only an Irish Catholic would love this . . .

5 NUNS IN A  BAR

Sisters  Mary Catherine, Maria Theresa, Katherine Marie, Rose Frances, and Mary  Kathleen left the Convent on a trip to St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New
York City and were sight-seeing on a Tuesday in July.  It was hot and  humid
in the city and their traditional garb was making them so uncomfortable,  they
decided to stop in at Patty McGuire’s Pub for a cold soft  drink.

Patty had recently added special legs to his  barstools which were the
talk of the fashionable eastside neighborhood.  All 5 Nuns sat up at the bar
and were enjoying their Cokes when Monsignor Riley and Father McGinty
entered the bar through the front door.

They, too, came for a cold drink when they were shocked  and almost fainted
at what they  saw.

It has been more than a couple of weeks since I have  updated my blog and caught all up on all that is going on at Rattlebridge.  Tonight, I am afraid, will not be the night.  I just used really good two hours of productive time watching A
American Idol and am now too depressed to write much at all.  I did so want Adam Lambert to win; I feel he is a great talent and should have walked away with the title hands down, theatrical or not!  He certainly will not need the title now that he has been “discovered.”  So now it’s on to rooting for Susan Boyle in Britain’s Got Talent. I watch no reality shows but Idol and not that all the time. This year, however has been a real contest!  So now in my next posting, back to our dogs, travels, dog legislation and anything else that strikes me late at night.  Have to go to work tomorrow in my substitute principal hat.  I love being back in the traces although I am exhausted at night hence the no blogging! 

It is  very unusual for me not to post in such a long time, but my life has been crazy I have so much to say and am sorry I have not written (those of you who read this blog all the time).  I went to Memphis to visit my dear friend Margaret Valentine who co owned our number one and Best in Show and Best in Specialty Show Ch. Marshell Rattlebridge  Renoir and Ch. Rattlebridge Adagio.  We had a great time going to her gorgeous lake house in Arkansas on Greers’s Ferry which is a very large and very tranquil lake.  I learned to jet ski there last summer and while Margaret did a sedate 40 miles an hour or whatever the nautical term is, once I got my balance I was up to over 60 which is about as fast as it will go.  I was in heaven!  I came home and told Al, who used to be Commodore of our local yacht club, that I wanted a jet ski that we could keep at Alum Creek reservoir, a short distance from our home.  Needless to say I an still jet ski less.It was too early to get out the jet skis this time.  I could not get my email to work the whole time I was away; Margaret’s computer was down and I could not get my blackberry to charge so I could not get my email by syncing it to my laptop. I ABHOR technology!

On the way back from Memphis, I stopped to see my youngest brother Master Sargeant John N. Johnson (retired).  He has about twenty acres and a lovely home.  His bride, Uni, and he were busy planting fruit trees and Uni was doing the vegetable gardens.  Uni is the loveliest woman, inside and out, that I have ever met.  She and John met while he was stationed in Korea and dated for several years both going back and forth to Korea and the States.  Uni has to get her family organized before she could think about coming to the States permanently and they had to work through different cultures.  Her adult sons, one a major in the Korean army, and daughters, whose father has not been in the picture for many years, have embraced John as their father with all the respect the Korean culture has for parents.  He is thrilled they all call him Dad as he lost his own daughter several years ago at age 10.  He is thrilled to have a beautiful little granddaughter.  Back and forth to Korea and the States, the family sees each other as often as possible.  Uni has asked me to go to Korea with her the next time she goes without John; she says we will go to China and possibly India! 

I cannot be a world traveler this time of my life; I am needed at home.  Al never complained when I was trotting around the world with dogs.  So I do not complain now and am glad to be here if he needs me.

I am leaving the day after tomorrow, however, for Charleston, SC, where my very close friend Wendy Hilberts Goodman (Royal Companion Cavaliers) from the Netherlands is judging a Cavalier specialty.  Since her husband, Ben, is not  coming with her, I am going to stay with her and talk about old times. Wendy is no longer breeding or showing and I am breeding a bit but not currently showing.  She was the top kennel in the Netherlands for many years producing lovely Cavaliers.

