Dog Safety Quiz

1. Is it okay to open a door and let dogs out when a letter carrier drops off mail? Yes OR No

Answer: NO
If a letter carrier delivers mail or packages to your front door, place your dog into a separate room and close the door before opening the front door. Dog owners should remind their children about the need to keep the family dog secured. Parents should remind their children not to take mail directly from letter carriers in the presence of the family pet as the dog may see handing mail to a child as a threatening gesture.

2. Does an angry dog wag his tail? Yes OR No

Answer: YES
People often assume that a dog with a wagging tail is a friendly dog, but this is far from the truth. Dogs wag their tails for numerous reasons, including when they’re feeling aggressive. A tail that is held high and moves stiffly is a sign that the dog is feeling dominant, aggressive, or angry.

3. Do dogs like to be kissed and hugged? Yes OR No

Answer: NO
We humans like to touch and hug people and things when we express happiness. Dogs don’t. Some dogs are very tolerant and will allow hugging and kissing while some try to get away. A dog may tolerate or even enjoy a hug on his terms, but sometimes he will not be in the mood. Think about it, when hugging a person you wrap your arms around the other and hold them in place for a few seconds. That alone is bad news to a dog since they on average do not do well with restrain. They generally don’t like to be held in place. This alone is enough to generate feelings of anxiety as well as a sense of unease and insecurity in your dog.

4. If you know a dog, is it okay to reach through a car window or a fence to pet it? Yes OR No

Answer: NO
Dogs, even ones you know have good days and bad days. You should never pet a dog without asking the owner first and especially if it is through a window or fence. For a dog, this makes them feel like you are intruding on their space and could result in the dog biting you.

5. If a dog is chasing you, should you try to run away? Yes OR No

Answer: NO
Never run from a dog! The dog may think you are playing a game and start chasing you if you begin to run away. Don’t shout or wave your arms as this will either encourage or frighten the dog. Remain calm and still and talk to the dog using a soft voice. Loud, angry-sounding words and screaming only make the dog nervous and upset.

6. Is it important to ask an owner for permission before you pet their dog? Yes OR No

Answer: YES
ALWAYS even if it is a dog you know!
 First get the “OK” from the owner.
 Hold out your hand, fingers closed, palm down, slowly toward the dog. Allow the dog to approach your hand and sniff it.

 Wait for the dog’s “OK.” If he wants your affection, he will lower his head, perk ears, or even come closer to you. If the dogs puts his ears back, flat on his head, or growls, or cowers, don’t pet him!
 Pat the dog on the top of his head, or along his back. Avoid touching his belly, tail, ears, or feet.

7. Is it okay to pet a dog while it is eating? Yes OR No

Answer: NO
Do not try to take food or toy away from a dog. NEVER bother a dog while he is eating. The most common situation where a dog bite occurs is while a dog is eating because they are protecting their source of food.

8. Is it okay to hit or yell at your dog if it doesn’t listen to you? Yes OR No

Answer: NO
When we hit or yell at a dog, we are applying pain and scaring the dog. For dogs, a natural reaction to being hurt or frightened is to bite. A fearful dog doesn’t trust people and can lead to aggression.

9. Is a scared dog as dangerous as an angry dog? Yes OR No

Answer: YES
When animals and people are afraid of something, they prefer to get away from that thing. They try to defend themselves from the scary thing. An angry dog is just as dangerous as a dog that is afraid because both will be defensive and bite.

10. Are there only certain breeds (or types) of dogs that bite? Yes OR No

Answer: NO
ALL DOGS are capable of biting. There’s no one breed or type of dog that’s more likely to bite than others. Biting has more to do with circumstances, behavior, and training.

11. Do dogs use their body to tell you how they feel? Yes OR No

Answer: YES
Dogs have a language that allows them to communicate their emotional state and their intentions to others around them. Although dogs do use sounds and signals, much of the information that they send is through their body language, specifically their facial expressions and body postures. You can tell how a dog is feeling (sad, tired, happy, angry, scared) by looking at the position of a dogs’ ears, mouth, eyes, and tail.

12. Does a good dog owner leave his dog chained up outside all day? Yes OR No

Answer: NO
Dogs are social animals who crave human companionship. That’s why they thrive and behave better when living indoors with their pack — their human family members. Dogs that are tied up or chained outside are frustrated and can become aggressive because they are unhappy. They can also become very afraid because when they are tied or chained up, they can’t escape from things that scare them.

