I watched with interest the grief and mourning surrounding Michael Jackson.  Musical genius, yes!  In the televised memorial service, he was extolled for breaking down the barriers between black and white. Yet, I just watched a movie entitled Cadillac Records,  in which those great black entertainers coming before him:  Muddy Waters, Etta James, Little Walter, and Chuck Berry (with his own version of the moonwalk) transitioning the blues into mainstream and then rock and roll.  Great movie!  The point is that many Afro American entertainers paved the way for Michael Jackson without all the cloudiness of character that surrounded him and his way of life.  I am making no judgements, but we often worship celebrity and not the true character and real heroic behavior of those willing to die for what they believed was the greater good.  The following piece really moved me and I feel bears featuring here:

Subject: Soldier’s comment about Michael Jackson
       This is written by a young man serving his third tour of duty in Iraq. Thought you might find his take on the Michael Jackson news – interesting.
       ____________________________

       Okay, I need to rant.

       I was just watching the news, and I caught part of a report on
Michael Jackson. As we all know, Jackson died the other day. He was an entertainer who performed for decades. He made millions, he spent  millions, and he did a lot of things that make him a villain to many  people. I understand that his death would affect a lot of people, and I  respect those people who mourn his death, but that isn’t the point of my  rant.

       Why is it that when ONE man dies, the whole of America loses
their minds with grief. When a man dies whose only contribution to the  country was to ENTERTAIN people, the American people find the need to  flock to a memorial in Hollywood, and even Congress sees the need to  hold a “moment of silence” for his passing?

       Am I missing something here? ONE man dies, and all of a sudden
he’s a freaking martyr because he entertained us for a few decades? What  about all those SOLDIERS who have died to give us freedom? All those  Soldiers who, knowing that they would be asked to fight in a war, still  raised their hands and swore to defend the Constitution and the United  States of America. Where is their moment of silence? Where are the people flocking to their graves or memorials and mourning over them  because they made the ultimate sacrifice? Why is it when a Soldier dies,  there are more people saying “good riddance,” and “thank God for IEDs?”  When did this country become so calloused to the sacrifice of GOOD MEN
and WOMEN, that they can arbitrarily blow off their deaths, and instead,  throw themselves into mourning for a “Pop Icon?”

       I think that if they are going to hold a moment of silence IN
CONGRESS for Michael Jackson, they need to hold a moment of silence for  every service member killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. They need to  PUBLICLY recognize every life that has been lost so that the American people can live their callous little lives in the luxury and freedom that WE, those that are living and those that have gone on, have provided for them. But, wait, that would take too much time, because there have been so many willing to make that sacrifice. After all, we will never make millions of dollars. We will never star in movies, or write hit songs that the world will listen too. We only shed our blood,  sweat and tears so that people can enjoy what they have.

       Remember these five words the next time you think of someone who is serving in the military;

       “So that others may live…”

Rattlebridge Pistols at Dawn is a son of Ch. Rattlebridge Delta Dawn by Ch. Wildflower Jack-in-the Pulpit.  He is co bred and co owned by my great friend Sherri Meyer and me.

We have great hopes for him in the show ring, but his greatest asset besides his beauty is his outstanding Cavalier temperament.  He has never had a headache!

KEEP UP THE FIGHT!!!  HSUS AND PETA ARE SHOVING THEIR AGENDAS DONE OUR COLLECTIVE THROATS.  WE DO HAVE RIGHTS!  READ BELOW:

A SAOVA message to sportsmen, pet owners and farmers concerned  about protecting their traditions, avocations and livelihoods from anti-hunting, anti-breeding, animal guardianship advocates. Forwarding and cross posting, with attribution, encouraged.
The following article from award-winning outdoor writer, Marc Folco, is well worth reading.  As an additional comment to the writer’s mention of HSUS anti-breeder legislation in the guise of eliminating puppy mills: HSUS is currently losing this state-level battle about 3 to 1; however bills are still pending in 8 states.
Susan Wolf
Sportsmen’s and Animal Owners’ Voting Alliance – http://saova.org
Issue lobbying and working to identify and elect supportive legislators

Open Season: Firing back at the critics

June 21, 2009 6:00 AM

I get hate mail on the average of once a week, and I don’t know why. My column shouldn’t be controversial.
Hunting has been around since the caveman, and guns have been around shortly after the Chinese invented gunpowder — and our Constitution clearly states that U.S. citizens have the right to keep and bear arms if they so choose. So, hunting and owning guns are two of America’s oldest and most time-honored traditions.

