Abuse Unchecked

Todays blog is not a ramble, rant or review.  It is about something that can be tough to truly understand.  Abuse comes in many forms.  ALERT!!! There are some graphic photos here that may not be suitable for some, and others I didn't include because it goes beyond.   

I call myself an animal lover and somewhat of an empath.  The combination of these things mean I should stay away from animal shelters or even similar websites of that sort.  After the loss of our 3rd and remaining dog, my wife and I adopted a cat.  Neither of us are cat people, but it was pretty much abandoned by its owner.  We always knew we would get another dog someday.  My wife joined rehoming groups and checked humane society sites daily.  Check that, several times a day.  She also sent me the link for "Rehoming Pets in WA State".  After 1-2 weeks of animals coming up on my feed I came across this particular one that stuck with me, and I think my wife may had sent it to me also.  Here are photos from the ad.

The ad basically said the dog was hit by a car and abandoned.  We set up a meeting and then we learned more.  The people that rescued her, in every sense of the word, told us they believe she was dragged behind a car.  

The couples daughter called them and told them there was a dog left in the alley behind where she worked and if someone didn't do something the dog would probably die.  The first place they went was going to euthanize her, so things looked very bad.  They made their way to Blue Pearl in Tacoma, WA and she was given a new lease on life.  At the cost of over $4,000 to people who didn't even own her and wouldn't be able to keep her.  They already had their own dogs, cats and horses.  So they placed ads.

Only the dog and whoever is responsible will ever know what really happened, but no matter what happened, it is abuse.  Going forward, I will use the name we gave her.  LEXI. The photos will show some of the wounds, but Lexi was also covered in fleas, to the extreme extent, and filthy.  Now to the photos.  Please beware, even though I did not include the worst ones, they are still quite graphic.  The first photo is in the alley where Lexi was found.

While we were meeting with the couple I couldn't stop thinking about who did this, and how could they do this?  I think I can answer to the how.  Because they could, and more importantly, can.  Why?  People turn their head to this kind of crime.  What has been done, could be done or will be done?  Nothing harsh enough.  Who can speak for the domesticated animals of the world?  Do YOU care enough?  In the grand scheme of things, if she had been euthanized, so what?  Who would care?  It's just a dog, probably deserved it.  Whoever did this knows they still can, and probably will.

I could go on, but my rage only builds when I think about these things.  Luckily, Lexi is a survivor.  Not only is she surviving, she is thriving!  We have had her since 16 November '24.  She has made a huge impact on our lives. She is full of energy and overflowing with love.  She is the kindest, sweetest and most caring dog.  Mind you, she is a breed of pit bull.  My guess is American Pitbull Terrier/American Bulldog mix.  I  can only imagine, at about 1yr old and filling out, she might hit 65 pounds, but currently is 58.5lbs of LOVE.  We love her.  And she loves us.  As far as we can tell.  She sleeps in the bed with us, or more accurately, on us.  She helps me tie my shoes.  She meets us at the door with kisses and cuddles.  Did I mention she is 58.5 pounds of determination?  Bullies are strong, persistent and loyal dogs.  I have never owned one, but Lexi is all of that and more.  When I get into bed at night she will lay next to me and put her cheek against mine and give out a huge sigh.  After she gets enough snuggling, petting, hugging and kissing, she will curl up in a ball as tight as she can against me and crash.  Just try moving her.

 

Lexi is definitely comfortable and has integrated into our family.  Our lives and hers, have forever been changed.  The wrong has hopefully been righted in this situation.  To an extent.  I can't get hung up on what should happen to the people responsible for what happened to our Lexi, but I hope if nothing else, Karma pays a visit, because abuse left unchecked leads to .....

Farewell My Friend

Saying goodbye is never an easy thing. 

Meeting someone who does not pass judgement, loves you for who you are, is always there for you, kisses it better, and loves you absolutely unconditionally would usually be a hard find.  Not this time, not with this friend.

I met Buster towards the end of October of 2016.  I walked into his house and he barked at me while wagging his little nub.  As he cornered me against the door, I thought this is the most vicious guard dog on the planet...NOT!  I bent down to pet him while he kinda barked and kissed me.  How could I have known I would love him so dearly.  He would be my helper, confidant and biggest pain ever!  Literally.  He was always right behind me, under foot.  I will miss that the most.

