Dog - owner love

Author: Hannah Stonehouse Hudson

Animals forbiden on the beaches

On the other day a saw a news that the maritime police was passing fines to the owners that take their dogs to the beaches.

In spite I being a believer that all laws should be follows by everyone, I am in total disagreement with this law. One thing was to oversee the owners complied with the basic rules of hygiene, which should indeed be meat anywhere in the public streets, another is to fine people that take their companions.

Many argue that dogs are a risk to public health, forgetting that the greatest risk to public health are the very people who leave their trash, and yes, let the children, when they do not do themselves, relieve on the beaches . One day someone will explain were animals are worst then people.

Fact is, people that have their pets, should be responsible for them in all places. Now to forbid people that obey the law and follow the rules to be with their four leg friends it isn’t right.

And yes, those that follow the rules and like animals have the some right that everyone else.

2012 - World's Ugliest Dog

Chinese Crested dog from the United Kingdom

Dog Surf

I am still puzzled why a country that says is a “sea country” with big shores and amazing beaches just don’t do more sea events.

Anyway, we just have to love the Americans that have the initiative to be different to create so many different dog-person sports.
And once again, I found an amazing dog surf competition that occurred in the Coronado Resort.



More info in : http://loewssurfdog.blogspot.pt/

Who knows, since Nazaré has this year biggest wave record, maybe they can think in a competition like that in their shores.

Australian Shepherd - Frisbee on the beach

Australian Shepherd in Cowboys vs Aliens

Cowboys Vs Aliens is a movie that I wanted to see, since it was release for the cinema. Unfortunately I couldn’t find the time, so I just waited for it to be available on DVD. Like all new DVD, it was expensive and I waited for a low price.

Anyway I finally bought the film, and as expected, it is a very nice movie with very good actors. Who doesn’t love to see Harrison Ford acting in a movie ?

But my surprise was another actor … an Australian Shepherd that has a big role and follows the cowboys against the aliens.

I just love to see the Aussie, since there were several times that I made the picture of cowboys having the Australian Shepherd around to help them in herding the cows. And viola, another cowboy movie with the Aussie !

So, Australian Shepherd fans, go, and see the movie !

Winners 2012 BRITAIN'S Got Talent

Guess ... this year's winners of the BRITAIN'S Got Talent is a dance with a person and a dog! Nothing like the English to show the rest of the world that dogs also have talent;)

Australian Shepherd

3 princesses

Golden Retriever

Happy Easter !

Singing ...

This is so funny ...

Work for dogs in Nintendo !

I would like to have this job ;)

aussies and biker

Carnival costumes

I've never been adept at fantasy animals, even in Carnival, but some are cute ;)

February

If there are months that tells me something, this is the month of February because on this month I become a mother and there is no greater gift than the gift of life.
So is the month of my little sun ... he made 10 years (xiii I really feel old).


Additionally is the month of Carnival, which is nevertheless a major event for our small children, though less important to the four-legged companions, as being the target of matches is never positive.



Finally, we can not forget Valentine's Day is celebrated today and nothing like a bit of history to know better why this day ;)

The History of Saint Valentine's Day
Valentine's Day started in the time of the Roman Empire. In ancient Rome, February 14th was a holiday to honour Juno. Juno was the Queen of the Roman Gods and Goddesses. The Romans also knew her as the Goddess of women and marriage. The following day, February 15th, began the Feast of Lupercalia.


The lives of young boys and girls were strictly separate. However, one of the customs of the young people was name drawing. On the eve of the festival of Lupercalia the names of Roman girls were written on slips of paper and placed into jars. Each young man would draw a girl's name from the jar and would then be partners for the duration of the festival with the girl whom he chose. Sometimes the pairing of the children lasted an entire year, and often, they would fall in love and would later marry.


Under the rule of Emperor Claudius II Rome was involved in many bloody and unpopular campaigns. Claudius the Cruel was having a difficult time getting soldiers to join his military leagues. He believed that the reason was that roman men did not want to leave their loves or families. As a result, Claudius cancelled all marriages and engagements in Rome. The good Saint Valentine was a priest at Rome in the days of Claudius II. He and Saint Marius aided the Christian martyrs and secretly married couples, and for this kind deed Saint Valentine was apprehended and dragged before the Prefect of Rome, who condemned him to be beaten to death with clubs and to have his head cut off. He suffered martyrdom on the 14th day of February, about the year 270. At that time it was the custom in Rome, a very ancient custom, indeed, to celebrate in the month of February the Lupercalia, feasts in honour of a heathen god. On these occasions, amidst a variety of pagan ceremonies, the names of young women were placed in a box, from which they were drawn by the men as chance directed.


