Sammy, Merci and Shopping

Lisa McKibbon started Sammy's Big Heart, a blog to warn others of the possible unknown, unseen dangers beneath their feet..  Her dog Sammy, a German Shorthair Pointer, died Thanksgiving day in a "freak and unexpected accident" while he and his owner  were taking their daily walk.  The dog stepped on a metal power plate and was electrocuted.

We suggest you read the posts on Lisa's blog.  At the bottom are photos of the lamppost and plate where Sammy died.  The area looks harmless.  Who would suspect?   There are copies of several newspaper articles and, of course, posts about the pain and grief Lisa is going through.  Lisa does not want anyone else to lose a pet in this way. We hope you will visit Sammy's Big Heart blog.

Yesterday's post on Merci's Wags and Tags tag mentioned a matching pendant for a dog's human. We joked about needing one for Jan but didn't think it could be inscribed so she doesn't get lost when we dogs walk her. But Sandy, the owner of Wags & Tags, contacted us to let us know the back of the pendant can be inscribed at no extra charge. So if your worry about your human getting lost and forgetting her name or where she lives, check out the pendant at Wags and Tags.  A tag for your canine and/or the owner tag would make a nice Christmas present. 

We do have one question, though.  Where are the feline tags?  Cotton would look stunning wearing a sterling silver catnip leaf.

Jan mentioned washing Georgia red clay off Merci's tag yesterday and Sandy sent us this information, which we are sure she would not mind us sharing with you.

My dog swims and rolls around in mud too. We have clay earth but not the red clay you mention. The clay in Pennsylvania gives the tag a pretty patina. We use dawn detergent and a toothbrush to clean mud and dirt from the tag. I do have some ways to remove tarnish from the dog tag that you may be interested in. We have used it on Jessie's dog tag with great results over the past 3 years.

Removing silver tarnish with the transfer method

Find a cooking pot large enough to contain the silver item you wish to polish. Place heavy duty aluminum foil inside the pot so that it fits like a second skin over the inside of the pot. Mix a gallon of lukewarm water with a third cup of baking soda and a third cup of liquid dish soap.

Place the pot on the stove and put the silver item into the aluminum foil padded pot, gently pour in the liquid and turn on the heat. Simmer - do not boil! - the mix for a third of an hour (20 minutes, but using 1/3 makes it easier to remember all the figures involved). At the end of that time remove the silver item and wash it. The aluminum foil will have taken on the tarnish and may now be discarded.


And since this is Christmas shopping season, we'd like to remind you of our Zazzle store. We have Christmas cards and misc. designs.  And we also have some vintage and collectables at Jan's Funny Farm Fair.  Jan hasn't had a chance to catch up with prices on the items that aren't marked, but just ask.

Wags and Tags and Winnie

Today is Cyber Monday - the Monday after Thanksgiving and one of the busiest shopping days of the year for online retailers, so this seems like a good day to post our review for Wags and Tags.

Wags and tags has a line of quality dog tags for the elite dog or for the causal canine, such as Merci.  Above are two of the sterling silver dog bowls, one with a bone of solid 14K yellow gold and one of polished 925 sterling silver. (Sorry, but none of the photos Jan took do the tags justice.)  There are other choices - Diamond bone inlay; Cubic zirconia bone inlay; Silver bone inlay with a single cubic zirconium.

The back of the tag is stainless steel so the information won't rub off.   The dog tag would be engraved with the dog's name and phone number on the back at no additional charge. If you go to customize tag at www.wagsandtags.com you can see how to order the center bone of your choice and how the engraving will look on the back.

Merci chose the silver bone.  Her tag is a medium, about the size of a quarter. 

Jan obligingly attached the bale/connector (top of the tag) which is made of stainless steel instead of sterling silver for additional support so the tag doesn't get lost to the double split ring and added it to Merci's collar.  Jan suggests you find a man with strong fingers to do all the attaching.  She learned the hard way the double split ring is s-t-r-o-n-g!  Her fingers don't work as well as they need to so it was slow going for her. She wore a hole in her finger trying attach the tag to the collar.

After cleaning up the blood, she found out the new tag was hiding behind Merci's rabies tag so you couldn't see it.  :( 

A few days later, Jan tried again.  And finally succeeded. Doesn't Merci look pretty?  She is actually camera shy and hard to get to sit for a photo. (Oh, did Jan ever want to buy Merci a new collar to go with the pretty tag!)

