The man that got me interested in animals. My dad has always been my influence with animals. I grew up with them my whole life. I was always taught that you treat them the way that you want to be treated.

My dad and his old buddy Cash.

Nodaway Humane Society

Make a donation to your local Humane Society!


New Nodaway Humane Society
P.O. Box 185
Maryville, Mo. 64468

Some fun photos to brighten your day!

Buying pets from a pet store

I would not recommend buying a pet from a pet store, especially a puppy. I got my dog Goose at a pet store. I believe that a lot of pet stores do buy from puppy mills which is really sad! I didn't know a lot about pet stores and puppy mills before buying Goose. When I called my dad and told him I was buying Goose he told me it wasn't a good idea. Now I know! Goose has had quit a few small health problems. When we first brought him home we noticed that he had kennel cough, which is highly contagious. This was really hard for me to handle. Goose sounded awful and there was nothing I could do. He was on antibiotics for awhile and eventually got over it. He has also had a few other health issues. From my experience's with Goose I will never buy from a pet store again, although I feel I need to save them all! I'm just glad that Goose is healthy and happy now!

Goose

Tucker has been a lot of fun to have around. I love puppies! When he feels like a handful I just think back to when Goose was a puppy. Goose is a Great Pyrenees. Great Pyrenees are very large dogs and can be very stubborn. He was such a cute puppy, now when he stands on his two back legs he is almost as tall as I am and I am 5'9". He has settled down for the most part, but still has his rowdy moments. Goose's favorite thing is snow. I'm excited to take him out in the first snow!

Follow up on Tucker

Tucker, the puppy I adopted from the Humane Society is getting so big. We finally made it through the potty training! He is very very sweet and loves to cuddle and nap.

Animal Hoarding

What Is Animal Hoarding?

Animal hoarding is a complex and intricate public health and community issue. Its effects are far-reaching and encompass mental health, animal welfare and public safety concerns.
The following criteria are used to define animal hoarding:

• More than the typical number of companion animals
• Inability to provide even minimal standards of nutrition, sanitation, shelter and veterinary care, with this neglect often resulting in starvation, illness and death
• Denial of the inability to provide this minimum care and the impact of that failure on the animals, the household and human occupants of the dwelling

Why Do People Hoard Animals?

It is not clearly understood why people become animal hoarders. Early research pointed toward a variant of obsessive-compulsive disorders, but new studies and theories are leading toward attachment disorders in conjunction with personality disorders, paranoia, delusional thinking, depression and other mental illnesses. Some animal hoarders began collecting after a traumatic event or loss, while others see themselves as “rescuers” who save animals from lives on the street.
"Historically, a person who collected animals was viewed as an animal lover who got in over his or her head, but the truth is that people who hoard are experiencing a total loss of insight,” says Dr. Randall Lockwood, ASPCA Senior Vice President, Forensic Sciences and Anti-cruelty Projects. “They have no real perception of the harm they're doing to the animals."
In the majority of cases, animal hoarders appear intelligent and clearly believe they are helping their animals. They often claim that any home is better than letting that animal die. In addition, many hoarders possess the ability to garner sympathy and to deceive others into thinking their situation is under control. They often are blind to the fact that they are not caring for the animals and to the extreme suffering they are inflicting.
According to Dr. Lockwood, "Being kept by a hoarder is a slow kind of death for the animal. Actually, it can be a fate worse than death."

http://www.aspca.org/

ASPCA Commercial

This commercial gives me an awful feeling in the pit of my stomach everytime it comes on!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iu_JqNdp2As&feature=related

Part 6...Last Source

William, Erin E. Why Animals Matter: The Case of Animal Protection. Amherst: Prometheus Books, 2007. The purpose of this book to inform people why animal abuse matters. This book examines the exploitation and lax legal protection in hunting and the meat, medicine, fashion, entertainment, and pet industries. It is a good source because it answers the question of "Why it matters."

Part 5

Vaughn, Michael G. "Correltes of Cruelty to Animals in the United States." Journal of Psychiatric Research (2009): 1213. The purpose of this article is to examine the sociodemographic behavior and pychiatric correlates for cruelty to animals in the United States.  This article infroms us about how cruelty of animals is associated with elevated rates observed in young, poor, men with family histories of antisocial behavior and personal histories of conduct disorders in childhood, and antisocial, obsessive, compulsive personality disorders. This is relevant to my topic because it tells us a little bit about why people abuse animals.

