** How Could You? ~ "Good Pet Lovers Read" ** A MUST- READ!!!!!!

A man in Grand Rapids, Michigan incredibly took out a $7000 full page ad
in the paper to present the following essay to the people of his
community.

HOW COULD YOU? - By Jim Willis, 2001
When I was a puppy, I entertained you with my antics and made you laugh.
You called me your child, and despite a number of chewed shoes and a
couple of murdered throw pillows, I became your best friend. Whenever I
was "bad," you'd shake your finger at me and ask "How could you?" -- but
then you'd relent and roll me over for a belly rub.

My housebreaking took a little longer than expected, because you were
terribly busy, but we worked on that together. I remember those nights
of nuzzling you in bed and listening to your confidences and secret
dreams, and I believed that life could not be any more perfect. We went
for long walks and runs in the park, car rides, stops for ice cream (I
only got the cone because "ice cream is bad for dogs" you said), and I
took long naps in the sun waiting for you to come home at the end of the
day.

Gradually, you began spending more time at work and on your career, and
more time searching for a human mate. I waited for you patiently,
comforted you through heartbreaks and disappointments, never chided you
about bad decisions, and romped with glee at your homecomings, and when
you fell in love. She, now your wife, is not a "dog person" - - still I
welcomed her into our home, tried to show her affection, and obeyed her.
I was happy because you were happy.

Then the human babies came along and I shared your excitement. I was
fascinated by their pinkness, how they smelled, and I wanted to mother
them, too. Only she and you worried that I might hurt them, and I spent
most of my time banished to another room, or to a dog crate. Oh, how I
wanted to love them, but I became a "prisoner of love." As they began to
grow, I became their friend. They clung to my fur and pulled themselves
up on wobbly legs, poked fingers in my eyes, investigated my ears, and
gave me kisses on my nose. I loved everything about them and their touch
-- because your touch was now so infrequent -- and I would've defended
them with my life if need be. I would sneak into their beds and listen
to their worries and secret dreams, and together we waited for the sound
of your car in the driveway.

There had been a time, when others asked you if you had a dog, that you
produced a photo of me from your wallet and told them stories about me.
These past few years, you just answered "yes" and changed the subject. I
had gone from being "your dog" to "just a dog ," and you resented every
expenditure on my behalf.

Now, you have a new career opportunity in another city, and you and they
will be moving to an apartment that does not allow pets. You've made the
right decision for your "family," but there was a time when I was your
only family.

I was excited about the car ride until we arrived at the animal shelter.
It smelled of dogs and cats, of fear, of hopelessness. You filled out
the paperwork and said "I know you will find a good home for her." They
shrugged and gave you a pained look. They understand the realities
facing a middle-aged dog, even one with "papers." You had to pry your
son's fingers loose from my collar as he screamed "No, Daddy! Please
don't let them take my dog!" And I worried for him, and what lessons you
had just taught him about friendship and loyalty, about love and
responsibility, and about respect for all life. You gave me a good-bye
pat on the head, avoided my eyes, and politely refused to take my collar
and leash with you. You had a deadline to meet and now I have one, too.
After you left, the two nice ladies said you probably knew about your
upcoming move months ago and made no attempt to find me another good
home. They shook their heads and asked, "How could you?"
They are as attentive to us here in the shelter as their busy schedules
allow. They feed us, of course, but I lost my appetite days ago. At
first, whenever anyone passed my pen, I rushed to the front, hoping it
was you that you had changed your mind -- that this was all a bad
dream... or I hoped it would at least be someone who cared, anyone who
might save me.

When I realized I could not compete with the frolicking for attention of
happy puppies, oblivious to their own fate, I retreated to a far corner
and waited. I heard her footsteps as she came for me at the end of the
day, and I padded along the aisle after her to a separate room. A
blissfully quiet room. She placed me on the table and rubbed my ears,
and told me not to worry. My heart pounded in anticipation of what was
to come, but there was also a sense of relief. The prisoner of love had
run out of days.

