How can you tell if a pet store gets their pets from a puppy mill?

How can you tell if a pet store gets their pets from a puppy mill?

How to Identify puppy farmla dog breeders and backyard breeders.


“Puppy mills
are commercial breeding facilities that mass-produce dogs (and cats in cat mills) for sale through pet stores or directly to consumers through classified ads or the Internet. Roughly 90 percent of puppies in pet stores come from puppy mills.” – PAWS – resources puppy mills

PAWS › resources › puppy-mills

As horrible as puppy mills are, the ASPCA estimates that there are still more than 10,000 of them in the United States alone. If you want to make sure that your next puppy isn’t coming from a puppy mill, keep an eye out for the following ten signs:

  1. The puppies come from out-of-state – particularly Midwestern states like Missouri and Illinois.
  2. The puppy’s parents are not kept in the same facility, and you cannot see them before buying.
  3. The breeder wants to meet somewhere else if you request a visit to their facility.
  4. The facility offers several different breeds – reputable breeders focus on one or two species.
  5. The breeder has multiple litters available at the same time.
  6. Neither the parents nor the puppies have been appropriately vaccinated.
  7. The breeder makes extreme promises about the puppy’s size, temperament, or other quality.
  8. The puppies may smell like a kennel, and they are likely to have low coat quality.
  9. The breeder doesn’t ask you to fill out any kind of contract or spay/neuter agreement.
  10. The puppy is under eight weeks of age or appears to be much younger than the breeder claims.

Unfortunately, if something on this list is right about the puppy you are thinking about buying, a puppy mill breeder is unlikely, to be honest about it. For example, a puppy mill breeder might offer you papers and a license for your puppy, but if you look more closely, you may be able to tell that it is fake. If at any point the breeder doesn’t appear to be forthcoming about information regarding the puppy, its parents, or the breeding facilities, it is a big red flag. Not only should you avoid buying from this breeder, but you should also report him to the ASPCA or the Humane Society.

Buying a puppy from a pet store is a significant risk for several reasons. For one thing, many of the puppies sold in pet stores come from puppy mills, and it is straightforward to fake the papers or registration that pet store owners use to convince you that it is not so. If you want a puppy, consider adopting from a shelter or go through a reputable breeder.

10 Signs Your Dog is From a Puppy Mill – PetGuide

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VET ALERT; DOG FOOD ADVISORY

VET ALERT; DOG FOOD ADVISORY

Dogs Naturally Magazine, a Veterinary based magazine, inspired me to research this incredibly important, Interesting, and alarming article about dog nutrition.

https://youtu.be/_6EEGV8wssQ

Studies recently show canines eating brand new diets to pups eating brands with nutrition deficiencies (I.e., Pedigree, Beneful, Alpo), which contain large amounts of processed foods, found that dogs eating fresh foods statistically live on average two years and eight months longer than those with the low nutritional diets and/or “cheap” brands.

That’s an extra thirty-two months on your beloved fur baby’s life.

There are many explanations for canines prematurely aging. Contemporary research shows that telomeres – a compound structuring at the end of a chromosome “shortening” could be one connection between processed diets and a shortened life.

TELOMERES, VITALITY, LIFESPAN

The end of each chromosome is a stretch of DNA named telomeres in both canines and homo sapiens.

Telomeres 🧬 are essentially the tough rounded ends of shoelaces. Telomeres conceal the perimeters of your dog’s chromosomes and stop ✋ them from unfolding. 🚫

As canines age, their telomeres get shorter. Generally, old canines have immensely shortened telomeres. Every time a cell divides, the acting telomere for that chromosome gets shortened. Cells are continually dividing, such as surface cells like skin and cells within significant organs such as the liver.

Once the telomeres are wholly gone, its chromosome on the DNA unfolds 🧬 , and the cell will execute one of three plans:

  • Self-destruction (apoptosis)
  • Go Solo (evolve cancerously)
  • Retire (becomes senescent)

The body is continually residing with cancers and stands adequately equipped to handle them. If the immune system is working sufficiently, it can pick up and demolish any cancerous cells. Again, that’s if the immune system is not compromised.

It’s the senescent (or cessation of cell division) cells that do the most damage to the body. Senescent cells are the one guy who ruins the party as these cells come baring early-onset of age-related disease.

Senescent cells lay dormant, and at any given time in the body, they discharge poisonous chemicals. These chemicals begin to grip to encircling healthy cells, causing that cell to become senescent or cancerous.

