Dog Days

The whole Michael Vick episode makes me sick.

I bring this up because last night I watched a special the Animal Channel aired about the whole ordeal. I seldom watch TV, but I love dogs with a passion. How anyone could be so cruel to such awesome animals is beyond me.

I walked away with feelings of optimism and sadness. Let me explain . . .

The authorities treat high profile cases like this differently. They usually euthanize fighting dogs, no questions asked. In this case, however, they brought in animal control experts to assess the dogs. This is almost never done. But that's not what shocked me the most . . .

The experts expected to find vicious fighting dogs. What they found were cowering, whimpering, underfed and otherwise abused animals. But that's not all.

What surprised me the most was this: When they put these dogs with other dogs, they didn't fight. In fact, they behaved like most dogs I've seen. Some even played. It was also obvious that they craved human affection.

They behaved just the opposite of what we've been told. Ruined for life? Not hardly. A little scarred, maybe. In fact, of Vick's 53 living dogs, only 2 had to be euthanized. The rest now live with families. One works as a therapy dog in nursing homes! Imagine—a former killer sitting on Grandma's lap. And being quite loveable.

Maybe we can use the Vick case for some good. What if we focused on rehabilitating these dogs, and not just killing them outright?

There's Something In Them Georgia Hills

Almost a week ago now, my wife called me at work. Now this wouldn't usually be a big deal, but this time she was almost screaming. "Turn the TV on CNN—NOW!!"

A gazillion things went through my head as to what I was about to see . . . Another terrorist attack, World War III declared, martial law imposed. But what I saw shocked me more than I could have imagined.

It was a news conference. The word "LIVE" at the top of the screen. The fellow speaking wasn't a politician, though. The caption at the bottom of the screen read, "Tom Biscardi—Bigfoot researcher."

It looked like a couple of good ole boys had found the body of a Bigfoot in the North Georgia Hills. Not only that, but three or four more of the creatures followed them out of the woods as they dragged the body. I was completely blown away.

Now, had this been on a lesser-known network, and the faces unfamiliar, I would have immediately written this off as a hoax. But this was Tom Biscardi, the world's foremost expert on Bigfoot, on CNN! And that wasn't all.

They were talking about DNA testing and autopsies, and even allowing journalists to view and report on the body. Biscardi went on and on about the integrity of the two men, and how he believed them wholeheartedly. And then . . .

The DNA tests came back. It was combination possum and human. Either there was a mistake, or some lonely redneck did it with a possum. No wonder the poor creature stayed hidden.

A few days passed, and nothing about Bigfoot came across the airwaves. Not a syllable.

So, the day before yesterday I Googled Bigfoot, and guess what? Unfortunately, my suspicions were confirmed.

Them Duke boys sure pulled one over on CNN, and the rest of us for that matter. "Bigfoot" was a rubber gorilla suit in a block of ice. What a letdown.

The two morons claimed they did nothing wrong, but they're being sued by the world's largest Bigfoot research organization. One of the men who was a police officer also lost his job because of this whole stupid mess.

It's downright scary that some things can seem so real, and turn out to be something else.

Today, for instance, I got an email with a link in it from someone I trusted, telling me that this would be the perfect job for me. It was all about writing for money, and it seemed like the perfect way to help fund my Success University business.

I was within a hair of entering my credit card information, when I decided I should do some research on this company first. I've been saved by www.work-at-home-forum.com so many times I feel like I should send them a donation or something. They saved my butt again today.

The company I was thinking about joining was a major ripoff.

They were charging people's credit cards without authorization, and were impossible to contact. Nobody who joined mentioned making a dime. I immediately deleted the email.

Just like Bigfoot, though, it seemed real. The website was top-notch, all with pictures of pretty girls and guys and lots of dollars.

So how do you keep from getting fooled and losing a lot of money without becoming cynical of everything? Yes, there are people out there who will rip you off. There are also legitimate programs that can make you lots of money.

If they all look the same, though, how do you tell them apart?

One way is the method I used today. Talk to those who have been there. Ask other people online about their experience with the program you're thinking about joining. You'll be surprised how honest and just out and out blunt your answers will be.

Another way is to look for contact information. Ideally, the site will list both a phone number and an email address, and hopefully provide you with the name of a live human being. If you can't at least find an email address, don't bother.

Make it a Great Day!