Free Kittens, Puppies For Sale

The signs became apparent as I made my left turn. "Free kittens... Puppies for sale". .. How odd to see family pets for sale under such differing circumstances?  It would seem that the randomness of life, sometimes, gives rise to unfair outcomes. Do we value only those things that have an assessed value? It would seem that anything free is usually, but not always, treated with less significance, less respect, less humanity, perhaps. And do we value only those things that others have decided have value?  Does “Free to a good home” mean the object of our affection will be a soft sell, an easy transaction? There is a saying that not putting a value on the important things in life tells the world that any value is acceptable.

So the ‘free kittens’ go to anyone. We hope and pray that the home is a caring one. The puppies are sold to those who are willing and able to pay for the dog of their dreams. Which precious creature has a better chance of surviving until its  first birthday, the free one or the pricey one?   Would the puppies go quicker if they were ‘free to a  good home’, too? ..  (Different species, different price tags ?)...  Our ‘free’ kitty-(She Struggled to Survive-5/ 2012)- cost $600 in medical bills in 2003 thanks to the individual who left her outside to die a very painful death. She had less than 25 minutes to live in the  -25°F weather (with a wind chill of -40°F).  Luck played a role in saving her life that day. ... (She is still with us today)...  Sadly, many such disposals end in slow painful deaths because a human has decreed the punishment for the  animal  babies that were born- without permission!

In the  2012 one hour American documentary entitled, One Nation  Under  Dogs, the plight of 2 million dogs is graphically depicted. Dogs are left behind when owners die or move. Another group, regardless of age or state of health, is simply left by the side of the road to fend for themselves. Then there are the puppies-oh so many puppies-left to die in so many ways. In one disturbing scene at an animal shelter, perfectly healthy adult dogs and puppies are put to death. The manner of their deaths was horrifying, especially, to those who had to execute the multiple sentences! Sadly, euthanasia is the only expedient way to deal with large numbers of unwanted pets.

Our first pet-41 years ago- was an abandoned, 3 month old female, found wandering in a park. After having a litter of nine in her first year, she was spayed. (My husband assisted with the 6 hour delivery!).We had not thought about her reproductive health, worrying more about her life and state of homelessness... (a friend's dog had been the 'dad').. Spaying was not on our radar back then. We had never owned a dog. Eventually, her pups were sold at a nominal price. Spaying is now a top priority for all our pets. We know better. We do better. Isn't that the lesson?

Finding a place to rent became a formidable undertaking when you owned two large dogs, unexpectedly. No one wanted the problems, understandably, that came with tenants with dogs. We became dog owners, in the spur of the moment, then ‘grandparents’-temporarily- to a litter of nine, - all of whom were placed in good homes. (We kept one, for 'mom's' sake and ours.)  Placing a  nominal dollar value on the remaining pups ensured they would have a caring, loving life.

Within a year of becoming a couple, we had moved to a new city, started a new career, became dog owners to one , then to another, her son, and were homeless briefly. At no time did the sickening thought of getting rid of our dogs enter into our decision making.  We were family! Because of them, we were forced to become homeowners of a simple little structure, -all in 9 days- in time for my first day of teaching.

Dogs have shaped our lives, helped raise our boys to become  caring  men who care about people and adore animals.  Their presence is a joy unmatched anywhere... Dogs have made our lives complete... Even our cat would agree! 

School's Over; Summer's Here

Summer is here and with it the end of another school year. With the change comes  the daily ritual of scheduling that will now occupy the minds of parents of young children, everywhere. Let the outdoors be your guiding light. Shut off the computer, the incredible monster that can  devour  our time, talents and maybe our health, to allow for a different kind of learning to occur. The computer is a learning tool that expedites the tasks of daily living and learning. It is a part of the world in which we live, not the center of it! Challenging the body, as well as the mind, is the order of the day.

Mother Nature is  one  of the greatest equalizers of all. Her world allows for exploration and simple enjoyment of her vast, complex community of plants, animals, everything contingent upon, however, the weather, man’s master manipulator. Mother  nature, being our greatest teacher, invites us all to question her, time and time again and learn from her. We are now in the grandest season of all- life giving summer - that our children can perhaps begin to lay down the foundation to a future of mind and body health.

The great outdoors beckons us to visit and stay awhile... Shut off the indoor ‘learning’ machine, momentarily, and take your cues from mother  nature. She is so wise.  A simple walk opens up the vistas of a world of ‘awesomeness’ to a child. “How did the trees get that big?" "Why are there so many leaves on the tree?" "Why do they fall off when the seasons change?"  "What are clouds?" "What are seasons?" "Why do they change colour?" I do not know the answers to these questions but to hear your child give you an answer is a lesson in science or science fiction... It’s the beginning of thought... The mind of the young child is a formidable, malleable thinking machine that demands to be challenged as it ponders the unknown. The child arrives at solutions in a flash, in newly acquired language and then wonders whether the answers make sense... Our job is easy. We simply need to listen and assist in his self-discovery.

A caterpillar appeared one day and caught the attention of our  then 8 year old son.. Everything about caterpillars was now important to him. We talked about the metamorphosis that takes place in the life of such a small creature, that they form something called a cocoon then emerge from this homemade blanket as a  butterfly. Though the chronology of  events may be wrong-I am not a biologist, anthropologist or scientist- a discussion about caterpillars and their place in the world piqued our son’s interest. The world, as seen through the lens of a child, is like that of a scientist using a microscope, helping to magnify what the naked eye cannot see. Our son was both microscope and scientist. I was simply the foil, the catalyst for dialogue.  In an attempt to care for the caterpillar, our son decided to bring it into the house in a basket filled with grass and leaves. His hope was to protect the caterpillar from the danger that lurked outside but realized very quickly that he did not possess the power to intervene. ...  An indoor life in a basket was not an option. Weeks later, in a bizarre moment to this day, a butterfly appeared  in the area previously inhabited by the caterpillar. The butterfly, a  Monarch butterfly, with its distinct markings, landed on our son’s arm and seemed to stay for a long time, to visit, perhaps. Was this our son’s little friend? Had he remembered the meeting with our son and sensed the concern over his wellbeing? This event engendered more and more questions with no answers. Mother  nature  had come to call in a very personal way and the consequences of that meeting, decades ago, would never have happened indoors. The computer is no match for Mother Nature.  

