Funny!

Loved this photo! 

It's Lovely! I'll Take It!

This is a photo of a room from a house that is for sale. There is a blog that I follow named, "It's Lovely, I'll Take It"! 

This blog lists photos from real estate listings from all over. It is a fun site that begs the question, 'did that actually sell'? 

This room could use some staging. I think it would freak out an awful lot of people. Even if the house were of my dreams, I don't think I could ever forget what this room looked like. Especially if it were the master bedroom.... It leaves an indelible mark on my brain. Ouch!

Run little lamb, run!

This is a picture from a recent visit to Sasha Farms a sanctuary for farm animals in Manchester, Michigan. We were able to wander around with the animals, which was a lot of fun. 

This link, takes you to a reaction game involving sheep. It's kind of fun, give it a try!

Yet more proof, bigger is not better

As a child I never really wanted a pony. But if this little guy was an option, I would have been the first in line!

How darling in this tiny 14" pony (actually a mini horse)? At full size it is expected to grow to 24". Recently born in Victoria, Australia, Sam Leith

has already made a new friend!

School kids gone bad

8th graders from an Alaskan school taunted this moose until it bashed it's head into a wall until it died. 

School officials did not realize what was happening until it was too late. They are not disclosing how many children were involved or what their punishment was.

I don't even really know how to react to this. The fact that no details are provide is really kind of scary. People who kill people often started on animals. How are we to know if this is being taken as seriously as it should be? 

I am infuriated when I hear of violence of children and animals. But when I hear of children harming animals I am scared to death for these children's future. Will they get the help they need to not move onto another victim? And why weren't these children being supervised? I understand that they were older, but with all of the predators out there, shouldn't someone to watching what is going on at all times while school is in session? 

Poor moose. What an incredibly sad story.

Very Angry Turkeys

Turkeys on the rampage in Grand Haven, Michigan! As if mail carriers don't have enough to deal with, there are now a small group of turkeys that are attacking them when they try to deliver the mail.

Carrier Jeremy Bogerd says they are super aggressive. "As soon as they see us, they're after us," he told the Grand Haven Tribune. "They're not afraid of humans."

Bogerd watched this passel grow over the past decade but in the last month they have become aggressive.

"They'll chase you as soon as they see the truck," he said. "I would rather get attached by a dog sometimes than these turkeys." He added that workers carry a chemical repellent, but the turkey heads are too small to hit.

Could this be turkey revenge for humans breeding turkeys for large breasts at the expense of the comfort of the animal? I say, power to the turkey! I'd be angry too if I was breed so that I couldn't walk. Maybe it's a current modern day version of the Twilight Zone?

We can learn something from these four

Unlikely pairs are a passion of mine. If the animal kingdom can be accepting of others why can't the human race? 

These pairs are fast friends who hang out with each other every moment of the day and evening. Perhaps we could all learn from these fabulous four!

It's a baby aardvark!

The Detroit zoo welcomed it's newest addition to the menagerie of critters that call it home. Amani, which is Swahili for peace was born on December 8th weighing 3 pounds. We are awaiting DNA testing to determine if it is a he or a she. Doesn't seem to matter too much right now. 

Cute little odd creature!

Puppy mill shoots dogs

E & A and A & J Kennels in Kutztown, Pa., for shooting 80 dogs last July after state dog wardens ordered they undergo veterinary exams. "The main reason most kennel owners resist exams is they don't want to pay the costs," says Robert Baker, an anti cruelty investigator for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty for Animals.

Under state law at the time, shooting the dogs was legal; Baker says such shootings are an everyday occurrence at puppy mills around the country. The killings underscore the need for laws similar to one signed in October by Pennsylvania Governor Edward Rendell that require kenneled animals receive annual veterinary care and permit only veterinarians to euthanize animals.

On another sad note, a man in a nearby township has been arrested for leaving his dogs out in the cold without shelter, food and water. When someone finally reported him, the investigator found two dead dogs (for for months) and a third on the brink of death. When confronted by police his only concern were the charges being brought against him. 

I just don't understand cruelty to any being. It makes no sense to me. 

Bravo eBay!

eBay, the world's largest online trading community has announced it will institute a ban on the sale of elephant ivory products by January 1, 2009, and is calling on all other Internet traders to the the same.

eBay made the announcement just hours before the Internationl Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) released an investigative report showing that Internet trade in wildlife and wildlife products poses a significant and immediate threat to the survival of elephants and many other endangered species.

Another New Yorker cartoon

Possibly we could all use an epiphany.... 

I can't explain why I am so enchanted with small animals, but I am. Probably comes from my childhood when my friends and I had mice, hamsters and Guinea pigs. 

We would build elaborate mazes using paper towel and toilet paper tubes, boxes, anything that could be taped together to create a habitrail long before habitrails where produced. We spent hours doing this. Whether the animals thought this was fun or not, we'll never know. But to this day I have a soft spot in my heart every time a see a rodent - especially anything having to do with a wheel to nowhere.

