Happy 2nd Re-Birthday, Patrick! We will NEVER forget nor ever stop hurting from what you endured at the hands of a monster, but we will not let evil win. Your suffering started a world-wide, anti-cruelty campaign and helped millions of animals. We LOVE you and are grateful for your NEW LIFE!
Imagine there’s no cruelty
It’s easy if you try
No abuse, starvation or neglect
Above us only sky
Imagine all the pit bulls
Living in loving homes…
Imagine there’s no BSL
It isn’t hard to do
Nothing to kill or fight for
And no dog fighters too
Imagine all the pit bulls
Living life in peace…
You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will be as one
Imagine no kill lists
I wonder if you can
No need for chains, puppy mills, or shelters
A brotherhood of canine and human
Imagine all the pit bulls
Sharing all the world…
You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will live as one
February has started with a bang of fame, a fiasco. It all started because someone had written graffti on our fence and the neighbor’s fence. After a year of the graffiti being there, a month or so ago, the neighbor finally painted white paint on his fence. I tried to find an artist to paint a mural over ours.
During the past year, NO ONE SAID A WORD or DID ANYTHING about the graffiti. Not the city. Not the neighbors. Not the police. No one. Nada, zilch nothing.
A few people said they would paint a mural for me but flaked.
831 Art Walls is an advocacy group that is pushing for the creation of a public art space where ANYONE can paint legally and freely.
Description
We would like a legal art wall where anyone can come and paint to express themselves and experience the joy of creation. Our public art wall’s goal is to allow for artistic expression, as well as allow for more experienced artists to be noticed. Our neighborhoods are seemingly stale according to the youth. We feel that these walls can bring some life to the Monterey County. Like our page in a show of support for our cause!
So I contacted them and said Seaside Artists could come and paint on our wall/fence. And they came to our house yesterday and painted away. I asked for a garden scene, with lots of vibrant colors. Maybe flowers with dogs/pit bulls coming up out of the center. Frank, the head artist said he wanted to ask the neighbor (since their fence is much larger than ours) if they could paint on their fence, too.
All was good. Everyone was happy. A lot of neighbors started coming by and asked Frank for him to come over and paint on their walls/fences, too.
About noonish, a police officer came by. She and I chatted about our dogs. She said that one of the neighbors had called about the graffiti that was going on. She was sent out to find out what was going on. I assured her that I had given Frank permission to paint.
Then about 4 p.m. the neighbor who hates pit bulls was out there bullying and threatening the artists. He said he was going to have 30 police cars and neighbors come out and stop/halt the painting. I told him to go away. His dog was running loose.
About an hour later, another police car came by. We chatted and he said that there was some city ordinance. I explained that the graffiti had been on the fence for a year and NO ONE came by but now that we were trying to make a mural to COVER the graffiti we were in trouble? He said he was just the messenger. That the artists cannot come by today to FINISH the work, and that I need to go to City Hall and get permission.
Seriously?
The neighbor received no such notice as I did so I thought that they cannot have different rules for neighbors. Besides, our fence is about two feet and the neighbors is about 12 feet. Hello. And the neighbor’s fence is almost done while our fence has just begun. And I found out looking thru the fence, they are now keeping poor Lola the mini poodle chained up on a short leash. Lobos, the Siberian husky, found a way to peek his head up out OVER the fence. If he ever gets out, there will be trouble. I wish I could get those two dogs a new loving home. I digress. Both dogs were barking a lot.
Frank should have painted MY wall first, completed it and then done the neighbor’s which I asked him to do and he went ahead and did what he wanted to do. now I’m not happy because my mural/garden did not get done, plus the neighbor who called the police is up in arms, and I got a notice to go to city hall and my adjacent neighbor did not and it was my adjacent neighbor’s fence that the other neighbors objected to. My fence is maybe 2 feet and the adjacent fence of my neighbor is like 12 ft.
