"You will never do anything in this world without courage. It is the greatest quality of the mind next to honor."
~ Aristotle


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I asked the master how one could find the greatest satisfaction in life.

He thought for a moment and then said gently ‘By disciplining one’s self and learning to live divinely in small as well as great things.‘ I asked Him if He thought it possible to live divinely in a world so filled with hatred and violence? He nodded vigorously He had no doubts about it.

I asked if He would tell me some of the qualities considered requisite for living ‘The superior life‘.
Listen to them: Love, Gratitude, Unselfishness, Appreciation, Loyalty, Sincerity, Devotion, Enthusiasm, Joy, Simplicity, Frugality, Gratitude, Self-control, Faith, Kindness, the Capacity for small enjoyments, Serenity, Honesty, Poise, Genuineness, Courage, Sympathy, Tolerance, Understanding, Good Manners, Strong observation, Strength, with Gentleness, Unselfish Attitude, Dignity, Freedom from evil purposes, and the ability to be interested in people and things for their sake and not for personal return.

‘Suppose one had all these qualities,‘ I said, and suppose he lived them so silently, modestly, but radiantly, that men, women, and children were happier for having known him. What would you call one like that?

He smiled and answered ‘Most people call him a DOG.‘

- Unknown

I pity the man who never has known
The pleasure of owning a pup;
Who never has watched his funny ways
In the business of growing up.

I pity the man who enters his gate
Alone and unnoticed at night,
No dog to welcome him joyously home
With his frantic yelps of delight.

I pity the man who never receives,
In hours of bitterest woe,
Sympathy shown by a faithful dog
In a way only he seems to know.

I pity the man with a hatred of dogs;
He is missing from life something fine;
For the friendship between a man and his dog
Is a feeling almost divine.
- Unknown

 

pitbull poem

I am just a dog breeder’s husband
I no longer rule my domain
Even if kindly invited
From opinions I wisely refrain.
It appears that his eyesight is failing
His errors in judgment immense
In fact if I didn’t know better
You’d doubt that he had any sense.
I am just a glorified kennel boy
Of minor Importance I know
It seems that my primary function
Is merely providing the dough.
One finds that amateur’s bungling
No match for professional skill
A handler can hide what an owner admits
As he tries hard his conscience to still.
Now dog breeding’s not inexpensive
As you all are no doubt aware
But the problem’s not so much the money
As the bustle, the wear and tear.
The din and utter confusion
Of everyone talking at once
Leaves one weary, hoarse and irascible
And the next day a bleary-eyed dunce.
Having studied the layback of shoulder
And becoming an expert on feet
I still have not learned to give worm pills
Or how much a puppy should eat.
Sometimes late in the evening
I am asked if I do not agree
That Who-z-ma-call-its Bridget
Is somewhat down at the knee.
My spouse will spend hours trimming
A ‘Bred By Exhibitor Bitch‘
But when it comes to scratching my back
Her thoughts are to let the thing itch.
But before I can answer the question
I find that my answer’s ignored
For some inexplicable reason
My questioner’s suddenly bored.
Some summer I hope that my wife’ll
Take me wandering in some foreign vale
Instead of inspecting the stifle
Of some special stud at Hinsdale.
I am only a dog breeder’s husband
Not that I mean to complain
But I find certain aspects amazing
When I aspire my role to explain.
Oft in a crowded motel room
After the show is o’er
Someone will question the judge’s decision
While they reach for another drink more.
I know at least where I’m going
I’m rapidly going to seed
But I’ve learned about ‘Winner’s Bitches‘
I’ve married the ‘˜Best of the Breed.’


- Unknown

If a dog will not come to you after he has looked you in the face, you ought to go home and examine your conscience.
- Woodrow Wilson


A dog is the only thng on Earth that loves you more than he loves himself.
- Josh Billings


Dogs lives are too short. Their only fault, really.
- Unknown


I never saw a wild thing
sorry for itself.
A small bird will drop frozen dead from a bough
without ever having felt sorry for itself.
- D. H. Lawrence


In Germany they came first for the communists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me, and by that time no one was left to speak up.
- Martin Niemoeller (1892-1984)


"You should not examine legislation in the light of the benefits it will convey if properly administered, but in the light of the wrongs it would do and the harm it would cause if improperly administered. "
- Lyndon Johnson, 36th President of the U.S.

