Joy Ward's Writing Journal

Want to Get Rid of Puppy Mills? Get Your Hands in Local Politics!!

2008-07-03T22:33:00.005-05:00

So many of us preach against puppy mills that sometimes we forget the most direct route to this desired end. I had too until I got involved recently with some local and state politics. That's when I had an "ah ha!" moment.

If we want to rid our world of puppy mills we have to convince the people who can outlaw them. That means we have to win over the lawmakers. Most of us don't have great access to the federal legislators but almost all of us living in the US have no problem getting access to our local and state legislators. All we have to do is volunteer to help their campaign efforts. It's a basic rule of political law -- elected officials are more apt to listen to us if we've been in their campaigns helping them to win.

How do I know this works? I've been doing it. I started looking around here in St. Louis for candidates who both needed help and were open to animal issues. So I'm pitching in on a few campaigns and I make sure that the candidates know I'm doing this because I want their support in ridding Missouri of puppy mills. And you know what? Many of them are just now finding out how bad the puppy mill problem is here.

If you live in one of the states like mine where puppy mills run rampant, why not look around and start asking some questions of your local candidates? I did that at a recent candidates' forum and not only did I not have to ask the question more than once because after the first candidate answered, all the others felt it necessary to answer that question too. Then after the forum, other candidates came over to me to tell me how much they wanted to get rid of these slimy operations too! I'll be following up with all of them as soon as the right legislation starts through the state legislature.

So many wonderful people have worked for so long to end puppy mills. If I can put in a few hours of volunteer time and help out the cause, how simple is that? Of course, I'll be following up AFTER the election and I'll make sure these sensitized state senators and representatives are ready to pass some great legislation on puppy mills and other animal issues.

We're Back!!!!!!

2008-07-03T22:29:00.002-05:00

Hi and best barks to all of you who have wondered what happened and why I hadn't been posting. I had a major blog glitch which I finally fixed. So lomg story made short, the glitch is fixed (i hope...) and I'm back online.

Thanks for hanging on and I promise I'll be bringing you some new, fun and challenging stuff VERY soon!

Britain's Got Dog Talent!!!!

2008-06-02T21:22:00.005-05:00

Thanks Chris for sending in this YouTube video!

Let's get this blog rocking with a dog who is breaking new ground! Gin is a dog who even the rough-and-tough Simon (you know him as the oftentimes "mean" judge from American Idol) is saying could win this previously all human competition!!!

If you aren't tearing up as you watch this girl/dog canine freestyle team bring the Britain's Got Talent performance to their feet then play it again because you must have been distracted.

Go Gin and human Kate!!!!!!

Coming Back to the Writing Journal

2008-05-21T21:39:00.002-05:00

For the last two years, I've made my online home over at Dogster but as many of you know, I'm leaving Dogster and coming home to my main blog. So I want to welcome all of you who are visiting.

Please pull up a chair, bookmark us and spend a little time barking with the Ward Pack. I'll be continuing the coverage you've seen over at the For Love of Dog Blog including reviews, interviews, news and all things dog. I might throw in some other animal-related topics too.

So to all my fellow Dogsters and Catsters, as well as everyone else, the Ward Pack welcomes you with big barks. Let's continue the journey together!

Its so much easier to be good if its in the name of a dog (or cat)

2006-09-18T21:02:00.000-05:00

As most of you know, I blog very regularly over at Dogster on the For Love of the Dog Blog. One of the surprizing things I've noticed is that people seem to feel freer to be the good people they want to be when they can do it in the name or under the aegis of a dog or cat!

For example, "Jane" may feel like she can't open up to people around her but when she "becomes" her dog "Mattie" (I'm making up these names btw so if you're named Jane and you have a dog Mattie I'm not picking on you; it was just dumb blind luck I got those names) all of a sudden "Jane" feels empowered to do good things for other Dogsters and dogs in trouble. She can talk openly about losing Mattie's mother, Pearl, and how Pearl changed her life. She can admit to feelings that she might be embarressed to share with others in the rest of her life.

In other words, our furfriends free us to be better people if we let them!

I have no doubt if you were to meet most Dogsters on the street they would be nice enough people. But meet them on Dogster, interacting under the watchful eyes of all those dogs and cats and something almost magical happens! Many, many of them move back to an almost childlike sense of wonder and affection.

If you wonder what I mean, visit Dogster and check out some of the forums and groups. Its very refreshing! Instead of parlaying defenses (which is what most of us do on a daily basis with the world around us), Dogsters who really get into the spirit seem to take on the essence of their dogs and cats.

Maybe that's why so many Dogsters don't want to leave Dogster when their pets die. As one Dogster said after having relinquished her beloved dog to a breed rescue because of an unfriendly divorce," I am keeping the Dogster page because its like having a piece of (my dog)." Maybe its not so much keeping the piece of her dog as it is how she feels when she's interacting on behalf of her dog -- free to be herself without hesitations and the adult distractions we call normal defenses.

And after all, isn't that what dogs teach us, to be ourselves? Isn't that a lot of why we love them? They are themselves and they accept us for being ourselves.

So when we take on their voices we also take on their acceptance of themselves, us and others who share the same love of dogs.

Gosh, what a deal we get from them! For a little food, water and pets we get to be better people and learn to accept ourselves!

For Love of the Dog Blog

2006-07-27T12:39:00.000-05:00

Looking for me? Check out Dogster's For Love of the Dog Blog? I'm there almost every day blogging dogs and dog life. There's always room for one more in OUR pack!

Canine Angels Dogs Still Threatened

2006-06-05T06:35:00.000-05:00

Cross-posting and other distribution, especially to the media, will be much appreciated.

Dear Fellow Animal-lovers,

You may have read or heard that on May 30, I adopted the 154 dogs formerly owned by Canine Angels (CA) in Dewy Rose, GA, the animal rescue and shelter that is under assualt by the Georgia Dept. of Agriculture which has ordered them to be shut down effective June 3 and any dog not already transferred by then to be confiscated by the DoA. They have extended that confiscation to June 7.

