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Last Updated: 6/3/2009

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State: Florida
Country: US
Signup Date: 4/25/2004

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Sunday, November 16, 2008

Clementine’s calling
Current mood:

aroused
Category: Pets and Animals

    This morning I woke up with my sisters dog snuggled into the small of my back and I couldn't help but smile. Her dog, Clementine, shows her love and loyalty which are things that most pet owners appreciate in a pet. This got me to thinking about how someone could possible harm animals on purpose. I actually have put a lot of thought into this subject since I was 15 years old and actually realized that our neighbor was regularly beating their dog. It's not only dogs either, it is all animals and more often than I would like, people do not speak out against it. So I guess this is my animal cruelty rant.

    First, pets. Owning pets is a huge responsibility that takes a lot of time and affection, if you don't have the time and reason to commit to a pet the answer is simple, don't get one. Now let's think logically, if you don't like poop, puke, smelliness that you know isn't coming from you, spending extra money, barking, cleaning, spending time on something else other than yourself, and responsibility overall, than DO NOT GET A PET. Let's face it I think everyone knows at least one person who bought a pet, or had someone buy them a pet, because they wanted something cute and cuddly and then when they realized how much work had to be put in they wanted to give it away. This is one of the number one reasons that we have to have local humane societies and spca organizations. If people would just stop and think before acting (this applies to many, many, things) than we would be a lot better off as a whole.

    Second, the meat industry. Now I am not trying to make everyone become a vegetarian, trust me I am not that pushy person. But from much of the research that I have done over the years I have found that the meat industry is one of the worst things we have goin for us. For one, the animals (in very large cooperations which can be found taking up most of the space at your local grocery store) are cooped up in cages so small that they cannot move, fed antibiotics that they do not need so that they will produce faster and better. Chickens sometimes have no feathers and have their beaks cut off. Cows for milking are over milked and have udders that hang to the ground and are cumbersome to move around. Turkeys are slaughtered in crazy numbers just for a holiday that most people do not truly celebrate. The list goes on and many people already know these facts. Something that many people do not know about the meat industry is that they contribute to the majority of green house gases that are produced, one article listed below said it was 18% of the greenhouse gases that humans produced, thats a lot. Now, once again I will not try to make everyone vegetarians but if we just consume less meat and buy more wisely we would all be contributing to the reduction of green house gases. Do your research, see what organic meat companies treat their animals humanely and support them for their effort; it takes a lot for these companies to compete with the mass producing big ole meat packers who just pack em in, drug em up, and probably slaughter them while alive, which is much cheaper than caring. Also many of the fast food companies that we eat at have been known for extreme animal cruelty, 1 KFC, look it up I promise you can find tons of stuff that explains what they do to their animals. The point, choose less and choose wisely.

    Third, keeping your mouth shut. One of the largest problems with animal cruelty situations is that people do not report it, or keep their mouth shut rather than sticking up for another being without a voice. If you see it just say something if you are afraid than report it.

    Oh and lastly, I had to add something that I learned last night. Those shock collars that are becoming popular for people to use on their misbehaving dogs have the following side effects: stress, pain, short and long term behavioral problems, recognition of owner as shocker, recognition of playing area (yard) as dangerous, brain damage, excusable abuse, and a lack of responsibilty on the part of the owner. Just say no to the shock collar and take responsiblity for the dog you own. Plus, let others know the dangers that these collars can cause so they can make their decisions wisely.

Listed below are some websites that have information on how you can help and also some fun animal stuff that you may be interested in. I also listed a couple of related articles to back up my claims.

http://www.americanhumane.org/protecting-animals/programs/

http://www.aspca.org/site/PageServer?pagename=cruelty_home&gclid=CPfOz5GA-pYCFRKLxwod4nwSAQ

http://www.peta.org/

http://newstandardnews.net/content/index.cfm/items/3956

http://www.apbc.org.uk/article2.htm

Currently listening:
She’s So Unusual
By Cyndi Lauper
Release date: 2000-11-21

11:19 PM

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Tuesday, November 04, 2008

the skinny
Current mood:

relaxed

I was standing in line at starbucks today (It's like crack) and I found myself looking around and judging the people around me compared to myself. I know that everyone does this and if you say that you don't then you are obviously perfect or you are lying.

Anyhow, lately I have been trying not to compare myself to others so much. I find myself trying to be something other than myself and then I dive into a consumer binge to make it all better. At least thats the traditional pattern in my behavior, which unfortunately is something that comes naturally to many people. Ever since I was in elementary school I remember trips to the mall because my Mom said it would make her feel better.

I digress.

So the line at starbucks, I was looking around deciding wether I was thinner than some other girls around me or larger, do I feel proportionate? Do I look like a slob today? Is my hair awful? Would people be more likely to excuse sloppy appearance on a very thin person? Then I began to think about how many people in this cafe were dieting, not eating, had food disorders of any kind and how many ate whenever they felt like it, when they are hungry, or felt that they had complete control over their eating habits. I wanted to know how many people order non-fat coffee drinks or make a concious decision to choose a lower calorie drink. By the end of this train of thought I was ready to give up, simply because it seemed so stupid and tiresome to worry about all of these things. But how many of us think these thoughts every day? Every day I am sure that I see at least twenty adds geared toward losing weight. No wonder I feel 'fat' as most women say daily. I began to think of some positive things that I could work at to try to at least partially remove this 'fat' vocabulary from my daily life. I find myself having very little time for exercise or any kind of routine because I am back and forth so much so I will make an effort to do things that make me feel good, that are also active...such as bikeriding or walking in a pretty place. I try to choose healthy but it doesn't always work out as well as I would like it to so part of my personnal manifesto will be to stop feeling guilty for past actions and focus on the present.

I think that it is extremely important for everyone to be able to love their body and not put so much stock in 'fat' or 'skinny.' If anyone else would like to try to change their thinking of weight and personal acceptance I would love to hear anything about it. Also if anyone has any suggestions or information to share, feel free.