I LOVE animals, Do you?

I am a huge advocate of spay and neuter. It is very important, as a pet owner, to get your animals, i.e., cats, dogs, rabbits, etc. spayed and neutered. Here are just a few of the many reasons for doing so:

Spaying or Neutering Is Good for Your Pet

• Spaying and neutering helps dogs and cats live longer, healthier lives.
• Spaying and neutering can eliminate or reduce the incidence of a number of health problems that can be very difficult or expensive to treat.
• Spaying eliminates the possibility of uterine or ovarian cancer and greatly reduces the incidence of breast cancer, particularly when your pet is spayed before her first estrous cycle.
• Neutering eliminates testicular cancer and decreases the incidence of prostate disease.

Spaying or Neutering Is Good for You

• Spaying and neutering makes pets better, more affectionate companions.
• Neutering cats makes them less likely to spray and mark territory.
• Spaying a dog or cat eliminates her heat cycle. Estrus lasts an average of six to 12 days, often twice a year, in dogs and an average of six to seven days, three or more times a year, in cats. Females in heat can cry incessantly, show nervous behavior, and attract unwanted male animals.
• Unsterilized animals often exhibit more behavior and temperament problems than do those who have been spayed or neutered.
• Spaying and neutering can make pets less likely to bite.
• Neutering makes pets less likely to roam the neighborhood, run away, or get into fights.

Spaying and Neutering Are Good for the Community

• Communities spend millions of dollars to control unwanted animals.
• Irresponsible breeding contributes to the problem of dog bites and attacks.
• Animal shelters are overburdened with surplus animals.
• Stray pets and homeless animals get into trash containers, defecate in public areas or on private lawns, and frighten or anger people who have no understanding of their misery or needs.
• Some stray animals also scare away or kill birds and wildlife.

If you would like more information you can call the Memphis Humane Society at 901-272-1753, or log onto their website: www.hsus.org/. Or call PetVax at 901-362-2393 or 901-362-9580 for seriously affordable rates.

A Scene form "The Rake"

The image that stood out in ”The Rake” was the mention of the Family joke. Mamet writes that he and his family would go out to dinner occasionally and when it was time to leave his stepfather and mother would retrieve the car and come pick up he and his sister at the front door. But when they would attempt to climb in his stepfather would drive off a little ways and this would continue for some time, all the while his mother would be laughing at the hilarity of this “family joke.” But Mamet details the cruel, abusive behavior of his stepfather and mother before this scene, so this “joke” isn’t very funny at all. Their family itself is a kind of sick joke. They live in a “model home” with a well-kempt yard, but behind that perfect façade lurks the dark and sinister reality that their family is plagued by abuse and pain. There is no love or joy or any of the things we think of as being part of a “normal” family, only deep dysfunction.

Mad Memphis

I have been exposed to death and murder countless times so I am a bit desensitized to it. I definitely did not know the boy who was shot, but it is terribly tragic. He was so young. Shooting deaths are common here in Memphis, but this wasn’t the usual gang related crime that took place in the ghetto; this boy was a student and football player at the University of Memphis and he was murdered on campus. It was mentioned on the news that earlier on the evening that he was killed, the young man had been at Tunica and had won a large sum of money. It scares me that perhaps he was being watched at Tunica and was then followed and gunned down for his money. That is all speculation at this point but that will always be at the back of my mind anytime I go there. This young kid was just out having a good time, living life, certainly not expecting to be shot and killed as he was walking back to his dorm. Why did this happen? Why does this kind of violent crime happen on a daily basis here in Memphis? As students we should feel safe on campus, but Memphis was recently named the most violent city in America, so we cannot really feel secure anywhere in this city. I am not an expert on the psychoanalysis of violent criminals and why these people commit the atrocities they do, but I think we need better public education. It seems to me that knowledge and understanding are the only tools that can effectively deter someone from committing such a violent act against another human being. Most of these criminals have had little to no quality education and have usually had a poor upbringing because their parents were mere children when they started having babies. It is a vicious cycle of ignorance and neglect and hate. Something has to be done about this. It is probably the single most important thing that needs to be addressed in this city which is rife with so many problems.