 

from one of my friends who keeps me updated:

“I don’t know how many posts I’ve made about AC people illegally seizing  dogs…this is happening all over the country. I know I’ve become tired of seeing the posts…so may not have passed on as many as I have seen.

My point here is…every dog owner in the country should familiarize him/herself with search and seizure laws…because basically, you are NOT required to allow ANYONE into your home, or even on your private property, unless they have a warrant. Really. Most people are so intimidated by anyone they perceive as having authority that they actually let their animals be seized…………..

So…here you go…some information everyone needs to have. Other articles

on the same subject will be forthcoming…but in the meantime, go to www.carpoc.org/articles.html and read “What to do when Animal Control Comes Knocking,” or “Busted,” by George Eigenhauser. Eigenhauser, a Sacramento attorney, is now the CFA (Cat Fanciers) legislation pointman.  Don’t allow yourself to think none of this will ever apply to you…print the articles out and get yourself VERY familiar with what they say. And as I said earlier…learn the search and seizure laws where you live…………….

I know people often don’t believe that anyone can come and seize their dogs, their cats…..whatever…because “it’s illegal.” Yes, it is. That doesn’t mean it isn’t happening.

Educate yourselves……..read and learn.”

If you wish to know how far our country has come from its original origins as a nation founded on belief in God and for the majority, belief in Christ, please look up the news story on the following link.  I realize fully that we are a pluralistic society with citizens of many faiths or lack of faith, put this news story happened at Georgetown University, A CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY, in Washington D.C. Have we who believe have no rights anymore?  Will every symbol of faith in God be removed lest we offend someone somewhere?  What has happened to us???

http://www.cnsnews.com/public/content/article.aspx?RsrcID=46667   

 

I am also attaching an article written by me published in “The Royal Spaniels” this spring. 

 

HAVING MY SAY: “THE TAIL IS WAGGING THE DOG”

Meredith Johnson-Snyder

After a ten year retirement, I am back to work as a substitute principal in my old urban school system. Kids and the system have not changed much in the last ten years that I have had the freedom to travel chasing my Cavalier dream after retiring after so many years as a school principal. Why am I beginning an article in “The Royal Spaniels” by mentioning my former and now current again work? I am mentioning it because in my first conference with a parent, the parent tried to turn the conference around to blame me and the system for the child’s misbehavior. I had attempted to stop an emotionally disturbed young boy from running out of the school by putting my hands on his coat. The first thing the parent did was accuse me of putting my hands on her child while she refused to consider the child’s behavior. So many times in our society, the small minority of the guilty have gotten away with misbehavior or crime, by accusing the system of violating individual rights rather than apologizing for those acts against the majority of society. In my case the tail has never wagged this old bitch and I put the responsibility right back on the student without allowing the parent to put the school or me on trial for trying to uphold the rights of the rest of the student and staff population for a safe and orderly school. My point is that all to often in many areas of our lives, our society, our government, foreign governments and in our world in general, the desires, rights, or needs of the majority are cancelled out by very vocal minorities who wish to achieve their own agendas whether good for the majority or not. And we allow it to happen because we do not let our united voices be heard!

Take a look at recent past and current events in our country. The majority of Californians are outraged that tax money will be used to support the irresponsibility of the mother of octuplets who made a decision to use fertility treatments and multiple embryo transplants at the same time knowing full well that she could not be fiscally or medically responsible to take care of her six children much less eight more. The taxpayers of California and her fourteen children will pay the price for her own need to have “more children to love” without her considering the welfare of those children. One woman takes advantage of the system and the majority will pay as no one can or wants to deny the needs of her children and have given up trying to let their voices be heard.

Then we have the case of the border patrols in one of our Mexican border states where two of our border patrols shot at two fleeing drug dealing illegals, hitting them in their fleeing rears. So who gets in trouble? The two border patrols representing our government and doing their job go to prison while our government gets sued by the drug dealing criminals—another case of the majority sitting back and allowing injustice to rule. A couple of drug dealing tails certainly wagged the border patrol our legal system’s dogs.

