Very Serious Topic

**DISCLAIMER** - This post is not meant to inflame anyone or start any arguments. Any inflammatory comments left to me will not be replied to.

Me and Zeus have our serious faces on cause we got something really important to talk to you about today. We are scared about PETA. Their name stands for "People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals". But, most people don't have any idea what they really stand for and what they are really all about. PETA's main objective is to end all ownership of animals. No farms, no zoos, no animal sanctuaries, no leather, no more milk or meat.

In a PETA shelter in Virginia, almost all of the animals were euthanized! Very few were adopted out. They claim the animals are too far gone to be rehabilitated. Now, my Momma rescued my brother Zeus from some people who wanted to euthanize him and thought he was too far gone too. Good thing my Momma and Daddy didn't think so or I wouldn't have my big brother. In short, PETA killed 97.3% of all the animals they took in!! http://prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/01-10-2008/0004734363&EDATE= Of course this is not including the animals that were returned to their owners. This was in 2006. They were slow in releasing their numbers to the Department of Agriculture. In 2005 they also killed over 90% of the animals they took in! http://www.virginia.gov/vdacs_ar/cgi-bin/Vdacs_search.cgi?link_select=facility&form=fac_select&fac_num=157&year=2006 I can't believe it!! All those doggies and kitties who could have been my friends! What are they thinking? I thought they were supposed to like animals!?!? My Momma says that what they want people to think so nobody finds out the truth about them.

My Momma about had a fit at Christmas when she got address labels in the mail from PETA. She said some really bad words and said was going to mail them back to PETA with some of my homemade organic compost not really what she called it) on them!! Daddy laughed at her and told her to calm down and just throw them away. Poor Momma gets pretty worked up sometimes.

This is PETA's response to questions asked about their high kill rate. http://www.petakillsanimals.com/petarebuttal.cfm . Did you know they were also on trial for killing a bunch of animals and putting them in a dumpster? http://www.petakillsanimals.com/Trial.cfm Momma is just so sad about all this and so am I and so is Zeus. Poor Zeus almost met the fate of some of these animals. How sad that the general public thinks PETA is there to help animals.

There are so many people out there like my Momma and Daddy who love animals and only want to do what's best for them. Unfortunately PETA is not among those people. My Momma said they are responsible for funding domestic terrorists and burning down buildings! http://www.activistcash.com/organization_overview.cfm/oid/21 She really goes on about this issue. Poor Momma should settle down.

Well, I hope you learn something from this and pass it on to everyone elese you know who loves animals. Make sure you give all your furbabies big kisses and cuddles tonight and be thankful they didn't wind up in a PETA shelter. They wouldn't be with you right now if they had.

I know alot of people want to help animals and that's great. If that is the case, your money and time are best spent going to your LOCAL shelter. You can be sure that all donations stay right there. It is also a good place to bring your old blankets and pillows. I know that animals really appreciate them!

As for me and Zeus, we are going to go look out the window and bark at the snowflakes.

Until next time, keep your tail wagging!

Long time no Blog!

Hi everyone! It has been a long time since my Momma has had time to give you all an update.
I am now almost 19 months old! Can you believe it? I am about as big as I am going to get (Momma says thank goodness!). I am 24 1/2" tall and 65 pounds. I am still at the top of the standard for a Boxer. It really bothers me when people say they think I should be bigger and that Boxers are supposed to be bigger! Don't they know anything? Don't they know that some unscrupulous breeders make us oversized? This is the size we should be and if any breeder tells you different, they are wrong! http://www.akc.org/breeds/boxer/index.cfm . Also, as long as I am on this subject, have any of you heard of the Rare Black Boxer or the Rare White Boxer? Well, there is no such thing!! My Momma saw on the Internet that someone was trying to sell rare White Boxers and rare Black Boxers! She was so mad and she went on a rant about it until Daddy rolled his eyes at her. Momma also saw on the Internet that someone was saying there a rare tricolored Boxer! She didn't even mention that one to Daddy. Momma gets a little carried away sometimes. She only does 'cause she loves me and all the other Boxers. Just so everyone knows, Boxers are only Fawn and Brindle! Ok, enough about that. I just had to tell you all what is bugging my Momma lately.