There are also matching owner pendants.  We don't know if you can engrave information on the back of the pendants for humans - probably not - but we think it would be a good idea.  It takes 3 of us to keep Jan in line so she doesn't wander off when we walk her. What if she got lost?  How would we describe her so someone could recognize her if she was found? And with her memory would she even remember her name?

UPDATE: Sandy, the owner of Wags and Tags, advises us that the matching owner pendant can be engraves on the back at no extra cost.  So if you're concerned about your human wandering off and not finding her way home ....

Wags & Tags is available at fine boutiques throughout the country and online at www.wagsandtags.com. Follow them on Twitter @WagsTags.

From now through January 13, 2011, you can use a $20 coupon with a purchase. The promo code is easy to remember: JFF.

In keeping with the FTC disclosure guidelines, Wags and Tags furnished us with a sample tag for Merci to test, but we were not paid to review the product.

We're very sad that Space Paws has lost their 16-year-old Winnie. She left on her new adventure on the 20th but it was too painful for them to post the information. It's always difficult when it's time to say good-bye.  If you haven't already, we hope you will stop by The Adventures of Space Paws to read Winnie's story and leave a message.

And even though Gracie (and her mom) never ask for praise and always ask not to tattle, we want to send many, many thanks to her for the beautiful Christmas header she made for us. It was a wonderful surprise and Jan cried when she saw Crystal in the picture over the mantel. Of course, it didn't ... sniff .... bother any ... sniff, sniff ... of us. Does any cat have a handful of extra tissues?

Sam Recaps Week and Bizkit

Hi, Sam here again.  I'm laughing because I beat Buddy to the computer so it's my turn to introduce today's post.

Well, it has been an exciting week.  For Jan, anyway.  She started taking shelter photos again, something she enjoys doing.  She ate lots of good food Thanksgiving and yesterday.  (We furries finally had a taste of turkey last night.  It was nom-nom-yummy good!)  Buddy had his first of the season seizure, shocking Jan when he popped up stiff-legged when Merci barked, Squirrel! (He's a hound dog and he takes his squirrel patrol duties seriously.) And Jan shocked the neighborhood running outside in her pajamas for all neighbors and passersby to google ... uh, goggle.

And now she's going to desert us to stuff her face again. She better bring home a doggy/kitty bag because we're drooling with anticipation.

But enough about us.  We'd like to share a funny video with you today -  Bizkit the Sleepwalking Dog. 



If the video doesn't play, click here.

We are finally remembering to include the Pet Blogger Hop graphic. That alone should earn us extra turkey, but we aren't holding our breath. Maybe you could put in a good word for us with Jan?

Buddy and Roo

Hi, I'm Cyndi and I get to introduce the after Thanksgiving post.

Jan says Thanksgiving was a very good day. Well, maybe it was for her but we were left alone for most of the day and she still hasn't shared any turkey tidbits with us. She says they're coming as soon as she can catch her breath.

But we might forgive her.  We did have a bit of excitement here this morning.  We cats watched from inside the screen door as Jan raced outside.  If anyone reading this drove by early this morning and was shocked awake at the sight of Jan bent over, back to the road, in her pajamas, we hope you didn't spill your coffee.

She opened the door and the 3 dogs charged down the steps as usual.  It surprised her because Buddy stops dead and refuses to go outside if it's rained or is too cold first thing in the morning, but then she realized Buddy was in trouble.  So, cool-headed and clear-thinking as ever, she started to run through the house to pull on a pair of jeans, realized it would take too long to get dressed, grabbed a jacket on her way back and ran outside to comfort Buddy who was having his first seizure of the fall/winter season.

He generally takes a few minutes to come out of it, gets to his feet and has to make an emergency trip outside (this is the first time he has had one outside) to empty his bladder and bowels.  But before any of this could happen, Merci suddenly ran for the fence, barking, Squirrel, squirrel, squiirel!.Buddy, who was on his side with his legs rigid, shot straight up in the air, came down on 3 legs, nearly fell over, and kind of hopped, staggered the few feet and stared, probably not seeing anything.  At least not a squiirel, which had disappeared. Then he turned and started staggering, stumbling along the fence toward the house.

