Pick Me! Why A Shelter Dog Is Your Best Choice

Disney left a life-long impression on me when, as a youngster, I viewed the dog pound scene in Lady and the Tramp. Mournful mutts howled out a pitiful rendition of Home Sweet Home, which nobody but the most callous could sit through dry-eyed. The pound was portrayed as a cruel place manned by heartless dog-catchers. I vowed never to step foot in one, not even to save the life of one of the rejected creatures. Adopting a pet under such sad conditions would certainly place a cloud over the day. Could I ever leave completely happy with the dog I chose, knowing that dozens were left behind in misery?

My answer today is a resounding YES! From personal experience I have learned that animal shelters can indeed be the very best place to find your companion. As a volunteer in college I found that humane societies and animal shelters can be places of compassion, and the animals, while lonely, are happy, healthy, and not nearly as desperate as Disney made them out to be.

There are plenty of good reasons for bringing a dog home from the pound. In this article Ill discuss just a few of them.

Typically, when a family decides to adopt a dog, they check the pet store, the newspaper, and maybe the neighborhood for a puppy. More often than not, this spells disaster. While unarguably cute, puppies are not for everyone. Puppies, no matter what breed, take lots of time, money, and patience. Unless you are prepared to deal with urine spots on the carpet, sleepless nights, and hundreds of dollars in pet-related equipment and veterinarian bills (not to mention replacing chewed up clothing), you are not prepared for a puppy! In fact, this is the very reason animal shelters are filled to capacity. Puppies grow up fast and their newness wears off, and all too many owners find themselves too frazzled to continue. Thus, Fido ends up behind bars for no fault of his own. The vast majority of dogs in shelters are there because people werent thinking about the time, effort, and money involved in raising a dog. (Other common reasons are families relocating, owners deaths, or divorces that leave a dog in the mix.)

Think twice before bringing home a pup. An older dog is calmer, will pick up housetraining (and other obedience training) faster, and have outgrown the frustrating chew stage. Perhaps the best thing of all is that they are more predictable; what you see is what you get. With adult dogs the size, shape, skills, and temperament have already been determined. Depending on the shelter, they may even have a pet history!

Another reason to avoid pet-finding in pet stores and newspapers is that these places are largely supplied by backyard breeders and puppy mills, notorious for breeding unhealthy animals in inhumane conditions. The best way to shut down these operations is to avoid supporting them. While they may boast purebreds for low prices, a mixed breed mutt has much lower incidence of health defects than poorly bred purebreds. (Adoption days at places like PetSmart are run by shelters, and not supplied by puppy mills. Furthermore, most shelters now have web sites so you can start your dog search on-line. Petfinder.org lists dogs by specific breeds, a great tool if you know what you are looking for!)

Cost is also another reason that shelter dogs come out on top. For a nominal fee, you bring home a dog that is up-to-date on vaccinations, has had a general health exam, and has been sterilized. Often the fee may include the cost of microchipping and licensing. Sometimes you even score coupons for free food and equipment on Adoption Days! Keep in mind that no dog is ever free. You should always have a new pet checked by a veterinarian to avoid the spread of disease. Having your pet spayed or neutered is a pet-owners responsibility not to be postponed. Heartworm treatments, chew toys, and other necessary equipment add up. Its hard to beat the all-inclusive fee offered by a shelter.

But perhaps the best reason to adopt a shelter dog is the values it teaches your children. Bring home an older dog, and you send the message that all creatures have intrinsic worth, not just the cute babies. Giving a dog a second home teaches another fabulous lesson, and dogs who have suffered losses often bond faster to their new people, eager to belong again. Children appreciate knowing about second chances. Finally, when you bring home a shelter dog you save the life of a dog whose only alternative may be euthanasia. 60% of animals placed in shelters meet this fate. By including children in this important decision-making process, making careful choices, and being a responsible pet owner, you teach children the best lesson of all.

Emma Snow an animal lover works in marketing for Dog Pound http://www.dog-pound.net and Horse Stall http://www.horse-stall.net leading portals for pet management.

How To Get The Best Credit Card?

Different people have different needs. Depending on who you are and your circumstances, the best credit card deal for you will vary. I will take you through the things you should be looking for, but for the best current deals I suggest you check Money Savings Expert regularly (http://www.moneysavingexpert.com).

