Another Reason People Hate PETA

So PETA has found another target to use to push their agenda. This time, it’s a 20 year old jockey who happened to be riding in his first Kentucky Derby, finish in second place, and then have the poor horse break her two front legs.

So what is PETA doing about the situation? Asking for the jockey to be suspended!! And they are asking this without any knowledge of what happened, without stating any facts, without really focusing on the issue at hand.

And based on this: “PETA faxed a letter Sunday to Kentucky’s racing authority claiming the filly was “doubtlessly injured before the finish” and asked that Saez [the jockey] be suspended while Eight Belles’ death is investigated.”

Huh??? How could they know this?

I understand that horse racing is a tough sport, and if you want to attack horse racing as a whole, then by all means, use that as your subject. Ask the hard questions of the industry and get their responses. But don’t go after the poor jockey and make him guilty before being proven innocent.

The fact is that horses get injured at race tracks across the world every day, some of which have to be euthanized. But, you don’t see PETA at every one of these tracks making a big statement. You also don’t see PETA asking for the jockeys of every one of these horses to get suspended. Nope, they instead found a high profile, nationally covered event to make their points.

And instead of making the industry their target, they are trying to make an example out of one person. They are going after a young rider who happened to finish second in the Kentucky Derby. Now, I don’t know if this jockey mishandled the horse or not, but shouldn’t we wait and find out before trying to ruin this young man’s career?

Here’s the recent AP article. http://sports.yahoo.com/rah/news?slug=ap-peta-eightbelles&prov=ap&type=lgns

Pet Quotes

Some of these I've posted before, but still some great commentary on man's best friend.

"If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went." Will Rogers"

The average dog is a nicer person than the average person." Andy Rooney

"If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you; that is the principal difference between a dog and a man." Mark Twain

"There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face." Ben Williams

"Don't accept your dog's admiration as conclusive evidence that you are wonderful." Ann Landers

Interzoo 2008

No próximo dia 22 de maio, se inicia em Nuremberg na Alemanha a Interzoo 2008.

Trata-se de uma grande exposição dedicada ao setor de animais de estimação, que se realiza a cada dois anos. A edição deste ano será especial, devido ao 30º aniversário da feira.

O número de expositores aumenta a cada edição e é possível estabelecer contatos tanto com compradores quanto com outras empresas e representantes do ramo, bem como veterinários e clínicas.

Para mais informações, conheça o site oficial da feira:

http://www.interzoo.com

Segue mais fotos do ultimo evento:

I am Sleepy

I knew that you are thinking about my cute teddy bears but sorry, I can't entertain anyone else... I am so sleepy... By the way, my name is Kiko, I love these teddy bears.

My Dog's Talk To Each Other

I don't know what they are saying, or for that matter how they say it, but my dogs talk to each other.

Last night, Kelso (the barker), started whining and barking to "go do his business." Since he had just gone, we wondered, what the heck is going on? But as soon as I opened the door to the doggie litter box (yes, they do make litter boxes for dogs), he turned away.

So I figured he was just messing with me, until my other dog, Rocco (the quiet one) all of sudden ran in to do his business. Rocco hardly ever barks or whines, and somehow Kelso knew that his brother needed to go to the bathroom. But he also knew that the quiet one wouldn't make much of a fuss about it.

To me, this type of communication is quite extraordinary. But then, I wondered, what are they saying to each other about me? Are they playing favorites with me and my wife? Which one likes me best? Are they talking trash about us when we're not there?

What do you think your dogs are saying about you?

Ciência

Cientistas da Universidade de Edimburgo, na Escócia, estão tentando descobrir como uma espécie de peixe conseguiu sobreviver sem reprodução sexuada há pelo menos 70 mil anos.

A população da Molinésia Amazona, ou Poecilia formosa na nomenclatura científica, é formada apenas por fêmeas e pode ser encontrada na região do Texas, nos Estados Unidos, e no México.

A espécie se reproduz por um processo conhecido como ginogênese, que consiste em um tipo de "acasalamento" com machos de outras espécies. O espermatozóide, no entanto, serve apenas para estimular os óvulos da fêmea, não para fecundá-los. Por isso, os filhotes são sempre clones das mães e não herdam traços genéticos do macho.

Fêmea de Poecilia formosa e macho de outra espécie

Segundo os cientistas, criaturas que se reproduzem de forma assexuada apresentam problemas genéticos e freqüentemente são vítimas de extinção pela fraqueza da espécie, o que não teria acontecido com a Molinésia-Amazona.

Para entender o complexo sistema de sobrevivência desse tipo de peixe, os cientistas calcularam há quanto tempo a molinésia-amazona deveria ter sido extinta, com base em cálculos das modificações genéticas pelas quais passaram várias gerações. Os resultados mostram que a espécie deveria ter sido extinta há 70 mil anos. No entanto, ela ainda pode ser encontrada atualmente.

'Truques'

De acordo com os cientistas, a espécie deve estar usando alguns "truques" genéticos para sobreviver e o próximo passo da pesquisa será entender quais são eles.
"O que nosso estudo demonstra é que este peixe realmente tem alguma coisa especial e que existem alguns truques que ajudam a espécie a sobreviver", disse Laurence Loewe, que liderou o estudo.

Exemplar de Poecilia formosa

Uma hipótese levantada pela pesquisa é a de que, em alguns casos, o peixe pode estar pegando traços do DNA dos machos para estimular a reprodução e renovar sua combinação genética.
Segundo Loewe, as descobertas podem ajudar a compreender melhor os mecanismos de outras espécies.
"O interessante é que podemos aprender mais sobre outras espécies que utilizam estes mesmos truques", afirmou.

O estudo foi publicado na revista científica BMC Evolutionary Biology.

Fonte: G1

Dog Names

There was an article in the San Francisco Chronicle today with some interesting dog statistics: "Man's best friends getting man's best names".

They're not just Fluffy, Rover and Fido anymore.

As dog and cat ownership has expanded to nearly 2 out of 3 American households and spending on pet pampering products has exploded, Bay Area residents have taken to giving their animals more human-sounding names - such as Max, Lucy, Samantha, Charlie or, in the case of one San Francisco papillon spaniel, William III.

But the most commonly loved pet of all, according to a Chronicle review of more than 60,000 pet licenses, is a Labrador retriever named just plain Buddy. He lives in at least 89 different Bay Area homes, the data show

The article goes on to point out the top 10 dog names in teh bay area.

For more information they even have a database of popular dog names available online.

Buzz up!Man's best friends getting man's best names
Erin McCormick, Chronicle Staff Writer

Thursday, May 1, 2008

Top 10 Bay Area dog, cat names
DOGS
Buddy 518
Max 504
Lucky 494
Lucy 353
Daisy 344
Rocky 303
Molly 296
Charlie 289
Bailey 277
Coco 275