It was Saturday August 21st, and all morning we’ve had cloud cover making the weather just perfect for a Summer day in Folsom.

Zoey, the Beautiful Springer

At 2:30, I decided to go for a walk with Zoey the beautiful Springer Spaniel, Stella, the cute and feisty Beagle and Roxie the sweet, loving German Shepherd.  After I “saddled” them all up and put in my ear buds, I set out the door for a nice leisurely walk.

Stella, the very protective (of me) Beagle

I was in a peaceful mood and all the dogs were easy walkers.  Believe me, that’s a wonderful thing!  The music that was playing mirrored my mood.  Have you ever noticed  that music has a way of doing that.

A few minutes into our walk, the sun bursts through the clouds and I could feel it beating down on my skin.

Folsom is very well known for its beautiful trails throughout the city, and my home backs up to one of the trails that winds this way through the wetlands.  I decided to cut through the Elementary School field to get to the shadier areas of our walk.

Besides Zoey sniffing at every bush, blade of grass and tree, everything was going great.  All of a sudden the batteries in my radio pooped out and I had to take off my ear buds.  Thank God because there was a gentle breeze blowing through the leaves of the trees which is my absolute favorite sound in the world.  Something about that sound gives me a sense of peace and all is well with the world.

Roxy the Sweet and humanlike Shepherd

About that time, Roxie decides that she wants to stop and rest.  She lays down and I wait for her.  After a while, I join her and sit down on the trail.  Zoey sat down snuggled right beside me and Stella, having to be center of attention, tried to climb on my lap.  So, there we sat – all four of us, in the shade in the middle of the trail just quietly resting and listening to the wind blowing through the trees.  What a site we must have been.

I closed my eyes and said a grateful thank you to the powers that be.

If it wasn’t for my batteries going out, I would have missed this awesome moment.

Zen comes at the most unexpected times.

Have you had a perfect moment of Zen with your best furry buddy?

Have you noticed that in the last decade or so dogs have been elevated to offspring status?  Their status in the family is on par with the children or have even taken the place of them.  Why is this happening in our Western Society?

Richard Nixon

In a nutshell, thousands of years ago, wolf and man reached an agreement by where man gave scraps to the wolves and in turn they protected them and became domesticated.  Since they were after the same prey, they started to hunt together.  Eventually, man manipulated canines to create breeds that could help them in all manner of jobs such as, herding sheep, killing rodents, guarding property and of course specialized hunting.  But through all that, a dog was still a dog and wasn’t on equal footing with man.

So what has changed?  As our culture became more affluent and the need for certain dog functions diminished, they became our companions, our best friend.   However, in the last decades they have become a replacement for children and in some cases, a spouse.  I’m not judging because I’m certainly one of those people that was madly in love with my dog.  She could comfort me in times of sorrow like nothing else could.

Have we become so disillusioned with humans that we’ve turned to the one creature that never judges and loves us no matter what?  Has the moral fabric of our society been so disappointing that we look at those innocent faces and yearn for a better time when people were more polite, more trusting and cared for their neighbor more?

Me with Kayla and Thanda - Rhodisian Ridgebacks

Society used to rely on their communities for spiritual and emotional sustenance.   Now, we don’t even know our neighbors half the time or are communicating with people through a computer instead of having close, intimate relationships.  Have we created an emotional hole that only a pet can fill?

Think about the events that have happened in our lifetime about our role models and leaders from all walks of life.  If you’re old enough to remember, I could put out one line or a name and you’ll be able to know how we’ve been disappointed time and time again:

“I am not a crook”

“I did not have sexual relations with that woman”

Jimmy Swaggert

James Baker and Tammy Faye

Tiger Woods

Michael Jackson

John Edwards having an affair and child while his wife is suffering from cancer

Mark Sanford hiking in the “Appalachians” – he was really in Argentina with his “soul mate”

Chappaquiddick,

and the list goes on and on.

