Do snakes recognize their human owners like other animals such as dogs and cats?
I believe my snake recognized my temperature and smell and music, Lestat a 12inch california king snake I got for christmas would specifically seek out the regular spots I would keep him not only for warmth but I think he recognized me as part of his enviroment. I would say give me kisses and he would flick his tounge for a scent wether it was concidence or I trained him that way I'm not entirely sure but he would go after other people if he didn't recognize the smell and lunge to bite, it was a really hard habit to break so when I introduced him to someone new I would hold their hands first or ease him into the transition over a few seconds. Eventually he was great with my baby sitting kids so I ended up donating him to a science class when my husband adopted Ripple our previously insane pitbull pointer mix who kept going after the tank, the kids got kick out of him. I think he also recognized the vibrations of music I played so if I had music playing he would come out of his tunnel and squirm around for certain songs and other songs he would just dig himself in the sand and nap through. He came out for heavy metal and numetal, but never when I played their doors. My guess it was the vibrations.
What is the legal punishment for stealing a dog? Is it similar to that of human kidnapping? How often are people prosecuted for this?
Stealing a dog is the same as stealing property, because dogs are considered property in the US. So no, the crime is not even close to that of kidnapping a human. The punishment will vary by state, so you would need to look it up to find out what the punishment is in your state. The punishment would likely be related to the value of the dog as well as whatever was done to steal the dog. Did they break into the house? Did they take the dog while it was running around off the yard? All of those things would impact the level of the crime and the penalty.If you have an ownership dispute between two people then you have a civil matter. If you have someone who literally stole a dog, that will be some sort of theft.
Are my neighbors neglecting their cat? Outdoor kitten?
To me it sounds neglectful because they're risking the kitten's life subjecting it to all the outdoor dangers lurking outside. I would contact the SPCA/Humane Society/Animal Control/Police and speak to them about your concerns. I would also place a printed off sheet in their mailbox about how dangerous it is to allow a kitten outside. http://www.abcbirds.org/abcprograms/poli... Some people are just ignorant to the dangers of allowing their kitten outside. I wouldn't even be surprised if the kitten was never sterilized. We don't need anymore kittens added to the homeless population. You can also include that in your notice if you choose to and you can bring up that concern with your local authorities. Anyways, all pets must require a yearly rabies shot and that's the law in most areas and that can be brought up in your complaint as well. http://www.aspca.org/fight-animal-cruelt... http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/abus... http://www.animalliberationfront.com/ALFront/Actions-Australia-NZ/AnimalCrueltyHotLine.htm
My neighbors keep calling the police on me and falsely accusing me of criminal acts. I am afraid to go outside of my house. What do I do?
I have a neighbor that is fixated on my husband. She seemed a little off, but once she found out about his time in prison she developed a full blown obsession. She wrote the association board for our community a complaint about him slamming doors and watching her when she was outside. This was nonsense but they still had to address it with us. She wrote subsequent letters to the board stating he has a key to her car, and gains entry to turn on her radio...that he lets air out of her tires...that he's getting in her home and releasing ants...and he's poisoning the food in her refrigerator. We'd see police at her door, but they never stopped by to talk to us. One day last fall, my husband was riding his bike. This neighbor pulled her car in front of him and slammed on her brakes, causing him to fall off his bike. Her behavior was now endangering him so we went to the police to file a report. The police were helpful, and knew our neighbor well. Apparently she'd filed lots of police reports about my husband and a few other men from the neighborhood. The police recognized she has mental health issues and never pursued her later complaints. So what can you do? Try to have your cell phone ready to record if you think your neighbor will confront you. Keep a cool head, there's nothing wrong with not engaging in an argument. Don't be afraid to talk to the police to see what your options are if you're being harassed. You don't want to end up on the wrong side of this problem.UPDATE: my local police department reached out to the neighbour's daughter, the daughter called my husband to apologize and let him know she will be intervening in a medically supervised care program for her mother. She made sure he has her contact info should we have any problems. I give her all the credit in the world, she was wonderful and it's great that she wants to be involved in her care! Here's hoping my neighbor gets back on track.
My dog has been limping and is much more lethargic than usual...?
Just yesterday morning my dog was seemingly lethargic. He's a 1-year old Yorkshire named Matty. When I got back home, I opened the cage to see him limping. It went away in like five minutes, but since then he hasn't been walking as much and has been sleeping practically the entire the day. He doesn't eat much of his dog food and usually eats cold cuts from the fridge. I don't know what to do! I can't send him to the vet because for some reason my parents are adamant about not taking him. (It's a money issue.) Are there any tricks/procedures I can do at home to make my dog feel better?
Pros and Cons of Horse Slaughtering?
There are no pros, and other answers have explored that so I won't repeat what has already been presented. I just want to add to the list of cons. When you are discussing horse slaughter as it pertains to the US, we don't raise our horses to supply the horse meat market. The horses from the US being slaughtered are our riding and working horses. These horses have been routinely treated with multiple deworming agents, vaccinations, and drugs that are prohibited for use in animals to be slaughtered for human consumption. The meat from US horses is sold to supply the demand in the European and Asian markets where horse meat is sold for human consumption. We are supporting the poisoning of children in foreign countries when we allow our drug-laden horses to be slaughtered for human consumption of their meat. We don't even allow this meat to be used in our pet foods because of the contamination, yet we know that the tainted meat is going to be fed to humans in other countries. Bute (phenylbutazone), for example, is one of the most commonly prescribed drugs for horses in the US. Its metabolites remain in the horse's tissues indefinitely. One dose of bute given one time is all it takes to forever contaminate that horse's tissues. The minutest amount of bute or its metabolite in tissue has been shown to cause development of aplastic anemia in children after they consumed only one serving of the tainted meat one time. Aplastic anemia involves destruction of the blood-forming tissue in bone marrow. The European Union has gotten wind of the problem with horse meat quality coming from the North American slaughter pipeline (Mexico, US, and Canada) and is developing a microchip ID system and required documenation filed in their database that will hopefully be up and running by 2013. It will require lifetime (birth to slaughter) veterinary monitoring of all medical treatments and drugs administered to any horse slaughtered for meat to be sold in the European market. Any tainted meat discovered entering their market will be traceable back to that horse and the horse's vets and owners. Hopefully the Asian governments will follow so that eventually the markets for meat from our riding and working horses will go dry. Here is a listing of the prohibited drugs. You can click on each for more information............ http://www.vetsforequinewelfare.org/proh...