Two Milestones Reached... What Happens If...

Tonight, our campaign broke the $9,000 mark!  There are ebbs and flows to this campaign, and I still believe that it has yet to go viral in a way I think is entirely possible. The message of the video is solid, and the more people who see it, the more buzz there is about what National Purebred Dog Day is doing, and what it can accomplish.

Imagine one of those inane (and often inaccurate) lists we find on Yahoo or the Huffington Post claiming to know the "Top Ten Most (fill in the blank) Breeds" being replaced by the results of a survey of 35,000 purebred dog owners who know what they're talking about?  Those 35,000 people are the fans of the NPDD page!

This is what a grassroots movement looks like, friends, and you've helped advance it. Each one of you.  And what does it look like when those efforts get noticed? Like this:

National Purebred Dog Day's campaign was named Number One in KickSpy's Top 100 Campaigns in Journalism as of tonight. Let's keep it going!

And finally, I've been asked what happens not only if the goal isn't met, but if it is.  Since I won't entertain negative thoughts about the campaign right now, I'll answer the last question.  If the goal is met before the deadline, I hope people keep donating! Why? Two reasons: First, because, as my mom always used to say, things always cost more than you think they will. If I missed something in calculating expenses, it'd be nice to have that cushion. Second, if, and it's a big if, some of the donations have been made by people unsympathetic to our cause who intend to pull them at the 11th hour thereby dooming us to fail, a cushion would protect against that.

Till the next update, keep up the good fight, keep sharing the Kickstarter link and the video, talk about it with your friends, and love your purebred dogs.

National Purebred Dog Day Update!

Many who hunt have Labs, Chessies, Springers, etc. Purpose bred purebred dogs. As many of you know, our rights as animal owners & lovers are under constant attack by the anti's (anti-hunting, anti-gun, anti-fishing, anti-dog ownership, etc.). There is a movement afoot to establish the National Purebred Dog Day.

National Purebred Dog Day was created for a whole lot of reasons, not the least of which was that it didn't exist a year ago, and that seemed wrong to me when there was a National Mutt and National Rescue Day. It struck me that with such a name, it was not only fitting, but expected to celebrate purebred dog ownership and its ethical breeding. And finally, the existence of such a day gives all purebred dog owners, even the shy ones, ONE DAY out of the year when they can be PROUD-OUT-LOUD about being purebred dog owners and breeders. For all the other 364 days, there is National Purebred Dog Day on Facebook.
But it's time to grow, and to realize the potential in how better to give a voice to purebred dog owners and breeders in a way they can't seem to find anywhere else. And that's why a Kickstarter campaign was launched last week to fund the building of a website that will rival National DOG Day's website. There is one, you know. It just had its second make-over.

Right now, the fundraising effort is stagnant.  It hasn't gone anywhere for the past 24 hours. I really dislike seeing flat lines in graphs.  My guess is that people are afraid to support a movement for purebred dogs. Too many people are afraid of alienating their friends, fans base or audience. That's why this grassroots effort has to be made; has to be successful among those of us who stand to lose the most. The rich and famous will always be able to get whatever kind of dog they want. Who will suffer? Guess. We & the dogs do.  This is time to call in favors, reach out to the people we know with a bully pulpit, anyone with a blog, massive Twitter audience, or even write to a celeb.  Help me get that line moving up again.

I'm asking for your help. Share the link to this video and Kickstarter campaign. Talk about it with your friends and family over Thanksgiving - the campaign ends December 13th. If I fail to meet the goal, we all walk away empty handed and, the anti's will win and the dogs, our beloved dogs will lose.

National Purebred Dog Day Movement

Did you know that there are more panda bears in the world than there are Skye Terriers?

I'm asking for the help of every purebred dog owner & enthusiast with this project.  Please share the link with ten of your friends and ask them to do the same.  Put it up on your Facebook page; post it on your clubs' pages.  Share with your hunting buddies because they too are impacted by animal laws, by breed specific legislation, and by the animal rights movement to restrict dog breeding.  Whether their dogs are purebreds purchased from an ethical breeder, adopted from a shelter, or re-homed from breed rescue, we are all in the fight of our lives to save our breeds and to preserve our right to own the dogs of our choice.

Will this save the world?  No.  But if having a national day recognizing purebred dogs and their contributions to the world; if having a website to help give voice to us as purebred dog owners & lovers, maybe it's a little start. I know I am tired of not having a voice.

