I decided I needed to get away since I have not taken a trip for years that did not center around dogs, shows, judging, or dog people. For the most part, I traveled the world alone. Al went with me in the beginning to Australia, New Zealand, dog shows in this country, and to England and Europe.  In fact it was on a trip with our kennel club to Windsor dog show in the UK that we discovered Cavaliers in 1989.  The rest is history!  As I said, I am quite used to traveling alone as Al just never wanted to go after his series of different cancers started, but I knew I had to go and with his blessing I did with him knowing when he needed me home, I would be there.  I have not had a chance to renew myself since Al died and I needed this respite.  I chose a Carnival cruise to the Western Carribean featuring Mass every day with Everetto and Msgr. Michael Patrick Aloysius Flanaghan.  An Irishman right up my alley!

So many people have acted astonished when I said I was going alone or found out on board that I was alone.  I have become my own best company and I am never am alone as God is with me as I take this cruise as part of my spiritual journey to concentrate on my relationship with God without all the distractions of home. I have the dogs and home base covered and am on a great adventure sitting on my balcony reading or praying, taking excursions which I will describe and for which I will display photos, or hanging out with new friends who will stay friends forever I believe. 

The Carnival Valor is a wonderful ship; so many amenities and such wonderful service.  I got a balcony room so I could sit out, look at the sea, and pray and meditate which worked well the first couple of days. Food was great, but I kept trotting (oh, alright, walking!) around the ship so I would not roll off the ship and be able to make it around the ring when I show Cyber (he was invited, yea!) at the Eukanuba AKC Classic the weekend after I get back. 

We left Miami on December 4 with the first stop being Grand Cayman Island on the 6th. 

Typical Historical Cozumel Indian Dress

It was on Fox news earlier that 70 dogs have died as a result of eating chicken jerky treats made from chicken that has come from China. Kingdom Pets brand from Costco is one of them. Also certain Blue Buffalo brand pet foods have a recall for the same thing. Please re post and make sure all your doggie friends are aware of this PLEASE SHARE AND SPREAD THE WORD!

November 18, 2011

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is again cautioning consumers that chicken jerky products for dogs (also sold as chicken tenders, strips or treats) may be associated with illness in dogs. In the last 12 months, FDA has seen an increase in the number of complaints it received of dog illnesses associated with consumption of chicken jerky products imported from China. These complaints have been reported to FDA by dog owners and veterinarians.

FDA issued a cautionary warning regarding chicken jerky products to consumers in September 2007 and a Preliminary Animal Health Notification in December of 2008. After seeing the number of complaints received drop off during the latter part of 2009 and most of 2010, the FDA is once again seeing the number of complaints rise to the levels of concern that prompted release of our earlier warnings.

Chicken jerky products should not be substituted for a balanced diet and are intended to be fed occasionally in small quantities.

FDA is advising consumers who choose to feed their dogs chicken jerky products to watch their dogs closely for any or all of the following signs that may occur within hours to days of feeding the products: decreased appetite; decreased activity; vomiting; diarrhea, sometimes with blood; increased water consumption and/or increased urination. If the dog shows any of these signs, stop feeding the chicken jerky product. Owners should consult their veterinarian if signs are severe or persist for more than 24 hours. Blood tests may indicate kidney failure (increased urea nitrogen and creatinine). Urine tests may indicate Fanconi syndrome (increased glucose). Although most dogs appear to recover, some reports to the FDA have involved dogs that have died.

FDA, in addition to several animal health diagnostic laboratories in the U.S., is working to determine why these products are associated with illness in dogs. FDA’s Veterinary Laboratory Response Network (VLRN) is now available to support these animal health diagnostic laboratories. To date, scientists have not been able to determine a definitive cause for the reported illnesses. FDA continues extensive chemical and microbial testing but has not identified a contaminant.

The FDA continues to actively investigate the problem and its origin. Many of the illnesses reported may be the result of causes other than eating chicken jerky. Veterinarians and consumers alike should report cases of animal illness associated with pet foods to the FDA Consumer Complaint Coordinator in their state or go to http://www.fda.gov/petfoodcomplaints.

This actually happened with some guys from Maine. They dressed the truck up with the guy dummy spread eagle on the roof of the truck.
The driver and passengers put on Moose Heads. Down the Maine Toll interstate they went causing about 16 accidents. They went to jail.
(some cops have no sense of humor).

The following is an actual question given on a University of Arizona chemistry mid term, and an actual answer turned in by a student.