October 6, 2007

Everyone should notice that Pit bulldogs are just their first (easiest) step towards their true ultimate goal of forbidding/eliminating all animal/pet ownership/use. Goodwin used to lead an anti-fur group but those folks have money and are organized with trade associations and such, so he's moved on to what he must see as an easier target. Also, it looks to me in reading Newkirk's comments that she had some personal incident with some dog she identifies as a "pit". Her uneducated language makes me question both the probability of her correctly identifying such a dog and the veracity of her story even if she might know the difference. It also looks to me like if this is true, she has some sort of personal vendetta against our dogs. I really wonder if caring pet owners realize that when they donate money to these groups their ultimate goal is the abolition of them being allowed to even keep a pet.

The bottom line is that people don’t have the right to manipulate or to breed dogs and cats ‘¦ If people want toys they should buy inanimate objects. If they want companionship they should seek it with their own kind.‘
-Ingrid Newkirk, President, PETA, ‘Animals,‘ May/June 1993

‘You don’t have to own squirrels and starlings to get enjoyment from them ‘¦ One day, we would like an end to pet shops and the breeding of animals. [Dogs] would pursue their natural lives in the wild ‘¦ they would have full lives, not wasting at home for someone to come home in the evening and pet them and then sit there and watch TV.‘
-Ingrid Newkirk, President, PETA, Chicago Daily Herald, March 1, 1990

‘I don’t use the word ‘pet.‘ I think it’s speciesist language. I prefer ‘companion animal.‘ For one thing, we would no longer allow breeding. People could not create different breeds. There would be no pet shops. If people had companion animals in their homes, those animals would have to be refugees from the animal shelters and the streets. You would have a protective relationship with them just as you would with an orphaned child. But as the surplus of cats and dogs (artificially engineered by centuries of forced breeding) declined, eventually companion animals would be phased out, and we would return to a more symbiotic relationship ‘“ enjoyment at a distance.‘
-Ingrid Newkirk, PETA vice-president, quoted in The Harper’s Forum Book, Jack Hitt, ed., 1989, p.223

I have scars on my leg and arm from my own encounter with a pit. Many are loving and will kiss on sight, but many are unpredictable. An unpredictable Chihuahua is one thing, an unpredictable pit another. People who genuinely care about dogs won’t be affected by a ban on pit-bull breeding. They can go to the shelter and save one of the countless other breeds and lovable mutts sitting on death row. We can only stop killing pits if we stop creating new ones.‘
-Ingrid Newkirk

‘Liberating our language by eliminating the word ‘˜pet’ is the first step ‘¦ In an ideal society where all exploitation and oppression has been eliminated, it will be NJARA’s policy to oppose the keeping of animals as ‘˜pets.’‘
-New Jersey Animal Rights Alliance, ‘Should Dogs Be Kept As Pets? NO!‘ Good Dog! February 1991, p.20

‘If the death of one rat cured all diseases, it wouldn’t make any difference to me.‘
-Chris De Rose, Director, Last Chance for Animals

‘Arson, property destruction, burglary and theft are ‘˜acceptable crimes’ when used for the animal cause.‘
-Alex Pacheco, Director, PETA

‘We have found that civil disobedience and direction action has been powerful in generating massive attention in our communities ‘¦ and has been very effective in traumatizing our targets.‘
-J.P. Goodwin, Committee to Abolish the Fur Trade, National Animal Rights Convention ‘˜97, June 27, 1997

‘As an activist, I am a spokesperson for other animal issues. I am a strict vegan. But my focus is on the fur trade because I feel it's important that we try and take them [the fur industry] out and not let them get back up on their feet. If we have a chance to stop the killing of fur animals, it would create a lot of momentum for the animal rights movement.‘
-John "JP" Goodwin, November 1997

(I added the emphasis.)

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