From Val, Noel & The Pack…

We just received some alarming news about a change in the works to the California Fish & Game Code of Regulations that has me pretty upset & wanted to see if I could get some people to sign a petition or even come to Woodland, CA this Thursday morning October 1, 2009…. Not in CA? Remember, where California goes many other states follow. Signing the petition can help!

Specifically, the proposed regulation is for Section 681, Title 14, concerning hybrid animals and plants.
Hybrid animals & plants are in many aspects of our lives. Horses, sheep, goats, chickens, cats, dogs, fish, even the fruit & grains we eat…

My main concern right now are the animals in my backyard! This hearing could eliminate due process and allow officers to seize pets if they “look” related to a wild animal. This affects any “wolfy” looking canine, i.e. German Shepherds, Siberian Huskies, Malamutes, Belgian Shepherds, Akitas, Wolf Dogs, Northern Inuit Dogs, Tamaskans, Utonagans… The list – just in the dog category – goes on…

This hearing happening on October 1st, 2009, is where Fish and Game will be trying to pass through a new legislation that will specifically authorize the officers and wardens to determine whether your pet is a regulated species WITHOUT THE BURDEN OF PROOF, and require the application of the “most protective” standard. For our loved ones, this means that your pet can be determined to be a wild animal —  simply by visual inspection.  No scientific standards or tests are required — in fact, the regulations are written in order to “relieve the burden” of proof.   Your 99% Malamute or Husky may be subjectively determined to be 1% wolf, so full wolf rules would apply. MANY police dogs are Checoslovakian Wolf / Shephard mixes! Apparently, the police love them because they are so intelligent. This hearing was not very well thought out & has so many problems it should never have been brought to the table.

If you want to save the wheat in your buns, the seedless juice in your glass, sign the petition & at least save a Mule’s ass!
Hahahahaha! Thanks for taking the time to read & participate!!!

For more info & the petition go to:
http://www.capetban.com/
* It is safe to sign the petition. They will respect your rights and keep your e-mail address private.  Your name, city and zip code will be submitted with the petition.

Post this link on facebook, twitter and everywhere you can.. the more people we have signing it, the more likely we will be able to stop this legislation from going through!!

Thanks,
Val, Noel & the Pack.

If you are going to Woodland, CA please don’t bring your pets. Yolo C. is a “Hybrid Pet” illegal county…

Double your KARMA!
Here is another site with a petition -

PLEASE TAKE TWO MINUTES FOR THIS … California fish and game are doing this in a sneaky way within unrelated bills and remote-location hearings that nobody knows about, but thankfully we found out in time. I just signed this petition “CA-LAW TO BAN WOLFDOGS AS OF 11/1/09′”. I’m asking you to sign this petition as well to help us reach our goal of 1,000 signatures. I care deeply about this cause since I work and live with these animals. Legislators are not taking the time to educate themselves on the animals they are trying to ban or they would realize that they are loving, loyal, and non-aggressive breeds. to the contrary they are rather shy and make lousy guard dogs … please support our efforts in preventing thousands of families getting hurt by this legislation. Thank you so much.
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Dawg Daze of Summer…

Pretty good summer so far. Not quite as hot as it could be, so there is still a lot of outdoor activity going on. Usually by now all the creatures are hibernating from the heat in some cool dark location. Arbus is getting so big now he can spend more time going to wolf dog school & give us a break. Hahaha!

Going absolutely crazy, wanting to go out & howl with the Big Dogs…

Even if it means getting “roughed up” a bit.

Actually little Arbus can hold his own quite well, even with Dharma, who is the only one that wont put up with his Pole-cat antics.

You are getting veeerrry sleeepy… Mr. Kodiak…

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P is for Polecat… (Arbus P. Trout)

A – is for Arbus…
Arbus – is a for Dianne Arbus. A photographer of unusual people & things. Dianne was a B&W photographer. Arbus, being a black (for now) subject, is a difficult challenge & the missing color of the pack. Arbus will keep me on my toes in photography & here at the wolf dog ranch.

P – is for Polecat which we sometimes think he’s mixed with. Obviously!

Trout – is because he is always up to something fishey and… for Noel. He says all the best names sound good with a fish of some kind (like Kodiak-Bear-Fish-Wolf).

“When do WE get to play with him???”

Socialization, socialization, socialization!

Hello…? Is there a Hairdresser in this shop?!? Katy’s place “Heads Up” is a place the local men & women know they can get a professional hair cut, color, style, whatever they need, & bring the canine family along. Arbus got special treatment & his own corner of the shop for the day. Journey (Cuts By Journey) has a framed picture of her & Arbus at her workstation. Woof babysitter Katy is the only one I know that will take on our pack here when we go on vacation. Oh, she is also the ONLY one I let cut my hair. Double bonus! Thank you Katy!

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Yes… For Realz!

The newest addition… Yes… For Realz!

Say hello to the newest edition of the pack! Ha HA HA! This little rescue baby came all the way from the east coast & has two siblings on the way to a town close by. He was so good on the flight. Never made a sound. I don’t think anyone even knew he was on the plane. Nothing like the plane ride with Tank & his little brother making each other howl. This guy is getting a lot of socialization right now & has already met the Mayor of Yucca at the local beauty shop, Heads Up. For now he is going everywhere with us. Cute little globe trotter! We are still working on a name though so any suggestions…?

RRRaaarrrrrr! Come & get me Tank!

