"Fellow prisoners of the splendour and travail of the earth"

by winecountrydog Tilin Corgi

Someone said 58 billion animals are killed in factory farms and slaughterhouses every year. Whether or not tis accurate number, following are real numbers from NASS for just one month of commercial U.S. "livestock" slaughter. And only for red meat, as the number of hogs slaughtered is not included ere:

"Commercial red meat production for the United States [in August 2011] totaled 4.30 billion pounds  ... Cattle slaughter totaled 3.10 million head ... Calf slaughter totaled 79,900 head. ... Sheep slaughter totaled 198,200 head. ..."

Did any of these millions of animal furriends live pleasant pastoral lives or die a peaceful death?

Here is extreme pawsitive contrast: the practices of farmer and Border Collie lover Elissa Thau, an artisanal meat producer in Umpqua Valley who raises and slaughters sheep humanely. You will see in this video howl carefully and lovingly tended are all the animals on her farm.

Wot a grrreat video. Ms Thau first introduces you to her beloved Border Collie working dogs. Then she talks about her philosophy of raising and respecting animals.



We must paw-point to some highlights of wot Elissa Thau has said:

"The [Border Collie] is bred as a working dog. ... They're an incredible working partner. It's a real privilege to work with a dog. ... And our dogs all live in the house. ... My mum used to say 'They'll never work if you spoil them like that' 'cause she was from an old farming family in England. ... In the UK ... it's really an art ... among the old shepherd and farmers.

"The dogs don't need to bite to move sheep. ... They move sheep with the power of their eye and their presence ... and the fact they have quiet power.

"... And the whole point of raising sheep the way that we raise them it is to raise them quietly and humanely. . . .

"It's a hard thing to kill a lamb or a cow. ... We actually take ours down to the butcher, and then they're killed there quickly and humanely. . . .

"It's a very serious thing to kill an animal. ... People should take it very seriously. They shouldn't be expecting to eat meat seven days a week, two times a day. ... It just becomes agribusiness, greed, and suffering. . . .

"Who wants to eat an animal that's been standing in a feedlot ... through the winter with no shelter . . .? . . . I don't eat any meat that I don't know where it's come from. . . .

"Have you ever read Henry Beston? He wrote [The Outermost House] ... 'Animals are not brethren, they're not underlings, they are other nations, caught with ourselves in this net of life and time, [fellow prisoners of the splendour and travail of the earth.]' And hopefully we treat them that way too."

High paw for Elissa Thau! A gentle, wise, and caring human.

Paw-notes: Thanx woofs to Daniel Klein of The Perennial Plate -- "online weekly documentary series dedicated to socially responsible and adventurous eating" -- for sharing this inspirational interview.

Magnolia Farm is a small family farm in the rolling hills near Riddle, Oregon, in the Umpqua Valley (also known as a wine region), where Elissa Thau, her husband, Mel Thau, and their family of Border Collies have been raising sheep for a couple of decades.

Ms Thau also does Border Collie herding trials. If you are thinking bout getting a BC dog, we doo recommend that you consider the decision carefully and talk to an expert like Ms Thau. Pawleeze note that there are many BCs and other herding dogs in rescue. Humans doo surrender us cuz they find us hard to handle. (Ask furbro Jackie Nippers to tell you bout his own experience.)

Ere is website where you can read bout naturalist and author Henry Beston.

Happy Cardigan Welsh Corgi on British Columbia farm

by winecountrydog Tilin

We are arfully grateful to have lovely photos and a true corgi story to share with you. This story was furwarded to us by British Columbia twitter friend and dog lover @So_OK, aka Dorthea. She received this story in an email from an Okanagan B.C. friend who adopted a Cardigan Welsh Corgi.

"Our wonderful old dog Cleo died on September 11, 2009, at 14 years of age. She was the perfect match for farm life in British Columbia, where there are six acres to call her own and protect. We have learned that you are never really alone if you have a dog in your life. We also learned how important a dog is on a farm (especially during the fall when the bears abound and circle the farm in search of last scraps of food before hibernation). We also learned that we will always have a dog in our lives.

