Hi all. Cocopuff gave me permission to post this piece. We apologize for our lack of input here lately, just caught up in the business of life and usually crazy-tired. All is well here. I'm still looking down at the ground and the girls are happier and fitter than ever. We've been going to the local park (130 largely deserted acres) several days a week now and the girls love it. It has become their "thing" and, once they come to the realization that I'm not gong to the mill, they drive me crazy until I take them. Cocopuff, who is no longer young, has lost weight and now cavorts and runs like a 5 year old with our darling Lilly who has never put on an extra ounce or seems to have aged beyond 2 despite her crappy start in life. We have decided to dispense with our "Cocopuff's Chronicles" blog which was created as an effort to explore dog-friendly venues within our state and general geographic area. While it is always a worthy goal to seek out dog-friendly venues where you and your pet can enjoy some memorable moments, we have come to the realization that special trips happen on such an infrequent basis that they, in reality, don't count for much (at least, in our world). Having the park 5 miles down the road and doable several times a week despite my crazy work schedule provides what we were searching for and the girls literally live for it nowadays. Okay, that said, that is not the main focus of this post.
I'd searched back posts sure that we'd already done a piece entitled "Another Man's Trash" convinced that we'd done a like piece over the years. I'm amazed that none seems to exist as it is a theme that we've visited way too often. This piece deals with our little Susan. She came to us (original name /Shu Shu or some such) at the recommendation of one of the banks with which we do business. The tellers there were routinely horrified by her exploits in the middle of route 80 in the middle of Pooler and dreading the day when, inevitably, she would become just one more ground up mess in the highway. They had brought their concerns to the attention of my wife who took it upon herself to seek out the owner and convince her that a better life was available to this young Terrier. The girl that had her gladly gave her up, saying that she was just a "pain in the ass" and Joy brought her home to introduce to our family.
I fell in love with little Shu Shu, now Sue and eventually Susan, immediately. I get to meet in the neighborhood of 1000 dogs a year around here and have a pretty good inkling of when I am presented with a seriously superior specimen. Typically, 3-5 dogs annually qualify in my book and I have been known to tearfully let some go on to greener pastures. Susan is one of that rare breed, perfect in almost every way and possessing enough heart, spirit and personality for any 6 dogs. Unfortunately, this level of "Joi de vivre" does not usually mix well with a full-house of dogs, especially in light of her diminutive size, and it was with great sadness that I informed Joy that although I loved Susie, she had to find her a home soon before she was ostracized by our indigenous population.
As it turns out, my girl had plans of her own and was not fated to be adopted anytime soon. Like so many Terriers, she is fiercely protective of her family (me, particularly) and she does not show well at adoptions. Meanwhile, a strange thing was beginning to manifest itself on the home front, Susie was was beginning to integrate in a positive manner with the larger population. Over a period of 6 months, she taught a half dozen of our misfits (I call 'em the Blind, crippled, crazies) to appropriately play and has done wonders to help rehabilitate these dogs far beyond our meager abilities. Grudgingly, I admitted that her worth to the sanity of the greater population probably outweighed any imagined danger to herself, I agreed to keep her on in spite of the fact that she would operate in close proximity to my girls and other large dogs who are not particularly fond of small dogs, particularly small Alphas. Damn, for all I've got it figured out, I got it all wrong! Susie has endeared herself to everyone in the household, particularly my Coco and Lil who, like I say, are not normally fans of small dogs. At first, they would roll and wrestle and bite on the bed and I kept waiting for it to get out of hand but I soon realized that this was safe play and not likely to go awry. To watch my beloved girls with their little "sister" is such a marvel (Susan is officially an honorary "Red Girl") and to see Susie kicking the crap out of them is just one of the most hilariously rewarding things I can lay claim to. I watch in total awe as my Cocopuff, herself much the Alpha, actively seeks out this little Alpha whom she adores, chews her up and clobbers her only to the effect that Susie redoubles her attack in,, despite the intensity, well regulated, safe play. Priceless! Absolutely priceless!
My point? To the poor ignorant individual who originally kept "Shu Shu", you were too ignorant to realize that you had a literally, once-in-a-lifetime prize. Seriously, most folks have dogs all of their lives without ever experiencing the best of the best. Susie frustrated you because she would not stay around when you let her outside. All that was needed was a fenced yard. She took over my back (fenced) yard as well as the task of supervising me whenever I'm working out there. Had you but put the time and interest into her, she would have rewarded you with a BFF relationship the likes of which are not to be had in the human world. As they say, "one man's trash is another man's treasure" and I pity you for your loss but I sure do thank you for my little Susie, wouldn't trade her for a bucket of gold..
