Bald is Beautiful!

Meanwhile, you can still donate to my beautiful girl's fuzzy bald head by clicking here! Every little bit helps kick cancer's ass. Also thank you to everyone who has donated so far!

A Dog Day Out

MonkeyDo and I are sitting in a cafe, hogging up bandwidth.

I should be listing more prints, but, instead, I've been working on some other things that I'll share with you.

Yesterday, after I was done listing for the day, she and I set off on what would be an all-day adventure.

The goal: getting Gomi vaccinated and licensed.

The plan: Sacramento SPCA has both low cost vaccinations and the ability to purchase a license (according to their website).

So we drove out to the SPCA and signed in. The office where they have vaccinations is also where they handle lost or found pets as well as owner surrenders. Dumbest place, ever, for me to be?

Oh, yeah.

We ended up waiting about 40 minutes to be seen. Gomi was pretty well behaved, all things considered. Although she did start up with the Woe Is Me song a couple of times.

While we were waiting, we watched a pair of upstanding young gentleman (*ahem*) surrender a gorgeous pit bull who had obviously been bred. And, you know, I know it happens. I know it happens all the time. But it still makes me so angry. I wonder how much money they made off of her before abandoning her to hell and an almost certain death.

*whew*

When it was finally our turn, we found out that we could only get a license there if we paid by cash or check. Well we didn't have cash, and who has checks, anymore, anyway? We ended up just getting her vaccinations and a round of flea drops.

And a lecture from the vet tech that took her back for her shots because Gomi was wearing her Martingale collar and she was wound up and pulling. Her collar wasn't seated correctly, so, yeah, it was against her throat and choking instead of up under her jaw where it's supposed to be. The vet tech suggested we get her a sensation harness or obedience lessons (through them, of course). I informed her we, in fact, owned a sensation harness. It works great for the pulling, because Gomi flops over on her side and then refuses to move. As for the rest of it, dude, you just kept my dog waiting 40 fucking minutes in a room full of critters she wants to play with but can't and she's a little wound up. Usually she's a very good dog, her collar is seated correctly, and none of this is a problem. You want to lecture someone, why don't you try the jackholes ditching that bitch they bred?

Back in the van.

Fortunately, Sacramento County Animal Care & Regulation isn't all that far from the SPCA and they can take my check card and issue a license for my dog. They also happen to have a huge, gorgeous, freshly opened dog park.



The orange-red pillars you see in the background are the fence line, and the park extends to the left about the same distance. Seriously, this park is huge. Although, a note to SCACR: your boutique should carry tennis balls. Seriously. For dumbasses like me who didn't plan on going to a dog park and didn't bring anything to throw. Because I'd have totally paid $3 or $4 for a tennis ball to throw for her. I would not, however, pay $11 for the two pack of balls that would have been two small for her big mouth, anyway.

Gomi is finally vaccinated and appropriately licensed and has been run ragged at a dog park. Next stops: lunch and then a bath!

My boss has a truck that she bought largely for the purpose of transporting her dog. Gomi's after bath antics have clued me in to why this is a good idea.



I even missed most of her seat-rubbing.

Finally, finally the three of us headed home. It was a good thing, too, because I was pooped!

As of last night, the only thing separating Gomi & I from being able to participate in the Doggy Dash was getting registered. Well, ok. And being able to run 5K.

As of right now, only half of that is true: Gomi & Cheree Run a 5K.

Which means I need to get my ass in gear for the other half of that, right?

Midweek Treat

Wednesday was something of a treat for us. SweetPea took the day off from dealing with GC2010 and I left work early enough to get a decent nap in before I had to pick MonkeyDo up from her after school program.

And boy did I nap! I managed to get in just over two hours and I slept good and hard. It was a little slice of much needed bliss and I got to share it with SweetPea, who was napping next to me.

On the drive home from work, I decided that, since SweetPea was home, I was not going to yoga and, instead, she & I were going to go on a date.

After our nap we delivered MonkeyDo to her father's house and headed off to a special dinner for just the two of us.

We went to Carino's, where it was Wine Down Wednesday - you get half off any bottle(s) of wine with your dinner. Too bad I don't drink wine, that would have been a great deal!


