Jake's Blog

       No surprises other than how difficult it was for me to watch and I know how painful rescue is.  I was ready to fly to Utah to get Porto, my kinda dog definitely.  There is a surprise update about Remington (the hound that was adopted leaving Ruger (or was it Rutger?) behind at the BF website.

       This series is about hope.  As so rightly pointed out, a lot of dogs are taken out and shot (if lucky) or left to die of starvation, thirst, disease and trauma.  Best Friends is about hope for what seems hopeless.

        One animal at a time - we can make a difference.  Yes, it is difficult to watch but what joy that these animals are finding forever homes.  By the way, Best Friends is featuring full updates on after-the-show stuff at their website www.bestfriends.org.

        According to National Geographic, they want our comments about how they are doing.  This is the email addy they list:  comments@natgeochannel.com

        They will only continue the series if public response is positive.  So far, I think they've filmed 3 episodes.  I suspect given the previews, the second will be the hardest to date for me because they will be dealing with big dogs.  My forte.  Yes, I love all dogs but I don't share a heart tug with the little critters the way I do with the big guys.  If you think it's tough watching 7 pint-sized dogs crammed into a metal kennel, you have to see a 70 pound dog living in the same cage 24/7.  This is what puppy mills do routinely. 

          But I know there is BF and countless rescues and individuals across this Country who are fighting for one animal at a time. There is hope.

     Tonight at 9 p.m. EST on National Geographic - Best Friends Dog Town is being featured.  If the reviews and public consumption is positive, they will continue to air the series and, as I understand it, will enhance to cover more of Best Friends which handles every domestic animal and a few nondomestics. 

    One thing you gotta know going in, Best Friends allows dogs to be dogs.  Dogs are assessed based on their personality traits. For instance, how they interact with other dogs, males, females, humans, cats, etc.   

      They are healthy, have the best vet care and nutrition and are safe from predators, abuse and the dangers faced by abandoned animals of starvation, cruelty, and accidents.  Equally important, those that have no chance at future adoption have a chance to live.  I maintain, as I have all the years I've worked with dogs in particular, that the happiest dog is not the most pampered but the dog that is allowed to be a dog without endangering itself or others.  (Not that pampering isn't nice too). 

      Delaware has a group of people that are trying to build a BF-type shelter (Safe Haven) and actually visited Utah in making up their plans.  All I can say is it is about time!  We are the most backwards state in this regard.  A lot of rescue groups for the Mid Atlantic Region won't even include Delaware because our laws and attitudes have been so poor about animal neglect and rescue.  I can honestly say things have changed a great deal in the last 10 years, thank goodness, but we've a long way to go. 

        I hope NG covers some of the background of BF, including how Dogtown came to be built in the first place.  There have been some amazing contributors, financial and otherwise, to BFs, including a single donation for $500,000 which was then mostly matched by other members. 

    I just hope that NG will do their usual fantastic journalistic work and really get to the heart of what BF does so that others will be inspired to either get involved or start a rescue movement where ever they are in this world.   

    I wrote David Seagraves, CEO of Sumter Regional, to let him know that many here at LP were pulling (and voting) for Sumter to win the Siemens MRI.  I took the liberty of telling him what a great online family/community this is and that it just happens to include a great bunch of GA residents too.  I explained that our CBW, Todd, afforded LP members the ability to discuss here a wide range of subjects in addition to all things lottery. I acknowleged that the LP effort was one of many online, personal and group efforts that stepped up to help, but I wanted to share my pride in the LP Family being involved in this endeavor. 

  I received a very nice email letter from Mr. Seagraves today.  He asked that I convey his thanks and that of Sumter Regional Hospital to Lottery Post members for their support in both voting and spreading the word. He stated he had actually been contacted by several individuals and groups nationwide and worldwide, but he was quite impressed with the potential number of people we may have reached on LP.  He went on to express his optimism and hope that the nearly 100,000 vote lead Sumter held would hold through midnight.  His response was very warm, very personable, and I was impressed he took valuable time out to respond.

  Sumter faced stiff competition from big city giants like LA and New York - Every single vote has counted enormously when you look at cities who measure their population in the millions and compare that to Americus.

    Siemens will announce the winner in the upcoming days of January.   If Sumter wins, LP members will have had a direct hand in making it happen and should be very proud of their efforts. 

     My last reminder (I promise!)  Voting ends 12/31/07 at www.winanmri.com  - Sumter has a healthy lead in the voting, but it's not over until the bell tolls midnight.  Please don't forget to vote!  Thanks! 

      Dogtown that is, at Best Friends (www.bestfriends.org) where they are filming a new series airing apparently on January 4th that is focusing on Dogtown.

      This is where the MV Pits are going and where dozens of dogs are being cared for every day.

      According to BF, NG has filmed 3 episodes and if the public response is positive, they will keep going.

