Foffdaughter: Remark

"Killing animals, if it must be done, is the butcher's business. But to spend a great deal of money on it in addition... I understand, of course, that there must be professional hunters to shoot sick animals. If only there were some danger connected with hunting, as in the days when men used spears for killing game. But today, when anybody with a fat belly can shoot the animal down at a distance... hunting and horse racing are the last remnants of a dead, feudal world."    -Adolf Hitler (remarks made at Obersalzberg, quoted in Alber Speer's Inside the Third Reich, chapter 7)

Foffmom: Hopeful

I was driving home after work, in a line of about ten cars on a busy two lane road. Suddenly, I spot a large turtle in full retract mode, in the middle of my lane. I hold my breath as the cars ahead of me straddle it (it is not moving, a smart idea), and I follow suit. Here goes the thought pattern: "Somebody needs to move that poor thing. (mumbling inner voice about being tired, wanting to get home, etc) Oh crap, I better turn around." 

I pull in a drive, and head back, hoping no one has swerved to flatten the poor thing. To my surprise, the turtle was gone! Despite Foffdaughter's teasing implications that my driving is so slow the turtle crawled away, the only possible explanation was another human picked it up. As long as it wasn't for consumption, this makes me feel better about my species... a rare event.

Foffdaughter: Rue the day

A question has a broad range of possibilities:
"What special stuff does he do?"  
"Why do you need to have that dog?"   
"Ohmigawd I would love to bring my dog everywhere I go!  Is that doggie vest for sale?"

"My daughter has been waiting so patiently to pet the puppy, and if you give the okay!..."
I'm sorry, but he is working.
"Oh she won't take but a few minutes of your time!"
 My minutes have a previous engagement to attend to.
"Well you have the dog.  Hang on one second- I want a picture of that face!"
No.  Thanks for this entire nothing, but no thank you,  To everything. 

THE question is: "What services or tasks does your dog perform to help you?" 
That is a rare question that is acceptable to ask, and one is expected to answer.  I have never answered a single question anyone has ever asked about Gibbs, or about me having him.  Aside from familiar two-leggers (like family and stuff).  From time to time I reuse the timeless treasure, and explain that my service animal is an alien and zombie detection dog, but that is a rare treat for me. 

Foffdaughter: Count

                       1 year celebration of Mork-mas                           Going on 4 years of Catten Jack

 Just celebrated 1 year of Sinyatta

Thoroughbreds are no longer accepted in 2 of the 4 equine slaughterhouses in Canada.  I was trying to pay attention, when this article was brought to my attention.

Foffdaughter: Festive

The Thoroughbred stallion Dynaformer died several days ago, and I was touched to see that he got listed in the local obituaries.  Then I read the guestbook comments.  I only got through about 31 of the 58 comments, because every single one of them....  Well, George Carlin said it best (in reference to airline announcements): "The next sentence is full of things that piss me off."  All of the comments were some version of:

"Thank you for blessing us with Barbaro."

Okay.

Let's start with "immediate seating area".

Barbaro developed a fan base because the people responsible for him did not humanely put him down in a timely fashion.  People somehow thought that this horse was a valiant, noble, brave creature who was facing down death because there were still things he had to do on this Earth.  I'm going to go with the answer 'yeah, not so much.'  It was a human decision to use every available resource to keep Barbaro alive, and it was not powered by a deep bond of love and loyalty.  Sure he was a bit broken down, but he was still a colt, and the possibility of collecting off of his stud fee was just too tantalizing to ignore.  It was not an epic poem of a hero desperate to continue life.  It was his right hind breaking in 20 places, it was laminitis and it was a 3 year old colt dying over 9 months.

Blessing you fuckers with Barbaro indeed.   Oh- just a note here- when Barbaro brought sunshine into the lives of asshats everywhere- there wasn't actually any blessings or angelic involvement.  It is okay; it was just a little mix-up.  See, what happened was La Ville Rouge (Barbaro's mommy) was forcibly restrained while Dynaformer (Barbaro's daddy) mounted, penetrated, and violated her against her will, at which point he ejaculated inside of her and that is where Barbaro came from!  Blessing.... Spermatozoa and seminal fluids.... Same thing.

(click on the picture below for proof) Dynaformer was the sire of 1185 foals registered with the Jockey Club.  I am sure that he was just trying to bring little Blessing into the world for you.

Foffdaughter: Nothing

 Attending the Rolex Kentucky 3 Day Event is an annual highlight for me, as I am sure it is for numerous other two-leggers.  Aside from the overwhelming excitement of seeing horses (ohmigawash!), what possible reason could justify attending each year?  There are situations that I willingly expose myself to by attending Rolex, despite the fact that every non-Rolex day of the year, I ensure those same situations will never make it to my radar screen.

 Do I enjoy the inevitable sunburn which represents the value of foresight?  No.

Could it be the jolting shuffle of the morbidly obese woman plucking denim shorts out of her depths while chewing an entire hot dog, and struggling to get the straw into her gaping maw so that she can guzzle Coca-Cola?  (It's a jumbo-mega-massive diet Coke though!)  Hilarious and disgusting, but nope.  

Is it Nigel, the imported British announcer, reminding the spectators that they are responsible for making sure that: "your children are on leashes and your dogs are well behaved"?  Well, a little bit, yeah. 

 Rolex is a great place to take pictures.  Lots of pictures.  So many pictures that they are still not done being edited by the next Rolex!  ALL the pictures!

I have 121 pictures from Rolex 2012.  

I took 837 pictures.  Technology ate 716 of them.

Foffmom: Birdie the Beagle

A follow up on the one-eyed beagle. She has gained weight, of course. She still gobbles food like it will disappear, and snatched treats from the big dogs. What is most rewarding is how her attitude has changed. She no longer has that crazy the sky is falling look to her. She goes into her kennel, and I caught her last week going in to lay down with the door open. Guess I was particularly boring that day. Housebreaking has gone well. She sits for the leash to be attached. She enjoys belly scratches and positive physical attention in general. 

Her confidence is up, and she seems secure in knowing the schedule. She is also still weird. She may always be weird. She starts at strange noises or particular gestures, she gets anxious going out at night. She is very bonded to me, which is not always a good thing. Particularly as she will need to be spayed next month. And I will not be the one doing it! So strangers handling her will be stressful I am afraid. But her growing confidence in her environment is gratifying. Watching her roll on her back in the mulch, so happy to be in the sunshine, makes me feel like we have accomplished something.

animal-abuse registries

I like the idea. Goodbye.

Source: frugaldad.com