Author: Paul Handover

Please sign this petition!

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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SIGN: PASS NEW BILL TO BAN HORRIFIC DOG MEAT FARMS IN S. KOREA

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.

SIGN THIS PETITION

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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.

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Back in business!

Of trees and internet services!

The weather at 6am didn’t bode well with a brisk wind blowing clouds across the summit of Mt. Sexton.

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.

Doug earning his living big time!

And within the hour it was time to power up the router, switch on my iMAC and test for a signal!

The old antenna installed in its new home!

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!

Please, always adopt a dog first!

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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Five Tips on Making Your Adopted Dog Feel at Home

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.

Set the stage for the pooch

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.

Let them explore the place one day at a time

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.

Banish anxiety and set some ground rules

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.

Let them have their personal space

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.

Make your dog feel loved and safe

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 Lewis

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!)

 

Living and Learning

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.

Picture Parade Two Hundred and Forty-One

Just one very domestic, doggie scene!

Some days Jean takes an afternoon nap.

One day this last week, it was last Wednesday, Brandy decided to join Jean.

Although I tried ever so quietly to steal into the bedroom without making a noise, Brandy did notice! Of course!

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Then last Thursday afternoon I took a couple more  when Brandy was sleeping on the tiled floor of our dining-room adjacent to the kitchen.

The first one is more or less a crop of the full image while the second one is greatly edited including applying some ‘sharpening’. (I use Picasa.)

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Plus a couple more from earlier times!

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Then the final one showing Brandy the day he was ‘rescued’ and brought home.

Brandy’s first look at his new home from the back of the car in the garage. April 10th, 2016

What a wonderful animal he is!

That new EU law regarding data compliance!

Sorry but I need to join the crowd!

That is the crowd of emails that you and I have been receiving regarding the new GDPR law. The new law that is effective from today.

As a recent BBC video explains:

What is GDPR? Technology explained

A new EU law that changes how companies use our personal information kicks in on 25 May.

The BBC’s Chris Foxx explains what GDPR is and how it will affect you.

Then there is this YouTube video:

Finally, here’s an extract from a recent Firefox blog post:

1. The General Data Protection Regulation gives the European Union the power to hold businesses and organizations accountable for how they collect and handle personal data — your data.

Businesses and organizations have had two years to get ready. This wasn’t a sneak attack by the European institutions. The GDPR went on the books in May 2016, giving anyone who collects customer data plenty of time to prepare.

2. Even though it’s driven out of Europe, the GDPR impacts the whole world.

If you live outside of Europe, you’re probably wondering what a European law has to do with you. Thanks to something called “territorial scope,” any organization that deals with data of EU residents must comply with the GDPR for those individuals, which impacts global organizations like Apple and Facebook. Even though they are not strictly required, some organizations are taking a principled (and perhaps easier) approach, providing the same set of controls and protections to non-EU residents.

3. It’s filling up in your inbox.

We’ve all been bombarded with emails about updated privacy policies and terms of service. It’s (mostly) not fallout from the Cambridge Analytica scandal, it’s because organizations are getting their policies and practices into GDPR compliance. Bonus points: All those emails are a hint to disconnect from services you’ve forgotten about.

Now this is where it gets complicated.

For while there is a WordPress plugin that is supposed to ensure that this WordPress blog conforms, whatever that implies, to the requirements of the new law I am not able to download it without upgrading the blog to Business Plan. As I am already paying to be a Premium WordPress user I object to shelling out more money just now.

So if there is any aspect of being a subscriber to Learning from Dogs that you do not like then please unsubscribe.

As I learn how other blog authors are dealing with the issue then I will let you know if there are any changes that I need to make.

Any advice or suggestions regarding this new law would be most welcome!

Best laid plans!

Our tree work is now set for Wednesday, 30th!

Our arborist called early afternoon yesterday to say that they had ended up too late with their prior job for them to fell our tree that day. It has been re-scheduled for next Wednesday.

Conveniently, there was another dog food recall notice issued yesterday and that is the topic of today’s post.