I know people throughout the ages have been corrupt and have disillusioned their followers, but with the internet and television, their corruption is inescapable and we must face the fact that our leaders, hero’s and role models are, in fact, just human and therefore fallible.  The veil has been lifted and there’s nowhere to hide.

Are people losing hope in the human race because of a few wayward individuals?  Has this caused people to turned to the one thing that symbolizes innocence and goodness?

Maybe it’s time to take a good hard look at our society and start doing the right thing and connecting with people face to face in an honest, authentic way.  Of course, with our faithful best friend at our side.

If you have a different take on this subject, I’d love to hear it!

I could tell you about the importance of recycling, keeping wildlife protected and so on, but you already know about these things.  We all should be responsible stewards of this planet and protect it and its inhabitants as best we can.  However, I want to go a little deeper into what Earth Day means to me. 

On April 22nd 1970, Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin saw his dream come true and Earth Day was born.   Various organizations around the country wanted to bring awareness to the people about the damage us humans had on the environment.  Many say that this marked the beginning of the environmental movement.

Now, 40 years later we are more aware of the products we buy, the cars we drive and the effects we have on wildlife and the environment.  All around us companies are making eco friendly alternatives and car manufacturers mileage standards are way up.  I’d say we’ve made good strides in most areas.

My background story

Some of you may know that I’m a pet sitter and have loved animals all my life and wouldn’t think of hurting one.  (except for spiders and ants, but I feel guilty about it!).  When I launched my online pet products store, I naturally gravitated towards eco friendly and holistic pet products.

Me with some friends

My father was an immigrant from a very poor town in Southern Italy and taught me and my brothers the value of a dollar and not to waste it.  When something broke, he fixed it.  I can remember him recycling when I was just a kid which was way before it was a popular thing to do.  It was ingrained in me from a very early age to respect the things we have and not to be wasteful.  As an adult, I have kept that tradition going.

Having said all that…..

For the first time in human history, humans now have the ability to change the ecology of our planet.  The pollutants and waste that we produce is having an effect on the environment as it has never had before.  Therefore, we as an intelligent species have a responsibility to overcome and fix our shortcomings.

That is all well and good and I’m totally on board with that, BUT we must not forget that humans are part of this Earth.  We didn’t come here from another place outside the universe, we are a part of it and as a part of the whole, we should be protected too.

When government uses environmental policies to make a political point and disregard the fact that humans can also be harmed by these policies is abhorrent to me.

Child suffering from malaria

Did you know that after 25 years after banning DDT, there were 50 million preventable deaths?  In 2006 the World Health Organization reversed its ban and endorsed the use of DDT to combat Malaria.  However a U.N. agency reverted back to endorsing less effective ways, such as chloroquine to win the war on Malaria.   As a result, millions more poor people will die.  The DDT kept the mosquito population as bay, but when that was gone, the people had no defense.  I’m not saying DDT is good or bad, I’m just pointing out that politics should not win out over human suffering.

Delta Smelt

Here in California in the San Joaquin Valley, the bread basket of America, 30-40,000 farmers have been put out of work and tens of thousands of acres are bone dry because they turned off the water supply to save a 2 inch Delta Smelt Fish.  This in turn, raises the price of food and we will have to get it from other countries.  If we are trying to buy local, why would they shut off the water of our local farmers and force us to go outside the area?  It’s just counter intuitive to me.

These are just two examples over many years that policy has won over human heartache and suffering.

So, what does Earth Day mean to me?

It means that we as thinking, feeling beings have the responsibility to look after our oceans, forests and wildlife.  However, we are one with the Earth and have a moral duty to protect our fellow man.

I would prefer decisions were not made for a political point and made with “what is the best solution for all involved”.  Sometimes we have to think outside the box and not shut down lumber companies to save the Spotted Owl, for instance.  Isn’t there another way, so no species has to suffer?   And, if a solution can’t be found, who do we chose to save – Human or Smelt?

Chris L Wagner

From One Pet Lover To Another

Waggy’s Eco Pet Products