Why make them — and my column — a controversy?

After 21 years of dealing with cry-baby anti-hunters and runny-nosed gun-grabbers that whine incessantly about my column, the outdoors lifestyle and the shooting sports, I’ve become thick-skinned. Their barbs don’t penetrate. Some hate mail I answer, some I don’t. Some I answer here.

The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), based in Washington, threw another of its hissy-fits recently because I wrote about how the wealthy animal rights group has been investigated after soliciting donations to reunite pets with their owners during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. They took in $34 million for that purpose but only spent $7 million on it. So, a whopping $27 million of solicited funds were used for something else.

In his letter to the editor, HSUS’s Michael Markarian skirts that issue and also avoids the notion that the group is pushing to get 41 dog bills enacted in 26 states that are cloaked as eliminating puppy mills, but go to the extreme, as usual. Language in such bills has included mandatory spaying/neutering (or pay $500 per dog per year that is not spayed or neutered), reporting all puppy sales to local authorities and eliminating the practice of humane tethering.

Markarian uses diversion, and says that the group campaigns vigorously against abusive hunting practices. They also (falsely) claim that I defend inhumane practices. Inhumane? By whose standards? Those of animal rights extremists? By their standards, all hunting is inhumane and the group’s underlying agenda is to eliminate all hunting.

HSUS President and CEO Wayne Pacelle has been quoted as saying, “If we could shut down all sport hunting in a moment, we would,” as quoted by the Associated Press in Impassioned Agitator, Dec. 30, 1991. “Our goal is to get sport hunting in the same category as cock fighting and dog fighting,” as quoted in the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, Oct. 8, 1991. And, “Sport hunting — the killing of wild animals as recreation — is fundamentally at odds with the values of a humane, just and caring society,” HSUS Website 2003.

And according to a report from the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance (USSA), Pacelle recently criticized in his blog, those who disagree with the group’s agenda, practically accusing them of not being in step with American culture, the report says.

Pacelle suggests that HSUS opponents should, “start adjusting to the evolving ethos in American culture. You’ll get ahead through innovation and adaptation, not stubborn adherence to custom or current business operations.” He also stated that other animal rights groups, “miss the bigger picture, and our interest in reaching mainstream Americans.”

“Mr. Pacelle’s own words pull the curtain back and unveil the real intent of the HSUS,” stated USSA President and CEO Bud Pidgeon. “He admits to attempting to ‘mainstream’ the group — at the same time he criticizes ‘custom.’ There’s only one reason to do this and that is to fundamentally change America to correspond to the HSUS agenda.”

The HSUS is also involved in a lawsuit to stop the delisting of the gray wolf as an endangered species in the Great Lakes states, where the wolf has rebounded to thriving and healthy populations, far exceeding the goals that were established in order to remove it from the list. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service — under the both the Bush and Obama Administrations — has determined that the wolf numbers are more than sufficient for it to be delisted. But that’s not good enough for the HSUS and other animal rights groups that are spending money on the lawsuit.

Could it be that the money being donated by people who are duped into believing they are helping doggies and kitties, is being used by these groups to fund those expensive anti-hunting lawsuits which tie up the courts with nonsense? We already know that a lot of the money feathers the nests of high-paid executives at the top of these groups.
Without an animal rights agenda, they’re out of their quarter-million-dollar salaries and would be slinging tofu at a vegan joint. You want veggie fries with that?

Just this week, PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) is in an uproar because President Obama swatted a fly. So, is swatting a fly (or a mosquito) now considered inhumane and abusive by animal rights’ standards? Are we now to adhere to the animal rights doctrine that mainstream America does not swat dirty, disease-carrying insects?

