puppy mills DO exist

For all of those people who don't know why some people protest at pet stores and others work so hard to get people to adopt from shelters of buy from small, reputable breeders, here is just one example.
Read this Associated Press story, and TRY TO UNDERSTAND!!!


AUTHORITIES PLAN TO CHARGE AMISH FARMER WITH ANIMAL NEGLECT
UPPER OXFORD - Authorities plan to file charges on Monday against an Amish kennel owner, after seizing 23 sick and disfigured dogs, which were reportedly crammed into cages Thursday inside a barn with roughly 300 others.
John Blank of Upper Oxford will be charged for lack of veterinary care and neglect in the Oxford district court, according to Pennsylvania SPCA program officer Elaine Skypala.
Officials learned about the alleged conditions at Limestone Kennel after Blank surrendered nine dogs to the Main Line Animal Rescue roughly three weeks ago.
The dogs, Skypala said, had numerous health issues, prompting the shelter to contact the PSPCA.
Next, officials sent an undercover officer into the kennel.
Blank sold the officer a 3-week-old puppy that was nearly dead for $300, Skypala said.
The puppy died a day later due to dehydration, emaciation and hypothermia, she said.
The sale was enough for authorities to obtain a search warrant, she said.

those were the days

Yes, these are the boys who really rocked.... just wish they were all still here and they could have closed Shea Stadium!!

joel's not worthy

Thank goodness Paul McCartney showed up ... although even that wasn't enough, in my estimation.
But at least The Beatles were represented during what was advertised as the last concert at Shea Stadium in New York -- featuring Billy Joel.
Yuck. I know there are plenty of Billy Joel fans out there, but please.
At this hallowed place where The Beatles christened its use for concerts, it doesn't seem fitting that Joel would be the final act.
Even if he did give them a nod by performing a few Beatles songs.
But then Friday night, after nearly three hours of the concert, Sir Paul showed up on stage...
Of course, always the showman, we shouldn't be surprised that Paul would HAVE to be there.
Hey, Ringo is tour right now... where was he?
Anyway, the fans went crazy, by all reports, as Paul sang “I Saw Her Standing There.”
Before he began “Let It Be,” Paul referenced The Beatles’ first concert at Shea in 1965, the year after the stadium opened.
“It’s so cool to be back here on the last night,” he said, according to published reports. “Been here a long time ago — we had a blast that night, and we’re having another one tonight.”
Thanks, Paul, for at least representing...
Having seen the lads YEARS ago in Philly, I can only say that they'll never be topped.
So sad that two of them have left us.
.....
And if you'd like to see what the AP had to say about the rest of the concert, here is that text:.

By JOSH HOFFNER
NEW YORK (AP) — Billy Joel bid a stirring farewell to Shea Stadium on Friday during a sold-out concert that marked the final show at the same ballpark where the Beatles famously ushered in new era in rock 'n' roll four decades ago.
"Good evening, Shea Stadium. Is this cool or what?" Joel told the crowd at the New York Mets' home field, which is to be razed after the baseball season to make way for a new stadium across the street.
"They're gonna be tearing this place down, but I wanna thank you ... for letting me do the best job in the world," he said.
The show paid homage to Shea's baseball glories, with Mets highlights playing on jumbo screens during "Zanzibar." But the concert also was a mark of the stadium's place in music history.
The show came 43 years after the Beatles' legendary show at Shea Stadium — the first concert at the ballpark. The concert came at the height of Beatlemania and demonstrated the sheer power of rock 'n' roll and the Beatles: 55,000 screaming fans at a U.S. ballpark was virtually unheard-of at the time, and the show gave the Fab Four even more cachet among the Beatle-crazed American public.
The "Last Play at Shea" kicked off Wednesday with the first of two Joel shows at the ballpark, and the Beatles and baseball were on full display. Joel played three Beatles songs ("A Hard Day's Night," "Please, Please Me" and "She Loves You") during Wednesday's set, and introduced his signature "Piano Man" with "Take Me Out to the Ballgame." He also played the national anthem to start the show.
"I want to thank the Beatles for letting us use their room. Best band that ever was, best band that ever will be," Joel told fans Wednesday.
Diane Gentile saw the Beatles play at Shea in 1966 — their second visit to the stadium after the historic show a year earlier. Her recollection of that summer night 42 years ago: "Oh, my God, there are the Beatles on that stage, and here am I."
"It was unbelievable. It was exciting; you could feel the electricity. Right before the concert we were singing `Happy Anniversary' to John because his anniversary was that day," Gentile recalled.
On Friday, Gentile was back at Shea to watch Joel for what she predicted would be the best concert she'll ever see.
Joel has always strongly embraced his New York and Long Island roots, and that makes for memory-making concerts every time he plays in the city. Throngs of fans know his music so well they can pretty much take over any chorus they like.
Joel holds up his end of the bargain. He did a record 12 sold-out shows at Madison Square Garden in 2006, and Wednesday's set lasted about three hours.
And as if the "Piano Man" playing the last concert at Shea wasn't thrilling enough, special on-stage guests have turned up the excitement level.
On Wednesday, Tony Bennett sang "New York State of Mind" with Joel. John Mellencamp came on stage to perform his hit "Pink Houses," and Don Henley kept with the baseball theme with his standard "Boys of Summer."
Fans were abuzz with speculation that Joel might bring on few more guests Friday — possibly one of the surviving Beatles or his old pals Paul Simon or Elton John.
"I would love it to be Paul McCartney or Ringo, for that matter," Gentile said. "A lot of people are predicting Elton John, but Paul McCartney, for me, would be just perfect."
At least one of Joel's famous fans was in the audience Friday: ex-wife Christie Brinkley. The model sat about 10 rows from the stage, and fans snapped cell-phone photos of her before the show.

