Wookie is currently at the Longmont Humane Society waiting for his forever home. They are partnering with Colorado Pit Bull Rescue to find Wookie his forever home. He is a special dog. Click here to find out more about him!
Love Wordless Wednesday because you get to post pictures of your pets? Well it is now 100 times better! Each week BlogPaws is going to create a link up for the community for you to add a link directly to your Wordless Wednesday Post. That way we can all share and enjoy each others pets. The rules are super simple:
* Show us your pets!
* Leave a link directly to your Wordless Wednesday Post
* Visit other blogs and say hello
* Share the link up with your readers so they can join the community and link up as well.
You can grab the code and place it on your blog or you can refer your readers right back to the Wordless Wednesday post of the week.
As Miah and I have followed the updates of Patrick the Miracle Dog, I have hoped and hoped they would find the heartless person who led the poor pup to his near death status. I was pleased to find out they did indeed find the person who they believe is responsible. I was appalled to hear that her response to the allegation was that "she could no longer care for the animal." Really? Seriously?! There is nothing anyone could say to convince me that she did not know there were other options than just letting the poor dog starve and dropping him down a garbage shoot - a charge she denies.
To make matters worse, the max sentence she can get is 6 months in jail and a $1000 fine. That is almost as disgusting as the crime she committed.
Patrick's heartbreaking story has a lot of momentum right now. We need to take advantage of that momentum and do something about this. Directing hatred towards her will not be as effective as taking that energy and putting it into changing the laws. It may be too late for Patrick's abuser to serve and pay as we all feel she should, but it's not too late for the next helpless animal. And, unfortunately, we know there will be others.
There are several things you can do. You could sign this petition right now, which aims to make animal abuse a felony in all states for every convicted case. You can like Patrick's Law on FaceBook, which is "nationwide grassroots movement for stronger legislation" and ask what you can do to help push the movement forward. You can continue to watch the site for the petition that is being put together for the movement and sign it when it's available. And, you can start to educate yourself on the links between animal abuse and domestic abuse. After all, knowledge is power.
Most of all, you can stay involved. Too often people get involved in the beginning only to die off as time passes. There will always be a Patrick, so there should always be involvement.
If you didn't know, it's spring break. I love a nice break from school, but I'm keeping busy and my Mom is attending some conferences and making so many great connections. Stay tuned. You will hear more about them soon! Promise.
One thing I wanted to share with you is that Sweet Avenue Bake Shop is donating $1 for every red velvet cupcake it sells until March 25th to help Patrick, a small puppy found abandoned and starving in Newark, NJ. You can watch the update video below, but be warned the pictures of him when he was found are terrible. They made me cry.
I don't get how people can do things like that. It breaks my heart. But, the good news is that we can all help! Even if you don't live in NJ you can help.
First, you can go like their Facebook page here. Then, you can go here and order a set of 4 cupcakes to ship to you which means you are donating $4 to Patrick's cause while supporting a small company who is also trying to make a difference. I love making a difference, and I love when other people and companies want to make a difference too.
We already bought ours, so what are YOU waiting for?!
It's safe to say that I am overwhelmed by the Global Pet Expo! There are SO many people here, so many great companies and so many great products. One of my goals is to find some things for Miah to write about. Things that interest her and her peers, and I believe I have successfully done that. Stay tuned. You will be hearing about them.
For now, I'd just like to say that the highlight so far - next to meeting Victoria Stillwell yesterday - has been giving some love to Tillman!! Yes, the real skateboarding/snowboarding/surfing dog!!
Watching my daughter advocate to put an end to puppy mills and working to educate her peers on what they are and why they are so horrific has been a proud time for me. From hearing her stories I know she has reached many classmates and opened their eyes to something that is not talked about much in Colorado. It's not a big puppy mill state, but we still have pet stores, which means CO does support them.
When I heard what recently happened in Missouri I just couldn't believe it. Legislators overturned the puppy mill law that voters approved with 51.6% vote. Really? What does that mean? Aren't our representatives supposed to be...well, representing us? Do we still live in a democracy where the majority matters? Or is Missouri set on keeping it's status as the "puppy mill capital?" Do they think that is something to be proud of? Many questions run through my head over this, but not many answers.
Maybe if all Pet Bloggers unite and blog and tweet and blog and tweet and continue to expose this matter we can bring it to the forefront. Maybe we can encourage the House to put a stop to it before it's too late, or even get Gov. Jay Nixon to veto it should it land on his desk. I know Miah and I will be trying.
Here it is. The video I presented following my speech. I know it made a difference in my classroom. Now I'd like to see it a make a difference on the internet!
Please watch this AND share with everyone you know!
Yesterday I presented my speech for a project in one of my classes. It is about puppy mills and I am so excited to be spreading the word! I would love to hear your thoughts, and learn what you might be doing to educate people on the horrors of puppy mills! Here it is:
To start out I am going to ask a simple question. Do you know what a puppy mill is? Maybe you do, maybe you don’t, but one thing people are unaware of is how bad they really are. They are much worse then most people presume, which is not good at all.
Did you know that according to the ASPCA 40% of people who buy dogs spend less than a week researching where the dog came from? And, 59% of buyers don’t see the puppy with its mother. So if we are not paying attention, how are we going to stop the abuse? Stop the pain? End the suffering?
They also report a shocking 24% of the owners who buy pure bred puppies based their decision mainly on appearance. So what happens to the dog from a puppy mill that lost an eye from a terrible eye infection? Or the dog whose nipples are so big from having tons of liters she can barely walk because they weigh her down? What about the dog with only three legs? What about the dog who spent so much of his life locked up in cage no one will buy him, because after they buy him he will just die? What happens to them?
Some of the dogs in puppy mills never get to leave. They have to spend their life locked up in cage with barely any room to walk. While nursing one liter they are pregnant with another, living in unsanitary and inhumane conditions. They only get to eat enough to keep them breeding. They are walking in their own feces, maybe even the carcasses of dogs that have passed on before them. Many dogs each year die in a puppy mill; one every eight seconds.
This is how we treat are best friends?
Luckily there is hope; just the smallest things can help. For one, NEVER buy from a pet sore at the mall or online. Also, if you are looking to adopt try looking at a shelter and don’t be afraid to buy a former puppy mill survivor. They need love too. And it's very important to PLEASE spread the word.
I presented this today, and tomorrow I will be presenting my video! Keep checking back because I will be posting that too!!