The answer by one student was so ‘profound’ that the professor shared it with colleagues, via the Internet, which is, of course, why we now have the pleasure of enjoying it as well :

Bonus Question: Is Hell exothermic (gives off heat) or endothermic (absorbs heat)?

Most of the students wrote proofs of their beliefs using Boyle’s Law (gas cools when it expands and heats when it is compressed) or some variant. 

One student, however, wrote the following: First, we need to know how the mass of Hell is changing in time. So we need to know the rate at which souls are moving into Hell and the rate at which they are leaving, which is unlikely.. I think that we can safely assume that once a soul gets to Hell, it will not leave. Therefore, no souls are leaving. As for how many souls are entering Hell, let’s look at the different religions that exist in the world today. 

Most of these religions state that if you are not a member of their religion, you will go to Hell. Since there is more than one of these religions and since people do not belong to more than one religion, we can project that all souls go to Hell. With birth and death rates as they are, we can expect the number of souls in Hell to increase exponentially. Now, we look at the rate of change of the volume in Hell because Boyle’s Law states that in order for the temperature and pressure in Hell to stay the same, the volume of Hell has to expand proportionately as souls are added.

This gives two possibilities:

1. If Hell is expanding at a slower rate than the rate at which souls enter Hell, then the temperature and pressure in Hell will increase until all Hell breaks loose. 2. If Hell is expanding at a rate faster than the increase of souls in Hell, then the temperature and pressure will drop until Hell freezes over.  So which is it? If we accept the postulate given to me by Teresa during my Freshman year that, ‘It will be a cold day in Hell before I sleep with you,’ and take into account the fact that I slept with her last night, then number two must be true, and thus I am sure that Hell is exothermic and has already frozen over. The corollary of this theory is that since Hell has frozen over, it follows that it is not accepting any more souls and is therefore, extinct….. ….leaving only Heaven, thereby proving the existence of a divine being which explains why, last night, Teresa kept shouting ‘Oh my God.’

THIS STUDENT RECEIVED AN A+.

NOT POLITICALLY CORRECT, BUT SO TRUE OF MANY OF OUR LEGISLATORS

The following political jab has too much truth to it for comfort.  Where are the heroes who put country before their own greed; where are the Jimmy Stewarts going to Washington today to make a difference and not be corrupted by the political machine? Are we and especially our politicians still “under God” or under the reign of hypocrisy, pork barrel politics, and selling out country and each other out?  Just my late night ruminations . . .

An Indian walks into a cafe with a shotgun in one hand and pulling a male buffalo with the other. 

He says to the waiter:   "Want coffee."   blasts the buffalo with the shotgun,   causing parts of the animal to splatter everywhere and then just walks out. 

The next morning the Indian returns. He has his shotgun in one hand, pulling  another male buffalo with the other. He walks up to the counter and says to the waiter:   "Want coffee."   The waiter says, "Whoa, Chief!   We’re still cleaning up your mess from yesterday. What was all that about, anyway?"   The Indian smiles and proudly says,   "Training for position in United States Congress.  Come in, drink coffee, shoot the bull, leave mess for others to clean up,  disappear for rest of day."

I know God works through animals, especially dogs.  Wet kisses, a gentle nudge, soulful eyes radiating love, and heroism.  Thank God for our wonderful dogs and the good they do in our lives at God’s direction!

James Crane worked on the 101st floor of Tower 1 of the World Trade Center .. He is blind so he has a golden retriever named Daisy.

After the plane hit 20 stories below, James knew that he was doomed, so he let Daisy go, out of an act of love. She darted away into the darkened hallway.

Choking on the fumes of the jet fuel and the smoke James was just waiting to die. About 30 minutes later, Daisy comes back along with James’ boss,

Who Daisy just happened to pick up on floor 112

Please read the following vignette.  Hope it gives you chills as it did me.  God works in mysterious ways .

AN EAGLE KISSED BY GOD

This is the kind of story you need when it seems like the world is spiraling out of control….

Not many people get a picture of this proud bird snuggled up next to them.

Freedom and Jeff
Freedom and I have been together 13 years this summer.
She came in as a baby in 1998 with two broken
wings. Her left wing doesn’t open all the way
even after surgery. It was broken in 4
places. She’s my baby.

When Freedom came in she could not stand. She was
emaciated and covered in lice. We made the
decision to give her a chance at life, so I took
her to the vet’s office. From then
on, I was always around her. We had her in a
huge dog carrier with the top off, and it
was loaded up with shredded newspaper for her to
lie in. I used to sit and talk to her,
urging her to live, to fight; and she would lie
there looking at me with those big brown eyes.
We also had to tube feed her for weeks.