 When my soul mate and I got together, we were sort of like the Brady Bunch.  She got the unfair part of the deal.  She brought 2 loving dogs while I brought what my friends fondly called "The Devil Dog".  He barked at everyone and was a menace to society.  Not even this deterred Buster.  Instead, my Sampson not only tolerated him, but would cuddle him, even though he would sometimes still attack him, we knew he loved Buster.  The power of Buster.  They would stare out the front window together and bark at the passerby's.  

I will not be greeted at the door by him anymore.  I will not be woken up in the middle of the night by him anymore.  I will not be told by him it is time to eat any more.  I will not trip over him anymore.  I will not get any kisses from him whether I ask for them or not anymore.  I will not get barked at by him while I hug "his momma"  But I will never EVER EVER forget him.  He will always be in my heart and on my mind.  He brought me comfort when I needed it, and I will take comfort in knowing another angel has gone home.  

Ahui Hou, my friend

Stereotyping

I don't think of myself as someone who stereotypes, yet I found myself doing it the other day.  Growing up in Hawaii, a Hawaiian, Filipino, Portuguese and Swedish local boy, you couldn't pigeonhole me as such.  I ran (road,track and cross country), water skied, skim boarded and cycled, not your typical local boy activities, I played basketball at the courts with other local kids, just not as much as I did other activities.
So I found it strange that I found humor in this scene.  I pulled up to a traffic light and there was this hard core rap music blaring out of the vehicle next to me.  It was a Toyota Highlander Hybrid and the factory speakers were distorting.  The driver was a late teens early 20's male.  Not to be mean, just for you to get the best visual possible, the driver looked like the Pillsbury Dough Boy.  White and fluffy, boppin his head, doing the hand wave thing.  I couldn't help but smile and wonder...
In my music collection (at this same age), I had a huge assortment of albums and tapes.  AC/DC, Beastie Boys, Gabby Pahinui, John Denver, Boston, James Taylor, Prince, OMD, just touch on a few of the mixed Genre's.  Why is it then, that I found this so humorous?  I guess stereotyping is something we all do, to a certain extent?
Anyway, enough rambling for today, tomorrow is just a short sleep away... 

Yellowstone National Park: Being a Tourist Amongst Tourists

I am not a worldly traveler, but I do like to sight see.  I am not an historian, but I do like history.  I am not a photographer, but I do like to take pictures.  I am not a creeper, but I do enjoy people watching!

 

 
We packed up our Subaru and drove 1800 miles, burning 72 gallons of gas in 4 days, to visit Yellowstone, our nations first national park.  Hmmm, 1800/72 the year the park was established...very strange...

 

There were so many different ethnicity's represented.  All of us with a common goal.  See and document as much of the park as possible.  It was very interesting seeing how all of us, though culturally different, shared the same awestruck faces when taking in all the natural beauty.  The range of color, temperature and scenery kept you wanting to see more.

 Walking around with my wife and daughter made me miss having my son with us (he had to work), at the same time relishing being able to share this experience with them.  

 There were couples pushing strollers, and elderly being helped by younger family members.  There were tour buses and RV's and there were bicyclists.  There were motorcyclists and there were hitchhikers.  Just about any type of person you could imagine, was represented.

 

Being born and raised in Hawaii, there was always natural beauty to be seen.  Here at Yellowstone the waterfalls were  different than what I was accustomed to.  In Hawaii it was sort of natural to see a waterfall cascading down a green mountain side.  Here you might hike awhile seeing sparse vegetation and dry rocky mountains  and all of a sudden there is a waterfall in a deep canyon.

The rivers varied quite a bit also.  Some were in deep valleys and some had wildlife in and around them.  I am drawn to water anyway , but seeing the rivers here was always a reason to stop, not that I did, I just wanted to.

There was time while learning, for some goofing around.  I usually do more goofing around than learning.  But, if it wasn't for my goofing around I might not want to learn anything!

The views and scenery are incredible and well worth whatever it takes to get there.  These pictures don't do it justice.  This park is truly a must see in person, once in a lifetime, bucket list...cliché .

Just in case you were wondering, yes, we did go see Old Faithful.  We also did go shopping, but I won't bore you with any of that!

This was an awesome experience that everyone should try to do.  We were only in the park 2 days and it wasn't nearly enough to even scratch the surface.  We have plans to return, but don't know when.

Enough rambling for today, tomorrow is just a short sleep away...