Dear Fellow Dog Lover,Because you signed up on our website and asked to be notified, I’m sending you this special recall alert. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, please click the “unsubscribe” link at the bottom of this message.
Merrick Pet Care of Amarillo, Texas, is voluntarily recalling a limited amount of its dog treats due to elevated levels of naturally occurring beef thyroid hormone.

To learn which products are affected, please visit the following link:
Merrick Recalls Multiple Dog Treats

Please share the news of this alert with other pet owners.

Mike Sagman, Editor
The Dog Food Advisor

P.S. Get instant access to a list of The Dog Food Advisor’s safest and most recommended dog food brands. Click here for details.

That link offers much more information that is re-published here.

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Merrick Recalls Multiple Dog Treats

May 23, 2018 – Merrick Pet Care, of Amarillo, Texas, is initiating a voluntary recall of a limited amount of beef dog treat varieties due to the potential that they contain elevated levels of a naturally-occurring beef thyroid hormone.

What’s Recalled?

Batch Information

The voluntary recall is limited to the production codes listed below.

To locate the production code, consumers should look on the lower back of the treat bag.

No other production codes, sizes or varieties of these products are affected. The voluntary recall covers only specific production codes of the following beef treat products:

About Beef Thyroid

Dogs consuming high levels of beef thyroid hormone may exhibit the following symptoms: increased thirst and urination, weight loss, increased heart rate and restlessness.

These symptoms may resolve when consumption decreases.

If a dog consumes high levels for a long period of time, these symptoms may increase in severity and may include vomiting, diarrhea and rapid or labored breathing.

If your pet has consumed the product listed and has exhibited any of these symptoms, please discontinue feeding and contact your veterinarian.

What Caused the Recall?

This potential health risk was brought to Merrick’s attention as a result of the FDA sharing one consumer complaint where the dog’s health was temporarily impacted while eating Merrick Backcountry Great Plains Real Beef Jerky 4.5 ounce.

The dog’s health improved and fully recovered after discontinuing consumption of the treat.

Message from Merrick

Pet owners should know there is limited risk given treats are not intended for full nutrition and should only be occasionally consumed.

However, out of an abundance of caution and to maintain trust with our consumers, we are withdrawing all potentially impacted product.

We have not received any similar reports to date from consumers about issues with these products.

As a company of pet owners and pet lovers, we know our consumers place a tremendous amount of trust in us when their pet uses our products.

The quality and safety of our products are the top priority for our company.

We apologize to our retail customers and consumers and sincerely regret any inconvenience and concerns caused by this voluntary recall.

We are working with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on this voluntary recall and will cooperate with them fully.

What to Do?

If you have product, please contact Merrick at 800-664-7387 from 8 am to 5 pm Central Time Monday through Friday.

Or by email at customerservice@merrickpetcare.com so we can provide a refund.

Or visit Merrick’s website and fill out a form: http://www.merrickpetcare.com/customerrelations.

No other Merrick or Castor & Pollux products are impacted. These treats are distributed in the U.S. through pet specialty, grocery and online retailers with limited distribution in Canada.

For more information visit http://www.MerrickPetCare.com.

U.S. citizens can report complaints about FDA-regulated pet food products by calling the consumer complaint coordinator in your area.

Or go to http://www.fda.gov/petfoodcomplaints.

Canadians can report any health or safety incidents related to the use of this product by filling out the Consumer Product Incident Report Form.

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As I always say, do share this post as much as you can because we all care so much for the health of our dogs!

The continuing fallout from Chernobyl

Will you, please, consider taking one of these puppies!

I closed last Saturday’s post with this plea: “If only there wasn’t a single dog in need of adoption in the world!”

That plea is being used to introduce today’s post. An article that was recently read on the Smart News section from The Smithsonian magazine website.

I have republished it, hopefully without infringing copyrights, because it’s a story that needs to be circulated as far and wide as possible.

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Chernobyl Puppies Going Up for Adoption in the U.S.

Now in quarantine, the pups are expected to come to the U.S. this summer in search of their forever homes.

Please for to adopt us, Comrade. (Chernobyl Exclusion Zone Authority)
By Jason Daley smithsonian.com , May 16, 2018

In 1986, the Chernobyl nuclear power plant melted down, sending nearby residents fleeing the disaster zone. And sadly, most pets got left behind. Over the last 32 years, the surviving pups have multiplied, creating a community of hundreds that live in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone and another 250 that live on the grounds of the former power plant itself.

