Men Free Blog

Most pet crates don’t look so nice in the home, with their plastic casing, metal gates and colors that don’t always match the decor. Unless you want to keep your pet and his or her crate in the basement, there’s an alternative, if you have a woody decor. The Pet Crate End Table from Improvements Catalog is solid pine with a chestnut color, and doubles as an end table. It comes in two sizes and is priced a bit more than many of the basic plastic and metal models found at a conventional pet goods site, such as Doctors Foster and Smith, but certainly is nicer looking as well as multi-functional.

Because the crate looks more like furniture than, well, a crate, you can easily set it up in the living room, den or bedroom. The pivoting block “lock” keeps the door closed. The description states that the crate also is a good place for a kitty litter box. And I bet my 3-year-old nephew would enjoy hiding in there too.

Large Pet Crate End Table, 25″ x 36″ x 30″ tall, $259.99; Medium Pet Crate End Table, 21″ x 30″ x 24″ tall, $199.99. See the gallery below for some of the other attractive pet products available from Improvements Catalog.

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Conservation International has been protecting our earth creatures for the last two decades. They operate on the simple principal that when human beings live harmoniously with nature instead of exploiting it, both will thrive. Their website lists a shocking statistic that I wasn’t aware of, every twenty seconds one species becomes extinct!! That’s a pace a thousand times faster than has ever been seen during Earth’s history! How can this be happening? Climate change and habitat destruction are to blame. Conservation International is on the front line of the battle to save creatures that are in peril. They conducted the first ever Global Amphibian Assessment, a study which provided vital information on the state of every amphibian species on earth! They are currently doing similar groundbreaking research on sharks. This is one of the hardest working and most exceptional charities I’ve read about, visit their fabulous website (tons of amazing video and pictures) to sign petitions and see the many ways you can donate.

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Dolphin assisted therapy (DAT) involves being in a tank with dolphins to aid conditions. The therapy typically occurs in parks and marinas where one is able to swim with dolphins.
Children are also subject to DAT where therapists can diagnose problems and help with certain conditions and illnesses.

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Though there are many DAT programs available, skeptics argue that DAT has no benefits on a medical scale and should not be undertaken by children. Although results have been positive, some people have shown concern as to whether animal therapies actually help and if so, is DAT is the best of them.

There have been tests that compare children’s emotions and what the outcome was that children are emotionally happier with their favorite toys rather than swimming with the dolphins. These tests have been criticized for not being fair as both tests took place in different locations i.e. one in a motel and one in a tank.

Successful cases have been documented though, like the case of dolphins helping an autistic child communicate. Improvements in cognitive responses were documented when mentally disabled children interacted with dolphins. Analysis has shown that dolphins have a relaxing effect on children and humans in general. Severe mental disabilities though, have not been addressed with DAT in any positive manner. The only effects may be due to the trust and responsibility built up between the mammals.

There seems to be a lack of evidence to suggest that DAT actually works, but there are also theories as to how DAT may work. One theory is that dolphins emit a healing energy that can be transferred to humans. Although this energy cannot be physically felt or medically proved, in some cases, patients say that they feel the energy of the dolphins and help them to heal. One positive advantage of DAT is that with this therapy at least the dolphins are not captured and made to do cruel and inhumane acts of pleasure for people.

Dolphins can emit therapeutic sounds that can help with humans in different ways. There seems to be a generally agreement that dolphins are mysterious yet intelligent mammals of the sea and we are fascinated with their fascination with humans. If this fascination can help humans in any way, then it seems we are trying it without any cruelty done to dolphins. It is important to remember that DAT is an alternative therapy and does not replace known medical solutions or treatments.

Dolphin Assisted Therapy (D.A.T.) is a new and exciting field of modern medicine that some people categorize as part of the Animal therapy. This field of medicine has shown extraordinary results of the therapy and breakthroughs in outcomes in relation to the conventional methods of treatments such as prescribed medication, human therapy and others. It is relatively new, but already has documented results in patients that chose to try it.

http://www.dolphinassistedtherapy.com/
http://www.aquathought.com/
http://www.livingfromtheheart.org/therapy.htm

Dolphins appear to facilitate healing through mechanisms not readily reconciled with modern medical precepts. People frequently report that they become euphoric after swimming with these loving, graceful, and joyous creatures. In turn, an uplifted spirit seems to infuse beneficial healing effects into the mind and body. Numerous people who have serious illnesses and depression have reported dramatic, long-term, favorable changes in their emotional state.

Scientists now know that these emotional changes (which last much longer than the “high” experienced from the release of endorphins, the body’s natural opiates) can initiate a cascade of health-enhancing hormonal and physiological changes. Children with a variety of developmental disabilities have shown remarkable improvements after dolphin-assisted therapy. Learning, cognitive abilities, concentration, communication, and ability to relate to others all improve.

http://www.healingtherapies.info/Dolphin.htm

Informed choices are important in this growing field, andnothing currently exists for comparative evaluation of the effectiveapplications of DAT.

