Vampire-Like Animals do Exist!

It’s getting close to that spooky time of the year and Maggie and I thought we would share some real life vampire-like animals with you. Top on our list are the bats that drink blood, the hairy-legged vampire bat, the white-winged vampire bat and the vampire bat. Pictured here is the vampire bat. The hairy-legged vampire and the white-winged vampire only prey on birds while the vampire bat seeks out cattle, horses, livestock and humans. Its bite isn’t dangerous however it can spread rabies. Four children in Peru died this year after vampire bats initiated a rabies outbreak among the local Awajun tribe.
Mags wanted to show you this video on how the vampire bats can sneak up on you, so watch out piggy!
Video -Vampire Bats

“I really hate ticks!” ~ Mags, they stick to you and seem to suck the blood right out. They are capable of drinking blood that is 600 times their weight! Thank goodness Sam & I don’t see them out here much because they prefer wooded areas near water. One bite from a tick won’t turn you into a vampire but they can spread illnesses like Lyme disease. If you have a tick remove it quickly, grab with tweezers and make sure you have its head, keep it for a few days just in case you get sick.

“Look at these crazy long fish that are extremely scary.” ~ Sammy, the Lampreys are ancient fish that look like something from outer-space. Adult lampreys latch onto their prey with their hook-shaped teeth and gulp down the victim’s blood. They live in fresh and salty water worldwide, but only attack humans if they are starved. Check out this crazy up-close video on this fish and be careful when you scuba dive.
Video-Lampreys

Who’s Your Boss Baby?

Tomorrow October 17th is “National Boss’s Day”

Maggie and I know who are bosses are and have our dead mice ready as presents. Our humans love dead mice or scorpions as gifts!

“National Boss’s Day” was enacted by Patricia Bays Haroski in 1958. Patricia was a secretary for State Farm and forgot the birthday of her boss!!! A big no, no with humans! She declared October 8th as boss’s day not realizing that her boss’s actual birthday was October 16th. In 1962 the Governor of Illinois Otto Kerner believed that boss’s day was a fantastic idea and backed Patricia’s original registration by officially proclaiming the day.

This nice holiday has been criticized in the U.S. and mocked as a Hallmark Holiday. However Hallmark did not offer a Bosses’ Day card for sale until 1979!

Other countries such as Australia, South Africa, United Kingdom, Ireland and India observe “National Bosses’ Day”. In fact, in India the bosses give their employees gifts on this holiday!

So Maggie and I ask, who’s your boss? You don't have to give them dead mice, but make sure you are extra especially good to them on Bosses’ Day!
Remember to Hug your animals!
Mags & Sammy

Wash Me Please

Maggie and I have heard from our dog and cat friends, many scary stories of being dunked in water and scrubbed down. We also know from experience on how you humans like to wash us. So Maggie & I are here to give you tips on this, because we know that you are going to wash us anyway!

Tip ONE: For your safety please trim our nails. Try to be fast about it and don’t cut into our quick (the part containing nerves and blood vessels) this hurts!

Tip TWO: Choose a time when we have less energy, maybe play with us before bathing to tire us out!

Tip THREE: Brush us before hand so less hair ends up in the drain!

Tip FOUR: Make sure that there are rubber mats down for both you and us. We don’t want anyone slipping, you humans are heavy and you can crush us!

Tip FIVE: Above all please make sure the water is lukewarm and comfortable. Please not too hot or cold that is not acceptable.

Tip SIX: Rinse carefully, do not dump the water on our heads, it could get into our eyes and ears. With a cup or hand sprayer make sure all the access suds are off. Take a washcloth gently to our face.

TIP SEVEN: Please wrap us in a big soft towel when done. The blow-dryer terrifies Maggie and I think the gentle rubbing with the towel is a nice touch. Afterwards you can wrap me up like I am in a cocoon that is so cozy.

We agree that the reasons dogs and cats should be bathed once a week or once every 2 weeks are; we can get dirty playing outside, our skin itches and gets irritated, we could have fleas or ticks, this helps keep allergens down for humans and we just feel better when we are clean.

Please Remember to Hug your Animals!
Maggie & Sam

Wednesday September 28th Rosh Hashanah begins at Sundown!