As is my nature, I was more concerned about her. The burden which she
bears weighs heavily on her, and I know that, the same way I knew your
every mood. She gently placed a tourniquet around my foreleg as a tear
ran down her cheek. I licked her hand in the same way I used to comfort
you so many years ago. She expertly slid the hypodermic needle into my
vein. As I felt the sting and the cool liquid coursing through my body,
I lay down sleepily, looked into her kind eyes and murmured, "How could
you?"

Perhaps because she understood my dog speak, she said, "I'm so sorry."
She hugged me, and hurriedly explained it was her job to make sure I
went to a better place, where I wouldn't be ignored or abused or
abandoned, or have to fend for myself -- a place of love and light so
very different from this earthly place. And with my last bit of energy,
I tried to convey to her with a thump of my tail that my "How could
you?" was not directed at her. It was directed at you, My Beloved
Master, I was thinking of you. I will think of you and wait for you
forever. May everyone in your life continue to show you so much loyalty.
A Note from the Author: If "How Could You?" brought tears to your eyes
as you read it, as it did to mine as I wrote it, it is because it is the
composite story of the millions of formerly "owned" pets who die each
year in American & Canadian animal shelters. Please use this to help
educate, on your websites, in newsletters, on animal shelter and vet
office bulletin boards. Tell the public that the decision to add a pet
to the family is an important one for life, that animals deserve our
love and sensible care, that finding another appropriate home for your
animal is your responsibility and any local humane society or animal
welfare league can offer you good advice, and that all life is precious.
Please do your part to stop the killing, and encourage all spay & neuter
campaigns in order to prevent unwanted animals.
Please pass this on to everyone, not to hurt them or make them sad, but
it could save maybe, even one, unwanted pet. Remember...They love
UNCONDITIONALLY.

Now that the tears are rolling down your face, pass it on! Send to
everyone in your address book and around the world!
This IS the reality of dogs given up to shelters!

Jokes of the Day ~ March 11th, 2009

If there is H2O on the inside of a fire hydrant,
What is on the outside?  K9P!

If you are a dog and your owner suggests that you wear a sweater... suggest that he wear a tail. - Fran Lebowitz

Dogs feel very strongly that they should always go with you in the car, in case the need should arise for them to bark violently at nothing right in your ear. - Dave Barry

A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of. - Ogden Nash

The average dog is a nicer person than the average person. - Andy Rooney

The best way to get a puppy is to beg for a baby brother - and they'll settle for a puppy every time. - Winston Pendelton

If a dog will not come to you after having looked you in the face, you should go home and examine your conscience. - Woodrow Wilson

To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring - it was peace. - Milan Kundera

I wonder what goes through his mind when he sees us peeing in his water bowl. - Penny Ward Moser

The pug is living proof that God has a sense of humor. - Margo Kaufman

Chihuahua Facts of the Day ~ March 11th, 2009

Chihuahuas were used as hot packs in ancient times for aches and pains ...

Fact:  The smallest of the recognized dog breeds, the Chihuahua, is also the one that usually lives the longest. Named for the region of Mexico where they were first discovered in the mid-19th century, the Chihuahua can live anywhere between 11-18 years.
    
Teacup Chihuahuas are really small. WRONG, a Chihuahua is a Chihuahua is a Chihuahua. There is not such thing as a "miniature", "teacup", or "toy" Chihuahua only bigger or smaller Chihuahuas.

Fact:  The term "dog days" has nothing to do with dogs. It dates back to Roman times, when it was believed that Sirius, the Dog Star, added its heat to that of the sun from July3 to August 11, creating exceptionally high temperatures. The Romans called the period dies caniculares, or "days of the dog.".

Fact:  An American Animal Hospital Association poll showed that 33 percent of dog owners admit that they talk to their dogs on the phone or leave messages on an answering machine while away. 

