Here Apollo, here boy........come on boy, get off that ice covered pond, you might fall in. Oh no! Hang on Apollo, I am coming in to get you boy..... Let me stop, because a poor woman actually lost her life.
But once again, we hear of a situation, where someone went just a little overboard (no pun intended) to save the life of one of their four legged friends.
I am talking about 61 year old Janet Howard of Plainsboro, New Jersey. This animal loving and caring soul, jumped in to a frozen pond to save her grandchild's beloved German Shepard, and lost her own life in return. Folks, no matter how much you love your pets, it's not worth your own life to save them. It's just not. And please save the comments about how important pets are to our lives and what the way we treat pets say about us blah blah blah. I get all of that. No one advocates being cruel to animals, and anyone that does is just plain sick in my estimation.
But at some point we have to understand just where pets fall in the food chain. They are animals, we are humans, there is a difference. You just can't risk your own life to save theirs. If poor Ms. Howard had seen a human fall into the ice, or wander out on a frozen pond she would have called 911 and wished the poor soul her best. But it was a pet. So what does she do? She goes out on a frozen pond over 25 feet, risking, and ultimately losing her own life to save old Apollo. And I guarantee you that if she had actually seen Apollo fall in she would have done the same thing.
Now you all know how I feel about this phenomenon, especially among some people, and stories like this one only serve to strengthen my argument. If Michael Vick had killed a man he would not be as vilified as he was for fighting those poor little dogs. But this is A-merry-ca, and we are serious about our pets here. I once sat in court and watched a prosecutor cry to a Judge over a defendant's treatment of a dog. The Judge threw the book at him. Whenever I pick up a client in my criminal practice I always look at his sheet to see if he has any priors involving cruelty to animals. If he does, I always look for a plea bargain for obvious reasons. It's that serious out here with A-merry-cans and their animals.
The other sad part about this story, is that old Apollo lived. Yep, just jumped right up out of the water, swam to shore, and went home. Janet who? That's another thing about these animals, they are so damn ungrateful.
Oh well, Eagles win!
52 comments:
Well, actually, this was just really tragic judgement. Anyone that knows about dogs knows that he had a pretty good chance of getting out on his own. Sadly, I think she was motivated more by her love for her grandchild and not wanting to see him suffer than the well being of the dog. And Field, you are soo wrong about the gratitude of animals. They are so much more grateful and offer unconditional love to their humans.
I hear ya, Field. Koreans should run the animal control facilities. Really my only problem with Vick was the way he killed the dogs. But I guess if they gotta go, they gotta go. The interstate commerce clause is perverted.
szpork
If Michael Vick had killed a man he would not be as vilified as he was for fighting those poor little dogs.
That's a profound statement. The level of ire directed at Vick was astounding. For a minute, I thought he murdered a white woman with all those white folks hooting and hollaring.
Hell, the amount of anger displayed over Vicks actions was greater than that directed towards Ray Lewis when he was accused of murder.
Oh well, I guess Janet will get a medal or some acknowledgement for her misplaced heroism.
Field,
I rest your case!
Anonymous,
Perhaps I don't understand the Korean comment. Perhaps I don't understand why someone would not put their name on a comment.
We American's think that China is barbaric because they eat dog and cat. China thinks we are barbaric because we eat rabbit and squirrel.
In Vietnam I ate rat jerkey that the mountain tribesmen made with some kind of molasses. They put the rats in a barrel all night and the strongest one killed the rest. Then you hit the last one in the head with a stick. It wasn't that bad, a little sweet......perhaps.
Rainy, I was just saying put the meat to use in fine dining establishments. It has to do with carbon offsets and frankly, things you wouldn't understand. I signed my post with szpork. We may need to make sacrifices to deal with global warming, that's all I'm saying.
szpork
szpork,
In South Korea they still have tagogee establishments. "carbon offsets and frankly, things you wouldn't understand." I just finised over 20 posts on global warming vs man-made global warming. I know I'm from the hills and had to put rocks in my shoes to get used to wearing them when I went to school in Ohio, but if you give me a book with pictures I should be able to keep up.
rainywalker
What Mike Vick did was inexcusable but did he deserve all that time.... Hell No!