I see the animal rights brigade as nothing more than a noisy band of half-baked control freaks, led like sheep by cunning executives interested only in job security, who want to dictate how we spend our leisure time, what we eat and how we raise our own private pets. If you don’t like hunting, don’t hunt.

If you don’t like meat, eat weeds. Don’t want puppies, get your dog spayed. But why are they trying to shove their ridiculous agendas down our throats and make controversy out of “truly mainstream” activities that have been “custom” for centuries? It’s a free country, and if I want to hunt, eat meat, raise a litter of puppies and stomp on a bug, I should be able to without worrying about those whiny breast-beaters trying to outlaw it all.

Another recent hate letter was from Floyd, who thought my story about feeling the effects of approaching 50 just plain stunk and he wrote, “Write a book and do an autograph session with your raccoon hat and western jacket. Your description of stink is nothing compared to your articles.”

Well written, Floyd, but I beat you to it. Already working on my book — a collection of short stories, my favorite stinky articles. Hey, I might even name it that. “My Favorite Stinky Articles, by Marc Folco.” It’s got a nice ring to it. And thanks for the idea of wearing a coonskin hat for the book signing. Don’t have a coonskin one though, so I’ll have to wear my full-length coyote hat, made from a coyote that I shot (I’ll let you pet it if you buy a book). I don’t have a western jacket either, so I hope my buckskins will do (I’ll let you play with the fringe if you buy a book).

And if my articles stink so badly, why read them? If I think a writer stinks, I’m not wasting my valuable time reading his/her putrid rubbish from start to finish. I already know that fresh pile of doggie poo the puppy left on the carpet is going to stink, so I’m not going to sniff it.

Another reader was irate because I won a couple of humor awards from the New England Outdoor Writers’ Assoc. for 2008.
“Only you would make a joke out of killing a small defenseless deer — and your ilk rewarded that story on top of it. You and your kind are callous and disgusting,” M.S. said in reference to my story about shooting “teacup whitetails,” one of the award-winners. M.S. went on to say, “You are the most politically incorrect writer I have ever read!”

Well, my stories have won more than a dozen New England and national writing awards (many of them first place), so maybe you’re the one who is lacking a sense of humor. Laughter is the best medicine. Have a dose. Aint we got fun! I do have to agree with one thing. You hit the nail on the head — I am politically incorrect. And proud of it.

I am a man who tells it like it is, whether readers like it or not. I don’t write by anybody’s standards except my own, and those of the newspaper of course, where I can’t slander or use profanity. I wear my heart on my sleeve and say what I feel and think. Anybody who cowers to political correctness is a rump-smoocher in my book.

The end of “My Way,” as sung by Frank Sinatra, says it nicely:

“For what is a man?
What has he got?
If not himself
Then he has not
To say the things he truly feels
And not the words of one who kneels
The record shows
I took the blows
And did it my way.”

Marc Folco is the outdoor writer for The Standard Times. Contact him at openseason1988@aol.com
http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090621/SPORTS/906210384/-1/NEWSMAP

http://tinyurl.com/ns7blw

The message above was posted to West Virginia, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and Missouri residents by the Sportsmen’s and Animal Owners’ Voting Alliance (SAOVA) on one of ten regional read only elists.

SAOVA is a nonpartisan volunteer group working to protect Americans from the legislative and political threats of radical animal rightists. It is the only national organization fighting this struggle for both sportsmen and animal owners, natural allies, in these arenas. Visit our website at http://saova.org for this program’s goals, methodology and list signup details.

I began teaching too many years ago at Miami Trace High School in Washington Court House, Ohio, where I had lived for three years with my vagabond always moving family. I taught college prep English and Theatre and directed the plays.  Although I could not stay for more than one year at Miami Trace  as I was living in a rooming house and sending all my money home to my mother and the four younger kids in the family; I needed to move back to the Columbus area and find a teaching job that paid more. However,  I loved that first year of teaching my seniors who were only four years younger than I was.  Last summer, some of my “kids” had a mini reunion a practice that has continued.  My kids have told me that I was the teacher who most touched their lives; this sentiment is worth more to me than all the wins in the dog show world.  I am honored to have touched  the lives of some of the finest and most successful adults I know.  I would love to go back and do it all over again.  Instead of going into secondary administration, I went into elementary as I hate football and basketball and high school principals must go to all games while I wanted to go to dog shows!