Chihuahuas do shiver when they're cold, but they also shiver when they are wary, excited, unhappy, or frightened or any other reason they can think of.

Jokes of the Day ~ February 5th, 2009

Dogs laugh, but they laugh with their tails. - Max Eastman

My goal in life is to be as good of a person my dog already thinks I am. - Unknown

A dog is not "almost human" and I know of no greater insult to the canine race than to describe it as such. - John Holmes

If you get to thinking you're a person of some influence, try ordering somebody else's dog around. - Will Rogers

Did you ever notice when you blow in a dog's face he gets mad at you?  But when you take him in a car he sticks his head out the window. - Steve Bluestone

Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole. - Roger Caras

The greatest love is a mother's; then a dog's; then a sweetheart's. - Polish Proverb

Dogs have given us their absolute all.  We are the center of their universe.  We are the focus of their love and faith and trust.  They serve us in return for scraps.  It is without a doubt the best deal man has ever made. - Roger Caras

No one appreciates the very special genius of your conversation as the dog does. - Christopher Morley

Joke of the Day ~ February 4th, 2009

Cat Lover or Not, this is Hysterical!
>
>
> We've all had trouble with our animals, but I don't think anyone can top this one:
>
> Calling in sick to work makes me uncomfortable. No matter how legitimate my excuse, I always get the feeling that my boss thinks I'm lying.
>
> On one recent occasion, I had a valid reason but lied anyway, because the truth was just too darned humiliating. I simply mentioned that I had sustained a head injury, and I hoped I would feel up to coming in the next day. By then, I reasoned, I could think up a doozy to explain the bandage on the top of my head. The accident occurred mainly because I had given in to my wife's wishes to adopt a cute little kitty.
> Initially, the new acquisition was no problem.
>
>
> Then one morning, I was taking my shower after breakfast when I heard my wife, Deb, call out to me from the kitchen.
>
> 'Honey! The garbage disposal is dead again. Please come reset it.'
>
> 'You know where the button is,' I protested through the shower pitter-patter and steam. 'Reset it yourself!'
>
> 'But I'm scared!' she persisted. 'What if it starts going and sucks me in?'
>
> There was a meaningful pause and then, 'C'mon, it'll only take you a second.'
>
> So out I came, dripping wet and butt naked, hoping that my silent outraged nudity would make a statement about how I perceived her behavior as extremely cowardly.
>
> Sighing loudly, I squatted down and stuck my head under the sink to find the button. It is the last action I remember performing.
>
> It struck without warning, and without any respect to my circumstances. No, it wasn't the hexed disposal, drawing me into its gnashing metal teeth. It was our new kitty, who discovered the fascinating dangling objects she spied hanging between my legs. She had been poised around the corner and stalked me as I reached under the sink. And, at the precise moment when I was most vulnerable, she leapt at the toys I unwittingly offered and snagged them with her needle-like claws. I lost all rational thought to control orderly bodily movements, blindly rising at a violent rate of speed, with the full weight of a kitten hanging from my masculine region.
>
> Wild animals are sometimes faced with a 'fight or flight' syndrome. Men, in this predicament, choose only the 'flight' option. I know this from experience. I was fleeing straight up into the air when the sink and cabinet bluntly and forcefully impeded my ascent.
> The impact knocked me out cold.
>
> When I awoke, my wife and the paramedics stood over me.
>
> Now there are not many things in this life worse than finding oneself lying on the kitchen floor butt naked in front of a group of 'been-there, done-that' paramedics.
> Even worse, having been fully briefed by my wife, the paramedics were all snorting loudly as they tried to conduct their work, all the while trying to suppress their hysterical laughter.......and not succeeding.
>
> Somehow I lived through it all. A few days later I finally made it back in to the office, where colleagues tried to coax an explanation out of me about my head injury. I kept silent, claiming it was too painful to talk about, which it was.
>
> 'What's the matter?' They all asked, 'Cat got your tongue?'
> If they only knew!
>
> Why is it that only the women laugh at this?

