The benefits of tagging

Tagging was a curiosity when I first started blogging.  I would visit blogs I'd discovered mostly from DSFDF.   Now that I'm more comforatble and getting in the groove of the blogasphere I've come to look at the benefits what tagging will do for a blogger.  First you find out why people read your blog, second you discover other talented people through your tagger's wonderful blog choices and most importantly your friends are giving you free exposure by tagging you! 

So today, I discovered I was tagged by R. Garriott with this award and that Sam Dolman and Martina Alberts also tagged me.  These artists are ones love and adore and I'm truly honored.  The  tags require I list five favorite blogs and Sam's asked for five things about myself.  I'm sure they won't mind if I combine them so I don't have to list 15 blogs (though I easily could with all those wonderful people out there.)

Sam also requires I list the rules:

1. Link to the person who tagged you
2. Post the rules in your blog
3. Write five random things about yourself
4. Tag random people at the end of your post and link to them
5. Let each person know they've been taggedThings about me:

1.                  I’m part Alaskan Indian.  My grandmother was the tribal chieftess for the Eyak tribe in Cordova.

2.                   My favorite cuisine to eat and cook is Italian.

3.                   I’ve dabbled in a lot of martial arts but never settled into staying with one.  Akido, Kung fu, Kali, Escrima, Tae Kwan Do.

4.                   I researched and developed the DUI checkpoint program for my former police department.  The best times were when we were conducting the checkpoints in freezing weather during Christmas season and we’d keep warm by doing silly dances while we waited for traffic.  [Yes, I’m talking about 6 foot brawny cops and me.]

5.                   One of my most embarrassing moments in my old job was when I was running after a burglary suspect and I slipped and fell into a puddle of mud.  We [ okay the other cops] caught the guy but I ended up having to go to the station looking like a mud monster.

So the blogs I'm tagging are.... 

Angela Elledge,  lovely lady and lovely painting style.

Gwen Bell   A wonderful artist I discovered through DSFDF.

Carol Nelson Another treasure find from DSFDF

Carrie Griesemer  Check out her McGiver set up for her plein air paintings!

Carol Horzempa  I love her work and the way she shares her thoughts and process with us.

Another story

Got tagged again but instead of listing 7 things, I'd like to give you another story of my past life.

I was asked to help mentor a Shelter Director for our city facility that dealt with Animal Control and sheltering animals from three cities. There were internal issues identified and the City Manager decided to place the shelter under the police dept management instead of Parks Dept. The Chief asked me to help the director learn the model used by the dept to supervise people.

Unfortunately when I got there, the director went out on medical leave. I didn't know a thing about running a shelter but with the help of the employees and volunteers we got it turned around. You can read some of the things we changed in the article below. Some harebrained ideas of mine didn't work. [like the "adopt me" vest I got for our animals thinking we could walk them in the park located next to us.

Bottom line, I just have to say this was the hardest (physically and emotionally) assignment I'd ever taken on. It is also one reason I'm trying to help our shelters now. We're almost ready to launch our project with our local SPCA. More details on that when we're off and running.

Now the story. Animal Control has had the bad rap of being just a cruel 'dog catcher' just like cops have had the bad rap of being party crashers. People forget almost all the people who get in both lines of work do so because they want to help.

In the first month I was at the shelter we were so shorthanded I helped do everything from clean kennels, feed, pick up animals and assist at the front desk. One of the most dreaded tasks was euthanizing animals because of space or dogs being a danger to the public. I was already aware of the 'burn out' of these animal lovers for doing this.

Two people are required to euthanize dangerous dogs. My senior AC officer who was all of 24 years old asked for help because no one was available to aid him in dealing with a pitbull. This dog had bitten his owner and small children and was deemed dangerous and ordered to be euthanized. He had to tranquilize it in order to give it its shot of phenobarbital. We went to the quarantine kennels and as soon as we were in sight the huge 120 pound dog lunged at the gate and snapped, barked and growled.

The officer put a pole harness on the dog and took all of his strengh to get it out. We took it to the room for the procedure and I held the dog while he gave it a tranquilizer [ketamine] via a pole injector. I was amazed at the strength of this angry, all muscle dog who was now so furious that he was foaming at the mouth as he continued to try and attack us. In moments he started to calm down and then relaxed enough for us to muzzle him and lay him down.

I held the dog's foreleg while the officer shaved it and then injected the phenobarbital. I was breathing a sigh of relief thinking this "monster" was not going to harm anyone any more. I was taken aback when the officer knelt down next to the dog and started petting it. While it went to sleep and ultimately stopped breathing, the officer spoke to it while petting it. He said in a gentle voice, "It's okay boy. It's not your fault you're like this. You're a good boy. It's not your fault." He wanted to make sure the last words heard and last things felt that this angry and vicious dog were ones of love and kindness.

So this seasoned cop still cries when she remembers this act of love and uses it to look to see how we can lesson the burden on shelter employees and help our animals. hugs.