Dogs are animals of integrity. We have much to learn from them.
Year: 2018
Just trees!
A few days ago I took it upon myself to spend an hour wandering our acres of wild forested land.
Here are some of the photos I took. Hope you enjoy them.
If I had a theme in mind when I was out taking the photographs it was Life and Death!
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I will continue with these next Sunday. All of the photographs were taken with a Nikon D750 camera through a Nikkor 24-120mm lens.
S. Korea is the only country in the world with large-scale, commercial dog meat farms.
Frankly, I wasn’t planning to publish a post today. But then in came an email from John Zande, he of the blog The Superstitious Naked Ape, and this is what I read: “Paul, hi… Really good news. The following email links to a petition supporting a bill that will end the dog meat trade in Korea. I know you’ll want to sign it. Share it around, too.”
John then linked to a petition over on the Lady Freethinkers blog.
Jean and I have signed the petition and now I am republishing in full what you can read if you go across to that petition page.
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Posted by Nina Jackel | January 5, 2018
S. Korea is the only country in the world with large-scale, commercial dog meat farms. The animals live in disease and filth, and at slaughter are often savagely beaten just because people believe torture makes the meat taste better.
But a new bill could finally stop the cruelty. Rep. Lee Sang-don of the Bareunmirae Party has proposed legislation to exclude dogs from the Livestock Industry Act, effectively prohibiting dog farming.
The bill comes just before summer, a season of terror for dogs in South Korea — and we must speak out to help this lifesaving legislation succeed.
This time of year brings the gruesome Bok Nal Dog Eating Days, when millions of dogs are strung up, hung by the neck in a slow, painful death, and butchered for meat.
During Bok Nal — which occurs over three days believed to be the hottest of the season — more dogs are killed and eaten in the country than during the entire rest of the year, usually in the form of boshintang, or dog meat soup.
The dog meat is wrongly thought to have a “cooling effect” — even though in other parts of Asia, it is believed to have the opposite effect, and is eaten in winter instead.
S. Korea’s current leader, President Moon Jae-In, has compassion for animals and has even adopted a dog rescued from the meat trade, named Tory. Furthermore, activists throughout S. Korea are calling for an end to dog and cat meat, which is not only horrifically cruel, but tarnishes their international reputation. Most S. Koreans are against dog meat, and want the cruelty to end.
Sign this petition to urge S. Korean Ambassador Joe Yoon Je and President Moon to show the world they are a great and compassionate nation, and work to pass this bill and end all dog and cat meat in the nation.
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Thank you!
I should add the closing part of that email that John sent to me.
There is simply no reason for this horrific industry to go on. Be part of our voice to DEFEAT DOG MEAT.
Thank you for doing your part to help stop animal cruelty.
Lady Freethinker is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit media organization dedicated to creating a free and compassionate world for all species. Your donation is tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law.
Of trees and internet services!
Lyman from Liberty Tree Enterprises arrived bright and early on Wednesday morning to set about felling the dead fir close to the North-East corner of our rear deck.
It was this dead fir, pictured to the left, that had had the wireless antenna installed on it soon after we moved in to Merlin, OR, back in 2012.
How the day would go was a bit of a guessing game: Would we need a new antenna because it would be broken when the tree hit the ground?; Would Outreach be out to see us reasonably soon after we called them to say that the tree was down?; Would there be complications that were unforeseen at this early stage of the ‘project’?
Well we wouldn’t have long to find out.
Lyman and his assistant were very careful in ensuring that the face of the cut, that would direct exactly where the tree fell, was aligned perfectly. I was very impressed with the care and attention put into this aspect of the felling process.
Then it was time to make the cut on the other side of the trunk and hammer in the wedges that would cause the tree to fall. At one point there was a gust of wind that had the tall trunk rocking on the base. We all held our breath.
But at 09:33 down it came!
Down it came perfectly. (Later I counted the rings to discover that the tree was 65 years old!)
Then it was a case of cutting off all the limbs and shredding them up on site. Inevitably the dogs took an interest!
Here’s Cleo making friends with Lyman.
On to stage two.
Outreach had been called and to our great relief we were told that Doug and Jennifer, the Outreach rigging crew, should be along later in the afternoon.
The two of them arrived and quickly established that the existing antenna had survived the drop!
Therefore, it wasn’t long before Doug was climbing another fir also conveniently close to the deck.
And within the hour it was time to power up the router, switch on my iMAC and test for a signal!
Yes!
All was working and working well.
As you good people will understand it was too late in the day to sort out a post for yesterday.
Plus I needed a few hours to catch up on emails and stuff and then sort out the photographs that I had taken that day.
Then, yesterday afternoon, I sat down and ‘penned’ today’s post for you all.
Well done Liberty Tree and well done Outreach!
This wonderful guest post from Zara Lewis adds real weight to the title.
There is no doubt in my mind that hundreds of you good people out there love and care for dogs that were first seen in a dog shelter or rescue centre.
But at the same time, inevitably, there are those who want to learn more about adopting a dog.
Zara Lewis has written another guest post that is a real help to those who are uncertain as to how to care for a newly-adopted dog.
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by Zara Lewis, May 24th, 2018
Adopting a dog is one of the noblest and most rewarding decisions you can make. With dog shelters filled to the brim with pooches in need of a loving home, there is really no reason to support the inhumane ways of the puppy mill industry; instead, welcoming a shelter dog into your family will save not one, but two lives.
