Dash For Power

A television documentary that I just watched showed amazing examples of altruism between species not before recorded, as well as a quietly remarked series of scenes of adoption, or kidnapping between species. The most dramatic was of a battle between African baboons and wild dogs: at one point the camera shows a larger elder baboon grabbing a pup dog while the helpless parents howled and barked. The pup got away, the baboon grabbed him by the tail and dragged him, very roughly, him yelping, up and down over rocks and hills. The other baboons had driven the dogs back, we hear them howling from the hills.

At this point, the baboon drops the dog, who, confused, mingles with the baboon pups, who lick and play with him. The scenes cut ahead in time, we see the pup grow, being groomed by the adult baboons, which is now a huge indication to all to treat him well.

The scene jumps forward, the baboons and the grown wild dog are all on the hunt for wild game. The dog, now a mascot to the baboons, is all ears, and wonderful as an attack dog against wild dogs to bewilder them to retreat. Ralph, is that you? And you went over to the dark side?

It is apparently happening out there under our noses, even amongst bees, raiding and taking youth back to become willing slaves. This is ancient chemistry, and we wonder how we got the wolf to become a dog?

Apparently we grabbed him roughly by the tail, dragged him so he fully understood was boss, left him half dead for his pups to lick him back to life, and you have a fully trained new member of the work team.

And we thought we invented that.

Dogs make us walk; cats and birds we love, but make us sick.

• Dogs have become our closest animal companion for a reason: we found early they were good for us. Helping us forage, learning to bring a bird without eating it from our spear or thrown rock; needing our company, needing walks.

• The desert bred cat of Egypt, in contrast kept his duties inside the palace, or the hovel, eliminating the rodents from the wheat piles at harvest time. More aloof, it chose it’s companions, as long as the food supplier supplied treats with the self serve rodent diet. And into the European plague thousands of years later, cats attacked the rats. But cats are prone to many cancers, and pass some of these potential germs; their feces should never be touched when being removed.

• Birds such as hawks have been hunting creatures for kings and pharoahs, also trained, and forced with a ring around their throat to prevent swallowing.And a very sturdy leather covered arm to land on.

• Otherwise, canaries who can sing down the coal mine were life savers for the men. When the canary stops singing, poison fumes, everone out of the mine.

• Nowadays, the dog, the cat are at our feet by the fire and the bird is nearby in his cage, coughing his own birdie flu coal dust our way.

• Since I and you have enjoyed all this in our childhood and would love to have our children know such fun too- my youngest daughter used to create a bird maze of pillows and toys for her three budgies to walk to; we will still find ourselves, as self appointed tellers of health truths, the truth is:

• DOGS are healthiest pets. If you can only have one pet, this is it. This morning I have paused to sip my coffee at my balcony several times. It is early. So far, the first four humans I have watched jog by have been attached by leash to a dog. Not a cat. Not a bird. Those owners are home, their cats licking them with a tongue laced with blood with cancers, leaving steaming feces or their powerful urine in plant pots, wherever. And above, Tweetie is scatching his mites, sending measurable dusts of them, an infected feather, again, use gloves when cleaning this Avin Flu potential site.

• Walk your dawg. His poops are your responsibility, againn plastic glove or plastic bag inverted around your working hand, make it work and leave the park clean.

• Train your pooch to be nice, not a biter. Choose the least nervous among one of the most people friendly groups: from spaniels to golden retreivers or labradors, people know you, and you pooch, are just out to sniff the flowers and a nice long walk.

• However, studies show that if are seen walking a fighting trained dog that might attack a child, you are a hate filled person who needs help, and enough people such a person passes knows, or should know that. This Rottweiler, or Pit Bull, may appear harmless, but it’s genes, especially if there are two of them, can make this animal snap and revert to it’s killer inside. They were bred for a reason: to kill.

• Your typical SPCA pooch just wants someone to love, and go for walkies with.

• Check our sources for healthy dog food, organic and natural. Such as petPlanet2U, apdempsey, to name two American pet food suppliers who maintained their vital 100% customer satisfaction ratings with Amazon customer reviews. And this, in a year of lead and melamine in our dog’s food, is a merit of excellence indeed. Take a look.