      This is wonderful news for the animals who can only benefit from the exposure.

  If you love animals and/or want to help the masses in need, there are many and even a few fairly painless ways.  Some sites to visit ..

  www.theanimalrescuesite.com  --  Here, when you click you send a portion of food and 100% of the donation goes to the animals.  This is only 1 facet of this site dedicated to helping animals.

  www.booboozoo.org  -  This is an amazing story, from its inception to now, 30 years later. The woman who helped start this rescue was diagnosed with terminal cancer.  Helping animals helped her channel her desire to live into another realm, and she survived a death sentence. 

  www.goodsearch.com  - Allows you to choose the cause (animal or otherwise) and when you use this search engine, good things happen!  While working 6-7 days a week, I use a search engine easily a dozen or more times a day - works for me most of the time.

   www.rollingdogranch.org -  A neat rescue in Montana doing amazing things with animals who had no other hope.

    www.longmeadowrescueranch.org  -  A place primarily for horses and other barn animals.

    www.assateaguewildhorses.org -  I live on the Eastern Shore and virtually everyone visits the ponies at least once.  These horses have survived on the island for over 300 years but now human intervention is necessary to keep the herd healthy.

    The good news is that the difference between 1st (Sumter) and closest in voting is about 80,000 - the bad news is that many hospitals have made the deadline to be added to the list and 1 in particular has an obviously huge push on in voting.  I check the site at least once a day and this particular hospital is kicking butt in catching up in the voting.

        The last day to vote is the 31st of this month, about 2 weeks to go...  I know the chaos this month may bring, please keep the vote on your list of things to do - we're almost there! 

        Thank you for taking the time and energy to do this -- I didn't coin the phrase, but I truly believe "there is no limited to what can be accomplished if it does not matter who gets the credit."    I know that the LP Family can and are making a difference in many ways.

                    www.winanmri.com

    All the dogs that could be saved that were involved with the Vicks' case have been ordered to a handful of shelters which specialize in these types of cases, with Best Friends getting the largest number of dogs.

      A small victory but a victory nonetheless, as most fighting dogs are put down without a second thought because of the special handling required.

      Some might think that I would advocate Vicks' sentencing be harsh or some other inhumane sentence for his actions. He has already suffered career damage, financial damage and, I guess, some damage to his reputation (though I could not comment on that personally).   Michael V. didn't steal money, damage property or evade the tax man.  Michael V. facilitated and participated in the abuse, torture and death of living creatures that, under different circumstances, would have stood and defended him and his family until they died.  He did all this from a position of power and fame and privilege and would probably have continued had he not been caught.   He did all these under the guise of just going along with the neighborhood friends.... no big deal.

      Personally, the only other true punishment I'd like to see happen to Michael V. is that he wake up one morning and understand the soul and heart of a dog.  If that were to truly happen, it would be punishment enough for him to have live with his prior deeds.  I think I may be asking too much, so I'll leave it to the judge, who is definitely supposed to know more about all this than I. 

                        www.bestfriends.org

        If you've tried to visit the website to vote for the new MRI for Sumter, especially in the morning, you may experience difficulty getting in.  Apparently, there is so much activity the website is getting bogged down.  Later in the day or at night works much better. 

    Voting ends the last day of December and competition is adding new facilities just about every day.  Please continue to vote! 

                                          www.winanmri.com

    I was just thinking.  The difference between arguing with a drunk and a psychic.

    When you argue with a drunk, you go in knowing you can't win. 

    When you argue with a psychic, the psychic goes in knowing you can't win.

    My immune system is pretty beat up from stress and, for the first time in several years, I'm battling viral bugs left and right very early in this season.  This is totally out of character for me.  I may get sick, 1 whopper, once a year but picking up every bug that comes down the pike is not my norm.  I read an article about gargling with green tea.  The kicker in this is that I really really dislike tea in any form (along with rootbeer).  The smell, to me, is just vile. 

  However, it's fair to say I'd hate being ill more. Being in the realm of medicine professionally, I'm always reading or reseaching something.  So, I picked up some green tea extract capsules on sale and I'm giving it a try.    Basically, you open a capsule in a small amount of water and gargle the mixture up to 3 times a day. 

    At first, I did not think even holding my nose in order not to taste or smell was going to work, but I just did it anyway.  I was surprised to find that afterward there was no real after taste or smell.  Immediately rinsing or drinking after the gargle defeats the purpose, but I really did not have to.

      I had done this a few days before the holiday thing kicked off and then stopped.  Yesterday, I started feeling that feeling you get just before you get sick.  I have been out in the population running around these last several days - it was 71 degrees then 30 something the next day, etc., all over the map and a gazillion people.  Even though it was after the fact and I was already starting to feel bad, I decided to do the gargle late yesterday.  I didn't take any other medicine at all.  Today, I'm back to normal. 