You need to protect the telomeres.

HOW PROCESSED FOODS DESTROY TELOMERES

Researchers in Spain looked at telomeres size and diets in human participants. They lay the first stone that the more processed diets they ate, the faster they shortened telomeres.

Partakers that ate three or more servings of refined or processed foods everyday stood 82% more apt to bring into light shortened telomeres.

What is refined or processed food? Like yourselves, your canine companions rely solely on the diet you feed them and to enhance longevity, as well as address specific breed diets and needs it’s important to know how to read a dog food label and more important to understand it. Think of processed food as “fillers”. Bad brands of dog food will usually list a filler or a meat “meal or derivative” (essentially ANY part of the protein source, I mean any part) and include a lot of grains such as corn to keep your pet full for longer. Corn, isn’t easily digested whole for humans, and it’s no better for dogs. This does not mean you should feed your pets grain-free food. It means the grains if at all should be healthy, ground up if needed, and easily digested.

Recent articles in both frontline and DVM360 have linked grain-free diets to cardiomyopathy or heart disease/failure. Hills Food Manufacturer sent a disturbing informational article to all associate Veterinary hospitals in June of 2019 showing the research-based evidence and development of grain-free diets and heart failure or sudden death due to heart issues in over five hundred canines.

WHAT IS A PROCESSED FOODS PURPOSE?

A LOT of pet foods and food brands (raw foods included) encompass refined ingredients. The ingredients are exposed to high heat, processing machines, or prepared in a laboratory and approximately entirely nurtured by human reserves. It cuts expenses for the pet food corporation to put fillers and processed food in the nourishment as grain is an inexpensive crop and corn is the cheapest. Corn that is not ground up is not generally tolerated by humans nor pets- the food must contain appropriate grains such as “ground” corn.

The first ingredient listed should always be the protein source (meat). Don’t be fooled by the word meal derivative or meals; this meat is essentially the meat you don’t want your pet to have (I.e., Weird body parts or even meat from untrustworthy or none grass-fed animals from non-accredited farmers).

Dog food standards are not the same as human food standards. The only thing a dog food brand needs is a label listing the ingredients and for it to be visible on the bag. No further testing of the food to date is required by law. PET FOOD DOES NOT need to be FDA tested unless it’s a prescription diet. It does need to pass its own “FDA” mentioned below.

The Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) provides nutritional standards (called model bills and regulations) that pet food manufacturers must abide by if they want to advertise their food as “complete and balanced.” – dogsnaturallymagazine

While the pet food industry reduces their costs by supplementing essential nutrients with fillers, processed foods and protein meals and maybe save a few bucks on the packaging, this day in age the brands are all aware (if they weren’t before) and still sell garbage to gain more personal profit (though they swim in it as is), they add bills to your veterinary tab and take years off your pet’s life, practically load your dog up with fillers, meat and meal derivatives, and indigestiblele grains. We simply have no idea we are slowly killing our pets. Not to mention they STILL push grain-free when it causes heart failure.

Name brand pet food. Is it malicious? Not all, well some probably are, but there are many brands of food. It’s unlikely intentional all pet food corporations are trying to murder your pet since canine and feline nutrition is only recently becoming a significant component of raising healthy pets, and though many brands have been forced off shelves or forced to re-do their recipe; to this day, pedigree, also, and Beneful cut corners. Will display labels below

Pet foods don’t just contain animals with unbalanced fats … they contain grains and foods that also include unbalanced fats. This is mostly to keep costs down — and the folks at AAFCO seem to be fine with this”

What are the ingredients most likely to be processed? What do you need to pay extra attention to? Words.

  • Meals (like chicken meal or corn meal)
  • Flavors (even natural flavors)
  • Colorings
  • Vitamins – what vitamins and how much?
  • Minerals– what minerals and how much?

You probably already know to stay away from meals and flavors. But many “high end” brands and freeze-dried foods contain vitamins and minerals.

Vitamins sourced in pet food are made with petroleum or fat products and are highly processed in factories. Minerals are also being processed in high heat and can be toxi. Avoid “added vitamins and minerals” or “all-natural and fresh with added supplements”

Processed foods are deficient in antioxidants. A fixed stream of antioxidants is vital to ameliorate oxidative stress harm and telomere curtailing.

HOW TO PREVENT TELEMORES FROM SHORTENING

Simple! Food and lifestyle change. Small adjustments you can make that will help keep your dog’s telomeres long and inflammation down.

