Our mission statement includes a list of minimum requirements that I believe our companion animals deserve. Recently I’ve come to know a few dogs who aren’t getting the following and it makes me sad.

• to not live an isolated life
• a clean and comfortable living environment
• proper socialization with people and other dogs
• appropriate levels of exercise and mental stimulation

I chose Shiba Inus partially because they’re an independent, non-clingy breed. No matter how independent they are though, it’s important to me to spend time with them. They’re part of my family and I want them to be happy and feel loved. We adopted Secret so Snickers wouldn’t be lonely when we can’t be with him.

• Shortly after we moved into our new apartment, we realized that one of our neighbors ties her little Lhasa out in the yard on a chain every afternoon with no water and no shelter and just leaves him there. I guess it’s supposed to be his exercise time, but all he does is yip and cry to go back inside.
• A couple weeks ago, when it was 100+ degrees outside, I noticed a new dog in the apartment complex. He was sitting alone on a 3 x 6 concrete patio. His people were home; I could see them through the window. Turns out he lives on the porch. He’s there day and night, at all hours, whenever we walk by, without even something soft to sleep on.
• Two nights ago, T and I were walking Snick and Secret and we found a little Yorkie running loose in the complex. He didn’t have a collar. We walked all over looking for his person. Finally, we got him to show us where he lived (smart pup) and we knocked on the door. The guy who answered had no idea the dog was missing. Apparently the dog belongs to his roommate, who wasn’t home, and he thought it was tied out on the back porch. I walked past that apartment around 2am tonight and the dog was on the porch in a kennel too small for it to even stand up.

As I’m writing this, Snickers is curled up on the couch next to me and Secret is curled up in her bed. Snick sleeps in my bed at night. I feed them organic vegetables and raw meat and fish. I buy human grade nutritional supplements for them. I feel guilty when they’re bored from lack of exercise because of the heat. I apologize to them if I’m late getting home from work. I train them (ok, well, I train Snickers. I attempt to train Secret.) to be good citizens so they can go as many places as possible with me.

I understand that I’m at one extreme end of the spectrum and the people in my neighborhood aren’t even at the other end. The other end of the spectrum is the people who abuse and torture animals. So why do I worry about these lonely dogs? They’re so much better off than dogs in shelters or dog fight rings. Their situations break my heart though. I wish I could bring them all home and take care of them.

Snickers and I are hoping to get involved in humane education with our local shelter and I’m still planning to create Animals Who Educate (you know, with all my spare time). There must be quicker ways to reach average dog owners now though. Blogs, email lists, online groups, and projects like Snick’s newspaper, The Anipal Times, are all great, but they mostly reach people who are already above average companions to their animals. What are some good ways to reach the owners who aren’t as involved… the ones who may just need a nudge or two to start learning how to be responsible owners?

Related posts:

1. So What Exactly Is A “Heart Dog” Anyway?
2. So… You Email and You Post But No One Saves That Dog?

I haven’t been writing as much as I’d like to recently. I’ve started and stopped – and restarted – this particular post a few times over the past several weeks.

Most of you already know that my passion in life is the welfare of companion animals – dogs in particular. Second only to my family, my rescue and public education goals are what drive me. Most of my personal goals are wrapped up in my desire to better the lives of as many dogs as possible, in the present and the future.

Lately I feel like everything is moving backwards.

• Rescue: Even though I do the books and talk to the current pres almost every day, I lost touch with the day-to-day operations of NYCSR after I moved away. Now that I’m back, my new job keeps me so overwhelmed that I haven’t been able to get back into it the way I would like. Meanwhile, the number of dogs needing help seems to be increasing and everyone’s available volunteer time and donation money is decreasing. Long time volunteers are keeping it going by sheer force of will, but I can see the rescue chewing them up and preparing to spit them out. It really scares me.

• Humane Education: Since moving back, I haven’t found a humane education program nearby for me and Mr. Snick to get involved in. A lot of my personal "positive reinforcement" has come from this in the past and the void is unavoidable. (I may have something lined up for the fall though. Fingers crossed.)

• Public Education especially re: acquiring a pet: This is the one that REALLY frustrates me. After three years of trying to make a difference, I see more and MORE and MORE people buying Shiba puppies from the wrong sources. The Shiba puppy cam seems to have caused a spike in popularity and the "only in it for the money" breeders are working overtime to fill the demand.

Sometimes I feel like I’m slamming my head against a brick wall and losing ground every day. I wonder why I bother. It would be SO much more fun to just play with Snick. Of course, I’ll never let myself give up.

Related posts:

1. One Question Interview with Zennia Barahona
2. I Am SO OVER Being Over-Committed

WSBTV in Atlanta aired the following expose’ regarding the Humane Society of the United States.

Apparently, they’ve removed it from their website after pressure from HSUS and they’ve posted a clarification. Note the clarification only addresses one small piece of the story. Apparently, the rest of the story stands.