But we know that PETA and their die hard cult-like followers had to make an example out of someone, and good ole Mike Vick dumb backwards ass couldn't leave the hood behind. He got caught up and rolled on by his own family.... that is a tough one.
I guess that old hood midwives phrase is true:
All is well until you end up in jail. Huh?
Pets are great, wonderful, loveable & I detest anyone that abuses animals. I adore my Cat. It would break my heart if she got hurt or worse.... but animals are not worth losing your life for!
What Mike Vick did was inexcusable but did he deserve all that time.... Hell No!
I agree! No he didn't!
Blogger rainywalker said...
In South Korea they still have tagogee establishments. "carbon offsets and frankly, things you wouldn't understand." I just finished over 20 posts on global warming vs man-made global warming.
_________
Hi Rainy,
I would like to see some of what you wrote.
The argument that global warming is a hoax in comparison to others saying that it is man-made is fascinating. I mean do they seriously believe that there is no proof that global warming is man-made or that there isn't anything we can do about it?
To hear that it's a hysteria that Democrats and the Hollywood elite made up boggles the mind.
I believe that global warming has man-made components to it and we need to be more cognizant of what we are doing to our nation.
Anyway it would be interesting to read your take.
Field,
"If Michael Vick had killed a man he would not be as vilified as he was for fighting those poor little dogs."
That's only true if he had killed a WHITE man. If the man were Black, Vick would still be playing ball.
IMO, Whites consider pets more valuable than Blacks. Otherwise, Michael Vick wouldn't be doing all that time.
Come to think of it, after reading your previous post about "Lost Boys" Blacks don't value Blacks any more than animals either.
Everyone has different priorities and values. It's not fair to say "you just can't risk your own life to save theirs [animals]" or "animals are not worth losing your life for". A LOT of people have "non-human" causes that they would die for...and that's their business. Life is life, and I have a lot of respect for someone who values life enough to risk their own to save another.
And in the end, I doubt PeTA gives a shit that this woman lost her life trying to save the dog...if they could, they'd probably vilify her and her grandson for having "enslaved" that poor animal into the horrors of household pet-itude.
Jmee,
Please feel free to come to my blog. The posts on global warming are in Nov-Dec 2008. Good, bad, agree, disagree I am open to reason. The Korean restaurants that served dog were closed during the Olympic Games by the government and some have now reopened.
rainy
My cats are grateful. One of my old ones snuck out into the patio without me knowing about it, and when I locked her out of the apartment she leapt at the sliding glass door repeatedly and kicked it.
She appreciated a good home with food and a litter box when she didn't have it for a few minutes, that's for sure. God rest her soul.
My cats are grateful. One of my old ones snuck out into the patio without me knowing about it, and when I locked her out of the apartment she leapt at the sliding glass door repeatedly and kicked it.
lol,
Too cute!
Congrats to the Iggles. I hope they make it all the way to the Superbowl, where they'll get eated by the Steelers.
tuscanb,
"A LOT of people have "non-human" causes that they would die for...and that's their business. Life is life, and I have a lot of respect for someone who values life enough to risk their own to save another."
That is so true. Life is life. People have different causes that they are willing to die for. I can't think of a better way to die.
..."if you have never found something so dear and precious to you that you will die for it, then you aren’t fit to live."--MLK
A mite off-topic, but --
Field, I feel ya too!
"Rat jerky" huh. Rainy that's interesting stuff. I can't say that I would try it though. But then, I eat the hell out of some curried goat, so what do I know.
I am going to check out t hat post from your blog as well, sounds like a good read.
tuscanb, that's a new way of looking at it. But couldn't we find causes that involve humans? Lord knows that there is plenty of need in that area.
Dan Leo, maybe it's a Philly thing. ;)
all i can say is 'wow'. i am utterly speechless.
