Cookie Monsters

09/09/2021

The good old days when animals killed for crop protection were actually eaten as well as used from nose-to-tail and superficial virtue-signalling was still in its infancy.
The good old days when we actually practiced real ethics.

Picture credit: Two women posing beside a truck with guns and dead rabbits in Northampton, Western Australia, 1947. SLWA

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1354161871314774/permalink/4471132069617723/

“They have always been described as Australia's greatest disaster but the introduction of the rabbit was the saviour of many an Aussie family growing up in the late 1800's through to the late 1960's. Those who couldn't afford meat would seek out their "underground mutton" wherever they could. These 3 photos show rabbits being processed at the William Angliss abattoir in Footscray. Many of these rabbits were destined for the export market and many more for domestic consumption. Year 1954”

https://www.facebook.com/groups/330155964359922/permalink/827134001328780/

Ultimately, whether an animal has been killed for subsistence or crop protection, we should strive to use the animal from nose to tail, that’s the most respect we can give to the animal. That’s the essence of ethical omnivorism. 🙏

Milton

14/08/2020

06/08/2020

Kitty parkour

29/07/2020

Butterflies are so metal

28/07/2020

25/07/2020

Reason no. 74 of Why I want to live in a farm

24/07/2020

24/07/2020

14/07/2020

30/06/2020

30/06/2020

This frog is infected by a parasitic fly of the genus Batrachomyia. Although only distantly related, these parasites behave like botflies (Oestridae) and live under the skin of their amphibian hosts during their immature stage. However once the parasitic maggot grows large enough it leaves the frog, pupates then an adult emerges to fly off, mate, and then infect other hapless frogs!

Have you ever noticed a ‘lumpy’ frog like this in the wild?
———————————————————

———————————————————
This fantastic shot was taken by skilled wildlife photographer Michael Cermak

29/06/2020

For What Was I Created?, 1886 by William Holbrook Beard

23/06/2020

Loving all sentient forms is my only religion.

21/06/2020

So brave

16/06/2020

‘Free-range’, ‘outdoor reared’, ‘ethically sourced’ and ‘humanely slaughtered’ mean nothing to the non-human animals who are exploited and used by humans. Exploitation is exploitation regardless of the label on the product.⁣⁣

These labels exist to make us feel better about the products that we’re purchasing, and do nothing for the animals who simply want to live without human inflicted violence and oppression.

11/06/2020

Sharks don't infest waters, they live there.

06/06/2020

💀

03/06/2020

We received a few Eastern cottontail babies in our Wildlife Clinic over the weekend...

These bunnies are just from one day! We receive hundreds of these helpless critters every baby season when they are injured or orphaned. Please follow these tips if you come across baby cottontails:

🐇 Baby cottontails are ready to be on their own when they are about the size of a softball. If you find one this size and it does not appear injured, let it be!
🐇 Mother cottontails feed their babies in the nest just twice a day during overnight hours, so it's normal not to see mom around during the day. This doesn't mean the nest has been abandoned.
🐇 Simply touching a baby will not result in mom abandoning it, but please don't touch if you don't have to!
🐇 Well-fed bunnies in the nest should have a plump, round belly. If they look skinny and narrow, they may potentially need help. If you lightly pinch their skin on top of their shoulder blades, it should fall right back into place. If it stays pinched in a "tent", they are dehydrated and need help.
🐇 If you aren't sure if mom is coming back at night, you can put flour around the perimeter of the nest to check for footprints. Or, you can put string over the nest in a specific pattern and check if it has been disturbed.
🐇 If dogs are an issue, put a laundry basket upside down on top of the nest during the day when your dog is outside. Be sure to remove it at night so mom can return to feed her babies overnight.
🐇 Keep your cat inside. Cats are notorious for injuring or killing baby bunnies (and other wildlife).
🐇 Check for bunny nests before doing yard work. They often nest in tall grasses and will cover the nest with fur and vegetation. If you see a small circle of dry grass and some fur, you might have a nest in your yard!
🐇 If you do find a bunny that needs help, contact us or another licensed rehabber. Cottontails are very prone to stress and need specialized wildlife formula and care.

29/05/2020

Sharks and dolphins

23/05/2020

Aw come on, geese are...fine.

