Monday, May 21, 2012

Baby Foxes. Horse Soring. Wolves, Caribou, and Oil. Pea Fiber in Pet Food. Can You Foster a Homeless Pet? “Jurassic Croc”! Lindbergh. Amelia Earhart.

For “Mammal Monday”:

“Humane Wildlife Services documented a mother fox and her kits living close to an urban environment. “We will do everything we can to keep them safe””

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Horse Investigation Exposes Cruelty

“An HSUS undercover investigation into the walking horse industry finds rampant cruelty. Warning: Contains Graphic Footage.

“An HSUS undercover investigation at a training barn for Tennessee Walking horses led to state and federal criminal charges against nationally known trainer Jackie McConnell and some of his associates. The group was charged with felony conspiracy to violate the Horse Protection Act as well as numerous violations of the Tennessee Cruelty to Animals Statute after being videotaped using caustic chemicals on the front legs of horses in order to cause pain, resulting in the artificially produced high-stepping gait that wins prizes in the show ring.” 

“This cruel practice is called "soring" and has been illegal for more than 40 years under the federal Horse Protection Act. The HSUS undercover video shows horses being whipped, kicked, shocked in the face, and violently cracked across their skulls and legs with heavy wooden sticks during and after soring of their front legs. Unless the Horse Protection Act is upgraded to include stronger penalties for this type of horrendous abuse and to end the failed system of industry self-policing, inhumane trainers will continue to torture horses.” Uploaded by hsus on Mar 1, 2012.   Take Action: https://secure.humanesociety.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=5399&s_src=brightcove

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VIDEO: Poisoning Wolves to Pad Big Oil’s Profits, from Wildlife Promise. 5/16/2012

“A powerful new video, titled ‘Cry Wolf: An Enethical Oil Story’  documents the senseless and cruel killing of wolves in Canada in order to conceal the impacts of booming oil and gas development on woodland caribou: From: http://blog.nwf.org/2012/05/video-poisoning-wolves-to-pad-big-oils-profits/

“DeSmogBlog investigates the controversial decision by Alberta's government to ignore the threat of rapid industrial expansion in the Alberta Tar Sands region, and instead kill thousands of wolves to appear to be doing something to save dwindling woodland caribou populations. Through interviews with scientists, wildlife experts and a First Nations chief, the myth of Canada's "ethical oil" is further exposed as oil industry greenwashing.” Learn more at http://www.DeSmogBlog.com/CryWolf

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How Some Pet Food Companies Are Responding to Consumer Demands

Story at-a-glance
  • “One of the newest odd ingredients showing up in commercial pet foods lately is pea fiber. It’s apparently replacing other fillers like beet pulp and wheat/corn/soy fiber to answer consumer discontent with low quality pet food ingredients.
  • There are two types of pea fiber available on the market. Both contain a very high amount of insoluble fiber. Both are very low in fat, high in crude fiber, and low in protein.
  • Pea fiber is used in pet food as a “functional” fiber. Functional fibers are non-digestible carbohydrates that have been isolated from foods. They aren’t the same as the dietary fiber found naturally in foods like vegetables.
  • Pea fiber is a filler added to inexpensive mass-marketed pet foods for a variety of reasons, none of them having to do with appropriate nutrition for dogs and cats.”    Complete article at: http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/05/16/pea-fiber-on-pet-food.aspx

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Will These Pets Ever Find Homes?

Story at-a-glance
  • “The hardest-to-adopt pets in shelters and rescues across the U.S. are senior dogs and cats, followed by pets with medical problems, dogs of a particular breed like the pit bull, shy pets, and those who must be the only pet in a home.
  • Oddly, black pets, and especially large black dogs, are also among the hardest to find homes for. Among shelter professionals this phenomenon is known as 'black dog syndrome'.
  • Shelters, rescue organizations and animal welfare groups are working on the problem of hard-to-adopt pets. They host special adoption events featuring less desirable animals. They educate the public about the benefits of adopting older dogs. And they demonstrate the potential of much-maligned breeds to be wonderful pets and good canine citizens.
  • Shelter volunteers are even learning how to present black pets to make them more appealing to prospective adoptive families.

If you’re considering a hard-to-adopt shelter pet, it’s important to ensure you have the resources you’ll need to care for an animal that is, for example, getting up in years. Or one who isn’t in great health. Or a pet who’s been abused. Or a large, powerful dog who requires a firm hand and lots of exercise.”    Complete article at: http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/02/01/will-these-pets-ever-find-homes.aspx

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Why You Should Consider Fostering a Homeless Pet

Story at-a-glance
  • Most shelters and rescues across the country have a need for pet foster families willing to temporarily house and care for homeless animals.
  • Foster homes are needed for many different reasons, including overcrowded shelters, for pets with special needs (including medical), for kittens and puppies too young for adoption, for pets with a very low tolerance for shelter life, and for animals with little or no experience living in a home or with people.
  • Pets do better in foster homes than shelters. They are less stressed and less likely to develop fear-based behavior problems. Their foster family can more easily evaluate their true temperament. They often receive help to improve physical, emotional or behavioral issues. They can be socialized to a wide range of home situations involving children and other pets. Animals who’ve been abused can learn to trust people again.
  • What you can expect if you foster a pet will depend to a great extent on the type of pet you help and the circumstances the animal has lived in up to the point he enters your home. Some animals require a minimum of time and energy, while others will need a lot of time and attention to help them improve their chances for adoption.

The easiest, fastest way to get connected to a pet fostering program is to contact your local animal shelter or breed rescue group. Complete article at: http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/04/18/pet-fostering.aspx

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WHO WANTS TO GO FOR A SWIM IN THE RIVER???

From Doc Walker and Len the KSL Weatherman.  This puts it in perspective.

“Jurassic” size croc !!!  -------------------    Len

image

22-FOOT, 2500 POUNDS!!!!   The village called the Army, because they were losing people!!!!

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On This Day:

Lindbergh lands in Paris, May 21, 1927:

“American pilot Charles A. Lindbergh lands at Le Bourget Field in Paris, successfully completing the first solo, nonstop transatlantic flight and the first ever nonstop flight between New York to Paris. His single-engine monoplane, The Spirit of St. Louis, had lifted off from Roosevelt Field in New York 33 1/2 hours before.”

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Earhart completes transatlantic flight, May 21, 1932:

“Five years to the day that American aviator Charles Lindbergh became the first pilot to accomplish a solo, nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean, female aviator Amelia Earhart becomes the first pilot to repeat the feat, landing her plane in Ireland after flying across the North Atlantic. Earhart traveled over 2,000 miles from Newfoundland in just under 15 hours.”

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Yesterday:

Jay was busy helping his mother, so I just puttered around getting some odd jobs done around here.

Another “windows-and-doors-open” day.

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