Man's Best FriendS

I love my dog.  Oreo entered our lives as a one pound ball of black and white fluff over four years ago, and now she's as much a part of the family as any of us.

She is well behaved.  She follows commands.  She has elevated her intelligence to the level where we have to spell certain words around her so as to avoid the "excited pee".  She snuggles. She "smiles".  She knows when one of us is feeling bad.  And loves when everyone is feeling great.

I cannot imagine our lives without her.

The same goes for Lola and Nugget, our cats.  They all add to what is the Sharp Family.  And I cannot imagine our home without their furry presence.

So I completely "get" how other people are about their pets.

Well, most people.

There's a certain elderly couple in Arizona whom I do not think I want to "get".

Acting on the advice of her veterinarian, a woman who had purchased a dog from this couple, called authorities after said vet found the dog to be quite ill.

Sheriff's deputies responded Monday to the rural Tucson triple wide and were shocked to find it carpeted in wall-to-wall Chihuahua - over 800 of them.

I'll pause while you attempt to picture that.

Animal Rescue workers removed dozens the first day, and the next day they pulled out another 700+.  Sadly, the conditions were exactly what one could expect when using animals as home decor - urine and feces covered every surface like homemade sick, er, nick nacks.

And as if 800 dogs weren't enough, authorities also found 80+ parrots in cages throughout the trailer.

The elderly couple has not yet been identified, and the Human Society representative suspects that this is a case of good intentions gone awry - that the couple probably began as breeders, and somehow slid off the rails into hoarding.

800 dogs?  Yeah, I'd say their mental Milk Bones snapped more than a few heat cycles backs.  Wouldn't you start to question your own cerebral kibble turning to bits when the Dyson is constantly sucking up livestock?

The Humane Society (God love 'em) are working on getting them all healthy and cared for, and hope to be able to begin adopting some in roughly two weeks.

As for the couple, while no formal charges have been filed at this time, counseling has been set.

Let's just hope authorities CAN teach these old "dawgs" some new tricks.

She is well behaved.  She follows commands.  She has elevated her intelligence to the level where we have to spell certain words around her so as to avoid the "excited pee".  She snuggles. She "smiles".  She knows when one of us is feeling bad.  And loves when everyone is feeling great.

I cannot imagine our lives without her.

The same goes for Lola and Nugget, our cats.  They all add to what is the Sharp Family.  And I cannot imagine our home without their furry presence.

So I completely "get" how other people are about their pets.

Well, most people.

There's a certain elderly couple in Arizona whom I do not think I want to "get".

Acting on the advice of her veterinarian, a woman who had purchased a dog from this couple, called authorities after said vet found the dog to be quite ill.

Sheriff's deputies responded Monday to the rural Tucson triple wide and were shocked to find it carpeted in wall-to-wall Chihuahua - over 800 of them.

I'll pause while you attempt to picture that.

Animal Rescue workers removed dozens the first day, and the next day they pulled out another 700+.  Sadly, the conditions were exactly what one could expect when using animals as home decor - urine and feces covered every surface like homemade sick, er, nick nacks.

And as if 800 dogs weren't enough, authorities also found 80+ parrots in cages throughout the trailer.

The elderly couple has not yet been identified, and the Human Society representative suspects that this is a case of good intentions gone awry - that the couple probably began as breeders, and somehow slid off the rails into hoarding.

800 dogs?  Yeah, I'd say their mental Milk Bones snapped more than a few heat cycles backs.  Wouldn't you start to question your own cerebral kibble turning to bits when the Dyson is constantly sucking up livestock?

The Humane Society (God love 'em) are working on getting them all healthy and cared for, and hope to be able to begin adopting some in roughly two weeks.

As for the couple, while no formal charges have been filed at this time, counseling has been set.

Let's just hope authorities CAN teach these old "dawgs" some new tricks.