The injustice of a dog.

“A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself.”― Josh Billings

Like most of the US, I spent a good portion of my childhood owning a pet.  The majority of those pets were dogs and the majority of those dogs were pitbulls.  Sheba, Nikita, Max, and Rex..just to name a few.  They were some of the greatest dogs to have...very loving and very protective of us all.

These days, pitbulls are being massacred...one by one.  You might say, "its because the breed is a killing breed", and then I'd label you an idiot, who knows nothing but what you are fed by the media.  While yes, it is true that there have been some members of the breed that have killed....its only a small portion of the breed as a whole.  A good portion of those dogs were raised by morons, people who would fight them to the death against each other....they were trained to be bringers of death.   What do you expect from a dog that has been brainwashed his whole life to be a killer?  It is because of these few, the rest have to suffer from human stupidity. I know some are going to bring up the pits who were raised from puppy and then turned as an adult dog.  Well, you give me one breed of dog that this NEVER happens with......... I'm waiting.

Every dog has the ability to turn on a person.  We only hear about the "vicious" breeds because they are the only ones that can really do damage when they bite.   ALL breeds of dogs will bite and have the tendency to be aggressive.  I have seen COUNTLESS little dogs (chihuahuas, terrier breeds, dachshunds..etc) display aggressiveness and their owners laugh it off. They laugh because most of these small dogs will not cause much harm.  Lets put a chihuahua in one room, a pit bull in another room....both who are acting like they want to tear a person apart....now put people to view each dog from a window.  The people in front of the chihuahua would be laughing saying things "haha, look at the big bad monster, he thinks he's a big dog".  The people in front of the pit bull would be shaking their heads, wanting the dog put down...saying things like "He's a killer".   

Its unfair...the way all vicious breeds are treated.  To destroy a group because the actions of a few is wrong and unjust.  I guess I shouldn't expect much better from the American race though.  Look at most of us...we have a group in a race of humans who commit horrible acts, and we have condemned the race as a whole.   Yet, when we have AMERICANS who go out and commit horrible acts, we condemn the individual person...because to say all americans are murderers, we would be calling ourselves evil.  

I do not understand why we expect animals to be better than humans.  We constantly say that we are the most advanced species on the planet, but we expect our dogs to react to situations better than we would ourselves?   An example...  you had received a pretty nasty cut on your side, one bad enough you had to receive a lot of stitches for.... you are going to be pretty sore.  Lets say that someone accidently hits that spot on you...what is your first reaction?  You are probably going to yell at them...and depending on the pain, you might even hit them back.  If this same situation were to happen with an injured pit...well, they can't yell at you to back away.  They can't tell you that hurt....they don't have the ability to verbalize that  into words.  What does a dog do...most of them will nip/bite back at you.  It is then that people get all up in arms over it, demanding that vicious dog to be put down.   Sad...just sad. 

I have a friend who had a pit bull that recently was ordered to be put down by a judge. The crime, she bit a child.  I never saw the injury, but from the information I was told, it was a small bite...probably more of a warning bite.  The pit was 8yrs old, she had no prior aggressiveness, loved everyone the same, was a kind and gentle dog.  The reason I believe she bit...she had recently been injured and her wounds were healing.  The dog was in her own yard, on a leash, playing with the kids, and one of the kids probably touched her in her injured area, it hurt, and she bit.  The parents of the child called the police and of course the dog had to be quarantined for 10 days.  Standard procedure.  Once the 10 days were up, they had to go to court...where the judge ordered the dog to be put down, or the owners to go to jail.  Now, here, I would have went to jail to fight for my dog...but they chose to have the dog put down as they couldn't afford jail time.    So, can someone tell me how a dog with no priors, in its own yard, on a leash, up to date on shots, that was healing from an injury and reacts by sending a warning bite...deserves to die?   It doesn't, if this had been a poodle, there wouldn't have even been a court issue over it.    I have heard that the judge orders the pitbull to always be put down, no matter what had happened.  If this is true, I do believe someone needs to investigate this judge. It seems he might have his own agenda against dog breeds labeled as vicious.

Its time for everyone who has a "vicious" dog breed to stand up and be their dogs advocate.  We can not allow this type of injustice to continue.  Be your dogs voice...be all dogs voice.  Demand fairness across the board!  If one dog gets put to sleep because of biting, then demand the same for all breeds.  DEMAND IT FOR CATS, too.  Demand that pet owners who train their dogs to be fighters and killers to be put behind bars!  Demand that owners who mistreat their pets to be put behind bars!!   TAKE  A STAND!  ADVOCATE!  Our pets deserve it...all pets deserve to be treated fairly!