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Because of Breed Specific Ban Laws in the UK Sir Patrick Stewart known for his role on Star Trek cannot adopt a sweet adorable dog named Ginger who needs a home.  He and the dog bonded when he fostered her in the USA. Yeah she looks very dangerous, kissing and slobbering all over his face.

http://www.express.co.uk/celebrity-news/790551/Dangerous-Dogs-Act-Patrick-Stewart-RSPCA-prevent-adoption-PITBULL

    

in town, Kanab, Utah, there are some new chain hotels that are pet friendly such as Comfort suites, Holiday inn, and Hampton inn with pet fees of $10 or twenty per pet per night and also a few others that are not chains such as Parry lodge, which also has a coffee shop. if you are visiting Best friends, it is easier to get around by staying right in kanab. there are other properties that are twenty or thirty miles away. these are pet friendly but then you have to drive forty to sixty miles a day, if you are volunteering.

The prices from April until September, high season, are higher than at other times of the year. The weather in the summer can be very humid and hot. Cici and I visited during mid-March and it is already in the 80’s, the prices are not so high and there are not as many tourists, although as we drove through Zion, it was pretty filled up and crowded with hikers.

Please call the Best Friends Welcome Center at 435-644-2001, ext. 4537 or email them at welcomecenter@bestfriends.org  and ask to be scheduled on a tour.

I asked about the rest of the Vicktory Dogs who are still there. The Welcome Center does include info about them during the tour.

This is what I was told.
“One of them is court-ordered to stay here for life and the other three  have special circumstances that make it likely that they will live out their lives here which is just fine with their caregivers who love them. The Vicktory Dogs who are still here are not comfortable with strangers so actually meeting the dogs isn’t possible. Mya and Curly are extremely shy. Next January will be the 10th anniversary of their arrival here. So time is marching on. Out of the 22 who came to Best Friends, we are happy that 13 of them were able to be adopted.”

http://bestfriends.org/donate/sponsor-an-animal/curly

http://bestfriends.org/stories-blog-videos/latest-news/vicktory-dogs-nine-years-later

I also visited the little store that BFAS has in town because they had a sign that said cat cuddling. i WAS game.  there were only two cats in there but one of them reminded me of my baby boy Abundance, a black cat with some white on his chest and paws. Had not expected that. Touched my heart.

Also got to spend some time chatting with Kevin Johnson, now retired, who used to work at BFAS, his wife still does. They adopted Ray one of the V-dogs, who passed a couple of years ago. Now they have three other pit bulls, Bosco, Bubba and Turtle and numerous parrots and a cat. Each have their own challenges. We shared pit bull stories and specific instances of dogs and love and opportunities of being a guardian of the furry creatures. Of course, Cici slobbered all over Kevin’s legs and showed off her belly.

    

What is wrong with this picture ???  IF you think any of the stories below are fake/false news, they are not. Freedom of the Press, aka the First Amendment, IS one of our most important and highly cherished parts of the CONSTITUTION. Look it up. Many reporters have risked their very lives over the years to bring us the news, facts and evidence included not opinion and wild conspiracy theories.

Travel industry… 

The US Travel industry has lost $185 million in revenue since the inauguration. The U.s. Association reported that in 2016, the number of international tourists had finally returned to pre-Sept. 11 numbers. But since the travel ban, enough though it was rescinded, the message is our country is not welcoming outsiders.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/north-america/united-states/articles/us-travel-industry-has-lost-185-million-since-trump-took-office-and-things-are-likely-to-get-worse/

Even elderly white Australian children’s authors with proper visas are not exempt from Trump inspired intense scrutiny.

Australia’s beloved children’s author Mem Fox was detained for two hours and is threatening never to return to the United States. 

Muhammed Ali, Jr., the son of the famous boxer, was detained for hours at Miami airport despite the fact that he is a U.S. citizen with a valid U.S. passport and no criminal history. Immigration officials asked him if he was a Muslim and other questions about his religion.. His mother who was traveling with him on their way back from a conference in Jamaica was not detained.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2017/02/24/muhammad-ali-jr-detained-immigration-officials-fla-airport/98379082/.  

Protection for deployed military families have been dropped which means that military personnel fighting on the front lines could receive desperate phone calls or come home to find their families have been deported. Military spouses and children.

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/opinion/commentary/sd-utbg-trump-military-deport-fletcher-20170224-story.html

IS this your idea of how America should be behaving??? Is Russia and/or white supremacists, no one who any American voted for in the last election, running our country now ????   DON’T WE HAVE A RIGHT TO KNOW ????

