On December 31, 2011 an off-duty state trooper “mistakenly” shot his South Shore neighbor who was walking her two dogs because he mistook her dogs for a deer. Huh?

First and foremost, the Pet Gazette extends its best wishes to the victim and her family and hopes that she has a speedy recovery.

Next, shooting and wounding one’s neighbor when you mistake her or her dogs for a deer will not endear you to her dearly beloved, who is understandably upset by what occurred, especially because he is a state-certified firearms safety instructor.

Pet rocks are as cold-blooded as I go.  I won’t treat anything with less of a soul than a rock. Don’t get me wrong, empty deep space may have its own maladies, feelings and tragedies but I am not in the business of trying to help it.  I have to keep my focus on good old mother Earth.  It’s as far as my talent goes.

I can hear you already saying “Rocks are not alive. You are nuts. I am going to stop reading right here,” but I am not alone in my beliefs that rocks are alive.  Pere Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, French philosopher, paleontologist and Catholic theologian, believed that Creation had four levels of awareness: the lithosphere, the biosphere, the oosphere and then eventually after we all have been good there was the Omega Point. Teilhard believed that the lithosphere had an awareness, a sense of being.  He believed that the biosphere, which includes all the plants, animals and other animate creatures, had its own more advanced awareness. The oosphere was reserved for senescent, thinking feeling, spiritual creatures.  The Omega point is in some way connected to the second coming of Christ.

A friend of mine who is an internationally respected horseman tells me that hand feeding will cause a horse to be pushy, ill-mannered and heavy on the forehand.  She once did a whole radio interview about the “unwanted and potentially dangerous behaviors that are encouraged by hand-feeding.”  Another acquaintance, who is a trick horse trainer outside of Austin, Texas, cannot imagine “not” hand feeding his horses.  In fact he markets a video called Using Treats as a Training Tool.  So where it concerns horses, who is right? 

My mom is the bravest person I know and I hope to be courageous and brave like her some day.  She got me when she graduated from the State Police Academy and named me Mace knowing that I would grow up to be a loyal and protective companion.  I am a one year old red female Doberman Pinscher and we are famous for being loyal to our owners and an excellent guard dog.  We were first developed by Louis Dobermann around 1890, a tax collector from Apolda, Germany, who needed a medium dog to accompany him on his unpopular daily trips and to protect his home.  He also ran the local dog pound and selected specific breeds to develop the perfect dog for personal protection.  The exact breeds are not exactly known, but it is believed that the German Shepherd, Rottweiler, Greyhound and possibly the German Short-haired Pointer all were in the mix.  He wanted a dog that was determined, fearless intimidating and brave, but yet extremely obedient.   The original Dobermans accompanied their owner to ensure his safety while performing his sometimes dangerous job.  Imagine if the tax collectors came to collect door to door today, some people may not be so inviting.  They also protected him on his journey, as bandits in the area knew when he collected he would be the perfect target for a robbery.  We were there to protect our owner from harm, not to challenge another person by force, being restrained enough to do so only on command in extreme dangerous situations.  Because of our natural ability to absorb and retain our training, we were quickly recognized as a valuable friend to man.  Most notably man discovered our talents in areas of service- especially police and soldiers.

Your deceased pet parrot may have a message for you from beyond the grave.  Or so says psychic Sharon Warner of Wallingford CT, who explains “Deceased pets pass into Spirit.  Some go to heaven and hang out with people they knew who passed; some with other animals. Some travel around earth or the universe.  Some special animal souls work with angels and try to bring more peace on earth.”

Sharon discovered her psychic abilities as a child and says she gets readings from animals and people alive and dead; even from photographs.  “I was looking for fun things to do during a rough time in my life.  I attended a one day workshop on Animal Communication by Nedda Wittels.  The last exercise was to practice communicating with Nedda’s and other students’ pets. After the class, I continued communicating with pets of friends, relatives and neighbors.”

Not to brag or anything…. But….

Has your one-year old visited the Pompeii and Chiluly museum exhibits, been bored watching the seals at the New England aquarium, helped you chaperone a high school dance, sat on both Santa and the Easter Bunny’s lap without crying, participated in a Zumba flash-mob, or spent Monday through Friday in a prison cell with a prisoner?  Mine has.  And his name is Professor.

The last year of my life has been spent as a volunteer, weekend puppy raiser for NEADS (National Education for Assistive Dogs).  Based in Princeton, MA, NEADS trains assistance dogs for people who are deaf or have hearing loss; people with balance and stability issues; people with a variety of physical disabilities; wounded combat veterans; teachers, ministers and therapists; children on the autism spectrum; and children with physical disabilities. The majority of NEADS dogs are trained by prisoners Monday through Friday and by volunteers like me on weekends.  Volunteer weekend puppy raisers bring NEADS puppies out of prison each weekend for about a year to work on house manners, socialization, and training.  I picked up my puppy, Professor, along with his homework sheet from Plymouth MCI every Friday afternoon, socialized him, practiced his training commands, and brought  him out in public until I returned him (Homework complete…not eaten!) on late Sunday afternoons.