7/22/2012--friendships

During the course of our lives, we make various amounts of friends.  Now, usually these are people who you are in close contact with and live near each other.   However, sometimes, through different networks, you have friends who you'll never meet face to face in person, but who you hold to your heart so dear.


I have a group of friends who are all moms of July '06 kids and I also have a smaller group of friends who are moms of Dec'00 & Jan'01 kids.  Among both groups, a few of us have met each other in person, but the majority of the group hasn't met the majority of the rest of the group.  So technically...we are pretty much strangers....we are the closest group of strangers you will ever meet.


The best thing about our group...we are a no holds barred type group.  There isn't a single thing off limits to talk about and discuss among us.  Once you discuss what the consistency of what your mucus plug looks like as it is coming out, there is no line that can be crossed.  We've talked about our sex lives, any personal feminine issues, our love lives, our health, our finances, our families, and anything/everything else you can think about....even politics.  There is nothing to be ashamed to talk about with them...

You might think "doesn't that bring up a lot of petty bickering/drama/crazy competitiveness in between the group" and the answer is no.  We are a non judgmental group full of complete diversity who welcomes each other with open arms.  We have straight members, lesbian members, christian members, atheist members, democrats, republicans, single, married, rich, poor, tall, short, thin, plump, white, asian, black, brown, probably a blue member somewhere in the mix (lol), new moms, young moms, older moms, nymphomaniacs, prudes, blondes, brunettes, red heads, moms of one, moms of many, and raving nut cases (I belong in that one. ;) ).   When one of us is angry, the rest of promises to be an alibi. When one of us is happy, the rest throw streamers.  When one of us hurts, the others hurt.  If one of us suffers a loss, we all feel it.   If one of us is suffering a trial in their life, we bond together, offer advice, love, and anything else to help them overcome.

There isn't another group of women in the world that I would want to be friends with.  I appreciate these women with my whole heart.  I wish everyone else in the world got to experience this kind of friendship, love, and devotion.  If the rest of the world could act this way to one another as we do in our group....we'd be living in a land of peace, love, and happiness.....and days of sexual marathons...because apparently most of us are hornballs.  ;-)

June 16, 2012--Pippi

Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole.  ~ Roger Caras. 

I, like many people across the globe, am a pet owner.  I own not just any pet though, I have a dog.  Not a cat, not a bird, not a hamster....a dog.  As a matter of fact, I own two dogs...but this post is only about one.

Pippi is my pet...she is my companion. She is one of my friends....as a matter of fact, she is probably my best friend.  She loves me, but I wouldn't say unconditionally though.  She, as most dogs do, expects the basic necessities to survive in return....that I am grateful to give. 

Pippi is Jack Russell mix, who came into my life in November of 2007.  Our neighbors friends had found her when she was only a new pup, wandering the busy streets in Fayetteville.  She was, at first, our neighbors dog.  They would put her outside and let her run around all day.....it was freezing outside.  During the first week they had her, she spent a lot of time in my house.  During the second week, she became my dog.  We took her to the vet, who determined that she was only was born around in September...so that meant when she was found running around, she was only 7-8wks old. Not sure how a pup that small ends up running around a small city...but she had been. There was no one trying to locate her, so either they didn't care, or turned her loose on purpose.

When I chose Pippi's name, I didn't name her my usual list of dog names.  August, at the time, wasn't very verbal.  He could say puppy pretty well, so I thought I'd go with something easy for him... so Pippi it was.  I've always loved Pippi Longstocking, and since this dog had explored so much for a pup her size, and overcame so many obstacles with no fear.... Pippi seemed perfect.  

Pippi is now almost 5 years old.  In dog years that makes her 32-33 years old....she is almost my age.  She is showing her age very well, as she no longer wants to run off through the neighborhood.  Now if she manages to escape, instead of trying to elude you, she rolls over with this "screw that, take me back inside please" look.  lol.  She is still playful, but prefers long walks than playing with a ball.  She will lay by me any chance she gets...if I am in the computer chair, she'll lay in the floor at my feet.  She has become a lap dog I guess you could say.  It's amazing how much love you can have for a dog...... I guess I shouldn't call her a dog...perhaps four-legged human would be better.   