I ordered the Lemon Garlic Pepper (sorry!) Salmon because the other salmon offering came with pasta and this one came with lots of veggies. It seemed like such a good idea to not have pasta in my dinner & have the veggies, instead. I have no idea why that seemed important. After appetizers (Italian Nachos - mini, no meat), Caprese salad, two baskets of bread (*ahem*), two Italian Margaritas and dessert, I really don't think the absence of pasta changed things much one way or the other.

It was delicious, though, and that's what really matters. Right?

I was underwhelmed by the Tiramisu. It was the first time I've tried it, but SweetPea assured me that it was, in fact, underwhelming.

It was a great evening together, and just exactly what we needed. Of course we got to bed late, erasing the good of our nap earlier, but it was totally worth it.

In other news, it's been a great week for MonkeyDo, who, we've rediscovered, is made of Awesome Sauce.

First, she crafted this fabulous card for SweetPea & I:


Check the popout little inside thing! How awesome is that! It was very sweet and very crafty and just exactly the kind of thing SweetPea and I needed.

And then we got a phone call from her teacher on Wednesday night to let us know that, the next day, she was getting a Student of the Month award at the monthly assembly.

Fortunately, I was already scheduled to be off work Thursday morning, so I got to be in attendance for the assembly and the award.

Not only did she get the award, but the principal pulled her apart from the group to publicly acknowledge her for having shaved her head for St. Baldrick's.

I'm telling you this kid is just made of Awesome Sauce!

Noggin News

As you can see from Saturday's post, MonkeyDo is officially bald. Her shave day was Saturday and, even though it was Crazy Town busy at the event, we managed to get in, get registered and get her shorn in just about record time.

Can you see the glow in that grin? She was just about as happy as happy gets and I think that she really does like this 'do. Who knows, maybe she'll keep it around for awhile.

Her dad's taken to calling her Ripley.


But what about O'Neil?

In other Noggin News, I had a sebaceous cyst removed on Friday. It had been hanging around on my scalp, covered up by my hair, for a couple of years, and I finally decided it was time for it to go.

It seemed like such a great idea when I called to make the appointment, but, somehow, laying there on the exam table getting loaded up with lidocaine, I started wondering what the hell I had been thinking to get myself into this pickle. It didn't take that long for him to get it out and stitch my head back up and the doctor, who was not my normal doctor, had a great sense of humor. Overall, not a bad experience. Healing hasn't been that bad, so far, although it tends to feel like someone's been rapping on my skull with a ball-peen hammer.

On Saturday I got to wash my hair for the first time, and I took great care during the washing, drying, brushing and putting-up process, mainly so as not to accidentally brush the stitches or otherwise anger the Giant Boo-Boo. It wasn't until hours and much errand-running later that I found out that I'd been going around all day looking like an escapee from Frankenstein's laboratory.

Suave.
I know that some of you think we live in this bastion of urban splendor, what with all of our Jamba Juice and Starbucks and Targets. And I know that our area tries to paint a shiny, cosmopolitan picture and tries very hard to act like we're not just a Cow Town.

But. Really.

For those of you familiar with our area, this wasn't even Fair Oaks. This is walking distance from my house. There have been chickens behind the Dairy Queen for as long as I've lived out here, but this is the first one that was bold enough to come begging at the drive through window.

Maybe he's taking a cue from the sudden explosion of corner sign beggars?

Finally, let me introduce my new iPod:


Big Red.
I did end up going with the 5th Generation Nano, 16 gigs. When I started really comparing features and prices and storage space, I knew there was just no way I could justify spending that much more for the iPod Touch. Especially when I would still need to purchase some variety of armband/holster, and I wanted to buy the Nike+ Sports Kit.

I was initially excited that the iPod Nano had an exercise tracker built right in, but then I got the chance to test drive one and found out that it was just a pedometer built in to the iPod. I hate to burst anyone's bubble, but a pedometer is virtually useless. "Adding steps" to your day may, in fact, be good for your health, but, in general, is probably not going to do a lot for you or your waistline. And I say this totally from personal experience.