Sam gets upset when Buddy has these episodes. He usually races around barking in Buddy's face.  When this was over, Sam went crazy racing around, barking at Buddy, slapping him in the face with his tail, body slamming him with his brick butt (Jan's nickname for him), and trying hard to get Buddy to play. We're all glad Sam decided not to be a physician. His bedside manner could use some work.

We're happy Buddy is okay and things are back to normal.  

We'd like to share a happy video with you this morning.  Roo is a Chihuahua mix puppy born without front legs.  He had a happy Thanksgiving - he went to his new home.  His new mom drove 2 1/2 hours to fill out the adoption paperwork and it was her handwritten letter that singled her out from the other potential adopters: She said she wants to let the puppy just be a dog and do doggy things. 




If the video doesn't play, click here.  You can read the story and watch a short news story here.

Jan is cleaning today so we're going to go hide out from the noise machine. Mr. Doug is supposed to come by today to turn on our heat because it's supposed to be COLD tonight!  And it's wet out too so as much as Jan is grumbling about the price of gas, it is time.  If she really wants to be cold, we can just lock her outside.

Thanksgiving 2010

For all our friends who celebrate Thanksgiving, we wish you a blessed day. For those who don't live in a country that celebrates Thanksgiving, we wish you a blessed day too.

We had kind of an early holiday present. As we've mentioned in other posts, Jan missed taking photos of the county shelter animals. She used to take them through the local Humane Society for a newspaper ad. Beginning yesterday, she volunteers to take photos once a week to help the shelter manager update the Petfinder page. There was an interesting moment when one trustee was holding two small dogs and they needed to be photographed separately.  But if he set one down, it could have escaped, so there are a couple of unusual Min Pin poses included. And she wasn't sure whether the cats were being held for the weekend, so just took snaps through the bars. But all things considered, it was an interesting beginning to a new project.

There are some good-looking animals available. Jumper was already on Petfinder but the rest of the photos Jan took yesterday at the Upson County Animal Shelter.  Since the hardest part of taking these photos is knowing that few of the animals will be adopted, she hopes the numbers of adoptions will go up and the PTS numbers go down.

Target and Rover

Life with Dogs has a teary slideshow video link to Target's life.  Target is the hero dog from Afghanistan that died when a worker at an Arizona shelter killed the wrong dog.. 

This tragedy is why Jan keeps telling someone who has lost a pet to hit the local and surrounding shelters right away and keep going back, daily if possible.  If not, every other day.  Don't call.  The medium dog you describe as sable could be a large black or dark brown to someone else.  No one is going to go look to see if there is a "yellow" cat there.  Believe me, shelter workers are not going to go look and try to figure out from your description whether they have the animal.  That's your job.

Please consider, if someone finds your lost pet, it could still enter the shelter as an "owner turn in" and be eligible for immediate death.  

So if you think you recognize someone else's cat or dog, speak up!  Don't wait until the next day to tell the owner.  It's better to be wrong than sorry. Jan remembers a situation a few years ago where a meter reader left a gate open and two dogs escaped, were picked up and taken to the shelter.  Someone recognized the dogs but didn't tell the neighbor until the next day.  The neighbor went to pick up the dogs and they were already dead.  This could have been avoided if the neighbor had been going regularly to the shelter to look for them and/or had been informed in time.

We're not making any judgments about anyone here.  We just want to remind humans how crucial time is and how fragile a pet's life is once it enters a shelter. You can view the video In Memory of Target at Life with Dogs.

On a more positive note, a couple from Scotland took their two dogs on a vacation in Ireland.  When the dogs were let out of the car for a rest, Rudy stopped in time but Rover went over an unseen cliff.

When Peggie ran to the wall she made it in time to watch helplessly as Rover fell another 150 feet (46 meters) landing on rocks and bramble.  When asked her reaction when she realized Rover bounded over the wall, Peggie replied: "This is indescribable... we didn't realise the gravity of the situation until we got to the wall and looked over only to see Rover's head and front paws on a narrow ledge and the rest of him hanging over. He instantly lost his grip, and fell out of sight."

She went on to tell me "Our instant reaction was to assume him dead and frankly, we began to mourn. He couldn't survive! I expected to recover a corpse."  

But Rover did survive the 400 foot fall from the cliff, perhaps because of the brief landing on a ledge..How they were able to rescue him is an amazing story.  You can read it here.

