Summer!  Christmas!  BBQ Season!  Party Season!  New Years!

Pick any of the above, or add your own!  It's around this time of year that I start getting really excited about the upcoming festivities, reminiscing about the months behind, and posting more to my blog (yep, predictable...)!

Long hot days spent enjoying good wine and food with friends...  Camping and kayaking... Swimming at the river...  Why wouldn't I be excited?!

I've already started making mental lists of all the yummy things I get to cook next month to give away to friends and family.  Don't forget to check out my Recipes page to get your own ideas.  I've even got a few new ones up my sleeve to share closer to Christmas!!

Ideas for gifts are racing through my head, and where the heck did I put all the leftover Christmas Cards?!

Just a quick update, you can now make Facebook comments about my posts directly from the page.  Yep, got bored there for a minute!!

More posts coming soon...

I was reading through one of my Animal Studies assignments from earlier this year on Animal Welfare, and found a short piece I wrote about my thoughts on Puppy Factories/Farms.  Responsible breeding is an enormous part of animal welfare, and is something I have pretty clear and strong views on.

Here is my original, unedited writing.  I would love you to share your thoughts and comments!  Please note that the original brief was to share your thoughts on an RSPCA campaign - I chose to focus on 'Close Puppy Factories' - Ending the mass production of 'designer dogs'.

Puppy Factories operate with little or no regard to the physical or mental wellbeing of the animals, being run purely for profit.

Backyard breeders, and even some so-called 'professional' breeders are just as guilty of these disgusting practices as larger operations.  In the worst cases, bitches are often constantly pregnant, and live in squalid, overcrowded conditions with minimal human interaction.

Anybody who buys these animals - even though they may believe they are 'rescuing' or 'saving' them, are only encouraging the situation to continue.

The reality is that Pet Stores are businesses, and where there is a demand, they will source from where they can to meet it.

Irresponsibly bred or mass produced animals are rarely screened for genetic diseases, nor are their temperaments and general health taken into account.  The puppies then suffer from reduced genetic capacity, which makes them far more susceptible to disease, unstable temperaments and physical deformity.

I feel very strongly that the public must demand more stringent regulations in regard to the breeding of not only dogs, but of all animals, especially in regard to the sale of animals.  For this to happen, responsible breeders, animal welfare and retail operations need to cooperate!

Yes, this is in-your-face and partially incomplete, but I'm sure you get my drift!

Visit the Close Puppy Factories RSPCA Website: http://www.closepuppyfactories.org/