Well, it should be official. We must have a special sign or scent on our curbside that tells people to dump their dogs at our place. Neither me nor Don can turn away from strays, and they just keep dropping by our place. Most of the time we are able to reunite them with their owners, but it is surprising how many do not have collars, much less ID tags, to help us in this task. You know, I can understand that a dog can get out of a fenced yard, or dash out an open garage door, but this goes way beyond that.

We’ve returned dogs to owners who say ‘thank you’ but without much enthusiasm, and more often than not we hear ‘he got out last week and ran across the highway’ or something similar. Apparently, many owners think it’s funny or cute that their pets are escape artists. We’ve since stopped returning dogs to the same person; if we see them out again we just hope and pray they make it home without being hit by a car. It is no surprise that the majority of the stray dogs are males that have not been neutered, and more often than not they have no collars and are very thin. The condition of their coats tells the tale of how long they’ve been wandering. It is truly heartbreaking.

Take a look at craigslist.org under ‘Lost and Found’ and ‘Pets’ for an eye opener. In addition to the overflow of unwanted and unclaimed dogs at all the local shelters and rescue groups, there are tons of free dogs and cats being advertised on craigslist. It worries me that more often than not the listing is the last effort by the current owner to shed responsibility for the pet without turning it over to the pound.

Yet you can look at the Pets-For-Sale in the classifieds of our local paper any day of the week and see ‘pedigreed’ dogs selling for hundreds of dollars. Often these dogs are bred by ‘mom and pop’ home breeders, and the quality of the dogs is not guaranteed. It makes me sick to see people paying so much money for those dogs while so many dogs need homes but are facing certain death because they aren’t ‘in fashion’ or ‘fullblood’.

Efforts in our state to curb the puppy mills and pass laws that put the responsibility back onto owners simply are not on the books. The answer to this issue certainly isn’t simple, but seems to me a good starting place would be to enact and enforce mandatory neutering of all male and female cats and dogs that are not licensed for breeding purposes. Maybe we can’t stop all of the puppy mills, but surely it would reduce the number of unwanted puppies and kittens who have little hope for a safe, warm home with loving and responsible people to care for them.

That was a rant, but I feel better now.

It’s hard for me to really comprehend that the year 2010 has arrived. As a child of the -ties years, 2010 sounded so futuristic, and here it is. The ‘Weekly Reader’ we read in elementary school predicted that most of us would be helicoptering everywhere, and I couldn’t wait! Alas, that didn’t materialize. Luckily the dire predictions in ‘1984′ didn’t happen, either. There have been so many other things that have changed, but perhaps social changes over the years have been the most obvious. Most of these social changes have been for the better, while some have not. Overall, though, our country and our lives are better than they were ‘way back when’, and I’m glad I’ve lived to see it.

I hope all of you have a happy and prosperous New Year 2010!

We went to see the new movie ‘Avatar’ this weekend. We both loved it! The story is nothing new – an ‘advanced’ society plans to plunder the natural resource wealth of a ’savage’ society; the ’savages’ don’t take the onslaught lying down and a great battle ensues. We didn’t expect a new story (how many are actually new, after all); however, we did expect a unique 3D visual experience, and boy-oh-boy did we get it!

From start to finish this movie delivered such an all-consuming experience that we felt we were surrounded by the action. One scene brought us very low over the top of a crowd of Na’vi with hands raised, and it blended in almost perfectly, so they appeared to be sitting in the seats in front of us. Wow! Not to mention the beautiful scenery that is the world of Pandora. Luminescent flora and fauna, floating mountains – this is a planet I would love to visit (with a skilled guide for protection, of course!).

Even the very tall, blue natives of Pandora, the Na’vi, became believable, not only because of the 3D and animation, but also from the very realistic facial expressions and eyes. During the film we believed these beings were real.

The movie lasts an unbelievable 2 hours and 45 minutes but it doesn’t drag at any point, and even the last battle scene, reported to last 20 minutes, races to its finish.

I thought movies were fine in 2D, but having seen this one, I now am anticipating a rich new viewing experience with future 3D movies.

Treat yourself to a rare experience and got to see this movie during the holidays. I think you will be glad you did!

Merry Christmas!!

My latest kick-in-the-pants motivator is this 75-year-old grandmother who recently won a contest in Spain for her salsa dancing!! She certainly changes MY perception of what is possible at age 75!! Good for her!!!

To READ ABOUT HER CLICK HERE.

Following the video in yesterday’s post that uses time-lapse methods to show the shrinking glaciers around the world, today former Vice President Al Gore, an expert in climate change, taped an interview on CNN’s “American Morning” show, in which he answers questions and discusses the urgent climate issues facing all of us. To me it’s pretty simple: regardless of what or why the climate changes, the EARTH will live through it. PEOPLE, ANIMALS, PLANTS, won’t be as lucky. We all need to stop and see what, if anything, we can do to decrease (or stop?) this one-way ticket to oblivion for ourselves and our children and our children’s children, and support those who are trying to make a difference in this cause. Take off any political glasses you might have (don’t we all have them about various things?), and watch and listen with an open mind. Please take a few moments to watch the CNN clip below.