Now to the news of the night which had me reaching for something to throw at the television. The United Nations is once more considering a resolution which would forbid the media from saying anything negative against Islam. Free speech is guaranteed by our Constitution; court battles rage over censorship in this country. Yet, the UN resolution would attempt to put a gag order on journalists or newscasters who might be critical of the Islam extremists who behind their religion to advance their agenda of hate and destruction—certainly not the agenda of Islam! To my knowledge, this resolution does not extend to other religions; it could still be open season on Catholicism, Evangelism, Judaism, and Voodoo to name a few. Atheism is of course still protected and continues to win the war against any kind of religion displays in government buildings, schools, newly minted coins, and, of course, public prayer and religious observances. Since in many Islam nations, religion and the government are the same, the possible UN resolution will thereby prohibit any criticism of Islam governments also. So a small number of nations will wag the UN tail and may get away with it despite what the too polite and politically correct majority may wish.

Now how does all my outraged rambling relate to our world of dogs? The tail in the way of the animal rights movement is definitely wagging the the body of the majority dog lovers and breeders who for some reason have little or no voice in protecting their rights to own and breed dogs. Will the majority do anything to fight back? They may win a battle or two, but are definitely losing against the political machines of the HSUS and PETA who are trampling over the rights of the rest of us.

As we all know, the world of purebred dogs is coming under attack. While we have concentrated on breeding and showing, animal rights groups have positioned themselves to eradicate purebred dogs and, in fact, all domesticated animals in several countries in the world, the UK and the United States being the top targets. Look at what has already happened in Switzerland; look at how fox hunting, a long tradition, has been eliminated in the UK. In the US, several communities and cities have passed breed specific legislation, restricted the number of dogs one can own, limited number of litters bred during a year or legislated no breeding at all, and put breeders under the jurisdiction of dog wardens who can enter a breeder’s home to check records without notice and seize dogs over trumped up charges without the breeder or dog owner having any way to get the dogs back. Every week, more proposed anti breeding and anti dog edicts come to our attention. This week, proposed legislation in Pennsylvania calls for the end of cropping and docking; an owner of a cropped or docked breed must be able to show at any time a certificate that a veterinarian performed the cropping or docking of their dog or face having the dog in question asked seized. New Hampshire has bad legislation in the works; California will be once more introducing mandatory spay/neuter legislation; West Palm Beach, Florida, has forbidden any breeding within its borders causing breeders to move elsewhere; Ohio, my state, will be introducing legislation to control and tax breeding in this new legislation session. The list goes on and on.

The public relations effort of the animal rights groups to demonize the breeders of purebred dogs and the dogs themselves is paying off. The public as well as many celebrities are extolling the virtues of shelter dogs as being healthier than purebreds, but who would really know as there are no health statistics being kept on mixed breeds and no mixed breed clubs tracking health problems. The unsuspecting public is duped into believing that buying a purebred will result in the death of a supposedly “healthier” shelter dog while shelters are sending dogs from one end of our country to another to fill empty shelters and importing puppies and dogs from other countries because in some parts of the country there are not enough shelter dogs to be adopted and shelters support themselves through adoptions. However, PETA and HSUS continue to specialize in successfully influencing public opinion against purebreds and breeders despite so many of us working to improve the lot of shelter dogs and pushing the neutering of the puppies we sell to pet homes.

There are so many anti breeding bills being proposed that one cannot keep up. The HSUS is now going after farmers in Ohio after their success of passing Proposition 2 in California. Farmers will not be able to operate as they have since our ancestors stopped being foragers and began to domesticate animals and grow food. Proposition 2 and the proposed Ohio Bill will drastically change the way farmers treat livestock. It is wrong to treat any animal inhumanely whether in care or slaughter, but animals are not humans as the HSUS would have us to believe. As long as we refuse to organize and fight back by docking (oh, my, did I use that awful red flag word?) all animal rights wagging tails, the interests of the purebred dog world will not be protected and all we may have left are the tails without the dogs.