Someone needs to put up a warning sign, as at least two other dogs have already died at this spot.  

Aoise, Abusers and Zazzle

Cotton:

We just lost two friends over the weekend and now another.

The beautiful Aoise left for the bridge today - on her mom's birthday. We are so sad for her loss. Please go by and leave a kind note for her. Her blog is Aoise's World.

We are in shock after reading this horror story about a service dog dying at the hands of two idiots INCOMPETENT, ABUSIVE,  UNLICENSED "pet groomers" who came to the house to clip the dog's toenails.  Charges should be filed against them!  You can read the story with more detail  here.  And the Examiner story which includes a link to another source as well as a petition here.

We were having problems with arranging our designs in our Zazzle store and this was finally fixed. Our latest designs are now at the top where they should be.

Only we found Saturday evening that while fixing this, Zazzle evidently broke something else. Shoppers are supposed to be able to click on any design/folder to view products using that design. However, it is now impossible to view any of our store merchandise or to purchase anything.

This is extremely frustrating, as this is the height of the shopping season. If you have visited our store lately and been unable to shop, please be patient. We put in a repair request over the weekend but have no idea how long it will take them to fix it. We hope you will return when our storefront is working again. We do have some nice designs for Christmas cards. You can visit our Zazzle store here.

UPDATE: The Zazzle problem is now fixed. Whew!

Buddy is 6, Patches and Inigo

We are embarrassed to admit Jan forgot to remind us today is Buddy's 6th birthday - or at least his assigned birthday.  He was only 3 or 4 weeks old when Jan's brother found him in his fenced yard in December.  He is hyper, bossy, digs holes through bedding, eats like he's never seen food before ....  But we love him anyway.

Happy Birthday, Buddy!

We're not having a party. Both because we're not prepared and because this is also a day of sadness among our friends.

Gentle, handsome Inigo of the blog Rumblebum was losing his battle with heart problems and was headed for the bridge at 4 pm Saturday, New Zealand time.  As we write this, it's going on 6 am Sunday there. 

And the beautiful Miss Patches of The Big Piney Woods Cats left for the bridge late Friday afternoon.

So it is a happy/sad day for us.  Happy Buddy is a part of our family.  Sad for the families of Inigo and Patches.  

Killer of Bear Bear Guilty

Federal officer Keith Shepherd has been found guilty of misdemeanor animal cruelty and misdemeanor discharging a fire arm in the shooting death of Bear Bear at a dog park in August. This shooting sparked the wrath of animal lovers all over the world. It appears, though, that he received probation instead of jail time. You can read the story here.

Interspecies Friends

Rusty:

Jan, this is awkward! Stop taking my picture while I'm preparing to introduce a post. Wait till I finish my bath!

I'm sorry. Please give me a moment to regain my composure.  One day I'm going to get even with her for embarrassing me again.  Hmmmm, maybe she's taking it out on me because we posted the photo of her without a head last week?  We gave her back her head yesterday.  Okay, I'm composed and ready to start our post.  But I'm still going to get even!

UPDATE: This just posted but we want to add one important items.  Remember Dan Palmer, the man beaten to death for intervening in abuse against 3 dogs?  The charges against the first man were upgraded to second-degree murder in late October.  The second man has now been charged with second - degree murder too. 

Recently we watched a neat interspecies video and we'd like to share it with you. Imagine if you can these friends - a pit bull named Sharky, a cat, a rabbit and a guinea pit. But wait! You don't need to imagine. You can view the video.



If the video doesn't play, click here.

The Missing Head Photo

Merci:

Hi, we just want to let you know Jan is feeling much better today but we dogs only got half a walk this morning.She did run some errands, which included buying us a different brand of food from the new Petsense. She hopes it will be healthier for us.

This is the second week of the auction to help with Derry's vet bills.  But instead of bidding on items, there's a new twist - a special photo contest for Thanksgiving blessings. Stop over at Furriends of the CB Auctions and check it out.


Do you remember this headless photo from Veterans Day?

Well, surprisingly, the head turned up in today's newspaper. Not the same shot or photographer but it is the head that goes to the body. Notice the VFW apron top. And since some  one or two of you expressed disappointment over the missing head...

Uh, maybe we better mention, you do remember Jan was the subject of the headless photo, don't you?

