Welcome

Hi. I'm Cocopuff, the official spokesdog for Georgia Animal Rescue and Defence Inc ( www.gardonline.org ). Chances are you've already seen me around either at adoption events, on fliers, at the shelter, or out and about with my mom and dad. I feel that I am particularly qualified to speak out on quality of life issues because I have a relationship with my humans that every pet would envy (also because my dad's helping me with this blog as I have somewhat of a tendency to mash several keys at once and I like to chew on the mouse). Not everyone will agree with the opinions expressed here. Please keep in mind that this is just one facet of GARD's efforts to help improve the quality of life for pets and their humans and the views expressed here are merely the opinions of one old man and a dog who loves him.
I have lots to say here. Some of it is pretty basic but OMG, I still see people pull in here and park their car in the sun with their dog inside and the windows rolled up ( they will not be adopting one of OUR dogs ) but most of what I want to share is what we can all do to get the most out of what can and should be a phenomenal relationship between a dog and its human. Beyond sharing my personal opinions, I would love to make this an interactive forum and get your feedback in the form of questions, criticisms, concerns, problems that you’re having etc. I’m a very good listener and with my own four years’ experience at being a dog and my dad’s 60 years of loving dogs, we might all come to a better understanding of this symbiotic relationship that we all have with eachother.
I'm going to let my dad say a few words next and he may, from time to time, have a thing or two to add but we're going to try to minimize that. Lord but he does run on at times!
Please feel free to post your comment (comments are moderated) or email me at cocopuffsblog@hotmail.com with anything you’d like to share.

Hi. I'm Philip, Cocopuff's "dad". I thought it might be fun and a little more interesting to present some ideas on quality of life issues in a collaborative effort with my beloved friend, companion and "helper". Any promise expressed on our website about refraining from anthropomorphizing is null and void here. It is all but impossible to delve into our relationships with our pets without a certain amount of extending our thoughts and values into their personalities. In the best of circumstances, we share a great number of commonalities. Indeed, this is one of the things that makes these relationships so rich and rewarding. If anyone takes offence at the thoughts and opinions expressed here, I am sorry about that. My intent is not to offend but to question and understand in the hope that some good can come from it.
A great part of my motivation as regards to the content of this blog stems from the fact that, in our endeavors, we come into contact with a disturbing number of people with callous, seemingly uncaring attitudes with regard to their pets' welfare, both physically and emotionally. If GARD is ever going to move forward to a point where we are actually helping to provide a long-term solution to our homeless/neglected pet situation here in coastal Georgia, certain issues need to be addressed and hopefully changed for the better. I'm a recent transplant from up north (a recovering Yankee, if you will) and I've often wondered how people here who are so much warmer and so much more human than the New Englanders with whom I've spent most of my 56 years can have among them so many individuals who almost totally lack these qualities when it comes to interacting with their domestic "pets". The best theory that I am able to come up with comes back to the homeless pet population itself. I found myself questioning why so many people that I run into display such a lack of compassion for their pets and treat them in such an irresponsible manner. Now I don't expect the world at large to mirror my own attitudes and sensibilities. I'm to a large degree a product of my environment and upbringing. I grew up in a household where pets (and even domestic farm animals) were valued and well cared for. Almost every dog and cat I've grown up with or had as an adult has either been a stray or been rescued from a bad situation and has been loved, pampered and spoiled rotten. My dad had a reverence and respect for all creatures great and small that, I'm happy to say, I inherited. I take great delight in my relationships with my pets (a number that seems to grow daily) and cherish those that soar to the level of mutual love, respect and understanding that I currently share with my Cocopuff.
So why are my attitudes so different than the individual who gets a dog, chains it to a tree in the backyard, feeds and waters it when and if the thought presents itself, neglects vetting and preventive medicine and when this empty husk of an animal dies, goes out and gets another? I've already recognized the fact that my friends, neighbors and co-workers, as a group, display more of the human characteristics that you would think would make them more capable of love, compassion and empathy. So why do those values not apply to our pets here? I have to go back to environment and upbringing. There is a process (called Value Programming by some) in the early stages of human development whereby core values that, for the most part last a lifetime, are formed and instilled by our surroundings. What we consider normal and acceptable is, to a great degree, defined and determined by what our environment presents to us as a young child. This process has usually solidified by the time a child reaches the age of 7 or so and these core values, once set, are highly resistant to alteration. It usually takes something pretty significant like death, a religious experience or some other type of epiphany to modify any or all of them. Now here I am, 4 year old Philip, growing up in rural Georgia where feral and cast-off pets do not die off in the 45 below zero winters of northern New England. Instead, they have litter after litter of pups, kittens, whatever. Every day I go to town with my folks or on the bus to school to see animals that have been literally ground into the pavement by traffic. On a daily basis, I see homeless animals that are infested with fleas, ticks, and lice. Half starving and awaiting a yet crueler fate. What sort of core values do you think I'm forming as to the relative value of these animals? This is normal. Who can fault me when, as an adult, I fail to take my pooch to the vet for his shots? Sometimes forget that his water dish has not been recently filled? Always forget that this creature is totally dependent on me for not only the physical necessities but the equally important displays of worth and love as well?
Even if I did not like animals, this would present me with a moral dilemma. How on earth can we treat living, breathing, loving creatures in this manner? How can we allow them to exist in such misery? Here at GARD, we do our best to place hundreds of such creatures in homes where they will be valued, loved and cared for and yet, we're doing nothing. Yes, the problem is slightly lessened in our immediate locale but the problem exists everywhere (not just in Georgia) and will continue long after we and our shelter have gone. I'm probably not going to make many converts here. If you're reading this, then you've already set down your core values and, although epiphanies do happen, you are not likely to alter your outlook because of anything presented here. How about our kids though? They are still in their "formative years" and, if we bothered, we could help them to integrate into their developing value-system a deeper sense of value, respect and commensurate responsibility when it comes to other living creatures. GARD itself is still in its formative years but as we grow and organize we hope to put some serious effort into helping youngsters to develop healthier attitudes toward animals through special events and in schools and civic organizations as well.
Why bother? Well, if you're like me and can delineate your life by the number of outstanding dogs (pets) you've had over the years, you already know. If you're not, then Cocopuff and I would encourage you to follow this blog and explore what can be gained through our interactions with our pets.