. He's surprised and happy that he's now allowed to have all the Fancy Feast he wants as well as a few tiny treats from my plate from time to time.

Some things never change. You look in his eyes and the lights are on, but nobody's home.

I, on the other hand, am exhausted (and poor).

Only Female in Management Gets New Office

Posted by Susan

Tama, a nine-year-old female cat, wearing a stationmaster cap and a neck sign reading: "Super Stationmaster Tama" rests at Kishi Station in western Japanese city of Kinokawa Friday, May 16, 2008. Money-losing Japanese train company Wakayama Electric Railway Co. has found the purr-fect pet mascot to draw crowds and bring back business - tabby Tama. All Tama does is sit by the entrance of the station, wearing the black cap, posing for photos for tourists, now flocking in droves from across the nation. (AP Photo/Kyodo News)



Well, not really an office, but at least she has some privacy now.

Tama, a former stray 9 year-old calico in Western Japan, has been named "Super-Station-Master" of the Kishi Train Station. To save costs, Kishi Station went unmanned in 2006, but Tama stayed on.

She wears a black uniform cap and patiently poses for pictures with tourists who are flocking to meet her. Yup, that's her job and the company pays her in cat food.

Cats are considered good luck and are believed to bring business in Japan and, sure enough, Tama has brought luck to Wakayama Electric Railway Co. after she was appointed Station Master in January 2007. After her appointment, ridership rose 17 percent from the previous year. I'd say that's bringing in the business!

She was promoted in January of this year to "Super-Station-Master" making her "the only female in a managerial position" in the company's 36-strong workforce. Wakayama Electric spokesperson Keiko Yamaki said, "She now holds the fifth highest position in the company,"

Wakayama Electric has also rewarded Tama with some much-needed privacy. The new Station Master's office is a renovated ticket booth which opened in April with the attendance of Kinokawa Mayor Shinji Nakamura and Wakayama Electric president Mitsunobu Kojima.


The office guarantees her some privacy. "She declines to relieve herself when passengers are looking. We set the toilet where passengers can't see," Yamaki said.

No mention was made regarding who scoops the litter box.

Tama commutes to her 9-to-5 job (she gets Sundays off) with Toshiko Koyama, a local who runs a grocery store next door, from a shed next to the station. As Koyama tells her, "Ms Stationmaster, it's time to work," Tama comes along to the station, Yamaki said.

There are all sorts of postcards, notebooks and pins carrying Tama's picture. There's even a special 1,365 yen ($13) book of photos of Tama called, "Diary of Tama, the Station Master."

Tama is also going to be in a French documentary directed by Myriam Tonelotto about wonder cats from around the world.

Original Story can be found on www.iol.co.za.

Giving Back

Posted by Susan

Allison Brown, 5, whispers "goodnight" to the family's chocolate labrador, Molly, refering to the famous "Unsinkable Molly Brown," Tuesday, May 20, 2008, in the Brown family home in Saginaw, Mo. (AP/The Joplin Globe, T. Rob Brown)



Molly, the rescue dog, is a hero. Molly assists authorities by helping to look murder victims and survivors of natural disasters.

Then Molly needed some help, too. The 5 year-old chocolate Labrador Retriever's heart had a complete electrical heart blockage and needed a pacemaker. Although I'm not familiar with canine anatomy or medicine, I would suspect that Molly's outlook was pretty grim.

We critter-lovers know the strain that vet bills can put on the budget and credit cards, especially when it comes to something a bit more out of the ordinary. For the Browns, the decision to either put their dog to sleep or have the expensive surgery was difficult.

“So many people have lost their homes recently, I feel bad asking for anything,” Alicia Brown said. “We’re so good at helping out our community. We’re just not very good at accepting any help ourselves.”

Owners Allen and Alicia Brown got assistance with offers to help pay the more than $2,500 for the surgery, vet and travel costs after the Joplin Globe reported on her need for a pacemaker.