Credit cards allow you to spend a certain amount of money at an interest rate that will be charged every month. The spending amount that is available to you can be seen differently. Some see it as an additional amount to spend, some see it as a risk-free' borrowing opportunity. Credit card spending is not a free' spending opportunity, as you will need to pay this money back. This money does not work like a loan, as the amount available to you is not all cash. However, it can be treated as a loan' and this concept will be explained later.

Other very important concepts that have to be understood before getting a credit card, is 0% offers. There are two kinds of 0% offers: on purchases and on balance transfers. The first one allows you to spend the money provided to you by the credit card without paying any interest for a certain amount of time. So, for example, if the credit card gives you a limit of 500 for three months, then you can spend 500 against this credit card and not be charged interest for the first three months since the credit card was opened. However, once this period of time expires, you will be charged the credit card interest rate. This interest differs depending on the credit card, so if you intend to pay this interest, then you ought to look for the lowest interest rate available. Paying interest can be avoided, unless you have already overspent too much and are using credit cards to pay off other credit card interest. In this case you should call some of the debt consolidation companies and try to get some your credit card debt written off. Another reason why you might be in the position of paying interest is because you forgot when your 0% free time' ended. If this is the case, you will be informed about this with your first bank statement. Transfer your balance to a different bank or pay the debt off and avoid any further interest payments.

For those of you who don't have interest payments, you can take advantage of the 0% purchasing and make some money. You need a good credit history record to make this work and you also need to be disciplined. The easiest method is to do all of your normal spending against the credit card, while putting the money that is coming in into an interest-earning savings account. For example, if your credit card company lets you borrow 2,000, and you have 1,000 coming in as a salary every month, then put the 1,000 into a savings account and do all of your purchasing with a credit card. There are a few things to watch out for: credit card companies will charge you for cash withdrawals; your cash limit is much lower then the full available credit; and choose a savings account from which you can withdraw easily. At the end of the 0% purchase period, you will need to return all the money that you have spent against your credit card. You should have that amount available in the savings account by then, plus interest. The interest gained is your earnings for this transaction. You can earn even more if you chose a credit card with a cashback deal. This deal will pay you interest on all of your purchases made with the card. However, you should remember, that this is a money-making technique, rather then a spend more' opportunity. There is a more complicated trick of making money from credit cards, details of which are outlined by Money Saving Expert (2006).

If you are making money from the credit cards, there is no need for you to get card protection insurance, as you should have enough money to pay off the credit card debt at any time. At the end of the 0% purchasing period, you can also transfer the balance to a different card provider. This is known as 0% balance transfer, but you will be charged a fee for these transactions, usually around 2%. However, these fees vary, so you need to check the conditions. There are a few things to watch out for: the credit limit offered by your bank also includes your purchases. For example, if the new credit card offers you a 2,000 limit, with 0% balance transfer for 12 months and 0% on purchases for three months, and you have transferred 1,500 from your old credit card, you only have 500 to spend on this credit card. The second thing to watch out for is your credit score. "Most lenders' scoring systems aren't sophisticated enough to detect that you're playing this free-cash game. Yet multiple applications, especially at the same time, coupled with high outstanding debts, even at 0%, will diminish your ability to get competitive credit, so the most important thing is to spread card applications out" (Money Savings Expert, 2006).

However, if you are in the position where you are already fighting the interest payments, as has been mentioned before, the best thing to do is to call debt consolidation experts. In any circumstances it is best to pay off the most expensive credit and store cards first (i.e the ones that charge the highest interest rates). Furthermore, avoid opening any new credit cards to pay off the debt. Instead transfer your high-interest debt to lower interest rate credit cards. For example, if your credit card interest rate is 16%, while your store card rate is 25% per month, transfer the store card balance over to the credit card.

Whatever your circumstances, when you do open a new credit card always look for the longest 0% balance transfer and 0% purchase period, lowest transfer fee and interest rate charged afterwards. The limit offered to you will not only depend on your salary and credit rating, but also on the company that you go with.

Finally, do not forget don't play the credit card game if you cannot control it or have a high debt already.