We have it in writing from the DoA legal services officer that CA is authorized to transfer ownership of the dogs to other rescues and shelters. The transfer of ownership was made by legal document and I legally gave power of attorney to two people there to represent my interests on behalf of my dogs, who are now my legal property. Within hours of the transfer of ownership DoA commissioner Tommy Irvin issued a press release that his office had contacted 70 rescues and shelters throughout GA about coming to get the dogs and that any individual was welcome to show up at CA and take a dog free of charge. I reacted by issuing my own press release announcing that I am the owner of the dogs and they will be placed under accepted adoption criteria with an adoption contract and those of us experienced in animal welfare and rescue know the usual outcome for animals advertised as "free to good home."

As the local news has been reporting, my ownership of the dogs has thrown a speedbump in the path of the DoA and they have reacted by increasing the level of harrassment and vindictiveness against the co-founders of Canine Angels and their volunteers and supporters. Pure and simple, they have been upsetting my dogs and their very presence there has impeded the adoption of some dogs. The first priority of the good folks at Canine Angels is animal care and placing animals, and the constant harrassment by the State and the very necessary presence of the media means they are literally going without sleep in order to care for the animals, and one of the co-founders, Sue Wells, suffers from multiple sclerosis.

For background of the story and current updates, see the DogBlog at:
http://dogblog.dogster.com/
especially the June 2 entry with the link to the full story by Best Friends Animal Organization "Standoff with State brews at Georgia animal sanctuary as rescuer tries to step in to save dogs."

Other animal protection groups are participating by issuing their own news reports. More media reports will be forthcoming.

On Friday, when DoA officials showed up at Canine Angels accompanied by the Elbert County sheriff, they found the gates locked and access to the property blocked by vehicles by my order. Property owner Sue Wells denied them access to the property. At least two of the DoA officials would not get out of their vehicles, but we know who they are; some covered their faces; their legal services officer at first refused to identify himself, and at least one TV reporter said they refused to speak with her on camera. They then left for the courthouse where they obtained a warrant for inspection granted for 14 days. Meanwhile a heated argument was seen to occur between three DoA staff people and we are guessing perhaps one or more did not want to participate in this continued campaign of harrassment.

The DoA people and sheriff's deputies returned to the property with 12 marked and unmarked law-enforcement vehicles (how many tax dollars did that waste?) and inspected Canine Angels yet again. Two of their inspectors had been there for many hours on May 26 to conduct a surprise inspection and their written report that day showed NO violations. Two days before that inspection an independent inspection of CA was conducted by a former animal control officer and former director of a sanctuary Don Hill of Augusta, and he also conducted an audit of CA's records. CA passed with flying colors and I gave his written inspection report to the media.
The report of the inspection of this past Friday by the DoA was not delivered to Sue Wells until 8:15 p.m. that evening and consisted of seven pages of violations. This is after a superior effort by volunteers and supporters throughout the week to make sure that the DoA could find no violation. Not only is their last report not worth the paper it is printed on, how stupid do they think taxpayers, voters, courts, and animal lovers are? It is an insult to all of our intelligence. Our attorneys are reviewing that and other documents and evidence, and we are pursuing legal options.

Even though DoA officials have repeatedly told the media that they planned on no-kills solutions for the former dogs of Canine Angels, and that they had contacted 70 rescue groups/shelters in GA to assist with that, they have refused to provide us with the list of those agencies (because we still need the help of every no-kill group that can help!), and on Friday they showed up with a van from one animal facility - a kill shelter! The van was turned away.

The DoA wanted the CA files - the paper trail and records for my dogs. They were told they could have copies of them. So far, they haven't pursued that and I ordered all the records removed from the premises and placed in a secure location.

We have given and are giving sworn affidavits, eye-witness accounts, video tapes, audio recordings, and photographs to the media and to some officials and candidates for public office, both related directly to the CA situation, to the animal control situation and actors in Elbert County, and about the actions of some State employees. If laws are upheld and if those charged with the public trust act responsibly, we believe there should be dismissals of some employees and perhaps some charges of animal cruelty and neglect.

The on-line petition in support of Canine Angels currently has close to 1,700 signatures and a copy of it was delivered to the GA Governor on Thursday with, at that time, over 1,400 signatures. Everyone is still encouraged to sign it and add comments:
http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?neGAngel&1

The animal advocate and author Randy Grim wrote a personal letter last week to the DoA commissioner Irvin and asked him to support our efforts, not hinder them. Numerous others have written and called the Governor's office and the DoA commissioner's office to protest this treatment of Canine Angels and their supporters.

We have a signed and notarized statement from one of the veterinarians who has treated Canine Angels animals since 2002, Gloria B. Andrews, DVM, Colbert Animal Hospital, which states in part:
"Of all the animals they have brought in, none have been underweight. If anything, many were obese.
They have routinely purchased products for heartworm prevention, flea and tick control as well as de wormers for their animals. Both Sue Wells and Lynette Rowe have had extensive experience regarding healthcare for dogs and cats. For patients who required hospitalization, they were always willing to do this. If any animal was sick and the treatments were such that they could perform the nursing care at home we would give instructions and dispense the proper medications for them to care for the patient. When questions would arise, they would call for information as to what to do. If the animal needed to be seen again, they would bring it in."

I and a growing number of supporters, adopters, and visitors to Canine Angels are asking the GA State government and people with common sense everywhere, does that sound like a facility that should be shut down for animal neglect and cruelty? We are asking for the written opinions of other veterinarians who have regularly visited Canine Angels.

There are other positive developments under discussion and one I can talk about today. Dr. Michael Good, DVM of Homeless Pets Foundation, http://homelesspets.com/ has offered to come from Marietta, GA to examine all of the animals and provide any booster vaccinations needed, and he is doing this free of charge. (All the animals are current on rabies vaccination, spayed & neutered, but since we want to send them off to adoptive homes and other responsible no-kill efforts, this is an additional assurance about their healthy condition.)

Perhaps one signer of the on-line petition said it best: "If the State of Georgia spent as much time, money and manpower in helping Canine Angels Rescue save lives, instead of prosecuting them, the State would better off and its residents appreciative! It's only common sense!"

