Battered and Malnourished Dogs Rescued in Dogfighting Ring Bust
September 24, 2009 by Nancy
Filed under Featured Story
Nine battered and malnourished dogs were rescued in a dogfighting ring bust on Tuesday in Chicago Ridge, Illinois.
Among the nine rescued dogs were four puppies.
Blood was spattered in the garage of a home day care that was also the site of the alleged dogfighting ring. Devices used to train the dogs were found nearby.
“The dogs were in horrific condition,” Cook County sheriff Tom Dart said at the Animal Welfare League in suburban Chicago Ridge. He added, “This is as bad as we’ve seen.”
The sheriff said about 10 chldren were found in the day care during the raid but were not in the immediate vicinity of the dogs.
Police arrested four people and felony dogfighting charges are pending against several of them including the day care operators’ husband.
Dart held one cream colored 8 week old puppy that was missing an eye and had scratches on its face. “The dogs had been thrown into fights,” he said.
The Chicago Tribune reported that another dog had a back leg turned completely around.
Linda Estrada, president of the Animal Welfare League, said the dogs were being evaluated. “We’re going to fatten them up, give them love and care,” she said, “Then they will go up for adoption.”
How people can be so cruel to animals I’ll never understand. If you know or suspect anyone of mistreating an animal, it’s your civic duty to report them just as you would anyone abusing a child. These poor battered, malnourished dogs led terrifying pain-filled lives and it’s our responsibility to prevent it from happening to any other defenseless animal.
Words of Loss
September 24, 2009 by Nancy
Filed under Random Thoughts
The following words of loss were sent to me by a distant relative. My husband and I lost three very special people this year and these words have given us much comfort. I had never heard the piece before and have no idea who the author is but hope it touches you the same way it did us.
Togetherness
Death is nothing at all. I have only slipped away into the next room.
Whatever we were to each other we still are. Call me by my old familiar name. Speak to me in the same easy way you always have. Laugh as we always laughed at the same little jokes we enjoyed together. Play, smile, think of me, pray for me.
Life means all that it ever meant. It is the same as it always was. There is absolute unbroken continuity. Why should I be out of your mind because I am out of your sight? I am but waiting for you, for an interval, somewhere very near, just around the corner.
All is well. Nothing is past. Nothing has been lost. One brief moment and all will be as it was before–only better. Infinitely happier. We will be one, together forever.
~~~
Study Suggests We Take Aspirin to Prevent Colon Cancer
September 22, 2009 by Nancy
Filed under Featured Story
A new study suggests we take aspirin to prevent colon cancer.
The research team followed more than 1,000 people with Lynch syndrome which is an inherited genetic mutation that makes them susceptible to a range of cancers including colon. The syndrome accounts for approximately 5 per cent of all colon cancers.
The study, led by scientists at Newcastle University, was conducted over four years with half of the study participants given aspirin daily while the other half received placebo pills. From the group receiving aspirin, six people developed colon cancer compared to 16 in the group given placebos.
John Burn, of Newcastle University’s Institute of Human Genetics, said the researchers were excited by the results, and added it was hoped they might lead to other effective treatments.
Aspirin is a cheap drug used to treat minor aches and fevers and to prevent heart attacks and strokes. It does not, however, come without side effects. It can irritate the stomach and intestines and cause major bleeding. As with any other medication, it should be used under the guidance of a doctor.
Findings from the study that suggest we take aspirin to prevent colon cancer were presented September 20th in Berlin at the annual congresses of the European Cancer Organization and the European Society for Medical Oncology.
