Finally our electric and phones are back on.  Ike had his way in Ohio also. Lots of damage, but nothing like Texas had of course. We lost our electricity  last Saturday and it came on again yesterday,  We have Time Warner which uses the electric lines so despite us having a big generator to run the refrigerators, freezer, and microwave, no television programming and no phones. The generator came with the new house and kept the kitchen, master bedroom, and half the dog room in light. We used our old dependable oil lamps for whatever else we needed. 

The legislation battle continues on. Now the state of Massachusetts, ongoing in Chicago and other hot spots.  Michigan’s proposed legislation is dead in the water right now and we assume Ohio will bring up SB173 and HB223 soon.  The war against purebred dogs continues with the animal rightists claiming how many health problems purebred dogs have.  There has been research done on the problems of mixed breeds which are just as many or more than purebred dogs.  With a purebred, one knows the looks and temperament the breed should have.  I am not saying one should not desire to have mixed breeds to love.  I have one, our Snoop who came for two days and stayed eight years, who is a wonderful, devoted companion; all my beloved cats have also been rescued.  I am all for rescuing dogs and cats from shelters and puppy mills; I believe every dog and cat should have a forever home and I have worked in rescue to try to help.  I also know that if the reputable breeders are shamed because we breed purebred dogs something is very wrong with our system.  (In so many ways–just look at the state of our economy).  We are doing a much better job of spaying and neutering our pets; so much so that many shelters do not have enough adoptable animals and have to import from other countries or get them from other shelters.

The tail often wags the dog in our country; we cannot let the agenda of the animal rightists win for that agenda is to end the ownership of all animals. Please check what is going on in your community, town or city, and state.  If we pass restrictive dog ownership or breeding legislation, the good breeders will not be able to continue and all that will be left are shelters, puppy mills, backyard, and commercial breeders. I may have already told this story here, but feel it bears repeating. I recently bought “a breeding pair” of Cavaliers from a multiple breed breeder who felt that Cavaliers took too long to breed and she wanted “breeders” who could be bred on the first season. She had gotten the breeding pair from the Amish. Papers were not in order.  I paid a thousand dollars which with two mortgages was difficult.  Buying dogs from such circumstances is not a great idea as it only encourages so called breeders to breed more.  However, I could not tolerate the idea of one more breeding pair producing in my county.  I took them immediately to my vet for a check up and neutering; they stayed several days to ensure they were totally healthy.  They had great temperaments as it is often hard to find a Cavalier with a bad temperament no matter what its background.  My attorney who had just lost his Cavalier, volunteered to reimburse me and give them a home. The moral of this story is to be very careful when you buy a purebred dog. I believe in giving shelter dogs a home and have done so through the years, but with a purebred dog one can tell what that dog will be at maturity in temperament and looks.  Purebred certainly can have genetic faults, but so can mixed breeds.I have just read a couple of research articles on the problems found in mixed breeds and there can be many.  All animals as well as all humans can have health problems of one kind of another. As long as we are made of corporeal bodies and not steel parts, we will continue to malfunction!!!  Kiss your pets no matter purebred or mixed parentage.

until next time . . .

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