to sleep.
(ps...okay I was cleaning my work room and they were there for "support"...there isn't always so much muck strewn about the floor...shuffle shuffle...)
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Talking Dogs. Big Bad Collars.
On the lighter side:
This is one of my favorite AFV videos. I often pull it out when we have bumps, bruises and tears around here. Or some days we are just sad, adults too. Then, we are not so sad.
This is one of my favorite AFV videos. I often pull it out when we have bumps, bruises and tears around here. Or some days we are just sad, adults too. Then, we are not so sad.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Nubs. A Lesson on Life. A Children's Book.
OPERATION BAGHDAD PUPS:
CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE AND TO HELP
Please keep in mind, helping the dogs is only a small part.
The people who offer their lives to keep us safe have made the request.
I once met someone who won't have dogs as pets. It wasn't the usual "I'm a cat person" or "Dogs are messy".
As parents they refused to have dogs as pets because when the dad was a kid the dog died and it was too hard on him.
I will always have dogs as pets because they teach life. They teach the love of another life. They teach unconditional love. They teach the value of effort and work. They teach patience and tolerance. They teach reciprocity. They teach family roles. They teach responsibility.
And, sadly, they teach death.
It is important that children learn all about life. It isn't always good and pretty.
I asked this fellow parent does she feel it is better when children learn about death through the loss of a grandparent...or friend...or sister?
Children need to be taught to value life. To understand when you have a good life, a fortunate life. To know how to persevere when life is unkind, often cruel.
I try to teach my children that life is all about choices. We cannot control what happens to us. But we can control what we do about it.
I choose to have dogs in my life.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Afghani strays attack suicide bomber. Save sleeping troops. (Iraqi strays pt 3)
OPERATION BAGHDAD PUPS:
CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE AND TO HELP
Tuesday, 09 March 2010 11:23
Rocky: A True Military Hero
Rocky: A True Military Hero
Rocky's Story
An Army National Guard unit stationed in Afghanistan befriended two dogs in the fall of 2009. Since finding them, Sam and Rocky have brought a touch of home to their soldiers at the remote and desolate location where they are stationed. These two dogs have been the guy’s running buddies, confidants and distraction during the long arduous days of their deployment. At night the dogs routinely position themselves at the entrance to the men’s sleeping quarters and frequently bark to alert those inside of possible dangers.
Earlier this month the dogs were barking in a manner that drew the attention of the soldiers. When the barking persisted and the normal, “Shut up,” that would be yelled out to get the dogs to be quiet did not work, one of the guys decided to investigate. Something was different this time.
Before the soldier could make it outside there was a loud, resonating, “Boom.” The dogs had intercepted a suicide bomber, intent on detonating his device inside the building.
A witness saw Rocky attack the man, biting him in the leg and hanging on to keep the man from being able to move and gain entry into the building. When the bomb went off, Rocky was at the epicenter of the explosion.
These were not military trained dogs, but just two strays that had become fiercely loyal to the men that took them in and cared for them in an environment that is not kind to animals. In return, Sam and Rocky more than likely saved the lives of their soldiers that night and greatly reduced the injuries. Unfortunately though, Sam was so severely mangled she had to be humanely euthanized. Rocky sustained serious injuries but the base medic was able to provide treatment and this survivor is expected to make a full recovery much to everyone’s amazement.
Rocky is a wartime hero that deserves a life outside of Afghanistan for what he did. That is why SPCA International is working with the animal loving members of the unit to bring Rocky to the U.S. where he will be reunited with one of the soldiers that was injured that night. However, there are many obstacles to overcome – location, the dangers of war, uncooperative commanders and a short time frame as the unit is due to return home in the near future.
Leaving Rocky behind is not an option. Everyone that is involved in saving this amazing canine is determined to repay Rocky for his heroic deed because it is the right thing to do for a dog that was doing what he does best – taking care of his people.
Unfortunately, bringing Rocky home is not going to be easy. The SPCAI team is working every angle tirelessly to find a way to bring Rocky to safety in the U.S., but we need your help too. It is clear that this rescue will take significant funds, please support Operation Baghdad Pups right now so that we can bring Rocky and many other military mascots home.
Quotes from David:
“Rocky is the last good thing that I have here, the ONLY thing that I look forward to each day is petting him and loving on him.”
“I am soooo happy that my "good thing" is here. He is really what gets me up the morning because there aren’t that many redeeming qualities about this country or the people in it.”
Donate to SPCA International's Operation Baghdad Pups program today to help us raise enough money to bring Rocky and other wartime buddies home.
**Names have been changed to protect the dog's safety and the safety of the National Guard unit.**
Donate to SPCA International's Operation Baghdad Pups program today to help us raise enough money to bring Rocky and other wartime buddies home.