I'm not too sure how the Nike+ thing is going to work. I understand that you can upload your information onto a website, and I think you can also tweet your information. I plan on trying it out for the first time this evening when I walk down to pick MonkeyDo up from school.

One last thing:

The decal says "United States Air Force". I'd love to know more about this truck, but it sure is a beauty.

Comfort Zones, Butterflies, Electronics and Bangs

1. There's only about two days left until MonkeyDo loses her hair. Which means there's still time for you to sponsor her, if you're so inclined and have not already.

I anticipate there will be at least one post-shave meltdown because omgIdidn'trealizeit'dbeALLgone! Then again, she's been asking for this hair do since she was three and she wanted to have "hair like grandpa's". And then after we met SweetPea and the first time she shaved her head, it was like confirmation that it was a hair style a girl could have, too. At the same time, though, she is heading into that dangerous time of adolescence, where one wrong comment might lead to an unexpected meltdown. And it's not like a shaved head is exactly stylish. It's not like she'll have the shaved-head-style mommy always wanted with the wispy elfin bangs + shaved head*.

2. Last night, I went to a different yoga class at a completely different location of my gym, a whopping two giant leaps out of my comfort zone. This led to a couple of observations, which I will get to momentarily. I will probably go back to the class again next week, but I'm not entirely sure I'll keep with this particular class. It was just too far removed from the class I was used to, and I'm not entirely sure it was doing the right things for me. In the meantime, hopefully I'll check out other classes to see if there aren't ones I like better.

2a. The gym itself was two stories. My gym has a few clubs that are two stories, but this was the first one I'd been to. I didn't explore as much as I maybe should have, but the layout seemed weird to me. You have to go up stairs to get to the women's locker room (ADA, much?) and the group fitness room. You actually have to go into the group fitness room to get to the women's locker room, which meant that I got to walk through a Cycle class. Twice. I really liked the locker room layout. It was definitely different from the setup at my gym, similar to the setup at the other yoga gym, but larger, newer and with more separated areas. I was in there by myself most of the time, which felt totally bizarre, especially since evenings are typically pretty busy at the gym.

2b. The class itself was billed as "Gentle Yoga", with a length of an hour and fifteen minutes. The instructor, however, described the class as "deep stretching" and "for all levels", but especially beneficial for athletes and those with injuries. She also seemed kind of surprised that the class was an hour & fifteen minutes. I've noticed that sometimes the online class calendar, the gym itself and the instructor all have different ideas about what kind of class it is. When I first started Wednesday Yoga, the class was billed online as "Yoga Basics" for yoga newbies. The gym called it "gentle yoga" and the instructor kept it somewhere between the two, understanding that there were both newbies and people who couldn't do the more difficult moves. One Furlough Friday I showed up at a gym for "Gentle Yoga", as billed online, only to discover "Power Yoga" written on the classes board at the gym. It tends to make me a bit nervous about going to a new class, because I only kind of have an idea what I'm getting myself into.

2c. I've come to the realization that my comfort zone is the single most dangerous place for me to be. And I'll totally own that I have a highly habitual nature. A lot of the time, this isn't really a big deal. Does it hurt anyone that I always park in the exact same spot? Or that I usually drive the same route? It probably isn't even really a big deal for me to get into the habit that at "X" time on *these* days I go to the gym, as long as I don't get there and then do the exact same thing as I've done every other day I was there. Which is what I tend to do. This is a problem. The fact that I can turn a morning stop for coffee and a treat into a daily routine is a problem. Making a habit of packing breakfast & lunch for work is not so much of a problem. As long as I'm not packing a bunch of crap I shouldn't be eating.

Getting out of my comfort zone can be scary for me. Trying new things, going new places can make me nervous. Sometimes this is just a matter of some butterflies and sometimes it borders on panic-striking. Which is silly. In the cold light of reality I can see how silly that is, but there are just some days, when I'm in a certain headspace where things that should be easy are really hard. So every time I get myself out of my comfort zone, I consider that a success, a big deal, even if it was a case of butterflies and not panic.

