Animal Rights & Stuff - 4

I guess most people in the US are thinking about and getting ready for Thanksgiving. Spending time with family and friends, eating a lot and having a good time if you are amongst the fortunate ones. Maybe being hungry, cold and lonely if you are not so fortunate. Although, just because you are with a group of people doesn't mean that you are happy......you know, happy and content with yourself. I see that a lot, people that make sure they laugh the loudest, put on a big show of fake happiness and grandiose gestures and loud talk when really on the inside they are just miserable. And it is so very obvious to the people observing them. Just because you put on a show of being "social and happy" doesn't mean that you are. Far from it. Sometimes (often) the people that don't feel the need to put on a fake show for others are the ones that truly are at peace and happy.
I am thankful for a LOT. For my family and my friends (although they live far away), for the love of my life Chhaya, for having a safe and warm place to call home, that I get to eat every day and all the other comforts that I get to enjoy, for my health, for my amazingly good looks (HA HA!). I am thankful when I savor moments of feeling alive. For that sip of latte that tastes so good. When laying in a warm bath. When curling up under my covers with a great book. When I travel and experience new things. When dancing to some great music. That I am free and get to make my own choices. And no.....I am not having any turkey on Thanksgiving. Chhaya can have some but I will refrain.

Now to XENA. I read about her today and since this is a wonderful story it needs to be on my blog. Xena was horribly maltreated as a puppy. Once again, some sorry excuse for a human did this to an animal. Heartless and sick. One more example of how cruel human being are. And I will say this again, people that do this to animals deserve execution. This is my opinion.



Today this beautiful girl is the best friend of autistic little boy. Since Xena came into his life he has developed a lot. They say that it is believed that Xena is a Staffordshire terrier mix, she looks like a pitbull to me. Her and Chhaya look similar, just different colors. You can read more about this story if you search for Xena the Warrior Puppy. And on that happy note.....
I have to go. It is a rather gloomy day, the kind when you don't really want to do a whole lot......but I have to get going, things are awaiting.

I'm in bed, snacking on pistachios and laughing at Jimmy Fallon. I guess it's Miley's 21st birthday next week and she is planning on a wild and fun party to celebrate. THAT is a party I would loooooove to attend, I bet it's going to be amazing! Miley......please send Tatiana an invitation! You won't regret it.......

Anyhow. Chhaya attended the doggy class this evening, she was a really good girl. I think we might start going to a class in January so Chhaya can do something different to break up the regular routine and be around other dogs.



I want to touch on a subject that I feel strongly about. When I was in South Dakota (Winner) for work I met a very nice gentleman and we talked about our dogs. He told me about his wonderful Labrador companion and friend but then he said something that made me sad, although I chose not to say anything to him because I didn't want to offend him, or actually offend his wife (that was not present I should add). He told me that his dog is never allowed in the house because his wife thinks that the dog is dirty. So the dog sleeps in a doghouse outside, they live in Canada. It gets cold there. I know people do this and they seem to think that it is perfectly normal and that their dogs are fine and happy living like that. Well, I say they are not and so do many others. Dogs are pack animals, their human family are their pack so when you leave your dog outside you shut them out and they suffer. Of course dogs like to be outside but when you are keeping them company. I do let Chhaya out for a quick pee first thing in the morning and last thing at night, she does her thing and then she runs back home and stands outside the door and I let her back in. Later on in the day we go for walks and/or play outside together. I can never imagine not letting her in and watching her watch me from the outside in with sad eyes, that would be so wrong! Every dog deserves to live as part of it's family regardless of size and breed. If you think your dog is dirty then brush it, groom it and bathe it. Sure Chhaya brings in dirt and gets my bed dirty. But I bring in dirt too, therefore I clean.....besides some dirt won't kill me. Chhaya is curled up in bed with me right now and the companionship and joy she brings into my life is priceless. I can wash my sheets or get new ones but Chhaya is irreplaceable.
If you know somebody that keeps their dog/s outside, please show them the link I am providing and hopefully they will change their mind about keeping their companion outside. ❤

http://www.dogsdeservebetter.com

Do I have any other plans this very cold evening? It's - 2 °F that is - 19 °C, in case somebody from Europe is reading this. Brrrrrrrr!
I am going to trim some hair in the neither region. Why? Maybe it's pool time or perhaps work time again? So I am bringing out the heavy equipment for said task. Check back tomorrow for before and after pics!



