Robert Sawtelle

A friend of mine emailed me the following information about a win win situation for solving the challenge of stray animals.

“In an Arizona county stray animals, like cats and dogs were costing the county 38 million dollars a year. A local sheriff offered to take the department over, and the County Supervisors said okay. The animal shelters are now all staffed and operated by prisoners.

They feed and care for the strays. Every animal in his care is taken out and walked twice daily. He now has prisoners who are experts in animal nutrition and behavior. They give great classes for anyone who’d like to adopt an animal. He has literally taken stray dogs off the street, given them to the care of prisoners, and had them place in dog shows.

The best part? His budget for the entire department is now under $3 million.

The prisoners get the benefit of about $0.28 an hour for working, but most would work for free, just to be out of their cells for the day. Most of his budget is for utilities, building maintenance, etc. He pays the prisoners out of the fees collected for adopted animals. I have long wondered when the rest of the country would take a look at the way he runs the jail system, and copy some of his ideas.

He has a huge farm, donated to the county years ago, where inmates can work, and they grow most of their own fresh vegetables and food, doing all the work and harvesting by hand.

He has a pretty good sized hog farm, which provides meat, and fertilizer. It fertilizes the Christmas tree nursery, where prisoners work, and you can buy a living Christmas tree for $6 - $8 for the Holidays, and plant it later.

TO THOSE OF YOU NOT FAMILIAR WITH JOE ARPAIO. HE IS THE ARIZONA COUNTY SHERIFF AND HE KEEPS GETTING ELECTED OVER AND OVER. THIS IS ONE OF THE REASONS WHY”

Some prisons around the U.S. are doing the same…taking in strays but not enough for my two cents. The ones that are are training their dogs as service dogs…helping the handicapped, and elderly. Some even are trained to detect cancers and the threat of fires. The Japanese are experimenting with early earthquake detection.

Training by prisoners also helps the prisoners with their own self worth and self esteem. Many for the first time show love, compassion and caring for another living creature. It must be working for the inmates because there is a waiting list to be admitted to the program.

Here’s the question: Do you think this program should be expanded to all the prisons and save the taxpayer money at the same time?

• Leave a comment... (2)

The two concepts are often verbally interchanged yet most people nod knowingly that a change has occurred.

In the 1800 hundreds widows would go into mourning for six months or more and wear black clothes and a black veil to signal that a loss has occurred. Men would sometimes wear a black armband for the same reason. Today, men often wear a black armband to signal the loss of a son, daughter, soldier, or president.

The loss is still a private loss but the way of mourning is some kind of action taken to observe it, i.e. armband, veil, poem, music, cemetery marker, etc.

The action taken can be private or public, i.e. flag lowering, or parade i.e. New Orleans parade through the streets.

For pet loss, the action can be cremation, cemetery burial, urns, jewelry, music, poems, pictures on a blanket and movies.

Pet loss is permanent and devastating but appropriate grieving can help alleviate the pain.

For more information: http://www.digitaldataplease.com/PetLossAndGrief.htm

• Leave a comment... (0)

Daisy Sawtelle

Canine Reporter

As a dog, I have seen so many of my friends get into trouble because they didn’t know the rules of behavior or got into unexpected situations and got hurt. Here are some tips to guide you.
With children you cannot wrap them in cotton wool. Sometimes accidents can occur or illnesses can develop. If your cats, dogs or other pets becomes ill unexpectedly or are involved in an accident, treatment can be a big drain on your savings.

In case of an accident occurring due to your dog, the damages will be covered by the pet insurance policy. It will provide you with a peace of mind knowing you have help paying the medical costs for your dog’s accidents, poisonings, or illnesses including cancer. You can cover your pet for accidents and illnesses. For instance, you can get basic accident coverage for as little as $7.

The good news is that veterinarians are equipped better than ever to provide your pet with the best possible chance of a quick and full recovery from accident or illness. Most pet insurance policies even include veterinary treatment for accidents and illnesses as well as covering herbal medicines and specialist vet referrals.

It is absolutely essential for every dog owner to have homeowners insurance or renters insurance, and that the insurance policy does not exclude accidents caused by the dog.

The good news for dog owners, accident victims and society is that homeowners insurance and renters insurance normally provide at least $100,000. Today, most pet care insurance companies cover such eventualities as:

• Foreign body ingestion,
• Motor vehicle accidents,
• Burns,
• Lacerations,
• Broken bones,
• Insect bites, and
• Accidental death.
• Some deluxe plans will cover most everything including:
• Annual checkups
• Vaccinations
• Spaying
• Neutering
• Any medications
• Any sickness and
• Accident

Others will cover only major sickness and accidents. Even the smallest dog may cause a car accident by running on a road, make somebody fall and break his leg, damage someone else’s property, or bite the postman to defend his home. Other than this, the policy should also pay for the expenditure of medical bills, foreign body ingestion, bone fractures, accidents, allergic reactions and first time sickness.

Although most pet owners are aware of an approximate cost that they would have to incur for their pet’s care, an unexpected illness or accident could send expenses spiraling out of control.

Dog insurance, as with any insurance plan, varies with the types of coverage offered and the prices for these premiums will vary from company to company. Dog insurance to keep your pet happy and healthy, seems to be that most of us will do whatever our veterinarian recommends for treatment to get our dogs back to normal lives.

Pet insurance is the most effective way for you to ensure that you get the best veterinary care available for your dog or cat during an unexpected accident or illness without having to worry about extraordinary bills.

• Leave a comment... (0)