Again, almost a month has gone by since I last posted. Our Clooney, Ch. and Ch. From Dusk ‘Til Dawn, won the Canadian National and the regional the next day. The National judge was Jenny McAlpine from England; the Regional was judged by Karen Heron-Mills from the States. Thank you so much to both of these ladies. 

The legislation HB 223 and Senate Bill 223 have been introduced in Ohio; a few of us have been working hard to change some of the language in the bill and have been successful in working with the legislators.  The bill calls for the creation of a State Kennel Authority to investigate any breeders who have nine or more dogs or bitches each producing a litter in the previous calendar year.  This bill was crafted to monitor the large volume breeders who keep and breed dogs in deplorable conditions; however, this bill will very much affect reputable and responsible breeders by kennel licensing fees, inspections by State inspections to ensure proper care and conditions for dogs.  We are in the midst of hearings; we shall see what develops.

Al will have rotator cuff surgery on October 22.  We are not looking forward to his recovery period.  I am off to buy a recliner as his doctor told me that he really will not be able to lie down for quite awhile.  We have four matching wing chairs in our living room; I ordered them twenty five years ago and Al has hated having four of them for that long of a time.  I love them; they are still in excellent condition despite a few puppy nips here and there which do not show.  Since I have such short legs, these are the only chairs in the house where my feet actually hit the floor.  They are the most comfortable chairs for me.  With the addition of a recliner for Al, the set of four will have to be broken and Al is just delighted that one of the wing chairs will have to go elsewhere (where who knows as every room in this house is jammed full). So any visitors be forewarned, my lovely living room furniture arrangement will no longer be symmetrical!!  I love symmetry! 

I have been very busy working with the Humane Society of Morrow County.  We are trying to buy property to some day build a shelter.  We have so many abused and abandoned dogs in this county.  We presently have a whole litter of black lab mix puppies who were just dumped in the middle of the road of one of our county roads.  If any of you would be interested in giving a needy puppy a home, please email me.  My black lab mix Snoop came to us to spend a few days until I could find him a home; that was seven years ago so he found a home.  He has been the best dog!  He is my constant shadow and is very protective of our home and the Cavaliers, yet is so friendly and loving.  If any of you would like to help the Humane Society of Morrow County realize its dream of a shelter for our abused and abandoned dogs, we would welcome any donations.  Shameless plug over! 

Please pray for me to have patience with Al after his surgery as I have an idea he will take grouchy to a higher level.

Until next time, Meredith

 

In our rural county, dog fighting has been a long time concern. It is barbaric to be sure and goes on in many venues from rural areas like ours, to deep country, in well to do areas hidden by security fences, and of course in urban areas.  Dog fighting, like cock fighting, is barbaric and in fact goes back to less civilized times. Dogs have been used to bait bulls, bait bear, and fight each other since very early times.  In fact some breeds were developed from these earlier uses of dogs.  One would think that in our society today, such horrible games would not be taking place, but then one would think that mankind would no longer be practicing genocide and waging war.  The veneer of civilization is indeed thin.

We all know how our country seems to revere celebrities and watch and sometimes copy every thing a celebrity does.  I feel celebrities have a real responsibility especially to our youth to set examples for moral and lawful behavior.  Many celebrities fail in setting a rightful example; headlines center around drugs and rehab, public fights and disturbances, outlandish behavior and so forth. For Michael Vick, a big time NFL celebrity, hero and role model to our sports crazy youth, to be brought up on charges on a felony so heinous as dog fighting, is not to be condoned in any fashion.  In this country, one is innocent until proven guilty; Michael Vick may be innocent, but dog fighting is so horrific and ugly, that Mr. Vick should be suspended from the NFL until his innocence is proven.  The case against Mr. Vick seems solid. Other athletes have been suspended pending investigations and so should Mr. Vick.  If you feel the same way as I do, let the NFL know how you feel.  Dog fighting is immoral.

Please read the following letters to the NFL (permission to cross post has been given)from the Doberman Pinscher Club of America at    http://dpca.org/Legisltv/documents/Roger_Goodell_Letter_July_20.pdf

and the American Kennel Club letter which I applaud is below:

RONALD H. MENAKER                            DENNIS B. SPRUNG

Chairman of the Board president and chief executive officer

July 20, 2007

Roger Goodell

Commissioner, National Football League

280 Park Avenue

New York, NY 10017

Dear Commissioner Goodell:

As the Board Chairman and President & CEO of a 123-year-old sport-governing body, we are very much aware of the conflicting pressures you face in the matter of the Michael Vick indictment.

Michael Vick is not only a nationally known superstar, but he is also the face of the National Football League?s Atlanta franchise. The Atlanta Falcons will not take any unilateral action on the matter because of the negative impact both in their financial liability and their on-field performance.
The buck thus stops with you as NFL Commissioner.

It is easy to take the position that you will just let the legal process play out, and that he is innocent until proven guilty, which is what the NFL and the Falcons, as well as the players association, have done to date. However, the nature of the crimes described in detail in the indictment in this case are so heinous and repulsive that they should be strongly condemned by any civilized person. This activity is anathema to everything the American Kennel Club stands for, and the millions of AKC registrants and competitors, many of whom have been NFL fans, unilaterally condemn it and those who perpetrated it.

It is common for state laws to recommend the immediate suspension of a teacher when charged with certain crimes. To acknowledge the severity of Mr. Vick?s charges, we urge his immediate suspension.

Respectfully,

Ronald H. Menaker Dennis B. Sprung

Chairman President & Chief Executive Officer

Hello from bitterly cold Ohio with more snow expected tomorrow. At least we are not in Michigan where my friend Roxy Hayes lives with feet of snow still on the ground with more falling often. Beside the cold weather we are doing well. Al and I celebrated our 24th anniversary last Saturday—so romantic! I was on puppy watch with visitors all day and Al was hiding out in his office trying to reconstruct all our financial data which was lost when his computer finally gave up the ghost (with Windows 98 yet!). He now has a new computer with Vista yet! I only hope Vista does not prove difficult for me as I now have to teach Al who does not take any instruction from me with a good attitude. We still have not celebrated our anniversary. Below is a picture of one of Clooney’s first sons, Rattlebridge Truth and Dare, who is co owned by our good friend Lu Ann Rogers who is going to show him should he turn out as nice as we think he is. Beside the picture of Tru is a picture of Clooney taken at eighteen months.