Texsox

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Feb 9, 2012 -> 12:21 PM) Why would you bring a stray cat into your possession? Any stray animal can be carrying a host of diseases. I'm sure if you decided to wrap up a stray dog and it bit you, that bite would be worse than the cat's. Cats are very careful creatures, the chances of catching a stray one are pretty remote. Cats will normally give warning. They get their fill, stop messing with them. Also, if you get nasty scratches from wrestling cats, maybe you should stop all the backyard cat wrastlin'. The biters where two from the same litter I had since they were kittens. Literally they would be purring, stretched out and then snap with the bite. Some sort of learned behavior from their littermates or momma.

Overall health, how long he lived, no major health issues. Looking around at field trial competitions and comparing him to others of his same breed. I have no reliable way to know if he enjoyed his diet. He wagged his tail when it was time to eat and seemed to like the food. But just like it is probably wrong to feed a dog like a human, it may be wrong to believe an animal tastes food like a human. As I watch them sniffing the crotch of another dog, I wonder what their taste buds are like As I think about a raw diet and how it basically tries to match what a dog would naturally eat, are you concerned about the dog not eating the prime pieces? In the wild, a dog would have had the tasty back strap as well as the neck. It seems that you would need to feed a balance of all the cuts or am I missing something? The dogs we have today do not exist in nature as their breed. These have been manufactured to human specifications to be pets. I doubt a wild pack of Peekapoos would do very well hunting game. So I can see where a man made diet could benefit a man made dog. But as I mentioned before, your experiences with a raw diet has me interested.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Feb 9, 2012 -> 10:28 AM) Hah...come on, Tex...you're just looking for a fight here... Edit: BTW, the obesity stems from the fact that people feed their dogs as they would people...two or three times a day or free feeding...dogs evolved to eat very large meals once a day or less, due to the scarcity of prey and the competition for food. Thus, they can eat up to 8% of their body weight at one time, but this can take 24 hours to digest. They can then go days, even a week or more without food without suffering from exhaustion or any other form of energy depletion. People need to feed with THAT in mind instead of how their 6 year old kid eats. No fight from me. I believe there can be some very good commercial pet foods, and have years of experience feeding them to my pets allows me to be comfortable with that opinion. You are very successful with a raw diet, and I may give that a try. And I agree, my parents are a prime example. They dog eats too much three times a day and if their cat does not eat as soon as the food is put out, it is picked up and something else is fed to him. The poor dog is only seven years old and can't walk down stairs. When I show them the recommended portion per day, it is less than they feed the dog at one of the three feedings. I do agree with the doggie spa when they go out of town, with the special race car bed (ramp leading into it) and a 15 minute walk through the woods near the kennel spa.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Feb 9, 2012 -> 11:23 AM) I was thinking more or less after you had them in your possession or whatever. Then I agree. I have had a couple biter cats. They will be purring, enjoying a nice back rub and *snap* they are biting my hand. And I've had some nasty scratches from wresting with them.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Feb 9, 2012 -> 11:03 AM) And a feral cat can be far more apt to injure you than a stray dog... That hasn't been my experience (if we are just talking about common cats), not mountain lions, etc. I have had dogs snap at me but cats will usually run away or at least hiss. I have had a couple dogs charge me for no apparent reason.

Even though I consider myself more of a dog than cat person, I realize I will help a cat before a dog. A stray dog, especially a larger breed, makes me nervous, while a cat seems less of a potential harm. And perhaps that is also why I am probably kinder to stray cats than the homeless.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Feb 9, 2012 -> 09:10 AM) Here is the introduction from a paper I found about the animal feed industry, written by a Harvard law student. It gives you a bit of an idea of what is going on with most commercial dog foods. Link Just like my eye doctor makes money when he prescribes new glasses and I buy them from him. I always assumed that the butcher and the vet each made a profit on the pet food I bought. I am certain that the American Butcher Assoc or whatever their trade group is offers advice to butchers on how to build their business by selling these products to savvy pet owners. I'm not certain the advice of a future lawyer on pet nutrition, even a Harvard educated one, is all that reliable either. Not saying he isn't correct, but I have fed my dogs and cats commercial pet food and they have lived long healthy lives. As far as enjoyment, I have seen them wag their tails for fresh meat and dry, compressed, nuggets. I'm not certain I can tell the difference. My lab ate the same dry food for 7 years straight and ran to his bowl twice a day to eat it. They biggest problem I see with pet diets is how obese we allow our pets to get. Why people would take away from their pet's quality of life by keeping them so overweight baffles me. I do like the idea of a fresh diet, and if my circumstances change and a dog fits into my life again, I may just go that route.