"After several weeks of seeing a ghost of Cleo out of the corner of our eyes and missing the greeting at the door when we came home, and finding bear scat around the house, we started doing the dog quizzes on line to determine what our next best dog might be. We were ready for something smaller than Cleo's 80 lbs of pure alpha energy, and Welsh Corgis turned up again and again as the best match for farm, companion, big yet small dog. We also have friends that have had Corgis and always like them.

"So here we are with a rescue Cardigan Corgi (the ones with the tails) from Alberta.

"Haley, whose name is under consideration for a change as my sister-in-law shares this honour, is 18 months old [in these pics]. Likely the runt of a litter as she is full grown and only 20 lbs, which is too small to meet breeders standards.

"She is a total delight. House broken, crate trained and comes on a dime when she is called. She is totally affectionate, sleeping at our feet and next to us on the couch when permitted. We are introducing her around and looks like she may have some alpha qualities as she protects her space around other females.

"She has barked at the sounds of the bears in the night, and I have heard them climbing nearby trees (they remember Cleo and don't yet know that Haley is just a twig of a thing.) We are smitten and very happy to have her in our lives.

"This winter, with its blanket of clouds over Okanagan Lake, will not be quite so depressing."

May all our furriends, near and far, enjoy romping in the autumn leaves! A Happy Howloween to you all! ~ Tilin & Jack Corgi

My personal best today!

by winecountrydog

I had my PERSONAL BEST DAY today since major life-saving spinal surgery!

A lot of humans had a personal worst day, sorry to hear. That was 'cuz of the record single-day drop of the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

Today I did two things dog-ma and I thought we'd never see me do again in my doglife:

• Stand up on my hind legs and do my wave dance with my front paws.
• On my own, carefully jump out of the backseat of dog-ma's car.

Dog-ma was in awe and got a wee teary. She started to tell me not to stand on my hind legs, then thought better of it. After all, doing the wave has been impawtant to me since puppyhood. Humans love to watch and wave back.

I'm almost eleven years old, and the wave is still truly one of doglife's great pleasures. But dog-ma won't be allowing me to do it much, I can tell you that.

I tend not to paw-write about landmarks in my recovery. Dog-ma and I have been trying to get our minds off pawsonal trauma and drama. I mean, we're exhausted from worrying about me. Every time I have a setback in controlling my muscles, or have a day where I'm doggone tired or off my food, dog-ma gets that "911 look" in her eyes. Then I think, "Uh oh, I'd better get better before dog-ma goes over the worryin' edge again."

Dog-ma has dutifully protected me throughout my journey to mobility. She has lifted me at least 500 times. I don't jump up into a car or bed; I get lifted. Dog-ma sez that her biceps are the only things better off than before.

Except fur my rear leg muscles: They're better, just as my vet surgeon (Russ Gurevitch DVM) predicted they would be. My hindquarter muscles are really rebuilding. At the same time, the rest of me has gotten skinny. All my nourishment is going into helping atrophied muscles and nerves. Dog-ma sez I look like Popeye in the behind region.

While I'm on the subject of muscles and personal best, I have to say that dogs show great muscle strength in the sport of weight pulling. We corgis admire them.

The International Weight Pull Association (IWPA) promotes the sport of dog pulling through organized events.

The purpose of IWPA is to promote the working heritage of all dogs. The IWPA also promotes a program to keep your dog in good physical condition with a constructive outlet for canine competition.

Dog Pulling is akin to a tractor pull. Dogs compete to see who can pull the most weight 16 feet. They pull a wheeled cart on an earthen surface, or a sled on snow. The handler has no contact with the dog during the pull, so it is up to the dog's willingness to pull. Safety of the dog is of paramount concern. Since IWPA's organization in 1984, no dogs have been hurt in competition.

Our fellow herders, the Australian Cattle Dogs, are really good pullers. Finn was the first Australian Cattle Dog to attain a Weight Pulling Championship in the history of the UKC.


Other canine breeds do great weight pulling, too. Check out pullers like the Mastiffs, including Bullmastiffs, and also Old English Mastiffs at Devine Farm.

And paw-leeze read good articles about this dog sport. I like the article at Pet Tech Transport. I always like the articles and photos at WorkingDogs.com: See the article "Australian Cattle Dogs Excel at Weight Pulling" by ACD lover and author Teressa Keenan.