She Cried Today

My day started out as it usually does.  Play/training time from 4-5 a.m., a long walk with my human and Patton, and then settling in with coffee and the morning news.  It was during the news that things changed. 

During a segment featuring a new TV/radio ad from the current administration, I looked over to find my human sobbing.  I grabbed Patton and whispered that she needed our comfort and we should be really nice to her.  We padded up to where she sat on the sofa and laid our heads in her lap.  And then I looked up with compassion in my eyes and asked, “Candi, why are you crying this morning?”  Her response saddened me beyond belief.

“I no longer recognize the country I have loved my entire life,” she said.  “When I was a child, Shasta, people were embarrassed to be on government assistance of any kind.  Now I am watching an ad on television encouraging Americans to apply for food stamps.  I am seeing people willingly enslaving themselves to government constraints.  This is not what my grandparents and uncles fought for in WWII.  It isn’t what my dad fought for in Vietnam.  It isn’t what my brother spent a career in the military defending.  And it’s not what my nephew fought for in Iraq.  I no longer recognize the America our Founding Fathers created and my heart is broken.”

For a canine, there is nothing more sorrowful than not being able to comfort your human.  Patton and I found ourselves in that position this morning.  Candi could not be comforted.  Her sense of loss was overwhelming and you could taste it in the air.  I have stood with her in her fight for this country and I will now stand by her side and share her pain.  I am also determined that this loss she feels shall not be permanent.  We will see the restoration of the American dream and the end of the entitlement mentality so prevalent in today’s society. 

She cried today but as God is my witness, she will not cry tomorrow!

Hint Hint Hint

My human is usually following the news of the day and worrying about the country.  When she isn’t doing that, she’s enjoying what she has.  Things like taking Patton and myself on long walks or spending the day with her daughter.  Little things like that.  As a result, she has little to no patience for those who would talk to her about their silly lives or even ask her about her life.  Trust me folks, there is a reason she walks around with a “Don’t talk to me” look on her face…she doesn’t care what others are doing if their decisions are not affecting her life!

Every single day she is confronted with people who insist on trying to get to know her better.  They constantly bombard her with questions about her personal life and are giving her more information about their personal lives than she cares to know.  In every instance, she gives them a look or says something mean spirited about how she doesn’t care to chit chat with them.  You’d think they would get the message.  But NOPE…they keep trying.  Even Patton learned quickly that you can get your head bitten off for irritating her and he was only a puppy.

I live with Candi day in and day out.  I adore her and worship the ground she walks on.  I know just how fascinating she is to Patton and how determined she is to make a difference in her country.  What I don’t know is why everyone else finds her so fascinating that they are willing to risk verbal decapitation to get to know her better.  She has made it clear that the things they talk about is of little to no interest to her and that she does not want them in HER personal business. 

Let me make this perfectly clear to those who would continue their pursuit of getting closer to my human.  Stop it!  I don’t want to bite you but I will if you continue to irritate her.  I love my human and will do whatever necessary to protect her from morons who can’t grasp the concept of “Leave me alone” when it comes to her.  Got it?  Good!

What I Think Of Ridiculous Warning Labels

This morning my human found this picture going around on Facebook.  After taking a look and reading it, she began to laugh hysterically.  I went over to look and began to chuckle myself.  You see, it deals with a subject that she and I have discussed often.  The need for ridiculous warning labels on products of all types. 

For some unknown reason, people do stupid things all the time and then want to blame the maker of a product for the disastrous results.  Not once do they consider themselves responsible for their own actions.  Instead, the assign the blame and hire a lawyer who files a lawsuit.  Once the lawsuit has been filed with the clerk of the court, a judge then decides to hear the case because there is absolutely no way on Earth that person could have known not to do what they did.  Is this making sense yet?  Let me give you a few examples of some ridiculous warning labels that should NOT have been needed.

First, we have this warning label on a bottle of medicine for a dog.  Now let me ask you…how many of you are going to give your canine companion an alcoholic beverage with their medicine?  I would say not many of you.  However, somewhere someone gave their best friend an alcoholic beverage with their medicine and now this warning label has to be put on a prescription for the human who is too stupid to realize that mixing any prescription medication with alcohol is a bad idea.  If it isn’t something humans should do, it’s something you shouldn’t do to your pet. 

Second, we have this lovely little label on a glass bowl full of those decorative glass stones.  Now, why on Earth does it need a label on it telling people not to eat it?  Probably because some parent decided that it wasn’t their responsibility to watch their child and prevent said child from sticking decorative glass rocks in their mouth.  This probably resulted in the child choking and the office where this was located getting sued.  Brilliant! 

Next we have this sign letting people know their higher off the ground than they think they are.  We thought about this one and finally my human came up with what I think is a reasonable explanation as to why this sign was needed.  “Shasta, someone was probably leaning over the balcony to get a better peek at what the person in the next room was doing and just ‘forgot’ they were not on the ground floor.  Then they fell over, got hurt and sued the hotel/motel where they were.”  Ok…now my doggie head is starting to hurt.  Any moment it’s going to explode at the idea that people are too stupid to know they are high up off the ground and could get hurt if they lean too far over a balcony.  Sheesh…even dogs know that one!

And last, but certainly not least, we have this lovely little sign.  I know that canines frequently drink out of things we probably shouldn’t, but do you honestly think most of us can read well enough to stop us from drinking out of a public urinal?  C’mon.  This sign has to be the direct result of some moron deciding he couldn’t wait for the water fountain to become free and took a drink out of the urinal resulting in his getting sick.  Of course, if common sense were common, he/she would have waiting for their turn at the water fountain.

I’m sure by now you can see my point.  More often than not, warning labels are the result of some idiot doing something he/she shouldn’t have done in the first place and suing the maker or owner for not placing a sign dictating proper behavior to them.  Really people?  Grow up!  It’s time you stop blaming everyone else and take personal responsibility for your own actions.  The rest of us don’t have time to read every stinking warning label that resulted from your moronic actions!