CICI and I, well, me I am a third generation American, are disgusted, appalled, and shocked at how people, our neighbors, friends, fellow Americans, are being treated and scapegoated. Some people in power, aka millionaires and billionaires love to blame poor people, minorities, victims of their policies, for the injustices of the world. Yet, if you think for a second, WHO are the people with the POWER to CHANGE  the systems, create JOBS, economic freedom and prosperity, and equality for all?

Spending billions of dollars deporting people who came here to work hard and pay their taxes, unlike the billionaires and millionaires, is  COSTING US A LOT OF MONEY AND WILL IMPOVERISH ALL OF US on many levels. $500 billion for the deportations and $30 or 40 billion for the wall so that military industrial companies can get richer.

Cici says it’s the fault of the CATS. A CAT CONSPIRACY make the cats pay for the wall….

Is this what we want  Berlin wall dogs ???

http://blog.gudog.co.uk/dogs-berlin-wall/

http://www.k9history.com/cold-war-end-us-vs-them.htm

 

I was in Berlin before the wall came down. I was on a tour bus at Checkpoint Charlie and we were told that we could not get out and off the bus. Why?  They pointed to the guards who stood ready with their guns to shoot us if we dared to do so. Chilling moment. And no one got off the bus. The wall kept people trapped inside East Berlin.

A few corrupt and greedy politicians think that they can trick people into looking the other way so that their treasonous behavior will not be seen or heard and they will not be held accountable. IF there is a lot of smoke, there is usually fire. And if the people involved are innocent, then you would think that they would want the world to know that. INSTEAD they tell tall stories to COVER UP their misdeeds and fool us. Do you want to pay with YOUR VERY LIFE, your children’s lives, your pet’s lives, your family’s life, your neighbor’s life, just to help a few billionaires and millionaires ????

    

On Saturday, more than two million women and men marched in more than 600 cities around the world.  They marched in DC, 500,000, LA, 750,000, NYC and more. Many of the women have never protested before and it was a historic protest of an inauguration ever.

“Women are marching because our children deserve a secretary of education that cares about education.”

“Women are marching because our family and friends deserve healthcare. Did you know that before the ACA, newborns in the NICU would hit their lifetime caps on health insurance coverage. That’s right, Babies who had never felt the sun on their skin could no longer get health insurance.”

Here are some of the pooches who took part in the peaceful rallies for equality for women, health care, and more.

These adorable pets supported the #WomensMarch

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/pets-dogs-cats-womens-march_us_58839e12e4b070d8cad2d205?ncid=engmodushpmg00000004 

theunitedstateofwomen.org

we are America… we are the people… the constitution begins with WE THE PEOPLE

    

I was looking forward to seeing the movie A Dogs Purpose. Seemed like a good uplifting positive message that I could certainly use right now. A movie about a dog’s purpose, life into reincarnation. Unfortunately, the word has been spreading that a GermanShepherd dog in the film, Hercules, was abused in a scene having to do with water. The poor dog was forced to go into the water, was traumatized and almost died from the stress.

The dog ‘trainer’ went far beyond the dog’s will and the AMERICAN HUMANE ASSOCIATION once again did NOTHING to help the dog. They were on set apparently and often oversee animals on set and are supposed to ensure the animals safety.  They have suspended, not fired, the person responsible on set. This is not acceptable. This person did NOT DO THEIR JOB OF ENSURING THE DOG’S SAFETY.

Here is a word from the producer of the film. He admits there were a few errors and that they were blown up by PETA. PETA of course could not care less about actually protecting the animals. They have their own agenda.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/gavin-polone-a-dogs-purpose-outcry-what-happened-whos-blame-967160

The AHA in New Jersey were the ones who wanted to exploit Patrick the pit bull who almost starved to death. Instead due to our huge outcry, Patrick was adopted by the loving vets who saved his life.

The author of the book, the producer and others have come out against the actions and Universal initially canceled the premiere of the film.

PETA is calling for a boycott of the film. I do think that the people who performed and allowed the wrongdoing with this dog need to be held accountable. I would beware of any other ‘solutions’ PETA has in mind given their often destructive agenda.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/a-dogs-purpose-premiere-cancelled-controversy-966354

no dog should be forced against their will into water or any situation where they fear for their lives

http://www.vox.com/culture/2017/1/19/14319976/a-dogs-purpose-abuse

The director of the film and some of the crew say the dog Hercules is fine.

https://moviepilot.com/p/a-dogs-purpose-animal-abuse/4191555