Part 4

Society, The Humane. The Humane Society. June 2010. <www.humanesociety.org>. The Humane Society of the United States is the largest animal protection organization. The purpose of the webpage, The Humane Socitey wants to reduce suffering and improve the lives of all animals. They work to get better laws, and investigate animal cruelty. The Humane Society is a good source because they want to elliminate animal abuse.

Part 3

PETA. "Animals Used for Clothing." 2010. PETA. <www.peta.org>.  The purpose of this article on the web is to inform people about the negative affects of  killing animals to make clothes and to persuade people not to buy the clothing. This article talks about all the differenct ways animals are used to make clothing, whether it is for their fur or skin. People are killing animals everyday because they can sell them and make money. When most people think of animal abuse they think of animals being beaten or neglected, they often don't think of them being killed to make clothing, this applies to my topic because it is just as much animal abuse as beating your animal is.

Part 2

Loew, Brian M. Confronting Animal Abuse: Law, Criminology, and Human-Animal Relationships. Contemporary Sociology, 2010.  The book focuses on the law side of animal abuse. It talks about laws for animal abuse and how they are taken into action. The purpose of this book is to inform people about the laws and consequesnces of animal abuse. This book is relevant because it has all of the rules and regulations of animal abuse which goes along with my topic. After reading this, not only do I know about animal abuse, but now I know all of the consequesces and differenct laws.

Sources for Animal Abuse Part 1

Gauldin, Cliff. "Dairy Industry Insider." Dairy Awaits Outcome After Undercover Video (2010): 14.  The purpose of this article is to inform readers about animal abuse in dairies farms. This article talks about a video that was released. The video shows a man striking a cow in the head with a wrench. The video is still under investigation. Gauldin's article about the dairy supports my assumption that although dogs and cats are the most common to be abused, there are other animals that are victims too.

Puppy Mills

* Hundreds of thousands of puppies are raised each year in commercial kennels.

 

* Puppy mills are distinguished by their inhumane conditions and the constant breeding of unhealthy and genetically defective dogs solely for profit.

 

* Very often the dogs in puppymills are covered with matted, filthy hair, their teeth are rotting and their eyes have ulcers. We have seen many dogs whose jaws have rotted because of tooth decay.

 

* The dogs are kept in small wire cages for their entire lives. They are almost never allowed out. They never touch solid ground or grass to run and play.

 

* Many of the dogs are injured in fights that occur in the cramped cages from which there is no escape.

 

*  Many dogs lose feet and legs when they are caught in the wire floors of the cages and cut

off as the dog struggles to free themselves.

http://www.prisonersofgreed.org/Commercial-kennel-facts.html

 

Continued

While the boys did their events, I would sit outside of the fence and play in the dirt with all of the little boys. I would have loved to be out in the arena like the boys. They were my idols. After begging and pleading with my dad rodeo after rodeo he finally decided to let me ride a sheep. Needless to say, that never happened again. I could talk the talk but I could not walk the walk. I got in the shoot and the minute they opened the gate and the sheep took off running, I hit the ground. I can remember my dad having to pick me up off the ground as I laid there and cried.

When I was six I went on a horse ride with my dad. Since I wasn’t the best rider, dad would always put me on the best trained, most mellow horse, which was Paint. That day Paint decided to take me on a little ride. He blow up and took off, I was terrified. I let go of the reins and fell off. I told my dad that my arm was broke. Of course I was crying. This was the first time I heard the famous quote. “Cowgirl up.” To this day I still hear that. When my mom got home from work we went to the emergency room. I found out my arm was broke. Me being the little shit that I was, the minute I saw my dad I said “I told you it was broke!” He laughed it off and we headed back home. From that day on I was always nervous to get on horses. I loved them but they still scared me.

As I grew older and started to think for myself and like different things, I started to become interested in different things. Softball became my favorite pastime. I loved it so much I decided that I wanted to play in college.

