A place for reflection and commentary on a life well lived. Sort of. Well.... we try.
I own all ramblings made here...
© WhizGidget/AMS
I own all ramblings made here...
© WhizGidget/AMS
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Wednesday, January 21, 2004
To someone I don't know... on your 10th birthday.
Hi there. You are probably never going to read this, but you should know what's going on in the world, little girl, especially since we live a city apart from each other. I hope to all the heavens that I don't know you or your parents personally, because if I get the chance to speak with them, they'll get an earful.
And anyone who knows *me* knows that that is a promise, not a threat.
You recently got the gift of a beautiful two year old Golden Retriever. Your mom went to the Humane Society and got her for you. I'm sure she's a lovely dog, but a bit reserved. Maybe she howls at night, or makes a mess on the floor. Let me share with you why.
Her name is Bella. That's her real name, no matter what you've named her. She and another dog named Zina got loose from her owner's yard somehow about 3 weeks ago. She didn't have a tag on because her owner was afraid of Bella getting caught on some of the low hanging branches in her backyard and strangling herself on a collar.
Bella's owner went looking over and over again at the Humane Society and never saw her or Zina (who happens to still be missing) there on any of those visits. When she finally did see Bella, 6 days after she disappeared, it was discovered that she had already been adopted and was awaiting spaying. Adopted by your mom, for your birthday.
By law in our state, everything was done correctly. Untagged pets are kept for 5 days before being released for adoption. Tagged (or microchipped) pets are kept for 10 before being released for adoption. For those who have not done it yet, please tag or microchip your pets... I've got tags on Sasha, but a chip is looking really attractive now. Bella was untagged. The only thing we don't know is why Bella wasn't spotted by her owner on those visits to the Humane Society.
I'm sure, if you're anything like me, you're absolutely head over heels in love with your new friend. But it must be hard right now having this new dog, and knowing that someone else is crying all day for her best friend. I expect you would be doing the same if you were in that same situation - if you'd lost your dog and found that someone else had adopted them and wouldn't give them back to you - *YOU*, the rightful owner.
I expect that if it were your best friend in the whole world who found something of yours and you saw them with it, you would want them to give it back to you, right? That's what friends do.
That's what nice, respectful people do.
This has happened before in the valley where we live - 6 times in the last 3 years to be exact. And all the new owners gave back the dogs to their rightful owners. I'm sure they understood the bond between a person and their pet.
Maybe you don't know at this moment that it's your new furry friend that's causing such a huge uproar in the valley where we both live. Dog lovers all around you have called the newspapers, radio stations, and the Humane Society. Some of those people have said they would stop supporting the Humane Society's efforts, despite the fact that they followed the law. But I bet you will before long, because how many people in your neighborhood will know that you have a new dog... how many of your friends will visit and find out you have a new dog or who you will excitedly tell "Look what my Mommy got me for my birthday!!!"... and who will be the first to ask you if that's Bella.
Now is a tough time for you I'm sure. Maybe you do know that this is the famous Bella. Maybe you've bonded with her... totally in love with her. Maybe your parents are saying that Bella is yours, yours, yours and you don't have to give her up for anything, because the law is on your side. Maybe you *want* to give her up and don't have the strength to go against what your parents are saying.
This is the time to stand up for what you believe is right. Hopefully that means teaching your parents a lesson and telling them that Bella belongs to someone else, and should be with her rightful owner. An owner that made an offer to buy you a Golden Retriever puppy in exchange for getting Bella back - that's an incredible reward if you think about the cost of a purebred Golden puppy. But that's a reward that probably was never presented to you... and was refused by your mother.
Now the courts are getting involved; a lawyer has been retained; newspapers and media outlets across the country want to interview Bella's original owner. Your mother is going to be portrayed around the world as being unfair and selfish for not giving Bella back...
... I only hope that this isn't the result of your mom protecting an unfair and selfish daughter. Happy Birthday to you.
A happy ending...