Medical technology company Medtronic Inc. donated the pacemaker and a Kansas businessman offered to anonymously pay up to $2,000 of the cost.

Allen, a paramedic, and Alicia, a nurse, put in hundreds of hours searching for bodies as volunteers with a local K-9 search and rescue unit. They have five dogs, two of whom are trained as rescue dogs. It takes about two years to train a search and rescue dog. Buying a fully trained rescue dog can cost up to $20,000, so these two really know about giving back to their community.

Molly got her pacemaker on Thursday at the university of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine. She was scheduled to go home on Friday. She'll have be crated for two weeks and then have limited activity for a couple of months, but will be able to be back on the job after that.

It warms my heart to hear that people are reaching out to help a critter that helps us humans in desperate times. This is such a great example of giving back.

Good luck, Molly! We wish you well.

Original Story can be found on CBS News website.

Engineer's Guide to Cats

Posted by Pariahjane

Well, it's Friday and the weekend is almost here (finally!) I just received this link from a friend and thought it was incredibly clever and very, very funny.



I'm not exactly a huge fan of cats, mainly because I break into hives and can't breathe when I'm around them but these cats are hysterical. I couldn't tell if they engineer was making some of those cat sounds or if that was really a cat!

Hope you all enjoy!

Owen's Manicure

Posted by Susan

Seems that Walter Owen (he goes by his middle name) is ready for his manicure and a day at the spa.

Not bad considering that just 7 months ago he was a cold, wet and hungry stray crouched under a bush next to my patio.

Yup, he seems to have adjusted to the indoor life quite well!

Gutwrenching Decision

Posted by Susan

Back in 1992, a beautiful feral kitty came to live with me. She was terrified of everything and it took a year, working with her every night at least once an hour, for her to trust me enough to let me touch her without being bitten. It took another year to be able to pick her up without her going into a complete frenzy.

It was worth the effort.

For so many of us, our furry family members are an integral part of our lives and we cannot imagine life without them. However, as all of us critter lovers are all too aware, our critters likely will not outlive us. Even with the advances in veterinary medicine, we just can't always fix what's wrong.

Several weeks ago my Louise was diagnosed with adenocarcinoma. It was like a physical blow to my heart.

Although chemotherapy was an option, it wasn't a good one in this case. I would have done it in a heartbeat if it would grant us any additional quality time together. The only humane option was hospice care as long as she felt good and had a quality of life.

"Susan's Medical Center" immediately commenced. She tolerated all the needles, pills and supplements with grace and dignity. Who knew a former feral would allow all this?

After a week, she had gained almost half a pound. She carried her fuzzy toy around while making her funny Louise-noise. She purred and made "kitty paws" while settled happily in my lap. There was hope that things were looking up ~ for awhile anyway.

Then, almost overnight, she began getting weaker and weaker. Her legs were slipping out from under her.

When she didn't bounce back after a couple of days, I saw that her quality of life was gone. All she wanted to do was sleep in her teepee. She didn't want to eat. The gutwrenching decision was required to let her go.

The vet is the kindest, most gentle and most compassionate person I've ever known. I think it hurt his heart almost as much as it did mine.

She only got 10 days out of the deal. It's just not fair.

There is a Louise-sized hole in my heart. A Louise-less world is just not OK.

The Lovely Louise
1991-2008

A Worthy Campaign

Posted by Susan

As long as we've got several posts about critters, I'd like to direct everyone's attention to a link under Worthy Campaigns on the right of the screen.

The Animal Rescue Site is a very worthy campaign and it's absolutely FREE to help feed shelter critters. All you have to do is click on the logo and then click on the button that says "Click Here to Give – it's FREE!"



This campaign provides food for some of the 27,000,000 unwanted critters given up to shelters every year. Over 10,000,000 (yes, that's 10 MILLION) critters are euthanized in the US every year simply because no one wants them.



I cannot imagine how confused and frightened they are. They had a home and their humans and all of a sudden they're in a strange cage. There are lots of scary sounds and smells. Where has their family gone? And then they are killed because no one wants them.