    Whether it was the gargle, luck or otherwise, I don't know.  I am unable to take drugs like Zicam, as I had a really bad reaction in the past.   But if a few pennies each day and mild inconvenience can keep me from getting sick, I'm gonna try it.  I just don't think I can drink tea.  Just can't do it. 

    Word has it that Best Friends has asked Willie Nelson to do a national TV spot aimed at dogfighting in Georgia.  Watch for it - please let me know if you happen to see it - perhaps my Georgia friends will have the privilege of seeing it first.  Not much time to watch TV but I'd like to know how it goes over.

      Animal lovers need to know about Best Friends - www.bestfriends.org

      This organization provides a viable way for us to get involved (if so moved) and the work done touches the depth of this nation as well as other countries.  I've given the warning before, if you truly love animals, go to this web site only when you have the time to spend because it is hard to tear away from.  The site is also updated frequently.  The networking aspect of the site allows every person in every state to participate and there are tons of ways to get involved, whether it's dogfighting in GA or devastation in another country.  Best Friends is 1 of only a handful of worldwide animal organizations permitted on foreign soil in disasters solely to help displaced, injured and endangered animals, domestic and otherwise. 

  I think the average person (not unlike me) looks at some of the terrible things going on and thinks it is too overwhelming and too terrible for one person to make a difference.  In order to combat this, my personal philosophy is one animal at a time.  On the web site, there are wish lists, both a primary one and then individual ones for different rescues in progress (if you only love birds of prey, it's here to choose).  The things they need range from batteries to incubators.  They need heavy duty work gloves, survey tape measures, toys, treats, specialized things for every kind of domestic animal - all kinds of things and if you can only send 1 thing, it's 1 more they have to make a difference for animals.  I think the area they lack the most in contribution is for the efforts concentrated on disaster rescues, but there is no need unimportant.

    I also think most animal lovers have that secret wish in their heart to be able to alleviate the suffering we see every day in our own back yards.  Best Friends has successfully pulled together an organization that is making a difference.  They do it 1 volunteer at a time, 1 donation at a time and 1 animal at a time.

      You can also choose only to support efforts on USA soil - no problem.  In disasters, it has been repeatedly demonstrated that some people, unable to evacuate with their pets choose to stay and potentially die.  Those fortunate enough to get out have to agonize about possessions and pets.  Best Friends volunteers walk right into these disasters (fly, swim, wade and tunnel) and therefore also provide a benefit to the suffering of humans. 

      I guess my one of my primary philanthropic directions will be easy to guess when I hit the big one

            Everyone -

           You may recall the tornados that tore up sections of Georgia not that long ago including Americus, GA.  I'd like to ask members of the LP Family to consider casting a vote that will help in the rebuilding of Sumter Regional Hospital which was largely destroyed.

        Siemens Medical is going to give away a new MRI scanner to the hospital that obtains the most votes at  www.winanmri.com.

        To vote, simply go to www.winanmri.com and scroll down the list of participating hospitals until you find Sumter Regional Hospital.  The first time you will need to watch a very brief video about why the hospital needs the MRI and, at the end, just click on the "vote" at the bottom of the video.

        You are not required to enter any personal information or do anything else in order to vote but you can only vote once per day, every day until, I believe, 12/31/07.   Yesterday, Sumter was second in voting with only 700 votes or so between first and second.   

        Also, please don't hesitate to spread the word to your personal inner circle of friends - there is going to be some stiff competition for this very important and very expensive machine and every single vote is immensely important.

        The vote count for Sumter was 12735 as of approximately 2:30 p.m. today, 10/27/07.

                LP Family -  Let's Rock the Vote!             

    A seller on Ebay is has M Vick trading cards chewed on/up by her puppies for sale with proceeds going to animal charity.  Apparently bidding is going very well. 

            Lot of Falcons Michael Vick Cards Chewed on by my Dog

                                  Works for me!

  I think most of us reach a point in our lives where we question our value in this world...our contribution if not our lasting impression on the planet.   My world has become so microscopically focused that I am losing the simple joys that I've lived long enough to appreciate.  I'm forced by circumstance to be away for extended periods from my beloved pets and home.  I feel like a stranger there when I can show up.  I know what I want to do for the future but I cannot see a way to get there from here.  It's just outside of my reach.  Then I read a story about what one woman can do to make a tiny part of the world a better, more humane place in the face of great hardship.    A single minded focus to stop suffering and needless death.  Just 1 person determined to change something that matters to her.  I'm just 1 person and there is something that matters to me - I can do this.

              If you'd like to read about this remarkable human, www.bestfriends.com  - at left column click on "Network" then subtitle at bottom "Death Valley Burros" -  (unable to get direct page link to work).

              Oh, and the numbers, 4654  1177 711