Rest in Peace, Sweet Schoep.

I've followed Schoep and John since the day I saw the photo. Fly free, Schoep.

Schoep, The Sick Dog Whose Viral Photo Touched Millions, Dies At 20, Says Owner John Unger

The Huffington Post  |  By Cavan Sieczkowski

Posted: 07/19/2013 12:23 pm EDT  |  Updated: 07/19/2013 12:50 pm EDT   

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Cute Animals, John Unger, John Unger Dog Dies, John Unger Schoep, Schoep, Schoep Death,Schoep Died, Schoep Dies, Schoep Dog, Schoep John Unger, Schoep Sick Dog, Green News

Schoep, the dog made famous on the Internet for this touching photo, has died at 20 years old.

Schoep and his owner John Unger made headlines last summer when local photographer Hannah Stonehouse Hudson snapped a photo of Unger and his pup wading together in Lake Superior. Unger would regularly take Schoep into the water because it was therapeutic for his arthritic body.

The photo went viral online, and millions of people were touched by the relationship between man and dog. Readers sent in thousands of dollars in donations to help pay for Schoep's treatment.

On Thursday, the news that Schoep had died was posted on Facebook. "I Breathe But I Can't Catch My Breath... Schoep passed yesterday[,] more information in the days ahead."

The post, which included a photo of a paw print in the sand, has already received more than 33,000 "likes."

For the full story, please go to http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/19/schoep-dies-dead-john-unger_n_3623615.html

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Rand Paul: Filibuster prevents ‘extremist’ Maddow from being Supreme Court justice (via Raw Story )

Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) on Tuesday defended Republicans use of the filibuster, saying the tactic was necessary to prevent the nomination of extremists like MSNBC host Rachel Maddow. Republicans have filibustered dozens of President Barack Obama’s…

Rand Paul: Filibuster prevents ‘extremist’ Maddow from being Supreme Court justice

By Eric W. Dolan

Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) on Tuesday defended Republicans use of the filibuster, saying the tactic was necessary to prevent the nomination of extremists like MSNBC host Rachel Maddow.

Republicans have filibustered dozens of President Barack Obama’s executive nominations, delaying the confirmation of heads of multiple government agencies. Paul said he also plans to hold up the confirmation of James Comey for FBI director over the use of drones.

“I think the leverage of using the filibuster to get information and to make the President obey the law, I think it is a very important tool and our Founding Fathers put it in there for precisely this reason,” Paul said on Fox News.

“For that reason, to call attention to what they’re trying to do, especially if you’re in the minority you an do that and, frankly, if you didn’t have a filibuster, what would stop President Obama from appointing say Al Sharpton as attorney general or Rachel Maddow on the Supreme Court,” host Eric Bolling added.

“Right,” Paul responded. “If you were to get an extremist like that, someone with an extreme point of view, the majority here could pass it with 51 votes, but with the filibuster then it would take 60 votes, so you’re less likely to get someone with those kinds of extreme views to be nominated and approved by the Senate.”

Watch video, uploaded to YouTube, below:

This article, Rand Paul: Filibuster prevents ‘extremist’ Maddow from being Supreme Court justice, is syndicated from Raw Story and is posted here with permission.

GMOs Make Cows & Pigs Sick. What About Humans?

GMOs Make Cows & Pigs Sick. What About Humans? | Care2 Healthy Living

GMOs Make Cows & Pigs Sick. What About Humans?

• Brandi, selected from Diets in Review
• July 13, 2013
• 3:30 pm

By now you’ve probably heard the words Genetically Modified Organism or GMO. You’ve probably gotten a good sense of what that means by now, too. You’ve also probably been told that only extremists are getting all worked up over the health risks of plants and foods that contain GMOs. After all, the government says these foods are safe. What if you heard some stories from a new source? Not a concerned mother of young kids, but from a farmer who is witnessing the health of his animals change in regards to their exposure to GMOs? That might cause more ears to open and more to really start to understand just how dangerous this science truly is.

A new documentary is hitting the scene titled, “Genetic Roulette, The Gamble of Our Lives.” One of the starkest issues the film covers is first-hand accounts of animal farmers. They have nothing to gain by telling their stories, in fact in some cases, sharing their stories may cost them, as one farmer asked his face not be shown.

During the film, the crew interviews several farmers, including many cattle farmers and even pig farmers. This group described how their animals were getting sick. Many mother cows were having miscarriages, calves were not growing properly and one farmer simply stated that his cows were agitated. All of this behavior became a pattern after the farmers switched to GMO feed.

Many things were tried, but the one common thread among the farmers on the film was that they all ditched GMO feed for a non-GMO blend. The improvements were significant and they were noticed in a short period of time. The cows and pigs continued to improve more and more as time went on.