Even more frightening are how many pets are turned out of their homes to fend for themselves. There is a misconception that cats will hunt mice and survive. That's not true. A cat that's used to being fed will starve to death while trying to find its way home.



A dog will many times sit and wait for its human to return.

These critters face many dangers such as traffic, wildlife, cruel humans, disease and starvation.

Please support your local shelters. Please PLEASE spay and neuter your pets.

An unspayed female cat, her mate and all of their offspring, producing two litters per year, with 2.8 surviving kittens per litter can total:

One Year: 12
Two Years: 67
Three Years: 376
Four Years: 2,107
Five Years: 11,801
Six Years: 66,088
Seven Years: 370,092
Eight Years: 2,072,514
Nine Years: 11,606,077

An unspayed female dog, her mate and all of their puppies, if none are every neutered or spayed, can add up to:

One Year: 16
Two Years: 128
Three Years: 512
Four Years: 2,048
Five Years: 12,288
Six Years: 67,000

Please be a responsible pet caretaker (like the authors on this site!) and please Click Once A Day on the logo for The Animal Rescue Site.

Please take a few seconds and support a worthy campaign each day.

Look what we found in Junior's room!!!!

Posted by Pariahjane

Ok, well Junior actually goes by the name Gizmo. Or Chicken (long story). Anyway, Gizmo is a ferret. For those that aren't familiar with these cute little critters, ferrets like to hoard stuff. And they steal what they hoard and, quite honestly, make excellent little thieves. Actually, the ferret's Latin name roughly translates into 'Stinky Mouse Killing Thief'. So there is your useless knowledge for the day - do with it what you will.

This is Gizmo:

Gizmo's 'room' is actually the box spring of our queen size bed. We were not happy with this but, as I've said before, ferrets are very resourceful and quite determined to get their way. It was a good, long hard battle but Gizmo persevered - the box spring was his.

Gizmo also really really likes plastic - you crinkle a plastic bag in the kitchen and he comes out of no where and will go ape shit to get the bag. So, naturally, Gizmo hoards plastic bags. And anything they contain. I've found books in plastic, shoes in plastic (that I carry to work with me), jewelery in plastic, etc. Every month I go through his hidey hole and clean out the contraband and make sure that he doesn't have anything valuable, important or dangerous in there. After this month's sweep, however, the box spring is going far far away.

This is what we found:
Apparently Gizmo's plastic fetish has reached epic proportions. That big mound in the middle of the bed is comprised of plastic bags of every shape and size from sandwich bags to gigantic Target bags. He must have been pulling them out of the pantry behind my back and hiding them in the box spring.

I honestly could not understand why I was going through pocket tissue packs like crazy. It now appears that someone has figured out how to open my purse. Which I hang up on the doorknob, by the way. How he even gets up there is a mystery.


That, my friends, is a FUCKING PEANUT BUTTER SANDWICH!!!! And it was inside my box spring!!! Gizmo apparently really coveted this gem of a find because I found it inside a plastic bag that was already inside a plastic bag. Oh, and that's also some important looking cable and a maxi pad.

Just for the record, Gizmo has no interest in chewing or eating any of his finds. He just likes to hide them. His box spring days, however, are over.

(Disclaimer for all the rabid ferret owners - yes, he has a cage which he stays in when we are not home. He's perfectly safe and I understand ALL the dangers of letting a ferret roam around the house. This place is like ferrety Fort Knox. He's fine here)

"I'm Too Sexy For My Fur, Too Sexy For My Fur..."

Posted by JCE

***

This little wondermutt hails from just across the river. Who knew I would be living near a celebrity?!


From National Geographic:

New York, New York, February 12, 2008—Uno the beagle trots into the arena at Madison Square Garden for the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.

Uno ended up living up to his name that night, as he took the coveted Best in Show title, beating some 2,600 other dogs to become the first beagle to take home the top prize.

