Update: The Senate has postponed the hearing by a week to June 25, 2008.

Please sign the petition to oppose mandatory spay and neuter of all California pets
Senate hearing June 25, 2008

I apologize for this off-topic post. I don’t usually get my family, friends or acquaintances involved in politics or issues, however this is something that is very important to Madoline and me, and therefore we would like to ask for your help in defending our rights as pet owners.

Some legislators in the State of California are trying to pass a mandatory spay and neuter bill (AB 1634, deceivingly named the “Healthy Pets Act”) that would require every pet dog and cat to be sterilized. We are not against the practice of spaying and neutering in general. However, we feel that it is an indivdual, medical/veterinary decision that should be left to pet owners under advice of their personal veterinarians.

Just a few reasons to oppose AB 1634:

• It will not solve the overpopulation problem which is caused by irresponsible pet owners who already don’t bother with licensing,leashing and anti-roaming laws. These same irresponsible owners who are the cause of the problem are not going to bother with complying with yet another law.
• Studies have shown that sterilization, especially early sterilization which this law will require, is unhealthy for animals. Sterilized animals are at higher risk for:
  • Increased aggression
  • Abnormal and disproportionate bone growth (early spaying/neutering)
  • Increased susceptibility to infectious disease (early spaying/neutering)
  • Behavioral problems including fear, aggression, noise phobia, and undesirable sexual behaviors
  • Tripled risk of hypothyroidism
  • Increased risk of hemangiosarcoma (cardiac tumor)
  • Increased risk of bone cancer
  • Increased urinary ailments including calculi, urine scald, incontinence and obstruction
  • Doubled risk of urinary tract cancer
  • Doubled risk of diabetes
  • Increased risk of prostate cancer
  • Adverse reaction to vaccinations
  • Decreased activity and drive
  • Tripled risk of obesity which is already common problem associated with many health problems
  • Increased chance of “perpetual puppy syndrome” which causes undesirable urination
  • Inhibited social adjustment if neutered prior to complete cognitive development
  • Appreciable demeanor change due to hormone drop (similar to that of menopausal women)
  • Increased cognitive disorders
  • Increased and accelerated degenerative osetological disorders
  • Notable decrease in muscle mass
  • Increased/accelerated/progressive geriatric cognitive impairment
  • 2+ years shorter lifespan compared with unaltered littermates
  • Please click here for more information
• This law would encourage disreputable breeding and puppy mills.
• Please visit the Opposition to the CA Healthy Pet Act, AB 1634 site and Dog & Cat Owners Say No to AB 1634 petition for more reasons why AB 1634 is not the answer to the problem.

On a personal note, our dogs Ludwig and Wolfgang are our only close family. They are purebread, ABCA (American Border Collie Association) registered dogs with excellent working dog bloodlines. They are licensed, live indoors, are never left home alone and never run loose. We bought a house 2 1/2 years ago for the sole purpose of being able to have pets because it is difficult renting with pets. We’re just finally getting settled in to our home and now face the possibility of having to relocate again, an expense we can’t really afford at this time, because we do not want to give up our right to make our own decisions in regards to our dogs’ health.

Again, we are not against the general practice of spaying and neutering. It can be a beneficial procedure for some pets and owners. But this extreme, blanket law would only serve to punish pets and responsible pet owners who are already living in compliance with the law. We just want to retain the right to make our own decisions for our pets.

Please help by signing the petition asking the California Senate to oppose AB 1634. If you can find the time, writing letters or faxes to members of the California Senate would be of great assistance. Please visit the PetPac Action Center for contact information for California legislators and other ways you can help.

The Senate will be holding a hearing regarding this bill on June 25, 2008, so your prompt action will be greatly appreciated.

We thank you in advance for your help.

For the lucky few who have extra leisure time this summer, I thought I’d put together some suggestions for productive and fun activities that will help enhance your personal, academic and/or professional life. Some of these suggestions are addressed as if to young people (students, adolescents, etc.) but can also apply to grown-ups.

