Cruelty

I love reading the news. It’s an educating and often fun experience, and I have about four good sites bookmarked that I click through every day. However, all too often I run across headlines like this: “Woman Pleads Guily to Dragging Dog With Car”. I didn’t link to the story because in all honesty, I couldn’t read it, it made me heartsick.

I’ve been raised with animals of all types, and I like more of the new animals that I meet than the new people. Even for people who’ve never had any time around a family dog or seen a horse, how can they possibly do the cruel and horrible things that they do? One time in art class, the upperclassman boy I had a raging crush on laughingly related a story about injecting a kitten with gasoline and then lighting it on fire. It was told calmly, as if he were talking about a party the night before or a funny movie he’d seen. Other people, sometimes friends I’ve known for a long time and who have always seemed to be very good people, think nothing of brutally kicking their dog out of the way, teasing and terrifying their cockatiel, small side actions done with no thought.

I have a very hard time understanding this, and frankly, I believe that parents need to take more responsibility in helping children understand that animals feel pain and emotion. When I was about five, I got bored and pulled on our cat’s tail, and believe me, my mom put an end to that pretty quick, and she also explained to me that I was hurting Petunia. It sickens me and worries me that casual cruelty to animals is so rampant, and these actions are fairly minor in the broad scope of things humans do  to our fellow animals.

Yes, I realize that many, many human beings go through unbelievable tribulations every day. This also saddens me deeply. Of course, some cruelties will always be practicd on both animals and people, no matter what we do. But maybe teaching sympathy for the so-called ‘lesser life forms’ would engender sympathy for the so-called ‘higher beings’? I believe that more stringent action is needed. Say something when your friend kicks their dog! Report the person next door who is starving their horses! Please, please do something to stop this disgusting cycle, and teach everyone you can!

Things to Do When It’s Too Hot to Do Anything

Right now, it’s hideously hot where I live, getting up to about 100° on average each day, and a few weeks ago it was 110°! I’ve been going through sunscreen like it’s Taco Bell. So really, since my beater Honda’s got no airconditioning, I’m forced to do everything early in the morning or suffer. However, the inimitable Gala Darling recently posted a fantastic list of creative things to do during your summer! It inspired me to create my own list of seasonal activities I find appealing. Maybe I’ll brave the heat a bit more, who knows?

 Set up some sprinklers and, in traditional summer style, go completely mad running through them! 

 Buy some deliciously scented dog shampoo (I’m leaning to Vanilla) and bathe my dog!

 Repaint the walls of my boring room a color I love, probably scarlet red.

 Find a job and smile big at everyone who comes in.

 Take a trip up to the lake, put on a pair of shades, and float on my back for hours.

 Remember all my friends’ birthdays.

 Buy some super-bright flipflops and wear them constantly.

 Pull up at an intersection and blast happy songs so everyone can hear!

 Go wild with my blender and invent some crazy new smoothie flavors.

 Paint my nails sorbet shades- juicy lime, pale glittery pink,  mint green, sky blue.

 Keep all the clocks in my house at exactly the same time.

 Take a day off from everyone and sleep all day with a fan blowing on me and ice tea by my bed.

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Puppy Love

So my dog Happy is really just ridiculous- she must weight 90 lbs., and yet she insists on curling up in my lap, hanging by her fangs off my arm, tackling me like a black belt, and generally behaving like a puppy. (She’s 2- young, but sometimes it gets to be a bit much!) But by god, when she really was still a puppy, she was adorable. Then again, have you ever seen a puppy that wasn’t?

The point is, she’s much too big now to dress up, but when she was still itty-bitty I had about 5 or 6 sweaters for her, and we both loved them. I bought cheap PetSmart clothes, but if you’ve got your own small dog, Pampered Puppy is the place to go! Billing itself as ‘luxury lifestyles for dogs,’ it’s full of informative, useful articles, and reviews of products from doggie bowls and organic shampoos, to formal dresses and handsewn leather collars. All the products are reviewed by the adorable pug Merry, modeling above, and her mom.

Cute, no? Even if you don’t have a dog or aren’t interested in dressing it up, this site is still lots of fun to go browse.