Before I get to the critical end of this about what I, Friends of Canine Angels, and my dogs need, let me say that this fight has boiled down to two camps: A) Two women with a private relationship who have exhausted themselves for over six years trying to fill an animal welfare need in their community and placing over 1,200 animals, their loyal volunteer supporters, and hundreds of thrown away dogs who were given safe haven and now can look forward to a better life as companion animals VERSUS B) People paid by taxdollars on county and state payrolls, some of whom are allegedly in need of investigation, who are behaving as if they are conducting a campaign of harrassment and personal vendetta and willing to do anything just to get rid of my dogs, even if it means killing them in some of Georgia's gas chambers.
Camp A has devoted countless hours, nerves, and dollars to keep these animals healthy and alive until we can get them to permanent homes and other safe havens. Does Camp B ever stop and think about what our motivation could be if it's not love of animals?
People keep telling me that this is an example of "good ole' boy mentality." Well, if it is, and if that's the playing field they want to conduct this on, then my answer to them is "Don't be messin' with a boy and his dogs."

HOW YOU CAN HELP:

We’re asking everybody, starting Monday, June 5, to call Gov. Perdue' office – 404-656-1776 – Dept. of Ag. Commissioner Tommy Irvin at 404-656-3600 or 800-282-5852, the Animal Protection Division at 404-656-4914, and the Elbert County Commissioners at 706-283-2000 and tell them to leave my dogs alone and my dogs' friends alone. We also want a complete review of the situation, we want Canine Angels' license reinstated and we want the $15,000 in fines (so far) dropped against Sue Wells & Lynette Rowe.
And please sign the on-line petition [see above].

Here's what we need, and we will try to put updates and more alternate contact info on the Canine Angels website. There have been offers of help, calls from potential adopters, and the CA folks and volunteers are trying to keep up with that. We all apologize if anyone did not get a call back yet. Their phones have been ringing off the hook, they have media to talk to, our attorneys to talk to, of course all the animals to care for. I myself am receiving several thousand e-mail messages per day and have my own responsibilities to take care of. Both of the CA computers have died and my requests that someone donate a laptop computer to them have so far not been responded to.

For now, any legitimate no-kill groups who can help a quantity of dogs, if you can't get through to Canine Angels people, you may e-mail me and I'll have someone get in touch with you: tiergartenjim@yahoo.com (I appreciate all the individual messages of support but can rarely reply to them). Other Friends of Canine Angels will work with adopters of individual animals.

We are building a coalition of attorneys. If you are an attorney licensed in GA who has experience in these matters and would like to offer your services, you may contact me and I will have one of our attorneys get in touch with you.

Anyone wishing to make a donation for the dogs' care and the related costs, there is a PayPal link on the Canine Angels website. Not a single dollar of that money comes to me and it will all be used for the dogs and those expenditures will be monitored by the attorneys. Canine Angels is a registerd 501(c)(3).

Any local person who can volunteer to do anything - cleaning, grooming, feeding, watering, grass mowing, talking to prospective adopters, running errands, so that we can free up Sue & Lynette to talk to the media and our legal counsel and get a few hours of sleep, all help will be appreciated.

Thank you all for your prayers, your support, for loving animals, and for your help in saving my dogs. Once again, it is my privilege to watch love in action.

Jim Willis
http://www.crean.com/jimwillis

For more information contact: Sue Wells and Lynette Rowe CANINE ANGELS 2179 Pulliam Mill Rd Dewy Rose, GA, 30634 706-213-9001 706-296-4488 adopt@negacanineangels.com Visit Canine Angel's website: http://www.negacanineangels.com/ See the animals available for adoption whose lives have been threatened by the State's actions: http://www.imagestation.com/album/pictures.html?id=2106143777&code=22215757&mode=invite&DCMP=isc-email-AlbumInvite

Looking for Your Stories on Dogs and Life After Death

2006-05-11T20:03:00.000-05:00

That's right, I want to hear your stories about your pets and life after death. It could be a case of after-death visitation, reincarnation, anything that touches on pets and life after death.

I'll start you off with one from my life:

One of the great loves of my life was a Weimaraner named Mischka. She and Haint (yes the inspiration for Haint) were a pair. There were other Weims living with us at the time but Haint and Mishcka were inseparable.

Mischka's end came when she was about 13. She had apparently very painful cancer and in those days there was little to do to help dogs other than pain killers. I nursed as long as I could and finally I knew she was ready to go. So we loaded her into the car and took her to the vets. Unlike previous visits she actually seemed glad to be there. Her end was as peaceful as we could make it and I and the vet stayed with her until the last breath. Both he and I were sobbing through the whole time. Mischka, on the other hand, seemed relieved and let us know she was ready to be out of pain. I left her body there but not her soul.

Not too long after that I started hearing things like a dog barking right outside the door and no one was there. I would hear Mischka's distinctive scratch at the door and no one was there. But someone was there -- Mischka. And she started coming to me in dreams to let me know she was still with me.

That was some time ago and I have since moved away from that house. But sometimes I still hear her or feel her near me. She's not back yet in physical form but she's always near me in spirit.

Now its your turn. You don't have to tell me the whole story. In fact, I'd prefer you not because I will interview a certain number of folks in person or over the phone to pull more of the story out of you. If you have a story to share send me the gist of the story to me at Haint@sbcglobal.net and I'll get back to you.

What Will Life Be Like After Butterflies are Gone?

2006-05-11T19:56:00.000-05:00

Butterflies are one of those kinds of creatures who define spring and summer for me. Its never spring as far as I'm concerned until I see at least one of those litle white butterflies that become so ubiguitous from May to September.

But I guess I had better find something else to mark the beginning of spring. According to this article on BrightSurf.com, California butterflies are having a hard go of it this year.

Cold, wet conditions early in the year mean that 2006 is shaping up as the
worst year for California’s butterflies in almost four decades, according to Art
Shapiro, professor of evolution and ecology at UC Davis.That’s a turnaround from
last spring, when millions of painted lady butterflies migrated through the
Central Valley. But other species have seen steep declines in recent years and
could disappear from the region altogether.“It has been the worst spring for
butterflies of my 35 in California,” Shapiro said. “There will probably be
long-term repercussions, especially for species already in serious decline.”

