Photo by Sister72 via flickr creative commons.

The great thing about being from a large family that’s filled with love and laughter is that even when you’re poor growing up, you never really realize it.  Mom and Dad did everything they could to make ends meet.  We had a huge garden wherever we lived, there was canning and freezing to be done, and at one point we even raised rabbits for food.

It never really bothered me to eat rabbit - my favorite was rabbit noodle soup.  However, our rabbit meals suddenly stopped one day when one of my brothers sat down at the table and innocently asked, “Mom! Which one is this?  The white one or the brown one?”

And thus ended our foray into barbecued bunny.  The Urban Chickens Network blog makes the point in a much less brutal way in Backyard Bunnies are NOT the Next Urban Chicken,

Urban chickens will provide a regular supply of protein-packed eggs for at least three years (sometimes much longer) and there’s no blood on your hands. Raising chickens means entering a nurturing relationship with an animal that rewards you sustainably and over time.

Bunnies, on the other hand, only give up their protein once: and that’s after the slaughter.

I think having a chicken would be pretty neat, but like my Mom I don’t think I could ever raise bunnies for meat again.

Photo by notsogoodphotography via flickr creative commons
(and your photo really was good!).
H/T Brittney’s Shared Items.

This won’t be a long post because I’m leaving for an appointment in five minutes, but I wanted to share my friend’s story.  She has two small dogs and a very loving, sweet cat and asked her family for help in taking one.  You see, she had to give up one pet because they are moving to an apartment where only two small pets are allowed.

I offered to let one of her dogs stay at my place until a new home can be found, but we both knew that it would be hard on my own two dogs and cat.  Luckily, the owner of her new rental finally agreed to allow all her pets to stay, as long as she could pay a bit more on the pet deposit.

We just found out this weekend that one of her aunts just adopted a cat from a stranger instead of helping family.  Sometimes I just don’t understand people.  Sigh.

This is so cute I could just SQUEEEEE!

H/T Vegansaurus! And special thanks to the Farm Sanctuary.

My husband is impossible to buy for, so at Christmas I was my usual stumped self.  But as I wandered the aisles at our local Super Target store, I spotted a special display of weird stuff  to give as Christmas gifts.  The kind of items that no one would really buy for themselves, yet they were kind of cool.

I found a laser pointer.  Yes, I hate when I go to the movies and someone has one pointed at the screen.  But my cat ADORES chasing the light. She fell instantly in love with my husband’s gift and is always on the lookout for that little red light.  In fact, I may be teaching her to be OCD about it, but she’s a cat so I’m not overly stressed.

We’ve also learned that the laser pointer is even better when it lands on a piece of tissue paper.  She loves chasing it in circles while she’s on the tissue paper because of the crunchy noise.  I pick up a 40-sheet package for a dollar at our local Dollar Tree.

But woe is Kitty … the batteries in the light have begun to give out.  I went to the store to replace them and nearly choked when I saw that the package of three cost $9.   I decided it was crazy to spend $9 on batteries when the light itself only cost $5 during the holiday season.

Always thinking frugally, I asked the clerk if they had laser pointers for pets.  They said, “Sure!” and told me “Aisle 5″.  I wandered down and found a brand new laser pointer that included three brand new batteries for $4.95.

Kitty has a new laser light.

Kitty pictured laying on tissue paper.

I really have to trim her nails!

My friend Beth Cravens once illustrated a book for me and since then I adore going to her web page to see her political cartoons.  Her “yellow pages” are also pretty neat-o and since today’s is all about animals, I am proud to present artist extraordinaire … BETH!

Molly loves chasing the water out of the hose!  And she needs a home.

Luckily, I was able to visit over the weekend, when I met the incredible water-loving pit bull, Molly. The info on the walk board explained that she loved to play with the hose in the doggy yard so I decided to give it a try. I had no idea she was obsessed with it. What a funny nut!

From Pawesome in San Francisco, you can learn more about Molly here.  I love Molly’s enthusiasm.

From I Can Has Cheezburger.

I found this editorial on CNN.com about dolphins and why their smiles aren’t really smiles to be fascinating, heartbreaking, and an opinion that should be shared,

… the smiles you see on these animals are not true reflections of happiness. In actuality, they hate to be enclosed in their holding tanks and are often not fed until it is time to perform their daily routines. During his time as a trainer, [Ric] O’Barry learned dolphins had true feelings — they would get depressed, stressed out, even suicidal. In some parks, the trainers have to give the animals Maalox and Tagamet to treat the ulcers that develop from their stress.

Sad. I feel some guilt that I’ve been one of millions of people who’ve gone to these sea shows to watch dolphins and other sea creatures perform.