My suggestions are divided into the following subsections:

• Summer Hobbies - activities with lasting benefits and meaning
  
• Summer Studies - develop skills that will be useful in life
  
• Summer To-Do’s - a few ways to get your life or home in order
  
• Summer Fitness - ways to keep cool and stay fit
  
• Summer Pet Bonding - make your pet happy and you healthy

Summer Hobbies

Here are some ideas for catching up on tasks that may have been neglected during the year.

• Write in your journal
  Write about your past year, what’s on your mind, who and what you like and dislike, your daydreams, anything. In future years you will be glad you did it and also amused by your younger self. You think you will always remember what happened when, but as time goes by, memories do fade and become forgotten. (Trust me, I’m speaking from experience and I’m not yet 30 and have a memory better than most.)
• Make a family video
  Go around the house and take a video of your family going about its regular business. You will be glad for the memories one day.
• Scrapbook
  Organize family photos, report cards, birthday cards, artwork, concert programs and other keepsakes from the past year into a scrapbook.
• Reading
  Reading (even fun fiction) can help improve your mind, vocabulary, grammar and writing skills. If you go to the library, you can read in an air-conditioned environment without having to pay for the air-conditioning or the books.

Summer Studies

Yes, summer should be fun, but there’s no reason it can’t be both fun and productive.

• Learn a new language
  The benefits of learning languages are endless. Learning a new language can help you to:
  • Get ahead in your career
  • Make new friends from different parts of the world. When you show an interest in someone’s language or culture, they are often appreciative and take an interest in you in return.
  • Improve your English (or first language)
• Learn to play a musical instrument
  Music enhances the mind in many ways. Studies have shown that children who study music at an early age do better in school than those who don’t. Aside from that, it is also just plain fun.
• Learn to sew
  Sewing is a very useful skill to have regardless of your gender. You can learn to mend clothes, make your own clothes and other things for your house, which can save you a lot of money. Older and more skilled children can even make their own clothes for the coming school year. Check out one of our earlier articles for more info: Save Money by Sewing Your Own Clothes.
• Take a computer class
  Learn to type properly, use a spreadsheet or database, design websites, make presentations, etc. Most jobs these days involve computer use, so knowing as much as you can about computers might help you get a higher salary.

Summer To-Do’s

A few suggestions for improving life at home and getting ahead on the coming year.

• Get a head start on your Christmas shopping
  This could save you time and money because you can shop at your leisure and take advantage of summer sales. Leaving your shopping to the last minute usually costs more because you are up against a deadline and usually have fewer options.
• Sort through your stuff
  Go through your clothes and things and prune out those you no longer want or need. You could donate the things you no longer need or hold a garage or yard sale and make some money to put into your college or retirement savings.
• Re-arrange your room or home
  Re-arranging your room or home can have a positive impact on your life. A change can be uplifting and produce an overall feeling of well-being and accomplishment, renew your energy and increase productivity.
• Clean out your computer
  Ideally you would do this several times a year, but if you use the internet and download a lot of things, it’s a good idea to clean out your computer on a regular basis. If there are programs you don’t use, uninstall them. If there are files that you no longer need, delete them. Clean your registry if you’ve had the computer for a while. Keeping your hard drive from getting too full will extend its life.

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There is nothing like a vacation with the whole family. Four-legged family members add a lot of fun to the trip, but they also add a lot of work and responsibility. (I’m thinking maybe each two legs is the equivalent of one two-legged person’s worth of energy.)

As I mentioned in my previous post, Frugal Travel Begins Before the Trip: Vacation Preparation Checklist, it is the preparation that determines how much fun you will have; the better prepared, the more you will be able to enjoy your trip. And again, the way to travel frugally is to travel prepared. So to follow up that post, I wanted to share some tips for helping your entire family enjoy your summer vacation. Most of these suggestions will help save you money by avoiding costly situations such as tips for staying in a hotel with your pet, keeping your dog healthy and safe to prevent costly vet bills (either immediate or future), and also just maintain your pet’s general well-being.