The 831 Wall Art folks are going to talk to the Mayor and the Police Chief. I will call a lawyer and we shall hopefully get this resolved.
They did take photos and are supposed to send them to me.
Moral of this tale?
if/when someone asks you to do work for them, paid or not, DO IT… complete it… Give the customer/client what THEY want. That is YOUR job (not doing whatever you want to do).
and
✦✧✦ I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together. – John Lennon
the city, neighbors, media did nothing about the graffiti that was on the fence for a year and it was ugly… f bombs and now all the entities are up in arms because I had artists paint over the graffiti…
I was on TV twice tonight, did an interview, TV crews all day here… the neighbor caved and painted his fence, whitewashed it…
and I got another neighbor to do an interview so at least there were two sane people talking on the interview… and his daughter painted some of my fence too… and he said there should have been a compromise but it was just knee jerk reactions, hysteria.
it occurs to me that what happens when/if graffiti artists come and paint on the neighbors fence AGAIN… how many times will the home owners be expected to paint over the graffiti???
there is a city council meeting tonight and the loud mouths are supposed to be there running their mouths, negatively…
here is our fence… with the mural… am sure my roomie will paint over it… sheeesh…
me on the news… meanwhile Cici was running around wild, barking, wanting to be famous, on the news, too… but alas she is confined sort of. am doing a poor job of keeping her off her leg but at least she is not hopping/limping… what a day !
I realize that this is not what I usually write about but it is so important that I feel compelled to discuss it. At first, the media was blacking out coverage, now there is some coverage, mostly trying to dismiss the worldwide nonviolent protests happening all around the world, people protesting for Freedom and economic justice, JOBS, universal health care, homes and more… And as the powers that be deride, ridicule and try to play down the protests, the protests are getting bigger and spreading all over the nation and Canada.
There were about 20,000 Americans protesting on Wall Street this week, and for the past three weeks… and around the country… demanding that giant banks pay their fair share of taxes, end the foreclosure crisis, and create jobs. We are the 99% of Americans who have been forced to bear the brunt of the recession, financial insecurity. The 1% elite who have bought politicians and those responsible for the financial recession, none of the criminals have gone to jail but hundreds of non-violent protesters have been arrested… the GOP even contributed millions to the NYPD as incentive to bust up the protesters on Wall Street, are changing laws to fit their agenda all in an effort to beat Obama in the next election and more, so much more.
Regular every day middle class Americans ARE FED UP of being forced OUT into the streets, without food, without homes, without jobs, without pensions and benefits and without health care and the American Dream.
these are the real working class people (the middle class) who are protesting, not hippies and homeless people as the media says…
faces of the protesters:
The Wall Street Protesters Are Now In 15 Major Cities Across The Country http://read.bi/ox4GCG
protesters are single dads and single moms, nurses, veterans, librarians, teachers, engineers, doctors, veterans and regular every day working people, union members, seniors, disabled, people all over America, middle class people, even a corporate lawyer … Democrats, Republicans, Tea Partiers, Independents, they are ALL represented, this is NOT about race, ethnicity nor party politics… it is about people’s needs vs corporate greed.
“We Are the 99%.” “The reason I’m here now is to speak for the other 99 percent of this country that has been denied a seat at the negotiating table,” protester Henry James Ferry told TIME early in the movement’s second week. “I don’t hate capitalism; I don’t hate rich people. I think you should come down to Wall Street and make as much money as you want. And when you do, you should pay a fair tax rate back to the city and the country that gave you the opportunity.”
I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear,
Those of mechanics, each one singing his as it should be blithe
and strong,
The carpenter singing his as he measures his plank or beam,
The mason singing his as he makes ready for work, or leaves off
work,
The boatman singing what belongs to him in his boat, the deck-
hand singing on the steamboat deck,
The shoemaker singing as he sits on his bench, the hatter singing
as he stands,
The woodcutter’s song, the ploughboy’s on his way in the morn-
ing, or at noon intermission or at sundown,
The delicious singing of the mother, or of the young wife at work,
or of the girl sewing or washing,
Each singing what belongs to him or her and to none else,
The day what belongs to the day—at night the party of young
fellows, robust, friendly,
Singing with open mouths their strong melodious songs.
