Dr. Frankenstein & the Pitchforks & Mobs

A few years ago, I had to move and had to choose new homes for my dogs.

I didn't have a computer (and did NOT know all the things a computer could do), and had to use regular means to try to find them homes.

I tried a shelter. Not great. I tried an ad in the paper - disaster. I tried a private rescue - maybe.

Not too happy with what was going on in my area, I drove my favorite dog across country to a 'better' rescue in another state in the belief that he would be in a better situation.

The shelter there was said to be a network of rescuers that took dogs into their homes until they were adopted out.

I was told how they would find my dog a home. I gave them my dog, because they said they were skilled at screening out bad people, and that he would be adopted out with a contract so they could make sure he would be cared for forever.

Later, after I had given them my dog, one of the women, wanted more information about him, so since he was such a nice dog, I was happy to tell her more about him.

Her first question, was if I had bred him myself? and,

Did I own the mother dog at the time that he was born?

I expected this to be followed by questions about his birth, or his color at birth or something, but it was not.

Now, I have read that the laws state that bunchers (people who buy dogs and then re-sell them into experiments) are suppose to only use dogs that they got from the that dog's own breeder (the person who owned the mother dog at the time she was bred).

Now, I have a sick feeling about why she came back to ask me about if I had bred him myself.

Later, she said that he had been shipped to a state to the northeast (of the US).

That bothered me. I know that Canadian show dogs have ear tattoos. And that laws restrict using experimental dogs that are tattooed. (Why hadn't I had him tattooed!!!!!!)

I had heard that across the border, they pay such high money for dogs, that dogs are stolen and sold to research places, like universities, medical places, laboratories, and product testing centers.

And that on this side of the border, in the northeast (New England) the dog pounds have so few small dogs in them, that they import them. (Why?)

I am worried about what has happened to him.

Is he dead? I read that 1 out of 3 dogs used in experiments die during or right after the first experiment.

Was he used, but was one of the 2 out of every 3 who survived?

Was he then found a good home? The laboratories are suppose to find them homes after they use them, if the dog survives.

Was he used, and then re-sold without being permanently marked as an ex-experimental dog, and therefor, re-used again and again?

Did the military use him to test war stuff on?

Did the medical people use him or kill him in their experiment?

Did a University use him to teach their students?

Did some cosmetic company use him to develop new cosmetics for uncaring girls?

I was told that they found homes for dogs. And that they did not have a shelter (kennel building) because they had people with HOMES that each took one, or a few, dogs into their home until they were adopted.

Now, I am so worried about her returning in person just to ask me an import question "Did I breed him myself?"

Or are you one of the people, who would say that I am being too suspicious, that of course a nice dog like that is fine?

Is my dog in a good home, and never was used as an experimental subject?

Now I am doubly worried about dog breeder's contracts (especially from show dog breeders) that say puppies must be neutered, and must be returned to them if the owner can't keep them.

What is a show dog breeder going to do with a dog that is neutered and so can't be bred or shown? And the breeder (not the owner or the person who bought and raised the puppy) is the one who can sell him into research experiments?

I believe the research people should breed their own dogs, ones bred to be good pets, so they can find good homes for the survivors, not rely on bunchers tricking people, and laws that let breeders re-sell pet dogs into such places.

R.U. a TROLL? repost

What is a weed?
"Any plant growing where you don't want it, a carrot plant in a wheat field is a weed, a wheat plant in a carrot field is a weed." - quote from one of my teachers.

What is a troll?"
A person in the wrong group, a show dog breeder on a working dog site is a troll, a working dog breeder on a dog show site is a troll.

Dog breeders are trolls on animal rights sites; animal rights people are trolls on animal breeding sites.

A troll is a person, who instead of looking for a group of people like himself, looks for groups of people who do NOT share his views in order to gain information about them, convert them, annoy them, or harm them in some way." - quote from me.

If you breed show dogs - go find a show dog site.

If you mass produce a large number of puppies - go find a high volume breeder site.

If you fight dogs, promote breeding fighting breeds, or the keeping of UNFIXED fighting dogs as pets - go find a fighting dog aficionado site.

If you BREED dogs for formal competitive sports - go find a competitive dog sport site.