I know there is a day that I will no longer have Pippi.....because dogs have been given short life spans unfairly.  Luckily for me, Pippi has a life span of around 12-15 years...so with that in mind, as long as we keep her healthy and well cared for, I have another 7-10 years.  Which, I guess in the grand scheme, is a good amount of time compared to other breeds who have much shorter spans.   No matter how much time she has left, I will love her and cherish  her always....even when her sands have ran out, she will always be in my heart. 

<3

June 15, 2012--Glutton for Chaos

I try to be a nice person.  I try to not loose it and keep my calm and my wits. However, when one has a house full with seven kids, a calm persona doesn't always happen.  It doesn't happen especially when one of those seven suffer from a severe entitlement complex.


Lets start from the beginning.  I am currently playing emperor to seven kids.  Yes, you read that right....SEVEN kids.  Yes, I lost my mind when I agreed to take on this task.  Now, only six of these kids are mine, the seventh, is my four youngest children's 10 (11 soon) year old uncle, Andrew.   He is here to let his mom have a break and to learn some respect.  


Andrew suffers from "world must revolve around me" syndrome.  To say he thinks he's entitled would be putting it lightly.  He has a superiority complex like no other.  He will talk down to you like you are beneath him and this is one of the reasons he is here.  I, unlike his mom, am not bound by a wheel chair and can get up to put him in his place when he gets mouthy.  I have no problems standing toe to toe with him to let him know that No, little boy, you do NOT speak to me in that manor.

I know what you all are thinking...WHY would I allow that much more chaos in my house.  Well, why not...I am a glutton for chaos...lol.  Now, he's not like this all the time.  When he first arrived, yes, there were constant issues. He has since learned the throne he arrived on has been thrown out into the street, and I am the EIC (empress in charge) with the only throne in this house.  I do deal with petty crap from him all day, no different than my 12yo/going on 25yo daughter. He does have one big screw up a day though. It never fails....at least once a day he has to try to step on my toes......once a dang day.

Andrew is never happy.  If you think this is my fault, you'd be so wrong.  I do everything I can to keep him happy AND to keep things fair.  However, it always ends up being a Damned if I do, damned if I don't situation.  I'm almost to the point of saying screw being fair to everyone, even him, because he's going to whine no matter what anyways.   I know this is because he thinks he'll get to go home if he's whiny enough...haha..yeah, sorry, that'd be rewarding his behavior...NOT HAPPENING.

Now, my calm persona.....well, its on vacation till Andrew leaves.  I have an autistic 11yo child, a drama queen 12yo, a 5yo drama queen, then 4yo, 2yo, and 1yo boys.....so you would think that playing warden to a ADHD kid wouldn't be too far of a stretch.   Yeah, well, hahahahhhaha... my patience is getting a work out like no other.  I am doing well though....I haven't duct taped him to a ceiling...yet. ;)   Now, normally when I'm having a stressful day with my kids, I tell myself "I wanted this many, and its illegal to sell them"......  well that saying doesn't quite work when one isn't yours...lol.   Now, my saying is "Breathe".  Just breathe...  I got through today and I will get through tomorrow...and I may end up in a white straight jacket before its all over.   BUT I will mold this kid into a respectable hoodlum if its the last thing I do!!  


For some reason, I feel like I should sign off here with saying CHARGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Hahaha.  However, I will end with this.  We take on challenges in life to not only strengthen ourselves, but to help strengthen others.  These challenges are not easy, they are not a walk through a park, heck, they may even been worse than taking a walk through hell.  We MUST finish...you may end up at the finish line worn, tattered, and exhausted..but will finish in better shape than we started out.   

May 7, 2012. Socks

May 7th, 2012

One day, someone is going to ask how my morning went.....and the flood gates of everything is going to open.  The stress of every morning for the past school year is going to come out in one big, run on blurt....and the one who initially asked, is going to run away screaming.

Every morning it has been the same thing..... a search party for socks.  If you have kids, you can understand how something as simple as socks can almost put you in a straight jacket, in a padded room.  Now of course, the school year didn't start out like this.  There was about 3 weeks of instant sock availability, you know, the new socks that had been purchased and stuck in their sock drawers.   Once those ran out, the morning chaos began.   You see, thats when the start of "where the heck is this socks mate?!?!?!?" began.   Yes, for some reason, finding the mate to socks is a near impossible feat.

