my third favorite topic is animal exploitation

cuz we use those poor little suckers every freaking chance we get.

i get especially mad when the saints animals are exploited. obviously they don't get exploited for profit around here cuz then i would have to buy a gun. but they still can be exploited in non monetary ways which still makes them some kind of currency....like...they could be used as a weapon to get even with me or as an excuse to blow out of control and say whatever it is i happen to feel at any particular moment or to prove whatever point i or someone else wants to make. they could be used to stoke and stroke mine or someone else's ego, they could be used to justify the means or the end or to fulfill some other human need, like "gee aren't i just so great." their stories and their pictures are not manufactured to make any of us look good. this is why i like the blog so much cuz i can tell you that they are sometimes little bastards and sometimes they are so wonderful and perfect in every single way.......last night phoebe was ADORABLE, she sat softly between my legs while we watched mr. and mrs. smith (that was a very funny movie) and she was looking for kisses and butt scratches and chest rubs, but she was doing it so softly and nicely that i fell in love with her for a moment again ( i am sure she will mess it up again sometime today).

i will show peter's and molly's "before" pictures (esp. if someone seems to think molly looks a little gross now) and in a sense i guess it is a form of exploitation cuz i am trying to accomplish a couple of things A. i want folks to see that she looks so pretty now or B. no, we aren't neglecting her, we have in fact made her better which is our job around here. but there is no way in hell that i am posting the before and afters just so we look great. (i have been talking to people about peter alot lately, i guess i really still miss him, now he was a GREAT little dog)
believe it or not people still come here and ask if their kids can ride the ponies or if they themselves can ride spritely (they even tell me that letting them ride her would be good for her leg...hmmm, i highly doubt that) and others have even asked for ellie's meat when she can't walk anymore. (oh sure, and you can have the meat off my left arm too while we are at it.) people have asked why i don't eat our chickens eggs (i give them to the dogs instead)...i tell them it is because i don't want to eat anything that comes out of my chickens butts..which is sort of true but it really means, my chickens are not for providing me with food. i will give the eggs to others (both dog and human) but i ain't eating the fruits of their labours, no freaking way.

it is such a slippery slope...i am so in awe of the animals here that i want folks to know and be in awe of them too...but...i don't need to use them to make myself, or saints or anyone else look good...that is not what they are here for, they are here to live free from our petty human needs. and that's why i try to make them real and tell about the not so great things they do. cuz if they can be awe inspiring and still be an ass sometimes, other animals can be too. so i guess that too is a form of exploitation...geez, it is hard to keep things absolutely pure and white.

but just because it is sometimes hard, does not mean i can't see a big old red and obvious flag that says "hello carol, excuse us but we're being used" and not to help them or the other guys here but to forward the interests of some freaking human because they think our guys are here to make their lives look or feel easier/better. that just makes me mad and gets me thinking about how to prevent that from happening again.

i have been accused of being a control freak...and i really am a control freak too...but about very specific things...fundraisers, websites, money stuff, community events, not so much...but holy crap, look out if an animal is anywhere near.