*For those who haven't read it yet, please read Bella's story, about a lost-and-found Golden Retriever, just under this post...*
Bella is going home. The family that adopted her as a present for their 10 year old daughter has returned Bella to her rightful original owner. The daughter, according to reports, is devastated - and sadly so, since she had bonded with the dog.
Bella's mistress has offered to buy the child another dog, and the Humane Society has also stepped up to search for another dog for the girl at no cost.
While I feel sad for the girl, I am relieved that Bella is going home. It makes me happy I didn't know about any of this prior to taking my dog in this afternoon to have her groomed, boarded, and 'chipped'. It wouldn't have made a difference if I'd known beforehand though. Sasha will have a handy dandy microchip implanted in her shoulder blades in the morning...
... and I'll sleep better knowing that if her tags ever disappeared, we could still someday get her back.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Yet Another Uproar...
...involving a daytime talk show host.
Yes, I'm talking about Ellen and The Dog. That should be the name of a daytime afterschool special about this thing, don't you think? Or a Lifetime movie event. Come watch the struggle and the heartbreak when beloved Ellen adopts a dog, gives it away, and gets smacked on the hand for it!
Enough already. Let's take the celebrity angle out of it for a moment. You adopt a dog, you realize that someone you know would really benefit from having this dog and you give the dog to them. You tell a friend about it who mentions it to the shelter that the dog was rescued from, and then the dog is repossessed. You're angry. But if you'd bothered to pay attention to the agreement that you signed, you did a bad thing. You broke a contract. Really, technically, there's nothing now that you can do.
Now let's add Ellen back into the equation. If you're a celebrity with a talk show then you tell everyone what you did and that's how the shelter finds out, and then you cry on the show to beg for the dog to be returned. And the shelter gets death threats.
Excuse me? Death threats? Over a dog? Now I know that there were people who were pissy around here when a dog named Bella was adopted out and should have been returned to her owner (and ultimately was) but I don't think that the woman who adopted the dog for her daughter received death threats. Some of you may remember that story because I wrote about it on this blog when it was happening. It's not quite the same situation but it's the closest that I've got. That mother never got death threats, and this shelter woman shouldn't either. That's just unbalanced.
But Ellen plays a huge role in all of this. It's because of her that the woman is getting death threats. It's because of her that this whole thing is hitting the media and the shelter is probably going to pay the ultimate price of less people coming to see them and adopt from them - because who rips a dog out of the arms of a young girl who has bonded with and loves the doggie, right? It's heartless, it's cruel.
Some people should really learn to shut their mouths and not draw attention to things that they want to be raked over the coals for. Ellen, this is one of those things. I can sort of understand why this is newsworthy in celebrity press - after all, Paris and Lindsay and Britney aren't doing anything scandalous lately and the gossip rags are looking for *anything* these days. But it's only in the press because Ellen put it on nationally syndicated television. And it doesn't really belong there.
It's Ellen who didn't follow the rules and could have handled this quietly off-screen instead of putting in front of her audience. There was no need for the theatrics that she's gone through. There was no need for the world to know. And there was no need for the press that she put out this morning stating that she's not going to talk about the dog situation anymore until the dog is returned to the hairdresser. Now, the way it read said that she wasn't going to "speak anymore" until the dog is returned which if read literally means that it's going to be a very quiet talk show (and another publicity stunt). I really hope she's not going that route and is just going to drop the whole situation. But she's going to drop it on her show today, so that means one more day of hearing about the dog and the shelter and the mess in the press.
She did the wrong thing, and she should bear the responsibility for it. I'm sure she knows she screwed up and she's probably really upset that her hairdresser is going to do something awful to her hair as revenge. Considering the small amount of hair she has I wouldn't be that worried if I were her. It will grow back. And we'll watch it all on her show, in public and painfully...
...just like this whole thing has been.
Yes, I'm talking about Ellen and The Dog. That should be the name of a daytime afterschool special about this thing, don't you think? Or a Lifetime movie event. Come watch the struggle and the heartbreak when beloved Ellen adopts a dog, gives it away, and gets smacked on the hand for it!
