Don't overlook the priceless treasure in your own home town

Scout holds my ♥ with his gentle paws

I think one of the best things I've ever done for myself was adopting Scout from my local shelter. No, he wasn't a puppy and I don't think he could have been considered a 'youth'. He was somewhere near three years old. But there was just something about him. Something in his eyes and something in my heart that told me to take him home. No, he wasn't pretty. He was nearly 20 pounds underweight and his hair was horribly thin but his eyes - his eyes had a kindness in them that told me everything was going to be OK.

Scout will be (I think) twelve this summer. He's slowing down a bit. His activity has decreased but his love - his love for me has increased a hundred fold. My love for him? I don't think there are enough numbers in all of the Universe to measure how I feel about him - he's priceless.

Please, the next time you think of adopting, take a look at the grown dogs and cats. There are some real treasures to be found that will continue to rise in value as each and every day goes by.

HERO Pitbull loses leg for her guardian. There are NO bad dogs!

 

 You will cry. You will cheer and you will get warm fuzzies.
(Be sure to turn off music in right sidebar.)

L♥ve her and care for her, she's the only Mother Earth we have...

We've been partying like it's 1999 for decades. Scout, Freyja, their momma and the fambly kittens think it's time to turn out the lights on the festivities, send the guests home and get down to the business of cleaning up our beautiful planet for our future generations. 

Imagine no whales, no tigers, no Rhinos, no redwoods, no clean rivers, no breathable air - imagine, and then look into the eyes of a child knowing that their children and grandchildren will have to live with our miserable legacy if we don't pull up our pants and get busy cleaning up the monumental mess.

My Scout, my friend, my partner, my buddy - my ♥

My Scout, my friend, my partner, my buddy - my ♥
A dog that loves me more than I could ever deserve.

He is my other eyes that can see above the clouds; my other ears that hear above the winds. He is the part of me that can reach out into the sea. He has told me a thousand times over that I am his reason for being; by the way he rests against my leg; by the way he thumps his tail at my smallest smile; by the way he shows his hurt when I leave without taking him. (I think it makes him sick with worry when he is not along to care for me.)

When I am wrong, he is delighted to forgive. When I am angry, he clowns to make me smile. When I am happy, he is joy unbounded. When I am a fool, he ignores it. When I succeed, he brags. Without him, I am only human. With him, I am all-powerful. He is loyalty itself.

He has taught me the meaning of devotion. With him, I know a secret comfort and a private peace. He has brought me understanding where before I was ignorant.

His head on my knee can heal my human hurts. His presence by my side is protection against my fears of dark and unknown things. He has promised to wait for me... whenever... wherever—in case I need him. And I expect I will—as I always have. He is just my dog.

This will touch your ♥. No explanation required...

Remembering the 12 dogs aboard the Titanic

From the collection of J. Joseph Edgette

By Tanya Mohn, msnbc.com contributor 

There were 12 dogs aboard the Titanic, including these three shown tied to a deck railing who did not survive the ship's sinking.

For the 100th anniversary of the Titanic’s sinking, just about every aspect of the storied liner – from safety issues to class differences among passengers – is being explored, analyzed and celebrated.

But little attention is being given to another group of Titanic travelers: the 12 dogs that made the voyage.

A new exhibit at the Widener University Art Gallery, in Chester, Pa., that opened Tuesday hopes to change that by including photographs and stories of the dogs and their owners who sailed on the Titanic, said J. Joseph Edgette, professor emeritus of education and folklorist emeritus at Widener University, who produced and curated the exhibit.

“I wanted to include things that people don’t normally run across,” Edgette said, noting that there were no Titanic-related exhibits that he was aware of that focused on the famed ocean liner’s canine passengers.

“Everybody knows about the iceberg, how the ship went down, and the heroic stories, but it doesn’t go beyond that, yet there are hundreds of other aspects that we need to give attention to,” said Edgette, who based much of his findings on eyewitness accounts of the evacuation, ship’s records and his own research. “Until recently, most scholarship has not covered the dogs.”

Only three dogs survived, he said.

Those that were saved included a baby Pomeranian named Lady, owned by Margaret Hays of New York City, who kept the puppy in the cabin with her, Edgette said. When passengers were evacuated, Hays wrapped it in a blanket. Crew members allowed her to get in a lifeboat with the puppy. “Because they assumed it was a baby, it survived,” he said.

Others that lived were Sun Yat-sen, a Pekinese belonging to Henry and Myra Harper (of Harper & Row publishing fame), also of New York City, and a small Pomeranian owned by Elizabeth Rothschild from Watkins Glen, N.Y.

