Green Hurricane Puppy Preparations

June 1st marked the opening of hurricane season in Florida. Hurricane Season Will Be "Very Active," Forecasters Say, and for the first time in my life (I’ve lived in Florida for over forty years) I am very very afraid; very afraid.

John Roach
for National Geographic News

April 3, 2007

Batten down the hatches: A "very active" Atlantic hurricane season is brewing, and at least one major storm is likely to strike the U.S. coastline, experts said today.

The hurricane forecast team at Colorado State University in Fort Collins anticipates 17 named storms to form in the Atlantic between June 1 and November 30.

Nine of the named storms will become hurricanes, five of them major hurricanes with sustained winds greater than 111 miles (178 kilometers) an hour.

And there's a 74 percent chance that at least one major hurricane will make landfall on the U.S. coastline. The long-term average is 52 percent.

That said, and that says too much for me, I’m trying to figure out how to be greener with hurricane preparations. I don’t want to be caught unaware, but want as little negative impact on the environment as possible.

Beginning with the dogs, I’ve learned that the following should be ready:

• Vaccination papers
  (Be sure your vet includes vaccinations for Kennel Cough, Parvo, and Distemper) I’m going to make a copy and laminate it, placing the copy inside the crates.
• Leash
• Collar with Pet's Identification Tag – again, I’m going to make tags with emergency contact info even though my dogs are microchipped.
• Pet food and water (Socking away an extra case of can for hurricane season. I’m also saving empty gallon containers for filling with dog water, and kibble.
• Food and Water Bowl
• Medications
• Name and contact information of you're pet's veterinarian
• Recent Picture of Pet (check)
• "Airline Approved" Pet Carrier
  (Carriers should be large enough for the animal to stand up, sit, and turn around) – Got that covered.
• Muzzle for Chuck & Colin ( I suppose terrified dogs might bite, so I was going to see about either finding used muzzles or making muzzles from an old backpack or leather jacket. Until I read what this person (http://leerburg.com/muzzleselection.htm) had to say, that is: that when stressed, or in a hot environment; as in Florida with no power during a hurricane, a cloth muzzle may prevent a dog from panting, and that could lead to death. So no, no muzzles.

What’s On My Mind

Ecology, the environment, global warming, that Al Gore (my personal hero) won an Oscar for An Inconvenient Truth, employment discrimination in Largo, adoption and foster child inequities in Florida, Mel Martinez’ amazing ability to send out non-hunting dogs, Savannah, book clubs, friends, and revising my novel - Tallulah and Posomotor, The Familiar, The Curse of CREGA.

I’m also concerned with the pressure on little girls to be all sexy way too soon. I watched my daughter putting fake fingernails on my ten year old the other day, and I am unconvinced this could be a good thing. Within minutes of the final nail application, the girl is complaining that she is relatively helpless. I see this in the same category as high heels, shoes that make me rely on a steadying arm on occasion. Then I read an article in the Washington Post www.washingtonpost.com titled

Goodbye to Girlhood

As Pop Culture Targets Ever Younger Girls, Psychologists Worry About a Premature Focus on Sex and Appearance

By Stacy Weiner

Special to The Washington Post
Tuesday, February 20, 2007; Page

Since I live in Florida, specifically on the gulf coast, I am in the epicenter of the hurricane scare tactic selling methodology of everything from storm shutters to generators. The thing is, according to a recent study, hurricanes and typhoons have become much stronger in the last thirty years due to global warming. By my reckoning, had everyone in the path of Hurricane Katrina purchased hurricane storm shutters, there’d be a boatload of hurricane storm shutters on those drowned homes instead of plywood. Sort of like using paper plates on the Titanic so no china would break, don’t you think?

Currently reading: The Secret, by Rhonda Byrne

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Regarding, The Secret – DVD, book, website, et al, the naysayers and skeptics have got to have their audiences, after all. Here’s my take on it. It works for me. When I am in a place of feeling good, a positive energy attracts other positive people. I get more smiles, more hugs, more of what I want, than when I am walking around bitching about my lot in life. Yes, I’ve had some Cat 5 hurricanes in my life, who hasn’t? The difference, is when instead of saying, ‘why me?’ I say, ‘why NOT me?’

I’ve personally experienced what can happen using Creative Visualization ( Shakti Gawain’s book that I’ve had since about 1912 or so…. ) when I created a page about a relationship I wanted. Within six weeks of making the “visualization board” I met my beloved husband of blessed memory.

So, to all the critics and naysayers, I say have at it. Don’t believe, if you don’t want to. I, like millions of others realize that The Secret works – IF and only IF I do the work. No one is denying that action must follow the desire. They are simply pointing out the obvious, that in order to get what you want, you have to first determine what you want, and then send out the vibes, wishes, whatever you want to call it, and the universe will conspire to give you the tools to make it happen. And that, my friend, is all for now.