Blind Doggy Plays Catch!

my mother worried so much that her old german shepherd was going blind. i tried to explain to her that with dogs they don't have 'society' telling them that we lose senses with age and that is okay.
however dogs are not ever told this so they go on with the attitude of acceptance and use what they are given in life. for dogs to go blind in old age or other conditions they just accept it as a normal part of life and they go on as a normal stage of life with no worries (only us humans worry about everything).
something we humans can learn from when we wallow in self pity over the affects of aging (after all we are taught that we must "age gracefully." slowing down and the normal stage of aging, losing eyesight, hearing etc. "are bad things."
i feel this dog is a great example of sharing with us that no matter what our limitations in life are; we can be happy, energetic, love life and romp and play without bumping into things. if you didn't know he was blind, you'd think he was a normal dog.
so when i found these clips i just had to share in hopes we can learn from a very amazing dog.



"Riddle was born with no eyes, but he is just like every other dog, maybe a little smarter." (hullshaven,June 16, 2009)



thank you hullshaven June 16, 2009 for sharing this amazing dog with us!

The History Of Flag Day

The Fourth of July was traditionally celebrated as America's birthday, but the idea of an annual day specifically celebrating the Flag is believed to have first originated in 1885. BJ Cigrand, a schoolteacher, arranged for the pupils in the Fredonia, Wisconsin Public School, District 6, to observe June 14 (the 108th anniversary of the official adoption of The Stars and Stripes) as 'Flag Birthday'. In numerous magazines and newspaper articles and public addresses over the following years, Cigrand continued to enthusiastically advocate the observance of June 14 as 'Flag Birthday', or 'Flag Day'.

On June 14, 1889, George Balch, a kindergarten teacher in New York City, planned appropriate ceremonies for the children of his school, and his idea of observing Flag Day was later adopted by the State Board of Education of New York. On June 14, 1891, the Betsy Ross House in Philadelphia held a Flag Day celebration, and on June 14 of the following year, the New York Society of the Sons of the Revolution, celebrated Flag Day.

Following the suggestion of Colonel J Granville Leach (at the time historian of the Pennsylvania Society of the Sons of the Revolution), the Pennsylvania Society of Colonial Dames of America on April 25, 1893 adopted a resolution requesting the mayor of Philadelphia and all others in authority and all private citizens to display the Flag on June 14th. Leach went on to recommend that thereafter the day be known as 'Flag Day', and on that day, school children be assembled for appropriate exercises, with each child being given a small Flag.

Two weeks later on May 8th, the Board of Managers of the Pennsylvania Society of Sons of the Revolution unanimously endorsed the action of the Pennsylvania Society of Colonial Dames. As a result of the resolution, Dr. Edward Brooks, then Superintendent of Public Schools of Philadelphia, directed that Flag Day exercises be held on June 14, 1893 in Independence Square. School children were assembled, each carrying a small Flag, and patriotic songs were sung and addresses delivered.

In 1894, the governor of New York directed that on June 14 the Flag be displayed on all public buildings. With BJ Cigrand and Leroy Van Horn as the moving spirits, the Illinois organization, known as the American Flag Day Association, was organized for the purpose of promoting the holding of Flag Day exercises. On June 14th, 1894, under the auspices of this association, the first general public school children's celebration of Flag Day in Chicago was held in Douglas, Garfield, Humboldt, Lincoln, and Washington Parks, with more than 300,000 children participating.

Adults, too, participated in patriotic programs. Franklin K. Lane, Secretary of the Interior, delivered a 1914 Flag Day address in which he repeated words he said the flag had spoken to him that morning: "I am what you make me; nothing more. I swing before your eyes as a bright gleam of color, a symbol of yourself."

Inspired by these three decades of state and local celebrations, Flag Day - the anniversary of the Flag Resolution of 1777 - was officially established by the Proclamation of President Woodrow Wilson on May 30th, 1916. While Flag Day was celebrated in various communities for years after Wilson's proclamation, it was not until August 3rd, 1949, that President Truman signed an Act of Congress designating June 14th of each year as National Flag Day.

information found at; www.usflag.org
a website "Dedicated to the Flag of United States of America"

Native American Pet Prayer

Oh Great Spirit! I give you thanks for creating all of the peoples;
Two legged, four legged, winged and finned.
May I learn the great lessons from each of these...
From the Cat, let me learn healing, clarity, and keen vision.
From the Bird, let me learn how to let my spirit soar.
From the Fish, let me learn tenacity and to overcome obstacles.
From the Horse, let me learn strength and freedom.
And from the Dog, let me learn faithfulness, courage,
and unconditional love.
May I walk, swim and fly in harmony and balance with all of these. Aho!
—Victor Fuhrman

Child Harness Leash

The other day I was in a public place with the assignment to watch my 5 year old grand daughter and 3 year old grand son. I realized that it is exhausting trying to keep two children safe in a busy place when neither wanted to hold my hand to be kept safe by my side...especially the 3 year old! He's an active "big boy" that wants to explore and be free.
If I released his hand he was soon to race off and then I was at the dilema of how to chase after him and still remain close to the 5 year old so she would be safe.
Thus I started thinking of the advantages of child harness/leash assemblies that give the child some freedom while keeping them safely nearby.
Researching these items I found many people think they are great (those with active and multiple children); while others felt "leashing" a child is horrible and refer to treating the child like "a dog."
Being a dog owner, handler and trainer it dawned on me that I have my dogs on leashes when I travel out of my fenced yard to keep my dog from getting lost, running off, being hit by a car and numerous other safety reasons.
Should a child be treated with LESS safety than my dog???
Reasearching child safety harnesses I found that they range from the simple harness;

to really cute backpack animal ones;

When I saw the backpack animal ones I realized that if I were to get one for my 3 year old grand son that I know my 5 year old grand daughter would want one for herself...which may not be a bad idea. Although the 5 year old is good at staying close; in a crowded public place can one ever be too safe?
I'm curious to hear what others think of having harnesses on children...how do you feel about them?

and our animals still love us unconditionally???

see more dog and puppy pictures


see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Happy Easter!