Watch this video from The Washington Post:



One of our authors has his very own sweet beagle and has been ooo-ing and ahhh-ing over this little sweetheart all week. BGH - we would love it if you would post more pictures of strummer....please?

(Oh, and to the poodles who always end up taking Best in Show...Eat Uno's Poo! LOL)

***

(Edit By BGH)

A better looking Beagle, my little Strummer dog.






----

File this under "Awwwww!"

Posted by JCE

***

Sweet baby monkey!



From National Geographic:

London, United Kingdom, February 13, 2008—Vale, a four-week-old titi monkey, is held by his father Thiago, in the London Zoo's new rain forest biome.

The red titi monkey was born in January to his mother Yara, but the zoo chose Valentine's Day week to announce the birth after giving the baby a few weeks to acclimatize in the biome, according to a news release on the Zoo's Web site.

“This birth proves that Clore Rainforest Lookout really is a great enclosure for the animals, allowing them to behave and breed naturally. We are all delighted to see Vale zipping around the indoor forest on Yara's back," the Zoological Society of London's curator of mammals, Malcolm Fitzpatrick, said.

***

Help! Cat Music Video

Posted by Susan

And now for something a bit lighter!

Please take a couple of minutes to watch this adorable video. It's quite well done by using popular music and adorable pictures to get a message across.

Don't miss the closing credits either. There are a couple that are worth a smile.

P.S. Please spay and neuter your critters! Not only does it prevent unwanted litters, it's actually a health benefit to your pet.


Help! Cat Music Video

PETA Euthanizes 97% of Animals in its Care

Posted by Susan

Anyone who comes to this site knows I'm a critter lover. I'm horrified that people aren't getting the message that PETA has skewed ethics.

I have always been distrustful of PETA's mission. This stems from a tiny article I saw years ago where a PETA official said something to the effect that they do not believe any animals should be companion animals.

I find that my mistrust was not baseless.

PETA hypocrisy has come to light. In 2005, www.PetaKillsAnimals.com was set up and just a month after that, two PETA employees were up on 31 counts of animal cruelty.

If you don't believe me, just Google the words: PETA dumpster animals

If you've got the stomach for it, Here are some of the police photos of the evidence against the two PETA employees.

If you really want to help the animals, spay and neuter your pets as well as supporting your local shelters and rescue groups.

Do not support PETA; they kill animals.

ARTICLE ON THE SPERO NEWS WEBSITE CAN BE FOUND HERE

PETA Euthanizes 97% of Animals in its Care
Spero News
Sunday, January 13, 2008

"Death toll up to 17,400; report describes PETA's deadliest year ever."

An official report from People for The Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) shows that the animal rights group put to death more than 97 percent of the dogs, cats, and other pets it took in for adoption in 2006. During that year, the well-known animal rights group managed to find adoptive homes for just 12 pets. The non-profit Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF) is calling on PETA to either end its hypocritical angel-of-death program, or stop its senseless condemnation of Americans who believe it's perfectly ethical to use animals for food, clothing, and critical medical research.

Not counting animals PETA held only temporarily in its spay-neuter program, the organization took in 3,061 "companion animals" in 2006, of which it killed 2,981. According to Virginia's Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS), the average euthanasia rate for humane societies in the state was just 34.7 percent in 2006. PETA killed 97.4 percent of the animals it took in. The organization filed its 2006 report this month, nine months after the VDACS deadline of March 31, 2007.

"Pet lovers should be outraged," said CCF Director of Research David Martosko. "There are thousands of worthwhile animal shelters that deserve Americans' support. PETA is not one of them."

In courtroom testimony last year, a PETA manager acknowledged that her organization maintains a large walk-in freezer for storing dead animals, and that PETA contracts with a Virginia cremation service to dispose of the bodies. In that trial, two PETA employees were convicted of dumping dead animals in a rural North Carolina trash dumpster.