This went on for 4-6 weeks, and by then she still
couldn’t stand. It got to the point where the
decision was made to euthanize her if she
couldn’t stand in a week. You know you don’t
want to cross that line between torture and
rehab, and it looked like death was
winning. She was going to be put
down that Friday, and I was supposed to come in
on that Thursday afternoon. I didn’t want to go
to the center that Thursday because I couldn’t
bear the thought of her being euthanized; 
but I went anyway, and when I walked in everyone
was grinning from ear to ear. I went
immediately back to her cage; and there she was,
standing on her own, a big beautiful
eagle. She was ready to live. I was
just about in tears by then. That
was a very good day.

We knew she could never fly, so the director
asked me to glove train her. I got her used to
the glove and then to jesses, and we
started doing education programs for schools in
western Washington. 

We wound up in the newspapers,
radio (believe it or not), and some
TV. Miracle Pets even did a show
about us.

In the spring of 2000, I was diagnosed with
non-Hodgkins lymphoma. I had stage 3,
which is not good (one major organ plus
everywhere; so I wound up doing 8 months of
chemo. Lost the hair – the whole
bit. I missed a lot of work. When I
felt good enough, I would go to Sarvey
and take Freedom out for walks. Freedom would
also come to me in my dreams and help me fight
the cancer. This happened time and time again.
Fast forward to November 2000, the day after
Thanksgiving. I went in for my last
checkup. I was told that if the cancer was not
all gone after 8 rounds of chemo, then my last
option was a stem cell transplant. Anyway, they
did the tests; and I had to come back Monday for
the results. I went in Monday, and I was
told that all the cancer was gone.

So the first thing I did was get up to Sarvey and
take the big girl out for a walk. It was misty
and cold. I went to her flight and jessed her
up, and we went out front to the top of the
hill. I hadn’t said a word to Freedom, but somehow she knew. She looked at me and wrapped both her wings around me to where I
could feel them pressing in on my back  (I was engulfed in eagle wings), and she touched my nose with her beak and stared into my
eyes; and we just stood there like that for I don’t know how long. That was a magic moment. We have been soul mates ever since she came in. This is a very special bird.

On a side note:  I have had people who
were sick come up to us when we are out, and
Freedom has some kind of hold on
them. I once had a guy who was
terminal come up to us, and I let him hold
her. His knees just about buckled, and he
swore he could feel her power course through his
body. I have so many stories like that.
I never forget the honor I have of being so close
to such a magnificent spirit as Freedom.

Hope you enjoy this!

May God Bless You All.

"But they that wait upon the Lord
shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings as eagles;
they shall run, and not be weary;
and they shall walk, and not faint."
Isaiah 40:31

I have seen this vignette before and was overwhelmed then and again now.  I know all the reasons for abortion, but still to take a baby at any stage during pregnancy is taking a life.  I am Catholic Christian and prolife and I empathize with women who feel trapped by an unwanted pregnancy especially through rape. Still . . .

Please read before viewing picture – it’s worth it!

A picture began circulating in November. It should be ‘The Picture of the Year,’ or perhaps, ‘Picture of the Decade.’ It won’t be. In fact,unless you obtained a copy of the US paper which published it, you probably would never have seen it.

The picture is that of a 21-week-old unborn baby named Samuel Alexander Armas, who is being operated on by surgeon named Joseph Bruner.

The baby was diagnosed with spina bifida and would not survive if removed from his mother’s womb. Little Samuel’s mother, Julie Armas, is an obstetrics nurse in Atlanta . She knew of Dr. Bruner’s remarkable surgical procedure. Practicing at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville , he performs these special operations while the baby is still in the womb.

During the procedure, the doctor removes the uterus via C-section and makes a small incision to operate on the baby. As Dr. Bruner completed the surgery on Samuel, the little guy reached his tiny, but fully developed hand through the incision and firmly grasped the surgeon’s finger. Dr…Bruner was reported as saying that when his finger was grasped, it was the most emotional moment of his life, and that for an instant during the procedure he was just frozen, totally immobile.

The photograph captures this amazing event with perfect clarity. The editors titled the picture, ‘Hand of Hope.’ The text explaining the picture begins, ‘The tiny hand of 21-week- old fetus Samuel Alexander Armas emerges from the mother’s uterus to grasp the finger of Dr. Joseph Bruner as if thanking the doctor for the gift of life’

Little Samuel’s mother said they ‘wept for days’ when they saw the picture. She said, ‘The photo reminds us pregnancy isn’t about disability or an illness, it’s about a little person.’ Samuel was born in perfect health, the operation 100 percent successful.