According to the farmers in the film, they blame Round-Up, the pesticide that is in GMO corn and other crops. They say it’s responsible for birth defects and that the chemical steals nutrients.

If farmers are saying GMOs are too dangerous for their animals, why are we still feeding them to our kids? This film hits many angles, but this one struck a chord. Farmers presumably have to pay more for non-GMO feed, they lose out on all the incentives big bio-tech companies try to offer farmers if they use their products. So why speak up for non-GMO food? Because they’re seeing how it’s killing their animals. If it’s going to kill an animal, it’s not really reassuring that it’s going to be “completely safe” for humans.

RELATED ARTICLES

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Read more: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/gmos-make-cows-pigs-sick-what-about-humans.html#ixzz2ZzShZ0Cz

Action for Animals at VANS WARPED TOUR 2013 Uniondale, NY

I was once again honored to volunteer with Action for Animals this year at Nassau Coliseum for the VANS WARPED TOUR 2013. I do this for the animals, not for the music. What I really enjoy about Vans Warped Tour is that it's a full day and night of music with sponsors from various non-profits and charities, not just sponsors in it to make money. There are always more than two booths for the animals. This year, aside from AFA there was peta2 and FARM.

Volunteers still needed for our booth at some Warped Tour shows! If you're interested in volunteering for the day at the show in Tampa, Orlando, Charlotte, or any of the Texas shows, please see all the information at http://www.afa-online.org/warpedtour2013.pdf

Warped Tour 2013 – Volunteers Needed!!

>>> Please reply to: AFAWarpedTour@gmail.com >>> Put the show you want to volunteer at and your full name in the

subject line, like this: Dallas, TX – John Smith 

We need dedicated and reliable vegans and vegetarians to volunteer with Action for

Animals at Vans Warped Tour shows!

See our volunteer requirements and questionnaire below!

Please read EVERYTHING before responding.

AFA will have a 10 x 20 foot booth again this year on the entire U.S. leg of the Vans Warped Tour. We will be giving out vegan and animal rights information, vegan recipes, and stickers. We will also have animal rights and environmentally themed shirts, stickers, and buttons for sale. [All merchandise sales help fund the tour.]

We need volunteers to staff our booth – to give out information and sell merchandise – as well as to pass out information to lines and crowds.

Volunteers will get into the event for free; however, if you wish to see bands, you should buy a ticket. We are usually within earshot of one or several stages though.

(Already going to a show? You can still volunteer! Just come by our booth at any show and say you want to help out, such as when there are not bands you like playing.)

Volunteer Requirements:

- Be vegan or vegetarian. - Have a reliable way to get to the event. - Have or be able to borrow a cell phone to call us when you arrive. - Be able to arrive at the venue by 10am. - Be able to stay until we close at the end of the show, usually sometime between 7pm and 9pm. - Be able to stand outside in the summer weather all day. Our booths provide some shade. - Be comfortable interacting with people to do outreach and/or sell merchandise. - Absolutely no smoking, alcohol, or drug use is allowed while you are volunteering.

Please answer the following questions for us. If you do not answer these questions, we will not get back to you. - Show(s) you can help at (see tour schedule at www.vanswarpedtour.com/events): - Your name:

- Your age: - 

Your cell phone number (remember to include area code): - 

Are you vegan or vegetarian (which one)?- 

How long have you been vegan/vegetarian? - 

What made you decide to become vegan/vegetarian? Please elaborate. - 

Have you done animal rights outreach before (not required to volunteer)? If so, please explain briefly. - Have you volunteered with Action for Animals before? If so, please explain briefly. If it was at Warped Tour, please tell us the year(s) and the show/city. - 

Can you help all day (this is essential as we cannot transfer wristbands mid-day)? - 

How did you hear about this volunteer opportunity (Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, AFA email, forward from a friend, etc.)? - 

What are your Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr URLs? (please list all that apply): - Can we ship you boxes to bring us at the show [restock of literature, etc.]? (If you aren’t sure, please say no.) - If “yes” to the above then please provide your address. If we ship you boxes you MUST show up or we won’t have materials for that show.

**We will get in touch with you via email. Please email AFAWarpedTour@gmail.com with your responses from an email account that you check regularly.**

Please be patient while waiting for a response. We receive a LOT of applications and it takes some time to go through them all.

THANK YOU!

