Monday, January 28, 2008

A Special Note from Shania & Heather from the BASTIS Furry Gang

"I want him!"

"Well, I want him! He's cute, and he's my type."

"How do you know? You're blind!"

"So are you! I can just tell, the way he talks on his blog at http://www.bark-n-blog.com."

"Well, I heard about him from his Mama, Kim, first, so I have first dibs."

In case anyone else wants to know what we're talking about, it's Shadrach, and he's a stud-muffin. Kim runs the websites and radio programs listed below that are all about taking care of guys like us. Our mom has met Kim; now we're trying to wrangle an introduction to Shadrach. I mean, c'mon, our brothers are all of 50 pounds total for the four of 'em.

http://www.aspenbloompetcare.com/

http://www.animaltalknaturally.com/

http://www.atngonewild.com/


Seriously, check into the websites and weekly radio programs that feature health and the human-animal bond that this amazing veterinary naturopathic doctor Kim Bloomer has put together. She's got so much valuable information it's mind-boggling! Mom says to know her is to love her.

By the way, Shadrach, we're really cute! Why don't you give us a call sometime! Later.....

Notes from the BASTIS Foundation Bed of Directors

Hi, Everybody!

In case you didn't know it, we're a furry gang of six canine kids. Our mom and dad help run a non-profit foundation and we're on the bed of directors for BASTIS Foundation, a non-profit educational health foundation that provides lots of helpful information for us animals and our people out there.

We demand a lot of our folks, and sometimes we feel like they don't have enough time for us individually. Of course we let them know that we're displeased by peeing in the house; yeah, that's right, we show 'em!

But recently we became aware of the fact that there are only 24 hours in a day, and there's only so much our silly human companions can do for us. After all, when we first wake up in the morning, every one of us expects a major belly rub. And we don't mean just a little one -- we're talking some true cuddling and loving time here, folks! Plus, since we live in a rural area where there are lots of ticks, mom checks us out head to toe each morning. Yeah, it's pretty annoying, but she thinks it's necessary. So we put up with it. Sigh.............

Then, of course, we want to go outside and play for a bit before we eat. Mom has to take diapers off Shania and Chachi, since they're both incontinent (shhhhhh, don't tell anyone!). After all, no one wants to go outside in diapers! So we go and play with our chew toys and our squeaker toys. And we bark at the neighbors. We chase each other and use up a bit of our wild energy. Of course this makes us very hungry! And Mom has the audacity to make us wait for our breakfast while she takes a shower. Geez, she could take one next year instead of when we want to eat!

When we come in from playing, Mom has to make new diapers for Shania and Chachi, enough for the day, so we can go in and out and play (and take care of our bodily necessities). Once we're back inside, we start the process of moaning and groaning and begging for our food, just in case Mom's forgotten that we really ARE hungry. She, meanwhile, is cutting up some raw meat and fresh organic vegetables for us, and getting our marrow bones out and ready for later in the day for us to chew on and keep our teeth clean. After she fills our bowls with our wonderful raw food, she adds supplements for each of us, according to our needs. Chachi is blind and diabetic, so he needs extra supplements to help him keep his insulin levels stable, and eye supplements as well. Zeus also gets the eye supps. The others of us just need good food and supplements like colostrum, vital greens, noni, some fish oil, and several other things that seem to keep us feeling great. Breakfast is one of our favorite times of the day. Treats are another. And, of course, there's dinner - mmmmmmmmmm! Oh, yeah, we also get fresh filtered water every day with some vitamin C & MSM in it to help keep our teeth strong.

Once we're done with breakfast, we're pretty content. Another trip outside and we're good! Then Mom let's us go to the office with her. She's there every day working on a new chapter for her upcoming book, a sequel to I Have a Choice?! This is a book all about health and doggies and all sorts of good stuff, like her last one. We wish she'd finish it up so we could have more time with her, but hey, we'll take what we can get! She also gives health consultations to other doggies and their people, and lately we've seen some cats coming in to our abode. One of them hissed at us bigtime this week, but we showed them who was boss with our barks. We're louder, hah!

We take off from the office and we get to go back into the house. Of course Mom's there to annoy us again by brushing our teeth right when we should be resting. Lately she's been using Petzlife tooth gel & spray - we kinda like the salmon-flavored tooth gel, but we still put up a fuss so she won't know it. By this time it's our siesta time. Each one of us has to submit to her silliness. Then she pulls out that big ol' brush and brushes each of our coats. 'Enough is enough, Mom,' we tell her, but she just tells us to chill and deal with it. Yadayadayada, we know there are dogs in the pound that don't have it as good as we do, but we've got to put up a fuss so it doesn't seem too easy for her. Actually, we know that we've got it good, because we all were rescued from the pound. It was the song Voices Calling You from Mom's CD Voice for a Choice! that got the last 3 of us rescued, thanks to our departed friend Scooch, who haunted Mom until she wrote the song.

So, even though I haven't mentioned much that Mom gets done for us throughout her day, she still never manages to eat breakfast before noon. Oh, well, who cares, as long as she doesn't wait until then to feed us!

