On Saturday I will be with my mom and her mini-Aussie Gypsy for her Nose Work II trial. Gypsy is trying to recover from crashing into her mini-Aussie housemate Maggie. The ran at each other head first, top speed and collided. These are herding dogs mind you. I don't think that is how "pressure" is supposed to work, but they are minis after all. And apparently neither of them was giving up to the other.
Buckle up for a longish post!
Before I get down to school projects, Soi Dog, and the upcoming Old Dog Haven walk I would like to feature my newly trimmed white Begonia (can you see the naked stalks?):
Yup. That would be the pot in the elk "flower throwing" zone. I have included the "before" photo in case you forgot which one:
At least the petunias were spared and nothing was taken out of the pot like years past. They always manage to eat the entire flower leaving not a shred of petal evidence.
Summer quarter has started this week and it hasn't been one of my more pretty starts. In fairness, both classes had some disorganization as well.
In one of my classes I have a hypothetical $50,000 to start my own Not For Profit. As you can imagine I now don't want to do my homework or quizzes due this weekend because I would rather dive into the project.
Part of my project planning includes spending endless time reviewing my current favorite Not For Profits and getting a quick idea on their operating costs. One of them is Soi Dog and I just got a shirt from them a couple of weeks ago.
Let's just say if I didn't have cats, a chinchilla, and a dog I would be in Thailand right now. If you have time you might want to watch their documentary. I DID NOT watch the "Shadow Trade" trailer about the illegal dog meat trade on their front page. I actually cannot even get through the articles with the extreme abuse and cruelty associated with that situation.
The actual Soi Dog documentary doesn't explicitly feature any of the dog meat trade/cruelty issues going on right now, and considering I tend to be a VERY sensitive viewer I got through it OK. They are fighting a battle I can't even fully comprehend.
I also went over to Old Dog Haven to try and get a sense of their costs which is currently hitting $40,000 A MONTH in vet bills. Unbelievable. It did remind me to register for the Old Dog Haven walk coming July 21st. I even made a page about myself with Rusty. :)
So I am still researching. I tend to stick around the social causes which hit me the hardest: neglected kids, neglected elderly, and neglected animals. I was leaning towards animal rescue, but still working out the particulars on to make it financially viable. It is amazing how fast the costs get excessive, even in the best run organizations.
Have a good Thursday. I know I will be able to think clearer when it finally gets sunny.
That sounds like an interesting class project. I had never heard about the Soi Dog project. Too bad about your begonias. Those evil elk. LOL!
ReplyDeleteCindy
I am already putting way too much time into it. I always have a couple of ideas that I would love to start anyway, and 50K isn't going to cut it. It is fun to dream. I didn't hear about Soi Dog until a CNN report on intercepting a bunch of dogs for the meat trade. Those dogs ended up at Soi Dog (way above their capacity).
DeleteFortunately I love the elk, but they are always up to something.
Sounds like an awesome class you have that you get to focus on this! I don't have elk and my flowers look like that... I don't have a green thumb at all!
ReplyDeleteIt is actually a very interesting project. With a bigger start-up grant I could really plan something big. I am switching ideas again already.
Delete:) You probably have some summer though!
Your poor flowers. Didn't realize what damage elk did.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you have yourself quite a project. $50,000 will definitely be gone in a blink of the eyes.
Going to check out the Soi dog link.