I hear 99% of Americans protesting… by CeliaSue Hecht
i hear 99% of America protesting, the Wall Street elite who fear monger and steal elections and dreams
Those single moms, teachers, union members, seniors and twentysomethings,
each one protesting the unjust, unfair and economic uncertainty they’ve been forced to bear
The college graduate with a 3.87 GPA and $65,000 in student loan debt who makes $180 a week.
The art teacher with a spinal injury who lost his job of 24 years, is about to lose his home, cannot work nor collect disability or unemployment worrying about his family.
The unemployed woman laid off after 20 years who wants to donate a kidney to save a friend’s life who may not be able to because of high cost she is forced to pay.
The child of a mother with no job, no home, no healthcare who committed suicide in 2010.
A former student who now has to dumpster dive in order to eat.
The 45 million Americans who are eating due to food stamps and the shrinking middle class.
Each one protesting what belonged to him or her and now is gone.
The way America used to be, the former greatness of the USA now fading into oblivion.
Protesting with open mouths, signs, and strong determination, to revive the American dream, end the wars, and bring FREEDOM and LIBERTY for ALL back to America.
do you seriously want your dog to have to beg in the streets for food because you can no longer take care of them???? Get Empowered… Join the Protests !!!
if you have a Bank of America account and do not want to pay the new $5 a month fee, change banks before November 5, open an account at a local credit union,
peace for ALL the people the animals the earth…the air, the water, the stars, the sun, peace everywhere shiny happy people… imagine… love, joy, health, peace,what is your dream/hope for world peace???
Imagine a world where all fur babies especially pit bulls, chi’s and other animals languishing and/or being euthanized at high rates in shelters in the USA nowadays are instead in happy loving homes. No more need for shelters. No more killing healthy pets because they are unwanted. Five million or four are put down every year in the USA (this may have been reduced to four million thanks to spay/neutering). Numerous groups are working to make this a reality.
Although it seems that the human race really needs to change its violent ways. No more wars, for starters. No more racism, bigotry and discrimination. No more abuse of any kind. Here is some very sick humor, based on the last week’s events. imagine if you will a match made in heaven. Michael Vick and Casey Anthony living on Sociopathia Lane. Just picture the two of them…a little cottage…a white picket fence…a baby chained up in the backyard. A swimming pool for when they really want to get crazy…
As juror #3 in the Casey Anthony case said, “Not guilty does not mean innocent.” Perhaps we have a very long ways to go but some folks feel we are making progress. And some folks are helping to get us there.
Imagine there’s no country, no religion, too, no need for greed or hunger… nothing to kill or die for… a brotherhood of man… John Lennon… how about a peaceful world of humans and animals.
MADDIE’S FUND® RELEASES FIRST COMPARATIVE
DATABASE OF SHELTER STATISTICS
Intake, adoption, and euthanasia numbers from 474 animal shelters and 56 communities reveal status, trends and progress of US animal sheltering.
For the first time in animal sheltering history, reliable data from a large sampling of shelters and communities across the United States has been compiled into a single, searchable database. The Maddie’s Fund Database provides two years of intake, adoption and euthanasia statistics from 474 shelters and 56 communities using Asilomar Accords reporting methods and formulas. The database allows lifesaving to be measured within a community and to be compared to others. Search categories include geographic region, median income, size of human population, total intake, total adoptions, total euthanasia, live release rate, and deaths per 1000.
Data of this kind has never before been available, leaving elected officials, shelter managers, universities, statisticians, investigative reporters, contributors and animal loving citizens in the dark about how well their community is doing in its lifesaving work and how it stacks up against other communities of comparable populations (human and animal).