In Southampton County, Virginia, another PETA employee currently faces criminal charges in a dog-napping case. Andrea Florence Benoit Harris was arrested in late 2006 for allegedly abducting a hunting dog and attempting to transport it to PETA's Norfolk headquarters.

"PETA raised over $30 million last year," Martosko added, "and it's using that money to kill the only flesh-and-blood animals its employees actually see. The scale of PETA's hypocrisy is simply staggering."

Free way to help animals

Posted by Pariahjane

This is a nice simple way to help animals in need. The website is animalrescuesite.com. You simply go to the site and click and voila! the numerous sponsers on the site donate money to animal shelters.

They also have a store and proceeds from that also go to helping animals.

It just takes a few seconds to go to the site and click the link.

The "Human" Bond Between Animals

Posted by Susan

Although it's a little creepy to think of burying your beloved pet and then finding it back in the house the next day, this story is a good example that our pets feel a bond with their companions just like humans do.

Anyone who thinks that pets don't experience grief is mistaken. Oscar obviously wanted his buddy back and did his best to take care of him.

I've had the opposite happen. After a long battle with kidney disease, my Clara finally lost the battle. I swear Winston did a kitty-dance on the dining room table when I had to have her euthanized. For some reason he absolutely HATED her. It was his mission in life to tear her limb from limb. They were separated for five years and he never gave up trying to get to her and kill her.

Our critters may not be able to put their feelings into words, but they definitely feel many of the same emotions as we.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE ON METRO.CO.UK CAN BE FOUND HERE

Dog and cat's friendship continues after death
Thursday, January 10, 2008

It was a friendship that could inspire a Disney movie. Oscar the dog and his best friend, Arthur the cat, were inseparable
in life.

Oscar the dog and Arthur the cat

So, when 17-year-old moggy Arthur died, Oscar was left inconsolable. Their owners, Robert and Mavis Bell, buried Arthur in the garden.

But Oscar's love for his friend would not die - and during the night, he pulled the cat from his grave, carried him inside, laid him in the basket they used to share and gently cleaned him up.

Which is one of those things that's heartwarming when an animal does it, but kind of creepy when a human does the same.

Mr Bell found the pair curled up together in the basket. He said: 'Oscar had watched me bury Arthur. They had been inseparable.'

Arthur is now buried in a secure grave in the garden at the Bells' home in Wigan and Oscar has a new playmate kitten called Limpet.

'He's already very protective of her,' Mrs Bell said.

A Crisis That's Good To Have

Posted by Susan

I see this as a "crisis" that's good to have!

Although animal activists have been working for years to get the fashion industry to stop using real fur, it hasn't gained a whole lot of ground due to the fact that people would continue to purchase real fur.

It looks like the work is starting to pay off by informing the public, publicizing nightmare-causing pictures of baby seals being slaughtered and causing the demand to decrease.

The activism is finally starting to pay off and the crisis begins for the sealers.

I definitely do not agree that bleeding seals makes it any more humane. After all, they've been bashed in the head, or side of their face or shot. How humane is that?

ORIGINAL ARTICLE ON THE CANADIAN PRESS CAN BE FOUND HERE

Canadian seal industry faces 'crisis' because of import bans, sealers told


ST. JOHN'S, N.L. - Canada's centuries-old commercial sealing industry faces a "crisis" because of growing opposition throughout Europe that threatens to close vital markets, the head of the Fur Institute of Canada said Tuesday.

In a stark address to a gathering of about 100 sealers, Bruce Williams, chairman of the organization, said the future of the seal harvest is bleak if support for bans on the import of seal products continues to build in Europe.

"Unfortunately, the animal rights organizations around the world have come to realize that the easiest way to kill something - for maybe lack of a better term - is to kill the market," Williams said.

"If you can't sell the product, if it has no commercial value, then I would say that it is doomed."

Belgium and Holland have approved legislation prohibiting the sale of seal products. Germany, Italy and Austria are drafting similar legislation, prompting pressure for the European Union to adopt a ban.