I am in the middle, front row. 

My friend Sandy just sent me this wonderful photo of her Murphy.  Sandy came to us for a girl, but all I had was this little boy.  I finally convinced Sandy that the boys are always special;  my favorite saying is that Cavalier girls love you, but boys fall in love with you.  Sandy tells me that I was so right (of course!!!); she cannot picture life without Murphy who just earned is Canine Good Citizen and is on his way to therapy dog and maybe other titles. 

 

If you cannot just click on link to open or right click and open the link,  then just copy and paste.  This one really made me laugh!

commercial from a European maker of rubber cement:

http://www.culturepub.fr/videos/rubber-cement-colle-les-nonnes.html

Pet Owners and Breeders in N. Carolina read below and contact your legislators (listed below) if you want to keep the right to breed and own dogs. THIS IS SERIOUS

NC ALERT: Strict Breeder Bill To Be Heard On Tuesday, June 30!
[Friday, June 26, 2009]
Senate Bill 460, a bill which regulates breeders and infringes on the rights
of responsible dog owners, will be heard in the Senate Finance Committee on
Tuesday, June 30.

All responsible dog breeders and owners in North Carolina are encouraged to
attend the hearing on Tuesday in opposition to the bill. We need to show
strong opposition to SB 460. While attendees will not be able to speak in
opposition, NUMBERS MATTER! If you are unable to attend, please call or
e-mail the members of the committee and ask them to oppose SB 460.

The American Kennel Club is appalled by the conditions in which some dogs
are kept and abhors animal cruelty. However, as the AKC wrote in a letter to
the Finance Committee, Senate Bill 460 is a costly, ineffective bill that
punishes responsible breeders and owners and does nothing to help the dogs
kept in deplorable conditions.

The AKC opposes several other provisions of Senate Bill 460, including:

  a.. A vague definition of commercial breeder. As amended, SB 460 defines
“commercial breeder” as anyone who owns or maintains at least 15 intact
females of any age for the primary purpose of the sale of the offspring.
This definition could include anyone who has bred even a single litter of
puppies, including fanciers and show breeders.
  b.. Inspections of private property at any time. The bill allows law
enforcement and local animal control to search the homes and private
property of anyone who falls under the definition of “commercial breeder” at
any time of day or night.
  c.. Directive for the NC Department of Agriculture to develop standards of
care with no public input. SB 460 calls for the Department of Agriculture to
develop care and condition policies for dogs belonging to commercial
breeders. This does not allow for any input from dog breeders and others who
are experts in animal care.
This bill is unnecessary, as North Carolina already has laws that address
animal cruelty and mistreatment. Senate Bill 460 will do nothing to address
irresponsible breeding and will cost the state over $400,000 a year to
enforce. At a time when the state is facing a projected $3 billion budget
gap, improved enforcement of existing laws would be a better use of North
Carolina taxpayers’ money.

How You Can Help:

·         Attend the Senate Finance Committee hearing on Tuesday, June 30.
The details are as follows:

Date: Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Time: 1:00 p.m.
Location: North Carolina Legislative Office Building
Room 544
16 W. Jones Street
Raleigh, North Carolina

  a.. Contact the members of the Senate Finance Committee TODAY. Tell the
members of the committee that you oppose this bill, and urge them to oppose
Senate Bill 460. A phone call would be most effective. E-mail is acceptable,
but we ask that you also call.
Click here for basic phone scripts for breeders and fanciers.