21/05/2020

🐟FISH HEAD SOUP 🐟
We first learnt about making fish head soup several months ago when canine nutritionist .blr had shared a recipe. We make it regularly now because it's chock-full of nutrition & our dogs absolutely love the taste. Usually thrown as waste, fish heads are full of vitamin A, omega-3 fatty acids, iron, zinc & calcium. It's highly beneficial to the health of their joints, skin, coat & brain.
All you need are:
Fish heads (sardines & anchovies are best for they are low in mercury, we use whatever we can lay our hands on)
Turmeric powder
Chopped ginger
Chopped garlic (refer previous post on this, it's not toxic to dogs in moderation)
Herbs of choice (fresh/dried, one or a combination of dog friendly options)
Unfiltered apple cider vinegar, a generous splash (this helps to lynch out minerals from the bones & cartilage)
Put all of the above in a pot, cover with water to a couple of inches above the level of ingredients, let cook on low to medium flame for 30 mins. Once cooled, remove all the bones. Do check & double check to make sure you got it all out (bones from smaller fish can be blended in a mixer & thrown right back in). This soup stays well in the fridge for up to 3 days (usually gets jelly like), freeze if you have excess. This can be served as a snack or added to their meals. We pour one ladle full for our smallies & two for our biggies.
Simple, economical & easy peasy way to pack in nutrients into our dogs' diet. The hard part? Avoiding their fishy breaths as they want to lick our face with gratitude.

15/05/2020

14/05/2020

🙏

13/05/2020

Giraffes have a very familiar skin/fur pattern, but you probably never knew that there's more than one and that they are different on a regional and genetic basis https://buff.ly/2TLKoSr

11/05/2020

03/05/2020

01/05/2020

30/04/2020

30/04/2020

If y'all are still eating McDonald's

25/04/2020

Pumpkin seeds for deworming

Pumpkin seeds are loaded with a bunch of vitamins & other minerals that boost our dogs' health. We use pumpkin seeds as a natural dewormer because they contain an amino acid called cucurbitacin. This paralyzes the worms making them easily eliminated from the intestine.
With our pack of dogs, we go through a fair bit of red pumpkin in their home cooked meals. We wash the seeds, dry them in the shade, powder in a mixer & store in an air tight container. We sprinkle this on their food. .
Our small dogs get half a teaspoon per day, big dogs get one teaspoon & pups get quarter teaspoon. They anyway get garlic in their food everyday too, which also work well to kill intestinal parasites (please refer earlier post for more on garlic).
We don't use chemical dewormers for our dogs at all. .
Please do your own research & use your discretion before making any changes to your dogs' diet. For any further information, do read up online on what holistic vets have to say or consult with a canine nutritionist.

16/04/2020

Garlic gets such a poor rep for being toxic to dogs when the truth is that in moderation it's super beneficial to them. We add garlic to our dogs' food everyday for it works great to naturally repel ticks & fleas. When you first start feeding them garlic, it takes about two weeks for it to build into the natural oils of their skin to begin working its magic.
We like to peel & chop the garlic 10 mins before it needs to be added to their food raw, we've found that adding garlic while cooking their food wasn't as effective. Crushing or chopping garlic releases allicin which is a sulphuric compound found naturally in garlic that does the work of repelling unwanted parasites from the dog.
Canine nutritionist .blr says small dogs can have one clove of garlic per day, big dogs can have two & large dogs can go up to three cloves per day. Dogs with sensitive stomachs & IBS shouldn't consume garlic.
Do read up more on the many more health benefits this little white pod can bring to your dogs' life.

13/04/2020

07/03/2020

Judy, a purebred pointer, was the mascot of several ships in the Pacific, and was captured by the Japanese in 1942 and taken to a prison camp. There she met Aircraftsman Frank Williams, who shared his small portion of rice with her.

Judy raised morale in the POW camp, and also barked when poisonous snakes, crocodiles or even tigers approached the prisoners. When the prisoners were shipped back to Singapore, she was smuggled out in a rice sack, never whimpering or betraying her presence to the guards.

The next day, that ship was torpedoed. Williams pushed Judy out of a porthole in an attempt to save her life, even though there was a 15-foot drop to the sea. He made his own escape from the ship, but was then recaptured and sent to a new POW camp.

He didn't know if Judy had survived, but soon he began hearing stories about a dog helping drowning men reach pieces of debris after the shipwreck. And when Williams arrived at the new camp, he said: "I couldn’t believe my eyes! As I walked through the gate, a scraggly dog hit me square between the shoulders and knocked me over. I’d never been so glad to see the old girl!"

They spent a year together at that camp in Sumatra. "Judy saved my life in so many ways," said Williams. "But the greatest of all was giving me a reason to live. All I had to do was look into those weary, bloodshot eyes and ask myself: 'What would happen to her if I died?' I had to keep going."

Once hostilities ceased, Judy was then smuggled aboard a troopship heading back to Liverpool. In England, she was awarded the Dickin Medal (the "Victoria Cross" for animals) in May 1946. Her citation reads: "For magnificent courage and endurance in Japanese prison camps, which helped to maintain morale among her fellow prisoners, and also for saving many lives through her intelligence and watchfulness".

At the same time, Frank Williams was awarded the PDSA's White Cross of St. Giles for his devotion to Judy. Frank and Judy spent a year after the war visiting the relatives of English POWs who had not survived, and Frank said that Judy "always provided a comforting presence to the families."

When Judy finally died at the age of 13, Frank spent two months building a granite and marble memorial in her memory, which included a plaque describing her life story.