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Pompano
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DOGS ARE HARMFUL TO THE ENVIRONMENT
..ahem...
It's a dog's life...literally.
THIS FROM PARIS (AP).. which of course makes it the absolute truth... 
– Man's best friend could be one of the environment's worst enemies, according to a new study which says the carbon pawprint of a pet dog
is more than double that of a gas-guzzling sports utility vehicle.
But the revelation in the book "Time to Eat the Dog: The Real Guide to Sustainable Living" by New Zealanders Robert and Brenda Vale has angered pet
owners who feel they are being singled out as troublemakers.
The Vales, specialists in sustainable living at Victoria University of Wellington, NZ, analysed popular brands of pet food and calculated that a
medium-sized dog eats around 164 kilos (360 pounds) of meat and 95 kilos of cereal a year.
Combine the land required to generate its food and a "medium" sized dog has an annual footprint of 0.84 hectares (2.07 acres) -- around
twice the 0.41 hectares required by a 4x4 driving 10,000 kilometres (6,200 miles) a year, including energy to build the car.
To confirm the results, the New Scientist magazine asked John Barrett at the Stockholm Environment Institute in York, Britain, to calculate
eco-pawprints based on his own data. The results were essentially the same.
"Owning a dog really is quite an extravagance, mainly because of the carbon footprint of meat," Barrett said.
Other animals aren't much better for the environment, the Vales say.
Cats have an eco-footprint of about 0.15 hectares, slightly less than driving a Volkswagen Golf for a year, while two hamsters equates to a plasma
television and even the humble goldfish burns energy equivalent to two mobile telephones.
But Reha Huttin, president of France's 30 Million Friends animal rights foundation says the human impact of eliminating pets would be equally
devastating.
"Pets are anti-depressants, they help us cope with stress, they are good for the elderly," Huttin told AFP.
"Everyone should work out their own environmental impact. I should be allowed to say that I walk instead of using my car and that I don't eat meat, so
why shouldn't I be allowed to have a little cat to alleviate my loneliness?" Sylvie Comont, proud owner of seven cats and two dogs -- the
environmental equivalent of a small fleet of cars -- says defiantly, "Our animals give us so much that I don't feel like a polluter at
all.
"I think the love we have for our animals and what they contribute to our lives outweighs the environmental considerations. I don't want a life
without animals," she told AFP.
And pets' environmental impact is not limited to their carbon footprint, as cats and dogs devastate wildlife, spread disease and pollute waterways,
the Vales say.
With a total 7.7 million cats in Britain, more than 188 million wild animals are hunted, killed and eaten by feline predators per year, or an
average 25 birds, mammals and frogs per cat, according to figures in the New Scientist.
Likewise, dogs decrease biodiversity in areas they are walked, while their faeces cause high bacterial levels in rivers and streams, making the water
unsafe to drink, starving waterways of oxygen and killing aquatic life.
And cat poo can be even more toxic than doggy doo -- owners who flush their litter down the toilet ultimately infect sea otters and other animals with
toxoplasma gondii, which causes a killer brain disease.
But despite the apocalyptic visions of domesticated animals' environmental impact, solutions exist, including reducing pets' protein-rich meat intake.
"If pussy is scoffing 'Fancy Feast' -- or some other food made from choice cuts of meat -- then the relative impact is likely to be high," said Robert
Vale.
"If, on the other hand, the cat is fed on fish heads and other leftovers from the fishmonger, the impact ]will be lower."
Other potential positive steps include avoiding walking your dog in wildlife-rich areas and keeping your cat indoors at night when it has
a particular thirst for other, smaller animals' blood.
As with buying a car, humans are also encouraged to take the environmental impact of their future possession/companion into account.
But the best way of compensating for that paw or clawprint is to make sure your animal is dual purpose]he Vales urge. Get a
hen, which offsets its impact by laying edible eggs, or a rabbit, prepared to make the ultimate environmental sacrifice by ending up on the dinner
table.
"Rabbits are good, provided you eat them," said Robert Vale
The ball is in your court. 
[Edited on 3-10-2010 by Pompano]
I do what the voices in my tackle box tell me.
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Nan&D
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Thank you Pompano. Now instead of saying I just don't like pet dogs, I can play the environmentalist.
Nancy
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bajajudy
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I would rather have a dog than a car anyway
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Dave
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Good
| Quote: | Originally posted by bajajudy
I would rather have a dog than a car anyway |
Let's trade.
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Sunman
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People actually get paid for studies like this. 
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monoloco
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Not to mention all that poop on the beach.
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DianaT
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So Roger,
Just when are your dogs headed for their dirt nap---surely you do not want to do any more pollution. Fat chance, right? 
Well, I still do not really trust people who do not like dogs, nor people my big dog doesn't trust. The little one stays suspicious of all
humans---she is probably correct. 
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wessongroup
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Mood: Suicide Hot line ... please hold
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Mine eat the same food as I.... and they get milk chocolate too, lick the rappers and fingers and a small piece of a candy bar on occasion.. onions
and anything else they want.. much like me... I don't like their food, and they don't like it either... given the choice they always prefer my
Cherrios with milk and banana's or my cream of wheat .. to their dry dog food or their canned stuff too..
