ANNOUNCEMENT From SWCLASSOF89.ORG Website
The SW CLASS OF '89 Fundraiser is here! Support your Class Reunion by referring your friends and families to http://www.classiccookie.com where they can help us get Registration Costs way down!
Classic Cookie offers Ready-to-Bake Cookie Dough - DUE DATE for Orders & Money is APRIL 10, 2009! Please help us pay for our 20th Reunion and refer your co-workers, neighbors, family and friends to the web site http://classiccookie.com
For out of town relatives, friends, alumni, and supporters of Southwest High School, SHOP ONLINE And be sure to ENTER COUPON CODE: SW1989 AT Checkout! That's "SW1989" when you checkout of http://www.classiccookie.com
THIS IS A PRE-PAID SALE. ALL MONEY IS TO BE COLLECTED WITH ORDERs, please.
For those of us in KCMO who are doing in-person selling, you may accept checks for cookie dough orders. Please MAKE CHECKS PAYABLE TO:
SW CLASS OF '89
The Southwest High School Class of 1989 20th Reunion Committee would like to Thank You for Your Support!
emg
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Why Don't We ALL Love Like Dogs?
Not live like dogs, Love like Dogs! It angers me to still see our beloved animals left out in the cold weather this March. In Kansas City, Missouri, the weather is less than ideal. We never know what to expect with each coming day around here so we are pretty much left with our own judgment. Why isn't our best judgment loving toward our beloved furry friends?
In these days of up and down temperatures, it amazes me how inconsistent we are as responsible animal owners! I drive my daughter to school every morning from Monday through Thursday. In the ten minutes it takes me to do so, I see at least five or more animals outside in the 20-degree weather! I am an avid animal Lover & Enthusiast. Be that as it may, I do let my miniature schnauzer outside to do his business and Promptly let him back inside. If it takes him two minutes or 20 minutes, I'm there to let him in.
It sours my heart to see animals, large and small, tied outside in this hostile weather. I know you work, I know you get kids to school, I know you have errands to run and things to do, but if you can't spare five to 20 minutes to care for the simple basics of your animals needs, then you shouldn't have gotten one in the first place. In fact, you need to start searching for a new and responsible home for your animal right now. If you lack the time to feed, brush, groom, bathe, clothe-is optional, walk, and play with your animal on a regular basis then you absolutely have no business owning an animal.
I know because I do all these things and still care for my animals, sometimes better than I care for myself. That's what unconditional LOVE is, people. A lot more often than not, we all could take a lesson from Fido! Especially in regard to "LOVING thy neighbor as thyself."
Ownership is an ugly word to me with regard to another living thing. Be it human or canine, feline or otherwise, ownership doesn't compute in my head when it applies to my pets. They can FEEL, they do REMEMBER, and they do LOVE, OBEY, HONOR, and CHERISH their human counterparts until death do us part. Dogs do it better than we do, hands down! Always have, unfortunately, always will.
Dogs are like 2-year-old children their ENTIRE Lives! That means, no matter how "old" your dog gets, he may be the equivalent of 74 in dog years but that doesn't mean his mentality is that of a human 74-year-old. His mind is still only 2-yrs-old! Period. He still looks at you for his every need: he needs love, attention, play time, guidance, discipline, food, cleanliness, water, the outdoors, exercise, and a warm bed to sleep in just like your human children, and yourself for that matter.
Let me ask you something, would you tie out your 2-year-old child outside to go potty in our 18-degree morning weather for one whole hour or eight hours while you're gone to work? Hell NO! Although we may want to from time to time, as frustrated parents, we would never really Do that. Unless we wanted to spend some time in jail for the free meals and cable, only to never see our children again, right? (That's a whole other discussion entirely.) No, again?
OK, so why do we so easily do this to our dogs? It kills me to see cats slinking around out there all the time, too. I'm not saying every cat has to be held hostage inside someone's house and de-clawed, etc. I mean let's have a heart and how about a little more COMMON SENSE, shall we? You stay outside all night without a coat and only the clothes on your back as the temperature plummets from 30-5 degrees in an hour or less. You fend for yourself outside awhile and see how you like it. Then maybe you'll have some empathy for your four-legged friends. If you don't, you have no business owning a pet of any kind.
Now, don't get me wrong, I am NOT PERFECT. I have made mistakes with my animals in the past. Especially as a confused teenager who didn't have time to worry over a dog. Yet, I have LEARNED How to Do It RIGHT. How to be Loving and Responsible to my dog-dogs and better for it in other areas of my life and relationships with friends & family! But this CAN BE Taught. Loving an animal takes time, patience, and the willingness to CHANGE Yourself on behalf of anothers' needs. Putting those needs before yours sometimes is a deciding factor of Love itself. Again, much like the love of a child.
