by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist
Anyone who knows anything more than likely knows that pets are a comfort, particularly to the old and infirm. One of the things that I missed most during my recent travels was little Rosie, and she was beside herself with joy when I finally returned home - as was I. Pets are an important source of emotional support, a fact that more and more government agencies and businesses are finally coming to recognize and accept.
Rosie makes friends wherever she goes, and one of those friends is a lady who works at our local state office building. The first time I took Rosie to that building, she was only a couple of months old and she rode into the drab and dreary facility in my pocket. There she met a lady working in one of the offices who had a Chihuahua of her own. They became fast friends, and I take Rosie back regularly to visit with her and her co-workers. Business literally stops when Rosie shows up, and those bored and depressed government workers experience a few moments of uplift while talking to a tail-wagging cheerleader for good mental health.
There is a sign on the main office door of that building warning that "Animals are not permitted - except for service animals." Pa Rock, being a sworn enemy of petty bureaucrats, routinely ignores that fascist dictate and steps bravely into the bowels of the bureaucracy with Rosie in full view - just daring anyone to try and stop him - or her!
Rosie is an important support to me - as well as to several attention-starved state workers.
This past weekend I got another lesson in how important pets are to their owners. We had weekend reservations at an upscale chain motel in Salem, Oregon, and, upon arrival, began noticing that many of the guests were accompanied by their pets - mostly dogs. It turns out that we had inadvertently booked into a "dog" motel, a hostelry that caters to guests with pets. And it was doing a booming business!
In a further show of human/pet solidarity, a woman showed up at the Newark, New Jersey, airport this past weekend with Dexter, her support peacock. She claimed to have purchased a ticket for her big bird, and was demanding a seat for the feathered fowl. Airline officials said that the bird was too large, and cited several other concerns as they denied the India Blue peacock access to the plane.
One of the concerns they probably had would have been the peacock's ability and propensity to yell. A full-grown peacock, like Dexter, has a yell or a scream that could easily cut through the noise of a large, sprawling airport - and would seem explosive in a tinny little Boeing 747.
Of course, even multiple peacocks on a plane would not likely be as annoying as the screams and wails of those five or so infants and toddlers who were sitting around me and exercising their lungs all the way from Honolulu to Portland last Friday.
I guess it's all in the ear of the beholder!
Citizen Journalist
Anyone who knows anything more than likely knows that pets are a comfort, particularly to the old and infirm. One of the things that I missed most during my recent travels was little Rosie, and she was beside herself with joy when I finally returned home - as was I. Pets are an important source of emotional support, a fact that more and more government agencies and businesses are finally coming to recognize and accept.
Rosie makes friends wherever she goes, and one of those friends is a lady who works at our local state office building. The first time I took Rosie to that building, she was only a couple of months old and she rode into the drab and dreary facility in my pocket. There she met a lady working in one of the offices who had a Chihuahua of her own. They became fast friends, and I take Rosie back regularly to visit with her and her co-workers. Business literally stops when Rosie shows up, and those bored and depressed government workers experience a few moments of uplift while talking to a tail-wagging cheerleader for good mental health.
There is a sign on the main office door of that building warning that "Animals are not permitted - except for service animals." Pa Rock, being a sworn enemy of petty bureaucrats, routinely ignores that fascist dictate and steps bravely into the bowels of the bureaucracy with Rosie in full view - just daring anyone to try and stop him - or her!
Rosie is an important support to me - as well as to several attention-starved state workers.
This past weekend I got another lesson in how important pets are to their owners. We had weekend reservations at an upscale chain motel in Salem, Oregon, and, upon arrival, began noticing that many of the guests were accompanied by their pets - mostly dogs. It turns out that we had inadvertently booked into a "dog" motel, a hostelry that caters to guests with pets. And it was doing a booming business!
In a further show of human/pet solidarity, a woman showed up at the Newark, New Jersey, airport this past weekend with Dexter, her support peacock. She claimed to have purchased a ticket for her big bird, and was demanding a seat for the feathered fowl. Airline officials said that the bird was too large, and cited several other concerns as they denied the India Blue peacock access to the plane.
One of the concerns they probably had would have been the peacock's ability and propensity to yell. A full-grown peacock, like Dexter, has a yell or a scream that could easily cut through the noise of a large, sprawling airport - and would seem explosive in a tinny little Boeing 747.
Of course, even multiple peacocks on a plane would not likely be as annoying as the screams and wails of those five or so infants and toddlers who were sitting around me and exercising their lungs all the way from Honolulu to Portland last Friday.
I guess it's all in the ear of the beholder!
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