Chihuahua Facts of the Day ~ January 30th, 2009

• Chihuahuas are recognized as the smallest breed of dog in the world
• Chihuahua’s brains are the largest of any breed, when compared to the size of their bodies/
• The Chihuahua was considered sacred to the Aztec and Toltec tribes of Mexico.
• The remains of Chihuahuas have been found buried with humans in Mexico and the United States
• According to the AKC the Chihuahua is the 10th most popular breed in the United States with 24,930 purebred Chihuahuas registered in 2003
• A Chihuahua once adopted and nursed an entire litter of kittens! (Dog finds homes for 45 kittens).
• The “Taco Bell dog” is actually a female. An 8 lb Chi named Gidget
• There is a state in México named Chihuahua
• No one actually knows the Chihuahua breeds true origins
• Chihuahuas love to sunbathe, check a cute picture of Dex sunbathing in our Dexter the Chihuahua pictures gallery
• The largest litter a female Chihuahua has ever given birth to is 6, or 7….wait no it’s 10 ChihuaWOW!. The Guinness book record for the largest litter ever by any breed of dog is 23 and is shared by an American foxhound, Saint Bernard, and a Great Dane
• Although recognized as the smallest breed, the Guinness Book of world records list a Yorkshire Terrier, not a Chihuahua, as the single smallest living dog, measuring 8 inches long, 4.75 inches to the shoulder and weighing in at 1lb
• Most Chihuahuas are born with floppy ears that stand up as they get older
• Chihuahuas have been mistaken for pit-bulls, don’t believe us? Chihuahua or Pit Bull?.
• The first Chihuahua was registered by the AKC in 1904
• Chihuahuas were used as hot packs in ancient times for aches and pains
• Chihuahuas snore!! Our Dexter is living proof !
• Chihuahuas come with both long and smooth coats

Jokes of the Day ~ January 16th, 2009

Dachshunds are ideal dogs for small children, as they are already stretched and pulled to such a length that the child cannot do much harm one way or the other. - Robert Benchley


I wonder if other dogs think poodles are members of a weird religious cult. - Rita Rudner


The dog who meets with a good master is the happier of the two. - Maeterlinck


If your dog doesn't like someone you probably shouldn't either. -Unknown


In order to really enjoy a dog, one doesn't merely try to train him to be semihuman. The point of it is to open oneself to the possibility of becoming partly a dog. -Edward Hoagland


No Matter how little money and how few possessions, you own, having a dog makes you rich. -Louis Sabin


Histories are more full of examples of the fidelity of dogs than of friends. -Alexander Pope


The one absolutely unselfish friend that man can have in this selfish world, the one that never deserts him, the one that never proves ungrateful or treacherous, is his dog. -George Graham


A dog can express more with his tail in minutes than his owner can express with his tongue in hours. -Anonymous


A well-trained dog will make no attempt to share your lunch. He will just make you feel so guilty that you cannot enjoy it. -Helen Thomson


A good dog deserves a good home. -Proverb

Tip of the Day ~ January 14th, 2009

Why Stay Active?

We've got 10 great reasons

There are so many benefits to daily activity, and they affect much more than your physical appearance. Here 10 great reasons to stay active.

1. People who exercise live longer, on average, than people who don't.

2. Active people have a lower risk of dying from heart disease and stroke, and they're less likely to get high blood pressure.

3. The more active you are, the lower your risk of colon cancer.

4. The less active you are, the higher your risk of getting type 2 diabetes. If you already have type 2 diabetes, exercise can lower your blood sugar levels.

5. In people with arthritis, moderate exercise helps reduce joint swelling and pain and improves mobility.

6. Strength-building exercise helps counter bone loss.

7. Exercise makes you functionally fit, meaning that it's easier for you to carry groceries, do chores and independently perform many other activities of daily life.