Derek Dashwood

1804- Lewis and Clark are being sought by Spaniards-while under their noses-

• Stories that inspire irony in the making of America include the dog, and any natural dog diet, in those days, as again now, the BARF diet, bones and raw foods, making their way west, dog and Jedediah.

• To the south, Spanish cavalry, tipped off that Lewis and Clark are on their way to chart a route beyond Louisiana and push on to the Pacific, set off in their armour, horses but no tracking dog. A military mission head north from Spanish Santa Fe to intercept and eliminate this nuisance mission. But their scouting reports are off: They did not bring one tracking dog, their spies have not found a piece of St. Louis trappers clothing. Lewis and Clark make it and change history.

• And meanwhile, unannounced to anyone but himself, his donkey and his hunting dog, through all this activity passes an American trapper, who, sensing the western winds, winds his way past the civilized Spanish at Santa Fe, makes it through burning desert and arrives in Spanish Los Angeles shortly before Lewis and Clark arrive at the Pacific. In his buckskins, smelly, with his donkey and his dog, this first American from the east is “greeted” by the well dressed, civilized Presidio Spaniards.

• And still now, as then, we need to get out and have a healthy walk with our modern dog, and unlike Jedediah Smith not worry about keeping our scalp.

• And, your dog will love, and be safe with this natural dog diet, shiny fur, nice big healthy scalp all over.

• Derek Dashwood

Ben and Frank, dogs by their sides, were full of the festive Spirit of Christmas 1760.

• Ben - Dr. Benjamin Franklin, a dog owner who fed his dog as carefully as himself, and only a natural dog diet, first met fellow dog owner Frank- Sir Francis Dashwood, Premier Baronet of Great Britain, in 1760, when Frank became Ben’s superior officer. Soon fast friends, walking their dogs around the estate. The two men, and their dogs, walked and talked and often, had a dog each at their feet by the fire in their evening sherry hour. And many festive seasons together in warmest happiness. Walks around the estate with the dogs, the friendships and bonds grew.

• Ben and Frank each saw eye to ey on many issues, from best oats and best beef for man and dog. No MSG, Melamine, and they didn’t need to get the Lead out, they never put it in. When an animal was killed for the table, the dogs received more than just scraps. It was said they ate better than the servants.

• Today, even after all the scares of the past year, we will care on the side of caution, and are recommending only 100% customer satisfied natural organic pet food suppliers such as Petplanet2U and a few others.

• Derek Dashwood

The closer to home, the more you trust the source, the healthier.

• So many studies show this. the 100 mile rule, if it is grown within that and to your plate, the healthier you. And we agree. And yet you and we know there are exeptions to every rule. And we delight in this example, between Ben and Frank. That’s Dr. Benjamin Franklin, if you haven’t been introduced, and his dear friend, soulmate, co author of biblical scripts and adaptations to the Franklin stove, superior officer in London, Sir Francis Dashwood.

• Upon meeting in 1760, when Sir Francis, as Post Master General of the British Empire, promoted Dr. Franklin to now be Post Master General of North America, with the British taking of Canada. Ben and Frank hit it off immediately, and Ben spent many happy months at West Wycombe Estate. And it was here, they found their mutual enjoyment of oatmeal, how energizing it was, and Dr. Franklin discreetly mentioned that these prize Scottish oats did not yet grow in America.

• Sir Francis and Dr. Franklin soon were out in the barn, and on his return to America Dr Franklin was in receipt of 2-3 sacks of prize Scottish oats. Which is why you see wonderful Dr. Franklin on Quaker Oats. Sir Francis, really, should be smiling over his shoulder, but glory is to he who steps on shore with the new wonder food. The oats did travel over the 3,000 miles of the Atlantic, yet arrived perfect, and thrived, so are now generally within 100 miles of us on this continent again. Thanks, Ben and Frank.

• IN CONTRAST

• China sending us melamine and lead, and showing indignant fury with claims that strut of arrogance when we receive the Dali Lhama, that we hurt the feelings of the Chinese people. Oh please! 1.3 Billion Han Chinese, getting on with their lives, thriving, their arrogant government decimating the civilization of Tibet, are hurt that we notice. Oh dear. Either way, you Han Chinese ride your new train up there and overwhelm Tibet. Meanwhile, for us, let’s eat our oats, and only foods we trust. Skip the melamine, and keep the lead out from China for now.

