Friday, April 30, 2004

LOOKING FOR A PET?

If anyone is looking for an animal, please e.mail me - davinahg@magicmail.co.za

Tell me what breed, sex, characteristics and which area where you live in. I will find you a match from a number of shelters, at my own expense. Your only cost will be the adoption fees, which are more than reasonable for a sterilised pet, with all its vaccinations etc.

DON"T BUY WHILE SHELTER DOGS DIE

Regards
Davina



[Posted by: Davina at 6:05 pm]

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Monday, April 26, 2004

The steel jaws clamped and held him fast,
None marked his fear, none heard his cries.
His struggles ceased; he lay at last
With wide, uncomprehending eyes,

And watched the sky grow dark above
And watched the sunset turn to grey.
And quaked in anguish while he strove
To gnaw the prisoned limb away.

Then dawn came rosy from the east,
But still the steel jaws kept their hold,
And no one marked the imprisoned beast,
But fear and hunger, thirst and cold.

Oppressed by pain, his dread grew numb,
Fright no more stirred his flagging breath.
He longed, in vain, to see him come
The cruel hunter, bringing death.

Then through the misty night came One
To set the timid spirit free;
"I know thine anguish, little son;
For once men trapped and tortured Me."

F.F. VAN de WATER


[Posted by: Davina at 8:04 am]

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A few dog biscuit recipes, which I'm sure will be greatly enjoyed. You can make a bone-shaped cookie cutter by opening a can of tuna on both sides and shaping it with pliers. Enjoy …

Vegan Dog Biscuit Recipe
9 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup nutritional yeast
1 Tbsp. salt
1 Tbsp. garlic powder

Mix dry ingredients. Add approximately 3 cups water. Knead into a pliable dough. Roll out to 1/8" thickness. Cut into desired shapes. Bake for 10-15 minutes at 350°F. (Important: After turning off oven, leave biscuits in the oven overnight or for an 8-hour period so they become hard and crunchy.)


Flea Hater's Dog Biscuits

Brewers yeast is a natural anti-flea remedy.

Makes about 5 dozen bone biscuits
1 cup flour
1/4 cup wheat germ
1/4 cup brewer’s yeast (available at health-food stores)
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons canola oil
1 clove garlic, chopped medium
1/2 cup chicken stock plus 3 tablespoons for basting

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Mix flour, wheat germ, brewer’s yeast, and salt together in a medium bowl. In a mixing bowl, combine oil and garlic. Alternately add 1/2 cup chicken stock and flour mixture in 3 parts; mix until well combined. Knead about 2 minutes by hand on floured surface; dough will be sticky.

2. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough out about 3/8 inch thick. Cut out bone shapes; place on prepared baking sheet. Bake 10 minutes, rotate baking sheet, and baste with remaining 3 tablespoons chicken stock. Bake 10 minutes longer. Turn off oven, leaving oven door closed. Leave pan in oven for 1 1/2 hours longer





[Posted by: Davina at 7:45 am]

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Thursday, April 22, 2004

On November 2nd 2001 near Tarragona in Spain, a dogs` home was raided by thugs. They took twenty or so dogs and chopped off their paws, leaving them to bleed to death. One of the victims was a mother of newborn pups. She managed to crawl back to her pups to feed them before she died. This poem is dedicated to her and the other dogs.

All was quiet till they broke in,
The dogs` home was at peace.
She licked her pups, desiring
They take some milk before sleep.

The night exploded into mayhem
As the drunken rabble stormed in,
Breaking through the gates, and then
Seizing their canine victims.

The dogs` terrified barks raised none
To help them in their plight;
The men had planned what was to be done,
`twas useless for the dogs to fight.

She was tied like the rest, by the legs,
Her jaws held so she couldn`t bite;
With an axe they chopped off her paws
And, laughing, left her in the night.

Bleeding she crawled to her young
To feed them one last time.
They took the milk that was life-giving
Before she died, kissing them.

To the end she had only love
For her pups confused and afraid,
Yet greedy for the milk she gave,
As she asked herself why this deed

Was done to her and her kind
On that night in sultry Spain.
Who can fathom a man`s mind
Who would inflict such terrible pain?

Anthony Walker.



[Posted by: Davina at 3:05 pm]

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Monday, April 19, 2004

DOG MEAT INDUSTRY - BOYCOTT KOREA

Boycott Korea! Millions of dogs per year tortured to death with blow-torches, electrocution and beating.

See this site: www.koreananimals.org where Koreans themselves run a group aimed at abolishing the terrifyingly cruel dog-meat industry. Westerners are often blasé about it, and say it`s a "tradition" (even if it were, it would not justify it); but it isn`t. The dog-meat industry is a vicious , new phenomenon that has nothing to do with Korean traditions! Please print, sign and distribute the petition on the site, and help Iaka-Kaps with its humane work.

Posted by CRAVEN on www.theworld.co.za



[Posted by: Davina at 8:08 am]

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Saturday, April 17, 2004

Foster Homes Needed for Mommy's to be...

We are desperately looking for foster homes for pregnant dogs currently at a Pro-Life shelter.

Unfortunately with the large volume of dogs constantly being surrendered many pups are contracting various diseases, and dying.

The shelter will supply food and any other expenses, of course if we can afford to do so ourselves, it will help them even more.

If you are able to help, please contact me.

God Bless
Davina
082 549 5177






[Posted by: Davina at 10:48 pm]

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Tuesday, April 06, 2004

BOYCOTT IAMS - STOP THE CRUELTY

Why?

Read the following...