Some people may think that my dad telling me to “Cowgirl Up” is a bit harsh. That is just the way my dad is. He shows that he cares in different ways. From the time I was little until now he has taught me no matter how hard things get, don’t give up. And when life doesn’t go the way you want it to, suck it up and do something about it. Don’t dwell over the bad things in life. Rodeos were a major aspect in my life. It helped make me the person I am today. It taught me life lessons that I still live by. Like if you fall off a horse, get back on. Don’t let that horse beat you. That mentality carried over to softball too. If someone hits a homerun off of me, I don’t give up I strike the next person out. The things that you learn about life when you are little can carry over to when you become an adult and have to deal with tough situations. Everyday a new challenge will arise, now I face that challenge without a doubt that I can overcome it and succeed.

How I Got To Be Me Continued

There’s a hundred years of history, and a hundred before that, all gathered in the thinking going on beneath his hat. The cold flame burns within him, till his skin is cold as ice. The dues he paid to get here are worth every sacrifice. All the miles spent sleepy driving. All the money down the drain. All the if I’s, and the nearly’s. All the bandages of the pain. All the female tears left dry. And all the fever and the fight are just a small down payment, on the ride he makes tonight. Its guts and love and glory, one mortals chance at fame. His legacy is rodeo, and Cowboy is his name. (Avildsen, 1994)

            When I was a young child we spent every weekend traveling to rodeos. Pulling in the gates pulling the trailer behind, we passed truck and trailer after truck and trailer, cowboy after cowboy. My dad, tall, tough, hardheaded and cowboy down to the core, my brother Jessie, tough, stubborn with a don’t mess with me attitude, and I would bail out of the truck. While my dad would get the horses out, my brother would put all of his gear on, spurs, chaps, the works. Dad would start saddling up the horses and getting them ready for his and Jessie’s events. While I stood next to the trailer and took it all in, I see cowboys and cowgirls with their horses. I can hear their spurs jingle as they walk. The reflection of the sun off their big belt buckles is blinding. The smell of horse manure in the spring air is almost overbearing. It was nothing new, it was the same weekend after weekend. This was my life, I knew no different and quite frankly, I didn’t want to know any different. I was raised a cowgirl.  

Jessie climbs up on our horse Paint and we head over to get Jess and dad entered and get their numbers. I looked up to Jessie and my dad. I loved horses and rodeos, but I never learned how to ride like they did. He was flawless and fearless. He was five years old and could stay on a horse no problem. He was next to run the barrels. As the contestant before him came out and Jess entered. He took off running Paint around all three barrels, not tipping any over. He may not have had the best time, but he was only five. He competed with people with a lot of experience and still showed some of them up. His next event was sheep riding. This was Jessie’s thing. What he was extremely good at. There was no way he was falling off that sheep until the eight seconds was over. Jessie placed first in the sheep riding which was no surprise to me. Dad couldn’t have been more proud.

How I Got To Be Me

Bang

I liked this video because I could relate to it. My family used to have a dog that would do this trick.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImIe7VVGFA0

Top Five Reasons to Adopt

1. You'll save a life
2. You'll get a healthy pet
3. You'll save money
4. You'll feel better
 http://www.humanesociety.org/

Three weeks ago I went to the Humane Society and adopted a puppy. He was dropped off in a box, at only three weeks old. What I liked about getting him at the Humane Society was that they pay for all of his shots and for him to get neutered at any vet in Maryville. And the people that work there were extremely nice and willing to answer any questions.

Ways Animals Help

• Animals can serve as companions by helping reduce depression, and loneliness.
•  Animals serve as therapeutic animals in nursing homes and hospitals.

• Some animals are working animals. They can detect explosives, and bombs or drugs. Search and Rescue dogs save lives.

• Animals serve as food for humans or produce food.

• Animals provide us with materials such as fur, hides, and leather.

My Interest in Animals

Ever since I can remember, I have been around animals. I grew up with a variety of them. My favorite animals are horses and dogs; they are what I have been around the most. My dad still tells me stories about when I was a baby and he would put me up on a horse, I always cried. So apparently I wasn’t always that fond of horses. One thing that I really like about animals is that they aren’t judgmental and they don’t hold a grudge like people tend to do. I guess I’m so interested in animals because they have always been around. It’s what I grew up with and what I’m used to.