It amazes me when people take the time to write. In most cases, I receive warm letters of how my books or work have impacted the lives of the people writing.
Often my publishers delay sending the letters sent to them addressed to me–but some people look up my address on the Internet.
Recently we sent out a call for pets for filming a new educational series I am hosting. So, when I saw the hand scrawled letter in my private box I assumed it was pictures and information submitted for the new series.
It was not.
There was no return address. The package was stuffed with lots of different cartoons, bizarre pictures of human babies, and a rude letter calling me a freak and other such nonsense because of an alleged article I wrote.
First, I didn’t write an article but instead was quoted in several articles such as this one talking about the phenomena of pet ceremonies sweeping the nation.
What amazes me is that someone would take the time to be so hateful. Gone is the old training where people taught their kids, “If you don’t have something nice to say don’t say anything.”
Funny, the illiterate letter also did not include a return address–only a Las Vegas postmark.
I think the person needs more to do. Better to channel that energy into constructive stuff.
Blogging Power Outage
Sorry to have been so scarce. I have been dealing with severe fatigue and so lack the energy to do much. Fortunately, we just pinpointed the reason and I am under treatment for it. Ever hear of something called Adrenal Fatigue: The 21st Century Stress Syndrome
Hopefully I’ll start seeing a shift in energy pretty soon. Until then I might remain a little inconsistent.
Catting Around
This week we took a jaunt down to a feline specialist down in Yorba Linda. The long drive allowed me to work on the incessant yowling and fit pitching by my friend’s cat.
Needless to say she stopped her bad behavior after some behavior modification on the way down the hill. So we only endured about 30 minutes of bad behavior instead of two hours of it. My progress was also helped by Feliway Spray
Anyway, the veterinary clinic had a few comments about the slightly wet cat–until they got to experience the wrath of the kitty. My pal’s cat is a pistol and made no bones about her unhappiness. Really good to have savvy cat professionals handling her.
An hour later, we concluded our session with a tour of the facility. Ultimately, we were happy with our experience and the professionalism and care of the staff.
We loaded ourselves back into the car for the two hour trip with Miss Kitty–who continued to show good behavior on the way back–which was a relief to my friend.
My pal and I discussed behavior because he unknowingly had reinforced some of her habits and thought he had to tolerate bad behavior. Such is the case with most people.
Some how people think bad behavior is okay. They would rather not discomfort the animal…like the clinic staff or person who raises an eyebrow if they think the animal has been inconvenienced.
Personally, I think the real inconvenience to be concerned about is the bad behavior that lands those misbehaved animals into shelters and a life of homelessness.
But hey, that is just me.
Work Like A Dog & Take Your Dog to Work Day
The statistics come from the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association (AAPMA, 2006) survey which revealed that about one in five American companies allowed pets in the workplace. The belief is that having pets on site contributes to a more creative environment, helps coworkers get along better, and decreases absenteeism.
Take Your dog to Work Day focuses on bringing awareness, not just animals, into the workplace.
Other goals of Take Your Dog to Work Day are to facilitate positive interactions between employees at the workplace and to encourage businesses to cooperate with local animal shelters so the number of adoptions is increased. This year the concern is focused on those animals who are victims of foreclosures.
Many animals have been abandoned because of the housing crisis which has forced families from their homes. Animal shelters in Los Angeles, one of country’s hard-hit foreclosure regions, saw a spike of 16% overall in pet drop-offs and the number of animals euthanized shot up 31% in the first four months of 2008, over the same period in 2007.
According to PSI President Patti Moran, this year’s Take Your Dog To Work Day highlights the bond between dog and human with the intention of impacting dogless co-workers who will see how much joy a four-legged friend could bring into their lives so that they choose to adopt.
Thousands of “pet-friendly” companies participate.
There are some important rules to follow if you take an animal to work. The big one is to take responsibility for your pet and never paw it off on someone else—no matter what you position.
My community is very pet friendly and our local kitty supervisors and other critter crew members wonder why they aren’t included in the event–but then they go to work every day!”
To avoid a beastly workday, here are Take Your Dog to Work Day tips:
Employers should
-be sensitive to allergic or fearful employees (and clients) by providing “animal free” zones or using creative scheduling
-provide guidelines to pet parents who plan to bring critters to work
-review or ask for a pet resume that highlights the good citizen traits and manners
-encourage the use of allergy reducing products on pets before they arrive on the workplace
-encourage coffee breaks to coincide with potty breaks
Pet participants should be
-disease and parasite free
-neutered or not in season
-human and animal friendly
-housebroken
-mannerly
Pet parents should
-safely transport their pets to and from work using seat belts or crates (No, it is not true that a dog qualifies you for the car pool lane!)
-arrive with healthy, clean, well behaved animals (recent bath, no fleas, up to date vaccinations)
-bring leash, bowls, toys, treats, and familiar blankets or crates
-schedule breaks for energy release, snacks, and elimination
-bring poop bags and pet hair pickup aids to clean up after your pooch
-give your dog a work station and something to do (use a leash or crate for boundaries and have a chew toy)
Photo in this blog post is Lola, you can vote for her and other favorite dogs during Take Your Dog to Work Day. Check out other cute photos of “dogs on the job” from Take Your Dog to Work Day here.