Comments on: It’s Monday: Alerts and updates and ‘Oz,’ oh my!

By: Susan Fox

Susan Fox — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 23:42:33 +0000

While the number of humans on the planet is a big part of the problem, I’ve never seen nor heard anyone who complains about it volunteering to check out themselves. I think they always have in mind “those people” in poor countries.
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While a dog’s carbon footprint may not be a make or break for choosing to have one, anything that gets people thinking about the consequences of their actions vis a vis the sustainability of life on this planet is a good thing as far as I’m concerned. But that shouldn’t be yet another license to tell people how many or what animals they can have.

By: The OTHER Pat

The OTHER Pat — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 22:25:53 +0000

An article questioning the premise:

http://daily.sightline.org/dai.....gs-vs-cars

By: Gina Spadafori

Gina Spadafori — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 18:59:57 +0000

By that logic, we should all just kill ourselves. That would lighten the load considerably on the ‘ol earth!

Comment by mountain kimmie — December 14, 2009

That thought has been expressed by more than a few people in the environmental movement, only half in jest, I’m sure. More practically, it has been suggested that stopping and reversing the growth of human population should be highly incentivized, at the very least.

Stands to reason that fewer people would mean fewer pets, of course.

The whole “pets are bad” enviro-meme reminds me of this awful Cold War Era movie a baby-sitter accidentally let me see when I was a kid. These people were sheltering in the back of a semi truck after nuclear holocaust, and one of the folks was a pretty woman with a poodle. The man who figured himself for the natural “leader” of the survivors immediately strangled the little dog and threw him out of the truck.

I suspect there are a lot of pet-haters (whose ranks include animal-rights purists) looking for almost any reason to do the same on a very grand scale — and climate change is just their latest bleat.

By: mountain kimmie

mountain kimmie — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 18:31:13 +0000

Am I the only one that is just a little creeped out by the concept of a pet’s “carbon footprint”? What, are we supposed to pick our pets based on some mathematical model of the “impact” they have on the earth? Come on. By that logic, we should all just kill ourselves. That would lighten the load considerably on the ‘ol earth!

By: David S. Greene

David S. Greene — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 17:06:55 +0000

Happy to oblige, Snoopy’s Friend. I’ve seen too many videos and slideshows that are touted as cute or heartwarming or (worst of all) unique. The Riddle video is one of those rare, honestly memorable clips that stick.

And Bruce, I like “pay more attention to what you can do, and less to what you can’t”. Pets do teach us that, and Riddle more than most.

By: Snoopys Friend

Snoopys Friend — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 16:38:11 +0000

David, Thank you for the update on the Oregon Dogs, 200 wow, I’ve been wondering about them and also thanks for the link to Riddle - such a happy wonderful dog - and what a great nose he has too.

By: Bruce Kasanoff

Bruce Kasanoff — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 15:14:18 +0000

Last week, when we received Riddle’s story at Draw the Dog, it literally stopped us in our tracks. Riddle is such a wonderful example to us all that you can literally refuse to accept “handicaps” and “obstacles.” How? Just pay more attention to what you can do, and less to what you can’t.

By: C.L.H.

C.L.H. — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 14:17:16 +0000

What an amazing dog. Kudos to the rescuers. I need to start keeping tissues next to my computer.

By: Carol V

Carol V — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 12:47:08 +0000

OMG… Thank you for the link to watch Riddle…I could not have started a Monday any better…humbling…