I don't understand how, even in this economy, people continue to let their dogs starve to death rather than feeding them table scraps at the VERY LEAST (even though I do not recommend table scraps as a substitute for dog food ever), but in order to keep them fed until you CAN buy them dog food. You're feeding your two-year-old child aren't you? I am sticking to this analogy because my pets are Absolute Members of My Family Unit. I don't forget my dog in any decision I make for my family.
Let me tell you a little story. When we had the opportunity to buy into a Great Deal for resort vacations...the ultimate deciding factor for me was this: they did not allow dogs. That was what stopped me. That's ALL that stopped me. If we did not have LOVING Relatives willing to watch my dog while we were on vacation for 7-10 days, I Would NOT GO ON VACATION. No kidding. I would send my family, or stay home with one of my kids and my dog, send the other kid with my husband, that way we would take separate vacations if need be. We are a "pack" in my dogs eyes, and in mine as well. I am ever conscious of this fact and of his mentality as a perpetual "2-yr-old child" (dog). The unconditional love of a dog is what mine have taught me.
I of course, am not the only exception. I know several animal lovers who feel the same way about their own pets. Believe me, we are a Nation of animal lovers. We may occasionally disagree on what is right and what is wrong in the way of breeding, raising, or feeding our animals, but we do share the love, hard work and pure effort and responsibility necessary to handle, treat, and nourish our beloved animal family members.
If you cannot identify with the above paragraphs then I beg you please, PLEASE do NOT Buy A Dog - or a living breathing pet. I don't care how spoiled you want your child or how loud she cries and begs! Get an electronic 'pet' for your child instead! You can change their battery after you let them starve and die, then start all over again. This is NOT AN OPTION with a Real LIVE Animal.
I do not MEAN to preach and I will climb down off my soap box in a moment or two. I just wanted to speak out for the animals who so often lack the voice of their owners and "masters" to speak up on their behalf. I wanted to speak also for the caring neighbors of these animals who are ignored, mistreated, forgotten, and literally tortured in our society. I raise my glass and my prayers to God on behalf of ANY and EVERYONE who turns negligent animal owners in to Animal Control or the authorities. Not for "absent minded" mistakes but for actual, obvious neglect in our hearts eye.
We need to police ourselves, our neighbors, and our communities behavior - like it used to be. So many things have changed in our society, we can no longer afford to be absent in our own and each others daily lives...this is a much broader subject and hopefully, we can cover it much further in another post or perhaps a printed edition of the Twisted Muse. Don't wait for "someone" to call the police, that "someone" could be YOU everyone else is waiting for to act first.
For now, thank you for reading. Please spread these words to other animal lovers, potential pet owners, and neglectful owners alike. We can always learn a new fact, a new word, and give a new lesson to Someone who needs it. Always. No matter what you do in life, this is our Collective Legacy as Human Beings: passing on our greatest traits, life lessons, love and hope in humanity to our children and to their childrens' children as well. Guiding someone to a new path is legend.
The Love of a Dog is the ABSOLUTE EXAMPLE of God and His UNCONDITIONAL LOVE for Us as HIS Children. God Bless All Our Readers, Contributors, Thinkers, Word Pieces, Pet Enemies, and those who Disagree with us alike. Amen
emg
In these days of up and down temperatures, it amazes me how inconsistent we are as responsible animal owners! I drive my daughter to school every morning from Monday through Thursday. In the ten minutes it takes me to do so, I see at least five or more animals outside in the 20-degree weather! I am an avid animal Lover & Enthusiast. Be that as it may, I do let my miniature schnauzer outside to do his business and Promptly let him back inside. If it takes him two minutes or 20 minutes, I'm there to let him in.
It sours my heart to see animals, large and small, tied outside in this hostile weather. I know you work, I know you get kids to school, I know you have errands to run and things to do, but if you can't spare five to 20 minutes to care for the simple basics of your animals needs, then you shouldn't have gotten one in the first place. In fact, you need to start searching for a new and responsible home for your animal right now. If you lack the time to feed, brush, groom, bathe, clothe-is optional, walk, and play with your animal on a regular basis then you absolutely have no business owning an animal.
I know because I do all these things and still care for my animals, sometimes better than I care for myself. That's what unconditional LOVE is, people. A lot more often than not, we all could take a lesson from Fido! Especially in regard to "LOVING thy neighbor as thyself."
Ownership is an ugly word to me with regard to another living thing. Be it human or canine, feline or otherwise, ownership doesn't compute in my head when it applies to my pets. They can FEEL, they do REMEMBER, and they do LOVE, OBEY, HONOR, and CHERISH their human counterparts until death do us part. Dogs do it better than we do, hands down! Always have, unfortunately, always will.
Dogs are like 2-year-old children their ENTIRE Lives! That means, no matter how "old" your dog gets, he may be the equivalent of 74 in dog years but that doesn't mean his mentality is that of a human 74-year-old. His mind is still only 2-yrs-old! Period. He still looks at you for his every need: he needs love, attention, play time, guidance, discipline, food, cleanliness, water, the outdoors, exercise, and a warm bed to sleep in just like your human children, and yourself for that matter.