Dr. Diamond Came Calling

The day Dr. Marian Cleeves Diamond called me at home marked a pivotal moment in my life. I had written her eight days earlier that September 16 after having discovered her research on the web. Enriched environments had become my new love interest since Mary’s retirement...Dr. Diamond’s research reflected this newly discovered passion.

The nearly five years of volunteering in Mary’s primary intensive language class in an elementary school north of Toronto, became ‘field study’ for me, revealing more than I  had  ever dared  dream.  Studying her students, ages 6-9, provided  a unique window on the world of the mind of the  primary at-risk child. It was special education at its best with profound implications!  

Dr. Diamond’s incredible, information-laden website appeared, seemingly, out of nowhere one day as  I toured the web, an exciting and unknown medium, for me, back then... Her research, books she had written and  her biographical  information all garnered my  immediate attention. Her phone call that morning has resonated with me for nearly 13 years! She has become the light at the end of a very long tunnel.

I felt a kinship with this neuroanatomist, the Professor of Anatomy in the  Integrative Biology Department of the University of California at Berkeley.  She was a warm, familiar voice in a vast unknown wilderness, showing me the way. I had won the lottery.

My letter  had drawn comparisons to her work and mine. I was in awe of this great mind from afar who had taken time out of her hectic schedule to call me, offering praise, encouragement and most of all, an extra dose of motivation...The differences in our study of the effects of enriched environments on the brain were small. She had been observing rats  in the laboratory while I had been watching young at-risk children  in the classroom... Her tools of choice  for her  research subjects were wheels and mazes. For me it was yeast dough, discovered that first day in Mary’s class.

I had been validated by one of the foremost scientists in the world. Dr. Diamond had been named California’s Professor of the Year in 1990 and was one of a select few who had studied Einstein’s brain under the  microscope. I remained on cloud 9 for the rest of the day.

My first visit to Mary’s class had begun innocently. I watched the students with no prejudice, hoping that something  would come to mind that would spark and sustain the attention needed for learning to occur... By the end of class, yeast dough was born... (It was a safe, 5 sense brain stimulation activity.)... It was history in the making, to the delight of the children.

Yeast dough was the miracle in the  primary special needs classroom. Its application and implication in special education was quickly showing itself to be the greatest show on earth. It was about the development of higher order thinking, language skills, self-confidence and  a sense of wellbeing that was strangely enveloping the children in Mary’s class. It was all about the art of questioning... Yeast dough was the all encompassing enriched environment about which Dr. Diamond had been researching... Its grip on Mary's class was nothing short of miraculous as it began to manifest itself in ways that I could never have imagined...

Tuition Pension

Fundraising at some schools has reached  unprecedented  levels. The amounts of money being raised  to  help address the shortfalls of the funding formula are beyond belief, in some cases. Because of the huge  fundraising gaps among some schools and school districts, rules are being considered to help divert the ‘excess’ money  to  other  schools in under-serviced areas or to simply enforce a limit on how much money any school is entitled to raise and ultimately keep for their own use.

Complaining that school A has too much money while school B can’t seem to reach a fundraising minimum is very short sighted by the people in power- whoever  they are and wherever they exert their influence...Children are children anywhere you go. Anything that helps one child helps all children. Enough already!

As I have written in several previous blogs, keeping things simple helps to keeps us sane, and financially  and physically healthy. Years ago, I sent a letter to the business editor of a major newspaper about an idea I had called a tuition pension, an investment  fund that pays only for  students’ tuition. The funds would come from a percentage of money raised  from fundraising from all schools in all districts in the province. The government would also contribute... Since government exists because of something called a taxpayer, it would be incumbent upon us to determine the parameters of this program...It would be administered by  qualified people with credentials: business people, accountants and actuaries. 

The population of Ontario equals nearly all of the population from the remaining provinces, more or less. Our school boards are larger and there are more of them. The amounts of money that could be raised would be considerable and could help all children enter programs-(college, university, trade schools)- for which they are qualified but cannot afford.  Their  “free” education would naturally come at price.. They would be expected to achieve a B minimum each year in the program for reimbursement to occur.

Years ago I heard about a system in the state of Georgia in the U.S. that paid the tuition for every student achieving a B  or higher in college/university. The money came from lottery funds. There is a proliferation of lottery tickets everywhere you go. Is the money being spent wisely in the area of health care? Does education not meet the one of the  criteria for healthcare reform? Is an educated populace not a healthy one, too? I wonder!

It makes sense that channelling as  much  “found” money in the direction of  higher education ultimately helps all of us. An educated society creates a strong economy where money is in plentiful supply for the creation of programs that help those who need it... We all care about children... Yet the playing field is  not always equal at different points in their lives...Isolation breeds resentment... When these powerless little people grow up, the consequences to society can be a wake up call no one wants...Those who were marginalized at an early age will eventually come calling, one way or another...The time to act is now. We do not need a committee, a referendum, a roundtable discussion about the merits of educating our children beyond grade 12... We simply need common sense.  More on this subject later.............

A  famous neuroscientist came calling, one day...