PetSugar

Honda Element has gone to the Dogs.... A car that cares about my pet!

DCHHondaofOxnard — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 12:08:59 -0800

One thing is for sure and that is dog owners love their pets. So why shouldn’t their cars reflect their affection? Honda understands that pet owners only want the best for their four legged friends so that is why they offer the “Dog Friendly™” pet accommodation system. This system is designed to keep both driver and pet safe from harm while on the road.

The Honda Element is recognized as an accommodating vehicle for active lifestyles and now the “Dog Friendly™” concept takes the Element to a whole new level. The system adds comfort for your pet with major components such as; a soft-sided cargo area made from seat belt-grade netting; an extendable ramp (stores under the pet bed platform); all-season “dog-bone” rubber floor mats; a spill resistant water bowl; a cushioned pet bed in the cargo area with an elevated platform; a 12 volt DC rear ventilation fan; and Dog Friendly exterior emblems (driver’s side and rear).
Powered by a 2.4-liter i-VTEC® 4-cylinder engine, the Element is available with either a 5-speed manual transmission (standard) or an available 5-speed automatic transmission. Available Real Time 4WD™ can enhance all-weather traction. The interior provides seating for up to four people along with a cargo area that adapts to large items with its flip-up rear seats that fold flat, fold up and to the side, or can be removed altogether (64-plus seating arrangements). The Element EX has a water resistant urethane-coated utility floor that wipes down for ease-of-cleaning and seat fabric that resists moisture.
They say that dogs are man’s best friend and if that is true, there is no better transportation for you and your pet than the “Dog Friendly™” Honda Element.

Love It or Hate It: The North Face Metropolis Parka

chloe bella — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:34:44 -0800

The North Face Metropolis Down Parka $279 - Saks Fifth Avenue

Let me begin by saying that I've never really been a fan of puff coats. However, while visiting Chicago on a particularly cold day last winter, I noticed tons of stylish women wearing this coat. I tried one on and was surprised by how incredibly warm it is while still being relatively lightweight. A part of me wants to buy one in order to make walking my dog in the freezing cold more bearable. But, for the price, I could get a coat that I would actually wear out in public. What do you guys think?

Dogs and 2-Year-Olds on Same Mental Plane

T S — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 19:11:21 -0700

MONDAY, Aug. 10 (HealthDay News) -- According to accumulating research, the beloved family dog is really a toddler with a snout and tail.

"Dogs basically have the developmental abilities equivalent to a human 2-year-old," said dog expert Stanley Coren, who was scheduled to present recent canine research developments at the American Psychological Association annual meeting this week in Toronto.

The average dog can learn 165 words, although "super dog" Rico, a border collie, could understand 200 spoken words. Experts think some dogs can learn up to 250 words.

Dogs can count up to four or five and can correct you if you can't add one plus one.

One dog apparently learned to "read." Coren recounted the case of the canine who was able to "deliver" mail addressed to two girls, one with a short name and one with a long name. Although the owner thought the dog was actually reading, it turns out the canine was gauging the length of the name, not the individual characters, enabling him to deliver the mail to the right person.

Different breeds of dog differ in their intelligence, with border collies topping the list for working (instinctive) and obedience intelligence. The next six smartest are poodles, German shepherds, golden retrievers, Dobermans, Shetland sheepdogs and Labrador retrievers. (The third type of dog smarts is adaptive or problem-solving ability.)

"There are two extreme viewpoints when we talk about dogs," said Coren, professor emeritus of psychology at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver and author of numerous books on dogs including How to Speak Dog and How Dogs Think. "Some tend to think of dogs as if they are little human beings with fur coats. The other extreme is to think of dogs as if they're unthinking but programmable robots. My little beagle would then be a beagle-shaped bag, a biological equivalent of transistors and gears. The truth of the matter is somewhere in between."

More and more, scientists are realizing that dogs can think and solve problems in ways previously thought to belong only to humans and higher primates.

Indeed, one recent study also found that dogs were like 24-month-old children, at least when it comes to figuring out where humans have hidden a treat.

Like 2-year-olds, dogs can experience fear, anger, happiness and disgust (perhaps at a human's sub-par math skills), but not guilt. Humans don't feel guilt until about age 4, Coren said.

That doesn't mean they can't make humans feel guilty. That desolate look when a dog's human leaves the house is probably legitimate. "Dogs are pack animals," Coren explained.