Related posts:

1. Lil Bee Has It Made Now
2. Discussion: The Benefits of Companion Animals to Society

Earlier today, someone cleverly named "Anon" left the following comment on my recent post Things I’d Love to See in My Lifetime.

Because of their brief lifespans, too much emphasis on companion animals isn’t good for a society or an individual. If Snickers is already five, he’ll be dead in about seven years anyway.

My first thought was "that was mean" but, then of course, that may have been the point. Luckily, I can’t be baited quite that easily. My second thought was "oh my god, the last five years of my life have been so great because of Snickers. If that continues for another 5, 7, 10 or 12 years, I will be so grateful!!!!"

I was recently drafting an entry about HSUS and PETA and their drive to wipe out companion animals altogether, but when I read this comment I decided to have a discussion about the benefits of companion animals first.

I’m sure there is a ton of research that I could look up, quote and link to about therapy dogs, animal assisted activities, search and rescue dogs, bomb and drug sniffing dogs, cancer sniffing dogs, service dogs for the blind and disabled, police dogs, etc. I may create a page on the site for that later, but for now, let’s talk about the benefits to ourselves, our families and society that we have personally experienced from having our pets in our lives.

I’ll start.

• Animals create community. Snickers pulled me out into my neighborhood in a way that hadn’t happened previously. I connected with more people and made some incredible friends.
• I spend MUCH more time outside and active than I did before having Snickers.
• I’ve become a more emotionally engaged and empathetic person because of my relationship with Snickers.
• I’ve become a better listener and communicator (with humans) because of the effort I’ve put into learning to communicate well with my pets.
• I’ve helped brighten the day of numerous developmentally challenged children and adults, because Snickers needed a job and took me to places I never would have visited without him.

So, who wants to go next?

Related posts:

1. Delta Society and Snick the Dog
2. Discussion: Doggy Daycare Pros and Cons

hello everyone,

in case you are wondering, i am writing this the way i do most things… making mom do it with Shiba mind control. she wants me to share my point of view on things. i told her ok as long as she does the work of typing it. typing on the laptop is impossible when you have paws. i told her to type the way i tell her though without editing to make it perfect. besides, jaqi said that mom agreed not to edit her posts, so i dont think she should edit mine either.

today i am thinking about how city dogs live. i lived as a puppy and most of my life in our apartment with one bedroom near Times Square (that’s in new york city, the best place to find fresh meat on the sidewalk). now i live in a big house with corn and soybean fields all around but not many people or fresh meat. (i watch the cows across the street, but they dont look so tasty.)

in new york city there are these people called tourists. theyre like regular people, but they dont seem to know where they are, they act strange and wear bright colors. i have heard tourists say things like it is cruel to have a dog in the city and a dog cant live in a small apartment. i have even heard new people (sort of like tourists but they dont go home), say i miss my dog. i gave him away when i moved here. it would have been selfish to bring him.

first, for those people who move without their dogs… if my mom moved anywhere and left me behind, i would have a broken heart. luckily, she loves me too much to ever do that.

now, for anyone who thinks dogs cant live happy in the city… you are nutty. i loved living in the city. our small apartment was great because i could see mom almost no matter where she went. now, in the house, i have to get up and follow her when she changes rooms. when we went outside, there were lots of people around to pet me and lots of fun things to do. i got to go in stores and eat at sidewalk cafes. we had dog runs that we played in. i had really close dog friends and human friends that i visited and played with a lot and a big group of shiba pals to play with too. we went for really long walks around midnight every night when the streets were quiet. mom took me to lots of places with her. i even went to the office a lot and played with mom’s work friends.

i live in the country now. we have something called a yard. it is sort of like a dog run but it is way bigger and no one visits it but us. i like it a lot because i get to chase squirrels and cats and chipmunks. mom and aunt debbie build fires and cook hotdogs sometimes, which is almost as good as scavenging street meat! i dont get to go for long walks though because mom is afraid of the dogs that are outside without humans. she is also afraid of the dark. it gets dark here at night, so we cant take our long bedtime walks like we used to. i dont like that we have to get in the car and drive to go to a real dog park to play. i do have a small group of shiba pals here and we go hiking, which is fun. mom says ize healthier here from clean air and my fur is cleaner too. my skin itches right now though; our nice new vet said that’s from something called ragweed and it will go away soon. something i dont like about the country is that people dont take their dogs many places here so i cant go in the stores and stuff. mom says i probably cant go to work with her when she starts working again either.

anyway, i am saying that i would be happy living anywhere with my mom and the two places i have lived both have good and bad things about them for dogs. i hope i get to live in other places. as long as mom is there and we are doing stuff together, i will be happy. i think most dogs who love their humans probably feel the same way, so dont move without your dog. and dont say it’s mean to have a dog in the city. city dogs live great lives!

thats all for now,
snickers

Related posts:

1. a dog’s day or how i spend my day while mom works
2. Quick Status Update From Snickers