Enough already. Let's take the celebrity angle out of it for a moment. You adopt a dog, you realize that someone you know would really benefit from having this dog and you give the dog to them. You tell a friend about it who mentions it to the shelter that the dog was rescued from, and then the dog is repossessed. You're angry. But if you'd bothered to pay attention to the agreement that you signed, you did a bad thing. You broke a contract. Really, technically, there's nothing now that you can do.
Now let's add Ellen back into the equation. If you're a celebrity with a talk show then you tell everyone what you did and that's how the shelter finds out, and then you cry on the show to beg for the dog to be returned. And the shelter gets death threats.
Excuse me? Death threats? Over a dog? Now I know that there were people who were pissy around here when a dog named Bella was adopted out and should have been returned to her owner (and ultimately was) but I don't think that the woman who adopted the dog for her daughter received death threats. Some of you may remember that story because I wrote about it on this blog when it was happening. It's not quite the same situation but it's the closest that I've got. That mother never got death threats, and this shelter woman shouldn't either. That's just unbalanced.
But Ellen plays a huge role in all of this. It's because of her that the woman is getting death threats. It's because of her that this whole thing is hitting the media and the shelter is probably going to pay the ultimate price of less people coming to see them and adopt from them - because who rips a dog out of the arms of a young girl who has bonded with and loves the doggie, right? It's heartless, it's cruel.
Some people should really learn to shut their mouths and not draw attention to things that they want to be raked over the coals for. Ellen, this is one of those things. I can sort of understand why this is newsworthy in celebrity press - after all, Paris and Lindsay and Britney aren't doing anything scandalous lately and the gossip rags are looking for *anything* these days. But it's only in the press because Ellen put it on nationally syndicated television. And it doesn't really belong there.
It's Ellen who didn't follow the rules and could have handled this quietly off-screen instead of putting in front of her audience. There was no need for the theatrics that she's gone through. There was no need for the world to know. And there was no need for the press that she put out this morning stating that she's not going to talk about the dog situation anymore until the dog is returned to the hairdresser. Now, the way it read said that she wasn't going to "speak anymore" until the dog is returned which if read literally means that it's going to be a very quiet talk show (and another publicity stunt). I really hope she's not going that route and is just going to drop the whole situation. But she's going to drop it on her show today, so that means one more day of hearing about the dog and the shelter and the mess in the press.
She did the wrong thing, and she should bear the responsibility for it. I'm sure she knows she screwed up and she's probably really upset that her hairdresser is going to do something awful to her hair as revenge. Considering the small amount of hair she has I wouldn't be that worried if I were her. It will grow back. And we'll watch it all on her show, in public and painfully...
...just like this whole thing has been.
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
I'm Really Quite Sad...
...and it's not just because I finally finished the Twilight Saga.
Oh yes, dear readers, I have been entranced by the Vampire/Human love story, and I don't normally enjoy vampire lore. At. All. Well, except 'Dracula', but that's a whole 'nother genre.
Vampire romance doesn't do it for me. But these are rather unique vampires. For those who have not read the series (or are still in the middle of it), I'm not going to spoil anything.
Except your appetites, maybe. The author, a rather talented (IMO) Stephenie Meyer, was writing another book for the saga called 'Midnight Sun'. It's basically the telling of 'Twilight' again from Edward's perspective (he's the vampire; Bella is the human).
I just finished 'Breaking Dawn' yesterday morning and decided to check out her website to see if there were any updates on the new book. There was, but the content of it was not pleasant. Someone leaked a partial draft of the book a few days ago and it's all over the internet. I get from her letter to the fans that she probably knows who it was based on the edits made in the copy that's out there, and I feel really sad for her. She acknowledged that it wasn't with malicious intent that it got out there, but it's still heartbreaking.
She doesn't feel like writing it anymore - she's too sad and upset apparently and this will color her writing. The book is on indefinite hold. And that makes me mad in a selfish way (because I was really looking forward to it) and mad in a non-selfish way - because they have clearly violated her copyright *and* have pissed off countless fans who were waiting to have a solid book in their hands and not some partial and incomplete draft on a computer screen.