One more thing before I go. Look at these two cuties, my heart melts over this......I LOVE animals! Jeffrey and Jermaine, two brothers (Lab and pitbull mix), were found abandoned. Jeffrey is blind and Jermaine helps him out. They are now safe at a shelter that took them in and the shelter is looking for a good home for them. I am sure they will find a great place for these two wonderful cuties. Look at them cuddle as they sleep.......awwwwwww! ❤



Photo Credit: Operation Ava

What's on my mind today......animals. And how we treat them. Overall they are treated awful. We eat them, use them and abuse them.
Let's start with the fur industry. I have nothing made of real fur. Fake fur is just as nice and nobody (unless you are an expert) can tell the difference. To wear a coat made from the fur of some animal that was only brought up to be slaughtered for it's fur is just horrible. Or how about the coyotes that are trapped so their fur can be used for Canada Goose jackets?
After seeing these pictures, could you bring yourself to wear a Canada Goose jacket? The pain and suffering is written all over those poor animals. Don't you agree after looking at these pictures?



Canada Goose claim that they use real fur instead of fake fur because real fur is warmer and their product is intended for colder weather, like in North America where you would want to protect your face from frostbite. OK, I live in Alaska and I have never experienced frostbite even when walking Chhaya in - 20 and - 30 °F. I just bundle up and cover my face with a scarf, sure I have been cold, even very cold but it's not like I am climbing Mount Everest or anything. Even the guys that work up on the North Slope here in Alaska during the cold months don't wear fur jackets.
Canada Goose also claim that their use of fur is ethical and responsible. To me it looks like those animals are suffering A LOT. It's one thing to shoot an animal dead on the spot and a completely different story to trap it and let it suffer until it slowly dies in pain. If you had to pick a way to die, would you rather die quickly and somewhat painlessly or drag it out for days while trapped somewhere?



I do not want to be a hypocrite here. I do have stuff made of leather and I own a down jacket. But I am not going to buy another down jacket now that I know more about that industry.
I got my last down jacket in 2006. There is a product out there called PrimaLoft and it is a great alternative to down. I also have shoes and pants made of leather. That leather is a by product of the meat industry, so basically the animal was killed for it's meat and after that the leftover skin was made into a leather product. I wonder if there is a manufacturer out there that makes leather products of animals that die from natural causes? I need to look into that.
As far as eating animals, I have mainly not been eating animals since more than 12 years now. Yes, I do make exceptions now and then but I have went through periods of years without a bite of meat. I am not a vegan, I do eat milk products and eggs. It is proven that most of the slaughtered animals that end up at your table or when you get that KFC or burger in the drive through have been pumped full of hormones and antibiotics. That is poison that you eat too. Their lives are miserable and they go through enormous stress and are treated horrible. I can also tell you this.....when I first arrived to the US I went to McDonald's and ordered a Big Mac. It tasted so weird and off to me that I couldn't finish it, that was my last Big Mac. There was something with the meat, it tasted different in the US than it did in Sweden, it tasted BAD.
People that claim they need meat to survive don't know what they are talking about, they base their opinion on some facts they haven't even bothered to look up. I think that I look perfectly healthy and I also feel healthy and I can get plenty of protein from yoghurt, nuts and grains like quinoa. I can get my iron intake from vegetables and fruit, no need to get it from the blood of an animal.
Also, most vegetarians are indeed healthier than meat eaters. Just some examples, lower BMI, lower cholesterol, lower blood pressure and lower incidents of colon cancer. There you go!
There was a Greek philosopher and mathematician that lived in the 6th century BC, Pythagoras. A very intelligent man, he called himself a lover of wisdom and I think that is beautiful. He did contribute to a lot of important developments, read up on him and marvel at his intelligence! He was also a vegetarian. Actually before non meat eaters were called vegetarians they were called Pythagoreans. He believed that non violence towards animals was the first step towards the same amongst humans. Kind of makes sense, doesn't it?