All surviving dogs were small and were kept in the first-class cabins of their owners, Edgette said. “The crew was very respectful of first-class passengers and usually gave them what they wanted to make them happy.” The nine dogs kept in the onboard kennel perished, though the kennel was well-kept and the dogs were well taken care of, he said, by crew who fed and walked them.

Of the 12 dogs on board, four were from Philadelphia families. Two of those that perished were owned by William Carter, a coal magnate. Carter’s children were worried about their pets, but their father assured them the dogs were safe and encouraged his children to get in the lifeboats, Edgette said. The family survived, and later received insurance reimbursement from Lloyds of London in the amount of $100 for daughter Lucy’s King Charles spaniel and $200 for son Billy’s Airedale.

One century after the Titanic sank during its maiden voyage, the historic day is being commemorated around the world. NBC's Stephanie Gosk reports.

Other dogs that died included two Airedales named Kitty and Airedale, owned by John Jacob Astor IV and his wife, and a fox terrier named Dog, owned by William Dulles, an attorney from Philadelphia.

Perhaps one of the saddest stories is that of Ann Elizabeth Isham, who was already in a lifeboat when she got out to go to the ship’s kennel to retrieve her Great Dane. She never made it back.

“Two to three days later, a passenger ship’s crew member, not too far from the site of the sinking, found her,” said Edgette. “She was clutching a Great Dane.” Isham’s body, along with 326 others, was retrieved from the water, but no dogs were, he said.

The exhibit features photos of the dogs and their owners, some supplied by the families involved and others taken onboard, including a group of dogs tied to the rail on the Titanic’s deck, which perished, and a photo of crew members walking several dogs.

One photo shows the Titanic’s captain, Captain Smith, holding a Russian wolfhound called Ben, named for industrialist Benjamin Guggenheim, who gave the captain the dog as a gift for his daughter. But Ben never made the journey, as he disembarked before the ship sailed.

In addition to the dogs, the exhibit will focus predominately on the 68 Philadelphia-area families who sailed on the Titanic, including the Widener family, for whom Widener University is named. Three family members sailed on the Titanic, but only one survived. (Peter A.B. Widener was on the board of trustees of the parent company that owned White Star Line).

The show also includes displays about the company that built the Titanic, details about the ship, information about the recovery of bodies after the sinking, how local families memorialized members who lost their lives after the tragedy, as well as Titanic’s impact on popular culture.

READ YOUR PET FOOD LABELS! Don't feed your pets ANYTHING from China!

I STRONGLY suggest that you follow this link and read each and every article concerning Chinese manufacturing, canine chicken jerky treats sold in the United States and the inherent risk you, as a pet owner, take when you purchase and feed ANYTHING made in China for consumption by ANY living being - canine, feline or human. Our pets are becoming ill (some are dying). Our children have become ill (some have died). 

Celebrate K-9 Veteran's Day - hug a veteran and give him the honor he deserves

Used with permission from the site K9VeteransDay.org

First in Florida ... then in San Diego, and most recently in New Jersey.

No one doubts the heroic actions of both dogs and their Working Dog Handlers both in peace and in war throughout the years. Only recently, however, have these military dogs gotten recognition as something other than army surplus in a bill signed by President Clinton in 2003. While this has been, in part, a significant recognition to people and dogs in the military, many believed that it did not go far enough in giving dogs the credit due them for their efforts and bravery under fire as well as other service dogs who have worked within the country to protect its borders and recuse victims of distress. K9 Veterans Day movement founder, Joseph L. White (recently deceased), "pioneered a national effort to recognize March 13 as K9 Veterans Day." March 13 was the date chosen because the United Sates Canine Corp was established on March 13, 1942.

The quest to honor working dogs does not discriminate against working dogs that are not in the military. K9 Veterans Day is intended to cover both military dogs as well as police dogs, customs dogs, border patrol dogs, and other working dogs whose mission it is to protect the homeland and people within it. The K9 Veterans organization believes that all these dogs deserved to be rememberer and honored on this day, saying "Dogs have bled, suffered, and died while serving in all our wars, to include the war on terror, and they have done so in ways that do us all proud."

Several cities, including Jacksonville FL and San Diego, and the State of Florida have signed proclamations making March 13 K9 Veterans Day. Most recently, the State of New Jersey will be designating Mach 13 of each year as K9 Veterans Day. This organization has many supporters, including the Illinois Police Work Dog Association. Hopefully other cities and States will follow suit to recognize these working dogs.