Cyprus Island on our boat

Mickey and me on Cyprus Island

Mickey with his life vest on

My husband, Brad, and Mickey on Cyprus Island

Woman poisons neighbor's cats

A woman in Spanaway, Washington (a Donna Clark) has been arrested for three counts of felony animal cruelty because she placed a bowl of chicken soaked in antifreeze on her porch to kill her neighbor's three cats whom she said were trespassing on her property.

The man's cats acted strangely at his house and then started screaming in pain. He rushed them to his vets where they all died within two days. He discovered the bowl and tried to get the sheriff's office to help but they told him he could be arrested if he went to her property to retrieve the bowl of chicken and antifreeze. They offered no other help. The local humane society was too understaffed to help. He then called Pasado's Safe Haven who sent their humane investigator to the woman's house. The investigator received a call enroute and was told the woman had brought the bowl in. He called the sheriff and got an understanding person this time around who had a warrant issued to search for the evidence. They found it and arrested the woman.

Right now the woman is out on $30,000 bail. Pasado's disocovered she is an RN, for crying out loud, someone who would understand the horrible suffering caused by antifreeze.

I am on the action alert list for Pasado's and will try to take the time off to go to the arraignment of this woman next week. We need to show support for the law and to make a statement that this type of cruelty will not be tolerated. A couple local TV stations will carry the story--we are hoping more people will show up at the court house. The charge carries up to 5 years in prison and a $10,000 fine in this state. Most first offenders, according to Pasado's, only get one year, however. Read the story here.

Japan vs. whales

Japan has been trying to increase the number of whales it can kill annually. Whale meat is part of the Japanese diet and the country reluctantly slowed their commercial whaling in 1986 to be in line with the International Whaling Commission's (IWC) moratorium. They currently kill 440 minke whales each year, plus humpback and fin whales (which are on the endangered list). They found a loophole in the moratorium and resumed their higher levels of kill, stating they were using the whales for "scientific purposes," despite international protest.

This year they seek to double the kill numbers. The IWC will be held in South Korea beginning May 30 and Japan will seek approval of the larger catch at that time.

Australia, New Zealand, Great Britian and the US are all trying to stop Japan.

I live in the Seattle, WA area and whales are a part of our lives. I have seen them from our boat and nothing can compare to the sight. We have problems with one of the Native American tribes that each year go whale hunting to preserve their history. Boats go out to try to keep the whales away from the hunt, and a great amount of media attention gets focused on the tribe and the slaughter. The damage Japan is doing is so much greater.

What kind of dog are you?

I found this reference on another blog but didn't make note of the blog site (bad! bad!). It's a game that lets you figure out what kind of dog you are. Once you get to the site click on the word "Game" on the left (for some reason it won't let me take you there directly).

It's fun; give it a try.

Please don't eat the...

My husband and I have a boat and we cruise in the San Juan Islands nearly every weekend in summer. Mickey goes with us and the two kitties stay home.

Mickey loves to eat everything; it doesn't seem to matter what it is. On our hikes we are constantly trying to keep him from eating whatever plant or shell he happens to find. Last weekend he ate some yellow flowers that look like a common weed. He got very sick and kept throwing up for about 1/2 hour to 45 minutes. We tried to get him to drink water, which he refused. We then tried to get him to eat some of his dinner. Now, when this dog refuses any kind of food, we know he's really sick. He refused. We considered heading back to the mainland to get him to a vet when he seemed to perk up a bit. He later ate all his dinner and was back to normal.

But did he learn his lesson? Of course not. Next hike we took he headed for those same flowers. This time we caught him in time. It's a good thing we always keep him on leash. Who knows what he'd get into if we weren't with him every moment.

I will post some photos from our most recent trip within the next couple days.

Adopt a panda or gorilla

The World Wildlife Fund has a new site where you can "adopt" a panda or gorilla. They show you photos of the animals and tell you how much it costs to support them.

Visit their site and help fight the threats to these animals' environment so they can begin to thrive (both species are on the critcally endangered list).