The pastors of the early Christian Church in Rome endeavoured to do away with the pagan element in these feasts by substituting the names of saints for those of maidens. And as the Lupercalia began about the middle of February, the pastors appear to have chosen Saint Valentine's Day for the celebration of this new feaSt. So it seems that the custom of young men choosing maidens for valentines, or saints as patrons for the coming year, arose in this way.

Source: http://www.pictureframes.co.uk/pages/saint_valentine.htm

Beer for dogs

We must be original ... and this rule is followed by our friends to the north, particularly a Pub in Newcastle (England), where they now serve beer made ​​especially for the 4-legged canine companions.
Accompanied with the beer there is also a snack menu for dogs and dog owners we can both come in and enjoy;)

Original complete news: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2083958/Pub-sells-special-beer-dogs-Newcastles-Brandling-Villa-offers-mans-best-friend-pint.html

Do dogs gave souls ?

If a dog has a soul or not is a very old argument between dog lovers and other people.

The issue becomes more complicated since dogs (and other animals) are seen, in most cases, has properties and therefore if they were consider living beans with souls, where would their rights start and ours end.

The fact is, that in our Christian Religion, the philosophy predominant in most western countries, it is based in the concept of God have creating Earth for humans and everything else is to serve humans.
That just doesn’t sound very good !

So, anyway, today I read that a lady has a sue against a pet store to prove that dogs have souls, and therefore, the some rights and cares as any human being.

When Elena Zakharova looks into the eyes of her puppy as it suffers from bad knees and achy hips, she does not see a defective product to be returned to the store for a refund.

The New York City resident believes Umka, her 1-year-old Brussels Griffon, is a living soul who feels pain and emotion. Now her attorney aims to prove it in court.

Zakharova has filed a civil suit in a New York court against the Upper East Side pet store that sold her a puppy who went on to develop numerous medical complications. The suit seeks to hold the store liable for the dog’s pain and suffering, as well as its medical bills, as if it were a person rather than an inanimate product.

Under New York law, pets are considered “property,’’ but the complaint is trying to change that definition. The ultimate goal is to help shut down the puppy mills, many of them based in the Midwest, that often mass-produce the animals sold in boutique pet stores like Raising Rover, where Umka was purchased.

“Don't call them property anymore,’’ Zakharova’s attorney, Susan Chana Lask, told TODAY.com. “They're not inanimate objects. They’re not tables. They’re not chairs. You don’t just throw them out.’’

“Umka is a living soul with a heart,’’ the suit reads. “She feels love and pain.’’

The ownership of Raising Rover has changed since Zakharova purchased Umka.

“I know nothing about the sale [of Umka]. The prior owner has all the records. We are very careful about where we get our puppies,” Raising Rover owner Ben Logan told the New York Daily News, which first reported the story of Zakharova’s unusual complaint. Logan declined to provide any information about the prior owner.

Zakharova is seeking compensation for past and upcoming surgeries and other medical treatment involved with Umka, which totals at least $8,000. She also wants a full return of the dog’s sale price plus interest since the date of purchase in February of last year. If Zakharova is awarded the money, she will donate it to an animal charity or animal-rights program, Lask said.

New York state currently has a “Puppy Lemon Law’’ that allows buyers to return a sick animal to a pet store within 14 days for a full refund. One objective of that law is to slow down puppy mills’ mass production of dogs that end up having heart conditions and other ailments. However, in a case like Umka’s, the medical issues did not become apparent for months after Zakharova purchased the dog. The suit claims Umka will never walk or run properly again after several surgeries.

“Umka suffers a disorder causing her pain, her legs hurt, she cries when she is in pain, she drags herself with her front paws, [and] she cannot run like other puppies,” the suit reads.

“The Puppy Lemon Law doesn't cut it,’’ Lask said.

If the definition of a pet is changed from that of property to an animate being with feelings, it could substantially change the amount of damages that could be awarded when an owner buys a defective dog born in a puppy mill, according to Lask. That could, in turn, have a chilling effect on pet stores buying animals from puppy mills out of fear of getting slammed with large payouts from lawsuits.

“It’s going to put a number on my dog’s broken hips that you created because you’re negligent, you’re greedy, and you’re mass-producing these puppies,’’ Lask said. “Right now, even if you return it, they just kill it, which is so inhumane.’’