For nearly 10 months in 2002 and early 2003, a PETA investigator went undercover at an Iams contract testing laboratory and discovered a dark and sordid secret beneath the wholesome image of the dog- and cat-food manufacturer: dogs gone crazy from intense confinement to barren steel cages and cement cells, dogs left piled on a filthy paint-chipped floor after having chunks of muscle hacked from their thighs; dogs surgically debarked; horribly sick dogs and cats languishing in their cages, neglected and left to suffer with no veterinary care.

To read more please go to
http://www.iamscruelty.com




[Posted by: Davina at 12:04 pm]

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Monday, April 05, 2004

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Average Idiot,


We receive an extremely high volume of inquiries and requests to accept surrendered animals. To help us expedite your problem as quickly as possible, please observe the following guidelines:

Do not say that you are, "considering finding a good home," or, "feel you might be forced to," or, "really think it would be better if," you unloaded the poor beast.

Ninety-five percent of you already have your minds stone-cold made up that the animal will be out of your life by the weekend or holiday at the latest. Say so. If you don't, I'm going to waste a lot of time giving you common-sense, easy solutions for very fixable problems, and you're going to waste a lot of time coming up with fanciful reasons why the solution couldn't possibly work for you.

For instance, you say the cat claws the furniture, and I tell you about nail-clipping and scratching posts and aversion training, and then you go into a long harangue about how your husband won't let you put a scratching post in the family room, and your ADHD daughter cries if you use a squirt bottle on the cat, and your congenital thumb abnormalities prevent you from using nail scissors and etc., etc. Just say you're getting rid of the cat.

Do not waste time trying to convince me how nice and humane you are. Your coworker commended that you contact me because I am nice to animals, not because I am nice to people, and I don't like people who "get rid of" their animals. "Get rid of," is my least favorite phrase in any language. I hope someone, "gets rid of" you someday. I am an animal advocate, not a people therapist.

After all, you can get counselors, special teachers, doctors, social workers, etc., for your ADHD daughter. Your pet has only me, and people like me, to turn to in his or her need, and we are overworked, stressed-out, and demoralized. So don't tell me this big long story about how, "We love this dog so much, and we even bought him a special bed that cost $50, and it is just killing us to part with him, but honestly, our maid is just awash in dog hair every time she cleans, and his breath sometimes just reeks of liver, so you can see how hard we've tried, and how dear he is to us, but we really just can't ... ."

You are not nice, and it is not killing you. It is, in all probability, literally killing your dog, but you're going to be
just fine once the beast is out of your sight. Don't waste my time trying to make me like you or feel sorry for you in your plight.

Do not try to convince me that your pet is exceptional and deserves special treatment. I don't care if you taught him to sit.

I don't care if she's a beautiful Persian. I have a waiting list of battered and/or whacked-out animals who really need help, and I have no room to shelter your pet because you decided you no longer have time for your 14-year-old Lab. Do not send me long messages detailing how Fido just l-o-v-e-s blankies and carries his favorite blankie everywhere, and oh, when he gets all excited and happy, he spins around in circles, isn't that cute? He really is darling, so it wouldn't be any trouble at all for us to find him a good home.

Listen, we can go down to the pound and count the darling, spinning, blankie-loving beasts on death row by the dozens, any day of the week. And, honey, Fido is a six-year-old shepherd-mix weighing 75 pounds. I am not lying when I tell you big, older, mixed-breed, garden-variety dogs are almost always completely unadoptable, and I don't care if they can whistle Dixie or send smoke signals with their blankies. What you don't realize, though you're trying to lie to me, you're actually telling the truth: Your pet is a special, wonderful, amazing creature. But this mean old world does not care.

More importantly, you do not care, and I can't fix that problem. All I can do is grieve for all the exceptional animals who live short, brutal, loveless lives and die without anyone ever recognizing they were indeed very, very special.

Finally, just, for God' s sake, for the animal's sake, tell the truth, and the whole truth. Do you think if you just mumble your cat is, "high-strung," I will say, "Okey-doke! No problem!" and take it into foster care? No, I will start asking questions and uncover the truth, which is your cat has not used a litter box in the last six months. Do not tell me you "can't" crate your dog. I will ask what happens when you try to crate him, and you will either be forced to tell me the symptoms of full-blown, severe separation anxiety, or else you will resort to lying some more, wasting more time.

And, if you succeed in placing your pet in a shelter or foster care, do not tell yourself the biggest lie of all: "Those nice people will take him and find him a good home, and everything will be fine."

Those nice people will indeed give the animal every possible chance, but if we discover serious health or behavior problems, if we find that your misguided attempts to train or discipline him have driven him over the edge, we will do what you are too immoral and cowardly to do: We will hold the animal in our arms, telling him truthfully he is a good dog or cat,telling him truthfully we are sorry and we love him, while the vet ends his life.

How can we be so heartless as to kill your pet, you ask? Do not ever dare to judge us.

At least we tried. At least we stuck with him to the end. At least we never abandoned him to strangers, as you certainly did, didn't you? In short, this little old rescuer/foster momma has reached the point where she would prefer you tell it like it is:

"We picked up a free pet in a parking lot a couple of years ago. Now we don't want it anymore. We're lazier than we thought.

We've got no patience either. We're starting to suspect the animal is really smarter than we are, which is giving us self-esteem issues. Clearly, we can't possibly keep it. Plus, it might be getting sick; it's acting kind of funny.

"We would like you to take it in eagerly, enthusiastically, and immediately. We hope you'll realize what a deal you're getting and not ask us for a donation to help defray your costs. After all, this is an (almost) pure-bred animal, and we'll send the leftover food along with it. We get it at the discount store, and boy, it's a really good deal.

"We are very irritated you haven't shown pity on us in our great need and picked the animal up already.We thought you people were supposed to be humane! Come and get it today. No, we couldn't possibly bring it to you; The final episode of 'Survivor' is on tonight."

(author unknown)



[Posted by: Davina at 3:35 pm]

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