Raison d’etre

Unbelievable! I’m watching the National Geographic channel (Nat Geo to fans) to get the latest on what’s cool from Mother Nature. What did I see but a humungous elephant - painting.

This story gets crazier. These elephants have been “re-purposed” as artists. I kid you not.

So here is how it works. Thailand’s domesticated elephants were formally employed by the timber industry to haul teak logs out of the rain forests. In the late ‘80s both anti-logging laws and deforestation literally wiped out the elephants’ job market.

Now, you ask, what do we do with these beloved behemoths? Naturally… let’s transform them into artists. Voila! They have a new raison d'être (reason for being). – Pretty cool including some French language in the dog blog don’t you think?

If you don’t believe me, just check this video out of the elephant that paints.



This just goes to show you that my foster mom was right when she said God’s creatures (especially dogs) are ‘greater than us’ (speaking of humans of course.)

Now, speaking of humans… I know these are hard times and many of you have lost your job or may have work but only part time. First, whatever you do, don’t dump your beloved animals because you don’t have enough food to feed yourself and your critters. Instead, go on a diet. Seriously, couldn’t you stand to lose a few pounds? Plus, when you’re ready, you can always get your pounds back but you can never get your pet and their love back.

Second, follow the way of the elephant (that sounds soooo Zen) and re-purpose yourself into something else. I mean if elephants can transform themselves from laborers to artists, it stands to reason (or raison) that humans could do the same thing. If I were human and hadn’t figured this out (when an elephant can), I would not admit it.

Okay, gotta run but before I go, here’s the question of the day from Jackson who asked: My mom and dad brought a new dog home. Worse, it’s another puppy. She’s annoyingly cute and is gobbling up all the attention. How can I get my parents to realize I was here first and therefore I should get more attention than the new kid? Besides, I’m easier to deal with because the new baby is a little A.D.D.

Dear Jackson:

Jet, my foster mom told this story about her mother (Doris) who had about 13 brothers and sisters in her family. (Wow! What a litter!) In any case, Jet said that one Christmas when her mother and all the other umpteen kids in the family gathered around to get their presents, each child received a candy cane. (A treat for humans.) This was the depression era and times were REALLY tough but geez what a bummer only getting a candy cane. Most dogs get more than treats for Christmas.

In any case, all the kids scampered off to enjoy their candy except Jet’s mom. They had so many kids they forgot to buy a candy cane for her. When Jet’s grandmother realized what happened, she took an old bottle of perfume with a little fragrance left in it, wrapped it up in tissue and gave it to Doris like a ‘special’ gift just for her.My point of telling this story is twofold so listen up. One, be glad your parents only brought one new dog home instead of a dozen puppies (babies). Two, human parents have plenty of love for you and many other critters. This is why there are so many of us and so few of them. Give the high-strung fur ball a chance to settle in awhile. In time, your parents will find her bouncing-off-the-wall style annoying and they’ll be pouring the love all over you again.


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