DAT has yet to be adequately defined, with a wide variety of protocolsin current use. CSI can contribute significantly to this emerging field of Health care by studying the field, interviewing the key participants,and creating a database, while publishing it’s recommendations for definitionsand standards in public forums.

http://www.dolphintale.com/DAT2.html

Does dolphin-assisted therapy really work? 
 
www.chinaview.cn  2008-03-12     
 
BEIJING, March 12 (Xinhuanet) — For some physically or mentally handicapped children taking a swim with Flipper is a dream come true that is shared by a multi-million dollar industry that provides dolphin-assisted therapy for several thousand dollars a session.

Dolphin-assisted therapy emerged in the 1970s as a possible treatment for depression and later as a means to help children with autism and other mental and physicals disorders. It is a therapy founded on good intentions.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-03/12/content_7774268.htm
 
Dolphins in the wild are naturally aggressive. Dolphins have been recorded commiting homicide, infanticide and gangs of male dolphins have been recorded attacking and “raping” females. The bottlenosed dolphin pod off Scotland known as the Moray Firth frequently murder smaller harbor porpoises and even infant dolphins. Evey year, approximatly 15 harbor porpoises and 5 infant bottlenosed dolphins wash up dead. This behaviour is not limited to this area alone. Dolphins kill dolphins all the time and scientists now accept this as normal behaviour. What happens when humans interact with dolphins, especially forced interactions such as the ones that take place in captivity? People get hurt.

http://members.tripod.com/tiggerdolphin/DAT.html

The Florida panther used to range throughout the southeastern United States but following years of persecution and habitat loss, there are about 80 Florida panthers occupying only 5 percent of their historic range.

Polar bears are the world’s largest land predators and the largest of the eight bear species. Polar bears are under pressure due to the impact of global warming on their Arctic habitat.

SOURCE

Once, the wolf was plentiful in most of North America, but it was hunted ruthlessly. Today, the wolf is making a successful comeback in some of its former habitat. The gray wolf plays a vital role in the health and proper functioning of ecosystems.

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The grizzly is a symbol of American wilderness. In the 19th century, as the nation expanded westward, grizzly numbers plummeted due to unchecked hunting and trapping. The grizzly is now threatened in the lower 48 states.

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What does it say about a nation when its national bird is threatened? Luckily, the bald eagle’s story is one of recovery. With the banning of chemicals such as DDT, this majestic bird has made a comeback. While there are still many threats, its future looks good.

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Canada’s contentious seal hunt starts on Friday with new rules requiring hunters to make extra sure the animals are dead before they are skinned.

The move, however, has done little to curb protests by animal-rights activists.

Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans spokesman Phil Jenkins on Tuesday outlined the new directives for the largest marine mammal hunt in the world.

The new rules demand that hunters, after clubbing the animals on the head or shooting them, sever the arteries under the seals’ flippers as a condition for getting a sealing licence.

“We’re just trying to make sure there is no possible way that a seal could be skinned while it was irreversibly unconscious but not dead,” Jenkins said.

“It’s really going an extra distance to make sure that it’s humane as it can be.”

Animal rights groups were not mollified.

“They’ve added bleeding to the killing process,” said Rebecca Aldworth, the director of Canadian wildlife issues for the Humane Society of the United States.

“This won’t change anything.”

This year’s total allowable catch has been set at 275,000 seals, up from 270,000 last year. The total allowable catch was 335,000 two years ago, but poor ice conditions led to the change last year.

Seventy per cent of the seals will be taken in an area off Newfoundland’s north coast known as the Front, while 30 per cent will be taken in the Gulf of St Lawrence - the first stage of the hunt.

“People around the world are shocked to know that Canada, which is perceived as one of the most progressive nations in the world, allows this outdated, archaic slaughter to continue,” Aldworth said.

The European Union banned the white pelts of baby seals in 1983 and is considering a ban on all seal products.

The Netherlands and Belgium already ban seal products. The United States has banned Canadian seal products since 1972.

Animal rights groups say Canada’s seal hunt is cruel, difficult to monitor, ravages the seal population and does not provide a lot of money for sealers.

But sealers and the federal Fisheries Department have defended the hunt as sustainable, humane, well-managed and a necessary source of income for hunters.

“There is an awful lot of diplomatic activity going on,” Jenkins said. “We’re doing our best to make sure that the facts and the science of this issue are put squarely in front of European politicians and not the emotion.”

The department estimated the total harp seal population to be 5.9 million in 2004, the last time it conducted a seal population survey.

The Government says there were about 1.8 million seals in the 1970s. The population rebounded after Canada started managing its seal hunts.

Fishermen sell seal pelts mostly for the fashion industry in Norway, Russia and China, as well as blubber for oil, earning about $US78 ($85) a seal.

The Canadian Government and isolated fishing communities say they need the supplemental income because cod stocks have dwindled.

The slaughter of some 335,000 seals in 2006 brought about $US25 million.

Registered hunters are not allowed to kill the seal pups before they moult their downy white fur, typically when they’re 10 days to three weeks old.

source:smh