A few of my Favorite things. . . .

Ellen DeGeneres, what is there to say? She is smart, funny and quick witted. She keeps me in stitches and I try to catch her show as often as possible. (She's on during the dogs regular outside play time so sometimes I'm running back & forth between the TV & the yard.) Her "O, Yes I can" campaign to get on the cover of O Magazine was hilarious (and successful!) You can watch scenes from the photo shoot on her website this week: www.ellen.warnerbros.com. It is a fun video to watch and Ellen's humor and Oprah's good nature come through. Take a peek.

While watching Bravo's The Actor's Studio yesterday, the audience (including me) was treated to a visit with Hilary Swank - two time Oscar winner and all around nice person. You can see part of the program here: www.bravotv.com/inside-the-actors-studio.

The story of another facinating person is the subject of an upcoming Swank movie - Betty Ann Waters, who was a high school drop out when her brother was falsely accused and convicted of murder. Betty Ann worked her way through college and law school so she could take up her brother's defense. He spent 18 years in prison shile she earned her law degree and helped free him through DNA evidence. Amazing story.

And last but not least, I enjoy a good laugh - I hope you do too - from the Reader's Digest Website, read about the world's dumbest criminals: http://tinyurl.com/y9k6cu6

November Blessings. . . .

I love fall - definitely my favorite season. Today, the sun was out and there was a little nip in the air. The dogs all went outside and played for a bit this morning while I went around cleaning up the yard. I get such a kick out of them when I'm walking around pooper scooping and they line up behind me and follow me through the yard. I feel like the pied piper. lol

The dogs in the photo to the left are Prince, the Devil Dog (Maltese in upper left corner), Gaylin the Yorkie, Mason the Magnificent slightly behind Gaylin, Callie the Chihuahua and Joey, the Maltese in front.

I am so thankful to the rescue that took Joey the little Maltese and when they determined they couldn't keep him, contacted me and sent him back. Joey is a great little dog with a lot of medical problems and to the uninitiated, a disconcerting growly way of talking. I'm not really sure what happen but I suspect the way he talks caught them off guard and they thought he was doing an angry dog growl and that frightened them. Fear is so easy to communicate to a dog and once they know you are fearful, it's difficult to get them to mind.

We have a very stable pack of dogs here and I've gotten used to watching them to see how they react. If no one pays attention to a growl, I know it's Joey's way of communicating and not a threat or warning. If one of my dogs goes on alert, I immediately stop Joey's behavior with a finger snap and a no growl command. He settles down right and gets a head scratch as a reward and off we go to the next adventure. The rescue group who had him is known to euthanize dogs they consider biters so I am glad he was sent back to us. He is not a biter, just a dog who needs positive reinforcement to understand how to behave.

Well, it's about time to feed the pack so I'm off for the next adventure.

Issue 2 in Ohio - Why I changed my mind. . . .

After going back & forth for two months on Issue 2, initially in favor of it passing - I have come to the conclusion this issue needs a resounding NO!

At the end of the day, it has to be about the animals. I am not amused by the politics that took place regarding how this issue came to be proposed - IMO both sides need a crack along side the head.

I often disagree with HSUS, but creating a board to set livestock standards specifically to thwart them is foolish. It it were an advisory board with no specific authority other than to make recommendations, I might be more agreeable. Under the proposed change to the Ohio Constitution no one (not the governor, the legislators or the voters) has direct oversight of this 13 member board and that is a bad thing. All of us need to be accountable and a 13 member board with no oversight is a disaster in the making.

I'm not prepared to give up my right to demand humane treatment for animals in this state because the Ohio Farm Bureau and the HSUS got into a p*ssing contest. It's not about HSUS or OFB - it's about the animals - and that's why I'm voting no on issue 2.