“I can’t overstate the importance of this information,” says Maddie’s Fund President, Rich Avanzino. “Without hard numbers, it’s impossible to know where we’ve been, where we are at and where we are going. Maddie’s® Database not only gives us a handle on this, but also inspires communities that are below the norm to catch up with the lifesaving gains being made in progressive communities, and gives them the information they need to convince their elected officials, donors and community members to get on board and help them move forward.”
Information for the database was submitted by Maddie’s community collaborative project participants, special giving grantees and Maddie’s® Community Shelter Data Grant recipients who were given $10,000 to $40,000 to provide statistics for two previous years and three years going forward. All data has been carefully reviewed by Maddie’s Fund staff.
About Maddie’s Fund
Maddie’s Fund®, The Pet Rescue Foundation, (www.maddiesfund.org) is a family foundation which is funded by the founder of Workday and PeopleSoft, Dave Duffield and his wife, Cheryl. Maddie’s Fund is helping to create a no-kill nation where all healthy and treatable shelter dogs and cats are guaranteed a loving home. Maddie’s Fund is named after the family’s beloved Miniature Schnauzer who passed away in 1997.
PAKISTAN (WORKING DOGS) – It took 79 Navy Seals and one dog to kill Osama bin Laden in his compound in Pakistan. Read about different soldier dogs and what they do in the Army, Air Force, Marines and Navy Seals.
ok, all right, I am getting all beatlemania on you… John Lennon… Love Love Love Love Love… dolphins are love, too… so are cats, and other animals… God/Goddess is love… Peace is Love… Love is Peace…
We feel tremendous love for our dogs, and our dogs sure seem to love us. But is a dog really capable of emotions? Or are we just projecting our feelings onto our dogs?
Scientists avoid the subject because part of what sets humans apart from the animals is our ability to experience feelings. To say that animals actually have feelings, in the same way we do, would change everything – perhaps disrupt our entire position and standing in the animal kingdom.
However, any dog owner knows that dogs love completely and have a greater capacity for love than most people. If one were to describe the main characteristics of a dog, they would have to be:
1. strong affection
2. warm attachment
3. unselfish loyalty and benevolent concern for others
Wait a minute – those are the Merriam-Webster Dictionary definitions of love. Probably why the author of Dogs Never Lie About Love, Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson writes, “dogs are love.” So there isn’t a question of whether dogs love, the mystery is how they have such an enormous capacity for it. Dogs who are neglected or abused still show love for their human and wag their tails in hope of a little affection….
Welcome! I'm CeliaSue, a creative California-based freelance writer who wants to help you travel with your pets and enjoy the ride. I provide reliable travel info for California, and the Southwest USA (occasionally the rest of the country), plus lifestyle inspiration about being a doggie mama on the road with a spoiled yet friendly polka dot princess named Cici. I also write about romance, eco friendly, spiritual, healthy and luxury travel for various publications.
CeliaSue Hecht is a third-generation American, originally from New York. She has lived much of her adult life in California and Nevada and is a doggie mama and chocoholic plus a proponent of tiny homes and alternative energy and medicine. In the 70’s and 90’s, she taught personal growth workshops and seminars in Los Angeles and Munich, Germany. In the late 1980’s, she traveled around the world for three years with an international, interfaith, interdenominational, intercessory prayer ministry (Bangladesh, Canada, England, France, Germany, Holland, India, Israel, Singapore, Thailand). She has worked with people with AIDS, fibromyalgia, cancer, people without homes, Holocaust survivors, as well as written about diverse topics such as women’s topics, activism against the Yucca Mountain project in Nevada, alternative health and therapies and travel pieces in numerous magazines and newspapers. Follow her on Twitter, Facebook or Linkedin. Co-author of five romantic travel guides. Go to Paypal and buy CeliaSue a romantic comedy to read on the beach while munching on a chocolate bar.
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