From another list but of interest to many, shared by permission of the author.  This may be addressed to breeders but will also very much affect those who wish to buy high quality beloved companions.  We, the show and hobby breeders, who are passionate about our breeds and their welfare will not be breeding because we will be driven out of breeding.  The only choice will be a purebred from a high volume commercial breeder or a dog from a shelter.  If the bill now being proposed in Ohio passes, a stiffer bill than the ones we helped defeat last year, I know of several quality breeders who will just quit, myself included. See below for the Ohio Bill info:

              If We Lose the Fight

The time is coming when the decision to stop or to continue breeding dogs will be made for you by the dog legislation that is being passed. The one that just passed the house in Oregon will put a stop to much of the breeding that is going on there by hobby breeders. Not that they are going to ban it but they will pass lemon laws saying that  if you breed a dog with a genetic problem you will be responsible for the vet bills. Who is willing to take a chance on that? The ironic thing about this is that the only breeders left
standing will be those that can afford the insurance that it will take to continue.  Andrew Hunte comes to mind. He will be buying our dogs.

My advise is to enjoy your breeding programs while they last because it is truly a dying sport. We have spent way too much time hoping and wishing that the few fighters among us will win the fight. Our success or failure rest on our own shoulders. No one to blame but ourselves. If we could have put as much passion into fighting animal legislation that we put into fighting amongst ourselves, then we might have won.

From my friend Vivian—

Put your political feelings aside if you don’t like the new
administration, but please take the time to email President Obama and Vice President Biden on selecting the dogs that they each truly wanted and would work for them and NOT bending to the collective wills of PETA and HSUS.  There is a website for the President and the VP where you can do this.  Also, Senator Kennedy needs an atta boy on helping support the goals of the AKC by using a reputable breeder.  While you’re at it with him, put a bug in his ear and ask for federal legislation to stop these folks and make sure you mention the part about PETA, the IRS investigation, and home-grown terrorists.

The breeder of the Biden’s new puppy has been under attack and received death threats.  Guess who that could have been?  She has been quoted as saying she will never again sell to a high profile individual.  I’m sure the Portie folks are in for it next.  This only takes a few minutes to email each of these individuals and tell them of your support as other responsible dog owners and breeders.  Thank you.

 

And more on the very, very hard time that the animal rightists have given the breeder of VP Joe Biden’s dog has gotten since she sold the German Shepherd puppy to VP Biden. If you do not think that PETA wants to eradicate purebred breeders, please read below:

cross posted from another list with permission.

 

AR mad at VP & Breeder

By GRETCHEN METZ, Staff Writer

EAST COVENTRY — It was a proud moment for Linda Brown when then-Vice President-elect Joe Biden selected her kennel to purchase his new German shepherd puppy.

That was in mid-December.

For Brown, that proud moment was short-lived.

After the story about the puppy sale ran in the newspapers and on TV newscasts, three dog wardens from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture showed up on Brown’s doorstep for a kennel inspection.

And they showed up again and again for four visits over four months.

She said she has also received death threats from animal activists against her and Biden, which were reported to the Secret Service and the FBI.

Bob Slama, special agent in charge of the Secret Service’s Philadelphia field office, said the agency “cannot comment on an ongoing investigation.”

J.J. Klaver, special agent at the Philadelphia field office of the FBI, said his agency is not investigating the matter at this time.

“I thought when Joe Biden bought a puppy from me, what an honor,” Brown said. “Out of millions of breeders in the country, in the world, he picked me.”

The glow dimmed almost immediately.

Following a story about Brown and Biden in the Daily Local News, readers posted 131 comments, some chiding Biden for having the Secret Service with him when he went puppy shopping and others complaining he did not get the dog from a shelter.

Brown was taken to task for selling pedigree dogs.

Brown said she has read the comments, even the one that said she was sued.

“I’d like to meet that person,” Brown said, adding that she has not been sued.

Some people were outraged about the photograph of Biden holding a 5-week-old puppy, Brown said. But, the breeder points out, Biden only came to select a puppy on that visit, left it with its mother and returned three weeks later to take it home.

Brown was not only vilified in posted comments to newspapers but also on he Web site of People for the Ethical Treatment Animals, or PETA.