The contact information for the committee is as follows:

Senator David Hoyle (Co-Chairman)
Phone: (919) 733-5734
E-mail: David.Hoyle@ncleg.net

Senator Daniel Clodfelter (Co-Chairman)
Phone: (919) 715-8331
E-mail: Daniel.Clodfelter@ncleg.net

Senator Clark Jenkins (Co-Chairman)
Phone: (919) 715-3040
E-mail: Clark.Jenkins@ncleg.net

Senator Larry Shaw (Vice-Chairman)
Phone: (919) 733-9349
E-mail: Larry.Shaw@ncleg.net

Senator Fletcher Hartsell, Jr. (Vice-Chairman)
Phone: (919) 733-7223
E-mail: Fletcher.Hartsell@ncleg.net

Senator Charles Albertson
Phone: (919) 733-5705
E-mail: Charlie.Albertson@ncleg.net

Senator Austin Allran
Phone: (919) 733-5876
E-mail: Austin.Allran@ncleg.net

Senator Tom Apodaca
Phone: (919) 733-5745
E-mail: Tom.Apodaca@ncleg.net

Senator Bob Atwater
Phone: (919) 715-3036
E-mail: Bob.Atwater@ncleg.net

Senator Philip Berger
Phone: (919) 733-5708
E-mail: Phil.Berger@ncleg.net

Senator Charlie Dannelly
Phone: (919) 733-5955
E-mail: Charlie.Dannelly@ncleg.net

Senator Eleanor Kinnaird
Phone: (919) 733-5804
E-mail: Ellie.Kinnaird@ncleg.net

Senator Floyd McKissick, Jr.
Phone: (919) 733-4599
E-mail: Floyd.McKissick@ncleg.net

Senator Joe Sam Queen
Phone: (919) 733-3460
E-mail: Joe.Queen@ncleg.net

Senator David Rouzer
Phone: (919)733-5748
E-mail: David.Rouzer@ncleg.net

Senator R.C. Soles, Jr.
Phone: (919) 733-5963
E-mail: RC.Soles@ncleg.net

Senator Harris Blake
Phone: (919) 733-4809
E-mail: Harris.Blake@ncleg.net

Senator Julia Boseman
Phone: (919) 715-2525
E-mail: Julia.Boseman@ncleg.net

Senator Andrew Brock
Phone: (919) 715-0690
E-mail: Andrew.Brock@ncleg.net

Senator Harry Brown
Phone: (919) 715-3034
E-mail: Harry.Brown@ncleg.net

Senator Don East
Phone: (919) 733-5743
E-mail: Don.East@ncleg.net

Senator Tony Foriest
Phone: (919) 301-1446
E-mail: Tony.Foriest@ncleg.net

Senator Linda Garrou
Phone: (919) 733-5620
E-mail: Linda.Garrou@ncleg.net

Senator Eddie Goodall
Phone: (919) 733-7659
E-mail: Eddie.Goodall@ncleg.net

Senator Steve Goss
Phone: (919) 733-5742
E-mail: Steve.Goss@ncleg.net

Senator Neal Hunt
Phone: (919) 733-5850
E-mail: Neal.Hunt@ncleg.net

Senator Martin Nesbitt, Jr.
Phone: (919) 715-3001
E-mail: Martin.Nesbitt@ncleg.net

Senator Jean Preston
Phone: (919) 733-5706
E-mail: Jean.Preston@ncleg.net

Senator William Purcell
Phone: (919) 733-5953
E-mail: William.Purcell@ncleg.net

Senator Tony Rand
Phone: (919) 733-9892
E-mail: Tony.Rand@ncleg.net

Senator Bob Rucho
Phone: (919) 733-5655
E-mail: Bob.Rucho@ncleg.net

Senator Josh Stein
Phone: (919)715-6400
E-mail: Josh.Stein@ncleg.net

Senator Richard Stevens
Phone: (919) 733-5653
E-mail: Richard.Stevens@ncleg.net

Senator A.B. Swindell
Phone: (919) 715-3030
E-mail: AB.Swindell@ncleg.net

Senator Jerry Tillman
Phone: (919) 733-5870
E-mail: Jerry.Tillman@ncleg.net

Senator David Weinstein
Phone: (919) 733-5651
E-mail: David.Weinstein@ncleg.net

Senator Dan Blue
Phone: (919) 833-1931
E-mail: Dan.Blue@ncleg.net

For more information, contact AKC’s Government Relations Department at (919)
816-3720; or e-mail doglaw@akc.org.