Here is a list of supplements proved safe to give to pets that are found OTC. These you can purchase yourself.

Omega-3 and Omega-6 Fats: Both omega-6 and omega-3 fats have the ability to control hormones — and the hormones they control have very different jobs. The omega-6 fatty acids produce hormones that increase inflammation, which is an important part of the immune response. They also help with blood clotting and cell growth. The hormones produced by omega-3 fatty acids also control the immune system and they work alongside the omega-6 fats in an antagonistic manner. So, balance between these fatty acids is an important part of a healthy immune system. Both fats are important and your dog needs both in his diet. But these fats must be reasonably balanced for a balanced immune system … and today’s modern diets make this balance difficult.

Https://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/ (text directly copied)

Sulforaphane: Broccoli and especially broccoli sprouts are rich in a polyphenol called sulforaphane. This is a powerful antioxidant and liver detoxifier … but make sure it’s not heated as heat destroys the enzyme that converts sulforaphane in the body.

Probiotics/Prebiotics: A prosperous stomach includes an abundance of bacteria that reduce inflammation. And as pups age, their microbiomes become less distinct, and this can cause inflammation and telomere shortening.

Those are just expansions to your pet’s diet. Additionally, for an upset stomach, you can serve none-dessert canned pumpkin or boiled chicken and white rice. “Bland” diets are preferred when a dog is experiencing digestive tract issues. What your dog food should contain are the three driving energy sources.

Your dog needs three sources to operate: protein, fats, and carbohydrates. These macronutrients are the only source of calories your dog gets.

Proteins are made up of building blocks called amino acids. Amino acids are important not just for energy but for vitality and tissue assembly in the bodies cell production. They also fire up the metabolic process. (hence energy drinks are loaded with amino acids and bcaa)

Fat is a rich source of energy. Pound per pound fat is two times more highly caloric than the protein source. You need to watch the amount of fat per protein ratio when feeding. Fat is essential in protecting your dog’s cells and aids in making hormones as well as fattysoluble vitamins. Without a steady supply of protein and fat, your dog will die.

Carbohydrates are not essential for life, and dogs can survive without them, but that does not mean they shouldn’t be removed from the recipe. Carbohydrates help boost the dog’s immune systems and help reduce the risk of cancer and other diseases.

That being said the following sites are great for pet nutrition recalls, questions, and information.

https://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/best-dog-foods/best-dry-dog-foods/

Dog food advisor Constantly updates with researched and laboratory-based evidence for every type of pet food imaginable
Different breeds means different nutrition needs!

Example: GOOD DOG FOOD

Taste of the Wild Southwest Canyon Grain-Free Dry Dog Food, 28-lb bag

Nutritional Information

  • Beef, Peas, Garbanzo Beans, Lamb Meal, Canola Oil, Egg Product, Wild Boar, Ocean Fish Meal, Pea Flour, Dried Yeast, Tomato Pomace, Flaxseed, Natural Flavor, Salmon Oil (A Source Of DHA), Salt, Choline Chloride, Taurine, Dried Chicory Root, Tomatoes, Blueberries, Raspberries, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Dried Lactobacillus Plantarum Fermentation Product, Dried Bacillus Subtilis Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus Acidophilus Fermentation Product, Dried Enterococcus Faecium Fermentation Product, Dried Bi Fidobacterium Animalis Fermentation Product, Vitamin E Supplement, Iron Proteinate, Zinc Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Potassium Iodide, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Manganese Proteinate, Manganous Oxide, Ascorbic Acid, Vitamin A Supplement, Biotin, Niacin, Calcium Pantothenate, Manganese Sulfate, Sodium Selenite, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Vitamin D Supplement, Folic Acid. Contains A Source Of Live (Viable), Naturally Occurring Microorganisms.

Caloric Content

  • 3,600 kcal/kg, 360 kcal/cup

EXAMPLE: Bad Dog Food- look at the first few ingredients.

PEDIGREE ADULT COMPLETE NUTRITION GRILLED STEAK VEGETABLE FLAVOR DRY DOG FOOD

Ingredients : THE BOLD ARE VERY BAD.