It's so hot...

OK, I admit it, I truly don't enjoy this nasty heat wave we've been sweltering through. In fact, the whole summer has been too hot for me.
And if you had an office like mine -- with huge windows, that don't open, on the side of the building where the afternoon sun beats down -- you might agree.
I was pleasantly surprised that we actually had a spring this year, instead of skidding from winter right into summer.
But the high temps and humidity have been hard to bear.
Sometimes in the evening when I'm watering our flowers and few veggie plants, I find myself daydreaming about crisp fall days and evenings ... and wishing we could have an extremely L-O-N-G autumn this year... say, starting NOW!
I hate the drone of air conditioners, but I'm having to put up with it just to live.
Hope you're all surviving as well!

for your viewing pleasure

Send a JibJab Sendables® eCard Today!

scared yet??

These are more than scary times. The economy, the war, the environment...
You know it's bad when the only thing people can talk about is the price of gas, the price of groceries, the price of heating/cooling your home, the real estate market, the thought of losing their job, the thought of losing their savings, the thought of losing their retirement.
But it's more than just a thought. It's a reality.
I was never going to retire as a millionaire, but I did hope to retire some day. Now I'm not so sure.
The investments I have are plummeting. The cost of everything is skyrocketing. You can forget trying to sell your house if you'd like to downsize.
Scared? Yes, I admit I am.
As a widow, I don't have another income to fall back on. No, I'm not poor, but I'm far from wealthy. Middle class, at best.
I know there are many, many others who have it far, far worse.
Most of us never lived through a depression. But it may not be far off.
Can anyone help us? Can we help ourselves?

saying goodbye ... and hello

They say when one door closes, another opens.
Our door always seems to be open, however, at least where cats are concerned.
But we have gone through a bit of a “close/open” situation recently, albeit a bit out of order.
About six weeks ago, we opened the door to a cat that was only going to stay until we could have him tested, neutered and inoculated — and find him a home.
He had been hanging around our house for a few weeks, sleeping under our cars and begging for food and attention incessantly.
He was almost becoming a hazard, because he loved rubbing around our legs — as we were trying to navigate the steps from the deck to the sidewalk.
Because we didn’t want any kittens being produced thanks to him, we decided we should at least do the basics.
So in he came, with a vet appointment made. That first appointment is nerve-wracking, as you wait for the test results for FIV and feline leukemia.
“Negative for both,” the vet proclaimed, much to our relief. “And since he’s a stray, we can fast track him and neuter him tomorrow.”
Great, the sooner the better — the sooner we can find him a home.
So after the thorough checkup, blood tests and first round of shots, the critter was treated to being neutered.
Hey, he’ll thank us eventually, we figured.
And of course by now he had a name: Farkus.
Any fan of “A Christmas Story” will recognize the moniker.
You know the lines: “Scut Farkus! There he stood, between us and the alley. Scut Farkus staring out at us with his yellow eyes. He had yellow eyes! So, help me, God! Yellow eyes!”
Yep, my daughter noticed immediately upon his arrival that he had yellow eyes, and dubbed him Farkus.
Not that he was staying, of course. But we had to call him something.
While all of this was going on, another story was playing out, however. A door was about to close.
My daughter’s cat, Meems, had been diagnosed with kidney failure around Christmas, and his downward spiral had accelerated in the past few months.
The huge weight loss, the listlessness, the various infections he couldn’t seem to shake.
Meems was 9, a “not old cat with very old kidneys,” as the vet had said.
He had been a barn cat, a “free” cat from a friend who owned a farm at the time. My daughter had gotten him when he was several months old, had his various ills treated and he grew into a “football player” cat: a bit bulky with no neck, I’d always say.
Now Meems weighed just over 5 pounds, down from his usual 13. When we took him into the vet at the end of June, we knew it would be the last visit. His breathing was labored because his lungs were filling with fluid; he was exhausted. The Meems we knew and loved had battled bravely, but was no match for this adversary.
Of course we stayed with him for that final shot. We petted him, we told him we loved him, we cried.
And as we said goodbye to one beloved member of our family, we knew we wouldn’t be saying goodbye to this new little “visitor,” Farkus.
No, the little gent who loves to follow you around, hopping up on his hind legs almost like a puppy, has found his home.
He’s about a year old, the vet estimates. He loves to play with cat toys. He’s a pale yellow, much lighter than our orange Meems.
He’ll never take the place of Meems. That’s not the way it works.
But he’s opened another door for us. And who could resist those yellow eyes.