No Surfing Today

Rusty:

We don't have any special news today.  Except we're being kicked off the computer because Jan is going back to bed and she doesn't trust us on the net alone.  Something to do with the guys having too much fun "surfing."

Why is she going back to bed?  Something to do with kicking Buddy and Sam around this morning while making strange sounds.  Oh, Cotton says those are moans.  Sam and Buddy are not too happy with her because they couldn't sleep well.  Not with Jan getting up every hour on the hour and dumping them on the floor.  And then for 2 or 3 hours she kicked and flailed until we finally just had to get up and come sleep in our own beds.

Cameron is upset with her too. Buddy yelled at him for kicking his him in the head but all Cameron was doing was attacking Jan's moving feet under the covers.  He should have yelled at the one responsible instead of an innocent bystander.

Well, the rest of our post is ready so we'll just follow Jan into the bedroom and pile on the bed for warmth.  Wait!  What's this about furries not invited?  No, she can't put up the gate to keep us out.  Oh, I just remembered it's the dogs the gate keeps out.  We ...  No, Jan, you absolutely can NOT close the doors too!

On second thought, if she has something contagious, like the flu... Okay, we can all sleep in our own beds for one day. But if she clears the couch and lies down ... No, Buddy, I get first dibs on the couch.  Unless she starts kicking again.  Then you can have it.


We haven't posted since Sunday because Jan has been very busy trying to figure out some new designs.  Thinking of designs is sometimes easier than trying to get them to work.  Below are the latest ones in a very small size.  If you visit our store and click on any design folder - some folders have more than one design in it - you can get a better idea of what each looks like on a product.  You can even magnify it to see the detail and colors better. 

How can you resist him? He's begging for a home.And so are his siblings.

We do have a lot to be thankful for..

Thanksgiving or not, always count your blessings.

 Jesus is the reason for the celebration so we thought this card design appropriate. 

And of course Buddy just has to play Santa on his own Christmas card and t-shirts.

Of course the actual designs on products do not have the jansfunnyfarm watermark or "sample.".

Stop by Jansfunnyfarm Zazzle Store and check out the designs. We can't get the new designs to move to the front of the line.  At the moment some are at the top and some are at the bottom.  Who knows where they'll be by the time you get there.  :)


And the store is not just for bloggers, so please feel free to pass on the link to your friends or post it in your sidebar.  Jan does designs for us and zazzle does everything else, so we will be thankful for any sales because the intention is to feed and take care of us with the proceeds. And we need a lot of proceeds to continue eating.

Pawsitive Energy and Coyotes

Yes, today is the big day for the 2nd Annual Worldwide Movement. It will be at 6:00 PM EST here in Georgia.  If you aren't sure what hour 11 PM GMT is in your area, you can easily check at the (UTC/GMT) Time Zone Converter site.   

And if you've missed the news circulating around the pet blogs, visit Jake & Fergi's post for background information.  We hope to "see" you there.

One other thing we would like to post before we forget again is an Animal Welfare Institute alert we received recently.

Help End the Senseless Poisoning of Coyotes and Other Wildlife:
Your Comments Are Needed by Nov. 22!


As citizens concerned for the welfare of our wildlife and for the health of our environment, we have an opportunity to make a difference for coyotes and other native carnivores. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is currently reviewing the use of sodium monofluoroacetate (also known as Compound 1080) and sodium cyanide to kill coyotes and other wildlife. Your voice is needed during this important public comment period to urge the EPA to ban these deadly poisons.


The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services agency continues to rely heavily on Compound 1080 and sodium cyanide to kill coyotes and other animals deemed a ‘threat to livestock’ – despite the fact that only a small percentage of sheep and cattle are killed by predators. In 2009, these two poisons killed more than 13,000 animals, causing agonizing deaths for many.


Banned by previous administrations (and then later re-legalized as a result of pressure from agricultural and livestock interest groups), these poisons have been condemned as cruel, indiscriminate, and dangerous. Non-target victims include domestic dogs, gray wolves, federally protected birds of prey, and people.


Because of the dangers and cruelty associated with these poisons, citizens in California (1998) and Washington State (2000) passed ballot initiatives that banned Compound 1080 and sodium cyanide.


After 9/11 the FBI listed sodium fluoroacetate as "a highly toxic pesticide judged most likely to be used by terrorists or for malicious intent." According to the FBI, the main criteria for a poison being added to the list are those with "high dermal or inhalation toxicity, common malicious use reported, and prior use by terrorists." The FBI, the EPA, and the World Health Organization classify Compound 1080 as an “extremely hazardous toxic pesticide."