GROUND WHOLE GRAIN CORN, MEAT AND BONE MEAL (SOURCE OF CALCIUM), CORN GLUTEN MEAL, ANIMAL FAT (SOURCE OF OMEGA 6 FATTY ACIDS [PRESERVED WITH BHA & CITRIC ACID]), SOYBEAN MEAL, NATURAL FLAVOR, CHICKEN BY-PRODUCT MEAL, DRIED PLAIN BEET PULP, SALT, POTASSIUM CHLORIDE, BREWERS RICE, GROUND WHOLE GRAIN WHEAT, CHOLINE CHLORIDE, DRIED PEAS, DL-METHIONINE, NATURAL GRILLED STEAK FLAVOR, ZINC SULFATE, CALCIUM CARBONATE, MONOCALCIUM PHOSPHATE, VITAMIN E SUPPLEMENT, L-TRYPTOPHAN, RED 40, YELLOW 6, DRIED CARROTS, BLUE 2, YELLOW 5, COPPER SULFATE, D-CALCIUM PANTOTHENATE [SOURCE OF VITAMIN B5], SODIUM SELENITE, NIACIN [VITAMIN B3], POTASSIUM IODIDE, RIBOFLAVIN SUPPLEMENT [VITAMIN B2], VITAMIN A SUPPLEMENT, VITAMIN B12 SUPPLEMENT, PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE [VITAMIN B6], THIAMINE MONONITRATE [VITAMIN B1], VITAMIN D3 SUPPLEMENT, FOLIC ACID.

Directions :

Throw dog food out.

https://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/raw-feeding-primer/

$20.00 Retail Therapy

$20.00 Retail Therapy

Raised in the “elite” Northwest Suburbs of Chicago my moms go-to-cure for heartbreaks was retail shopping. Sure the election isn’t the same as being dumped by a high school boyfriend, but the pain, the fear, and the loneliness are oddly similar feelings.

Is it just me? In times that are so high pressure I feel like I would do anything just to make myself not think about the election.

Now, I live alone, I’m 29 and I’m poor. What can I do with $20.00? Does that even cover the cost of gas to get anywhere? I can actually get a lot of stuff for $20.00 so DONT FREAK! Not to mention this will forever make holidays non-stressful. You can make $20.00 go as far as gifting your whole family if you’re creative enough.

Imagine a store full of unimaginable products or items. Gems from the times, books of every variety, designer clothes with tags, and brand new designer shoes and purses. Whether your purchase is for monetary gain or just for yourself- you never feel ripped off when you take twenty dollars to Goodwill or Family Salvation and leave with potentially hundreds and yes thousands sometimes dollars worth on clothes.

Note: not one particular thrift store is set up the same. I always look for the ones with the best ratings, or the closest too me. I always have a couple back up ones in case I’m really on the hunt for a product. Some days are hit or miss and be sure to know the dates that certain colors are half off and twenty-five percent off. That takes your $20.00 and gives you about $50.00

1. There is NOTHING, and I truly mean NOTHING (short of intangible items like houses, etc.) that cannot be found or purchased at a thrift store brand new or in excellent condition. I’ve seen nearly everything, at a thrift store. It helps to go to a town a bit wealthier as they tend to give away more expensive items. (I.e $5.00 lazyboy couch. Yes, $5.00) Too often we arrive at a thrift store with no budget, no list, and really no clue why we’re there. That’s why it’s best to have an exact limit. You won’t feel bad if you leave with $20.00 worth of junk, you may feel bad if you leave with $100.00 worth of stuff you don’t want, and have no intention of selling it right away. If selling, a shop and marketplace plan needs to be put into action first. Know what your selling, have a brand and logo self-made and if you can get a godaddy or blue host domain. It’s a waste of money to assume you’ll sell a product if you know nothing about the market value.

If you are one of the clever people who have now figured out how to “flip” items the most profitable way is to start and set up your selling platform like an eBay store, a Facebook marketplace, Amazon sales, posh mark app for clothes, offer up app, let go app, and the next door neighborhood app.

Craigslist pro is on the list of 2020 top platforms to sell, but given some bad experiences I leave that to the last place. If you have a ton of collectors items (I.e a bin of beanie babies, a box of hot wheels, figurines) then Craigslist is good for wholesale listings. My friend made $800 off his 10 gallon bucket of rare and unrare beanie babies. You have to know your market place.

Whether you take that $20.00 and spend it on yourself or sell. Make it a point to buy items that you potentially would want or keep. This avoids piles of unwanted, unfitting clothes, and crappy toys that you misguessed on. Even when it comes to books, unless first edition, signed original copies from a famous author are available only buy books you would read. You don’t know how long they’ll sit on your shelf.