As I'm working on Haint 2 I have to keep this in mind.

Read the rest of the article.

Looking at Things Differently

2006-04-14T13:50:00.000-05:00

Thanks Sal Dinolfo for forwarding this piece on to me. How true...

Subject: The Blind Man - great point of view

________________________________________________________________
One day, there was a blind man sitting on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet and a sign that read: "I am blind, please help."A creative publicist was walking by and stopped to observe. He saw that the blind man had only a few coins in his hat. He dropped in more coins and, without asking for permission, took the sign and rewrote it.He returned the sign to the blind man and left. That afternoon the publicist returned to the blind man and noticed that his hat was full of bills and coins.The blind man recognized his footsteps and asked if it he was the person who had rewritten his sign and what he had written on it.The publicist responded: "Nothing that was not true. I just wrote the message a little differently." He smiled and went on his way.The new sign read: "Today is Spring and I cannot see it."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sometimes we need to change our strategy. If we always do what we have always done, we will always get what we have always gotten. Remember, too, sometimes it is not WHAT we say, it is HOW we say it!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chinese Proverb: "When someone shares something of value with you and you benefit from it, you have a moral obligation to share it with others."

Come on over to Dogster.com!

2006-03-11T22:23:00.000-06:00

I'm now blogging almost everyday at the world's biggest and best website for dogs (and cats), Dogster.com. Come join me over there.

I'll still be checking in here to talk about writing and dogs but I'll be covering a lot more over there.

So come on over and join the big pack!

Condolences to the HaintOps

2006-02-16T08:20:00.000-06:00

Cara, the HaintOps and mother of Lily the HaintGirl, has experienced a loss in her family. Tigger, her 13-year-old cat, had to be passed into eternity yesterday due to apparent liver failure. My deepest sympathy for her loss.

A History of Devolution -- From Jean Val Jean to Ken Lay

2006-01-31T21:40:00.000-06:00

In many ways our cultural evolution is really devolution. What does this say about where Haint's world will be in a century or so?

Look at commerce for example. We've gone from cheering for the Jean Val Jeans (Les Miserables' hero who redeems his life on part by proudly providing good jobs and lives working people in a French village) to cheering for corporate tycoons so far removed emotionally from the lives and welll-being of their employees that they might as well be living in different countries. You're right, they ARE often living in different countries so let's say different universes.

And really they ARE in different universes, aren't they? The Ken Lays and Donald Trumps and Carly Fiorinos have no more feeling for the lives of everyday people making, oh say 34K as they do for Martians with three eyes and indescribable mouths. The language may be ostensibly the same but they sure can't converse. Of course, the Trumps and Lays can send messages down to the Martians below but the Martians don't seem to be able to send messages back up the chain, do they?

But back to evolution or devolution. When Victor Hugo's hero redeems his life and character by spending it making better lives for the villagers, we all felt uplifted. When he was chased for an old "crime" we all felt betrayed by the supposed system of law. Why? Because we realized that Val Jean's greater good moves him past the relatively puny crime.

Now, we cheer unbelievable egotistic posturing in business leaders who would just as soon throw their workers against each other in dog pit fights to the death as look at them. As long as their is an endless supply of workers to feed their egos and pockets and egos again, these "leaders" don't care what happens. How so different than the fictional hero of a time that we suppose to be less ethical, less advanced than our own.

What does this say about us and our society that we applaud the cruel and grasping, instead of the caring and giving? Perhaps it says that we are not moving forward as we would think or hope. Perhaps it says that we should rethink the way we want the future to look. Hugo did, and saw a world where leadership was a trust, not an entitlement.

Perhaps in Haint's world, we should see if that is true as well.

Cross species love

2006-01-24T08:23:00.000-06:00

Once again Mazlov's supposed hierarchy gets kicked to the curb! (Don't worry about Dr. Mazlov's feelings. He didn't like it either and as I understand was somewhat dismayed that everybody made such a fuss over it.) A story out of Japan just goes to show that the need for love and connection overrules the need to feed. An article in the Boston Globe shows how a lonely snake can make friends with his dinner, a master.

It seems the zookeepers thought the hungry snake, who wouldn't eat frozen mice, would eat a live hamster they named "meal" in Japanese. Well heart overcame belly and the snake didn't eat the hamster. Instead, he decided a nice furry cuddle was much more important than a warm meal.

This may be even better than the lion and the lamb lying down together. At least both of those have fur. I'm not even sure how far apart taxonomically-speaking we are witha snake and a hamster.

And don't worry about the snake. He nows eats frozen mice.

This could be the start of a great short story. Lovers reincarnate as prey and predator but eternal love overcomes momentary hunger. Hmmm. Or maybe a prequel to Haint...

Thanks to Lynn Hartke for sending me this article!

Loving a dog transforms the human spirit

2006-01-19T16:37:00.000-06:00

Over breakfast the other day my mother and I were talking about babies and dogs (she had two babies and I have none). It seems that people want to believe that having babies is an unselfish act yet so many of these same people can't understand why you or I would prefer having dogs. Perhaps because loving dogs is the real unselfish act.

When someone has a child so much of loving the child has nothing to do with the child him or herself. Heck, they don't even know that little person. Sure, the kid was riding around with mom for 9 or so months but I doubt there was a lot of communication other than warm fuzzy feelings brought on by hormones. Nothing against kids but over the years of interviewing parents about their kids the one really big fact that keeps coming out is that having kids is for the parent, not the kid. Babies are the original Mini Mes. So when parents say they love their babies, what they are saying is I love me and that little part of me I'm holding in this blue or pink blanket. That's fine and we won't get into adoptive parents who love the idea of being parents (not a bad idea, not just a particularly unselfish one).

So back to dogs. When someone loves a dog they have the chance to experience really unselfish love, love that carries the spirit higher and transforms it into something better.

Loving a dog:

Allows one to love unselfishly. For most people there is no objective in loving a dog. The dog can't get you a better home (yours might look worse for wear or you might even have trouble finding new digs with a dog); he can't be your sexual partner (don't go there); he can't get you a better job or a better social class. In fact, all he can do is love you in whatever his own fashion.

