Archive for January, 2010

There is a guy named Clay Thompson that writes a column in the Arizona Republic newspaper called Valley 101. The best way to describe his style would be to say, think of Dear Abby on crack. People email him with the stupidest questions and he patiently answers them all, but when he gets a really idiotic one he will react with "you people!" The questions are not about love and relationships but about things in general.

This particular article he wrote was back in July (when Phoenix temperatures hit 115 in the afternoons) and a woman had written him about a disagreement she was having with her mother: Seems that she leaves her medium sized dog locked up in a bedroom for 13 hours while she commutes to a 12 hour work shift. Her question to Clay was this:  "what would happen to my dog if shortly after I left for work the power went off,  and with it the air conditioning, would my dog still be alive when I got home?

Clay's response was classic Thompson stuff. Hmmm he says, what the heck are you thinking leaving a dog alone for 13 hours, never mind worrying about the power going off! That is not a good thing to do. Then he suggests that she look into other arrangements to have her dog kept by the mom or a neighbor. Other than that leave the dog plenty of food, water and some of their favorite toys.

It got me to thinking about how selfish people can be. This woman really has no business having a dog if she keeps it locked up for 13 hours! Dogs get lonely and bored and it's nothing short of cruel treatment if you ask me. I had a parrot once that I left in my bedroom while I was at work. I started working longer hours and I couldn't stand the thought of that bird being alone so I ended up giving him to a nice family with a stay at home mom. It pained me to let him go but it was best for the bird and that is what I think is most important.

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Who Makes the Best Dog Food?

And what makes it the best? And is it the best dog food for your dog? I am getting a lot of flack lately about putting my dog on a better diet than dry kibble, specifically Purina's Beneful brand. My vet says it's a good food and my dog likes it, I supplement it with any kind of fruit or vegetable that he likes, which isn't many. But when I go to the local feed store here in my town, there are so many claims of the benefits of this or that dog food, hundreds of fancy labeled bags of dog food, each with it's own story (and a high price to match).

Image via Wikipedia

I even have people tell me they swear by the raw diet or the cooked foods diet. So, my question is, as the proud owner of a former rescue dog, now a healthy & happy 5 year old, 70 lb lab, how do I keep him that way?

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A Friendship Between Animals That has moved Millions

Pet owners can identify with bonding when it comes to loving a particular pet, cat, dog, horse, hampster, ferret, pig, monkey, whatever kind of pet you choose, but one can only imagine what dogs and elephants have in common. Regardless of reason these two have a heart-warming affection for each other that goes beyond any animal bonding I have ever witnessed and has moved millions to happy tears & awe.

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