I used to buy books that I thought “other people” would read. What a waste! It turns out my interests are similar to those of my purchasers. Books are and will always be the best items to sell. Self-help books, cooking books, how-to books selling on eBay, Amazon, Etsy, and abebooks.com (for rare) are the best platforms. The amazon app barcode scanner, eBay app barcode scanner, and BookScouter app can tell you the going price of a book just by scanning the barcode while in the store. Books are generally $0.99 for soft cover, and $1.99 for hardcover. Again, if all the books you like have a yellow label. Figure out what day of the week yellow labels are half or even twenty-five percent off. No point in spending more than you need to.

Now, let’s take a step back from selling and focus on you. This election is stressful and YOU need an upgrade. This year, I took. $20.00 shopping spree on a Monday at my local Family Salvation in Niles, IL.

This trip was mainly for my own personal shopping but I always have sales on my mind. It was White is half off day. Anyone who thrifts knows that white is the most expensive color tag. It’s best to buy your expensive items when they are half off. That being said I only picked white (half off) and yellow (25% off) clothes, books, and artwork. How do I know what’s quality and what’s not?

Make a list of designers and brands. Also, measure your waist, bust, hips, and feet size. It’s important to look at your favorite jeans and see what sizes they are and what cut they are. For instance you may be a size 8 but look best in high rise jeans. Don’t go too far off your charts, and avoid cute clothes that your uncertain you’ll fit into.

Once you have an overview of expensive brands I.E Ralph Lauren, Lauren Hill, Colombia, DKNY, Under Armor, adidas, marvel, Steve Madden (and the list goes on) you can browse for those branded items and not worry about how they look, because if they are in nice enough condition (ideally tags) you can always re-sell them if you don’t like the way they fit. Posh mark searches for specific designers so it’s best to know what is popular and what isn’t. For instance last year there was a spike in Betsey Johnson purses. Know the colors of the year, trends of the year, and know your fabrics.

You may be holding back because you had one or two bad experiences at a thrift store. This happens when a store is poorly managed. A well taken care of store will have its items to the best of their abilities sorted, stacked, and priced appropriately.

Don’t be surprised if you go to a thrift store and find a mega win that costs you $15.00. I once walked into Savers with $20.00 and found a Bissell Upright Carpet Cleaner. The exact same one my dad had for $12.99 and in perfect condition. I didn’t think twice before grabbing that. Plus I spent the other $7.00 on what appeared to be a multi use Keurig machine. Sometimes a few items priced well is better than a ton priced low. Remember thrifting is designed for people like me and maybe like you, who really honestly do not have enough money to buy these items at regular price. I also find it amazing to see unique or rare items.

Tips: when buying anything, examine for missing pieces or test in electrical outlet. Many times I’ve gone to purchase a printer at a great value just to find that someone donated a broken printer in hopes goodwill would fix it.

IF NO BARCODE USE GOOGLE APP TO REVERSE IMAGE SEARCH.

I have done this on rare books, printers, video cameras, TVs, clothes, wood frames, artwork, pet supplies, figurines, crystal glass, popular coffee mugs etc. unless you want the item don’t get it without doing your own personal appraising.

Shop Ideas:

new and used book resale, vintage and designer purses, rare and collectible toy, rare and collectible figurines, jigsaw puzzles and board game shop, trading cards shop, cute stationary store, online thrift store, designer clothes outlet, framed artwork shop, electronics/chargers/cords shop, phone case shop, vintage glass shop, coffee mugs shop, shot glass shop, mid-century glass shop, silver shop, hair and makeup boutique, art and paint supply shop, used TVs and laptops (yes laptops) shop, jewelry bargains, vintage cameras sale shop, fabric shop, art supply shop, logo t-shirt shop, CD store, DVD store, vinyl records shop, discount furniture store. The possibilities are endless.

Lately, my shopping has been all personal… but with high retail value- I have two brand new t shirts that I got for .50 cents made by Marvel. I am starting to gather figurines which I may one day sell but for now just find unique. I always pick up different texture paper. Ive purchases 100% cotton paper, resume paper, Brite paper, brite white paper, grid paper, poster paper. Bags of cool pens and sharpies. The items such as three hole punches. Staplers, folders, etc. are always a bargain and my favorite purchases are New-Age or best selling books.