Allows one to love openly without fear of rejection or abuse of trust. The dog will not stay out all night and come in, only to tell you he's found someone else to share his bed. The dog will not reject you because you gain or lose pounds, hair, teeth, uterus or some other body part. When the dog loves, he loves without concern for anything other than you are the object of that love. A Weimaraner may show love differently than a Beagle or a Border Collie or even a Newfoundland, but they all love without reserve.

Allows one to love honestly. There are no games with dogs when it comes to love. They do not know how to play those games so you cannot play them either. No coy, "how much do you love me's" with dogs. They love and you love. Period.

Allows one to live honestly. Having this much honest love in one's life gives one the chance to live honestly as well. Having to eat hamburger rather than steak for dinner or living in a small house rather than a mansion? Dogs don't care and they won't love you any differently. Dogs inspire internal honesty (if we let them) because they are so honestly themselves and accept the world honestly. We can live a more honest life knowing someone loves us in that honesty.

Allows one to transcend our meager human spirits. Loving another creature without the expectation of getting something back other than that purest of loves allows us to grow past out human pettiness and selfish and self-absorbed lives. We can learn how to be more than human. We can embrace the greater spirit which embraces all life. We can learn to love like dogs love.

Shaking my head in wonder over Kurzweil's The Singularity is Near

2006-01-17T17:44:00.000-06:00

For those of you who haven't read it, futurist Ray Kurzweil's The Singularity is Near is a valentine to all those scifi writers who believed that the future and humans could only get better through technology. According to Kurzweil, in the near future humans will become technologically joined with superhuman intelligence to become superhuman. I won't dispute his ideas but I will put forward the one question that must be answered -- Why? Why do we want to supercede our biology? Yes, I know that is a hard question for humans, especially westerners, to ask themselves and others. But if we are going to make this drastic a change in our bodies, minds and civilizations, I for one want some good answers.

Perhaps the question that really needs asking is not whether Kurzweil is correct in his future projections but do we really want to allow technology to change our lives, relationships and civilizations so completely. More importantly, why do we wholeheartedly welcome such extensive changes?We have evolved over millenia to be a species that must work together, build connections with others, if we are to survive as a species. Yet the technology Kurzweil so welcomes is the antithesis of connection. He may talk about how we will all be connected through technology yet it is only the illusion of connection. We learn as a species through shared experiences. We learn as individuals through empathy, much of which is gained through shared events. I understand your hurt because I have felt pain. Virtual reality is NOT reality. In fact it is the offer of fake connection for the real connections of real people and events. Moreover, why should we want to embrace a reality for which we are not biologically or psychologically suited? Our brains are wonderfully evolved to process and manage information, and perhaps most importantly if you follow the work of certain neuroscientists (i.e., Damasio) emotional input. Where does emotion live in this new world of Kurzweil's?Lastly, are we to expect that everyone will have access to this nanobot-enhanced world? What about the poor? What about the middle-class? I suspect that Kurzweil's brave new medical and technical breakthroughs would only be available to those who could afford them. Just like medical care in America today, many people would simply be cut out and left behind.

The upshot of technology such as this at the beck and call of the wealthy is that they (who are already often extremely out of touch with the real world of everyday people) would become even more out of touch. What does this say for the decisions that they will make that influence us all? I suspect those decisions will do even less to draw us together. Why should the wealthy and powerful make decisions that help everyday people? Through virtual reality they can become even more insulated from the results of their acts. Those left on the outside (probably the mass of humanity) are not as "human" or advanced are we? So, like the 21st century version of Puritanism with this form of technology as God, everyone without it will be found wanting and cast off into the technological and civil underworld.

Note, I am not a Luddite. I would not question all new technology but something as fundamentally important as how humans interact with the world and others is something to be closely considered and examined before letting it loose to do untold damage. A device that beeps me to my keys is not likely to affect the way I interact with others and the way I think. A virtual reality womb that feeds my the sensory input and thereby chooses what I see and therefore how I feel about that input is something else all together.

So I ask again -- Why do we so easily welcome this technology without closely examining potential results from every angle?

The great and greatly missed Theodore Sturgeon in his classic, More Than Human, envisioned a superhuman formed by the connections and relationships of a number of humans. It was their interdependence that made them the next step in human evolution. I wonder if Kurzweil's world would usher in the less-than-truly-human rather than superhuman?

Learning from James Kunstler's views of the future

2006-01-07T10:55:00.000-06:00

If you don't get either Truthout online or Rolling Stone you may have missed a moving and well-considered article by Jim Kunstler, the author of the new look forward, The Long Emergency. Kunstler addresses what happens when America runs out of cheap gas. As I'm seeing the future in which Haint and Amanda are interacting, I can't help but be moved and influenced by what Kunstler has to say. To read the article on Truthout click here.

But don't stop there. Continue on to Kunstler's homepage to get an even bigger view of where he has been and where we are going. I suspect that in the year's to come, Kunstler's work will be even more appreciated.

As for me, I'll keep his vision in mind as Haint's sequel progress.

Check out ReadersCircle.org

2006-01-06T10:49:00.000-06:00

Hi again. Busy day here I guess.

I've just signed up for the Readers Circle so please join me over there. The Readers Circle is an online reading community. It lists book groups across North America. It also makes authors available to reading groups for interviews over the phone, via email and even in person. Its the cutting edge of readers groups!

As I mention on the site, I'm available for phone, email and in person visits. Even though the listing says I'm only available around St. Louis, MO, that's not quite the case. I'll be traveling to a number of science fiction conventions and literary fairs so if you're in one of those locations and we can work out the scheduling for an in-person visit with your group or bookstore, all the better! Check out my website for the current schedule.

Hope to hear from you soon!

Announcing new book from Wessex Collective

2006-01-06T10:36:00.000-06:00

If you're a literate person (which I assume you are since you're here with us now) and you haven't met the Wessex Collective yet, please allow me the honor of introducing these talented writers to you. They are a writing collective in the old sense of the word. They live all over the US but they have one aim -- to publish high quality literature that would otherwise never find a publishing home. This following missive wes sent to me from Sandy Schwayder Sanchez who manages the Wessex Collective. She's also the author of two very moving books, Stillbird and The Nun.