Derek who prefers Ben’s Honest Capitalism Dashwood

Those who eat well, feed their dogs well, get a full nights sleep, deserve to win

• It was lunch time, we were roarin’ hungry after a morning day’s work at the gold fields.

• We had to walk behind the sled, keep the dogs happy, and skeddadle somehow down into Dawson from the hills, where the gold was. So we got lots of exercise, swinging our pick axes, bending, sifting, shouting, cussing. Feeding, taking care of the dogs better than we fed ourselves. At least me, with my loyal dog Blaze. I don’t know about the others.

• Lucky after that China scare, melamine and lead for gosh sake, we found that with our satelite dish and post office laptop at the Dawson Saloon, that Amazon keeps approval ratings on their suppliers. So now we found we could rely on some of their 100% approval rated dog food suppliers who provide only people grade quality, such as Discountpetdirect and Petplanet2U and apdempsey2008.

• Only time’s to enjoy was coming in here, listen to Miss Kitty’s purty voice singing. She’s jes warming up now, for the evening crowd. But I’ve only got time to have a quick dart game, eat a hearty meal, pick up supplies, most of all, more dog food. Also, since they have approval ratings of 99.9% I get some safe brain toys for the dogs at Eastwestgifts and some salmon added foods for their silky fur and clean hearts from Kpetstore, some supplements from Equiteric, and all waiting at Miss Kitty’s Post Office.

• Well, I’ve had my one beer, doc says those who drink a bit live longer than those who don’t drink, or drunks. But don’t feed you pet any liquor at all. With these healthy food choices to call, them dogs will be happy on the trails with you all through the winter. At least my Blaze.

• Happy trails.

• Sgt Preston Dashwood and his dog Blaze.

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While we changed a wolf into a dog, it still eats BARF - Bones and raw foods.

• Somehow as we came out of the hills, we came to care for some sickly orphaned wolf cub, knew to feed it back to health with love and bones and raw foods, a natural dog diet still. We, and our dog, began to notice that some wild beasts such as the mountain goat, cattle in the fields, or the wild sheep, could be organized into herds, and our ancestors found they could manage these creatures easier once they trained a natural predator, one, then two frightened wolf cub orphans, to become help-mate dogs.

• We can all imagine the northern Mesopotanians, as a frightened wolf cub recently orphaned, shakily, hungrily approaches the burning fire of a night time gathering of our great ancestors. Feeding the grateful little pup, who stays around, wags his tail, they all agree he is can stay. He stays to help, he can corral the sheep, once we train not to bite, just show teeth. In his puppiness, he doesn’t realize how he terrifies these sheep into going in the direction we learn to whistle for him to take them. What a valuable new part of the family, feed him well. He evolves, the most intelligent dog in the world today is the Scottish Sheep Dog, the black and white feller who runs back and forth using his stare to control the sheep, and his mouth hanging open; the sheep instinctively head the other way. It is amazing to witness. Brain connections between the whistle, the dogs movement, the sheeps.

• We know that dogs are wonderfully therapy in hospitals and nursing homes. To witness this love ot people with a dog, it is an automatic response of mutual love and affection, and long overdue time for pets to help provide the therapy they do to people intheir homes- now into the restorative, or decling periods of our lives, in hospitals or nursing homes, pets are life extending therapy.

• Now, genetic comparisons of DNA samples between the dogs who still are closest to wolves, German Shepherds, and wolves show that an entirely new species has been created over these tens of thousands of years. The new wolf cub will see you as a threat, too big to eat, it’s heart rate shows alarm. The puppy dawg will choose you as family, want to lick you, have you love him.

Derek Dashwood

“Stick a sock in it” has a whole different meaning for dogs.

• And underwear. And pantyhose. Those are the three items most commonly removed surgically from pet’s stomaches.

