Vote me ...

OW!

Britain has a referendum on voting.

Cats rule!

Oh. Wait.

Grand merci to brebis noire for the above.

Walker is an 'evil reptilian puppy-torturer from another planet'

Ontarians will remember the Conservative Party's official -- it was in a press release -- reference to Dalton McGuinty, then in opposition, as an 'evil reptilian kitten-eater from another planet'.

On Twitter I have seen several retweets of this.



Thought to self: 'These Sconnies seem to be sensible people, but surely this is a bit much'.

Asked for link and Jennnnie kindly sent this.



Whoever posted it said:

Emphasis added. That's the section that the person posting in that forum noted will give research facilities wanting dogs preference over rescuers.

So, it's true. To address his self-created 'budget crisis', Gov. Scott Walker is going to sell dogs to researchers for a buck each.

A real money-maker that ought to be.


ADDED: So I tweeted this post.

Walker to sell pound dogs to researchers for a buck each. True. http://bit.ly/fuSFAF That'll help with 'budget crisis'. @Wisconsin #WIUnion

Smart-arse stoopidproof retweeted thus:

They won't go to waste though. Ever see Soylent Green? RT @fernhilldammit: Walker to sell dogs to research for $1 each. True. #WIUnion

Another smart-arse, woodstock4028, replied:

@stoopidproof @fernhilldammit Only if #Huckabee's son doesn't get them first.

Again, I thought: 'Huh?'

It's true. Mike Huckabee's son killed a dog.

I mean, really, what do these ReThugs have against dogs, for dog's sake?

Dogs Rule!

And you thought the silly season was over.

Cats are "nasty, stinking creatures," says Mark David of Warrensburg, Mo. And dogs? They're noisy, disruptive and "lick you and themselves," counters Sanford Reikes of Louisville, Ky.

Clearly, there are dog people and there are cat people. But it's not much of a contest: 74 percent of people like dogs a lot, and only 41 percent like cats a lot.

Cats win the dislike vote handily, according to an Associated Press-Petside.com poll. Fifteen percent of the adults questioned said they disliked cats a lot while the number who said they disliked dogs a lot was just 2 percent.

All creatures great and small...

Some of my best friends have canine companions, or would like to be a human companion to a dog.

Thus I've been following stories about Christ Church Beaurepaire in Beaconsfield, Québec with great interest. This is the third month that a service has been held there, welcoming the faithful and their dogs.

The church's minister, Michael Johnson, said he has always enjoyed doing a pet blessing once a year, so he was open to the suggestion made by an animal rights activist to include dogs in a church service.

"It's to recognize the value of dogs," said Johnson, who will not be offended if there is barking during his sermon. [...] "The members seem happy about it," said Johnson. He said the service is not an attempt to get more people into church, but perhaps to reach a group of people who would otherwise not have come. "We just want to respond to people's needs," said Johnson. [...]

Johanne Tassé, who suggested the idea to Johnson, said she believes the idea can have a profound impact. "Animals deserve our care and respect," said Tassé, who is president of the Companion Animal Adoption Centres of Quebec. "If we can bring dogs to church, how can we turn around and abuse them?"

She believes that the "deplorable" state of animal welfare in Quebec requires people to take a closer look at how animals affect our lives. "There are search-and-rescue dogs, search-and-recovery dogs, dogs to help the disabled, dogs that go into hospitals," said Tassé. "Dogs help us so much and we need to recognize them as being part of our lives."

From here.

For those who understand French, Radio-Canada has a cool interview about the "Paws and Pray" service that can be heard, here.

This post is for my co-blogger fern hill.

The title is taken from the Anglican hymn: All things bright and beautiful, all creatures great and small, all things wise and wonderful, ... Some of you may know the tune.

Laugh of the Day

Go read about Andrew Sullivan's dog, Dusty. I guarantee you'll laugh out loud.