WAIT! Where ya going…?

Thanks to Nancy at Full Moon Farm for all her help & putting us up for the night in North Carolina. She has an AWESOME wolf dog rescue & sanctuary. If anyone is itching to donate some money to the cause, hers is a good investment!

http://www.fullmoonfarm.org

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April Showers bring…

The rare “Mud Woof”

Weather is a good time as always. And a cheap bath!

“River Dawg” Bunker.

Oh oh! Shedding season has begun!

Another real Jewel of the desert nearby. A secret oasis at an undisclosed location, supports all kinds of creatures & creativity… G. a permaculture wizard has brought water to his spot in the dry desert. It has taken years & lots of love & labor to get water from rocks but he has followed an amazing vision that supports fish, cats, dogs, chickens, peacocks, even horses. Plenty of wildlife found his place during a huge fire that surrounded them. Absolutely beautiful!

There’s a Bhikkhuni in my Back Yard!

I have crossed desert paths with something extrordinary…   A living treasure!

The Mahapajapati Monastery & Buddhist study center in Pipes Canyon, California is home to an extremely rare (more like extinct) desert rose; the Venerable Ayya Gunasari Bhikkhuni. I met Venerable Gunasari & Therese (another nun at the monastery) at a twice weekly morning meditation at the Joshua Tree Retreat Center (Mentalphysics Institute). Now the monastery is my favorite place for morning tea. Five minutes with those two infectious smiles & my batteries are charged for the day. Oh, meditation sometimes helps too.

The new monastery is to be a permanent residence for Bhikkhunis (fully ordained female monastics) & to reestablish the Bhikkhuni lineage (that was lost in Sri Lanka in the 10th Century, and in Burma/Myanmar in the 13th century. Gunasari is one of less than 500 Bhikkhuni in the world, one of only 20 the United States & Canada, & the one & only living Bhikkhuni to have been born in Burma/Myanmar.

In 2003 in Sri Lanka, Samaneri Gunasari received higher ordination to the Bhikkhuni Sangha order, along with another Burma/Myanmar Samaneri Daw Saccavadi.  Among the Burma/Myanmar women, this was an unprecedented event. The Bhikkhuni Sangha had been defunct for the past 1,000 years in Burma, and the opportunity for women to receive Bhikkhuni ordination has been forbidden in Burma/Myanmar for that same period.

Bhikkhunis are expected to observe the monastic code of conduct of 311 precepts and monks observe 227 precepts. In order to make this lifestyle possible, the Bhikkhunis must have the full support of the lay community. Bhikkhunis study the monastic code thoroughly so that they not only know the words but more importantly the spirit and intention behind the development of the precepts. If one did not understand the deeper purpose of these rules, the monastic code could become an obstacle to one’s practice. The context of the world we live in now, however, is very different from the India of 2500 years ago. Both the Bhikkhus and Bhikkhunis have had to adapt. Without proper understanding of the monastic code, one could swing from one extreme of forever adapting, to the other extreme of being rigid and hence lose the beauty of the Buddhist lifestyle.

Venerable Gunasari received the Outstanding Women in Buddhism Award for 2006.

If you would like to call them, visit them, donate money or your expertise to the monastery, or even better, become part of their community, the phone number is: (760) 369-0460 (More contact information is listed on the monastery website along with maps & directions.)

Nothing quite like a Doggie Dog!!

We had the fortune of a lost Puppy finding our house this month. If you live anywhere in So. Calif. you probably got the email from us.
She was a mixed  breed of Cute & Adorable!! For realz! Only about 8-12 weeks old, she was too little to wander very far in the desert without getting eaten by something (snakes, birds, coyotes…) so we think she was left intentionally. Poor little  thing, almost desert snacks…

We forgot how easy it was to have a nice doggie dog that WANTS to learn tricks, follows you anywhere, rides in the car without ____  (you can fill in a few blanks) & is potty trained in two days. She was so sweet & well behaved it was no wonder we got attached so quick. The “wolf-gang” was pretty good with her too. She won over Dharma, Kodiak & Bug pretty easily, but Tank was not ready to give up being the baby of the pack. She slept in his kennel, chewed up his toys & was generally taking over all his baby stuff. Tank was NOT happy!

We sent the message out to everyone we knew that lived within a days drive or had a house full of puppy loving girls (Hahahaha), & found her a home within two days. Could you turn down that face????

Here she is with her new human, headed to the lower desert to her new home, complete with a yard with real GRASS (not easy to come by here) & real kids. Ha. And Tank was very happy to go back to his routine & stop pouting & being so grumpy! We still miss her cute puppy face though (& they way she smelled like corn chips).
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Happy 2009 Everyone!! – Ready??

It should be an interesting year to say the least.

Beautiful after storm images are still everywhere… And, if you squint, blur your eyes, do some photoshop-ing & catch it on just the right day, it looks just like the Himalayas around here.

Dharma’s ready…

Happy Winter, Happy Holidays!

We had a beautiful white winter this year. Power out, roads closed the whole package. The creatures & I had a blast & spent the first two days out freezing having fun. The next two days, recuperating & enjoying the scenery. There was an equal amount of not-so-fun damage we are still working on, but those stories are for another day on another blog…

Kodiak-Bear-Fish-Wolf

Dharma loves to hunt!

Yay! SNOW!!!

Weather is our best entertainer…

Tank loves his first desert snow.