Dear all,
The following forward is part of an email one of our authors has sent out to his list of friends about his novel The Marble Orchard which Wessex Collective is publishing this coming summer. Paul's first novel Killing The Blues was published by St. Martins in 1984 and received very favorable reviews in The New York Times Review of Books. His second novel Operation Remission was published by a smaller publisher ten years later but received even more enthusiastic praise in NYTRB. Paul is/has been a political activist, editor of an alternative magazine and carpenter as well as a novelist. We are very excited to have Paul join the collective.This is a book that is going to appeal most to baby boomers but I'm sending this out (after deleting the personal update) to all of you including the youngsters among you with the request that you forward it on.

Also please do check out our website(undergoing some gradual changes so eventually we should have a more modern look). We now have a distributor to market and sell our books to stores but of course whenever possible we prefer to make direct sales (that would be me: "order fulfillment" is my title). We have three new titles: Peter Burnham's second novel set in the same small town in Maine as Envious Shadows, The Angry Dust by William Davey (posthumously published for the first time in this country) and Little Bluestem, a collection of short stories set in the rural heartland where the author, Brian Backstrand, got to know his characters well serving them as pastor, hospice chaplain and teacher since the sixties. Brian's stories remind me of the paintings of Andrew Wyeth. I hope some of you will consider giving one or all of these new books a chance (and we still have plenty of copies of Envious Shadows, The Gift and Stillbird available). Thanks folks, Happy New Year. Sandy

Subject: New Mexico Update 1/4/05From: Paul Johnson
Meanwhile I've been having a glorious time by email with Sandy Sanchez & Peter Burnham of the Wessex Collective, discussing all the issues like type face & size, paper, & the cover (right now it looks like Franny's going to take a crack at designing it), for my novel, THE MARBLE ORCHARD. As most of you know, authors don't usually get to put their oars into those waters, but Wessex is not your usual sort of publisher, it really is a collective. With my novel, they--or rather, we-- are going to try something that until the late 19th C. was the commonest manner of getting a book into print: subscription, it was called, & all it meant was that the writer & his friends would find enough people to buy enough copies in advance to cover the original print bill. That's how Poe & Melville & everybody else went about it, & it worked pretty well until books became big business. Some books, of course, still are big business, & always will be, & big businessmen continue to publish them; but thanks to all sorts of technological breakthroughs, small-scale publication can allow good books that aren't bestseller material to find their publics & pay their modest way.

I haven't seen the galleys yet, but we have a price already. In fact, we have 2 prices: buy it now, & THE MARBLE ORCHARD will only cost you $15.95 per copy. After May 1, 2006 it will go up 3 dollars, still a bargain. Here's what Laurel Speer has to say on the subject: "I'm one of the early readers of this book in ms. I've pledged to start by buying 10 copies. It's a book you'll want to give to all your discriminating friends."

I certainly don't expect you all to do that--but think about it: you must know a few folks beside yourself who'd appreciate what Peter Burnham called "a really great read," & Nancy Cardozo says is "...a deep, sweet story of accidental enlightenment. Paul Johnson captures the physical, emotional,and personal landscape of upstate New York so perfectly, you feel as though you've lived there yourself. Pay particular attention to the speech of the characters; you've met them, you know them, and there's more to them than you ever suspected. MARBLE ORCHARD is an optimistic coming-of-middle-age novel that will resonate loud and strong with those of us struggling to stay hopeful as we deal with aging, loss, and regrets."
Check out the website at http://us.f813.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=sss@wessexcollective.com, & send your checks to The Wessex Collective
PO Box 1088
Nederland, Co. 80466-1088
Love to all, Paul

Sounds like something to read to take us through the next few months of this dismal winter!

Joy

Why Dogs have shorter lives

2005-12-19T10:02:00.000-06:00

Thank you Pete for sending in this short but moving anecdote. If we've been fortunate enough to live with dogs we've all shared this experience in one way or another. I don't know who to credit as the original writer but if someone does, please let me know.

A four year old child's wisdom: Why dogs do not live as long as people? Being a veterinarian, I had been called to examine a ten-year-old Irish Wolfhound named Belker. The dog's owners, Ron, his wife, Lisa, and their little boy, Shane, were all very attached to Belker and they were hoping for a miracle. I examined Belker and found he was dying of cancer. I told the family there were no miracles left for Belker, and offered to perform the euthanasia procedure for the old dog in their home. As we made arrangements, Ron and Lisa told me they thought it would be good for the four-year-old Shane to observe the procedure. They felt as though Shane might learn something from the experience.

The next day, I felt the familiar catch in my throat as Belker's family surrounded him. Shane seemed so calm, petting the old dog for the last time, that I wondered if he understood what was going on. Within a few minutes, Belker slipped peacefully away. The little boy seemed to accept Belker's transition without any difficulty or confusion. We sat together for a while after Belker's death, wondering aloud about the sad fact that animal lives are shorter than human lives. Shane, who had been listening quietly, piped up, "I know why." Startled, we all turned to him. What came out of his mouth next stunned me. I'd never heard a more comforting explanation. He said, "People are born so that they can learn how to live a good life -- like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right?" The four-year-old continued, "Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don't have to stay as long."

Out of the mouths of babes...

What to say when someone says they have to dump their dog (or cat)

2005-12-16T19:42:00.000-06:00

A letter came across the email today from some new parent who just figured out that their new baby might take up some room and is looking to dump the first of their three pets, two dogs and a cat. It seems that their under-a year-old baby is now crawling and, gosh, surprize of surprizes, they may not have room for the baby and the pets. So they're dumping the large dog. As they say in the letter, there's nothing wrong with the dog, no aggression towards the baby or that sort of thing. Its just too crowded. AWWWWWWW.

Maybe it would have taken too much for them to have thought all this out before they accepted the love and trust of the dogs and the cat??? That's right, I have NO sympathy here for their selfish inability to plan. Put yourself in the dog's place. He's done nothing wrong EXCEPT love and trust these nimnills and now he's being kicked to the curb (or the euthenasia chamber more likely) because its just a bit inconvenient for the twit parents.