Field, you've got so many issues going on here it's hard to know where to start. But start I will. ;)
First what Michael Vick was doing was vicious cruel and wrong. Not to mention epically stupid. He got his dumb ass right in the white hot light of PETA and HSUS. And they saw to it that he was made an example. Why? He was a popular sports figure, a ridiculously wealthy guy and somebody everybody had heard of. His ignorant mistake. HOWEVER, what he did was not nearly as bad as what Rae Carruth or what Ray Lewis was accused of.
Within the purebred dog community PETA and HSUS are vilified but the Vick case forced everyone to act in unison. So as a piece of information, never confuse the purebred dog and cat community with PETA or HSUS animal lovers. We hate them.
People get killed pretty regularly trying to protect their animals. A guy comes to mind right now who was run over by a Muni train trying to save his dog's life. I might very well get killed trying to save one of my dog's life. I don't know if people think that one out while it's going on. I think they just react and then God sorts it out.
I've watched people throw thousands of dollars at saving a dog's life. I have a friend who's Doberman chased a burglar onto a busy street and got hit by a car. She spent over $10k saving his life. She told me she couldn't put him down for doing his job. I didn't have a good argument against that. After all, we can always go out and make more money.
I could easily get killed trying to save one of my dog's life. I could also easily be killed saving your life, and we've never met and that wouldn't matter to me. If you were in trouble and I could make a difference, I would. That's my DNA. I give blood to strangers every 8 weeks. I flew to New Orleans after Katrina. I did a ton of work after the Oakland Hills fire. I've broken up robberies and hollered at criminals. I chased a guy with a 357 just to get the plates of the car that took him away. That's who I am. I would do what I could to save one of God's creatures no matter how many legs it had. And if I found my butt at the Pearly Gates for it, I'm ok with that.
there's a new program in india that sells ratmeat in restaurants (to popularize the concept, because the rats eat too much grain, and they're a good source of protein).
Catmeat is horrid. Nobody likes catmeat.
Wine Dog, thank you for your thoughtful post. It directly answers those who like to claim all animal lovers will not put their lives on the line for other humans. People like to use rhetoric to support their own agendas.
Field, how do you know this poor woman would have only called 911 if she saw a human drowning? And shame on you for starting this post with a jokey-joke about the woman dying.
I have family members who participate in both cockfighting and dogfighting. I think it's appalling, but that's not my problem with Vick. My relatives would never think of treating their animals the way he treated his. Come on, bashing their heads in on concrete to put them down? Who the hell does that? Especially when euthanasia is so readily available? My folks, who certainly don't have access to the type of money Vick has had any number of humane ways to put an animal down.
What he did had nothing to do with animal fighting, horrific as that is. He is a sadistic SOB and belongs exactly where he is. I worked in social services for more than a decade and as anyone can tell you there's a direct correlation between how people treat animals and how they treat children.
If poor Ms. Howard had seen a human fall into the ice, or wander out on a frozen pond she would have called 911 and wished the poor soul her best. But it was a pet. So what does she do?
Pure speculation. You have no idea what this woman would do for humans. I tend to bet she would have helped a human with the same losing vigor she had with Apollo.
Now, if it were my dog: he would die.
But I understand the affection and tie some people have with their animals (closer than any human "friend" they ever had).
GO EAGLES!
10:46, what a racially insensitive thing to say. "The Koreans"? You're a really smart one, I can tell.
I've been trained in ice rescue. That said, going in alone to rescue someone (anyone) without at least a secured line is idiotic. Going in alone after a dog is really stupid; here's how to ice rescue a dog without proper equipment:
Stand near the edge of the pond.
Call out "Come, (name of dog)!", and look really happy and excited, preferably with a favorite toy or food in your hand. Repeat until the dog is out, or stops moving. Really - dogs are much less likely to fall in the ice, have a much easier time of getting out of broken ice, and (nearly all) will survive far longer in freezing water than any human. The chances of your dying are far, far greater than the chance you could rescue them from a situation they can't get out of.
Then, when they come out, get them warm (not hot) and dry.
I think that humans tend to feel for animals like they do because animals can't fight back most of the time. They are pretty much at our mercy.
Now, I pretty much feel the way you do about pets. We are at the top of the food chain and I've used that direct quote before myself.