• So, if you keep thinking it was the laundry butler who done it, look again. That wagging tailed furry man’s best friend or his feline cousin, the puddy tat, if it can’t eat the bird way up high, can certainly entertain themselves to indigestion if you have a habits of socks on the floor, underwear, pantyhose; you may have a belching pet that loved the smell of you so much that one little unraveled thread at a time, there goes another sock down the gut.

• Next in order of items removed from dogs and cats are rocks, balls, chew toys, corncobs, bones, hair ties/ribbons, and sticks. Also removed have been pagers, hearing aids, drywall, batteries, rubber bands, toy cars, hair ties and sand with bacon grease poured on it. Everything but your child’s homework.

• This from an American pet insurer, Veterinary Pet Insurance. As evidence of this, Dr. Wayne Eldridge, a San Antonio vet who is a field rep for the insurer, keeps a museum of items he has removed from pets, included are paper plates, any items that have the scent of the owner on it becoming tempting.

• |Bored or anxious pets, pets under two and Labrador retreivers, which are “very orally oriented because of their retreiving nature”, says Dr. Eldidge, are among those pets most likely to swallow items they shouldn’t. Signs that a ppet has sawllowed something it shouldn’t have include vomiting, dry heaves or coughing.

• We can’t have our homes perfect, but if there are small family and they have small toys, clothes, whatever, grandma’s teeth, on the floor or easily acccessible to them, move it! Items in noses, and mouth’s way, may not be going missing in the laundry. The laundry butler may not have done it. Oh, look at puddy tat, dry heaving over there. Where’s my other sock?

So we’re off the clean the floor up, and pull that out of Rover’s mouth right now. Derek “Tweetie” Dashwood

Jefferson’s America of wigged gentlemen on the Atlantic seaboard,

within a Century was Mark Twain’s, from California to New York.

• Twain, or Samuel Clemens, born in the middle of this rapidly expanding America, joked that as America’s new spokesman after Ralph Waldo Emerson, perhaps he should be introduced as Mark Waldo Twain, who followed earlier American literary giants, including Mr. Whittier, Mr Longfellow and Mr Emerson, Mr. Thoreau. But to the world beyond America’s shores, it was Mark Twain who truly came to represent the nobler aspects of humanity through his characters, Tom and Huck, on a raft in the Mississippi.They had to have a dog along, and a some times, if she was quiet, a girl named Beckie Thatcher.

• Twain, in writing his great works, “Tom Sawyer”, and “Huckleberry Finn”, spoke the best of America’s soul to an admiring world, who also became as one with those boys on that raft, and Sam Clemens Twain widened the world’s respect and new vision of America, and confirmed in millions of hearts there could exist cruel hypocracy that sounded like the fury of a cruel God, and perhaps the true meaning of Jesus was being distorted enough to die and be damned for, and this message resounded in the brains and souls of fair minded people everwhere. All through Tom and Huck. Well spoken, all.

• With these writings, Samuel Clemens caused people around the world, to see the world through the hearts of these two twelve year old boys. Tom, our narrator, at least has a home, stays with his aunt, has to go to school, some does. His best pal Huck, a runaway “river rat”, sleeps in river bank caves, moving if the mother badger reclaims it, living on the river banks of the mighty Mississippi.

• Also, boys had it beaten into them, being firmly taught to do one’s duty, serve God, and from about Hannibal all the way south to the Gulf, included in that God’s law was eternal damnation if you did not return a slave to their master. Floating on a raft, hearing slave Jim moaning for his wife and child, sold down the river, Tom and Huck decide Jim cries and bleeds like them, he must be human too. And truly fearing damnation, they choose to help Jim escape north.

• “And I decided then, if freeing Jim puts me in Hell, then to Hell I go”. In his innocence, may his dog couldn’t come to Heaven, or maybe he could, but Jim was a human and should be able to go if he was a good man, and he was a good man. Even Communists had to admit that any nation that could produce a Mark Twain could not be all bad. Compliments from the Devil.

