Monday 28 December 2009

The Cruel Reality of Dumping Pets in the Country

Maybe CRUEL is too nice of a way to put it. So many dogs get dumped on our road. I mean SOOOOO many. I'm not going to wax poetic about this. Here is what I have learned this year:

So...what happens to a pet who is dumped on an idylic country road?
1) That dog gets hit by a truck/car/farm vehicle. Or manages its way back to a main road and gets hit by several. If you think it would be a clean hit you would be wrong 85% of the time. No, the dog would be injured, limp off and suffer or lay there to be hit some more until it eventally dies.
2) It gets curious and investigates livestock. Livestock defends itself and a)injures pet b)sounds an alarm and farmer shoots stray/ livestock guardian does its job or c)tramples pet to death.
3) pet starves to death, slowly and desperately.
4) pet gets attacked by wild animals and is injured or dies or dies slowly from injuries
5) Someone picks up the pet and takes it to ARL. So this begs the question, why not skip the above and just take your unwanted pet right to the ARL?
6) It can happen that the pet gets taken in and becomes a good farm pet. Not likely. If its behaviours made it unwanted, those are usually still problematic.

Moral of the story. Stop dumping your pets in the country. You are dooming them, not giving them a chance at doggie/kitty paradise. It makes me sick to my stomach knowing how many of my own pets were "taken to the country to live on a farm" instead of taken to the ARL and given half a chance at finding a new home. The reality of what happens to a country dumped animal makes euthanization seem like a merciful and peaceful ending. The cruelty of a farm dump is beyond true description.

Christmas Part Three and Four: Christmas Eve Traditions, Christmas Day

The night before Christmas and all through Grandma's home, not a turtle was jumping.....ok, maybe one.



In our family we read the birth story in the Bible and sing Christmas songs before gift giving. The girls were loaded with toys and clothes. The next morning Santa and Deedle left them small gifts, a chess set for Lil'Bug, a wooden doll set for Bluberry, and a wagon from Deedle for all of us. The girls helped Dearest put it together and I played with my camera. I've had trouble with getting the focus right on my SRL and suddenly, after owning it for 2 years, I discovered a dynamic focus setting. I love it. None of these pictures used it though, they did however get to be my first through Aperture, which I also love.

Oh, and for good measure and sake of historical accuracy...Dearest has spent the last few days wading in ice cold muck water because a drain backed up in the basement and the ice melt from around the house was all directed into the basement via an old drive under garage. It was a crisis because it made it difficult for me to get to my bacon. This picture is Dearest thawing hoses full of ice to use with a sump pump, which ultimately also froze and was replaced. Things are looking up I think, I'm not entirely sure I care since he waded through and brought me my bacon. Oh, and it's not sewage. So that's good. Merry Christmas!

Baby Blues and Wagon Red- Playing with Christmas Presents....


I got Aperature for Christmas. I'm still fumbling with the possibilities, but in the meantime I can make my girls look like they have purple eyes! LOL. I love it. Really love it. Thank you family!

The girls got a Radio Flyer wagon from great aunt Deedle down in dolphin country. They put it together with Daddy and it is now a main fixture in the living room. It is going to be a lifesaver at the farmers market this summer.

Thursday 24 December 2009

Christmas Part Two: Aunt Bee and Afternoon Antics....