Now see the actual picture, and it is awesome…incredible….and hey, pass it on. The world needs to see this one!

Don’t tell me our God isn’t an awesome God!

While my friend Eric and I were in North Carolina “enjoying” the cold, windy, and rainy shows at which Cyber Dawn gave a great accounting of himself, a different dynamic was taking place in Michigan with another Rattlebridge dog. I had asked Eric to join me and help me drive to North Carolina with Cyber; I could not have gotten organized, remained organized, and kept all in good order without him.  I am a bit of a mess when it comes to organizing anything anymore!  Cyber was entered in the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Club of Central Carolina specialty show followed by the two Moore County all breed shows; I had judged the shows last year in beastly heat; this year the weather was just the opposite.  This was Ch. Cyber’s first time in the best of breed ring as a champion and my first time showing a dog in the champion ring unless I had gone winner’s with the dog or bitch.  Cyber was co bred and co owned with my friend Sherri Myers who is showing his brother Am. and Can. Ch. Rattlebridge The Dawnald. I am not a talented handler; what I lack in technique I have always made up in panache finishing my share of champions in the ring.  My Cyber loves me and responded well to my less than amazing handling ability winning breed at the specialty with UK judge Rhonda Banks, and taking the breed the next day and a select the day after.  Well, lots of celebrating!  A few photos to capture the flavor of the show:

Packing the car--a real chore. Thank you, Eric !

Cyber on the bed!

My friend Ginger.

Cyber and me In the ring.

My Cyber and me.

However, I got an email on Sunday from Jan who is associated with Cavalier Rescue USA in Michigan.  It seems that one of my old Cavaliers sold thirteen years earlier to a woman I will only identify as Wendy from Farmington Hills had been turned over to rescue.  “Twinkie” was sold to this woman to be a beloved pet with the stipulation that I be notified if ever the new owner could not keep the dog.  I also wanted to be notified if the dog developed problems or if the new owner needed advice.  I had never been notified that the Twinkie had developed age related issues or that the Wendy was not treating them.  Jan found my original bill of sale in all the paperwork submitted with Twinkie and was able to contact me after all these years. It seems that a divorce figured in the mix somewhere, but this woman first tried to turn poor Twinkie in to a local shelter without ever notifying me that she could no longer keep him.  Can  you imagine what would go through my poor Wendy’s mind or the minds of all the old Rattlebridge dogs before her if I would just give them to shelters when they became a problem.  Thank God the shelter was full and would not take Twinkie who then wound up in the right rescue.  I was contacted and my friend Eric met Jan half way to pick up Twinkie Monday just after arriving home as I had already come down with usual bronchitis.  At my request Jan had taken Twinkie to the vet for a check up for his various untreated ailments including infected eyes from dry eye.  Eric brought him home, but would not let me see Twinkie until he could prepare me.  I brushed his kindness aside because I have seen the evidence of abuse and neglect and neglect Twinkie had suffered.  Emaciated with teeth so bad he could not eat, matted coat which Jan had kindly worked on, infected eyes,  untreated heart murmur, and no light in his eyes as he had been abandoned by the one he had loved for thirteen years. AND SHE WOULD HAVE JUST GIVEN HIM UP TO AN ORDINARY SHELTER DESPITE THE CONTRACT THAT HE BE RETURNED TO ME!!! Thank God he came back to me and thank God for Jan of Cavalier Rescue USA.  He was so sweet and still wagged although we could tell his sad old heart was not in it.  We spent yesterday morning at my vet’s trying to come up with a plan to save him but could not figure out a way to really do so as the dental surgery would have been major and his poor old heart might not have made it through. So with both of us crying, my vet and I put Twinkie to sleep.  I kissed his head as I held him, whispering to him that he was a good boy and that he was loved.  He died in the same arms that brought him into the world.  I would have taken him back at anytime and taken care of him, but was denied the chance.  I did get the chance to love him at the end as I had loved him in the beginning.

Twinkie, home to a different home but to the same arms.  He had given up. How can people discard their pets so callously.

I know lives change, mine certainly has in the past year, but responsibility is responsibility. When one takes on the responsibility of a pet, one must do everything to ensure that the pet has quality of life until the very end.  I am afraid there are too many poor “Twinkies” out there that should have wound up in their breeder’s arms who bears the responsibility from “birth to death” of every puppy, no matter what the breed, pure or mixed, brought into the world.  So now when I look at the trophies Cyber won this past weekend, I will always consider them a memorial to my Twinkie who came home to die.