In an effort to promote & celebrate purebred dogs, we hope to have this video go viral and to have a movement that sweeps the nation, but it can only do so with your help.

Please watch the video and offer your support at National Purebred Dog Day.

We all thank you.

We are well past 4 weeks, post County Commissioner's hearing. In fact, we are over 12 wks post ruling as it was on Jan 28, 2014 and today is May 11.

Since then, we received a letter from the County, recapping the decision of the Zoning Commissioner, the Zoning Administrator, the Board of Adjustment, and the County Commissioners. This entire process has been painful for the neighborhood and very long. We have been dealing with this now for three years, give or take. However, we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. And, there were times during the past three years, it seemed as if the tunnel was collapsing around us, but thankfully that perception was wrong.

The neighbors' place is posted "for sale" as there is a "for sale by owner" sign up. None of us neighbors believe there is any intention to actually sell the place.  The place is trashed from donkeys eating the siding, the fake shutters, stripping the trees, etc.  I spoke to a realtor and they told me that land in this area is being offered for sale at anywhere between $3,000 to $10,000 an acre.  According to the Bernalillo County website, their property taxes are based on 2.88 acres, not "3 acres" as they are advertising. So, since the place is trashed, I'm thinking they'll be lucky to get $30,000 for the place.

Anyway, I digress.

Off & on, we have been in receipt of communications from Nano Chavez, head of Zoning Enforcement for Bernalillo County.  At the end of February, about 30 days post ruling, we were told that the neighbors were in violation of the ruling and they were given a 30-day extension to come into compliance.  No big surprise there.  BernCo has bent over backwards for these people. Then, just a couple of days ago, another short note was forthcoming stating that the neighbors were continuing to be in violation and that they were issued a 10-day Notice of Violation citation.  I'm not getting my hopes up.

OK...  It's 2 days post County Commissioners' ruling.  I'm sitting here at 9:00 a.m., drinking a cup of tea and contemplating life...  the curve balls that are thrown...  etc.

It was suggested that I write about what my family and my neighbors have been through for about the past three years.  So....

We have lived in our home since December 1993. We relocated to New Mexico from Maryland. A company out here, Southwest Radiographics, recruited my husband for an engineering position here in New Mexico and they made him an offer that would have been foolish to refuse. So, we packed up the house & moved.

In our time in this home, neighbors came & went.  Roy & Yvonne owned the property below us; followed by a couple with kids who were there about a month; followed by Steve & Shirley; and then, the current neighbors - Dorothea & Andrew. The property across from us, which is currently owned by Mike & Cindy, was formerly owned by an Englishman & his wife, whose name escapes me now.

Anyway, back in 2008, Steve & Shirley divorced and put the house up for sale.  They let the home go for a song just to be rid of it. Dorothea & Andrew purchased it and moved in. Shortly after they moved in, a party was held down there and someone in the neighborhood called the Sheriff because it was after midnight and it truly sounded like there was a live band with amplifiers playing. No idea who called but I was so glad they did as the next day was a work day. That should have been a warning as to what was coming down the pike, but who would have thought it?  I certainly didn't.

Fast forward to 2010...  the neighbors got a couple of donkeys to keep as pets. The pair of donkeys were pretty quiet and they were kept in the former corral & run in barn in which Roy & Yvonne kept her horse, Capitan. Life was good.  I'd share veggies out of the garden with them: zucchini, yellow squash, tomatoes....  They told us of the plans they had for the donkeys, using them for packing, etc.  The animals are interesting critters and we were pleased to make their acquaintance. Life was good...  All were happy: us, them, other neighbors, dogs, and donkeys.

Go to 2011.  In 2011, Dorothea & Andrew took in a small herd of 11 or 12 donkeys. They took them in as a donkey rescue was shutting down and they had no place to go. Now then, donkeys kept in small groups of 1 or 2 are pretty quiet but when you start bringing in herds, the noise level rises and it's quite a dramatic rise.  Rob & I approached and spoke to Andrew at our fence line about the noise. To soften the blow of our complaint, garden gifts were presented. We expressed our concerns and we were assured that it was "only temporary and that when they were gone, there would be no others."  OK...  Rob & I discussed it later and decided that as long as it was "temporary" we would just live with the noise and lack of sleep. After all, they were helping out and no one wants to see animals suffer. So, we sucked it up.

For all of 2011, we wondered when the donkeys would be gone so we could get some sleep. We didn't realize that as donkeys left, others were replacing them. Then, they got in a male named Rocky.  At least, I think that was his name.  That animal was so loud!  He sounded like the submarine dive klaxxon you hear in the old war movies.  Rob & I spoke to Andrew over the fence about him and we were assured that he would be gone soon.