According to a Dec. 12 press release from the animal rights group, it aired its controversial TV commercials “Buy One, Get One Killed” in Biden’s home state of Delaware after he bought his dog from Brown. The commercial blames euthanization of animals in shelters on people who purchase pets from breeders.

Brown also was cited for record-keeping problems and warned about maintenance and sanitation shortfalls by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.

“I was cited for a piece of kibble on the floor and five strands of dog hair. They took a picture of that, they walked around, snapped pictures and don’t tell you why,” said Brown, who disputes all the items where she was written up.

Brown’s case was heard by District Justice James DeAngelo in South Coventry on March 31. She was found “not guilty” for each citation, the judge’s office confirmed Wednesday.

Chris Ryder, press secretary for the Department of Agriculture, said Brown was inspected in December because of a complaint. He said it was department policy not to release the name of the person who complained.

Brown’s kennel, Wolf Den, was inspected twice a year by the agency and routinely had satisfactory reports until December 2008 when it had seven unsatisfactory inspection results out of 26, according to the inspection records on the agency’s Web site.

Ryder said the inspectors returned as a matter of follow-up to determine if the unsatisfactory matters had been taken care of. He said more than one inspector was brought in because Brown runs a large kennel.

Before going to court, Brown had to hire a lawyer. So far her legal fees are $4,000, she said.

“Never, never, never again,” Brown said about selling a dog to anyone with a high profile.

Brown said she gets her breeding stock from Germany. Each dog costs between $5,000 and $10,000.

“If I paid that much for them, don’t you think I’d treat them pretty good?” Brown asks.

While the First Family was shopping for a Portuguese water dog, Brown said those breeders were getting in touch with her to find out what her experience had been like.

Brown has a few words for them. “It’s been horrific since December,” she said.

————————————

Funny Moments in the Courtroom

These are from a book called Disorder in the American Courts, and are things people actually said in court, word for word, taken down and now published by court reporters that had the torment of staying calm while these exchanges were actually taking place.

ATTORNEY: What was the first thing your husband said to you that morning?

WITNESS: He said, ‘Where am I, Cathy?’

ATTORNEY: And why did that upset you?

WITNESS: My name is Susan!

____________________________________________

ATTORNEY: What gear were you in at the moment of the impact?

WITNESS: Gucci sweats and Reeboks.

____________________________________________

ATTORNEY: Are you sexually active?

WITNESS: No, I just lie there.

____________________________________________

ATTORNEY: This myasthenia gravis, does it affect your memory at all?

WITNESS: Yes.

ATTORNEY: And in what ways does it affect your memory?

WITNESS: I forget.

ATTORNEY: You forget? Can you give us an example of something you forgot?

___________________________________________

ATTORNEY: Do you know if your daughter has ever been involved in voodoo?

WITNESS: We both do.

ATTORNEY: Voodoo?

WITNESS: We do.

ATTORNEY: You do?

WITNESS: Yes, voodoo.

____________________________________________

ATTORNEY: Now doctor, isn’t it true that when a person dies in his sleep, he doesn’t know about it until the next morning?

WITNESS: Did you actually pass the bar exam?

____________________________________

ATTORNEY: The youngest son, the twenty-year-old, how old is he?

WITNESS: He’s twenty, much like your IQ.

___________________________________________

ATTORNEY: Were you present when your picture was taken?

WITNESS: Are you shitting me?

_________________________________________

ATTORNEY: So the date of conception (of the baby) was August 8th?

WITNESS: Yes.

ATTORNEY: And what were you doing at that time?

WITNESS: getting laid

____________________________________________

ATTORNEY: She had three children, right?

WITNESS: Yes.

ATTORNEY: How many were boys?

WITNESS: None.

ATTORNEY: Were there any girls?

WITNESS: Your Honor, I think I need a different attorney. Can I get a new attorney?

____________________________________________

ATTORNEY: How was your first marriage terminated?

WITNESS: By death.

ATTORNEY: And by whose death was it terminated?

WITNESS: Take a guess.

____________________________________________

ATTORNEY: Can you describe the individual?

WITNESS: He was about medium height and had a beard.

ATTORNEY: Was this a male or a female?

