Written by my friend Judson Kelly

I have an absolute adoration for puppy dogs. Actually, I love dogs of any species and any age. I love just seeing dogs happy and content with an owner that they love. There are too many pooches that end up abandoned in today’s harsh world. The show, “Last Chance Highway,” depicts the lives of two people seeking to give every abandoned and abused dog a healthy and happy home. I love watching this show on my Satellite TV Specials with my own pet puppy. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside!

This is a great show to watch for those who have compassion for dogs. If you are a dog lover, then you must watch this show to see how dogs can be saved by the simple kindness of humans. This show actually inspires me to rescue dogs and give them loving homes. One of my dreams in life is to be able to start a community organization that gives all of the stray dogs in my town a home. I would love to see every puppy end up in a loving home.

Overall, I recommend this show for any pet owner. It does not matter if you have a pet dog or not, you will still feel compassion for these poor animals. It is a great show to watch to learn empathy with animals.

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Thanks so much for the guest post, Judson! My mom told me about that show – I really need to check it out!

Image via Wikipedia

The HSUS Assists San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department in Raid of Alleged Cockfighting Operation : The Humane Society of the United States

This one really hits home with me, because, I’ve been so shocked to find so many schools and universities that still have the mascot name “Gamecocks”.  It just blows my mind that they haven’t changed their mascots.  I really should research how many schools there still are with it. It’s just nuts!

We finally got to take my sweet boy – the one on the magazine cover over there – to the doctor for his ear infection. The veterinarian was a really nice guy. The place was sort of run-down, but, his prices are much lower than the vets with the fancy building. Hmm… fancy building – high prices, regular, ordinary, in need of a little repair, sorta like most of the houses we live in building – lower prices. We picked the smarter choice.

The man obviously cares about the animals, that was totally apparent. He worked with us to try to make sure we understood all that he was telling us. He even went so far as to help us clean out Puppy’s ears, which took quite a while and made quite a mess – water and soap and such flung everywhere by my sweet boy. LOL

He quizzed me repeatedly to make sure I understood the course of treatment – a little nerve-wracking, as he was giving us a lot of information, but, very thorough and caring of him to do.

So we like the guy, right? You get that, right? Ok.

Well, it was a super casual atmosphere, I hope I’ve conveyed that. One in which Mark and I are very comfortable. Here’s the thing, though. The guy had a dip in his mouth. And he would spit in the trash cans.

Did he take ‘casual’ too far? Or is this par for the course with small town country doctors? Do you think there would be some kind of health-code violation? I mean, of course, he wouldn’t do so in surgery. And we were just cleaning out the dog’s ears. What do you think?

I’m undecided. It definitely put us on a more peer-to-peer relationship, which I think was great, considering so many docs and vets are on ‘I am God trips’.

But did he go too far? Hmm…

*UPDATE* Holy crap, people! That number – 27,000 – is only the CITY of Dallas! In the whole Dallas Metroplex, the number is actually 100,000!!!! Dammit – that made me cry just TYPING it out!!!!! /*UPDATE*

That is how many dogs and cats are euthanized in the Dallas area alone each year, due to pet overpopulation! Oh my gawd, people – that is too, too many! That is so horrible! I know that one year The Dallas Morning News did a feature (a multiple-page feature) on the pet overpopulation problem in the Dallas area and it was so very sad. Many of the people who work in the area shelters were interviewed and they talked about trash bag after trash bag after trash bag of animal carcasses that they constantly dealt with – a sobering piece, for sure!

Dallas Animal Advocates, a joint initiative between Companions for Life and Metroplex Animal Coalition, are a group of volunteers working tirelessly to make changes for our beloved furry family members in the Dallas area.

One of the things they are working on right now is getting a petition filled up with lots and lots of signatures, in an effort to encourage the Dallas City Council to approve the Animal Shelter Commission’s proposed mandatory spay/neuter – breeder registration ordinance. I’m gonna sign it (as soon as I figure out my care2 password), and I’m in Alabama (though I’m from Dallas) and I’ve seen plenty of other states represented on the petition. There is even a signature from Canada.

So I would love it if you would go and sign the petition, too! Just go here: Dallas City Spay/Neuter Ordinance to sign the petition – pretty please!! And send your family and friends there, too! Let’s help stop the needless killing of these precious animals!

What do you think about the practice of horse slaughter? Come sound off, on the new and improved version of this blog, Hippie Spelunker – H2, where we’ve got a debate brewing on the topic!

And it is time that more people, and our laws, recognize that! One thing that will help towards this end is signing into law the Tracking Animal Cruelty Crimes Act of 2007. I received the above action alert in my email this afternoon from the American Humane Society, and I have since sent off the letter to my senators, asking them to support this bill. I urge you to do the same. You can do so right here: American Humane Society Action Alert.

Thank you, sweet readers!

My sweet dog, Lucky, who I usually refer to as ‘Puppy’, has developed an icky habit lately. You know I’ve been making an effort to take more walks. And half of the time, I take Puppy with me. And the little monster (‘little’ meaning: dear, sweet, honeybaby – we all know he’s not little!) is defecating in neighbor’s yards!! What?! That is not how we do it! He has been an at-home-pooper all his life! I mean – all his life! What on earth happened? If this keeps up, I’m going to have to go shopping for some pet supplies. The plastic bag over the hand thing is just YUCK! I’d like to find a pooper scooper like my dad had once – it was this really cool contraption, that would keep your hands totally clean! Clean is definitely good when it comes to my hands. But that’s a whole ‘nother issue we’ll discuss another day!

My sweet baby boy is five years old! And I’m a little late posting, actually – his birthday was Monday, October 8th! Last year I posted right on time – remember? Puppy said, “It’s my party and I’ll BARK if I want to!”

First the birthday boy had to get dressed up. We gave him a beautiful red ribbon to wear! And he looked mighty fine!

This year, Sammie baked the cake all by herself! Go Sammie! I wanted to make it with beef broth or chicken broth, to make it ‘doggy-friendly’, but, Sammie didn’t want to so that we could be sure and have some, too! And since we didn’t even have any broth, my argument didn’t have a leg to stand on! We did, however, find a lovely way to make Puppy’s servings ‘doggy-friendly’ – we topped them with chili!

Chili?!

Yep – chili! Puppy had chili cake for his birthday! Sounds delicious, doesn’t it?
“Oh, yummy, Mom and Sam – this is good!” (And Mom got smart this year, and hung the sign at ‘puppy height’!)
“Mmm, mmm!!” Licking those lips – that stuff’s good!!

This is when Sammie went into the kitchen to get him a second helping – she is just to the left in the kitchen, and he is anxiously – and preciously – watching her and waiting. Isn’t he just so cute???
“Alright, you silly bipeds, enough goofy human celebrations, leave me be to rest under this table!”