As a result of all of this Ms. Meyer has posted her latest incomplete draft of the book so that fans don't feel compelled to go looking for that other copy; so that they don't feel dishonest.
Oh yes, I'm angry and I feel sad. No artist should have their work violated in such a way and with the proliferation of the internet these things just keep happening and happening. Music was where you say it start first, and it's been spreading into everything else. Art, cross-stitch designs, movie scripts and scenes, television shows, and books have all been effected by this "sharing" effect that the 'net is known for.
Just because this tool makes it easy doesn't make it right, however, and sharing Ms. Meyer's excellent work isn't right. I won't read the copy that's out there illegally, and I've read the first 25 pages of what she posted herself and I don't want to any longer. I don't want to spoil it. What I've read so far is excellent and an amazing insight into Edward's mind. I would never have considered it myself if she hadn't put it in front of me like this.
I'll willingly wait for an official, finished, edited and printed copy of 'Midnight Sun' - as long as it takes. Selfishly I hope it doesn't take long, but for the betterment of the work, I hope it takes as long as it takes for Ms. Meyer to decide that she's back in the frame of mind she needs to be in to write it.
Especially with so many just waiting to see how it ends in Edward's mind.
Oh yes, dear readers, I have been entranced by the Vampire/Human love story, and I don't normally enjoy vampire lore. At. All. Well, except 'Dracula', but that's a whole 'nother genre.
Vampire romance doesn't do it for me. But these are rather unique vampires. For those who have not read the series (or are still in the middle of it), I'm not going to spoil anything.
Except your appetites, maybe. The author, a rather talented (IMO) Stephenie Meyer, was writing another book for the saga called 'Midnight Sun'. It's basically the telling of 'Twilight' again from Edward's perspective (he's the vampire; Bella is the human).
I just finished 'Breaking Dawn' yesterday morning and decided to check out her website to see if there were any updates on the new book. There was, but the content of it was not pleasant. Someone leaked a partial draft of the book a few days ago and it's all over the internet. I get from her letter to the fans that she probably knows who it was based on the edits made in the copy that's out there, and I feel really sad for her. She acknowledged that it wasn't with malicious intent that it got out there, but it's still heartbreaking.
She doesn't feel like writing it anymore - she's too sad and upset apparently and this will color her writing. The book is on indefinite hold. And that makes me mad in a selfish way (because I was really looking forward to it) and mad in a non-selfish way - because they have clearly violated her copyright *and* have pissed off countless fans who were waiting to have a solid book in their hands and not some partial and incomplete draft on a computer screen.
As a result of all of this Ms. Meyer has posted her latest incomplete draft of the book so that fans don't feel compelled to go looking for that other copy; so that they don't feel dishonest.
Oh yes, I'm angry and I feel sad. No artist should have their work violated in such a way and with the proliferation of the internet these things just keep happening and happening. Music was where you say it start first, and it's been spreading into everything else. Art, cross-stitch designs, movie scripts and scenes, television shows, and books have all been effected by this "sharing" effect that the 'net is known for.
Just because this tool makes it easy doesn't make it right, however, and sharing Ms. Meyer's excellent work isn't right. I won't read the copy that's out there illegally, and I've read the first 25 pages of what she posted herself and I don't want to any longer. I don't want to spoil it. What I've read so far is excellent and an amazing insight into Edward's mind. I would never have considered it myself if she hadn't put it in front of me like this.
I'll willingly wait for an official, finished, edited and printed copy of 'Midnight Sun' - as long as it takes. Selfishly I hope it doesn't take long, but for the betterment of the work, I hope it takes as long as it takes for Ms. Meyer to decide that she's back in the frame of mind she needs to be in to write it.
Especially with so many just waiting to see how it ends in Edward's mind.
Remember, I own all ramblings made here...
© 2003-2019 WhizGidget/AMS
© 2003-2019 WhizGidget/AMS