That said, I love my basset hound. If I saw her fall into a pond of ice, my first instinct would be to try and save her and I fully admit it. I like to think that after that instinct, common sense would take over and I'd get the hell out but, who knows, it might be too late at that point too.
And I also agree with the previous poster. You are speculating when you say what the poor woman would do if she saw a person fall in. I've been in an emergency situation before and you really never know what you're apt to do. You just really do not.
Hey Field Negro!
Do you remember when Chris Rock did an interview a few years ago and he was mentioning that he was in some Asian country and he told one of the locals that he was AMAZED that there isn't the insane love of dogs in their country that Americans have. He said that he told the man that in America, people buy sweaters and t-shirts for their dogs and walk them around. He said that the man looked at him blankly and said:
We don't walk food!
Lesson learned: don't go running after an animal when there's thin ice around. A dog has a much chance of survival than a human.
I love my basset hound. If I saw her fall into a pond of ice, my first instinct would be to try and save her and I fully admit it. I like to think that after that instinct, common sense would take over and I'd get the hell out but, who knows, it might be too late at that point too.
Likewise. I would certainly try to save my cat...(With her spoiled self). She is spoiled rotten! Her food and other needs are at the top of my grocery list. Yep!
I love her!
"..And shame on you for starting this post with a jokey-joke about the woman dying."
Anon., you are right, I really do have to work on my morbid sense of humor. :(
People guess what would happen if you opened the door, your pet would run out of it...and if they ran up on someone else who would feed it and pamper it, they would stay. If your pet was released in the wild, instincts would kick in and said domesticated pet would SURVIVE...because why? BECAUSE THATS WHAT THEY DO!!!!!!!!
Yeah Mike Vick is a stand up guy and he was railroaded by dog loving whites. Slamming them on their heads and shocking them and drowning them is nothing compared to what happens in, ummm, errr...what fucking bullshit. I bet all the women he gave herpes to when he was going to the STD clonic undert the name Ron Mexico are in line to stand up for his character. He was singled out not stupid and cruel. Oh those herpes infected women serves em right for trying to get with a player, right ? I officially leave this discussion and all future ones here to the more enlightened. AMFs
I would imagine most of the ignorant comments are coming from the lovely colored folks. They are notorious for mistreating dogs. The colored folks are the ones that need to be chained and beaten. I won't be voting for this idiot on the blog awards. It takes all kinds.
Yeah Mike Vick is a stand up guy and he was railroaded by dog loving whites. Slamming them on their heads and shocking them and drowning them is nothing compared to what happens in, ummm, errr...what fucking bullshit. I bet all the women he gave herpes to when he was going to the STD clonic undert the name Ron Mexico are in line to stand up for his character. He was singled out not stupid and cruel. Oh those herpes infected women serves em right for trying to get with a player, right ? I officially leave this discussion and all future ones here to the more enlightened. AMFs (to be fair I accidentally left this comment under the wrong name, It's always good to be clear. Carry on
would imagine most of the ignorant comments are coming from the lovely colored folks. They are notorious for mistreating dogs. The colored folks are the ones that need to be chained and beaten. I won't be voting for this idiot on the blog awards. It takes all kinds.
Pray tell? Which colored folks?
I'm on both sides of the fence on this one. Hey if you like cat be my guest and fry some up but then again, I've had pets (both cats and dogs that were more loyal to me than most humans that I have known. and Michael Vick got a raw deal, I don't think it was as much a race thing as it was a celebrity thing.
There's an old joke that goes put your wife and your dog in the trunk of your car for an hour. Let them out and see which one is glad to see you.
"I would imagine most of the ignorant comments are coming from the lovely colored folks. They are notorious for mistreating dogs. The colored folks are the ones that need to be chained and beaten."
Hey anon.stop eating the Alpo, and get a life. Beating "colored folks" is sooooo passe.
Have you seen all the stories of people taking their "family members" down to shelters because they can't afford them anymore? So basically, when push comes to shove...a dog is a dog is a dog...is an unnecessary expense.
Thought so.
I think that it's really interesting to see how people prioritize their values. Calling family pets an "unnecessary expense" is like putting them on the same level as cable tv, designer clothing, or exotic vacations...a clear indication that you shouldn't have one.