Dogs apparently can ponder the meaning of "dog," in a way. According to Coren, they do have a consciousness of self, though not as complex as that of humans.

They also recognize differences among beings and are cognizant of others' variable viewpoints and talents.

And they dream, as demonstrated through movements they make while they're asleep.

Dogs can figure out how to get to the couch before you do and how to operate a latch or other simple mechanism.

They can also deceive other dogs.

Not to mention people.

Coren has both a beagle (ranked seventh from the bottom in obedience intelligence) and a cat. The cat is fed on the counter so the beagle can't interfere with feline meal-time.

One time, though, the beagle started scrabbling around, digging at the kitchen floor. "I was quite confused," Coren recalls. "He looked around and continued again, then he looked up at me. I finally got down on my hands and knees and he immediately jumped onto my back and onto the counter. He decided his psychologist father could be used as a ladder."

"This presentation asks and answers some very deep questions about if, and then how, dogs might think," said Bonnie Beaver, a professor in the department of small animal clinical sciences at the College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences at Texas A&M University. "[But] there is always the possibility that generalizations do not quite fit the data or that the original data may have been weak. Serious students of dogs are advised to go back to original studies, lovers of dogs should view this with interest and leave a little room for doubts."

Source

The underdogs

samantha999 — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 09:24:49 -0700

Pampered Pals: Dogleg Diner

PetSugar — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 15:00:20 -0700

Well, these dishes have four propped feet so I guess the name Dogleg Diner ($98) is appropriate, but I still imagine a soda fountain with pups on roller skates. OK, that's just me. Anyway, coming in four powder-coated steel colors, these solid stands will hold up to even those vigorously greedy gobblers.

With a small size holding one quart and a medium with two, they'll work for cats and big dogs since the height ranges from about five to 10 inches tall. Surely this would be up to your kitchen's high-design standards - but is the dollar amount too pricey for your recession budget?

Symbol of Unhealed Congo: Male Rape Victims

liliblu — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 18:16:05 -0700

By JEFFREY GETTLEMAN
Published: August 4, 2009

GOMA, Congo - It was around 11 p.m. when armed men burst into Kazungu Ziwa’s hut, put a machete to his throat and yanked down his pants. Mr. Ziwa is a tiny man, about four feet, six inches tall. He tried to fight back, but said he was quickly beaten down.

“Then they raped me,” he said. “It was horrible, physically. I was dizzy. My thoughts just left me.”

For years, the thickly forested hills and clear, deep lakes of eastern Congo have been a reservoir of atrocities. Now, it seems, there is another growing problem: men raping men.

According to Oxfam, Human Rights Watch, United Nations officials and several Congolese aid organizations, the number of men who have been raped has risen sharply in recent months, a consequence of joint Congo-Rwanda military operations against rebels that have uncapped an appalling level of violence against civilians.

Aid workers struggle to explain the sudden spike in male rape cases. The best answer, they say, is that the sexual violence against men is yet another way for armed groups to humiliate and demoralize Congolese communities into submission.

The United Nations already considers eastern Congo the rape capital of the world, and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is expected to hear from survivors on her visit to the country next week. Hundreds of thousands of women have been sexually assaulted by the various warring militias haunting these hills, and right now this area is going through one of its bloodiest periods in years.

The male rape cases span several hundred miles and possibly include hundreds of victims. The American Bar Association, which runs a sexual violence legal clinic in Goma, said that more than 10 percent of its cases in June were men.

Brandi Walker, an aid worker at Panzi hospital in nearby Bukavu, said, “Everywhere we go, people say men are getting raped, too.”

But nobody knows the exact number. Men here, like anywhere, are reluctant to come forward. Several who did said they instantly became castaways in their villages, lonely, ridiculed figures, derisively referred to as “bush wives.”

Since being raped several weeks ago, Mr. Ziwa, 53, has not shown much interest in practicing animal medicine, his trade for years. He limps around (his left leg was crushed in the attack) in a soiled white lab coat with “veterinaire” printed on it in red pen, carrying a few biscuit-size pills for dogs and sheep.

“Just thinking about what happened to me makes me tired,” he said.

The same is true for Tupapo Mukuli, who said he was pinned down on his stomach and gang-raped in his cassava patch seven months ago. Mr. Mukuli is now the lone man in the rape ward at Panzi hospital, which is filled with hundreds of women recovering from rape-related injuries. Many knit clothes and weave baskets to make a little money while their bodies heal.