Come 2012, Rocky was gone but the donkeys were still there. One weekend, we noticed that the neighbors were having a yard sale. Rob & I stopped to see what they had. Most of the stuff I wasn't interested in but I got some painted wine glasses and empty picture frames.  One always needs picture frames.  While looking around, we couldn't help but notice the two large piles of manure on the south side of the house, near the shed that the former residents had built there. The piles were huge, I'm talking something like 10 feet tall, each.  Even more distressing, Andrew & Dorothea announced to us that they were going to be placing donkeys as a donkey rescue. The "temporary" situation had turned permanent.

At this time, I still did not know that other neighbors had issues with the donkeys, until I ran into Angela at the mailboxes at the foot of the hill. We started chatting and, come to find out, Angela & Gary, who are up the hill from me were not happy about the donkey rescue either. Angela made some calls, I made some calls, and then we put our heads together to see what we could do. A call was made to Bernalillo County Environmental Health about the manure piles and an inspector came out.  Reports were filed and the neighbors were given a couple of months to clean up the place. The neighbors filed an extension as they were unable to clean up the property by the end of October. The extension gave them an additional 30 days, and then, another extension was filed giving them until the spring because of weather.



, and others on the other side of the valley on Log Cabin Lane were having their own issues with the noise, the manure, flies and odors.

The Final Chapter?

I'm hoping that last night was the final chapter in the sad, sordid drama which has rendered this neighborhood.  People who used to call each other friends, now do not speak or worse, they lie about those with whom the disagree. It's a sad, sad day.  But, perhaps, we are looking at the final chapter in this drama.

Nearly three years ago, the neighbors decided that they were going to operate a donkey rescue.  Last night, the case was presented to the Bernalillo County Commissioners.

It was an interesting proceeding. The Order of Presentation was, as follows:

1. Staff presentation - 5 minutes
2. Appellants presentation - 25 minutes
3. Opponent(s) presentation - 30 minutes
4. Appellant's summation or rebuttal - 5 minutes
5. Appellant's and opponent's questions - 5 minutes (moderated by the Chair)
6. Staff closure - 2 minutes
7. Board discussion and questions
8. Action

Nick Hamm, the Zoning Commissioner who made the initial ruling, informed the Commissioners that the 20% rule was applicable based upon a petition from the opposition. The 20% rule is an interesting thing and, to tell you the truth, I'm not exactly sure how it works. Zoning has a formula to determine if those signing the petition make enough of a force to make the rule applicable. The only ones who can sign the Petition of Opposition are those whose homes are either within 100 feet or abutting the land seeking the zoning change. In addition to the petition, a print out of the Zoning map for those properties needs to be submitted with it and on that plat, the signatories need to be indicated on the plats of land that they occupy. Of the 8 plats of land that fit the criteria, 6 signed the petition.  What application of the 20% rule does is require that a "super majority" of the Commissioners vote to overturn the decision of the Board of Adjustment.  In other words, to overturn the previous decision of denying the conditional use permit, 4 of the Commissioners were needed to vote FOR the appellants.

For more info on the 20% rule, click here!

The vote was taken and the Commissioners in a 4 -1 ballot  voted against granting the neighbors a conditional use permit. The vote was based upon testimony that has been presented at zoning meetings, in letters, in front of the Board of Adjustment, and that which was stated last night.

Hopefully now, the neighborhood can begin to heal.

HSUS: Bad to the Bone...

I'm a member of the Pet-Law email list. I get many depressing e-mails by way of this list, emails that point out how much the animal rights activists are fighting anyone and everyone who makes a living working with animals; anyone & everyone who raises animals; and anyone & everyone who owns animals.  

Normally, I don't pass on ag related emails but this one is important as it shows how the animal rights zealots, such as Humane Society of the US (HSUS), Animal Protection New Mexico (APNM), and Farm Animal Rights Movement (FARM USA), among others, impact our lives with their duplicity and lies.  How they use their minions in the mainstream media to distort & promote their agenda, which is to promote animals above all others, regardless of cost, and to destroy animal ownership.  These people lie when they say they are "for the animals".  After all, don't forget it was Wayne Pacelle who said with regard to domestic animals, "One generation and out..."