Field - People pick the causes that they feel passionately about. Education, animal rights, human rights, censorship, homelessness, whatever. There's a lot of need in a LOT of areas, but no one can say what should be more or less important to anyone else.
My home is along a creek leading into the Intercoastal waterway on the Atlantic. At low tide, the water goes out exposing mud flats with the consistency of quicksand.
In one particular spot close to the shore, an underground creek comes out resulting in a quicksand area about 10' around. The neighbors have put a fence on the shore side to keep the unwary out.
The neighborhood is a small cluster of 6 houses surrounded by farm and forest, at the end of a long gravel road - so everyone knows everyone in the neighborhood.
One Sunday evening in November before preparing to go back to the city for the workweek, I spotted a older man standing near the fence who wasn't a resident. I went out to see who he was that had ignored our large "No Trespassing" signs down at the end of our private road, at which point he began yelling for help.
Thinking perhaps his wife or a grandchild had fallen into the quicksand pit, I grabbed a rope and rushed over to find his Black Labrador Retriever had decided to take a swim in the creek, and on his way back had fallen into the mud pit and was now buried up to his neck...
And sinking.
Fortunately, the neighbor whose yard faces the pit (who wasn't home) had a construction project going, from which I borrowed some 2 x 8 and several sheets of cut plywood to spread over the mud to crawl out without sinking, and get a line under the dog to keep him from sinking further.
Labs are good sized dogs, and the dog was panicked. I was worried that the dog might react and bite in the difficult and possibly painful process of reaching under him through the mud and lifting him out. He didn't, and managed to stay still long enough for me to lift him out, and carry him over to my outdoor shower where I could run warm water over both of us to get the mud off and fight hypothermia in the 38 degree weather.
After warming and washing the dog I offered to let it's owner to step inside and warm up while the dog recovered in my heated "Mud room" wrapped in a couple of old blankets. The man was decidedly cold and shivering, but refused.
Guy offered thanks for saving his dog, but never offered recompense to my neighbor for his lost lumber, which with the rising tide was now floating down the creek.
Sometimes mutts are smarter than their owners.
Pets are pets.
Although one may be hurt by their death, care enough to risk their lives, that's crazy IMO.
They'll all go to pet Heaven because surely there's no pet Hell.
tuscanb,
"Field - People pick the causes that they feel passionately about. Education, animal rights, human rights, censorship, homelessness, whatever. There's a lot of need in a LOT of areas, but no one can say what should be more or less important to anyone else."
I agree 100%. Pets mean a lot to many people. In fact, studies have shown that pets are good for humans emotionally,psychologically and spiritually. They are good for the human heart.
Of course, if you think and feel like Michael Vick, the life of a dog is worth nothing. IMO, that is a disrepect for the sacredness of life.
With regard to which cultures eat which animals, if I lived in a place that was completely overpopulated, and I was desperate for a little protein, there's no telling what I might eat. Some insects are full of protein and plenty of cultures eat them with gusto.
Once I was in court for a speeding ticket. I was talking to a vet who had been caught speeding to his clinic for an emergency case. I told him the judge was going to tell him that he could not put people at risk to save an animal. He didn't believe it. Late he sheepishly admitted to me that's EXACTLY what the judge told him.
Field,
Couldn't resist sending you and everyone on FN blog this slideshow of nudist protesters for animal rights in Europe. I am sure it will change your attitude toward animals and humans. LOL
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/01/07/nude-protesters-from-spai_n_156024.html
For the record, humans are not at the top of the food chain, as someone said above. At least not in any natural sense. For proof, take a trip out to the jungle alone and armed only with what god gave you. You are PREY.
It shows a total lack of reasoning to assume that someone who is concerned for animal rights would by default have no regard for human causes. There's no flow of logic in that. Why is concern for life mutually exclusive between species? Um, it isn't.
No one is going to argue with you about whether humans need to be protected and whether they are sentient or have souls. Many creatures, who are also sentient and have souls, can't speak up to defend themselves. I've gotten off topic. Oops.
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