But Mr. Mukuli is left out.

“I don’t know how to make baskets,” he said. So he spends his days sitting on a bench, by himself.

The male rape cases are still just a fraction of those against women. But for the men involved, aid workers say, it is even harder to bounce back.

“Men’s identity is so connected to power and control,” Ms. Walker said.

And in a place where homosexuality is so taboo, the rapes carry an extra dose of shame.

“I’m laughed at,” Mr. Mukuli said. “The people in my village say: ‘You’re no longer a man. Those men in the bush made you their wife.’ ”

Aid workers here say the humiliation is often so severe that male rape victims come forward only if they have urgent health problems, like stomach swelling or continuous bleeding. Sometimes even that is not enough. Ms. Van Woudenberg said that two men whose penises were cinched with rope died a few days later because they were too embarrassed to seek help. Castrations also seem to be increasing, with more butchered men showing up at major hospitals.

Last year, Congo’s rape epidemic appeared to be easing a bit, with fewer cases reported and some rapists jailed. But today, it seems like that thin veneer of law and order has been stripped away. The way villagers describe it, it is open season on civilians.

One mother said a United Nations peacekeeper raped her 12-year-old boy. A United Nations spokesman said that he had not heard that specific case but that there were indeed a number of new sexual abuse allegations against peacekeepers in Congo and that a team was sent in late July to investigate.

Congolese health professionals are becoming exasperated. Many argue for a political solution, not a military one, and say Western powers should put more pressure on Rwanda, which is widely accused of preserving its own stability by keeping the violence on the other side of the border.

“I understand the world feels guilty about what happened in Rwanda in 1994,” said Denis Mukwege, the lead doctor at Panzi Hospital, referring to Rwanda’s genocide. “But shouldn’t the world feel guilty about what’s happening in Congo today?”
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/05/world/africa/05congo.html?_r=1&ref=wor...

PETA, my personal opinions on what they are doing right and wrong.

Monique Marie — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 12:59:46 -0700

I am an animal lover and I know that I sort of went into my feelings about them before in another blog, but I thought I would write another one. Just in case you do not know who PETA is you can go to www.peta.org to get the full aspect on PETA, but be warned, there is some graphic material on there. Basically PETA is "People for the ethical treatment of animals", which basically they state that animals should not be used for any kind of meat, fur, or be used in any way such as pulling farm equipment, having jobs, etc. Animals should have the same rights as humans and should be taken care of in a way that humans will treat them like a part of their family.

