People are the PROBLEM

We got up Monday morning and as always David makes a pot of coffee then goes out to fetch the paper.  No, we have not taught Ralle to do that yet, in case you wonder.

Front page news = a BIG prominent article reads: "Study show large dogs are as bad for the environment as an SUV ". Are they kidding ??  One of the first things that comes to MY mind then is what is a big dog? Since that is relative. So dependent on your point of view and experience if you get what I mean.  We have what I would say is a big dog as Ralle weighs in at about 110 / 115 pounds.

The news hit "like a blue whale in the bathtub" to quote a writer with a view similar to mine who writes for the regional paper.  Where do they come up with these statistics?  According to the article two scientists in New Zealand did the research.  Robert and Brenda Vale at Victoria University.

 They figured out how many resources and how much energy is used by various domestic pets and compared these to how much energy an SUV or a City Jeep they call it uses.  The usage is then measured in how much land is required to produce this amount of energy and the results needles to say came as a shock.  So, from an environmental perspective according to this study it is worse to get a dog than an SUV!  So, what do you think, should we exchange our dog and all get, what the heck, how about a Hummer instead?

The following day a reporter in the Helsingborg paper who writes the "Animal Section" reports, that no more did the newspaper hit the mailboxes in this region and ideas were pouring in to the editors desk suggesting various ways to solve the problem.  Start taxing dog owners according to the size of their dog, the same way car owners here are taxed for the cars they own.  If you use a lot of gas and produce a lot of pollutants the more expensive your license tag.

Needless to say no one touched on the subject of what kind of dog food is being fed etc.  But, I suppose that is coming next.  Along with, as some also suggested, catalytic converters for dogs.
The first thing David said when I mentioned this article to him was: "perhaps we should get rid of people, or at least SOME people"?!

I for one vote to keep the dogs and can honestly say that Ralle our BIG Polar Bear of a dog is worth his weight in gold, just as all our other dogs before him!  They have never deceived me, they have never lied to me and have been steadfast and devoted friends no matter how my hair looked and regardless of what brand of denim pants I wore.

So, I suggest and I say, that it is we the people who are the threat to the environment, we need to change the way we live, rather than changing the size of our dogs or turning them in for  a Zebra Finch as a replacement pet.  That is what I think, not that I suppose anyone really cares.