Since down here in Baja, they really have developed a taste for burrito's, tamales and chirozzo/eggs/potatoes, and they have taken to jalapeños too..
.... plus really like fresh flour tortillas with butter... glad we have tile floors.. and I'm don't care about that kinda of crap anymore either.. get
ants.. I spray.. yeah.. tell me about pesticides...
This morning the neighbors dog, "Azul" came in and got into bed with me... Azul is a mix, German Shepherd and a Whippet ... a big guy.. but a pup
about 1-2 years old and really likes his butt scratched.. big time, well, he got up on my bed and I still had my tray to the side from breakfast.. had
burritos, red chili and beef with fresh flour tortillas and jalapeño ... there was a little left.. which he ate in a couple of gulps.. peppers and
all.. my two dogs had already had their taste .... so it was no big deal.. and they all get along..
But, this dog ate jalapeños too.. cracked me up.. they are doing just fine.. hear them barking outside as I type..
It's about lunch time.. they all should be showing up... funny how that works..
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BajaRat
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Mood: Ready for some salt water with my Tecate
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Thanks Pompano,
I've been looking for a good excuse to recycle our family members. After all they've only been my daughter's best friends since birth. One of my son's
high points to his day is when they nuzzle their way into the house to "kiss" the kittens. I think they're just softening them up to eat later. They
protect our children and livestock from lions and coyotes while they play outside at our ranchito. They've even proven themselves on several occasions
deterring unwelcome guests from our camps and cars while keeping the good sense to welcome/embrace/lick the crap out of those we welcome.
On second thought I think I'll keep them.
Hope you all have the opportunity to experience the love of a dog.
Lionel
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Woooosh
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Mood: Luminescent Waves at Rosarito Beach
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| Quote: | Originally posted by monoloco
Not to mention all that poop on the beach. |
More people than dogs on the beach... No Mexican beach outing is complete unless someone has packed a shovel and roll of TP. just saying...
\"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing\"
1961- JFK to Canadian parliament (Edmund Burke)
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Pompano
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Update from Cedrik, Coyote Beach Dog at Large
As I type this ..Cedrik the Beach has come to offer her apologies.
Furthermore, she has promised to lower her carbon footprint. As soon as she finds out what the hell it is.
I do what the voices in my tackle box tell me.
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Nan&D
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Well I realize that as a newbie I might get Bit here! But Cedrik, do ya mind not coming up and licking me after eating all those burritos?
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Skipjack Joe
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Dog Pawprint
The largest carbon pawprint? - the greyhound
<groan> 
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Don Alley
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I fault the study for its comparisons to automobiles and other manufactured goods.
Instead, I'd like to see the carbon footprint of a dog compared to that of a child, natural or adopted. And of an adult.
The smallest carbon footprint on the family.
But my dog's carbon footprint was extra large today: he got hold of almost a whole loaf of Bimbo bread.
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Gypsy Jan
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The Largest Carbon Footprints
In our house, are left when the cat, not the dogs, plays in the cooled fireplace ashes.
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow mindedness.”
—Mark Twain
\"La vida es dura, el corazon es puro, y cantamos hasta la madrugada.” (Life is hard, the heart is pure and we sing until dawn.)
—Kirsty MacColl, Mambo de la Luna
\"Alea iacta est.\"
—Julius Caesar
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DianaT
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| Quote: | Originally posted by wessongroup
well, he got up on my bed and I still had my tray to the side from breakfast.. |
You get breakfast served to you in bed? Nice gig.
We also feed our dogs human food---raw and cooked and only a little dog food thrown in. But do be careful with the chocolate---it is on the poison
list for dogs. A tiny amount probably is ok. List of Poison Foods for dogs
Probably should not give that link to the dog haters.
[Edited on 3-11-2010 by DianaT]
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Debra
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Hey Pomp.........thanks for 'stiring the pot" thankfully my pup is modest, he doesn't like anyone, including me, watching him poo......I tease him
sometimes and watch him and he will move back and forth to a private place to do his "business" .....good boy! Never has he done is nasty stuff where
he would embarress himself or me.
Question for all the "doggie" people.......how do I keep well meaning people from feeding my pup people food? I don't want to be rude, but, this has
been a problem.........people food doesn't sit well with him and I end up with him up-chucking after too much "love"  I never give a treat to children not my own without asking first, why not the same
for pets?
Mean people suck!
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DENNIS
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Debra
Question for all the "doggie" people.......how do I keep well meaning people from feeding my pup people food? |
Jeeeezo....I know what you mean. My neighbors treat my dog like a garbage disposal. We came home one day and there was a complete meal in a plate on
the deck, left there for LuLu, meat, potatos, veggies.
I figured out that if I told an innocent neighbor, he wouldn't be able to keep it to himself and word got back to the guilty party. It seems to be
working, so far.
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Nan&D
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In another previous career, I was a gas meter reader.
Well trained in dog behavior, and appropriate defense. At dog school, there was an example given of a co-worker giving treats to the dogs on his
route as a friendly gesture. One gas client responded by beating his dog for accepting food from a stranger. Yikes, but true.
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Debra
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"well, hopefully, this will get the doggie loving people thinking that maybe treats might not be so treating in the belly later? I do know that
malice isn't meant........it's just that not all bellies are created equal 
Mean people suck!
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