Here's the letter from the twit looking to unload his guilty conscience by dumping his dog on someone who really does care about dogs:

"I have a 4 year old black lab/shephard mix that we need to find a home for. She weighs about 50 pounds, is spayed, and is really great dog. We have an 8 month old son that is starting to crawl all over and we already have a cat and another smaller dog. Unfortunately we just have a 2 bedroom house. Can you help or do you now anyone that can? I can't bear the thought of bringing her back to the APA (we adopted her from the APA 3 years ago). I can send pictures if interested. "

Obviously, I'm not the only one who feels this is amazingly irresponsible and insensitive behavior because along with the letter from the simpering betrayer of canine trust were the two letters below. The first comes from our friends at the fabulous holistic pet store, Pets in the City on Russell in St. Louis. The second is actually published on the Mutts-n-Stuff wesbsite.

Pets in the City:

"Yhea, hello....my name is ____, I live in a two bedroom house, have four dogs, two cats, and a cussing parrot...AND I have a baby on the way. Yhea, I'm gonna need to get rid of a couple of dogs. Can your rescue take them from me? I'm a complete asshead, and I believe my pets are expendable when my life changes in a way that I assumed it would change when I invited the pets into my house. But, I just wanted the dogs and cats for fun for a while....you know, it was good while it lasted, but now I have a kid, so the fun needs to end for my dogs. Did I mention that I suck and that I am huge dicknugget (editor's note... interesting turn of a phrase and I will have to learn the origin of this word)?

Oh....and she is a really great dog! Imagine if he had my monkeys; Lexi and Foster? haha Jackass... AHHHHHHH SERENITY NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Merry Christmas, Asshole....did you think your child would never start to crawl?!?! Oh god...what about when it walks? Will the cat and small dog be next?!?!"

Short but definitely to the point.

From Mutts-n-Stuff---
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Average Pet Owner:
Thank you for contacting us animal rescuers, shelter volunteers, and foster-homes about your inability to keep your pet. We receive an extremely high volume of inquiries and requests to accept surrendered animals (and none of us is getting paid, OK?). To help us expedite your problem as quickly as possible, please observe the following guidelines:
1. Do not say that you are "CONSIDERING finding a good home" for your pet, or that you, "feel you MIGHT be forced to," or that you "really THINK it would be better if" you unloaded the poor beast. Ninety-five percent of you have already got your minds stone-cold made up that the animal WILL be out of your life by the weekend at the latest. Say so.
If you don't, I'm going to waste a lot of time giving you common-sense, easy solutions for very fixable problems, and you're going to waste a lot of time coming up with fanciful reasons why the solution couldn't possibly work for you. For instance, you say the cat claws the furniture, and I tell you about nail-clipping and scratching posts and aversion training, and then you go into a long harangue about how your husband won't let you put a scratching post in the family room, and your ADHD daughter cries if you use a squirt bottle on the cat, and your congenital thumb abnormalities prevent you from using nail scissors and etc., etc. Just say you're getting rid of the cat.
2. Do not waste time trying to convince me how nice and humane you are. Your co-worker recommended that you contact me because I am nice to animals, not because I am nice to people, and I don't like people who "get rid of" their animals. "Get rid of" is my least favorite phrase in any language. I hope someone "gets rid of" YOU someday.
I am an animal advocate, not a people therapist. After all, for your ADHD daughter, you can get counselors, special teachers, doctors, social workers, etc. Your pet has only me, and people like me, to turn to in his or her need, and we are unpaid, overworked, stressed-out, and demoralized. So don't tell me this big long story about how, "We love this dog so much, and we even bought him a special bed that cost $50, and it is just KILLING us to part with him, but honestly, our maid is just awash in dog hair every time she cleans, and his breath sometimes just reeks of liver, so you can see how hard we've tried, and how dear he is to us, but we really just can't . . ."
You are not nice, and it is not killing you. It is, in all probability, literally killing your dog, but you're going to be just fine once the beast is out of your sight. Don't waste my time trying to make me like you or feel sorry for you in your plight.
3. Do not try to convince me that your pet is exceptional and deserves special treatment. I don't care if you taught him to sit. I don't care if she's a beautiful Persian. I have a waiting list of battered and/or whacked-out animals that need help, and I have no room to foster-house your pet. Do not send me long messages detailing how Fido just l-o-v-e-s blankies and carries his favorite blankie everywhere, and oh, when he gets all excited and happy, he spins around in circles, isn't that cute? He really is darling, so it wouldn't be any trouble at all for us to find him a good home.
Listen, we can go down to the pound and count the darling, spinning, blankie-loving beasts on death row by the dozens, any day of the week. And, honey, Fido is a six-year-old Shepherd-Lab mix. I am not lying when I tell you that big, older, mixed-breed, garden-variety dogs are almost completely unadoptable, and I don't care if they can whistle Dixie or send semaphore signals with their blankies.
What you don't realize is that, though you're trying to lie to me, you're actually telling the truth: Your pet IS a special, wonderful, amazing creature. But this mean old world does not care. More importantly, YOU do not care, and I can't fix that problem.
All I can do is grieve for all the exceptional animals that live short, brutal, loveless lives and die without anyone ever recognizing that they were indeed very, very special.
4. Finally, just, for pity' s sake, for the animal's sake, tell the truth, and the whole truth. Do you think that if you just mumble that your cat is "high-strung," I will say, "Okey-doke! No problem!" and take it into foster care? No, I will start asking questions and uncover the truth, which is that your cat has not used a litter box in the last six months. Do not tell me that you "can't" crate your dog. I will ask what happens when you try to crate him, and you will either be forced to tell me the symptoms of full-blown, severe separation anxiety, or else you will resort to lying some more, wasting more of our time.
And, if you succeed in placing your pet in a shelter or foster care, do not tell yourself the biggest lie of all: "Those nice people will take him and find him a good home, and everything will be fine." Those nice people will indeed give the animal every possible chance, but if we discover serious health or behavior problems, if we find that your misguided attempts to train or discipline him have driven him over the edge, we will do what you are too immoral and cowardly to do: We will hold the animal in our arms, telling him truthfully that he is a good dog or cat, telling him truthfully that we are sorry and we love him, while the vet ends his life.
How can we be so heartless as to kill your pet, you ask? Do not ever dare to judge us. At least we tried. At least we stuck with him to the end. At least we never abandoned him to strangers, as you certainly did, didn't you? In short, this little old rescuer/foster momma has reached the point where she would prefer you pet owners to tell her stories like this:
"We went to Wal-Mart and picked up a free pet in the parking lot a couple of years ago. Now we don't want it anymore. We're lazier than we thought. We've got no patience either. We're starting to suspect the animal is really smarter than we are, which is giving us self-esteem issues. Clearly, we can't possibly keep it. Plus, it might be getting sick; it's acting kind of funny.
"We would like you to take it in eagerly, enthusiastically, and immediately.
"We hope you'll realize what a deal you're getting and not ask us for a donation to help defray your costs. After all, this is a (almost) purebred animal, and we'll send the leftover food along with it. We get the food at Wal-Mart too, and boy, it's a really good deal, price-wise.
"We are very irritated that you haven't shown pity on us in our great need and picked the animal up already. We thought you people were supposed to be humane! Come and get it today. No, we couldn't possibly bring it to you; the final episode of "Survivor II" is on tonight."