2d. Even further out of my comfort zone, the first thing I did was let the counter person know it was my first time at that location, and I asked the locations of the locker room and group fitness room. I asked for help! I never ask for help! And then while a few of us were milling about waiting for class to start, I met someone and we had a little chat. Exciting!

3. Sometimes I wonder how embarrassed, exactly, I should be to be admitting this stuff.

4. I still haven't quite gotten to the "walking every day" portion of the C25K plan. It's been kind of a busy week, so far. I need to get on that, too, because the C25K plan is 9 weeks and time she is a'ticking.

5. One of the busy things this week was that I had to spend one evening driving out to FedEx in Rocklin to pick up my new iPod. My shipment was split into two, the accessories coming through the Sacramento hub and the iPod itself coming through Rocklin (after going through Hawaii and Alaska - is it possible to be jealous of the vacation route of your electronics?). The Sacramento hub driver left me a nasty note door tag asking for a signature and claiming it was his second try, even though there was no door tag the first try. The Rocklin driver left a door tag, as well, but it included directions for coming out to the hub to pick the package up directly. Score! I'll introduce you to my new toy soon. We're still getting acquainted.

6. I still need new songs to put on it! Help!

*YES I did. And kind of still do. But every time I mention it, people give me these panicky looks like maybe I'm actually crazy. What's up with that?

Black Friday - Consumerism's Ugly on Display

What can one even say about this? Three people dead in separate Black Friday shopping incidents, including a temporary Wal-Mart worker who was just trying to open the doors for anxious greedy shoppers.

I'm sure y'all have figured out by now that it's not often that I don't have something to say, but this just renders me speechless.

WTF?

Seriously.

I cannot even imagine.

The mob mentality at work?

Years of people being led to believe that it's ok to put themselves ahead of the best interests of "the pack"?

Merchants encouraging and inflaming the Black Friday madness?

Merchants being completely unprepared to control the Black Friday madness?

All of that, surely, and more.

Like I said, I'm a little at a loss for words. Good thing she's hot.

PS: If you're on my Christmas shopping list, you'll probably be getting something handmade. No, not by me. I'm not actually in third grade anymore.

How To Save Eighty Million Lives

So we came home this afternoon and our next door neighbor (not Neighbor) came over to let SweetPea know that her cat had kittens in our shed.

Again.

Which is pretty damn funny, considering how, after her cat's second batch of kittens last year, she said that she had her scheduled for a spay but got pregnant first.

Y'all may not know this, but we took in half of her first batch of kittens last year. We took the dark ones, a friend of hers took the orange ones.

Not one of those kittens made it through the summer. Not one.

She had another batch in late summer, early fall. One of which Tatiana got in the yard.

Let me tell you, it's something else to look out into the yard and see your dog tossing about the body of an adolescent cat.

Last year, we dropped what we were doing to dig out that shed no less than three times to get at those kittens. This year, not so much. She's just going to have to wait until mom brings them kittens out.

Last year I wanted to kidnap that cat and get her ass spayed.

This year I think I'm going to have to contact the county and see if there's anything that can be done (uh... legally).

Because, no, it's not cool at all to let two unfixed cats (male and female) run loose in the neighborhood.

Our New Addition

Her name is Gomi Takaramono. The intention was to call her "rice" in Japanese, but Monkey See maybe isn't so much paying attention in Japanese. Instead, Gomi means "garbage". Takaramono means "treasure".

One man's trash is another man's treasure.

Yes, we did name her garbage. It's ok.

Also, yes, she's pit. Yes, that's the breed that we had initially agreed upon before getting sidelined into Akitas and Rotties. She's about 8 months old. Yes, she has one brown eye and one blue eye.

We stopped on the way home and made lots of visits, Gomi greeted everyone from her pad in the backseat. Once home, she had a look around the living room and inspected her new crate. Then SweetPea came out and sat down on the couch. Gomi wandered on up to her, flopped down on the ground in front of her and put all four feet in the air.

SuperFat came wandering out into the living room, walked right on past the dog, inspected the new crate, and then sniffed the prone puppy. No hiss, no raised fur, no reaction whatsoever.

I guess she's ours.

