I thought that maybe we could get caught up on some inside jobs, like the monthly cleaning of the ceiling fans, air cleaners etc. But that wasn't to be, as by the time Ray got here at 9.00AM it had stopped raining and the sun was shining.
I wanted my plate holder that says: "Don't laugh, 
it's paid for", so we took it off the Puddle Jumper, and put it on the Mirage. We added a nut and bolt through the "O" in 'for' so that it wouldn't rattle. Jim had put a longer license plate light on it, so that it will now shine up on the plate and be legal. Except for the covered bottom part of the plate that says 'Lone Star State', but I have never been stopped for it.
The little square plastic holders for the front bumper plate had disintegrated, I know I have some, but couldn't find them, so we used nuts, lock washers and bolts.
We got both plates on the Aerostar. I didn't put my red "Spay & Neuter Your Pet" plate holders on it yet. But I know that I will take them off the truck before it goes to it's new home.
Then I backed the Aerostar up to the rear of Pugsy, my vintage motor home, as it has a very wide door on the back, as well as a regular one on the side. We found out how unclip the seat belts, and unclasp the third back seat out of the Aerostar, so we stored it in Pugsy. We couldn't unlatch the second seat out of the Aerostar at first, as there was a piece of plastic jamming the mechanism, but when we got that out, I wanted to fold it forward to make more cargo space in the back. But it doesn't do like a station wagon, the seat would then be flopping around loose, so we left it in there, but folded the back down, so that I can see to back up. Oh! the trials and tribulations of being height challenged. Which was a good thing as I realized that will be a good seat to strap animal carriers in, with the seat belts.
I drove the van into my three sided RVport, I can pull it forward more than I could the truck, and still get things out of the back. Oh, that sliding back door is great! I can see how much easier it is going to be to load up carriers for Adoption Day in that narrow area. We measured, and the van is 3' shorter than my club cab truck, so it tucks up all the way under the roof, so Ray, Shay and I, don't have to walk around it.Ray painted the boards that we had made to go under the seat in the Mirage, and we even wallowed out the holes, but the new bolts will only screw on a couple of threads. I am wondering if they sold me the wrong pitch of metric bolts? So it will mean another trip back to the Nut & Bolt Store.
When we quit for lunch, I could hear the wind rushing, and whistling, through every opening in the house, as I still had the windows open. I hope one of these pines doesn't come down.
When I was doing my Daily Clicks, I came across an article about the US shipping horses, inhumanely, to other lands to be killed, cruelly, I might add, for food. Now, if other folks want to eat horse meat, I can't see that it is any different from eating beef. (Yes, I had a pet cow, I used to sit on her back, and I could never have eaten her.) BUT, there are very strict rules for hauling cattle, and how to humanely kill them here in this country, which are not in place in other nations. Horses have feelings, just like any other animal or bird, and I was appalled that a faithful critter like a horse should be treated so unjustly. If you feel as I do about this, please look at this site and see what you can do, to stop this cruelty:
http://www.thehungersite.com/clickToGive/campaign.faces?siteId=3&campaign=ASPCAHorsePetition
But there are two sides to the story:
Quote:
"I think it's important that people realize that when the slaughter is banned in a country those horses which would go to slaughter, don't just disappear. As it has been shown with the example of the US ban, the excess horses must go somewhere and Canada fills that requirement, they are also traveling to Mexico. If Canada bans the slaughter of horses those horses must go somewhere and chances are those horses are going to end up in slaughter houses in other countries where their regulations will not be as strict and will not be as well enforced. The best thing Canada can do would not be to ban slaughter but to ensure that regulations are enforced. It would be in the horse's best interests that they are humanely slaughtered in Canada, opposed to shipping them off to other countries where the travel alone will be more harmful to them, and the regulations at the slaughter houses in other countries will not be as strict. The most humane thing to do would be to slaughter the horses in regulated facilities which are as close as possible to where the horses originate. " Unquote.
So that is enough for today.
4 comments:
Penny,
I'm with you on finding a humane way to euthanize/slaughter horses, cattle and other animals. Although we North Americans do not seem to eat much horse meat other cultures and countries do. I know this is a distasteful topic in our culture but slaughtering animals such as horses humanely for human use is better than just letting them be abandoned and not properly cared for. It seems that it would be better to do this humane slaughtering as close to their location as possible. Most of the issues actually come from the transportation of these animals long distances to other jurisdictions.
I have my own horses and am fortunate that so far I have been able to afford to humanely euthanize those that were either to old or suffering. This is not a cheap route though, the vet costs are around $300.00 and it then costs approximately $2-300 to bury the animal properly. Because you have effectively poisoned the horse it needs to be properly buried to prevent other animals from being poisoned also.
One of the remaining horse slaughter operations in North America is just 2 hours south of my home and although I have never been there myself I have friends and colleagues in the horse business who have and when they were there they observed no inhumane procedures. But it is being overrun by American horses that have no other place to go.
When we had an Aerostar, we stored the short second seat and put the longer third seat in the second row. That made the vehicle 5 passenger with all that storage behind the second row.The back folds down on the long seat just like the short one, so when we needed to carry more cargo we piled it on the folded seat.
Rod
Hi Rod.
Yes, that would be a good idea, too, but I have trouble enough getting up the side steps, and I have to have the animal's carriers where I can reach them. I try to pet them through their carriers when I stop at a light, it makes them feel better about traveling.
I can't see over the back seat when it is up, and it would be in the way to haul stuff. I always seem to be hauling something. Finds at thrift shops, or the lumber company.
Happy Trails, Penny, TX
JB, Yes, that is the whole thing in a nutshell. The US way is humane, but they get sent to places where they are killed cruelly, if the traveling doesn't do them in.
Most US livestock, by law, has to be let out and watered every so often. They don't bother with that in other countries. I just wish all the horses, and other animals, could be treated with loving respect as one of God's critters. They have feelings,too, and to hurt them is terrible.
You know how an animal thrives with kindness, so you know that they really suffer when hurt, mentally or bodily.
Happy Trails, Penny
Post a Comment