paying it forward-- is the theme of teh 2019 calendar ( now available)... plus we just got a lovely grant of $2000 with that same theme telling us how wonderful were are..
we know that !
our dogs do a great job... and they love it. what dog would not like to spend 24 hours a day with the person to whom they are devoted?
we get a lot of calls---a hefty percentage are people who have a dog-- or have just bought a dog- and want to have it be a service dog that they can take everywhere... i go back to basics... i find without much exception... that any of my dogs have been accepted anywhere long before we got involved with service dog status-- that is mostly because they have always had perfect manners- and a working vocabulary of about a 3 year old child...
i think mine became famous for what they did not do...
it has been a long time (40 years?) since i went for specific "obedience dog" training-- there is a robotic sense to sticking your finger in a dogs face and saying "sittttttt" - obedience trainiers always put 6 "T's" on the word sit. i have watched sooo many people stick those fingers at their dogs and when teh dog sits, instead of praising the dog, they look around at anyone and silently say "look what i made my dog do" - i have a problem with that... having asked the dog to do something that makes no sense to t he dog the least you can do is praise them for being obedient.
in an effort to annoy as many people as possible-- i feel the same about asking a horse to jump a huge collection of fence and rails that are not attached to anything-- or run in circles while being whipped. if no one carried a whip the contest might be a little slower but the odds of winning would not change-- what is the difference if all riders carry or don't carry whips... they out;awed electric zappers in racing.. why not outlaw whips i can hear it now "how stupid is that idea.?"
the only animal race i ever apporved of was teh "pig racing" at the fair--i know exactly how those pigs were trained, and it did not involve any beating or whipping-- any pig can be 100% trained to race in about 7 minutes. put a dish of food out there and get out of the way. No equipment, trainers fees,or blacksmiths, no collecting urine to be certain they were not doped... and when their racing days are over, there are laws to be sure they are humanely disposed of so they can be packaged in plastic and sold to your local supermarket.. where the race horse ends up in terrible inhumane slaughter trucks bound for mexico or canada because we outlawed the killing of horses here. and if anyone thinks that people should keep all of themas pets, just let me know -- and within a week janine will fill your front yard with a dozen "killer " horses...-
personally, i usually plant our family's horses and other animals.... -- which makes hole digging a touchy subject
around these 12 acres.. i have been here a long time.. and had alot of animals -- including a lot of donkeys- i had a system of puttin a big rock to mark where they rested.... til some fool came along and moved all the rocks into a neat pile so someone could cut the grass better.
fyi of teh day--- they do not "go away" as fast as you might think- i found this out one winter where - because of the frozen ground, the only place to plant a donkey was under the heat of the manure pile . gwen's old pony had been sleeping there for many years-- and was disturbed to have company. Her complaint was not audible but odoriferous
****
moving on...
someone asked me for an opinion on "help/employees" and i responded
i don't feel qualified to answer that- other than to say money helps in a lot of situations.
*****
and my daughter janine got hold of that and responded...
First – when did qualifications limit your ability to project your opinion?
Second what happened to
“Allies are people with common enemies”,
“Time is the only true currency”,
“Expenses will rise to meet income” and
“Time heals all non-fatal wounds”?
I have heard these repeatedly from my mother and all which apply to human nature.
***
there was one she left out...
time wounds all heels