Sammy and I know that Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year, but we didn’t know a lot about it. So when Paul & Jill went to work, we surfed on their computers! According to tradition, God judges all animals between the 10 days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. The 10 days of judgment are called Awe. It is the belief that God writes the names of the good in the “book of life” and sentences the evil to death on Rosh Hashanah. The people that are caught in between good and evil have until Yom Kippur to perform “teshuvah” or repentance. Yom Kippur is also known as the Day of Atonement.

Observant Jews believe that Rosh Hashanah and the days around it are a time for prayer, reflection on mistakes made in the past, doing good, while forgiving others and themselves. During the celebration of Rosh Hashanah work is prohibited. Sammy and I think this is awesome. Everyone should take a day or two off once a year from work to reflect on their life. So we are going to stop working right now and do some reflecting.

Have a Happy Rosh Hashanah everyone, and remember to Hug your Animals.

Maggie & Sam

Tennis Balls as Mice Homes Really?

Maggie and I were watching the U.S. Tennis Open, we love the brightly colored green tennis balls. We didn’t realize they had so many uses! We knew the tennis balls from the U.S. Tournament are donated to community and youth projects.
We didn’t know that the Wimbledon tennis balls are donated to help protect Britain’s smallest mammal the endangered harvest mice. This mouse weighs in at only 6 grams and has a tail that is able to grasp and handle objects with ease. This little guy is endangered because its habitat is being taken away by urban development and farming. Now instead of having homes out of shredded grass halfway up a reed, they have a home in tennis balls on a metal pole! Here they are safe from birds of prey and weasels. Maggie and I feel that the humans are really trying to save this species and we are happy about that.
The other portion of the tennis balls from Wimbledon are donated to schools in Japan, where they are used for sports and art projects. They are also used to quiet tables and chair legs in schools for the deaf!
So Maggie and I have learned that tennis balls are not just pretty on the outside they have a lot to offer everyone.
Don’t forget to Hug your animals!
Maggie & Sammy

Rescue Dog Teams are Remembered on 9/11

Sam and I were watching and learning a lot about September 11th, this week. One of the interesting things we learned is that there will be a ceremony to honor the dogs and their handlers who came to the World Trade Center to lead the search and recovery missions. This link shows pictures of some of those teams. Many of the dogs which worked in the aftermath of the attack are old and retired now. They will be honored today with their humans at Liberty State Park a fitting tribute for their incredible service.

Sam and I were stunned to learn that one trained search and rescue dog is as effective as ten trained humans in locating a missing person! Dogs have a keen sense of smell and can pick up on an individual’s scent from a distance. This work is extremely stressful and some dogs need to have live finds after finding bodies at a recovery site. Many handlers will have people hide in another area in order to renew the search spirit in their canine partner.

Sharon L. Peters from the U.S.A. wrote this very touching story on the “Rescue-dog teams are unsung heroes of 9/11”.
Don’t forget to Hug your Animals
Maggie and Sam

Labor Day History is Important to Remember

Maggie and I found through various reliable resources on the Internet that the first big Labor Day was observed in the United State on September 5, 1882 by the Central Labor Union of New York. President Grover Cleveland declared it a federal holiday in 1894 following the deaths of some workers who were killed by the U.S. military protesting their working conditions. Children, women and men worked long hours and their working conditions were less than satisfactory. In many cases there were tragic deaths and injuries. Labor Unions formed two main types of groups to protect the workers. Craft unions (skilled laborers) and industrial unions (laborers in the same industry regardless of their skill) were the groups. They both fought to shorten the hours, have better working conditions and fairer wages for the workers.

Even with the progress the workers made on changing thier environment, it took the Great Depression to end child labor across the nation. Adults were so desperate for jobs that they would work for the same wages as children. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Fair Labor Standards Act in 1938 which placed limitations on child labor.

This special day is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of the American workers. It is a yearly tribute to the accomplishments workers have made to the strength, prosperity and well-being of this country.

So Maggie and I say, you go take that Cat-Nap you have earned it humans!

We discovered "The blood and sweat behind Labor Day" by Kenneth Davis, we thought you might find it interesting.

Don't forget to Hug your Animals
Maggie & Sam