While those countries aren't Canada's biggest importers of seal products, they serve as a critical shipment and manufacturing point to the larger markets of Norway, Russia and China.

Williams said there's an additional effect an EU-wide ban could have on the sealing industry.

April 7, 2007/© The HSUS

"One thing I can tell you is that if fur is not fashionable on the runways of Paris and Milan, it's not going to be fashionable anywhere," he said.

"The simple reality today is the big markets are China and Russia, but they want things that are in style, and style is not dictated by those countries. It's dictated by the countries in Europe."

Even Loyola Sullivan, Canada's fisheries ambassador, acknowledged Tuesday that efforts to overcome the anti-sealing lobby in Europe would be tough.

"It's difficult because it's advanced so far," Sullivan said.

April 5, 2007/© The HSUS/Glover

"It's got a tremendous foothold in Europe, and most people close to the situation feel that a ban by other countries is imminent, that it's gone too far. It would be unpopular now for a member of parliament in a European country to support the hunt."

In September, Canada launched a challenge to the World Trade Organization in an effort to persuade the Belgian and Dutch governments to reverse their bans, arguing their policies were rooted in misinformation spread in large part by animal rights groups. Ottawa's complaint remains before the WTO.

Mark Small, a former president of the Canadian Sealing Association and longtime sealer, said even though Canada's hunt is the most sustainable in the world, his fellow hunters may have to accept some changes in their practices, such as different measures to cull the seals.

April 7, 2007/© The HSUS
This baby seal, just a few days
old, was clubbed to death.

"I'm definitely sure that, as a sealer myself, we can do a better job than we've been doing in the past," Small said.
"We've got to make some compromises if we're going to protect our future industry in this province."

The federal government is proposing sealers immediately bleed the seal after shooting or clubbing it - a process that involves cutting two large blood vessels - to minimize pain and distress.

Rebecca Aldworth, a spokeswoman for the Humane Society of the United States, said Ottawa should drop its efforts to reverse bans in Europe and put together a buyout package for sealers.

"We hope that the sealing industry will work with us to push the federal government to fairly compensate the people that will be affected by the closure of the sealing industry," Aldworth said from Montreal.

"That is the most graceful way for the Canadian government to exit this controversy."

April 5, 2007/© The HSUS

Animal rights activists have long condemned the hunt, saying the annual slaughter is cruel, difficult to monitor and ravages stock levels.

But sealers and the federal Fisheries Department have just as vigorously defended the hunt as sustainable, humane and a necessary source of income for fishermen on the Atlantic coast.

The seal hunt usually begins in late March or early April, depending on ice conditions.

If you've got the stomach for it, HERE is an article from the Humane Society of the United States named "Live From The Ice" detailing the seal hunt last spring. There is video, too, but I just couldn't watch.

The Best Damn Farm Show, Period

Posted by JCE

***
I am not a farmer. I can barely tell a cow from a chicken. I do not live in Pennsylvania. But, by all accounts The Pennsylvania State Farm Show is the best in the nation.

My attention was captured by an article posted by the Associated Press and I discovered the great lengths folks go to in order to ensure their livestock wins Best in Show (hairspray on a cow??).

Immaculate grooming isn't just a concern for beauty-pageant contestants. At the Pennsylvania Farm Show, Brandy, an 11-month-old Angus heifer, needs to look good, too.

As Jamie Brozman was sizing up her heifer last week, her main objective was to de-emphasize the animal's bulging shoulders by giving her coat a closer shave.

"It's really an art form, like sculpting," said Brozman, from the Just Enuff Angus farm in Nazareth. She spoke over the din of electric hair clippers and blow dryers that resembled distant cousins of wet-dry vacuums.

I was further intrigued when I found out just how much this show does in terms of progressive technology to combat the growing problem of feeding more people quality food with less funding and space.