 

FAX OR CALL THE LEGISLATORS LISTED BELOW AFTER YOU READ THE FOLLOWING WRITTEN BY JOHN YATES OF THE AMERICAN SPORTING DOG ALLIANCE.  HELP US FIGHT THE ANIMAL RIGHTISTS WHO WISH TO END DOG BREEDING AND ULTIMATELY DOG OWNERSHIP.

The Proposed Legislation Would Destroy   Almost Every Ohio Kennel

      Hearing Today – Act Now Or Lose It All

      by JOHN YATES
      American sporting Dog Alliance

http://www.americansportingdogalliance.org

      asda@csonline.net

      This report is archived at http://eaglerock814.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=general&thread=47

      COLUMBUS, OH – A critical committee hearing is scheduled for TODAY (June 24, 2009) on legislation that we believe would make it impossible for anyone to raise dogs in Ohio. The House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee will take testimony on House Bill 124 beginning at 9:30 a.m. in Room 018 of the State Capitol Building. We have heard unofficial reports that testimony on another bill may push back the hearing on HB 124 until after Noon, but this cannot be confirmed officially.

      We cannot be too emphatic about the devastating nature of HB 124 and its impact on people who raise dogs in Ohio. It is very radical animal rights legislation straight from the heart of the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), which is the political mouthpiece for this movement to gradually eliminate all animal ownership in America.

      If dog owners do not act decisively and in large numbers, they will have only themselves to blame if this terrible legislation is passed into law. Immediate action is required to save the dogs that you love. No excuse is good enough for failing to act now.

      Some people may think we are exaggerating and using scare tactics. We are not, and we will prove it in this report. First, we will summarize the major provisions in HB 124, and then we will provide a direct link to the actual text of this legislation so that people can read it for themselves and prove that everything we are saying is true.

      Ohio dog owners have every reason to be scared – very scared! And they have every reason to be very angry because this legislation denies innocent dog owners the basic rights and legal processes that are guaranteed to someone charged with murder or rape.

      You will no longer truly own your dogs if this legislation passes. They will become, in essence, wards of the state.

      Here are some of the major provisions of HB 124 and its companion bill, Senate Bill 95:

        a.. A Kennel Authority would be created to write regulations, administer the law and control virtually everything done by dog owners. The Authority’s politically appointed Board of Directors would be heavily weighted toward animal rights activists. Only one person who raises dogs and one person representing pet stores would be on the Board. There is no legislative or judicial oversight over the decisions of this board.

        a.. This committee would be given a free hand to design and implement all of the rules for kennel licensing, inspections and paperwork, as well as all construction, maintenance and management requirements..

        a.. The board will require every kennel owner and “any other person” who sells even one dog to obtain a tax vendor number. You must pay sales tax for selling even one dog or puppy.

        a.. Each applicant for any kind of kennel license will be subjected to a criminal background check by the state Attorney General.

        a.. Every license applicant must post insurance or a bond to cover the state’s cost of enforcing the law at the kennel.

        a.. The Board is given a completely blank check to write “any other requirements and procedures” to define and enforce the law. People with animal rights beliefs will have total control over the lives of dog owners.

        a.. Anyone who buys, offers to sell, sells or gives away nine or more dogs a year is intensely regulated and licensed as a dealer, which is called a “dog intermediary” in the legislation. Anyone who sells even one dog or puppy to a pet store also is considered a dealer.

        a.. Anyone who raises more than nine litters of puppies a year, or has 40 puppies a year, must be licensed as a “breeding kennel” and subject to extremely intense regulation. For some breeds, only four litters a year could produce 40 puppies. A “breeding dog” is defined as any dog that is not spayed or neutered, regardless of the dog’s actual purpose in a kennel.

        a.. Anyone from out of state who sells a dog or puppy to an Ohio resident must document the entire history of the dog, and provide a veterinary health certificate. This will make it very difficult for Ohioans to obtain a dog from another state.

        a.. Tail docking, ear cropping and dewclaw removal (or the removal of any other claw) can be done only by a veterinarian. Owners no longer could dock tails of newborn puppies, as has been standard practice for centuries. Owners also could be prosecuted if a dog accidentally rips off a claw, such as when hunting.