However, sometimes welcoming an adopted dog into your home can seem like a daunting task. How do you banish their fears of abandonment, their anxiety, and the instilled behavioral patterns that define them yet are unsuited for domesticated life? How do you truly make them feel at home, loved, and most importantly, safe? Here to answer these questions are the five tips that will make this transition as pleasant and rewarding as possible.
First things first, there’s a lot to be done before your pooch actually arrives at what will be their new, loving home. You want to make sure you have covered all the basics, from deciding where the dog will sleep and eat, all the way to buying a sizable crate and all of the necessities your new furry friend might need.
This includes getting in touch with a trusted veterinarian and making an appointment for the following day. You can never be too careful, no matter how trustworthy the shelter staff are. For the time being, you will want to roll up all of your carpets so that the dog gets used to walking around the house (they tend to stick to carpets when confronted by sleek surfaces), and don’t forget to buy a leash, plenty of toys, and most importantly, dog treats for those long training sessions ahead.
One of the biggest mistakes new dog owners inadvertently make is letting their new companion explore the new surroundings freely the minute they bring them home. Although completely understandable and very nice of you to want to make your new dog feel welcome, this is a common mistake that will result in plenty of pee stains on the floor you’ll have to scrub out.
Moreover, you might even frighten the pooch, so you want to let them familiarize themselves with the surroundings gradually. It’s always an excellent idea to buy a crate so that they can have their “safe space”, and explore the household one day at a time.
Being adopted is a thrilling, wonderful, joyous experience for a dog, but it’s also a traumatic one. More often than not, your new pooch will come with some emotional baggage you will want to eliminate as soon as possible to avoid behavioral issues induced by anxiety, stress, and fear. It’s also never a bad idea to let a professional lend a helping hand. In Australia, for instance, dog training is sort of a must among homeowners.
In the Land Down Under, adopting a dog is a serious matter involving thorough preparation and planning, and professional dog training in Sydney and across the country is readily available to all homeowners looking to instill positive habits in their new dog, and banish their fears. Remember, dogs ,above all, require firm but loving guidance in order to find their place in the pack, and feel like a part of the family.
It often seems as if dogs haven’t the faintest idea what personal space is, as attested to by thousands of pet videos circling the web; but in fact, they do. And they cherish their personal space very much. Your new furry compadre needs time to heal, to reflect on their past experiences, and take in this new scenario they’re in. Needless to say, this is a stressful time for them and although they require plenty of time and attention, it’s important to recognize the moments when peace and quiet are all they need.
Finally, this is not the time to be going through other important chapters in your life. This is the time you want to devote solely to the upbringing of your new pooch, so if you’re having personal issues you need to resolve, do it before you get a dog. Remember that they need your undivided attention and lots of it.
You will be spending plenty of time quietly stroking their back to make them feel safe, playing with them to develop a trusting bond, and plenty of time teaching them to behave. This requires patience and positivity, so make sure you’re ready and willing to take on this beautiful responsibility.
There is an ideal dog out there for you. And while a purebred dog would make an amazing lifelong companion as well, there is not quite a feeling as magnificent and rewarding as adopting a shelter dog. With these essential tips, you will have no problem making your new best friend feel right at home.
Zara is a contributing editor at Ripped.me and a contributor at TheWellnessInsider
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What a fabulous post. Thank you, Zara. (And let me close by saying that out of our six dogs, five have been rescued in one form or another!)
I regret the need to refine my approach to accepting guest posts!
On May 18th, I published a guest post that had been sent to me by Susan Combs. Her article was called: Four Essential Tips to Make Your Dog Healthy and Active Round the Year.
What you won’t know is that there was a fair degree of re-writing required by me, primarily to correct grammatical errors. Something that I had not noticed in Susan’s previous submissions.
In addition, Susan had included links back to websites, one of which was a commercial site that sold Pet Meds and Supplies.
I overlooked including the links because of the time I had spent in getting the article ready for publication. Subsequently, I was ‘instructed’ to edit the post and include the links. I chose not to do so simply because I took the view that this is my blog and I will never accept a guest post on condition that it is an ‘advertisement’ for a supplier. Now sometimes that boundary is blurred but if the guest author wants to include a link and it is not a condition of acceptance then that’s fine.
Susan has now insisted that her guest article is removed from the blog, something that I have done, and my guess is that there will be no further guest articles from her.
But it has prompted me to refine the wording under my Get Involved link on the home page. It presently reads:
Want to submit a Post? – just email us the content directly to learningfromdogs@gmail.com Clearly, we reserve the right to edit your contribution or, perhaps, decide that the content is not appropriate to our Vision.
It has now been modified to read:
Want to submit a Post?– just email us the content directly to learningfromdogs@gmail.comClearly, we reserve the right to edit your contribution or, perhaps, decide that the content is not appropriate to our Vision. Please note that guest articles that link to a commercial supplier are likely not to be accepted. Simply because I do not wish to be seen to be favouring a particular supplier about whom I have no personal knowledge.
Let me remind one and all that this blog works very hard to observe and support The Vision. That, in part, proposes:
Our children require a world that understands the importance of faith, integrity and honesty
Learning from Dogs will serve as a reminder of the values of life and the power of unconditional love – as so many, many dogs prove each and every day
Best wishes to all.
Learning from Dogs 