Saturday, March 29, 2014

Make Mine Chocolate

I know, I know chocolate is bad, bad, bad for dogs but this isn’t about dogs.  This is about bunnies.

 
Lots of people associate bunnies with Easter and since bunnies are so cute, they buy live ones and put them in Easter Baskets.  Live bunnies are NOT toys! They are critters who need love and affection and food and toys (I’m not sure what toys bunnies like but they must like toys).

 
Anyway, thousands of little bunnies are raised at places like puppy mills and sold at Easter time.  The bunnies raised in these places are not taken care of at all.  Some are so sick when they are born that they die within days or weeks. The bad people who breed them don’t see them as helpless little critters, only as a way to make some money.

 
Some bunnies even get their fur colored pink to make them “cuter”.  It is very sad that up to 80% of them end up in shelters or let loose in parks or woods to live on their own. 

 
Shelters are supposed to be temporary homes for critters and when they get too full, they have to euthanize some.  Euthanize is a big word for making dead so many of the bunnies that end up in shelters never even get rescued but are killed.

 
The bunnies that are let go in parks and woods don’t do much better.  They are not born and raised in the woods where they have their Mamas to teach them how to find good food and hide from enemies.  They are little tiny critters, alone and afraid.  Most don’t last very long before they get eaten.  That’s how it is in the woods world so that’s why animals that are not born there need to have good homes with humans who will take care of them and love them.

 
What can you do?  Don’t support stores that sell Easter Bunnies. Bunnies make wonderful pets, almost as good as dogs.   If you do want to get a bunny, get one from a reputable breeder or better yet, adopt one from your local shelter or area rabbit rescue.  Before you buy, learn about how to take care of them. You can find out more about how to be a good bunny parent at a website called makeminechocolate.org.

I think bunnies are cute and it’s nice that bunnies are part of the Easter celebration. But please make sure any bunny you put in your Easter Basket is a plush one you buy in a toy store or a chocolate one.

 
Your friend,
Zeva

 
P.S.  Blatant Self-promotion.  We use chocolate and plush bunnies in our Easter Baskets and we’d be happy to make one up for you.

Sunday, March 2, 2014

Further Adventures In Our Doggy Dog World

Last week I shared the story of a couple of friends of mine who live far away in India. They told us the story of where they live and a little bit about their daily lives.

Today I'm going to share some more of their story.  Like most of us dogs, Bumo and Miu love to play.   When they were puppies they like to play with chew toys but now they are more interested in chasing birds and monkeys.  When it's nice outside, Miu likes to sit in the yard and soak up the sun.  Her Mama says she's getting lots of Vitamin C. 

Miu is a Mama's baby.  She sticks like glue to her Mama and really like to play catch.  It's is all fun and games until she upsets the freshly done laundry.  She's kind of a klutz when she's not paying attention.

They also like digging tunnels in their yard.  Don't tell your humans but Bumo, Miu and some of our other friends are all digging tunnels to each others yards so we can have play dates.  Our tunnel was looking good until Dixie dug too close to the post that holds up the stairs, making them almost fall down.  Dad covered it up so we will have to start all over again once the ground unfreezes.

It's not all fun and games though.  Tibetan Mastiffs and Himalayan Sheepdogs are both very intelligent, hard working breeds.  Bumo's family guarded the fields along the Myanmar border while Miu's family guards Buddhist monasteries high up in the Himalayas.   Although they now live in town, they still take their house guarding duties seriously.  In addition, like many of you,  they are the furry therapists and cuddle babies for their Mama.

I met the girls on line and found that they don't really like the dogs in their neighborhood very much and would much prefer reaching out to doggies all over the world through the internet. They like to learn about the different lives and exchanging ideas.   It's easy for them to make friends with dogs from all different countries because in addition to dog, they speak English, German, Hindi, Tamil, a smattering of Bengali, French and Russian and their Mama is teaching them Japanese.  I told you they were smart!

They say that most of the dogs they meet are very friendly but every once in awhile they meet one that's snobby.  Like the dog from Germany that thought that just because they were from India they were flea and tick ridden and live dismally on the streets.  Unfortunately many dogs do have to live under those awful conditions but obviously Bumo and Miu don't   That would be like saying that just cuz Dixie is from the South, she's a redneck.  Well, maybe that's not such a good example since she is kind of a redneck.

They love learning about other dog's lives and sharing information.  Our friends Max and Beauregard are very well read and like to share links to interesting articles. Their friend Livvy's family is super fascinating (they said they never met a married dog before!).  Neither have I come to think of it.  Tillie Audriana talks about her life in LV and always posts inspirational quotes and Nakita Boo Boo's is from Rainbow Bridge.  I agree when they say that it is comforting to know that there is a place like Rainbow Bridge where all pets that are died go where they become whole again and live in a warm, sunny place where they can run and play and just have fun.

Like most of us who have nice homes with loving humans, they know they are lucky especially since there are lots of dogs in India who do not have loving homes. When they go for a walk, their Mama has to take a stick because the street dogs are very territorial and don't want any other dogs around.   The majority of dogs that are born on the streets have to live there their whole life because people who want dogs don't like adopting mixed breeds.  They want pure breeds.  Hate to say it but we have that problem here in the USA too.

It is sad that there are just litter after litter of unwanted dogs who are often sick and diseased and yes, full of ticks and fleas.  I didn't know this but India is one of the most rabies prone areas in the world.  Millions of dogs and people too die of rabies in India.  How very sad.

When their Mama was younger (she's still not old but has some arthritis and can't run around like she used to) she would collect stay dogs and bring them to camps where they could get rabies shots and either spay or neutered.  That was only a short term solution but it was a step in the right direction. Of course, money is also a problem.  With so many humans starving and going without good medical care, dogs don't get much help.  It makes their Mama furious but what can one human and a couple of dogs do?

We have lots of "unwanted" dogs and cats here but at least we have lots of humans who are working very hard to help as many as they can.  Me and Mom are always advocating adoption and doing what we can.  I'm adopted and so is Dixie.  Mom says she wishes we could adopt more but I'm not encouraging that idea.  Living with Dixie is challenging enough right now.

Anyway that wraps up my interview with Bumo and Miu from India.  If you have anything you would like to know about them, just let me know and I'll see what they have to say.

Also, if you would like to share your story with my friends, let me know and we can talk.

Big play bow and kisses,

Your Globe Trotting Friend,

Zeva

P.S.  Blatant self-promotion.  I usually don't promote our human gift baskets but since we are talking about friends, I thought giving Mom's side of the business a plug would be okay.  Here's a link to our You've Got A Friend Gift Basket.