Dog Ransom

Being an optimist, I tend to believe that everything will be OK, that people are basically good, and that the Golden Rule is a pretty decent starting place for getting along in life. Some people think this is a naive approach to the world, but hey, it's worked for me so far. I'm old enough to fully understand that bad things do happen to good people. I don't think I'll ever be old enough to understand why some people go out of their way to make things bad for others.

You remember the case of the missing dog. Two weeks ago, Macsy disappeared. Twenty four hours later, he turned up at a family member's home. Go figure. It was a happy ending, I took down the "missing dog" flyers, and canceled the ad I had posted on one of the internet sites.

Because I've been busy, I haven't been doing a good job of keeping up with my personal email. So I was surprised, and pretty disgusted when I found this message sitting in my inbox:

From: Mike Thomas mike_found202@yahoo.com
To: (me)
Subject: your dog is with me......
Date: Wednesday, April 16, 2008 5:35:30 AM

I won't lie to you i stole this dog....and the reason why i stole is that ..i need help my mum is in Nigeria dieing of cancer ..and i decided to steal it and i know i will found the owner contact addres ..so before i release it ..you are going to pay sum of $600...i swear this dog is with me

My first thought was, Jeez, what a dumbass. If you're going to attempt extortion at least have the courtesy to spell check! (OK, spelling is a pet peeve with me.) That thought was quickly replaced by, This guy is a scum sucking jerk! Then, it occurred to me that Nigeria is getting a bad rap in all this send money for my dying relative spam. I know a lot of people from Nigeria, and not one of them has ever asked me for a cent for medical care for a family member. But that's another issue.

One thing that I detest more than a con man is a stupid con man. Having a professional con man for a relative, I know the difference. "Mike Thomas" is a stupid con man. Even if Macs were still missing, I wouldn't have given this message any credence. It's filled with holes, aside from the dying mother in Nigeria. (I won't list them here, because I don't want to help him improve his efforts, but I'll be happy to go on and on about them at lunch.)

My concern is that some desperate and grief stricken individual might actually send money to this liar, or one of his ilk. Missing dog scams are apparently not uncommon. Dog Detective lists several. Unfortunately, there is little that can be done aside from using common sense and avoiding posting your email address online. If you have a friend with a missing pet, caution them to use care in posting ads, and to beware of responses like this one.

Meantime, I will hope that Mike Thomas and his friends have big chunks bitten out of their asses by angry packs of French poodles.

Now THAT'S optimistic!

The Prodigal Dog Returns

Many thanks to all of you who helped in searching for Macs. He's an old fellow, and not very street smart. At least we didn't think he was very street smart. Somehow, he showed up at my brother in law's house early Tuesday morning. While this is a 1-mile down CR 325 by car, it's about a 3 mile walk between our homes, through mostly heavy woods. We hope he enjoyed his adventure, but we are very glad that he is back at home.

Jess, you have been wonderful. As always, I can count on my very best friends to spread the word when help is needed. You rock.

Thanks again, and keep looking out for our animal friends!

Missing Dog

This morning started the same way that every weekday begins. I got up a little after 6:00, made coffee, turned on the computer, and said good morning to Macs, our Sheltie. At 14 years of age, Macs has been with my husband longer than I have, and he graciously put up with my moving into his home 7 years ago. Every day since then, I have let him out for his morning ritual. Fireball, our cat, comes in when Macs goes out. They then spend the day at home doing whatever a dog and a cat do.

Today, everything seemed pretty normal, except that Macs did not come in when I called him. He never wanders off. He is a herding animal, and he takes his job seriously.

Something changed today, though. Macs didn't come back when I called him. He is still not home. We have scoured the woods and canvassed Cross Creek, but no one has seen him. Our only hope is that he wandered away and some well-intentioned person picked him up. Please go to Find Macs for more info and a picture.

If you have any information that could help us to bring Macsy home, we will be forever grateful.

Many thanks.

Stop the Canadian Seal Hunt

The slaughter of 275,000 baby seals began at dawn on Friday, March 25, 2008. Condoned by the Canadian government, this represents the largest organized killing of marine animals on Earth. There is nothing humane about it. Baby seals are bludgeoned to death. In some cases, they are skinned alive.

Many of us have signed a pledge to boycott Canadian seafood until this barbaric practice is stopped. I think we can take this one step further, and perhaps get the attention of other groups whose livelihoods might be affected.

Last weekend I bought several beautiful tomato and herb plants from Bonnie Plants, an Alabama grower. I was getting ready to plant them when I noticed that their environmentally friendly pots were made in Canada. The plants went back to Lowe's, and I sent a note to the company explaining why.

If we boycott enough Canadian products, and it affects enough other businesses, perhaps the Canadian government will listen. It won't take much of your time. Just read the labels on the products you purchase. If it says "Made in Canada", put it back on the shelf and send an email.

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Blogitis: It's Contagious

As you know, last week I helped my father establish his blog Kermit the Blog. He was worried about being found. (Actually it was Mary who wondered how anyone would find him. I don't think my father ever really considered it.) As luck, and the laws of the Internet would have it, my pal Jess called me this morning and reported that my brother now has his own blog! It's called Frog Spawn. They had met each other via Kermit.

I remember the world before the Internet. It was pretty difficult to meet people from other places unless you traveled a lot. You might have a zillion opinions, and even possess the gift of expressing those opinions, but only a very few would ever be seen or heard or read. Today, it takes less than one week to connect people of differing points of view and in different locales. If we had used Facebook to promote Dad's blog, we could have propelled him into the top rankings even as a newbie.

Despite it's many shortcomings, the Internet continues to provide us with opportunities that were not available just a few short years (OK, a decade) ago. Technology has changed our lives forever.

Has technology helped or hindered your life? Use the comments feature to post your response. Each response must be 200 words or less, and should start with "HELPED:" or "HINDERED:" Only one comment per category per user. (Yes, that means that you get to contribute one "helped" and one "hindered", separately.) Ask your friends to participate. I'm thinking of going back to grad school and need a dissertation topic!