References

Money Savings Experts 2006 "Card Trick" [Available from]: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cgi-bin/viewnews.cgi?newsid1076883546,34894 (Accessed on: 10/11/06)

Money Savings Experts 2006 "Card Card Shuffle" [Available from]: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cgi-bin/viewnews.cgi?newsid1102335753,51771 (Accessed on: 10/11/06)

Money Savings Experts 2006 "Credit Card Newbie MoneySavers Guide" [Available from]: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cgi-bin/viewnews.cgi?newsid1103212597,43859, (Accessed on: 10/11/06)

Copyright © 2006 Verena Veneeva

This article was written by Verena Veneeva professional writer working for http://www.coursework4you.co.uk

Where Are The Leaders?

There is a disastrous state of leadership in our national government. Our political system has devolved to a state of territorial agenda, short-sighted positioning and religious manipulation. Kind of like what one would expect in a new government such as Iraq. But not here!

Let's see here: a disastrous military engagement, global terrorism, global warming, a chaotic immigration system, corruption, out-of-control health care costs, irresponsible deficits, and an energy policy that ensures our addiction to foreign oil for decades.

In the midst of these urgent challenges, our elected leaders selfishly busy themselves with partisan politics and maneuvering to ensure control of one party over the other, all the while sabotaging each others efforts to deal intelligently with these serious issues. This isn't about Democrats or Republicans. This is about charlatans of all persuasions.

The biggest impediment to leadership in our government is that America doesn't elect "leaders". We elect "managers". We put people in power who are well-suited for popular elections, but don't have a clue what it means to "lead". They know what it means to "get promoted" and "keep their jobs". Ugh!

Think about it. A manager is primarily responsible to his "boss", and, ideally to the organization. He's "interested in" the customer's needs, but mainly because responding to those needs in a cost-effective way promotes the success of the company. And make no mistake about it, to a manager the life and health of the organization is everything. Yes, some managers do grow disillusioned with the organization, and leave it. But those who stay have a vested interest in the organization, MUCH more so than they have to the customers or any particular "customer service" policy.

Isn't that what we're seeing in Washington? Our elected Representatives tow the "party" line, they do what their "bosses" tell them to do, or else they won't get that bonus (aka "earmark") or promotion (committee assignments!). If they want to keep their jobs, they do what the organization (aka, "their party") wants them to do. They help each other out and they always try to stay in front of the competition. Like the manager, our elected officials are first and foremost committed to keeping their jobs and getting promoted. And I don't care what bill of goods someone may be trying to sell, the point of view from the "keep my job" reality is COMPLETELY different than the point of view from the "do what's best for the customers" reality.

One of the fundamental elements of human nature is that we will always focus our attention, both consciously and subconsciously, on whatever we are measuring. That which we measure, therefore, determines what actions we will take and the quality of those actions. If achieving the measured result is important enough to us, or if we can rationalize it enough, we are extremely tolerant of the unintended consequences of those actions, even if we would NEVER choose to produce those results.

Map all of this on to the black comedy unfolding in our nation's capital and it appears that we have elected an army of well-meaning people who has a value system based on self-promotion, survival and keeping the boss happy.

Well, that value system may be fine if you're hiring a summer manager for your ice cream store at the beach, or even if you want a loyal partisan to manage your car plant in Iowa. But it totally sucks for hiring someone who is going to have to deal with complicated political, economic and environmental challenges that plunge entire regions of the world into death and chaos.

We need to stop putting managers in positions that demand leaders. We need people of courage and vision, and we need to reward them for being willing to upset the status quo, rather than punishing them as soon as they say or do something that ticks off our little corner of the neighborhood.

Leadership is about finding a way to cause excellence and greatness. Nobody said that is an easy task. So what? Stop making excuses! I don't give a flying hoot if you, Mr. Congressman, or Mr. Senator or Mr. PRESIDENT, have to sacrifice everything you've got. I don't care how hard it is, or how much ridicule and abuse you have to endure. I don't care if you are frowned upon by your "bosses" or if you miss out on the juicy bonuses. You asked for the opportunity to lead, so LEAD!

Fred Tutwiler has worked with companies, individuals and athletic teams, including the 17 time NCAA Champion UNC Women's Soccer Team and the WUSA League Champion Carolina Courage. Fred, The Reality Coach, challenges non-productive views of reality. He is the author of Your MEGAgiNormous Rules: The invisible rules you live by, why they keep you stuck, and what you can do about it. Download Fred's F.REE e-book "Why DO We KEEP Doing The Same Thing Over And Over Even When We DON'T LIKE the Result We Get?" at http://www.megaginormousrules.com..