To give you and over views- my last trip to Family Salvation I spent $32.00 I spent it on books, a coffee tray, and a computer chair + MEDION music lightbulb, and barstool. Some findings in front of me now are as follows:

side note: a majority of my home is thrift store items, I plan to update the items as I come across them but these are just a random assortment

Designer 8.5 platform black heels with stickers

Dismissing History: The American Literature Book Ban

Dismissing History: The American Literature Book Ban

Since been updated. Go to ala.org/books for a comprehensive list of banned books

With book bans and limits on what American students of today’s society, our kids can’t learn and will not know how or why these active movements and depression is happening. It proves beneficial to read from people of our past and literature is designed to and will provide aid in times of trouble. Sadly the books we read in high school are almost obsolete. What does exist of great American Literature you have to search for.

The American government has been lying to you point blank about how well our education system is. They have been lying to you about a lot of national affairs in general…but that’s a topic for a different day.

After speaking with a Russian Uber driver, he explained that everyone in Russia wants to move to America for opportunities and once they get here they see first hand how weak our education system is. America is not number one in anything but amount of inmates per capita and the amount of people who believe that angels are real. So history will repeat itself as we continue to shield our children from the realities of the past and the purpose of existence. If you’re teaching your child from home, will you teach from famous artists and authors of our times and of past times? Historical Literature is almost Obsolete, and that is scary in the era of a new depression. Those works were written by talented writers and though it may be dark, it’s honesty. With all the movements going on, I urge, no I BEG you to teach yourself and teach your children American Literature from the past and from current times. We have to know where we have been and what we have done, to understand how to stop history from repeating itself, and to avoid an industrial war.

As much as I love the positive and motivational words and quotes from Instagram and they are inspiring… The true value in quotes and poems/works are generated from every era, from legitimate authors and artists and not a few too many young “Influencers”. Today’s Influencers should be tomorrow’s novels not words to live by. Today’s influencers need a slap of reality, don’t spread messages that you don’t understand. It seems innocent but the things that are “today’s literature” are people using their smartphones to say what is on their mind, this can be extremely harmful to society.

My favorite written pieces of all time are by no means motivational, empowering, or even positive words outright. They are important however, because they express the agony and pain of humans who have lived before us. They are less about the divine positivity of individuals, but more tales of hard times, war, depression, civil rights movements and woman’s right. They may be dark but they are important for personal growth! they are words that help find a common ground between our world today and the authors world when he or she wrote it

Short stories and Poems from the 1800–1900 era are very dark and honest pieces.

For a list of poems new and old and short stories go to www.poetrysoup.com

For those less keen on literature or for crafty people I find DIY art and poems to be great ways of expression and gifts. From everything to Rainbow Bridge a pet loss poem to Tell-Tale-Heart a dark story about hiding murder. Words and written pieces are a great and to develop a empathy or a way to express condolences to those suffering whom you may not have the right words for. Reading American Literature aids in even just understanding a persons thoughts, and opening your own mind to the possibilities and mindsets of others unlike yourself. They were written for a reason. Are we too dense to see this?

A few of my favorite written pieces are below. I urge you to find poems and stories from the past that have some symbolic meaning to your life. Find the connect between the past and the present.

ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM

By: Terry Kettering

*A poem about Death and Dying and why we do not seem to accept that death is going to happen to all of us because it’s inevitable. It’s also a poem about the refusal to accept and acknowledge death or express condolences in fear of insulting another. The importance of speaking about death after one has lost someone.*

WHAT IT MEANS TO ME: This piece I’ve engraved in wood and given as a mantle piece for my aunt who was grieving over my uncle. I wasn’t close with my aunt and I didn’t know what to say, as he passed from vCJD a neuro degenerative rare and terminal disease.

Elephant in the Room by Terry Kettering
There’s an elephant in the room.
It is large and squatting, so it is hard to get around it.
Yet we squeeze by with, “How are you?” and “I’m fine,” and a thousand other forms of trivial chatter. We talk about the weather. We talk about work.
We talk about everything else, except the elephant in the room.
There’s an elephant in the room.
We all know it’s there. We are thinking about the elephant as we talk together. It is constantly on our minds. For, you see, it is a very large elephant.
It has hurt us all.
But we don’t talk about the elephant in the room. Oh, please say his (her) name.
Oh, please say his (her) name again.
Oh, please, let’s talk about the elephant in the room.
For if we talk about his (her) death, perhaps we can talk about his (her) life. Can I say his (her) name to you and not have you look away?
For if I cannot, then you are leaving me….
alone….
in a room….
with an elephant.

Tell-Tale-Heart and American Classic written by Edgar Allen Poe is another piece that taught me something.

View the images below for other pieces of literature I find of value