For instance, the article says distinguished professor but actually AR to the bone! Rather misleading!

http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2014/01/usda-pulls-meat-inspectors-to-shut-nj-veal-slaughter-after-video-shows-inhumane-practices/

January 28, 2014

Slaughter Plant Closes After HSUS Video Prompts USDA Inspectors to Leave By Dan Flynn

A New Jersey company involved in the veal and lamb business for more than 65 years was forced to shut down last Friday when USDA inspectors left the building because of alleged inhumane practices going on inside.

At least two egregious violations of federal humane handling requirements documented on a video obtained by the Humane Society of the United States (HBUS) were enough for USDA to shut down the Catelli Brothers, Inc., veal slaughter plant in Shrewsbury, NJ.

In another in a series of undercover investigations, the HSUS video depicts unconscious but living calves, one disabled and being dragged and another one on a faulty “kill” line.

Catelli Brothers, headquartered in Collingswood, NJ, outside Philadelphia, is one of the largest veal and lamb producers in the country. After being provided with a video copy and a complaint from HSUS, USDA opted to suspend the company’s operations by removing all federal meat inspectors from the slaughterhouse.

HSUS praised USDA’s action in ......

Bernie Rollin, distinguished professor of animal science at Colorado State University, wrote after watching the video at HSUS’s request, that “of all the atrocity videos I have viewed, the current video of the slaughterhouse at Catelli Brothers must be ranked among the three worst.” He called for the plant to be “closed down immediately.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So who is Bernard Rollin?

Bernard E. Rollin is an American philosopher, currently professor of philosophy, animal sciences, and biomedical sciences at Colorado State University.[1]

Rollin specializes in animal rights and the philosophy of consciousness, and is the author of a number of influential books in the field, including Animal Rights and Human Morality (1981), The Unheeded Cry: Animal Consciousness, Animal Pain and Scientific Change (1988), Farm Animal Welfare (1995), and Science and Ethics (2006). He is also co-editor of the two-volume, The Experimental Animal in Biomedical Research (1989 and 1995). He published his memoir in 2011, Putting the Horse Before Descartes.[1]

In response to the article, I posted the following comment.  Last I heard, it was awaiting approval from the moderator.  Let's see if it gets published.

"You neglect to give references or credentials for Bernard Rollin. 

Bernard E. Rollin is an American philosopher, currently professor of philosophy, animal sciences, and biomedical sciences at Colorado State University.  He specializes in animal rights and the philosophy of consciousness, and is the author of a number of influential books in the field, including Animal Rights and Human Morality (1981), The Unheeded Cry: Animal Consciousness, Animal Pain and Scientific Change (1988), Farm Animal Welfare (1995), and Science and Ethics (2006). He is also co-editor of the two-volume, The Experimental Animal in Biomedical Research (1989 and 1995). He published his memoir in 2011, Putting the Horse Before Descartes. 

If you are going to present someone as "distinguished" and as a source, you really need to give the full story.  Mr. Rollin is NOT an unbiased source, as you would have some believe."

Something is really wrong in Denmark when a zealot organization, which has been linked to domestic terrorism, has such an impact in our lives.  How much impact?  Let's not forget, that under this current administration, the USDA (US Dept of Agriculture) is populated by HSUS shills in the guise of Sarah L. Conant and others.

The Dog Press has a good article up re: the power of HSUS and how much its tentacles have infiltrated everywhere.  I suggest y'all read it.

http://www.thedogpress.com/SideEffects/HSUS-Political-Power-Revealed-132.asp

It is long past time for us to take back our animal ownership rights and long past time to fight. 

Will you help me?  Will you stand by my side?

An Honor...

I have been honored.  Not by a politician; not by some public authority.  I have been honored by the men of the USS Joseph Hewes, DE 1078.

Sometime during the summer of 2013, a couple of the Joey Boat men started calling me, "The Admiral".  My guess was that it was a joke because of my direct, 'damn the torpedoes' nature.  I mean, I'm a wife, my long suffering hubby says I give good orders.  To quote Popeye, "I yam what I yam and that's all that I yam."

The other night, on a Facebook forum The Destroyer Escort Sailors Association, I posted some pictures from my pop's ship during World War 2 - the USS Rinehard DE-196.  The sailors there commented on the photos, enhanced the photos, but other than those from the Joey Boat, none knew me.  So, an introduction was made and so were the usual comments & banter.  Then, Eddie Pete said something I really didn't expect.  Eddie Pete said that I was one of them.

I am truly honored and blessed to know these men.  Truly honored...

Love you guys....  God bless.