Yet our tax dollars continue to subsidize the use of these poisons – often on public lands – while audits by the Office of the Inspector General found that there is improper and unaccountable stockpiling of these lethal substances.


WHAT YOU CAN DO:


Now we have an opportunity to ban these poisons! Please, send a message today to the EPA and urge them to end the use of Compound 1080 and sodium cyanide nationwide.


TO SUBMIT COMMENTS:

Comments must be received by Nov. 22, 2010 and must be identified by the docket identification number EPA-HQ-OPP-2010-0752 and EPA-HQ-OPP-2010-0753.


Please follow the on-line instructions for submitting comments at the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov


Or mail your written comments to:
Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP)
Regulatory Public Docket (7502P)
Environmental Protection Agency
1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20460–0001


Points to Include in Your Letter:


* I am writing regarding EPA Docket numbers EPA-HQ-OPP-2010-0752 and EPA-HQ-OPP-2010-0753 in support of prohibiting use of sodium monofluoroacetate (Compound 1080) and sodium cyanide.
* Compound 1080 and sodium cyanide are extremely dangerous and inhumane.
* Death by Compound 1080 is agonizing, excruciating, and slow (it usually takes between 3 and 15 hours). Exposure can result in cardiac failure, progressive failure of the central nervous system, or respiratory arrest following severe prolonged convulsions.
* Compound 1080 is one of the deadliest poisons on earth and has no antidote.
The EPA classifies Compound 1080 as an “extremely hazardous” toxin that poses a significant hazard to human health and safety and to non-target wildlife. For these reasons the EPA banned Compound 1080 throughout the U.S. in 1972.
* Compound 1080 is a potential terrorist threat to water and food supplies; according to its own records, Wildlife Services cannot account for all the Compound 1080 it has and uses.
* In addition to these poisons’ toll on wildlife, they put public safety at risk; hundreds of pet dogs are harmed or killed by sodium cyanide each year, and humans have also been severely injured by accidentally triggering M-44 sodium cyanide ejector devices or handling poisoned pets.
* Paradoxically, killing coyotes can increase their numbers by triggering breeding and larger litters.
* Rather than killing predators, ranchers should make better use of good husbandry practices such livestock guard animals, electronic sound and light devices, penning animals as night, lambing in structures, promptly removing any carcasses and fencing appropriately.
* Scientific research shows that it makes more economic sense to implement long-term predator deterrents than to kill coyotes and other predators.


Thank you for helping to end senseless poisoning of coyotes and other wildlife by Compound 1080 and sodium cyanide!


Please be sure to share our “Dear Humanitarian” eAlert with family, friends, and co-workers, and encourage them to contact the EPA, too. As always, thank you very much for your help!


Sincerely,
Cathy Liss
President

Senior Dreams and WBCL Contest

Cotton:

Well, I'm the senior Funny Farmer, so I was asked to introduce today's post. All right, I wasn't asked, I volunteered. Okay, Buddy insists I stop fudging. I got to the computer first.  But it's a subject close to my heart so I ran to the computer.  See, older pets can still run.

Since this is Adopt A Senior Pet Month, we have a senior video for you. Senior animals make great pets but they are often overlooked in shelters. We didn't realize we're considered senior by age 8. Don't mention that in Merci's earshot. She might be 8 or 9 but she thinks she's still a puppy. Besides, she has to keep up with Buddy and Sam's longer legs and bounding energy.

What we don't understand, though, is why the senior videos for this month all seem to feature dogs.Where are the senior cats? Well, we finally found one that includes kitties.



If the video doesn't play, click here.

And we don't want to forget to post the good news on World's Best Cat Litter. It's now available in Target stores. For a limited time all 8 pound bags purchased at Target will have an instantly redeemable $3.00 coupon.

And WBCL is hosting a contest which will run through November 22rd. You can enter one of 3 ways - or all 3. Three winners will receive all these prizes: a year's supply of WBCL, some WBCL goodies, and a $200 Target gift card. Winners will be randomly drawn on November 23rd.

You can find the details on the WBCL blog Clearing the Air.  Stop by and check them out.