Why and if I agree with PETA, what my personal views are, and finally if I think PETA is going overboard and what should they be doing instead.
1. Animals should not be killed just because someone wants the fur, tusks, shell, etc. Animals should not be raised for this purpose alone either. There is NO sense in killing an animal just to have it skinned and then have everything else just tossed away in the trash. Also, the method in killing this animal is cruel, disrespectful, and downright disgusting. In this respect I do agree with PETA in fur usage. I do not think that animals should be killed or raised just because someone wants a fur coat, handbag, shoes, whatever.
1.1. I do, however feel that if the animal is going to be used for meat, then there is no reason that the skin, fur, feathers, etc. of that animals should be thrown away. If I decide I wanted to go buy a handbag and I find out that it is made out of a crocodile, then I want to be assured that the crocodile was killed because of meat and in a humane way, so this is something the company made with the left over "parts" and did not want to waste anything from the animal. Some people might argue the fact that prices would be going up, well I do not know about you, but I do not think that the average person could spend the money now to buy a crocodile handbag and if they do get one it is because they bought it on a credit card or they saved up for it. So, if the prices go even higher then maybe people will stop buying so many (the ones that can afford it) and the prices will go down. Either way, I can not bring myself to buy something that is made from an animal except for cows (leather). If animals are going to be used for meat, then EVERYTHING from that animal should be used and not go to waste.
1.2 I think PETA needs to try and pass a law stating that an animal should not be killed or raised just because of their fur, feathers, etc. It is illegal to kill an elephant because of its tusks even though poachers are still doing this. There needs to be stricter laws and people to enforce them. Where I think PETA goes to far is to say that no animal should be killed at all for human or even domestic animal consumption. Well, people are not going to stop eating meat overnight or drinking milk, so what PETA needs to focus on is banning fur farms and accepting the fact that people are still going to eat meat so work on using the entire animal and not just some. This would prove to be a big step. I also realize that people will still have fur farms, but with the right mentality and the right amount of fines, law enforcement will look into this more and bust them. People are going to do illegal things anyway, but some people will stop doing something because it is illegal. As for the people who run fur farms, have someone help them set up a shop to where they can sell the meat also.
2. PETA is totally again puppy mills because there are way too many puppy mills out there when there are millions of animals that need to be adopted through shelters. PETA wants to ban all puppy mills because either the “left over’s” are killed or sent to pet shops where they are not properly taken care of and shelters.
2.1. I am also against puppy mills for the simple fact that so many animals do get abused and thrown away like trash. If you go to shelters you can find purebreds. I also understand that some breeds might be endangered if humans stop breeding them. So, with that being said I think there should be breed specific companies that raise certain breeds but the simple fact of today is that anyone can go into this business. I know a lot of people personally who want to breed their animal and sell off the offspring and do not think twice about dumping the rest off somewhere. Also, I can not see why someone needs to pay upwards to $1,000 an animal. There needs to be more laws and regulations on these puppy/kitty mills or whatever animal they are breeding. As for sending these animals to a pet store, I think that should be outlawed as well. There are always going to be irresponsible people out there so the task of getting an animal should not be difficult, especially with shelters and people giving away animals. As for a specific breed, to me you are talking about a living creature, not a car. I personally like Mica Bella makeup so I would buy Mica Bella makeup, but when it comes to an animal, I do not look at it like, oh I want just this breed. I know I may be different but you should want an animal because you want to take care of him or her and love him or her not because of what breed they are.
2.2 PETA needs to start getting laws passed about puppy mills. I believe they are in the process of working on this but they do not come up with a solution on specific breeds. This is where I think their downfall is. No matter what they say or what I say, if someone wants a German Shepherd then they will get a German Shepherd, so with this being said, strict regulations and actually enforcing these regulations should be enforced to “Breeders” and not puppy mills.
3. Pet Shops: PETA states on their website that NO animal should be sold in pet stores because they are not being taken care of and it just promotes more funding for people to make a profit by taking animals out of wildlife and selling these animals. Most importantly they state are turtles, birds, and other exotic animals.
3.1. I do agree that this happens probably more than I would like to think about it. Problem is, I do not think that pet shops are going to stop selling animals. Do I think that pet shops should stop selling cats and dogs? Yes. Because cats and dogs need more interaction then fish and they are a lot harder to take care of. They can not be cooped up in a cage all day without being able to run around. As for turtles, hamsters, rats, fish, birds, etc; I believe that more regulations and rules need to make sure that the pet shops that do carry animals for sell be inspected on a regular basis. One of my favorite animal places to get supplies and to adopt animals is Pet Smart. According to PETA, their secret agents went in and worked at Pet Smart and found that animals were being abused so now Pet Smart is on their s*it list. Now, I am not saying that PETA is wrong on this, but I do not think that all Pet Smart stores abuse their animals. There are pet stores that abuse their animals and to me it does not take a rocket scientist to figure out if their animals are being abused. Do I know for a fact that my turtle was plucked from the wild? No. All I know is that she was brought to that nasty pet store and needed medical attention so I chose to do something about it. The rats that are being sold are domesticated rats, and you can tell if a rat was plucked from the wild or not by their mannerisms. Birds are probably, in my opinion, the animal that gets plucked from the wild the most. Do I feel that birds are a good pet? Not really only because their wings are clipped so they can not fly and I do not think that a bird should be in a cage. But I do think there are cases where the bird needs medical treatment or if they are being abused. It is better to rescue an animal that has no chance of living “free” then to let that animal suffer and die in a pet store.
3.2. As I said earlier, I think PETA needs to work more on making sure the animals are being taken care of and shutting down the stores where the animals are being abused, but also have a place to take care of the animals as well. They just simply cannot state that humans should stop all adopting processes of getting an animal through a pet store. They need to start with baby steps first. Maybe making more laws or enforcing laws that will stop people from bringing in wild animals to sell or to breed.
4. PETA wants everyone to go true vegan, meaning no meat, no dairy, nothing that comes from an animal or made by an animal. They do give information on how to go all vegan but from what I have read they do have little tolerance for people who are mostly vegan but not all the way. Not only do they want humans to go all vegan but they want domestic animals (cats, dogs, pigs, sheep, etc) to go all vegan as well.
4.1. I have no problem with people who are true vegans as long as they do not try to push it off on me, kind of like religion. It takes a LOT of effort, courage, and money to go true vegan so I am very proud of the people who can do this. But in reality, not everyone is going to do this. Some people’s jobs and lives depend on raising animals to make a living or to even survive and if there was a law or something passed saying that animals could not be killed for meat anymore, then I think that more hardships would incur. I do however feel that more laws and regulations should be enforced into how these animals are treated. People in my opinion consume way too much meat, and I also know that grocery stores throw away a lot of meat because people simply do not buy it all before it goes bad. I also know that a lot of times grocery stores and other food places will not donate to the local homeless shelter because too many people end up suing the company if they get sick. But something has to be done because if an animal gets his or her life taken away for meat, then that animal should be put to good use. As for having domesticated animals so all vegan, that is just ridiculous. There are numerous websites stating that cats have to have meat in order to survive and stay healthy and I am pretty sure these websites would say the same thing about dogs as well. If I put a plate of vegetables and a plate of meat down in front of my two dogs, they will go for the meat first, it is in their genes. The same for the cat to. I am allergic to all seafood but I went out and got a can of tuna (yuck) and no sooner did that can open she was all over it meowing like a crazy kitty needing her crack, LOL. So it is in her genes to and she has NEVER had seafood before.
4.2. PETA needs to target and place energy towards making sure the animals are getting treated well, not only for the animals sake, but also for humans and domesticated animals as well. They can still try and push the true vegan thing, that does not bother me because it is their view but in order for some people to care about animals, I believe they have to care about what they put in their body first. Also, there has to be something done with all the excess meat that is left over. Yes, it has to sell by a certain date, but as long as you buy it beforehand and freeze it, it can last up to 3 months. Do you know how much food that would provide for the homeless or people who are having a hard time buying food? Can you imagine actual food pantries that give away food to people because there is simply too much extra food from grocery stores? I have gone to a food pantry before; most of the items I received were expired for at least a year. I can buy something that is in date at the store and get sick from it, does not mean I am going to sue. Anytime you eat something, you can get sick from it. So PETA needs to work on this more. Buy helping people, they can raise awareness to help animals.

