The Witching Season at Our Little House
One of my favorite holidays to decorate for has always been Halloween.
It goes back to my childhood, as I knew then that Christmas and my birthday were just a couple short months away.
We always had such cool decorations, too. Little wax figures and pumpkins. They cost .10 cents then at the Dime Store, but are worth a fortune to collectors now.
Since we’ve moved from the city, we don’t have trick or treaters and we don’t have any little kids, but I still enjoy getting out my Halloween décor.
Living Large tip of the Week: Recycle a Pet
Animals have been a central theme this week at Living Large, so I thought I would continue that on with the Tip of the Week: Recycle a Pet.
Over 5 million healthy dogs and cats are killed in shelters each year in the United States. Millions more struggle to survive on their own on the streets and in the countryside.
If you put all of the animals killed in shelters each year together, it is more than the human population of Los Angeles and they would equal the populations of Chicago and Houston combined.
That’s a lot of animals.
We taxpayers also foot the $2 billion bill to capture, house and ultimately kill these animals.
Homeless, feral cats also have a profound effect on the environment and eco-system, greatly reducing the number of birds in some areas. I couldn’t find any statistics with regards to how much of an environmental footprint shelters leave on our planet, but it must be astounding.
So, why is it necessary to continue to breed pets or buy “new” pets from breeders or pet stores? It isn’t. It’s American consumerism, the need to have the “best,” the “prettiest,” the “fastest” the “biggest,” the “smallest…” whatever descriptor. It is because we see animals as an extension of our lifestyles, instead of living beings with feelings and emotion.
Some may also feel that shelter or rescue pets are “broken,” or have behavioral issues that cannot be fixed.
That is simply not true. We’ve had a total of 7 rescue cats and 9 rescue dogs (including a foster) in our married lives, none of which required anymore training and socializing than I would have put into a “new” puppy. Of these, 3 of them were purebreds, which also proves you can find purebreds, if you so choose, in rescues and shelters.
There’s a saying in animal rescue: “Shelter animals are not broken, they’ve simply experience more life,” and we’ve found that to be true. Our rescues have all also been the most loyal of pets. Emma, our German Shepherd/Rottweiler mix even saved me once from a charging horse.
Dale brought home a new stray last week. He's a younger Beagle mix. He is very needy and clingy, he needs lots of attention and love. He also doesn't seem to have been house trained. But I know when he settles in and he knows we won't leave him or dump him, he'll be a great dog.
We're calling him Dexter, because he has "killer" eyes that will melt your heart.
If you cannot adopt a homeless pet, there are other ways you can help the effort:
- First and foremost, please make sure to spay and neuter those pets in your care. Two unaltered cats and all their descendants can theoretically number 420,000 in just seven years. Two unaltered dogs and all their descendants can theoretically number 67,000 in just six years.
- Volunteer your time and any unneeded pet toys, beds, blankets, towels, linens and other items your shelter may need. Food and of course, monetary donations, are always welcome too. Many shelter and rescues have sponsorship programs, which are great gifts for the people in your life that have everything and need nothing.
Here at Our Little House, we believe the 3 R’s of Repurpose, Reuse and Recycle is not just limited to “things;” but also to the beings that we, as a species, have domesticated, making all of us responsible for their humane care and the imprint we leave on the environment in doing so.
We would love to hear all about your recycled pets and how they found you.
On the Road Again at Our Little House
I’ve known for sometime that I would most likely one day be known as the “Crazy Dog Lady” here on the mountain.
Last week, I think Dale thought that day had come to pass.
I wrote in July about our 9–10 year old Doxie, Molly, being diagnosed with a severe enlarged heart.
Unfortunately, Molly cannot take walks with us any longer and this was inhibiting my ability to take Dakota, the Dachshund/Beagle mix on walks. The larger dogs can go out by themselves to roam, but Dakota is too small and now too old and I fear some big bad wild animal will get her if she’s not on a leash.
This left us with only these choices, none of which were good:
Altering Recipes at Our Little House
A Sunday afternoon in the city would most likely find us at our favorite Mexican restaurant in the city, but a Sunday afternoon at Our Little House is much more fun.
Dale gets the Sunday supper cooking duties in the summer, which typically means grilled fare, or if it is cool enough, Dutch Oven Cooking.
Although Sunday wasn’t a cool day, we combined grilling pork chops with a couple of recipes he has wanted to try Dutch Oven style.
The first is a dish we’ve tried before, Dutch Oven Potatoes in a 12” Dutch Oven, which comes from the book, “Camp Dutch Oven Cooking.”
The recipe calls for 1 – 1 ½ pounds of bacon and Dale put about 6 slices in it. He loaded it up with onions though, thinking that would compensate for the reduced bacon.
I was in charge of mixing the “Charley Bread,” a recipe my hubby wanted to try because it contains creamed corn, a favorite of his. I intentionally left out the 2 tbs. Of sugar and 1 tsp. of salt. Sugar is not good for us here and salt isn’t either, and since most things have too much salt, we didn’t think these omissions would matter.