The face of Pennsylvania agriculture is changing, and the 2008 Farm Show is poised to showcase the ways our industry is adapting. This year's theme - Presenting Pennsylvania Agriculture, New Ideas for New Markets - sets the stage for sharing the exciting opportunities that lie ahead for all Pennsylvanians.

This ain't your local country fair! These folks are on the cutting edge of science and technology. One fun thing they do each year is feature a sculpture made from butter (the sculpture at the left was from the 2007 show). At the end of the show, they donate the sculpture to a university for the students to use in researching alternative fuel sources.

Alternative Energy Featured At Farm Show
Pennsylvania is a national leader in investing in renewable energy production and technologies, and this year’s Farm Show will showcase this dynamic new frontier in PA agriculture. Visitors will have access to educational opportunities regarding wind, solar, biogas, biofuels and biomass energy harvested here in the Commonwealth. Under Governor Rendell’s PennSecurity Fuels Initiative, 12.5 percent of all fuel consumed in PA will come from clean and renewable sources by 2017, saving Pennsylvanians $10 billion in energy costs over the next ten years. Through Governor Rendell’s Energy Independence Strategy, PA farms are leading the way to better energy and environmental security. Visit the Expo Hall to find the latest in this innovative technology.

Whether you are vegan, vegetarian or a meat-eater, these folks are the ones working very hard to feed you and I applaud their efforts. The show is currently running through January 12.

***

Hanging On By A Whisker

Posted by Susan

And now for something happier and heartwarming.

It always makes me glad to hear about those who help our animal friends with everything they've got. This gal has not only given everything she's got, but she's gone above and beyond.

There are those of us who have been called "Crazy Cat Lady" from time to time, but we can only aspire to be as selfless as Joyce Smith.

Original article from TheStar.Com can be found HERE.

Hanging On By A Whisker

Pickering woman neglects her own health to help 300 abandoned felines, all of whom need a home

Dec 17, 2007 04:30 AM
CAROLA VYHNAK
STAFF REPORTER

She weighed all of three pounds and was so cold her body temperature didn't even register on the thermometer. It was a toss-up, the vet said, whether she'd freeze or starve to death.

Joyce Smith wouldn't accept the homeless cat's fate.

"I said, `Put her on life support. Give her a chance.'" After two months of TLC, a healthy and beautiful Icicle was melting the heart of a delighted new owner.

Hers is one of the happier tales of the thousands of animals Smith has rescued over the years. But the 300 cats the frail 78-year-old has taken under her wing are not so lucky. Warm and well-fed, no doubt, but unwelcome anywhere else.

Visitors to Smith's Second Chance Animal Sanctuary in north Pickering are instantly mobbed in the old stone farmhouse she shares with 100 of them. Cats that aren't clamouring for attention or purring on your shoulders perch on cages, nap on furniture or watch birds out the window. While there is an unmistakable feline fragrance in the air – Smith cleans the 20 litter boxes several times a day – the household is surprisingly calm.

It's the same story in the large, heated shelter on the 10-hectare farm where, along with an assortment of rabbits, rodents and birds, another 200 kitties reside in clean comfort, each with its own little carpet, litter box and pillow. Large, outdoor runs provide fresh air and exercise out of predators' reach.

Yes, Smith laughs, she's been called the crazy cat lady, and worse.

"What else do you call someone who's given up their life and works 20 hours a day with no pay?"

She may be a little eccentric, she admits, but it is a devotion to animals that drives her. And she's paying a heavy price.

Vet bills average about $4,000 a month, and food, supplies, and salaries for her two part-time workers cost at least that much again.

While she's fanatical about the animals' well-being, she's neglected her own.

"My health is failing fast. It's very hard on me," she says of the chores that never let up despite five volunteers who pitch in regularly. She collapsed from malnutrition dehydration recently because she'd gone all day without eating.

Smith, who's used up all her savings and lives on her old-age pension, relies on fundraisers, adoption fees and donations. But the $3,000 a month raised by a charity bingo stopped in the fall when the bingo hall closed. Smith is hoping to start a new charity bingo in January at another hall in Pickering.