Saturday, April 23, 2016
CUTE, oh so cute but we're going to lose them forever if we do not act!
My apologies for not having posted in a while. We're all fine here and have been able to stay with our goal of 2-3 visits to the park each week which has worked out wonderfully. I've shed almost 10 pounds, feel five years younger and find myself again running for the pure joy of running. Likewise, Miss Lilly, who has always been svelte, has put on a couple of pounds of muscle and the two of us have a blast swimming and chasing each other around and keeping the local Kill Deer population honest. Dad's real good about letting us run up ahead and we're used to checking in with him frequently to maintain alignment with safety and legal concerns. After a decade together, all it takes is a look and a nod. Dad, on the other hand, seems a little slower and has been talking a lot about something he calls "retiredment" I think. I have no idea what retiredment is but I think it has something to do with always being tired when he comes home from the mill.
Lately, Dad has been acting a little strangely. The other day, he hung up on some sort of tree branch a deliciously chewable plush toy that he called a sloth. The darnedest thing is that he put it up about one foot higher that either Lil of I can reach so I'm thinking, "What's the point?" He explained to us that he put it there as a daily reminder of the desperate plight that nowdays besets the sloth, that their very existence is threatened. He said that it's way too easy for the crush of our busy lives to push issues such as this to the back burner or off the range completely. I'm going to allow him the benefit of the doubt 'cause i remember that back when I was younger I didn't understand much about why we had all of these dogs here. I figured that they had me so why the redundancy and so I am lead to believe that maybe there's more here than just a chew toy, oops, I mean stuffed animal hanging in the office.
I can't have the toy, so here's Dad to explain what this whole sloth thing is all about:
Hi y'all. I've just recently become aware that sloths are facing multiple threats to their continued existence due to urbanization and loss/fragmentation of their rain-forest habitat. Without sustained, concerted efforts on our part, they will be doomed to extinction, lost to us forever. Until recently, sloths have suffered from bad press going back to Darwin's time where they were considered failed experiments in evolution, just one weakness away from extinction. As it turns out, sloths are highly successful and thrive in their preferred environment if allowed to do so. Their lack of social status is due primarily to our ignorance and lack of understanding of the complex role they play in their Eco-system . What sloths are is a totally unique, exotic if you will, type of mammal that is poorly understood even today and is, in reality, a sort of portable Eco system in their own right. They are in no way in danger of suffering from their own "inferior" genes but they are in danger from encroachment of human development of the rain forest and the loss of habitat not to mention the death and dismemberment that comes with contact with "civilization", cars, dogs, power lines, loggers, and oftentimes, humans themselves.
Please set aside what you've been taught about sloths in school, if they were even mentioned at all. The following documentary of a most-heartwarming rescue of a little sloth names Velcro rapidly dispels the notion that they are nothing but evolutionary mistakes. If you're like me, you'll watch "A Sloth Named Velcro" and immediately be motivated to search out more information about this too-cute-to-be-believed, enigmatic little creature with the Mona Lisa smile. Enjoy: A Sloth Named Velcro .
Okay, here's a bit of a warning. What is it we do best here in America? Exploit things for our own benefit or profit or both right? If you decide to take the next slothful step in finding out a little more about these delightful but threatened creatures, you will immediately be besieged by "Sloth for Sale" advertisements and the histrionics of giddy Hollywood starlets being presented with their very own sloth as a birthday gift. Hell, even the Washington Post describes them as the new "kitten". Really? Is that the best we can do? Fortunately, I do not think that this has to be the case if we can avoid the OOH, I gotta have one trap. THEY ARE NOT PETS! Trying to make a pet of a sloth will surely kill it! Those who make it their life's work to study and rescue them barely understand enough about them, at this point, to be able to keep the rescued babies, who are ever-increasing in numbers, alive. As Americans, we are also capable of a high degree of empathy and generosity. I have witnessed this in our own rescue pursuits and humane education is on the upswing in this country. They have a saying in Costa Rica which I am just beginning to appreciate and will probably spend the rest of my life in its application, PURA VIDA !. Its literal translation of "pure life" belies the incredible loftiness of Pura Vida as an ideology applied to lifestyle. I wish we had a bit of that here.