'Nuff said. And my dogs send their round of applause to both authors.

When dogs laugh

2005-12-05T17:17:00.000-06:00

The next time you hear dogs making sounds you don't recognize, you might want to stop and listen. A Spokane behaviorist has found that the panting bark of some dogs is actually a laugh AND it calms down other dogs.

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Health/story?id=1370911

The tip on this article came from the Comparative Psych News on Yahoo Groups if you're looking for other information on animal research.

I'm still looking for info on the Patricia Simonet who did the research. If anybody knows Ms. Simonet or how to contact her, let me know. It sounds like some useful info for the Haint sequel.

Hmm, calms down dogs... What about humans? Other species? I feel a twist coming on...

Culture of dogs

2005-11-30T11:45:00.000-06:00

I'm watching the Weims playing with Annie and the foundling Beatrice the Beagle (don't blame me, the HaintGirl named her, not me) and I am fascinated at how different the hound language is from that of the Weims. The Weims are more concerned with their dignity so they pick and choose when they want to be and how they are touched by the others. the coonhound Annie (who appears to be part Ridgeback) is not as standoffish. She mouth-wrestles and rolls around on the floor with some abandon.

Beatrice is even less concerned with her personal standing in the pack. That doesn't mean she has no dignity. In fact, in some ways her open warmth and sense of fun make her even more secure within herself and with the other dogs. She isn't tenuous when she approaches them. Beatrice just sails in and expects to be welcomed. Sometimes she is and sometimes she isn't. In either case, she holds no grudges.

The Weims on the other hand REALLY hold grudges. Okay, maybe not true grudges but they have their own little lists. Some days it seems they take names. That's what happened with Sol and Annie when they had their little battle. Sol seemed to be thinking about things and decided it was time to get on with it.

Everything is fine now. Sol and Annie run together and even cuddle in Sol's somewhat diffident way with other dogs. Don't you wish humans could get that knack? "Okay Bob, we fought it out and how its time to have a run and a cuddle. A little blood this way or that, oh well." I guess in some ways guys do that better than women. Maybe it goes back to the fact that male primates tend to have relationships based on pack position (and that changes a good bit) and female primates have longer term relationships based on shared families, events and other types of things that don't change as often. Check out De Waal's work for more on this side of our "monkey minds."

But back to dog language. Annie and Beatrice seemed to be able to communicate perfectly the moment they met. Its kind of like being in Moscow, having struggled with imperfect Russian because no one around you speaks English and suddenly up comes another English speaker. What a relief! You can relax and quit translating what you mean into their language. I think its the same for Annie. Annie and Beatrice both speak "Hound" and so they can be at ease with one another. And that's what happened. Annie let Beatrice curl up next to her belly and hang out with her. Meanwhile the Weims stuggled to understand Annie's language and, as is wont to happen in such cases, misinterpreted her motions.

Funny thing about that too is that some of the Weims are perfectly happy with learning "hound" and others are not as happy. Its like those of us who rejoice in human differences and learning about new cultures. Maybe its a natural way of being for some (humans and dogs) to accept and ultimately embrace difference in cultures and people. The reverse may be true as well.

Or could it be that there's a mixture of natural acceptance and ability to emotionally handle external changes? For example, Cloudy has never been a great one for change. Some days she doesn't even like going on walks until she's forced out the door on a lead. She's the worst one for leanring "hound." Sol loves walks and meeting new people. he's actually learning "hound" pretty well and I caught him hanging out with and playing with Beatrice.

I'll pass on more as I learn it.

Dogs as listeners and reading teachers

2005-11-30T11:40:00.000-06:00

Some days even I am amazed at how the truth seems to seep out in odd ways. If you missed it, a great article from Yahoo News came out about dogs actually helping kids to read. It seems that the dogs are good listeners and encourage kids to read because they are happy to listen to anything.
If you want more details here's the link to the article.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051123/ap_on_re_us/teachers_pets;_
ylt=AprC2XTAUHNRrrhTUBSnumt4hMgF;
_ylu=X3oDMTBjMHVqMTQ4BHNlYwN5bnN1YmNhdA

I wonder if this means that we need to have some dogs as Listeners in the Haint sequel? hmmm.

Is there any hope? Ask Moyers...

2005-11-18T10:17:00.000-06:00

Two posts in one day. I must have some really inspiring articles coming my way!

This next post comes via TomPaine.com, one of the best conduits of political commentary. Its the legendary Bill Moyers' insightful speech to the Environmental Press Corp in October 2005.
http://www.tompaine.com/articles/20051007/caring_for_creation.php

Why do I link it here? Because I get a lot of questions from readers as to whether or not I have any hope for humanity's far future. After you read this speech from one of America's great journalists, I think you'll understand why I think our species' chances are 50/50 on a REALLY good day.