Facets of Our Lives

Roughly 75% of the US population lives east of the Mississippi River. This portion of the country, on the whole, is wetter, greener, and at a lower elevation than the western portion of the continental states. Just like humans, our pets are susceptible to different kinds of illnesses that are specific to region. For example, when I lived in the Northeast, the population of wild deer resulted in a large population of deer ticks , and some form of preventative measure was a monthly ritual to protect the dogs. Here in the Southwest, we have deer in the higher, mountainous elevations, but not in the desert, where I live -- so this ritual became almost immediately unnecessary. One of the unique pet maladies for my region of Arizona is a condition called "Valley Fever", also called "California Disease", "Desert Rheumatism", or its official name Coccidioidomycosis . This is also one of those unique diseases that also impacts humans. It is not curable, which m...

One of the important things you should know about me if we ever meet is to leave your pets at home or in another room. Not because I don't like animals, but I tend to prefer them to humans -- and if you have a goofy, playful, crazy dog, an affectionate cat who wants me to carry him/her, or a bird that will talk to me, well -- you've lost me completely. Amusement park have a petting zoo? Leave me at the zoo with a bunch of quarters so I can buy food for the goats and I'll see you in a few hours. This is why we couldn't have just one dog. We have three, ranging in age from 15 to almost 10 (his birthday is next month). Each of their adoptions was a different set of circumstances, but all of them came from shelters. So this week, I want to talk a little about the importance of shelters and rescue organizations. It is heartbreaking how we treat animals as a society, as a country, even as a species. Some days, I really can't take it and I have to force myself to avoid...

A Facets Reader asks: Do animals have a soul? Short answer #1: I don't know if I have a soul to know if animals do. Short answer #2: Some Christian dogma states that only humans have souls. Short answer #3: I had a childhood caregiver who believed her dog was the reincarnation of Julius Caesar. So. Um. Yeah. Putting all of that aside, we need a working definition of what a 'soul' is in order to discuss this in any meaningful way. So here's the definition supplied by Dictionary.com : soul [sohl] -noun the principle of life, feeling, thought, and action in humans, regarded as a distinct entity separate from the   body, and commonly held to be separable in existence from the body; the spiritual part of humans as distinct from the physical part. the spiritual part of humans regarded in its moral aspect, or as believed to survive death and be subject to happiness or misery in a life to come...

As I haven't had a cat in my home since I was about two years old, this week's post is by special guest blogger, David Finkelstein of Brooklyn, NY, USA. Enjoy! The first thing you need to know about owning a cat is that you do not own the cat. The cat owns you. The cat does not adapt to living in your home and to your lifestyle. You change your lifestyle to please the cat.  Cats don't really need you--they're much too independent--but for some reason they like to pretend that they do. When they rub up against your leg and you think it means they're being affectionate--they're not. They're making sure that you know who is in charge. That's also what they're doing when they pounce on your face in the early morning, that and to punish your for not filling their water and food bowls or cleaning their littler box. If you put out fresh clothes to wear or piles of laundry, you will find a cat sleeping in them before too long. And when you com...