PS: Follow us!

www.facebook.com/actionforanimals http://twitter.com/action4animals http://action4animals.tumblr.com

Action for Animals has a 10 x 20 foot booth again this year on the entire U.S. leg of the Vans Warped Tour. We will be giving out vegan and animal rights information, vegan recipes, and stickers. We will also have animal rights and environmentally themed shirts, stickers, and buttons for sale. [All merchandise sales help fund the tour.] We need volunteers to staff our booth – to give out information and sell merchandise – and to pass out information to lines and crowds. Volunteers will get into the event for free; however, if you wish to see bands, you should buy a ticket. We are always within earshot of one or several stages though. (Already going to a show? You can still volunteer! Just come by our booth at any show and say you want to help out, such as when there are not bands you like playing.)

PS: Follow us!facebook.com/actionforanimals twitter.com/action4animals action4animals.tumblr.com   

==================

ACTION FOR ANIMALS

PO Box 45843

Seattle, WA 98145

http://www.afa-online.org 

Free Vegan Starter Pack: http://www.afa-online.org/starterpack.html 

Online Store: http://www.AFAstore.com 

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/actionforanimals 

Tumblr: http://action4animals.tumblr.com 

Twitter: http://twitter.com/action4animals 

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/actionforanimals "

Take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented."

Milk Comes From Grieving Mothers

Click HERE for the PDF of the full handout

Mother cows produce milk for their babies, not for humans.

The only animal milk humans should be drinking is from other humans, and only until we are weaned.

Click Here to send the PDF to a Friend

http://www.globalanimal.org/

Cow Proves Animals Love, Think, And Act

April 13, 2012 Megan Cross

(TOUCHING TALE) A dairy cow made the tough choice to hide one of her calves after giving birth to twins. As her fifth birth, the cow remembered her previous agony and knew that both of her babies would be taken away, unless she tried to save one. The intelligence and care displayed by this mothering cow is both heartbreaking and breathtaking. Read this touching tale, told by a veterinarian, about an amazing display of motherly love that proves animals love and feel. — Global Animal

Photo Credit: APEX

By Holly Cheever, DVM, reprinted from Action for Animals

I would like to tell you a story that is as true as it is heartbreaking. When I first graduated from Cornell’s School of Veterinary Medicine, I went into a busy dairy practice in Cortland County. I became a very popular practitioner due to my gentle handling of the dairy cows. One of my clients called me one day with a puzzling mystery: his Brown Swiss cow, having delivered her fifth calf naturally on pasture the night before, brought the new baby to the barn and was put into the milking line, while her calf was once again removed from her. Her udder, though, was completely empty, and remained so for several days.

As a new mother, she would normally be producing close to one hundred pounds (12.5 gallons) of milk daily; yet, despite the fact that she was glowing with health, her udder remained empty. She went out to pasture every morning after the first milking, returned for milking in the evening, and again was let out to pasture for the night — this was back in the days when cattle were permitted a modicum of pleasure and natural behaviors in their lives — but never was her udder swollen with the large quantities of milk that are the hallmark of a recently-calved cow.

I was called to check this mystery cow two times during the first week after her delivery and could find no solution to this puzzle. Finally, on the eleventh day post calving, the farmer called me with the solution: he had followed the cow out to her pasture after her morning milking, and discovered the cause: she had delivered twins, and in a bovine’s “Sophie’s Choice,” she had brought one to the farmer and kept one hidden in the woods at the edge of her pasture, so that every day and every night, she stayed with her baby — the first she had been able to nurture FINALLY—and her calf nursed her dry with gusto. Though I pleaded for the farmer to keep her and her bull calf together, she lost this baby, too—off to the hell of the veal crate.

Think for a moment of the complex reasoning this mama exhibited: first, she had memory — memory of her four previous losses, in which bringing her new calf to the barn resulted in her never seeing him/her again (heartbreaking for any mammalian mother). Second, she could formulate and then execute a plan: if bringing a calf to the farmer meant that she would inevitably lose him/her, then she would keep her calf hidden, as deer do, by keeping her baby in the woods lying still till she returned. Third — and I do not know what to make of this myself — instead of hiding both, which would have aroused the farmer’s suspicion (pregnant cow leaves the barn in the evening, unpregnant cow comes back the next morning without offspring), she gave him one and kept one herself. I cannot tell you how she knew to do this—it would seem more likely that a desperate mother would hide both.

All I know is this: there is a lot more going on behind those beautiful eyes than we humans have ever given them credit for, and as a mother who was able to nurse all four of my babies and did not have to suffer the agonies of losing my beloved offspring, I feel her pain.

Holly Cheever, DVM

Vice President, New York State Humane Association Member

Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association’s Leadership Council

Read More Animals Rights Articles: http://www.all-creatures.org/articles/ar-bovine.html

Check out this story about more ways animals are like humans: Neurologist: Animals Have Spiritual Experiences

Reprinted from Action for Animals

http://afa-online.org