Another woman for animal rights!

Olympic swimming gold medalist Amanda Beard launched her naked, anti-fur campaign poster for PETA this week at the Beijing Olympics. She posed nude in the PETA campaign because she loves animals and is horrified to see how fur in produced for fashion in some places. The original campaign launch was scheduled to take place inside Olympic Village, however, she was forced to unveil the poster outside the village gates after Chinese Authorities canceled the scheduled event because of safety concerns.

Yea, Amanda! You go girl!

U.S. Army shoots pigs

Despite opposition for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and other groups, the U.S. Army is going ahead with it's plan to shoot pigs. They are doing this as a training tool for soldiers who are training for battlefield medical trauma.

There are more advanced and humane options available, including high-tech human simulators that could be used instead. But the Army is moving forward because they are being conducted under the Department of Agriculture license. They say that the pigs will be under the careful supervision of veterinarians.

Hm. But won't it still cause indescribable pain for the pigs? How come the public allows this? Have we become so callas that we don't have compassion for our fellow beings? So, which do you think is worse, being shot or living in an industrial pig farm? As the saying goes, there is a reason slaughterhouses don't have windows. 

Two greats pass away....

The following was taken from an article by Charles Siebert from the New York Times magazine in the December 30, 2007 edition ~

There is in the end, no telling what tales they had to tell, the two greatest 

nonhuman linguists of our day: Washoe, the sign-language-wielding chimpanzee with an intense footwear fetish; and Alex, the wildly outspoken parrot, an African gray known to regularly order about his human researchers and to purposely give them the wrong answers to their questions just to alleviate his boredom. After all, we only ever gave them our words to work with.

To continue reading the article, click here.

Amazing animals!

Blackbird has an unusual habit

This British blackbird has taken on an annoying habit that is driving the neighborhood mad! 

He has the uncanny ability to mimic sounds. Unfortunately for it's neighbors he has chosen to replicate the sound of sirens, car alarms, and mobile telephones. It is thought that he is trying to attract a mate and is using sounds that he hears in his everyday environment. This is quite unusual as blackbirds are not known for there ability to mimic sounds. 

In any case, the early morning siren noise has gotten to be a little too much to tolerate. Fortunately for him, he has moved on and is no doubt bothering another neighborhood. 

Perhaps we have not heard the last of him....

Funny looking kitties...

"Please don't play with the black and white kitties!"

This is my plea to my dog Cooper who thinks they are ever so cute. She has played with several of the tiny and not so sweet creatures. I keep tomato juice on hand at all times.

Fortunately for these girls, baby black and white kitties aren't developed enough to make a stink about being played with yet! 

A new beak for a Bald Eagle

This bald eagle was found in 2005 scourging for food after having her beak shot off. She was rescued and cared for the past two years at an Anchorage, Alaska sanctuary. She has been hand fed for the past couple of years since her current condition makes eating impossible without help. Now there is a scientist that is working to build her a prosthetic beak so she could eat on her own. He has spent the past two years designing one from a mold taken of what she currently has. 

This is the first time something of this magnitude has been undertaken. The beak team are hopeful that results will enable her to feed herself. If they are successful this 7 year old gal should live to be 50. Here's hoping they are successful!

It's Mom's Day soon!

Don't forget Mother's Day this Sunday! 

Haven't thought about Mother's Day yet? Just what do you get Mom? If you are hard pressed for an idea, how about his one? Give the gift of life to a homeless pet. My favorite animal charity, Best Friends, has this wonderful program where you select the type of animal that you would like to sponsor. You can select a cat, a dog, a barnyard animal, a bird, a bunny, or how about a general wild life animal? Many animals are in need, so don't delay. Won't you consider sending a message that means more than cut flowers which will die in a week. Spend your money wisely and sponsor a needy animal!

Penegiun in a wet suit!

Pierre, a 25 year old penguin was loosing his feathers and going bald. This posed a serious problem for him as feathers act as a form of insulation and without them he wouldn't go swimming. He was just too cold. So the California Academy of Sciences created a tiny wetsuit for the balding fella. Now he is swimming with his friends again, plus his feathers are beginning to grow back! 

Winky the elephant passes away

Winky and Wanda were elephants that lived in the Detroit Zoo together for 17 years until 2005, when they were transported to the Performing Animal Welfare Society in California. Detroit Zoo officials decided that holding elephants in a small exhibit was inhumane and unhealthy. They made the journey together and lived there peacefully for three years. 

Unfortunately, Winky had arthritis which became so unbearable that she couldn't stand. Last week, at age 56 the decision was made to euthanize her. She will be cremated and her ashes will be scattered over the Sanctuary where she spent the last years of her life roaming freely with others of her kind. 

RIP Winky.