Talk to you all soon!

I don't get enough attention

My momma doesn't pay enough attention to me at the office. I whine and she tells me to lay down. I don't like it and I let her know the other day. She was doing some boring work and i wanted to play with her. She told me to be quiet and stop whining. Doesn't she know I whine to make her pay attention to me? Even if she gets mad, she is still paying attention to me right? Anyway, I decided to really get her attention. I put my foot in my water dish and flipped it over all over the floor in her office. It was so much fun!! She got the funny look on her face and said, "Bgusy! What did you do?". I wagged my little nub at her and I know I saw her smile a little bit! I looked real innocent at her like it was an accident, but I don't think she bought it. She said I was a lucky dog and I could be at home in the crate all day like most dogs. She said I was spoiled too. Momma was talking crazy! It was just a little water. Sheesh Momma, if you would have played with me right away none of this would have happened. Momma said it's time to go back to NILF for me. Whatever that means and she started reading this article http://k9deb.com/nilif.htm. Silly Momma has it in her head that she should be the one deciding when we play. Oh well, if it makes her happy I will go along with it because she is a good Momma and always takes care of me. After I spilled the water Momma took some pictures of me and told me to lay downa nd be a good boy. So, I did but I wasn't happy about it.

Momma played with me later, but first I had to give her a sit and a down. Silly Momma! I would have done that in the first place if she just would have played! Momma is going to take me to play in the snow on a little while and I can't wait!! We have lots of fresh snow and I get to run around in it! Should be fun! Talk to you all later!!

Good News all around!

I had to go back to the doctor and get my skin scraped again. I didn't like it, but the good news is I don't have Demodex anymore!! Thank goodness, 'cause that medicine tasted really, really bad!! Momma was so happy and Rachel will kiss my head again. I weighed 55.5 pounds and Momma says I am growing into my legs whatever that means. When we were at the vet Sandra (my Doctor) told me and Momma and Rachel about a little kitty her dogs found in her yard that was frozen to the ground! Poor kitty. Sandra was doing everything she could to save the kitty. Momma talked to Sandra the next day and the kitty died in his sleep. Sandra felt so bad for the poor kitty. Momma told me and Rachel that the poor kitty died peacefully and is playing right now over someplace called the Rainbow Bridge.

I got a Valentine card from my Dog Mom. She invited me and Momma over to play with her and 2 of my brothers. I was so excited!! We went to play on Saturday morning and my Dog mom didn't remember me at first because she jumped on me and growled. I ran and hid behind my Momma's legs for a few minutes while all the dogs were sniffing me. After a while we went outside and got to run all over the place! It was so much fun! When we went back in the house me and my brother Tyson got in a fight over a toy and Momma took the toy and put it up where no one could get it. That's ok, because we all forgot about it a few minutes later anyway. All in all it was a good time. When we came home I heard Momma talking to Daddy and saying that I needed some more socialization with other dogs. She said I am very well socialized around people, but the only dogs I am good around are my brother Zeus and my friend Belle. She was telling Daddy how important dog socialization is right now so when I get older I will be secure and trustworthy. She talked about the need to read my body language and the body language of other dogs so she could head off problems before they happened. She talked about this thing called an article that she was going to look into. http://www.flyingdogpress.com/sayhi.html

I don't care, I just want to play and be a good boy. I also don't want to have to worry about Momma around other dogs because I want them to stay away from her. Oh well, I am still young and just learning. I can't wait to go to my Dog Mom's' house again to play with her and Tyson!

We get to go to the store after work today and buy some more Canidae for me and get a present for my brother Zeus because it is his birthday today!! He is 6 years old!! I can't imagine being that old. I hope I can still play like he does when I am old like that. I wonder what we are going to get him?

Well, I have to go take a nap now so I have energy to play with Daddy and Rachel and Matt and Zeus and the Kitties when I get home.

See you!!