• Then, as now, it was test and discover- coal burns higher than wood, steel can create rails to carry carriages on tracks, steam engines, telegraph lines across America, and the gold rush camp follower who first created a sensation with his story of the fixed frog race in Gold Rush country’s Calaveras County. The movie about Mark Twain’s life ends with Twain’s devoted daughter crying at his body, as his spirit lifts up and walks up the stairway into heaven with Tom and Huck holding each of his hands, chatting about some new cave in the riverbank. Sam is bending forward, more spring in his step as he says, “Yeah? Let’s go see.” There would surely have been a dog wagging it’s tail, welcoming them, warming the heart.

• Let’s imagine there are cloudlike rafts in Heaven, I would love to sit on one with those fellows, and their face licking dog. Maybe by then we can help Jim find his wife and child. Get final right things right. Tom and Huck didn’t get to see men arrive on the moon- well, maybe they did, and smiled in awe as we did. Even more when we meditate, can you imagine: Tom says he sleeps on his cloud all relaxed, stretched out, but Huck pulls his wings and his cloud all around him, snuggiest riverbank cave ever he says, dog takes turns sleeping with who hugs closest.

• Tom gets a second storey bedroom, with a porch. Huck usually wakes up around mid night, Heaven Central Time, then sneaks over to Tom’s back porch, whistles real quiet like, the dog is waiting, tail wagging. Out comes Tom, down the trellice, ten we go see Becky Thatcher, I go down to the riverbank with Huck, some food and rum for Jim and his wife, long reunited thanks to Mr. Clemens, over under that shade tree telling those children story. Listen to the hearty laughter from Jim’s raft, his wife saying Stop, her giggling. They never stop. But you, me, Tom, maybe Beckie, we all untie this knot- this is the best part- we jes float free as birds on our raft, the moon and stars above, old man river… the place in Heaven for all good boys, and any nice girl like Beckie if she don’t jiggle the raft. And who knows the secret code…the dog knows. And in today’s world, the dog would adore you for checking out natural organic meats and dog foods at apdempsey or Petplanet2U. Tom and Huck would recognize this as pure good food fit for eatin’, man or dog.

Derek Dashwood

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These Brain Tips were from Benjamin Franklins final 1757-58 Almanacks- his elder wisest thoughts.

In his October and November 1757 Almanacks, Franklin (through the voice always of poor “Richard Saunders”), has wise sentences, and more lengthy paragraphs, some times in a rhyme difficult to follow. But these are timeless, and cause me to think of him walking with his dog through autumn leaves and reflecting on how life seems. For a while, his dog will stay home in Philadelphia while he works his intellectual and persuasive powers on English and French courts in the following years. But these are the gentle wise comfortable thoughts of a man with his dog:

• “Proportion your Charity to the Strength or your Estate, or God will proportion your Estate to the Weakness of your Charity.”

• “Be rarely warm in censure or in Praise; Few Men deserve our Passion either ways; For half the World floats ‘twixt Good and Ill, As Chance disposes Objects, these the will.

• “To be happy, they tell us we must be more content. Right. But they do not teach us how we may become content. Poor Richard shall give a short Good Rule for that. To be content, look backward on those who posess less than you, not forward on those who possess more. “

• “If this does not make you content, you don’t deserve to be happy.”

• “Learning is a valuable thing in the affairs of this life, but of infinitely more important is Godliness, as is tends to not only make us happy here but hereafter.”

• “…Our good or bad Works shall remain for ever, recorded in the Archives of Eternity”

• “The borrower is a Slave to the Lender; the Security to both.”

• “Singularity in the right, hath ruined many: Happy those who are convinced of the general Opinion.”

• “Ambition to be greater and richer, merely that a Man may have it in his Power to do more Service to his Friends and thePublick, is of a quiet orderly Kind, pleased if it succeeds, resigned if it fails.”

• “But the Ambition that has Itself only in View, is restless, turbulent, regardless of publick Peace, of general interest, and the secret Maker of most Mischiefs, between Nations, Parties, Friends and Neighbors.”

• In Franklin’s day, there was only natural food products available, we hadn’t “evolved” to place melamine and lead in our foods and soil, so today Dr. Franklin you would be able to trust apdempsey, or Petplanet2U, both who maintained 100% customer approval ratings through Amazon. In this past troubling year, that is superb accomplishment.

And final walk with the dog, then to bed. Derek Dashwood