4/20/2010 UPDATE
SPCA International staff continues to work aggressively on Rocky’s complex rescue. Rocky’s unit is deep in Afghanistan far from the accessible cities of Kabul and Kandahar with extremely limited transportation options. Hiring a local Afghan to transport Rocky across the country would put both the driver and dog in danger because the enemy would assume any Afghan transporting a dog would be doing so for American troops. Dogs are not normally kept as pets in this part of the world.
SPCA International is working with a local animal organization, airlines, and a security team on the ground to find a solution. We are confident we will succeed because failure is not an option. Rocky will continue to live in relative safety and comfort with his unit until a rescue plan is put in motion.
*******
Thursday, June 24, 2010
No Dog Left Behind. (Iraqi Strays pt 2) Big Bad Collars
More Clips and Stories:
No Dog Left Behind : Military Channel
TV's 'No Dogs Left Behind' Follows Rescued War Dogs on Journey to U.S.
Goran Tomasevic/Reuters
While he was in Iraq, Staff Sgt. Bryan Spears and his company found a scrappy puppy and named him Moody. But due to military regulations, they were prohibited from caring for the animal, and the soldiers said their goodbyes to their new friend.Fast-forward a few weeks later, and tragedy strikes: Five members of Spears's team are killed in an attack by a suicide bomber. That same day, Moody returns — and it was that turn of events that Spears says saved him from losing all morale. The dog had helped him cope with the loss of his fellow soldiers. After that, there was no question that Moody would be going home with Spears when it came time for him to end his tour of duty; the only question left was how to do it. Moody's story, along with that of three other dogs traveling to the U.S. (including Nubs, who had a 75-mile odyssey through the desert), was chronicled for No Dogs Left Behind, a documentary airing Nov. 15 on the Military Channel.
Moody was rescued by a team from SPCA International called Operation Baghdad Pups. The project began in February 2008 after SPCA International received an inquiry from a soldier who desperately needed help with retrieving a dog he had befriended in Iraq. Since then, the team has launched 42 missions to Iraq and has saved 180 animals.
The process of bringing a dog from Iraq to the United States costs an average of $4,000. SPCA International funds most of the effort with the help of donations, and asks each dog's soldier to contribute $1,000 if they can — but things don't always go as planned.
"When you're running an operation that's inside a country that's at war, a lot of things are beyond your control," says program manager Terri Crisp. One time, she says, a dog didn't make it out as scheduled because the Iraqi president was flying in and the airport was shut down. The dogs are sometimes gone by the time the team gets there — "whether they ran off or somebody took them, you don't ever know for sure."
Most important, though, is the commitment of the soldier asking for the dog's transport. "They're making an investment in the animal, and chances are they're going to take care of that animal" Crisp said. "The level of commitment to the animal is unbelievable. They've been through so much together."
Ellen Goosenberg, the documentary's executive producer, told PEOPLEPets.com that her hope is that No Dogs Left Behind will humanize soldiers, their experiences and their needs once they return from war.
"A lot of times, they need a community," Goosenberg said. "They need to be understood. There's no way you transition from war back to civilian life without some kind of assistance. Sometimes animals do a brilliant job at that."
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Stray Iraqi Dogs Protect Soldiers. Big Bad Collars.
There is a phenomena that has apparently occurred in both Iraq and Afghanistan of stray dogs following American soldiers and becoming staunchly loyal to them.
Under Islamic beliefs, dogs are considered "unclean" and by religious law may not be kept as pets, only for work. The laws prevent cruelty to animals but also prevent the social bond our culture has with dogs. The degree of the laws are argued by both Sunni and Shia leadership, but both retain the fundamental distance.
Soldiers befriend, feed, play with and are generally kind to the strays and the strays have come to be fiercely and defensively loyal to the troops. Sometimes, like the dogs in the video, guarding all soldiers, other times sticking with specific units or soldiers.
Of course many of our soldiers have become fiercely loyal to those dogs. The Military Channel did a documentary on some of these relationships and the efforts that the international SPCA made to create a formal rescue effort to bring the dogs home for the soldiers.
To be continued...(but I warn, though wrought with stories of happy endings, it makes you very teary eyed too...)
PS To punctuate how important dogs are to us, they show us how important we are to them! I love this video of the sweetest homecoming. It actually went viral at the time it was posted:
Monday, June 21, 2010
Some Days. Big Bad Collars.
Currently in the house:
*2 cases pinkeye
*1 cold
*1 ear infection
*1 swimmers ear
*1 bee sting
and partridge in a pear tree!
Ain't summer grand!
On a lighter note: today is my favorite day of the year! Summer Solstice: this means that everyday after this there will be one less minute of the Arizona sun! HOORAY!
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