More personal notes: I do believe that you should get some kind of tax credit for having animals. If you can provide documentation about all the food and medical treatment you have paid for an animal then you should get something back. I personally think you should get a discount on supplies for taking care of your animals instead of just money; this would include medical visits to food to special needs. I also believe that more jobs can be made by having people go around and inspect people who have animals making sure they are not being abused. In my area we have a humane society, but all they do is show up, see if the animal is being abused, if the animal is being abused they take the animal and take it to the pound and then that animal will more then likely die within the 3 month period the shelter can “take care” of the animal. Most people do not want to adopt a sick animal. More information and one on one dealings with the people who have the animal needs to be enforced and maybe the person is falling on hard times and they have to make that very hard decision of feeding themselves or their animals. Government programs should be able to help out with people and animals in need. Of course people will abuse this, but people abuse the welfare and SSI all the time and get away with it, but what the government does not understand is that if they start hiring people to help out with the problem, they will save money in the end. Again, this is my own personal opinion.
Animals should be treated with dignity and respect. People need to find out exactly what they are getting into before adopting an animal. Animals are hard work, they are not something materialistic that can be just thrown away when the person does not want to take care of them anymore.
Overall, I think PETA could help out a lot more if they wanted to instead of telling people what they are doing wrong and by showing really nasty videos of animals being abused. I do not want to watch these videos and even though I think the public should be made aware of this, they also need to have more information on what you can do verses what you should not do.
I have personally applied to become a staff member at PETA in hopes that I can find someone within the organization to see my viewpoints and try to work together to save animals, not to badger people into things they have no interest in. I was turned down. PETA needs to help animals, not tell people what they need to do, they can offer solutions to people in how to help. Kind of like being green. I try to be green but I will admit that I am not a “green” person all the way, but I do what I can. I do not need an organization to tell me that I am a bad person because I took an extra 4 minutes in the shower, I need someone to tell me that they are happy with the fact that I turn the water off while I was brushing my teeth. It is a start and that is all we need.
Feel free to comment or ask me about my views on different subjects I am more then willing to share. Thank you for reading.