I, at first, was blaming my washer and dryer for the missing sock...that perhaps there is a sock gremlin living somewhere in either one.  Maybe even one of the lil  green men from the secret world of O.G. was in there stealing the socks.  However, I think I've come to the conclusion that both the kids socks are not even making it to the laundry basket.  I do believe the kids are taking their socks off, throwing one in the trash and putting the other in the laundry basket.....just to screw with my head.  Yes, I think the kids are getting their thrills this way...this way they can claim innocence, but still be guilty as sin.  I do imagine my panic search at 6:30 every morning must be quite entertaining for them to keep up this game of "make mom go insane" to continue on for this long.  Now, I know what you are thinking..."Hey, why don't you find socks the night before"...and my answer, well, because I'm an idiot and never remember at night..lol.

I only have to suffer through this for two more weeks till school is out.....thankfully.  Lets all cross our fingers that next school year, the kids find another game to play, because this one, is about to make me say screw the socks, and just forcing them to wear a box for a sock.

Socks, socks, where are the socks.
They are not in the toys, not hiding under the blocks.

Socks, Socks, where are the socks.
 I've looked every where, even outside under the rocks.

I've looked by the lake and checked all the docks,
I've looked in the woods and even checked under a fox.
I've looked in the swamp and even a family of crocs.

Socks, socks, where are the socks.
I can't find a single one, I even checked in our clocks.
I think we have a thief, perhaps its time to change the locks.

~Tonya Smyth~

January 16, 2012 -- Movie Day

January 16, 2012 (although it is now officially past midnight and now the 17th..lol)

Today was Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, and amazingly, the kids had the day off from school.  So, since there was no school, I decided to take the girls to see Beauty and the Beast 3D.  This is a movie I have loved since I was a kid.  To watch it again as an adult in the theatre, in 3D even, was truly a great experience.  I even found myself shedding a few tears during the sad scenes...yes, I am a big sap.   My oldest had seen it before, but I'm not sure if my youngest had.  Either way, they both really enjoyed watching it with me, and I was so happy to experience it with both of them in 3d.

Isis had her very first theatre experience today.  After we gave our stubs to the ticket guy and started heading down the hallway toward the movie, she started to panic.  She really had no clue what was going on, and was very scared about the unknown.  We got there early (and lucked out on great seats..woot!), so nothing was on the screen and the theatre room was pretty dark.  She kept whining about wanting to go home, but after about 10 mins when other kids started to pour in, she calmed a bit.  The surround sound during previews she did NOT like at all.  She doesn't like loud volume and that was way above her comfort level.  She cried and whined about wanting the sound to be turned down, and there for a bit, i honestly thought we may have to go home.  However, once the mini movie for Tangled 2 came on....she was in awe.  She sat still and was laughing while watching.  YES!  Of course, the credits started playing for that and she thought it was time to go home..haha.  She LOVED watching Beauty and the Beast.  She didn't keep her glasses on the entire time...I think they bothered her some (small head, not so small glasses..lol), but she did better than what I thought she would. 

Patrick got to spend some alone time with the boys today while we were at the theatre.  HAHAHAHA!!!  Yeah, that didn't go over too well.  He was ready for me to get back home and quick.  He really lost his patience with Justice and Wyatt.  Now he maybe he'll be more knowing of what I have to go with them.  He lucked out that Brenden was asleep the entire time I was gone..and August stayed in his room on his laptop the entire time.  Next time its supposed to be him taking the boys to the movies, but I'm just not seeing that happening.

Movies!! OMG...at the end of March will be the first movie Justice will see.  Its called THE PIRATES..and well, about pirates.  It looks cute as heck and its also in 3d.  I think Justice will LOVE it.  This summer Brave and Finding Nemo 3D also come out and I will be sooo in line for both of those...especially Nemo.  Is it sad that I think I get more excited over cartoons than the kids? 

Anyways, there was part of my day...the rest was spent relaxing and making vegetable/beefy stew/soup stuff.  It was yummy.    Now I'm sitting here watching Nick Jr. with Wyatt..hoping he falls to sleep soon.  I'm ready to curl up under my dinosaur quilt (don't laugh, but its the only quilt that I have that isnt too heavy or too light...and big enough to share with Wyatt as Patrick sleeps with his own comforter...lol) and head off to snoozeville.  I hope you all have a wonderful day/night/afternoon...whenever you're reading this.  *hug*