In the afternoon we get to go out for more exercise, but most of us can't go out on leashes, the way Cesar Millan suggests. Three of us have had badly broken legs or were born without kneecaps or hip joints, 3 of us are blind, and one of us (she's almost 14, but she doesn't like anybody to know her age, so don't tell!) is so spooked by a leash that Mom just runs her around the yard. She lived almost 10 years in a cage in a puppy mill, so she's the only one who sports a tattoo on her ear. She's really coming out of her shell, now, and finally enjoying her life!


Lately it's been pretty cold, and we haven't wanted to stay out long. Except when we're eating our marrow bones. They kinda make you forget the cold. Kinda. But we really like hanging out on our folks' bed in the afternoon, so we can enjoy our siesta time. But we don't let the clock reach 6:00 before we're barking up a storm for our dinner. Yum, more raw meat and veggies. Just what the doctor ordered.


Once we've had our dinner, we just like to mellow out in front of a roaring fire (well, obviously we're talking about the wintertime!) and hang with our folks. Mom is strange -- she sings, so she likes t.v. shows that have singing competitions and stuff like that. We don't let the folks listen to The Dog Whisperer too much because we like to bark at the dogs on the show. But they turn the volume up, anyway. They think they're gonna get us trained. Yeah, right! But hey, all in all, our lives are pretty darn good here. Better than that old pound!

We'll be talking with you again, soon, folks. Hey, this blogging is fun, eh?

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Treat 'em Right; Feed 'em Right!

Don'tcha wish your momma fed you like me? Don'tcha? Don'tcha? We're healthy, hearty children who love to play and be loved, and treated right. We eat raw food every day, and play in the sunshine. Life is good for us here in New Mexico. Come visit us sometime, folks! Have you heard that we're helping build a sanctuary for special-needs animals just like us? It's gonna be so awesome. We'll be holding seminars, workshops and retreats for everyone with dogs so they can learn how to be healthy and happy like us! Yahoo!!! We hope to hear from y'all soon!

Love from the BASTIS Foundation Bed of Directors/furry gang


Friday, January 18, 2008

Comments from Scooch


Yahoo! Mom & Aunt Claudia are finally getting back to work on their second book. It's an update about Tom DoRight and Dr. Feelgood and what's new in their lives. Lots of good advice coming our way. Yeah!

And this time they've got a lot more natural-health information coming out for us animals. I'm so excited. I wish they'd hurry up and finish the edit and get it out there for us!

There's a recent article from PETA I think you guys need to see. I used to ask my mom (Dr. Bera) to support them, but then I found out they don't really believe in having animals in their homes, and I love living with my humans. Read for yourselves:

Subject: [AZPetLaw] PETA Killed 97 Percent of 'Companion Animals' in 2006, According to VDACS

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/news_press_release,254006.shtml
Posted : Thu, 10 Jan 2008 16:05:23 GMT
Author : Center for Consumer Freedom
Category : PressRelease

WASHINGTON, Jan. 10 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- An official report from
People for The Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), submitted nine
months after a Virginia government agency's deadline, shows that the
animal rights group put to death more than 97 percent of the dogs,
cats, and other pets it took in for adoption in 2006. During that year,
the well-known animal rights group managed to find adoptive homes for
just 12 pets. The nonprofit Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF) is
calling on PETA to either end its hypocritical angel-of-death program,
or stop its senseless condemnation of Americans who believe it's
perfectly ethical to use animals for food, clothing, and critical
medical research.

Not counting animals PETA held only temporarily in its spay-neuter
program, the organization took in 3,061 "companion animals" in 2006, of
which it killed 2,981. According to Virginia's Department of
Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS), the average euthanasia rate
for humane societies in the state was just 34.7 percent in 2006. PETA
killed 97.4 percent of the animals it took in. The organization filed
its 2006 report this month, nine months after the VDACS deadline of
March 31, 2007.

"Pet lovers should be outraged," said CCF Director of Research David
Martosko. "There are thousands of worthwhile animal shelters that
deserve Americans' support. PETA is not one of them."

In courtroom testimony last year, a PETA manager acknowledged that her
organization maintains a large walk-in freezer for storing dead
animals, and that PETA contracts with a Virginia cremation service to
dispose of the bodies. In that trial, two PETA employees were convicted
of dumping dead animals in a rural North Carolina trash dumpster.

Today in Southampton County, Virginia, another PETA employee will face
felony charges in a dog-napping case. Andrea Florence Benoit Harris was
arrested in late 2006 for allegedly abducting a hunting dog and
attempting to transport it to PETA's Norfolk headquarters.

"PETA raised over $30 million last year," Martosko added, "and it's
using that money to kill the only flesh-and-blood animals its employees
actually see. The scale of PETA's hypocrisy is simply staggering."

To speak with a spokesman contact Tim Miller at 202-463-7112.

For more information about PETA's massive euthanasia program, visit
http://www.petakillsanimals.com/.

Center for Consumer Freedom

Copyright © 2007 PR Newswire. All rights reserved.

_____________________________________________________


Most of the time I promise to keep it positive, and keep you informed about the goings-on at BASTIS Foundation and how you can be involved with us if you want to, but the information in this post seemed important enough that I thought you should all have a chance to know about it. Ok, that's all for now. Talk with you all again, soon. And on that note, lotsa love to you all, in spirit, I am, Scooch.