If you are into breeding or surgically making weird looking dogs - like breeding dogs to have flat faces, twisted tails, or slobbery lips, or if you are into chopping off dog's ears or tails - then just keep surfing the web until you find your niche, because this is NOT it.

This site IS for people in these groups:

1. People who like dogs bred any USEFUL task.

2. People who believe that: Breeders who sell puppies as pets, should have as their breeding goal, the desire to produce good pets. (What? Yes. Show doggie sacrilege!)

3. People who honestly re-home dogs.

4. People who are into HELPING people learn to improve, to keep up on the latest news about dogs, to understand genetics on the macro level, and to help truthfully educate the public & government.

Including re-educating the person who breeds:
dogs with harmful mutations,
dogs for competitions,
dogs for dog-shows,
dogs incestuously.

Or HELPING to re-educate
the person with too many pets,
the person who needs to learn how to handle their pet better.

If you just want to blast deluded or ignorant people - go look for a haters site.
This site is to gently help people understand, not to go to THEIR sites and blast them with harsh words.

Of course, if someone gets up Sunday morning and instead of going to their own church, they wander into a church of a different religion, then they have no right to complain that the pastor isn't preaching what they believe in.

We also want to educate those who aren't doing anything wrong, they treat their pets well, but they have listened to the pied pipers of propaganda.

Science Fact not Fiction?

When Reality Seems Like Science Fiction to You, Maybe You Have Let Your Mind Get Too Narrow.

We think of most living things as male or female. When a baby is born, what is the doctor expected to say? "It's a boy" or "It's a girl".

One or the other, not both or neither, not 95% boy or 80% girl.

Some languages go so far as to call all nouns "he" or "she", not because anyone thinks of them as having gender, but like there is only "he" or "she" - no "it", and only "his" or "hers" - no "its".

So some languages have male TVs and female beds.

We are all taught to assume certain things, but sometimes these social assumptions are simply not true.

I have heard that alligator eggs are not genetically male or female, but that the temperature the egg is kept at before it hatches, determines if it the embryo becomes male or female.

I have seen mother aquarium fish become male. I have read that in some kind of eels, they are all born female, and the ones that live to be old, turn male.

But to read about birds that have several genders? Sounds so different.

I want to ask: "how come I have never noticed this?" But then, how often would a person actually look at wild birds enough to know which were male or female, and which 'varieties' were really third, fourth, or fifth genders of a the same species?

This is just so odd, I wonder why it hasn't gone around the Internet?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_gender

From: http://darlingyouaredoingitwrong.blogspot.com
permission to cross-post

Kosher Ham?

I like the line in the comments about "God will understand".
http://www.boingboing.net/2009/12/16/how-shellfish-saved.html

It has been said that the best way to learn the sentence structure of your own language is to learn a second language.

Learning about other religions can shine a light on your own religion.

The secret is to approach the new religion with respect and an open mind.

------
Like "I know one way to get from here to New York, but there might be other paths that lead to New York City too. I think my route is the best, but other routes will eventially get you there too - so long as you don't fall by the wayside and quit trying.

And maybe, from where you are at, your route is better for you. Wouldn't make much sense for someone to bypass New York, just so they could get there on the same route that I would take.

-----
For example: I was told that the Christian old testament is the same as the Jewish bible. But then, I was told that it is not the same.

The Christian Old Testament speaks of God as "He" but the Jewish one doesn't.

You find this idea embedded in the terminology of plants. "Perfect" flowers are both male & female, and the newer flowers, that are either male or female, are called "Imperfect".

To be male or female is Imperfect, to be Hermaphrodite is Perfect, because God was said to be both male & female.

I claim no religious scholarship, just passing along what I heard.

Pit Bull Kills Child, so ban Golden Retrievers.

I am glad that the British care about their children, and about people out for a walk, but I hope they go the right way with their laws.

Politicians and other lawmakers are not dog professionals, and again, I must point out that 'information' by people whose business involves dogs, is apt to be propaganda.
(either intentional lies to deceive, or innocent people parroting those lies.)

Where does one go when they don't understand an important topic, but they must do something about it, and the professional 'information' is suspect for being biased?

Common sense, and plain investigation by people who wont put a bias on what they see and hear.

But lets not forget the propaganda. People whose business is dogs, often lie or spin the truth to manipulate information.

People sometimes post things that don't jive with the facts. Like:

"Chihuahuas are more dangerous than pit bulls".
This is so unbelievable that I don't know where to start to de-bunk it.