*squeal*!

Noble Vegetarian Redux

In the last two days there have been two seperate visits to my page linked from a google search for "Noble Vegetarian".

I have no idea what y'all are looking for, but I can at least offer some information on the restaurant.

Noble Vegetarian is located at 5049 College Oack Dr., Ste. A (it's the first one on the left) in Sacramento, CA. It's right near American River College, Aida's Bookstore and Wishing Well.
You can call them at (916) 334-6060.

They do have really good food and the prices are reasonable. The first time we went, we got two "family style" dishes and an appetizer, plus iced tea and the bill was about $25 with tax.

I highly recommend the Ruby Pearls and the Roti Drumsticks. SO GOOD. I have heard that the Pho is pretty good, as well.

Everything they serve is vegetarian, and most of it is outright vegan.

The Noble Vegetarian is definitely not a fancy, swank diner. It's clean, friendly and good. Also, one of the few places in the area where you can enjoy vegetarian and vegan foods without having to place special orders.

How What?

Last night someone visited my blog by way of a google search for "pms i want my period to start already". I was on the very first page of search results!

I had planned on starting How Granola? Wednesdays this morning, but things didn't quite work out yesterday with the whole "going to work" thing. So I guess I'll see what I can do about that this morning. Provided I actually get there today.

I do keep thinking of things that I know I need to change my ways about, but I have no idea how to start or what to do. For instance, I'm sure that the Jergen's lotion I use on my hands can be replaced by a better way. But what? I need something really really moisturizing because my hands get super dry. They're often (including now) cracked and bleeding in several places because they just get so damn dry that the skin splits. My hands hurt and itch and it's, frankly, kind of gross. Right now my issue is that the Jergen's stays at work, and, well, I've only been once in the last 10 days. So, clearly, that's not helpful. But even when I'm at work, I still have the issues because it just doesn't work that well.

And don't even get my started on my hair! Earlier this year I tried to find hair products that had not been tested on animals, but within a couple of months I was back to Herbal Essences. Hey, it works. What's a girl to do? My hair is wavy and very very frizzy. I'm pretty sure most of my hair products are not only tested on animals, but petroleum based, too. That can't be good. But I'm just not willing to go for the frizzed-out, fried hair, hippie look of my mother's era. I know there's a better way, I just have no idea what.

I need to start doing some research and finding out what issues I'm looking to tackle. Creating less waste? OK, check. Eating more locally? Sounds good, check. Using less gas? Uuuuhhhh..... 35 miles a day is not a good commute for exploring alternatives. Particularly because public transit in this county sucks, and I have to drop my son off at school in the morning, making even carpooling more difficult. So I guess we need to get our priorities straight before we can really begin this little adventure. But that's ok, because we've got, what? About five weeks until the new year?

In other news, I am getting frustrated with PTA. It seems like the president and former president have no interest whatsoever in involving others in decisions, planning, or working for the things that need to be done for PTA. I feel totally just like some chick who keeps showing up and meetings and just comes for the free cookies. It doesn't matter what gets discussed, what great ideas are brought up, nothing. They just go ahead between meetings and take care of everything the exact same way it's always been done. Screw trying to make it better! This has even been directly brought to their attention and nothing has changed! Grrr! We are putting on "Santa's Breakfast" on December 8th. Well, because nobody has asked us to be there to do anything, and we haven't volunteered to do anything, I think we're just going to go and enjoy the breakfast, instead of going down there & busting our butts where help's not wanted. They haven't even mentioned doing pictures with Santa. I assumed they'd ask me to do that, because I did pictures for Harvest Festival, and everyone talked about how great that turned out. I wonder if they're just assuming I'll do that again for them? Uh, I hope not. Nice people ask. In particular, nice people who want to make sure things turn out the way they expect.

SweetPea says I should put in for president next year. I certainly would do things differently, I think. I'm just not sure I'm ready to take on that much more. I'm going to wait and see how things are going for us when the elections happen in May. Then I'll see what I feel like doing.

Thankful for gratitude

I read this fabulous post this morning when I really should have been getting ready for work. I pulled up a blank entry and thought of the question "what inspires your gratitude?" I jotted down the first three things that came to my mind and clicked "save now" before heading out the door.