Safe and Smart Pet Travel

• Finding Pet Friendly Lodgings
  Hotels are becoming more and more dog-friendly as businesses realize how many people consider their pets a part of the family and wish to travel with them. Do a search for Pet Friendly Hotels (or Discount Pet Friendly Hotels) to find lodgings at your destination. However, do not rely solely on the word of the pet friendly referral site; even if you will be booking your hotel stay through a referral site such as Expedia, which allows you to search for pet-friendly hotels, always double check the hotel’s pet policy on its official website. Some referral websites contain outdated, incomplete or simply wrong information on hotel pet policies. Some hotels may have accepted pets at one time but no longer, or have pet type, breed or weight restrictions. Sometimes, the easiest thing to do is to just call the hotel and ask.

  When calling a pet-friendly hotel, be sure to:

  • Ask if they accept the type, breed and weight of your pet
  • Ask if there is a non-refundable pet fee (some hotels do not charge a non-refundable pet fee, something called a “cleaning fee”, and others charge as much a $150 per stay)
  • Ask about daily fees - per pet, per stay, etc. (most hotels charge per pet, per day)
  • If you are bringing more than one pet, be sure to check that they allow more than one pet per room
  • Any other pet policies you need to know about

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I recently learned an interesting and amusing fact concerning the relationship between psychology and money. While discussing pet names, my cousin—who has the happy name Felicity—mentioned that a favorite dog name among the Taiwanese is “Money”. The reason for this is that they like to call “Money come! Money come!” every day.

I quickly saw the cleverness in this seemingly facetious action and how it can realistically influence the dog owner’s fortunes. Some years ago, I read a book on hypnosis, which is not about levitation and tricks but methods of making suggestions to the subconscious mind for the purpose of influencing the actions of others and self. While there is no magical or spiritual power in chanting regularly for money, the suggestion and affirmation of this statement can be very persuasive to the subconscious mind. The subconscious can then discreetly influence one’s behaviors and decisions to turn this statement into fact. The lucky owner of the dog named Money may find other forms of money responding to his or her call.

I recently learned a very important lesson about the pitfalls of complacency. Since June 2004, we had been with an auto insurance company called South Coast Auto Insurance/Anchor General, which we had chosen for its competitive rates in the Los Angeles area. When we moved to a more remote area in December of 2005, we assumed that the new rate they gave us here was just as competitive as in Los Angeles, and thus paid our premiums without question at each renewal period.

It wasn’t until November of 2007 when I happened upon an article on MSNBC about Progressive offering pet coverage that I even considered changing insurance companies. Because our dogs Ludwig and Wolfgang are very important to us (they always wear seat belts in the car), I immediately went to the Progressive insurance website to find out more. I learned that the pet coverage is included with their collision coverage and therefore assumed that it would be much costlier. But I was wrong.

The coverage we had with Anchor General was only for liability and at a rate of $300 for 6 months. When I obtained a quote from Progressive, I was amazed to find that for only $60 more, we could have 10 times the amount of liability coverage than we had been getting from Anchor General as well as medical payments, comprehensive, collision (including $500 pet coverage), and roadside assistance.

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This is a method I have successfully used year after year on a very clever horse. If you follow my example, do so at your own risk and not on a horse that is extremely prone to panic. Do not do this when the horse is tied. Also remember first to take the little cap off your worming syringe or you might be the one who is surprised.

1. To begin, approach the horse’s near (left) side with the syringe (already set at proper dosage) in your left hand concealed behind your back. In the same hand have several cut pieces of carrot.
2. Then, with your right hand begin petting the horse’s face and eyes and casually covering his left eye with your right hand.
3. Keeping the left eye covered, press a carrot to the horses lips which he will take after a moment of happy surprise. Repeat this step until the horse is eagerly and thoughtlessly taking carrots from your left hand.
4. And then, without breaking the rhythm of execution offer the de-wormer to the horse who will have opened his mouth to receive the next carrot. Be very quick, push it in (being careful of your fingers in case he shuts his mouth suddenly) and squeeze without delay. Beware the horse might throw his head at this moment so stand to the side, not over his neck or head.

By this time, your other horses may have seen what you have done and reject your company.

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