Now, a dozen of those homeless puppies will head to the United States for adoption, reports Matt Novak at Gizmodo.

According to the Russian website Meduza, Ukrainian authorities have captured 200 of the stray Chernobyl puppies. They are currently keeping them in a 45-day quarantine in the city of Slavutych, and then a dozen will be shipped to the United States.

“We have rescued the first puppies, they are now in our adoption shelter going through the quarantine and decontamination process,” Lucas Hixson, co-founder of the U.S.-based Clean Futures Fund, a non-profit created to take care of Chernobyl clean-up workers, their families and the dogs tells Novak. “The goal is 200 dogs but will likely be more in the long run. My hope is to get 200 dogs rescued and adopted in the next 18 months and then go from there.”

The pups have a heartbreaking story, as The Guardian’s Julie McDowell detailed earlier this year. During the evacuation, more than 120,000 people were herded onto buses to escape the meltdown of the Unit 4 reactor, leaving most of their valuables and their pets behind. Many dogs tried to follow their owners onto the buses but were kicked off. People left notes on their doors asking authorities not to kill their animals, but Soviet Army squads were dispatched to put down as many contaminated animals as they could find.

Some of the dogs survived the army and the radiation, rebuilding their community as a pack. The Clean Futures Fund reports that the 250 dogs living on the grounds of the former power plant were likely driven out of the surrounding forests by wolves and a lack of food. Another 225 dogs roam Chernobyl City and hundreds of others live and scrounge at security checkpoints and throughout the woods and abandoned communities in the Exclusion Zone. Most of the dogs around the plant are under the age of 4 or 5, and clean-up workers at the site sometimes feed and tend to sick animals.

But last year, after becoming aware of the animals, The Clean Futures Fund decided the pups needed a more permanent solution. That’s why they’ve implemented a three-year program in the Exclusion Zone to spay and neuter 1,000 animals and vaccinate them against rabies. At their first clinic last August, the Fund spayed and neutered 350 dogs and cats in the area. Each animal was tested for radiation, given antibiotics, vaccinated for rabies and microchipped. Each dog’s vital data was also recorded.

For the next clinic scheduled for June, the Fund has also partnered with researchers from the University of South Carolina. The team will study the dogs for signs of radiation poisoning as well as genetic damage and disruptions to the dogs’ microbiomes, reports Mary Katherine Wildeman at The Post and Courier. The team will sedate the dogs and look for tumors and cataracts, which can signal radiation poisoning.

Understanding the impacts of radiation exposure is becoming increasingly important, says Timothy Mousseau, a researcher who has studied radiation in the birds, insects and small animals of Chernobyl and will lead the project. Exposure rates in daily life from medical treatments and other sources are on the rise, with the average yearly dose Americans receive doubling in the last 20 years alone.

There is no word when or where the dozen Chernobyl pups will go up for adoption. But even if you’re not lucky enough to have one of the reminders of Soviet-era nuclear power at the foot of your bed, it’s still possible to see the place for yourself and hand out treats to some of the remaining pups. There’s a booming tourism industry in the area to visit the eerie ghost towns and surprisingly quiet and beautiful green space that has overtaken the Zone.

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I am going to contact The Clean Futures Fund to see how one can register a potential interest in taking one of these puppies.

In the meantime, is there any reader who would be interested in having a puppy? Send me an email if so.

Picture Parade Two Hundred and Forty

The final photographs sent to me by Dan Gomez.

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That last one really does get to the essence of what having a dog in one’s life truly means.

You all have a wonderful week!

Finally, thank you Dan!

 

More tips for healthy dogs

Another interesting article from Susan Combs.

It’s self-explanatory and needs no further introduction from me save to say that this is the third guest post from Susan.

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Four Essential Tips to Make Your Dog Healthy and Active Round the Year

(Susan asked me to remove her article. The background to that decision may be read in my post of the 25th May, 2018: Living and Learning.)

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Susan also included the following graphic that I will leave you with.

We all love our dogs too much to take any risks with them!