Common sense should tell you that the bite from a Chihuahua, is not as bad as the bite from a pit bull. Look at their jaw structure and the muscles that work those jaws! And just the plain size of the dog. And the difference in muscle mass.

If common sense won't do it, let me add knowledge.

Dogs have instincts - think of instincts as inherited knowledge. Pit bull are born with programming that will urge them to hang on when they bite.

This instinct, this 'inherited knowledge', this 'program folder', is called "Locking Jaws".

Pit bull fans, have argued that pit bull's jaws are not different from other large dog's jaws. That's not quite true, but more importantly, it is totally beside the point.

"Locking Jaws" is an inherited behavioral trait, it has nothing to do with anything that you can see by looking at a dog's skull.

But the pit bull fan has changed the focus of the subject. He has relied on the lawmakers lack of knowledge about pit bulls.

He has ignored the fact that locking jaws is something a dog does - an instinct, and misdirected the lawmaker to look at skull structure, and to return to subject of the greater power of a pit bull's head and jaws.

And then the pit bull fans conclude for you "They are are stronger dogs, but that is all".

Sorry. That is the beginning of the argument. They are stronger dogs, and have more jaw strength. That is obvious. But that isn't what we have moved on to discuss.

"Locking Jaws" means that the pit bull doesn't nip, he doesn't bite and retreat.

He bites, puncturing the skin, and he holds on. He doesn't let go. He doesn't open his mouth back open and release. He starts to hang on like an American bulldog. He 'locks' his jaws on his victim.

Most dogs do NOT lock their jaws.

Police 'train' German Shepherd Dogs to hang on by playing tug of war with them, this awakens the hang on instinct that is latent in the breed. (It installs the program from a previously unopened file already in the dog).

But even with canine police training, German Shepherd Dogs do NOT jump up and hang onto sacks tied to trees and swing themselves around for hours out of the day.

Pit bull, and several other very similar breeds have an urge to bite and hang.
Like border collies want to herd sheep, and beagles want to follow their nose, and field-bred bird dogs look at birds, pit bulls want to hang on when they bite.

There is a fine little line, between a bulldog that bites and hangs, and the much much much more common case, where pit bulls not only bite and hang leaving a nasty row of puncture wounds, they also have the instinct to shake their heads while they are biting.

It is NOT them grabbing you with their teeth which does most of the damage. It is the head shake which TEARS parts of your body loose.

I have seen a veterinarian, day after day, do surgery on a dog shaken by another dog.

Some days, the dog's laboratory results would indicate the dogs kidneys were overloading.

The veterinarian would open the dog back up, and all would look healthy and pink, but he knew from the lab results that something was decomposing inside of the dog.

He'd have to cut through health tissue to find it, but there it would be.

A muscle, dead and dieing, while hidden by healthy muscle above it. The muscle, or sometimes part of a muscle, would die because the blood supply to it had been torn loose from when the dog was shaken.

The only visible mark when the dog was brought in was 4 puncture marks from the bigger dog's fangs. But underneath muscle tissue was dieing. The surgeries, the pain the dog was in, the suffering. This should not be.

And this should not happen to people. Not to people walking to their car. Not to children. And not to visitors.

It is time to make people responsible for their dogs actions.

And because we are people, we can learn from the mistakes of others. We don't have to let each person learn how dangerous pit bull type dogs are.

We can use collective knowledge - the experiences of other people - to figure out which lines of dogs have the instincts to bite, hang, and shake, and which lines of dogs have emotional or aggressive problems which require that they be trained to suppress their instincts.

It is far easier to raise a puppy who naturally has the instincts you want,
and who doesn't have any of the instinct you don't want -
than to start off with a puppy who has urges to do things that you have to train him not to follow.

People who buy a puppy as a companion, have a right to be sold a puppy who was bred to be a good companion.

One of the questions is:
Are we going to allow dogs as yard guards?

If so, under what conditions?
What type of fence? How high? What to prevent a dog from digging out?
What type of double doors to prevent a child from answering the door and the dog bolting out?

What precautions for invited visitors? (not trespassers.)

Will we have breed bans (No dangerous breeds),
Or size restrictions (like no more dogs over 16 inches or 40 pounds)?

Read:
http://dogsbite.org