        a.. Kennel owners would no longer be allowed to treat even minor ailments or injuries, possibly even including parasites, which are now defined as a disease. All treatments must be done by a veterinarian.

        a.. No one can sell a dog at any public place, which would include field trials, dog shows and other canine gatherings. All sales must be at the kennel facility.

        a.. The state is required to inspect “any facility.upon request of a member of the public” or a public or quasi-public official. That means that animal rights activists can demand and get state inspections of the home and property of anyone who has dogs, without making or proving any allegation of a violation, and without producing proof of any kind. This will lead to continual and frightening harassment of law-abiding dogs owners by animal rights groups, and the state must respond to all requests for inspections, even if they are obviously bogus.

        a.. Inspectors are given absolute and incontestable power to enter and inspect “any public or private property” to see if a violation of the law has occurred. There is no requirement for a search warrant or probable cause (a warrant is an option method, but is not required). Anyone who refuses to allow an inspection, or hinders it, can be assessed for the entire cost to the state to investigate and prosecute, including wages and expenses for an unlimited number of state officials.

        a.. Any dog may be impounded if the state has probable cause to believe any violation of the law has occurred, but probable cause is not required to presented before a court, as is guaranteed by the Bill of Rights. A hearing before the state agency is set within five days, and the dogs could be permanently forfeited to face adoption or euthanasia. A dog owner cannot appeal to a local court, but can appeal only to the Environmental Division of the Franklin County Municipal Court, and the kennel owner must post a bond. The state agency thus becomes the cop, prosecutor, judge and jury.

        a.. Civil penalties ranging up to $15,000 can be imposed administratively (with no appeal) for violations, and separate penalties can be assigned for every dog in violation for every day it is in violation. Thus, a dog owner can be destroyed financially without ever getting his or her day in court, even for minor or accidental infractions.

        a.. The state “shall deny” a license to any person who has violated any part of the law or any rule, and that includes paperwork deficiencies, accidental mistakes and minor technical errors.

        a.. The state “shall deny” a license to anyone who “does not have the expertise or capacity to comply” with the law or regulations. That gives the state absolute power to judge the qualifications of anyone to own a dog, and no objective standards are defined. The decision is entirely subjective. There is no appeal. This also means that most poor and working class people could be denied licensure simply because they don’t have enough money to meet all of the state’s insatiable demands. This is a very real issue in today’s troubled economy, and Ohio is among the states hardest hit by the current deep recession.

        a.. No puppy under 12 weeks of age can be sold unless the litter is registered with the state. This essentially creates a database of every dog in Ohio, which many dog owners think will be used someday to mandate pet sterilization or ban certain breeds of dogs.

        a.. The law provides exacting specifications for kennel sizes, construction and temperature control, and allows the Board to create even more stringent regulations. These rules effectively prohibit a dog owner from raising puppies inside his or her own home, and also effectively ban outdoor housing in the winter for most breeds of dogs (it may exclude hunting and sled dogs, but there is some ambiguity in the language) if the water cannot be kept unfrozen 24 hours a day. The use of crates to train dogs kept in a home also is effectively banned.

        a.. Except for dogs that are continuously confined to a kennel, any dog that is found without a collar and license tag (even inside the owner’s home) can be seized, sold or killed. This would appear to include puppies, as the word “dog” is not defined.

        a.. No person or group who is licensed as a dog rescue would be allowed to breed any dogs or raise any puppies. This would destroy the breed rescue network in Ohio, as most of the participants actually raise the breed they are helping to rescue.

        a.. And reams of time-consuming paperwork and compliance documentations would be required, and minor omissions or errors could cause a license to be denied or revoked.

      It is the belief of the American Sporting Dog Alliance that the terms of HB 124 that are outlined above will combine to force almost every kennel in Ohio to close its doors. The combination of stringent rules, unreasonable liabilities and draconian enforcement measures will either result in kennels being closed by the state, or kennel owners being scared and intimidated into quitting to avoid the probability that the state would destroy their lives.

      Please do not take our word for it. We want you to read this legislation yourself and form your own conclusions.