Thanksgiving Point's Tulip Festival

my favorite flower is tulips and i had heard about the "thanksgiving point tulip festival" a few years ago. last year i made it just at the end of the festival so was too late to enjoy it and chose instead to take the kids and grandkids to the animal farm where we did have a great time. it was at that time that all of my family decided we loved thanksgiving point so much that we all bought year memberships and i told the kids back then that, "next year we are going to find out more and we are going to be sure to make it to the tuplip festival."

well "next year" has almost come and my next trip i'm planning is definatly going to be in a few weeks to the tulip festival!!!!

"Thanksgiving Point's Tulip Festival
Website
April 17 - May 2, 2009

Thanksgiving Point Gardens

3003 North Thanksgiving Way, Lehi, UT 84043

801-768-2300

Hours of Operation: 10:00am-6:00pm

Price: $10 Adults, $6 Children

Come see over 250 thousand bulbs bloom in our 55-acre garden paradise. There are
over 3.5 miles of winding paths that will rejuvenate and inspire you. In addition to the spectacular display of tulips, the Thanksgiving Point Tulip Festival includes music, demonstrations, vendors, tours, food, and even
storytelling for children."

Safest and Most Dangerous U.S. Cities, 2008

Now that we have found the happiest places to live, how about the Safest and Most Dangerous Cities in the United States...and it doesn't seem that the happiest poeple necessarily live in the safest places, nor do the unhappiest people live in the most dangerous places.
I found some of the places interesting where they were ranked, some I've never heard of, pleasantly suprised at how well California rated and glad a city in Utah did find it's way at #20 of safest.
The information provided below was found at;
Infoplease.com http://www.infoplease.com/us/cities/safest-dangerous-cities.html

Safest and Most Dangerous U.S. Cities, 2008
The following ranks the safest and most dangerous cities in the United States as of 2008. The cities all have populations of more than 75,000. The rankings are based on a city's rate for six crime categories: murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, and motor vehicle theft.

Safest Cities (by rank)

1. Ramapo, N.Y.
2. Mission Viejo, Calif.
3. O'Fallon, Mo.
4. Newton, Mass.
5. Brick Twnshp, N.J.
6. Clarkstown, N.Y.
7. Amherst, N.Y.
8. Greece, N.Y.
9. Allen, Tex.
10. Colonie, N.Y.
11. Irvine, Calif.
12. Lake Forest, Calif.
13. Chino Hills, Calif.
14. Toms River Twnshp, N.J.
15. Cary, N.C.
16. Frisco, Tex.
17. Sugar Land, Tex.
18. Thousand Oaks, Calif.
19. Round Rock, Tex.
20. Orem, Utah
21. Troy, Mich.
22. Missouri City, Tex.
23. Gilbert, Ariz.
24. Canton Twnshp, Mich.
25. Cranston, R.I.

Most dangerous Cities (by rank)

1. New Orleans, La.
2. Camden, N.J.
3. Detroit, Mich.
4. St. Louis, Mo.
5. Oakland, Calif.
6. Flint, Mich.
7. Gary, Ind.
8. Birmingham, Ala.
9. Richmond, Calif.
10. North Charleston, S.C.
11. Cleveland, Ohio
12. Baltimore, Md.
13. Miami Gardens, Fla.
14. Memphis, Tenn.
15. Youngstown, Ohio
16. Atlanta, Ga.
17. Compton, Calif.
18. Orlando, Fla.
19. Little Rock, Ark.
20. Minneapolis, Minn.
21. Washington, D.C.
22. Philadelphia, Pa.
23. Jackson, Miss.
24. Newark, N.J.
25. Milwaukee, Wis.
Source: www.cqpress.com.

How happy is your state?

the gallup poll is in! this time it covered how happy each state is. interesting. i wonder who thinks up what to poll?

anyway, it seems utah has come in #1 as the happiest state.

i wonder if the people here know it yet?

and west virginia has come in as the least happy state.

i wonder if happy people in west virginia will have to move.

anyway, how did your state rank?

http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/10/the-happiest-states-of-america/

Daylight Savings, Spring Forward

Tonight is the night to set our clocks ahead 1 hour (unless you are up at 2am tomorrow morning and want to do it then).
I never have quite figured out what daylight savings is all about as I think they do it backwards (i'd rather have daylight later in the day in the winter when the sun sets at 4:30/5 pm than in the summer when we have daylight until 10pm).
If this is a sign that spring is coming maybe someone should tell mother nature as I woke up to 5-6 inches of snow this morning. Luckily it is warm and melting off fast, but they say another storm is headed this way on monday.
So tomorrow morning the sun will rise an hour later, but also set an hour later...interesting how humans can even control the rise and set of the sun LOL!