"homeless kitty" in my neighborhood -- "hey kitty kitty" homeless person in my neighborhood -- "9-1-1 operator, what is your emergency?"

QUOTE (G&T @ Feb 9, 2012 -> 07:51 AM) First, there are many examples of animals raising babies of another species or animals befriending animals of another species. Good point. I hadn't really thought about that.

Because we haven't written anything new in years. Same old stuff repeated over and over again? Maybe Kap will know

The pet thread has me thinking, I can't think of any other animal that keeps pets. We lavish $$$ on these animals. Imagine a commercial with a puppy scavenging through dumpsters, coughing, shivering from the cold. Yeah, I want to take that puppy home, and so do most of you. Now shoot the same commercial with a human scavenging through a dumpster, coughing, shivering from the cold. Not even close to the same emotion. How did dogs, and cats, and ferrets, gerbils, fish, etc gain that position? I find it an amazing quirk of human nature. Perhaps it is deep in our genetics. A primitive man huddled in a cave, worrying about a pack of wild dogs, thinking how safe he would be if he could command the dogs to help, not kill him. Our pets have gained a spot in our lives where we will sacrifice our own comfort and food for them. Maybe we could end human hunger if the homeless could be more like that puppy.

We beg for people to fill some of our boards.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Feb 8, 2012 -> 04:24 PM) You could put the dog in a crate on top of the car... Grandma is already there

I hope he finds a way to stay sober after his career is over.

I've lost all interest in the primaries. I can't support either one of the front runners and just when I think I can warm up to Paul, I read something he said and that feeling goes away. Obama 2012

QUOTE (Rex Kicka** @ Feb 8, 2012 -> 08:51 AM) He was found guilty of fraud and theft. He moved out of the town he lived in as an elected official, lied about where he lived - took a paycheck he wasn't entitled to and voted in a district he wasn't entitled to. I'll be honest, if this was any other statewide position OTHER than the one responsible for enforcing election laws, I probably wouldn't have as big of a problem with using an address in another voting district - but the paycheck thing? That's egregious and corrupt and politicians who violate the public trust in this way should get everything that's coming to them. As he was between marriages, I am cutting him some slack on the address. Anyone that can get an ex-wife to cover for him, or allow him to crash there, deserves a break. I like your point about positions matter. I was not taking that into account enough.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Feb 8, 2012 -> 08:53 AM) Usually? Personal political gain. Your boards are way better than ours

QUOTE (Soxfest @ Feb 7, 2012 -> 08:36 PM) I will believe it when I see it................he is media whore who craves attention! He is a media members dream. In a world of safe, means nothing quotes, Ozzie will give you something to write about. Take it one game at a time gets boring after the 1,000,000 utterance by a coach.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Feb 7, 2012 -> 11:38 AM) That kind of reinforces my point actually. Obama gets "Change of position", Romney gets "Flip-flopper". I know which I would rather have. The media needs to have one term that they always use.

QUOTE (lasttriptotulsa @ Feb 7, 2012 -> 03:14 PM) At my place of employment, about once a month somebody decides it is a good idea to spread feces on the wall and on the inside of the stall. It literally looks like they are trying to paint the walls with feces. Now mind you, I work for a company where every person working there is atleast 25+ and making a rather decent wage. I can never understand what would make a full grown adult do that kind of thing. Looking at your hometown, perhaps it comes from being a Dick? Sorry, but I have to ask, what is the High School mascot?

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Feb 7, 2012 -> 01:24 PM) Honestly it happens way too often. I've personally seen it locally where a person from outside of City limits was listed as the same address as an important non-political figure. I've seen another that ended up being a factory which closed before I was born. All to run for City Council and to serve on local boards. Why? Personal financial gain? Volunteerism?

QUOTE (Rex Kicka** @ Feb 7, 2012 -> 12:21 PM) He had due process. And was found guilty on five counts. I thought you posted somewhere there was an appeal process that may knock those down to misdemeanors. It seems like a fair plan to appoint an interim and once any and all appeals are exhausted, then replace him. I would hope at some point he would resign. Maybe if I lived there I could work up a little more venom. But it wasn't like he stole an election, had he filed properly he still would have won.

QUOTE (Rex Kicka** @ Feb 7, 2012 -> 08:17 AM) Violated election laws while running to be the arbiter of election law? Yeah, that's what he did. He violated a law that seems about to me as bad as a cop speeding five miles over the limit. Not certain I would punish it that severely. And I support allowing him due process before removing him from office.

I am picturing a dog wandering the woods, skipping over an easy meal because they do not "enjoy" rabbit or ground squirrel. The same animals that smell each other crotches suddenly are gourmets at dinner.

Every time I read rebuild I think no, for the love of God, no. Build something different, the original kind of sucked.