      Here is a direct link to the actual text of HB 124: http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/bills.cfm?ID=128_HB_124 . Please read it.

      The American Sporting Dog Alliance regards this bill as an unconscionable perversion of the American concept of justice that shows utter disdain for the Bill of Rights, individual privacy or the concept of private property.

      What You Can Do About It

      Ohio dog owners are up against an array of powerful forces from the animal rights movement. They are well organized and well funded, and have been preparing for this legislation for many years.

      To stop this legislation will require an outpouring of clear opposition from several thousand Ohio dog owners, and the time for it to happen is now.

      If dog owners do not act in large numbers, there is a high probability that this terrible and destructive legislation will be passed into law.

      Please be scared. Please be angry. Please be scared and angry enough to fight back as if your life depends on it – and it does.

      Here is what you can do:

      Contact the chairman of the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee, Rep. John Domenick (D-95) and the Minority Chair, Rep. Jeff Wagner (R-81). Faxes and written letters are the best, but this should also include a phone call or email immediately, because the hearing is tomorrow. Emails alone probably are less effective, but far better than nothing.

      Here is contact information for Rep. Domenick:

      Address:
      77 S. High St
      12th Floor
      Columbus, OH 43215-6111
      Phone: (614) 466-3735
      Fax: (614) 719-6995
      Email: district95@ohr.state.oh.us

      Here is contact information for Rep. Wegner:

      Address:
      77 S. High St
      10th Floor
      Columbus, OH 43215-6111
      Phone: (614) 466-1374
      Fax: (614) 719-6981
      Email: district81@ohr.state.oh.us

 

My friend Donna reports about her “Casey:”

I just finished reading your “blog” about Wendy and I laughed so hard.  I think you have bred the “woo woo woo” gene into your Rattlebridge dogs.  Casey sounds like he is being neglected and abused anytime he is separated from his favorite humans ( this includes but is not limited to us, all the neighbors, the UPS man, mailman, any company,  his groomer,  and especially his pet-sitter). It’s hard to believe  that he has been with us for almost two years.

He embodies the  “joyous and carefree” description of Cavaliers. He knows every single neighbor, the UPS man brings him treats, and he has multiple play dates on a regular basis. He passed his Rally obedience class  (barely) and was either perfectly behaved or a total non-conformist. 

He continues to visit with Tom at the local assisted living center 
and accompanies him on his Meals on Wheels rounds.  I ran into Casey’s brother Truth or Dare” at a show in  Brooksville, Fl. They look so much alike.

Casey is saying “you sure look like me.”

Well, I am now on Twitter, Lord help me.  I do not even understand the concept.  My friend Roxy Hayes bugged me about “tweeting” and is now bugging me to do Facebook.  I am too old for this.  You Tube was plenty for me  My blog does not get done on a regular basis I am so possessed by my spring frenzy of creating gardens.  I do nothing half way.  How then can I possibly keep up with the computer age!?!

My darling Wendy aka Ch. Rattlebridge Dutch Treat, ROM, slipped and did her knee in.  Her heart is still fine at 11 and 1/2 so she went through the surgery to fix it just fine.  He leg may not be a hundred percent again, but she is back to her antics and driving me nuts with her “woo,woo, woo” if any door, gate (even a see through dog gate), window separates us.  She has always been my girl and my constant companion as she does not let me out of her sight.  

 

 

 

Wendy has this tenuous relationship Emma the Cat.  Wendy thinks that Emma is very strange as the cat, whom I rescued from under a barn floor over nine years ago, is very attached to me also and does not like to share.  Emma looks down her superior feline nose at Wendy’s slavish devotion to me (how can it be slavish when I wait on Wendy hand and foot especially through her injury which she is milking for all its worth) although Emma seems to be just as devoted but just in total command. Al, of course, being the he man he is, has no use for cats, but he has lost this battle as well as all the other ones in our married life (WHY DO HUSBANDS EVEN TRY???).  Emma makes sure she crawls on his lap occasionally just so I can say to him, “don’t even think about it!!!” as he sits there steaming as little Miss Emma kneads his lap knowing full well that he wants to fling her across the room.   Until next time while I  “tweet ” away.