Let me ask you something, would you tie out your 2-year-old child outside to go potty in our 18-degree morning weather for one whole hour or eight hours while you're gone to work? Hell NO! Although we may want to from time to time, as frustrated parents, we would never really Do that. Unless we wanted to spend some time in jail for the free meals and cable, only to never see our children again, right? (That's a whole other discussion entirely.) No, again?
OK, so why do we so easily do this to our dogs? It kills me to see cats slinking around out there all the time, too. I'm not saying every cat has to be held hostage inside someone's house and de-clawed, etc. I mean let's have a heart and how about a little more COMMON SENSE, shall we? You stay outside all night without a coat and only the clothes on your back as the temperature plummets from 30-5 degrees in an hour or less. You fend for yourself outside awhile and see how you like it. Then maybe you'll have some empathy for your four-legged friends. If you don't, you have no business owning a pet of any kind.
Now, don't get me wrong, I am NOT PERFECT. I have made mistakes with my animals in the past. Especially as a confused teenager who didn't have time to worry over a dog. Yet, I have LEARNED How to Do It RIGHT. How to be Loving and Responsible to my dog-dogs and better for it in other areas of my life and relationships with friends & family! But this CAN BE Taught. Loving an animal takes time, patience, and the willingness to CHANGE Yourself on behalf of anothers' needs. Putting those needs before yours sometimes is a deciding factor of Love itself. Again, much like the love of a child.
I don't understand how, even in this economy, people continue to let their dogs starve to death rather than feeding them table scraps at the VERY LEAST (even though I do not recommend table scraps as a substitute for dog food ever), but in order to keep them fed until you CAN buy them dog food. You're feeding your two-year-old child aren't you? I am sticking to this analogy because my pets are Absolute Members of My Family Unit. I don't forget my dog in any decision I make for my family.
Let me tell you a little story. When we had the opportunity to buy into a Great Deal for resort vacations...the ultimate deciding factor for me was this: they did not allow dogs. That was what stopped me. That's ALL that stopped me. If we did not have LOVING Relatives willing to watch my dog while we were on vacation for 7-10 days, I Would NOT GO ON VACATION. No kidding. I would send my family, or stay home with one of my kids and my dog, send the other kid with my husband, that way we would take separate vacations if need be. We are a "pack" in my dogs eyes, and in mine as well. I am ever conscious of this fact and of his mentality as a perpetual "2-yr-old child" (dog). The unconditional love of a dog is what mine have taught me.
I of course, am not the only exception. I know several animal lovers who feel the same way about their own pets. Believe me, we are a Nation of animal lovers. We may occasionally disagree on what is right and what is wrong in the way of breeding, raising, or feeding our animals, but we do share the love, hard work and pure effort and responsibility necessary to handle, treat, and nourish our beloved animal family members.
If you cannot identify with the above paragraphs then I beg you please, PLEASE do NOT Buy A Dog - or a living breathing pet. I don't care how spoiled you want your child or how loud she cries and begs! Get an electronic 'pet' for your child instead! You can change their battery after you let them starve and die, then start all over again. This is NOT AN OPTION with a Real LIVE Animal.
I do not MEAN to preach and I will climb down off my soap box in a moment or two. I just wanted to speak out for the animals who so often lack the voice of their owners and "masters" to speak up on their behalf. I wanted to speak also for the caring neighbors of these animals who are ignored, mistreated, forgotten, and literally tortured in our society. I raise my glass and my prayers to God on behalf of ANY and EVERYONE who turns negligent animal owners in to Animal Control or the authorities. Not for "absent minded" mistakes but for actual, obvious neglect in our hearts eye.
We need to police ourselves, our neighbors, and our communities behavior - like it used to be. So many things have changed in our society, we can no longer afford to be absent in our own and each others daily lives...this is a much broader subject and hopefully, we can cover it much further in another post or perhaps a printed edition of the Twisted Muse. Don't wait for "someone" to call the police, that "someone" could be YOU everyone else is waiting for to act first.
For now, thank you for reading. Please spread these words to other animal lovers, potential pet owners, and neglectful owners alike. We can always learn a new fact, a new word, and give a new lesson to Someone who needs it. Always. No matter what you do in life, this is our Collective Legacy as Human Beings: passing on our greatest traits, life lessons, love and hope in humanity to our children and to their childrens' children as well. Guiding someone to a new path is legend.
The Love of a Dog is the ABSOLUTE EXAMPLE of God and His UNCONDITIONAL LOVE for Us as HIS Children. God Bless All Our Readers, Contributors, Thinkers, Word Pieces, Pet Enemies, and those who Disagree with us alike. Amen
emg
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