Veterans Day Ceremony

Today is Veterans Day in the United States and Jan celebrated by attending the local ceremony at the courthouse. She said we can share some of her photos, including one you aren't going to believe. We actually convinced her to have someone take her picture today and she has given us permission to publish it. Yep, her first public photo.

This is the Color Guard leading the Upson-Lee High School Navy JROTC .

The Color Guard has veered off and headed toward the podium.  The rest of the group will line the street behind the veterans and onlookers in attendance.

Here is the Color Guard again.

 And again.

Most of the attendees stand, but a few of the older veterans have a seat.

If we understand correctly, the 5 humans in the first row in this photo include one LAVFW (Ladies Auxiliary VFW) state officer on the left and several veterans. The local post Cdr is in the middle and the past post Cdr/current Jr. Vice is on the right.

 The gentlemen on the left in wheelchairs are veterans who were brought from a nursing home for the ceremony.

The group wearing the white jackets comprise the Upson-Lee High School Marching Band.

This is the beginning of the wreath laying ceremony. Each cadet is assigned to lay a wreath for one of the following groups -

World War 1

World War II

Korean Conflict

Vietnam Conflict

Persian Gulf & Iraq

CDR Malcolm Williams performed Amazing Grace on the bagpipes.

A member of the U-L HS Marching Band played Taps to close the program.

One of Jan's favorite folk in Thomaston - he's always open to questions - police chief Greathouse.

And the photo you've all been waiting for - Jan's internet debut.

Yes, that is Jan with the yellow VFW apron and a bucket of Buddy Poppies and the little American flag.  She asked a bystander to take a photo of her while the veterans gathered for a group photograph.  There were a lot of people moving about and we figure someone must have jostled the woman's arm when she snapped the photo.  For some reason Jan thinks this headless picture is the best shot ever taken of her.   And, honestly, we didn't crop her head out. 

And our final photo, after the ceremony ended the veterans assembled for a group photograph.  We applaud every one of them for their dedication and service.


UPDATE ON KITTENS: Josh, the Petsense manager, left us a comment today regarding the kittens with the respiratory illness that are up for adoption. "The kitties have been taken to the vet for evaluation. We should have them back soon." We were really worried the shelter would just take them back and .... we don't want to finish the sentence. If you missed the kittens, you can see them here.

Welcome Petsense

Last month we mentioned Petsense is coming. Your response was the same as ours - what's a Petsense?

Well, today we have an answer for you. This is a Petsense.

Sorry the name is cut off but the sun was shining right into the camera and Jan had to stand sideways in the traffic lane (in front of a car) to get a shot.

It's something we needed - a pet store that sells pet food brands we can't buy in this area and pet-related supplies.  It also has a grooming "parlor" inside.  The store opened last week and is having several drawings for neat prizes, so anyone in Upson or surrounding counties come on by, check out the store and put your name into one or all of the bins for the drawings.  It's on Highway 19 in the shopping center right next to Wal-mart, so you can't miss it.

We think it's very unfair because we didn't get to visit the store and Jan only entered her own name.  We think she should have filled out a slip for each one of us for each drawing.  We're the furries, not her, so that seems only right.  Okay, so she'd get writer's cramp.  Aren't we worth it?

It also has about a dozen cages where cats from the county animal shelter can be displayed for adoption. Several kittens are the first "residents."  Unfortunately, they all developed a respiratory illness and we fear for the outcome.

But we'll share a few of the photos Jan took.  She wouldn't let us share the better ones because she wants to make designs from them.

There are actually 3 black kittens in this cage.  One is asleep in the litter pan. Notice the spot of red color to the left.  Each cage has a toy or two, something they wouldn't have at the shelter. 

 

The one on the right kept trying to jump down or climb to the next cage.  Now the one on the left appears to be considering the same move.

Now this one was taken just a second before the talker on the right leaped onto Jan's shoulder and started purring.  Regretfully, she decided it might be safer to take photos through the bars.  It was nice of Josh, the manager, to let her open the cages to try for good shots, though.

This little one never moved around.  He must have really felt bad.  He was asleep a few minutes later.

Look at those get-me-out-of-here and take me home eyes.  

This little guy looks forlorn. 

This shot isn't very clear but we included this little tuxie because it looks like a young Cameron.  Except Cameron has very dark eyes. 

Well, that's our tour.  We're not paid tour guides. We're just letting you know what a Petsense is.