Lask is an animal lover who owns a Chihuahua named Lincoln who was found to have a hole in his skull months after her purchase. That discovery led her to investigate the practices of shady puppy mills. She has waited six years to bring a case of this nature, fielding calls from other pet owners in the past, but felt Zakharova is the perfect client to help correct a larger issue.

“It’s much bigger than this case,’’ she said. “I am looking to shut down the puppy mill world.’’

The main issue will be proving to a judge that pets are living souls who experience feelings of pain and emotion.

“It’s a leap,’’ Lask said. “Human beings themselves have treated other humans as property in history before recognizing it was wrong. People will say this isn’t a human being, but they have a heart, so it’s not too much of a stretch to ask the courts to change the definition. Then we’ll see how quickly pet stores think twice before buying from puppy mills.

“It’s already a felony to abuse an animal. If I kick my Chihuahua and beat it, I’m getting arrested, so that animal has rights. If they have criminal rights, why not put rights on a damaged leg or a heart condition? If we’re not equating [an animal] to a human being, and we’re not equating it to a table, there has to be something in the middle.’’

Whether the suit is successful or not, it brings to light the practices of puppy mills and their damaging effects on animals and their human owners, animal rights advocates say.

“I don’t know where this case is going to go, but it’s good that it brings awareness that pets are not just a commodity and that we have to take this seriously,’’ said Sandra DeFeo, executive director of The Humane Society of New York. “We feel that animals are living, breathing beings, not a piece of furniture or inanimate object. People develop relationships and bonds with these animals, and you see how distraught they are when the animals pass away.’’

A 2011 investigation by The Humane Society of the United States revealed that Raising Rover, where Umka was purchased, was one of 11 upscale pet stores that purchased animals from Midwestern puppy mills with horrendous conditions.

Source: Woman sues to prove dogs are 'living souls,' not property

One more help for a 4 paw job

Here is a very interesting technology for professionals in real time to see the places that dogs can go and and humans can not access.



Even today, the machines can not replace rescue dogs!

In the Dinosaur Exhibit

It is amazing how kids love Dinosaurs (ok, I sound my mother about this) and that is why this weekend we went to see a so call "biggest Europe" exhibit about Dinosaurs. In the Dinosaur Exhibit with my son and my Australian Shepherd ! It was nice, specially because it was a good excuse to go out in an cloudy holiday ... but I can say 10 things I would like to see better in this exhibit. Any way, we saw the exhibit, play with our dog (yes there were nice green gardens to play with a ball) and went to Belem to eat some Pasteis de Belém. So a nice day !

Other trips and travel:

• A trip to Palmela


• A trip to Aveiro


• Dog trekking to Guincho


• Trip to Fluviário de Mora


• Dog Trekking to Cabo Espichel


• Dog Trekking to a Museum


• Dog trekking in Almada


• Dog Trekking in Serra de Sintra


• Alcochete - goldens and aussies


• Economic Trips with Dogs


• An Australian Shepherd in Salema Beach


• An Australian Shepherd in Armona Island


• Dogs in Meia Praia


• Silves, a visit to medieval times with Cookie, our Aussie


• Two Golden Retriever in Monchique


• A trip to the São Domingos Mine with our Australian Shepherd


• Taking a Golden Retriever to the fortress of Sagres


• A walk with my Australian Shepherd through Luz, Algarve Portugal


• A Walk with Brad, our Golden Retriever through Lagos


• Portugal Algarve, Amado Beach with our Golden Retriever and Australian Shepherd

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Dog Chapel

Some say that is blasphemy to say that animals have souls, but only those who never shared his life (yes, it is not to say that is the owner, but said that is the companion) with a four-legged companion knows that is a statement very difficult to accept.

Pets mark our lives with their simple joy of living and being with us, without requiring something in return ... well, unless, at least in the case of the canines, a plate of food and attention. Cats, depend of the spirit in which they are ... sometimes they require food and attention, and other times they allow pampering and eat to our benefit ;)

Anyway, sharing this vision, there was a friend of the animals that decided to build a sanctuary where people could cry and pray for the souls of their deceased four-legged companions.
The result was a chapel called "Dog Chapel", and is located in Vermont.

Here are some pictures that I have gathered,

A new toy for cats and dogs

As someone who has several very intelligent dogs, I am always looking to find something that entertains them mentally.

I read with great interest an article about a new accessory for dogs and cats that is receiving good reviews in the U.S..

At the end is a food bowl or food distributor, which requires dogs (or cats) to seek food and think how to open the compartment where it is, forcing them to use the mind and senses.


Two videos showing the product,

Official website: http://aikiou.com

I hope it can reach Portugal in affordable price ;)