Here are some quotes by Pythagoras that I found.

"When you place the flesh of slaughtered cattle in your mouths, know and feel, that you are devouring your fellow-creature."

"Alas, what wickedness to swallow flesh into our own flesh, to fatten our greedy bodies by cramming in other bodies, to have one living creature fed by the death of another! In the midst of such wealth as earth, the best of mothers, provides, nothing forsooth satisfies you, but to behave like the Cyclopes, inflicting sorry wounds with cruel teeth! You cannot appease the hungry cravings of your wicked, gluttonous stomachs except by destroying some other life."

"As long as man continues to be the ruthless destroyer of lower living beings he will never know health or peace. For as long as men massacre animals, they will kill each other. Indeed, he who sows the seed of murder and pain cannot reap joy and love."

"Animals share with us the privilege of having a soul."

"If men with fleshly mortals must be fed,
And chew with bleeding teeth the breathing bread;
What else is this but to devour our guests,
And barbarously renew Cyclopean feasts?
While Earth not only can your needs supply,
But, lavish of her store, provides for luxury;
A guiltless feast administers with ease,
And without blood is prodigal to please."

I wonder how a person that lived in the 6th century BC held so much wisdom and compassion in a time when people survived without the comforts and distractions that we are accustomed to and take for granted today, while so many of us today in "modern times" are so barbaric towards animals. Why is that?

I am getting sad and upset in my heart while writing this. I'm at Coffee Roaster and I don't want to cry. Let's leave this discussion with a fitting quote by Mahatma Gandhi.



I wrote a blog a while back that I called Meat Free Monday. I think that everybody can make an effort in eating less meat. Read that blog here
One of my very nice readers say that I have a sphere of influence. Maybe I do.....I hope that I have influenced at least SOMEBODY with this entry to stop and think and make a better and more compassionate choice from now on whether it's about not wearing fur or eating less meat or perhaps maybe becoming a vegetarian. The Golden Rule is to treat others the way you want to be treated, that includes animals, they are our friends! ❤

When I was in Anchorage yesterday I picked up The Anchorage Press, a free weekly magazine. I read the letters to the editor and really like and very much agree with what a person contributed, so I am going to share it with you.

"This is a response to the article "Eating Eddie" (July 4, page 22) about raising, slaughtering and eating a pig. Raising animals to kill and eat isn't bucolic and romantic, it's gruesome and stupid. It kills the best of what it means to be human. Our advances in technology mean nothing if our ethics do not advance as well. Twenty-first century technology has made the lives of humans infinitely better, and the lives of factory animals a true living hell. People believe the lies and deceptions of the meat industry because they want to be deceived, so they don't have to change ("Change is what people fear most, " Fyodor Dostoevsky). What is morally wrong cannot be culturally, scientifically right. Progress means advancing compassion not only to the persecuted of our own sentient species, but to the persecuted of other sentient species as well. Although the author rightly condemns and rejects the factory farm and slaughterhouse, rejecting animals as food instead elevating them to their rightful place as sentient beings that humans have no right to brutalize, must be the goal of 21st century ethics."
- Thomas H. Morse, Anchorage

I agree with this SO much. The part that our technological advances mean nothing if we do not advance our ethics, ring so true to me. Sometimes I wonder if some people even know what ethics mean.....or if they possess any. I try to improve myself as a person on this journey of my life. Sometimes I get lost, off track and forget but I try to better myself. And I do see animals as sentient beings, anyone that has spent quality time with an animal should know that.
Here are my animal friends. Chhaya looking pretty by the wheelbarrow that holds water for the moose that comes through the yard.



And the cat I found in the crawlspace the other day. I don't know if I can keep it but I will make sure to find a home for it if I don't. It is super cute and cuddly.