I'd like to introduce you to some folks in Costa Rica who operate an "in the trenches": operation similar to our own complete with its own slothpital. Unfortunately, their government, which is generally supportive of their efforts on a number of fronts, unlike our own, does not extend this support to granting 501 ( C ) 3 status upon their organization. The tax exemption is nice when available but, in my mind, is not a deal-breaker when it comes to supporting causes that I believe in. I really can't tell their story better than them so:
Welcome to the Sloth Sanctuary of Costa Rica.
Please take the time to check out their mission, contact them directly if so desired and support their cause if you can. Their dedicated staff are on the cutting edge of the much-needed research that is so necessary to understand these creatures in order to save them.and the website contains a wealth of information, not to mention some very cute sloth photos. While you're there, sign up for the free newsletter and explore the various options available in booking a tour or donating to their efforts. If you are here reading this now, you are undoubtedly an animal lover so please take a minute or two to check out what sloth rescue is all about and determine for yourself whether is a cause worthy of your support. Pura Vida!
By the way, if any of this has given you cause to visit Costa Rica, there is a special greeting from the residents that you will, hopefully, enjoy: Save the Americans . Too cute and I love the "joie de vivre" of the anteater.
Philip
Lately, Dad has been acting a little strangely. The other day, he hung up on some sort of tree branch a deliciously chewable plush toy that he called a sloth. The darnedest thing is that he put it up about one foot higher that either Lil of I can reach so I'm thinking, "What's the point?" He explained to us that he put it there as a daily reminder of the desperate plight that nowdays besets the sloth, that their very existence is threatened. He said that it's way too easy for the crush of our busy lives to push issues such as this to the back burner or off the range completely. I'm going to allow him the benefit of the doubt 'cause i remember that back when I was younger I didn't understand much about why we had all of these dogs here. I figured that they had me so why the redundancy and so I am lead to believe that maybe there's more here than just a chew toy, oops, I mean stuffed animal hanging in the office.
I can't have the toy, so here's Dad to explain what this whole sloth thing is all about:
Hi y'all. I've just recently become aware that sloths are facing multiple threats to their continued existence due to urbanization and loss/fragmentation of their rain-forest habitat. Without sustained, concerted efforts on our part, they will be doomed to extinction, lost to us forever. Until recently, sloths have suffered from bad press going back to Darwin's time where they were considered failed experiments in evolution, just one weakness away from extinction. As it turns out, sloths are highly successful and thrive in their preferred environment if allowed to do so. Their lack of social status is due primarily to our ignorance and lack of understanding of the complex role they play in their Eco-system . What sloths are is a totally unique, exotic if you will, type of mammal that is poorly understood even today and is, in reality, a sort of portable Eco system in their own right. They are in no way in danger of suffering from their own "inferior" genes but they are in danger from encroachment of human development of the rain forest and the loss of habitat not to mention the death and dismemberment that comes with contact with "civilization", cars, dogs, power lines, loggers, and oftentimes, humans themselves.
Please set aside what you've been taught about sloths in school, if they were even mentioned at all. The following documentary of a most-heartwarming rescue of a little sloth names Velcro rapidly dispels the notion that they are nothing but evolutionary mistakes. If you're like me, you'll watch "A Sloth Named Velcro" and immediately be motivated to search out more information about this too-cute-to-be-believed, enigmatic little creature with the Mona Lisa smile. Enjoy: A Sloth Named Velcro .
 | ||||
| Velcro and her adoptive Mom |
I'd like to introduce you to some folks in Costa Rica who operate an "in the trenches": operation similar to our own complete with its own slothpital. Unfortunately, their government, which is generally supportive of their efforts on a number of fronts, unlike our own, does not extend this support to granting 501 ( C ) 3 status upon their organization. The tax exemption is nice when available but, in my mind, is not a deal-breaker when it comes to supporting causes that I believe in. I really can't tell their story better than them so:
Welcome to the Sloth Sanctuary of Costa Rica.
Please take the time to check out their mission, contact them directly if so desired and support their cause if you can. Their dedicated staff are on the cutting edge of the much-needed research that is so necessary to understand these creatures in order to save them.and the website contains a wealth of information, not to mention some very cute sloth photos. While you're there, sign up for the free newsletter and explore the various options available in booking a tour or donating to their efforts. If you are here reading this now, you are undoubtedly an animal lover so please take a minute or two to check out what sloth rescue is all about and determine for yourself whether is a cause worthy of your support. Pura Vida!
By the way, if any of this has given you cause to visit Costa Rica, there is a special greeting from the residents that you will, hopefully, enjoy: Save the Americans . Too cute and I love the "joie de vivre" of the anteater.
Philip
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)