Faith

Hope

Love

What sustains and nourishes my soul?

Uh. Yeah. Faith. Hope. Love.

I have faith. Faith in myself, faith in us. Faith in providence and serendipity and karma. I have faith in my kids even though they don't yet understand that. I don't have the faith that so many understand it as. I don't go to church or pray to God or read a book. I feel it in my soul. I feel it around me. I feel it in my gut and in my heart when times get tough that we'll get through, that we are strong enough, that everything is going to work out.

I hope. I hope for better days. I hope for peaceful, quiet nights. I hope that good things are coming and that I'll know the right door when I see it. Some days I hope that there really is enough gas to get the car all the way home without incident. Some days, when things are bad, I put in my earphones, I tune out a little bit, and I climb into my hope and hang out. I have faith that if I hope long enough and hard enough – and follow through with that much work – then my hope will become my "is".

Love. Who can survive without love? Faith and hope and love are all three colors of a tapestry. Woven together, individual, but vital to the whole. Love is a part of faith and hope, just as faith and hope are a part of love.

I am deeply grateful for all three. And for the reminder.

How granola?

SweetPea, the Monkeys and I were sitting at Mr. Pickle's on Friday afternoon having lunch. One of the novelties about eating out at places like Mr. Pickle's is that they have tv. Since we don't, the kids enjoy the diversion of being able to watch shows & commercials while we eat (and by "kids", I'm referring to all four of us).

Let me digress for a moment to explain the no tv thing. It's not some moral, holier-than-thou thing. We do have tv's, and we have subscriptions to both Netflix and Blockbuster. We just don't have any kind of reception in our house whatsoever, and I refuse to pay for cable. Mostly because my wife has adult ADD, and I've seen how she is about the tv. Since I'm not exactly much better, I really think that I enjoy our having an actual life more than getting to watch Survivor every week.

So we're eating our lunch and a commercial about global warming comes on. If you're in California, you probably know the ones I'm talking about, because they're PSA's put out by the state. MonkeyDo had some questions about global warming. We assured her that she could blame that one squarely on her grandparents. And then we told her more about what global warming is, as we've been told it.

Her father, my exhusband, doesn't "believe in" global warming and you could totally get him started but I would not recommend it. I know there is a lot of controversy over whether or not global warming "exists", and how much of it is being caused by we humans.

Personally, I could give a shit less whether or not it "exists".

As far as I'm concerned, anything we, as individuals, do that harms the environment, when we could otherwise be doing something that causes less harm, is our fault. So I broached the idea of taking next year and making a goal to start reducing our family's impact on the environment. Everyone seemed pretty on board with that, which is a good thing. Because, you know, I do all the damn shopping, so it's not like they exactly have a choice.

In light of this, I'm going to begin a series of posts that explores the things we do now, the things I know we can start doing, and other options for reducing our impact. Hopefully, along the way I can learn something, and share information. I'm not sure yet on the frequency of the posts, but they will be at least once a week and will be tagged "how granola?"

I had, in fact, planned on creating my first informational post today, but I'm running a bit behind on my morning, and I need to get ready for my real job. Oops!

Not so common

The previous post was a camera phone snap from the bathroom of a local fast food restaurant. I very much enjoyed the first line. Because, really, neither state law nor obnoxious signage should have to remind employees of food establishments that they should be washing up after using the restroom.

Then again, one should not have to remind grown women in a large office of this, either, but I digress.

What the hell happened to common decency?

It used to be that people were courteous to each other. You said please and thank you and were polite and conscientious of the feelings of others.

Now there's this attitude of entitlement that everyone has. Everything is about me, and, therefore, I don't have to be courteous to you.

As an example, SweetPea and I were in WalMart on Friday night. Yes, Black Friday. It was close on 11pm when we ventured out there, and it was still quite busy. SweetPea exited an aisle to find herself about to walk directly into a store employee. SweetPea stopped abruptly and, because she was raised right, said "excuse me".

The store employee didn't even blink. No thank you, no "excuse me", nothing. No response whatsoever.

