Monday, December 12, 2011

Rusty Rambles

Hey, Rusty here.  Happy Monday to you.  It's rainy, cold and dreary and but we're sacked out in front of the heaters trying to "unchill."  Yes, I'm aware there is no such word but it's descriptive so I'm adding it to the Funny Farmer dictionary. 

We're sending out some purrs and woofs to Jan's minister who is having (or has already had) partial knee replacement surgery this morning.  I was going to say how lucky we are not to have knees to need surgery, but Jan ruined my day by saying cats and dogs have 2 knees and knee pain is a common cause of lameness in us furries.  Before you gush about how brilliant Jan is she only learned this three minutes ago.

I can't figure out whether the number of cats lost in transit by airplane is climbing or if the numbers remain the same but lost animals are getting more publicity.  We were glad to read that at least one airline takes a missing pet seriously!  When Wenty's empty carrier arrived in Seattle without her, Alaska Airlines didn't drag their feet and lose valuable time.  They went to great lengths to help find Wenty.  And Wenty was found! 

"Using everything from *Karma’s nose, high power spotlights, a search camera, an amplified listening device, and digital wildlife cameras, MPP conducted a detailed “area search.” Alaska Airlines gave the team unrestricted access to the baggage area and the tarmac area."  (*Karma is a Missing Pet Partnership cat detection dog.)

You can read the rest of  "Alaska Air Stops at  Nothing to Find Lost Cat'" on Mousebreath.  After some of the horror stories we have read on lost cats entrusted to an airline, this was a breath of fresh air.  Missing pets should be taken seriously.  Kudos to Alaska Airlines!


On a different subject, this title is a mouthful but we suggest you read it, especially if you are a newbie to blogging. There are a lot of folks out there who are anxious to take advantage of bloggers. Our Reading Lists, Hijacked By Spammers, Who Have Conned The Owners Of Blogs That We Follow.

Don't be conned by spammers.  They are numerous and they are sneaky, so we furries need to be on our paws and remain smarter than they are.


Cat curiosity aroused: We've had a couple of contacts in the past few months asking if we take text ads on our blog and when we ask for more information, we're told all we have to do is to put their ad link in a post or two for them - not a new post, a prior post. This doesn't make any sense to us and doesn't seem particularly legitimate, so we've turned them down. But our whiskers are twitching to know why anyone would even ask. There must be some advantage to someone wanting to pay to have an ad placed in a "used" post or two, but we can't figure out what they get out of it. So we thought we'd ask our more knowledgeable readers if any of you know why someone would want to pay to "hide" an ad in an old post.

That's all the news I have for today.  We have photos and a post or two to catch up on but Jan hasn't downloaded them from the camera yet.  Perhaps by spring?

I'm going back to my blankie in front of the gas heater now and catch some zzzzzzzs.

Rusty

20 comments:

  1. I really like the word you came up with, unchill is good!!! Hey, those bozos want old posts so they can appear to have been around for a lot longer than they really have...search engine stuff!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Rusty, that was a good, informative post. Kudos to Alaska Airlines, by the way.

    We get emails asking to review this or that or add a link, but our mom deletes most of them without even opening them or responding to them. Is Brian right about the search engine being the reason to put a link in an old post? Makes sense.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Well, if ya ask me...every travelin' pet needs a seat right next to dere owner. Dey is NOT BAGGAGE!

    :o)

    ReplyDelete
  4. WE think all airlines ought to allow kitties onboard in the cabin! I understand that they should be in a cage, but it is NOT safe for them to fly as BAGGAGE and Mom would not allow us to to go that way. WE are glad that Alaska Airlines was very responsible and found Wendy.

    We have gotten offers to do things and always just delete the emails. We just don't trust any of it.
    purrs
    Abby

    ReplyDelete
  5. Links inside posts make it look like you are really talking about them. This means the person who has the website gets good link credit as they try to build their links. This will rank them slightly higher in google. Most blog links on sidebars don't have the weight any more and most links from comments are no follow. Spammer still do the comment thing (hey it's automated so even one new link is a good thing). Others want links with weight--so inside a post as if the blogger is talking about you is the way to go. Google can't track that you're paying for that (although most ads run on sidebars have credits or text that suggests it's an ad).

    ReplyDelete
  6. Rusty, I'm hangin' by the heater today too!

    I love your holiday header! And there's even a place for Jan! So cute.