8. Because of the calming effect of exercise, active people are less depressed, and depressed people often feel better after they start exercising.

9. Exercise can save you money. If you can prevent serious and costly medical conditions such as heart disease, cancer and osteoporosis, you will have more money for your other needs.

10. Exercise can be fun! Many of the activities you did for play as a child count as exercise. Dancing fast, walking your dog, bicycling and gardening, all strengthen your heart and lungs.

Find the activities you like do and get to it!

Joke of the Day ~ January 8th, 2009

Cute Pooch Sayings:

Money will buy a pretty good dog but it won't buy the wag of his tail. - Josh Billings

Heaven goes by favour. If it went by merit, you would stay out and your dog would go in. - Mark Twain

The greatest pleasure of a dog is that you may make a fool of yourself with him, and not only will he not scold you, but he will make a fool of himself, too. - Samuel Butler

A dog is the only thing on earth that will love you more than you love yourself. - Josh Billings

If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you; that is the principal difference between a dog and a man. - Mark Twain

The reason dogs have so many friends is because they wag their tails instead of their tongues. - Unknown

There is no faith which has never yet been broken, except that of a truly faithful dog. - Konrad Z. Lorenz

Our dogs will love and admire the meanest of us, and feed our colossal vanity with their uncritical homage.- Agnes Repplier

The dog was created specially for children. He is a god of frolic. - Henry Ward Beecher

To his dog, every man is Napoleon; hence the constant popularity of dogs. - Aldous Huxley

The more I see of the representatives of the people the more I admire my dogs. - Alphonse de Lamartine

Yesterday I was a dog. Today I'm a dog. Tomorrow I'll probably still be a dog. Sigh! There's so little hope for advancement. - Charles M Schulz

Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read. - Groucho Marx

A boy can learn a lot from a dog: obedience, loyalty, and the importance of turning around three times before lying down. - Robert Benchley

There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face. - Bern Williams

I talk to him when I'm lonesome like; and I'm sure he understands.  When he looks at me so attentively, and gently licks my hands; then he rubs his nose on my tailored clothes, but I never say naught thereat.  For the good Lord knows I can buy more clothes, but never a friend like that. - W. Dayton Wedgefarth

Dogs are miracles with paws. - Author Unknown

Dogs' lives are too short. Their only fault, really. - Agnes Sligh Turnbull

We long for an affection altogether ignorant of our faults.  Heaven has accorded this to us in the uncritical canine attachment. - George Eliot

I think dogs are the most amazing creatures; they give unconditional love.  For me they are the role model for being alive. - Gilda Radner

One reason a dog can be such a comfort when you're feeling blue is that he doesn't try to find out why. - Unknown

Scratch a dog and you'll find a permanent job. - Franklin P. Jones

If you think dogs can't count, try putting three dog biscuits in your pocket and then giving Fido only two of them. - Phil Pastoret

** NewYears Fun ** ~ December 31, 2008

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car) - Jessie Honda


2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fave ice cream flavor, favorite cookie) - Choc. Marsh Stripe


3. YOUR “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name) - Skur


4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal) -Maroon Chipmunk


5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born) -Daphne Reading


6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first) -Kursu


7. SUPERHERO NAME: (”The” + 2nd favorite color, favorite drink) -The Black Jack


8. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers) - Edgar Paul

9. STRIPPER NAME: ( the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/scent, favorite candy) - Hypnose Marshmellow ... that didn't work too well ...

10.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s & father’s middle names ) -Marie Paul


11. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME: (Your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter) -Royer Reading


12. SPY NAME/BOND GIRL: (your favorite season/holiday, flower) -Autumn Sunflower


13. CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now + “ie” or “y”) -Blueberry Healy


14. HIPPY NAME: (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree) - McGriddle Spruce


15. YOUR ROCKSTAR TOUR NAME: (”The” + Your fave hobby/craft, fave weather element + “Tour”) -The Scrapbooking Snow Tour