Big Trouble

On Friday when Momma was getting ready for work I jumped on the stove and knocked down Daddy's best pie plate. It was really old and he was so mad at me. He still gave me treats and stuff, but he told me I better not jump on the stove anymore or I would be living in the garage. On Saturday my Daddy spent a long time making home made doggie cookies for me and Zeus. They were soooooo good! I waited until Momma and Daddy walked away and I jumped right on the table and ate all of them! Daddy didn't say anything about the table. I saw Momma coming and I took off running! Daddy caught me and put me in my crate and made me lie down. He told Momma she couldn't look at me and he put a blanket over the crate. I laid down and went to sleep. When I woke up it was bedtime so I just got to go potty and them right to bed with Rachel. In the night time I snuck out of Rachel's room and pooped on the carpet in front of the TV. Daddy was so mad at me. Momma says I am hitting my teenage phase right now, whatever that means and Daddy needs to be extra patient. I know Matt and Rachel are teenagers too but I think Daddy is using all his patience on them and there is none left for me. Momma went shopping at a special store and found anew pie plate and she was mad because she had to pay so much money for it. I think it's fun being bad. It's hard ot be good because there is nothing to do because it is so cold. I fI go outside for more acouple minutes my paws freeze and I hop around on 3 legs.

My friends Thor and Ivette's Grammie made me into a ganster because I am so bad. Don't I look cool?

Well, I better go see what kind of trouble I can get into next.

My winter so far

Well, it has been kind of a rough winter. On December 13th I had to go to the vet. I had a bald spot on my head that Momma was worried about. The vet scraped my head in a couple spots and it really hurt but I was a good boy. The vet said I had Demodectic Mange. This article explains what Demodectic Mange is and what it is caused by, http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_demodectic_mange.html The vet put me on Ivermectin for 60 days! Momma was really not happy about the medicine, but she does want me to get better. I only have a few more days left and I will go back and have to get my head scraped again! Good thing I love my vet and all the other girls there. The medicine tastes icky but Daddy gives it to me every morning with a special treat so I eat it all up. The guys at Momma's work were teasing me bout me head. Silly guys!
Momma and Daddy took matt and Rachel to New York to see my auntie and uncle and cousins. I had to go to the kennel. Momma kept calling it camp but I knew better. I had a really hard time there and I peed all over my crate and I wouldn't eat. Zeus actually LIKES it there and I couldn't even be in the same kennel as him! I was so happy to see Momma when she came to pick me up. She was a day late because the plane couldn't fly out of New York! All the guys at work missed me and my favorite buddy Paul brought me all kinds of leftover turkey and other good stuff.
It is so cold in MN right now. I go outside and my paws freeze!! I have to hurry and pee because I hop around on the snow. Momma needs to get me some boots or something. Daddy told Momma this morning it was -38 degrees with the wind chill! I don't know what that means, but Momma wouldn't take me out to run errands with her. When she left with Rachel I jumped at the window to look for her and Daddy told me no. I will miss her but I like helping Daddy cook more!
Momma keeps saying she has something called Cabin Fever and she can't wait until we can go to the cabin again. She is putting all kinds of stuff in boxes and bags in the basement to take to the cabin. Momma, it is only February!! Oh well, as long as it makes her happy to do it I don't care.
I have to figure out how to do Dogs with Blogs so I can talk to other friends. Until next time, everybody stay warm!!

Today was a good day!

I actually got to be left by myself with no supervision for about 10 minutes this morning when Momma brought Matt and Rachel to early morning basketball practice. Daddy was still sleeping because he is sick. I was at the door when Momma left and I was still at the door when she came back. I was starting to think she went to work without me. She didn't and she told me what a good boy I was for not messing up the house. Only after she ran around the house looking for something I might have gotten into. Silly Momma!!
My favorite guy Momma works with brings me steak all the time!! It is sooo good and Momma breaks off little pieces and feeds them to me all day. I cry and whine for her to give me more but she has to do her stupid work all the time and she just ignores me so I go lay on my big puppy and sleep for a while.
At lunch we got to go to the bank and I got to go to inside. All the girls at the bank gave me treats and hugs and told me how big I have gotten and how beautiful and nice I am. I am such a lucky little Boxer!!
Momma is going to be up late because Matt has a basketball game far away and he won't be home until really late. Daddy is sick so he will probably be sleeping. Me and Momma and Rachel will hang out and maybe watch Animal Planet together.
I hope tomorrow is as fun as today was!!