Chanel - Lilac Sky (and links to NailJuice and MissChievous)

CCee — Sun, 31 May 2009 06:24:07 -0700

Hi everyone,

Sooo, my nails needed a new coat of polish, I read on Julia (MissChievous on YouTube) her blog a list of things that help you keep long healthy nails. Julia is Swiss-Canadian and she lives in Switzerland. She also does amazing makeup looks, so check her out if you haven't already, she's really nice, smart and does great looks. One of the tips she gives is always wear something on your nails, which at first was kinda odd to me, but then I realised that since I'm wearing nailpolish daily, I have less breakage and came to the conclusion that she was right. She gives more tips on her blog, so check that out blogpost. Because of her tip, I'm buying the Nail Tek next month (when my bank account allowes it). (Retail_Therapy was another one who inspired me to get the NailTek)

Another great place where you can work on growing your nails (and get great ideas for polish colours and nail designs) is NailJuice, this is the direct link to the post where she talks about her place where you can follow her nailgrowth programme. I don't know much about her, I think she lives in New Zealand, but I'm not sure, what I am sure about is that she's taking classes in nailcare etc. so she's a great source of information. Also she has AMAZING nails and has a great way of talking about nails, colours, polishes, designs and I really love reading her blog. So check out NailJuice, which is a blog that you can read in many languages, so no excuse for not clicking on the link .

Okay, back to my nails. I used an OPI BaseCoat on my nails and over this I used Chanel polish called Lilac Sky (210), this is two coats and this polish applied soooo amazingly well. I LOVE it. The colour reminded me of cotton candy and well, I like cotton candy (well, not too much ) It was Saturday, so I had time to let it dry naturally and after 30 minutes I applied the nailart. I used the M30 Konad plate (using the dog) and black Konad polish. I chose the dog, because I was going to see my best friend's parents yesterday and they have new puppies so I wanted to keep the theme going . I didn't let it dry as long as I wanted to, so the OPI RapiDry pulled the art out a bit.

The flash picture gives the best idea of the polish colour. But I loved the picture of Felix judging my nails so much, that I want to show you that one first.
Sun:

Flash:

Shade:

Have a great Sunday everybody!!!

The magical world of WTF.....

Monique Marie — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 19:30:17 -0700

In order to live where I do, you have to have an open mind, and I guess not a lot of things surprise me anymore because I have interesting people of all kinds that live around me. I live in the woods out in the country so it is very nice, quiet most of the time except for wildlife, get shelter from the trees from wind and storms, watch naked neighbor frolic around in the woods...wait. Did I just say something about a naked neighbor frolicking in the woods? Yes I did. He lives in the front up by the road and he is a environmentalist, likes to live free, and is very open about himself. He likes to run around the woods with his dogs naked. He answers the door naked, he walks outside to take a pee without turning his back, sometimes as I am driving down the driveway back to my home, he will be wearing his famous black trench coat with galoshes and nothing else on underneath. But, he is a nice guy. I have seen it all folks. I have seen all of what he has to offer and more and after the first initial stun that I got, I have learned to accept that as a part of life. He loves animals and nature and he doesn't give off that creepy guy smell, just some dude that likes to have his bits and pieces flowing in the wind. He gets into fights with the lesbian couple who lives next door about something at least once a month, maybe less, they kind of avoid each other and it is entertaining to say the least. It is kind of like watching two bulls go at it. Well, he only gets in a fight with the more aggressive of the two, the one that dislikes me because apparently no one is allowed to talk to her woman unless if you are a man because all women want to pick up on her woman. Umm, yeah..whatever...not my type, not looking anyway, just wanted to say hi one time that was all. The neighbors across the street do not like naked neighbor and he does not like them. The people across the street like to cause trouble, so the cops come out once in awhile to make sure everything is ok and dandy. Even had some guy running around like a mad man just in his underwear while I was tucked away in my bed sleeping. Cops all over, dogs barking, guy in his underwear running around with cops chasing, screaming..I did not hear a dang thing. The one time I was outside though and walked around behind the garage and I was standing face to face with a cow who was very upset. I guess you never realize how big a cow is and what kind of damage she can do to you and your surroundings until you are standing there staring at a cow face to face. I didn't know what the hell it was at first because it was dark and I about peed my pants because I did not know what on earth could be this big. Eyes adjusted, stood still and notice it was a cow. I was thinking, man, I don't even do drugs and I'm seeing this. Then I hear four wheelers (people across the street) to chase after the cow because the cow got out, nice one people...real nice. After 2 hours the cow was safe and sound but when I seen her, I backed away slowly because I did not feel like getting trampled to death. I felt bad for her. If I lived across the street, I would run away too. So, that is just a little introduction of the magical world of WTF. Hope you enjoyed it.