So Wizard, the husky that bit the two year old got put down today. 😥
His owner decided this or Wizard would had faced a long confinement in some shelter. I hope the responsible (sarcasm) Mom of the two year old feels like something GOOD came out of this situation now. Feel good now Mom? Happy? Yes, I know her kid got bit and hurt and that is really unfortunate but maybe Mom should had not put three children in that situation in the first place. Then this could had been avoided. We all make mistakes, it is human to make mistakes. But how is this outcome making the situation any better? I am sure that Wizard could had continued living his life without any other incidents like this.
This makes me angry. If some kids would walk into my yard and get bit by Chhaya I would not see that as my fault or Chhaya's fault. Keep track of your kids. OK? WHATEVER!

I am feeling so bored and unmotivated.......I don't know why. Well, I DO know why.
I live in the most boring place ever. There is nothing going on here and my days look the same, everyday is the same. I can't wait to move. Maybe soon.
Yes, I might......MIGHT be leaving Alaska in the not so distant future.
So today when I pulled up to Coffee Roasters (my excitement for this afternoon, yippie!) I noticed a little lost girl dog. All alone, scurrying around and looking nervous. She had a collar. I got out of the car and tried to get her to come over to me but she got scared and took off running across the parking lot and towards the busy road. I felt so bad and scared that she would get hit by a car. I hope somebody will be able to pick her up and return her to her owner.
I saw a cat get hit by two cars a long time ago. It was awful, that poor thing tumbled across the road and I can still remember his face. It makes my stomach ache when I think back to that and I want to cry.
I know that some people around here let their dogs run loose but I would think twice about doing that. Some people shoot stray dogs that go in on their property, it's crazy but they do. Each year there is a discussion around here about people that shoot other people's dogs.
I am lucky with Chhaya, I can let her outside and she will stay close to the house.
Either lay right outside on the porch or in the grass. Or go sniff close by in the forest. She always comes right away when I call her. If I had an issue with her running away I would not risk it and keep her supervised at all times or on a long leash. If I would lose her it would be entirely my fault and I would be devastated.
One more thing about dogs. I have spoken to a few people in the last couple of weeks that got rid of their dog (euthanized) because the dog bit somebody else in a situation that could had been prevented. When I was a little, around three years old we had a dog and a cat in the household. The dog bit me and the cat scratched me. I pulled on the cats tail while it tried to get away from me under the bed. I was probably pestering it and naturally the poor cat turned around and scratched me. The dog bit me because I climbed on top of him and bounced up and down on his back. He growled, the baby sitter didn't react in time and the dog bit me on my ear. I remember a lot of blood and laying in bed when my Mom came home. Did my Mom get rid of her pets? Of course not. They were not viscous. They reacted in a normal way. My Mom had told me many times not to bother the cat or the dog but when you are a toddler you are a toddler. Therefore when you have small children around animals you should always pay extra attention to make sure to avoid situations like these. The bite from the dog healed and I learned my lesson and the scratch from the cat healed too. I would never let a small child be around Chhaya's food bowl when she eats. That is a given. You can have the friendliest dog but when there is food involved they react in a way that is natural for them. The pack mentality and hierarchy. I can stick my fingers in Chhaya's bowl and take it away from her if I want to, she lets me. I don't bother her like that on purpose, I leave her alone when she eats but I have been feeding her all her life and she feels secure with me and her food. I can put food in my mouth and she will gently take it.
But I would not let a child stick their fingers in her bowl, even come close to Chhaya when she eats, chances are she would bite and I would never get rid of Chhaya if that happened. Ever. A situation like that can happen in an instant but it can also be prevented. How sad to put down a beloved dog because you did something stupid that could had been prevented. It's not the dogs fault. In general small children should always be supervised with animals.
One more thing that popped up in my inbox today. Police shooting dogs. I have seen that a lot and it really bothers me. They seem to be way too trigger happy when it comes to shooting dogs. For no reason than some excessive barking in some instances. I don't want trigger happy cops out there. Cops are just as unbalanced and psychotic as the rest of the crazies out in society. It doesn't make me feel safe when I know that they have no qualms about shooting an innocent animal. What if this happened to your beloved dog? You should sign this petition. SIGN