What's up with that?

Is it really so hard to even acknowledge someone who was attempting to be polite to you? Really?

While this is only one incident, it's symptomatic of the issue. It seems like everyone is so wrapped up in their own issues, they can't even take the time for the simplest of courtesies. And while that's one thing for the average person out in the world, I believe that it's inexcusable for employees of stores who work in positions where they deal directly with public. These are precisely the individuals who should be polite, courteous, and accommodating.

Maybe this is WalMart's bigger issue? Maybe people have finally started deciding that they're willing to pay a little bit more to be served by employees who don't treat customers like they're a nuisance.

Gratitude

Today I am thankful for....

SweetPea

MonkeyDo and MonkeySee

Teetums

Gimpy and SuperFat

Babe & her Sweet Prince (grammy and grandpa)

Rescue me!

So the Big Dog posted today about her brother's new puppy and commented "Sometimes you get the greatest dogs in rescue."

Personally, I think all rescue critters have great potential. I think there are too many people who would be surprised at what extraordinary critters can be had through rescue.

All of our critters (with the exception of whatever fish are still alive right now) were rehomed from somewhere. Including Superfat, who came direct from the city pound. In fact, Superfat was a two time loser, having been dumped, adopted, and dumped again.

I remember making the choice to pick him. There were tons of cute kittens that day. We'd gone to a couple of rescues before hitting the pound. Every time we got near his cage he stuck his big old paw out, grabbing for us. We had been looking for a girl. We had been looking for something other than grey & white like Gimpy. But that mouth, pushy cat was determined to go home with us. Once named Mittons and apparently not fed well (if at all), our You/Youmers/Superfat has an eating disorder whereby he is just not happy unless he has free access to a filled cat bowl. He pulls his water dish out into the walkway when it's empty, or climb into the tub and meow for someone to turn on the water. He loves to sleep on my head, and comes to get me when it's time to get up. Once I get up in the morning, he has some breakfast and some water, a trip to the sand box and then he curls up near me and sleeps the morning away. He's had a hard night, after all, keeping the zombies and boogeymen away. He loves to lick my hand and eat hair. He even has his own Barbie fashion doll that we tease is his girlfriend.

I couldn't imagine our house without him. He's a loyal, loving friend and I'm almost sad that two whole families missed out on a truly great catch.

But their loss is our gain!

Inequity of compassion

Michael Vick has pled guilty to a federal dogfighting conspiracy charge and issued a public apology calling his actions “immature” and saying that he “made a mistake in using bad judgment and making bad decisions.” The public, in general, is outraged that a person so in the public eye could commit acts so vicious against an essentially helpless animal. An animal that many people have as pets and, therefore, an emotional attachment to and investment in.

For Mr. Vick to say his actions were “immature” is to skirt the gravity of the charges and the underlying actions. To say it was immaturity is to infer that it's acceptable for kids, but not for grown ups.

Mr. Vick's actions were not “immature”. They were callous, cruel, inhumane. What Mr. Vick lacked was not maturity, but a fundamental compassion for other living things. Even children know it's wrong to harm an animal. Not because they are “mature”, but, rather, because they are compassionate.

It does not take maturity to know that it's wrong to beat, starve, electrocute, strangle and fight a dog. It does not take maturity to know that it's wrong to allow two dogs to fight until they're severely injured or dead.

It takes compassion.

The fact that Mr. Vick cannot show even the most fundamental compassion for a living creature should alarm more people. It's not just about the dogs that have already been injured, maimed, killed. It's not just about the dogs whose fates are waiting in the hands of a federal court. If Mr. Vick does not have compassion for a dog, should we believe that he has compassion for his fellow human?

While we're on the subject of compassion and outrage, were is the outrage over the inhumane and callous treatment of the animals that become our daily meals? Why is there so much outrage when a dog is electrocuted as punishment, but not when a chicken is electrocuted and then dropped, still alive, into boiling water in order to create nuggets or buckets of deep fried dinners? How can we be outraged when a dog is hung to death, but turn a blind eye when cows are frequently still alive while being skinned and butchered?

Where is our compassion?