To urban hunter, next meal is scampering by (just because I enjoyed the read)

Grandpa — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 17:19:45 -0700

Travels with Charlie (Detroit News)
To urban hunter, next meal is scampering by
Detroit retiree, 69, supplements his income by living off the land
Detroit - When selecting the best raccoon carcass for the special holiday roast, both the connoisseur and the curious should remember this simple guideline: Look for the paw.

"The paw is old school," says Glemie Dean Beasley, a Detroit raccoon hunter and meat salesman. "It lets the customers know it's not a cat or dog."

Beasley, a 69-year-old retired truck driver who modestly refers to himself as the Coon Man, supplements his Social Security check with the sale of raccoon carcasses that go for as much $12 and can serve up to four. The pelts, too, are good for coats and hats and fetch up to $10 a hide.

While economic times are tough across Michigan as its people slog through a difficult and protracted deindustrialization, Beasley remains upbeat.

Where one man sees a vacant lot, Beasley sees a buffet.

"Starvation is cheap," he says as he prepares an afternoon lunch of barbecue coon and red pop at his west side home.

His little Cape Cod is an urban Appalachia of coon dogs and funny smells. The interior paint has the faded sepia tones of an old man's teeth; the wallpaper is as flaky and dry as an old woman's hand.

Beasley peers out his living room window. A sushi cooking show plays on the television. The neighborhood outside is a wreck of ruined houses and weedy lots.

"Today people got no skill and things is getting worse," he laments. "What people gonna do? They gonna eat each other up is what they gonna do."

A licensed hunter and furrier, Beasley says he hunts coons and rabbit and squirrel for a clientele who hail mainly from the South, where the wild critters are considered something of a delicacy.

Though the flesh is not USDA inspected, if it is thoroughly cooked, there is small chance of contracting rabies from the meat, and distemper and Parvo cannot be passed onto humans, experts say.

Doing for yourself, eating what's natural, that was Creation's intention, Beasley believes. He says he learned that growing up in Three Creeks, Ark.

"Coon or rabbit. God put them there to eat. When men get hold of animals he blows them up and then he blows up. Fill 'em so full of chemicals and steroids it ruins the people. It makes them sick. Like the pigs on the farm. They's 3 months old and weighing 400 pounds. They's all blowed up. And the chil'ren who eat it, they's all blowed up. Don't make no sense."

Hunting is prohibited within Detroit city limits and Beasley insists he does not do so. Still, he says that life in the city has gone so retrograde that he could easily feed himself with the wildlife in his backyard, which abuts an old cement factory.

He procures the coons with the help of the hound dogs who chase the animal up a tree, where Beasley harvests them with a .22 caliber rifle. A true outdoorsman, Beasley refuses to disclose his hunting grounds.

"This city is going back to the wild," he says. "That's bad for people but that's good for me. I can catch wild rabbit and pheasant and coon in my backyard."

Detroit was once home to nearly 2 million people but has shrunk to a population of perhaps less than 900,000. It is estimated that a city the size of San Francisco could fit neatly within its empty lots. As nature abhors a vacuum, wildlife has moved in.

A beaver was spotted recently in the Detroit River. Wild fox skulk the 15th hole at the Palmer Park golf course. There is bald eagle, hawk and falcon that roam the city skies. Wild Turkeys roam the grasses. A coyote was snared two years ago roaming the Federal Court House downtown. And Beasley keeps a gaze of skinned coon in the freezer.

With the beast fresh from the oven, Beasley invites a guest to lunch.

He believes coon meat tastes something like mutton or pork, but to the uneducated pallet, it has the aroma and texture of opossum.

While Beasley preps his coon with simple vinegar brine and spices, there are 100 ways to cook a coon.

There is roast coon with sweet potato, sausage and corn bread stuffing; raccoon cobbler and roast marinated raccoon with liver and onion. It is this reporter's opinion that the best sauce for coon may very well be hunger.

The story of Glemie Dean Beasley plays like a country song. The son of a sharecropper, Beasley left school at 13 to pick cotton. He came to Detroit in 1958. His woman left him in 1970 for a man he calls Slick Willy.

Someone stole his pickup truck and then someone killed his best dog.

"I knowed some hard times," Beasley says. "But a man's got to know how to get hisself through them hard times. Part of that is eating right."