Meantime, she fears the landowner who has let her use the property since 1996 may soon take it back.

"I'm here on borrowed time," she says. "We've been in real trouble since we lost the bingo."

The animal lover who could never say no to a creature in distress is finally forcing herself to do so.

"It's breaking my heart," she says. Smith has stepped in for countless irresponsible pet owners in the 35 years she's been caring for domestic animals and wildlife, first at her house in Pickering and later at the sanctuary north of Highway 7 and east of Brock Rd. She has nothing but contempt for people who refuse to have their pets sterilized or discard them like disposable objects.

"People dump cats on us all the time. They should see those cats dying of a broken heart, not eating, after they watch the people they love drive away without them."

Once cats are healthy and have been spayed or neutered, they're adopted out through Pet Finders, PetSmart and her website (www.second-chance.ws/).

Raised on a Durham farm, Smith recalls the injured bird she nursed until her mother said it was time to let it go.

"I held my hand up and watched him fly away until he was just a little speck in the sky. It was such a wonderful feeling."

It's her commitment to giving every animal a second chance that keeps her going, she says, remembering Icicle's miraculous recovery.

"She would put her paws around me. She knew it was me who saved her."

Cloned Cats That Glow?!

Posted by Susan

Once again I am truly horrified.

South Korean scientists claim they've genetically altered cats to glow in the dark.

While that may sound like a fun thing to some, has anyone given any thought at all to what they're doing to the animals? Why would it even cross someone's mind to make a critter glow? If they're absolutely must alter animals genetically, at the very least why not do something that might benefit someone?

I have no doubt they'll breed these poor creatures to see if the alterations will be passed on. There's no telling what kind of abnormalities will be created or what kind of suffering the animals will be forced to endure.

South Korea is already trouble for a scientific cloning scandal a couple of years back. I can only hope this is a flash-in-the-pan news release that won't go anywhere.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE ON Cosmic Log msnbc.com CAN BE FOUND HERE


Cloned cats that glow?!

Posted: Thursday, December 13, 2007 2:35 PM by Alan Boyle


AFP / Getty Images

South Korean scientists say they have cloned cats whose genes have been altered so that they glow in the dark - taking advantage of a technological twist that could someday be used to make more dramatic genetic changes in all sorts of creatures.

A research team at Gyeongsang National University, headed by Kong Il-Keun, produced several kitty clones in January and February, the government-managed Korea.net news service reported Wednesday. This week the scientists showed off the cats, which now weigh about 7 pounds (3 to 3.5 kilograms) and glow a dull red under ultraviolet light.

"The ability to manipulate the fluorescent protein and use this to clone cats opens new horizons for artificially creating animals with human illnesses linked to genetic causes," the Ministry of Science and Technology said in Wednesday's report.

The procedure for cloning a cat has been around for six years, and Kong himself first performed that particular feat back in 2004. What's noteworthy about the newly reported twist - other than that glow-in-the-dark kitties are really cool - is that scientists fiddled with the donor cat's genetic code, then passed those changes on to the clones.

Here's what the researchers say they did: They took skin cells from Turkish Angora female cats and used a virus to insert the genetic instructions for making red fluorescent protein. Then they put the gene-altered nuclei into eggs for cloning. The cloned embryos were implanted back into the donor cats, which effectively became the surrogate mothers for their own clones.

Four kittens were born by Caesarian section, but one of them died during the procedure, according to the Korea Times. The fact that the kittens' skin cells glowed under ultraviolet light served as evidence that they were really gene-altered clones.

Assuming that the results are confirmed, Kong's cats would join mice and pigs in the glow-in-the-dark clone menagerie. The implication is that if you can pass along the easy-to-recognize coding for fluorescent markers through cloning, you could eventually pass along more complex genetic coding.

Theoretically, you could add in the coding for an endangered species, producing cloned hybrids to boost the gene pool for Sumatran tigers, Iberi