WITNESS: Unless the Circus was in town I’m going with male.

_____________________________________

ATTORNEY: Is your appearance here this morning pursuant to a deposition notice which I sent to your attorney?

WITNESS: No, this is how I dress when I go to work.

______________________________________

ATTORNEY: Doctor, how many of your autopsies have you performed on dead people?

WITNESS: All of them. The live ones put up too much of a fight.

_________________________________________

ATTORNEY: ALL your responses MUST be oral, OK? What school did you go to?

WITNESS: Oral.

_________________________________________

ATTORNEY: Do you recall the time that you examined the body?

WITNESS: The autopsy started around 8:30 p.m.

ATTORNEY: And Mr. Denton was dead at the time?

WITNESS: If not, he was by the time I finished.

____________________________________________

ATTORNEY: Are you qualified to give a urine sample?

WITNESS: Are you qualified to ask that question?

______________________________________

And the best for last:

ATTORNEY: Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse?

WITNESS: No.

ATTORNEY: Did you check for blood pressure?

WITNESS: No.

ATTORNEY: Did you check for breathing?

WITNESS: No.

ATTORNEY: So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy?

WITNESS: No.

ATTORNEY: How can you be so sure, Doctor?

WITNESS: Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar.

ATTORNEY: I see, but could the patient have still been alive, nevertheless?

WITNESS: Yes, it is possible that he could have been alive and practicing law.

****************************

 

ILLINOIS

One More Brick in the Wall:

 Success in Illinois (HB 198 and SB 53)

By ESaunders AR-HR.com

It’s a good day. Due to a united effort from Veterinarians, the AKC, Pet Owners & Pet Breeders, IL House Bill 198 & Senate Bill 53 has been defeated, for now.  As cited on the HSUS webpage for these bills.

“Due to pressure from the Illinois Veterinary Medical Association, the American Kennel Club and puppy mill producers in Illinois, legislation (H.B. 198/S.B. 53) to crack down on puppy mills in the state was not brought up for a vote. We will continue working to crack down on puppy mills.”

It is unfortunate that the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) could not gracefully accept that the proposed legislation was rejected by the people of Illinois.  Attributing the bills’ defeat to ‘puppy mill producers’ is sour grapes & an attempt to stain the reputation of the AKC, Illinois veterinarians, pet owners, trainers, responsible breeders and families involved.  In the face of an practiced & expensive lobbying campaign by the HSUS, the mostly volunteer effort held the day through sheer blood, sweat and tears to protect the rights of pet owners and breeders with respect to
the pets they hold so dear.

The effort is far from over.  Similar unnecessary bills are preoccupying legislators’ time across the US.  Time that could be better spent focusing on the colossal economic issues facing the US and the world right now.

But today, we hold forth a cheer for the little guys.  The people who are dedicated to truly understanding dogs and sharing their lives.  Tomorrow they still have dogs to feed, care for and love while they tell their legislators to get back to work and enforce the multitude of laws already on the books to deal with animal protection matters.

http://ar-hr.com/2009/04/13/one-more-brick-in-the-wall-success-in-illinois-hb-198-and-sb-53/

 

A bit of humor from my friend Jenny Hall in the UK:

We are in DEEP trouble…

The population of the UK  is

approximately 60 million.

32 million are retired.

That leaves 28 million to do the work.

There are 17 million in school or at Universities.

Which leaves 11 million to do the work.

Of this there are 8 million employed by the  UK government.

Leaving 3 million to do the work.

1.2 million are in the armed forces preoccupied with killing Osama Bin-Laden
and fighting in Afghanistan , etc 

Which leaves 1.8 million to do the work.

Take from that total the 0.8 million people who work for Local County
Councils. And that leaves 1 million to do the work.

At any given time there are 488,000 people in hospitals or claiming
Invalidity Benefit.

Leaving 512,000 to do the work.

Now, there are 511,998 people in prisons.

That leaves just two people to do the work.

You and me.

And there you are,

Sitting on your bum,

At your computer, reading jokes.

Is it any wonder that we are in such a mess and that I am stressed out
through trying to cope on my own?