    Glad to hear that Wenty was found so quickly. Good for the airline. You need to move fast, as cats are faster at hiding.

    xo

    ReplyDelete
  7. OH me and Charlie are so so so so so glad Wenty was found!! We say yay to Alaskan airlines!! Oh sweet Rusty - you look like poor Jack whom the AA lost and it's just so important that these big plane companies act immediately and with sincerity when a beloved pet is lost so no other animal will meet Jack's fate!

    Unchill is the bestest word ever!

    We purr and pray for your minister and hope he gets better asap! Take care
    x

    ReplyDelete
  8. A nice news filled post you have today sweet Rusty. We sure are happy that Wenty was found. Thanks for sharing with us about the links and spammers. We will send up prayers for Jan's minister. Hugs and nose kisses

    ReplyDelete
  9. Great post today with lots of information! Phew.
    I hope you all are warmed up and snuggled down at your place. It is cold up here but at least the shiny thing was in the sky making it look pretty outside and giving off sun puddles in the house.
    It is about time that an airlines takes responsibility for the pets that they transport! The mom here said if she had to fly with me I would be under her seat in a carrier because she doesn't trust the folks at the airport!
    And the spammers! What is with that?! I have never understood why someone gets pleasure in messing up things for someone else? They will get what is coming to them sooner or later.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I haven't had but one do that so far...I didn't know so this is a great post,.full of info. Thank you. xox

    ReplyDelete
  11. My mum thinks I is baggage sometimes...hers rude I say!

    Sorry but I must gush about Jan's smarticals cuz my mum would haves furgot what her had learnt 3 minutes ago...your Jan is sumptin else.

    By da way...ya'll had my mum rolling withs da cartoon...bwhahahahahahaha!

    Puddles

    ReplyDelete
  12. Rusty a good news post! Its bloomin cold here to. Right now its blowin a gale and pouring with rain! bbrrrr

    Big Nose Pokes
    The Thugletsx

    ReplyDelete
  13. Thanks for all the great info. I laughed out loud at Jan's 3 minute knowledge!!! :)

    It's good some airlines are taking pet travel seriously at last.

    I get various emails from people wanting to do all kinds of things on my blog. Sometimes I am intrigued, but have not responded to any so far!

    Blowing a gale here today!

    ReplyDelete
  14. I thought Alaska Airlines behaved awesomely too. As for those links... are you ever reading a blog post, when suddenly your attention is jarred by linked text mentioning things like "Houston dental services" or "gold bullion investing," that really have nothing to do with anything else the blogger is saying - like it was just tossed in there really awkwardly? Those are the links that those humans were emailing you about. They are really annoying and I think it makes the blogger look desperate for money and unprofessional. I wish Google would figure out an algorhythm to ding the companies that do that.

    ReplyDelete
  15. We've got the space heater running here, Rusty, trying to stay warm. Great post today!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Hey Rusty , you furry informative. Dis a real good thin ^..^ we tryin to "unchill" too we'z cold here :( da mom needz to putz da fireplace on ......
    We so glad dat Wenty waz found,, too many bad storiez lately ... mom getz real upset when she hearz dem :( she sayz if we haz to go anywhere we All go together in da truck! no fly..... we not baggage ^..^
    da mom don't like when peoplez leave comments and put links in dem , she erasez dem, and nefur answer e-mail she don't know... she trust no-one ^..^ too bad thinz haz to be dat way..... You furry smart kitty ^..^
    Fankz fur da info
    Purrz~ Stay Warm

    ReplyDelete
  17. there is a Pet Airways just for our kids
    Benny & Lily

    ReplyDelete
  18. I learned some stuff today. Good information Rusty. It way cold here too, and the unchill word is being used big time.

    Salud to Alaskan Airlines. That's the way it should be handled. I too agree that the kitties should travel with their Beans. This is why I have never traveled by air with my pets, and never will. Well, we're not going anywhere ever again, so ....

    Have a good week, and come when you can.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Hey Rusty, stay close to the heater. We don't have a blog yet, but are learning more all the time.

    Thanks for the purrs and woofs on the CB for Taffy. We finally found out today that her blood work is all good. We think we would have heard sooner if the news was bad. Now waiting for the other tests which take a while longer. She is eating better, but still mostly sleeps the rest of the time.

    Hugs and purrs,
    Laura and Taffy

    ReplyDelete
  20. Glad you're staying warm and toasty, Rusty. Hey, we sure are glad that Wenty was found; it's nice to hear that Alaska Airlines went all out with their efforts!

    Thanks for the info about some ways that spammers try to fool bloggers. We appreciate it!

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for coming by for a visit. We love to hear from you.