Scott Family Vacation 2009

So, this year the family vacationed at Bennett Springs. Josh and I spent 5 days with them and had a ball of interesting times...Here are some pictures with descriptions of the adventure...More pictures to come as I download them from the professional camera.

Aspen is ready to grill on Day 1!

This is the first time I've ever seen a lunar moth and he was very pretty and very big!

This is a copperhead that Aspen just walked right over without noticing...sometimes she's so spacey!

Here is a natural bridge that Josh & Melody hiked through...I was fishing.

On the hike, Aspen came back covered in thousands of ticks of all shapes, sizes, and colors. We had to take evasive action with flea/tick dip and a full bath...all in our little wash tub! After we got home, all the ticks were dead, but she wouldn't let us pick them off. Needless to say, we would come home from work and find tons of dead ticks in our bed, on the couch, on their beds, etc.

Here's a little worm snake we all dubbed Rupert.

On Josh's and my last day on the trip, we had Lambert's for lunch. Lambert's is the home of throwed rolls. Any entree you order is all you can eat and in addition to the sides it comes with, you also get extras like fried okra, black-eyed peas, macaroni & tomatoes, fried potatoes, etc. This picture was taken after Seth polished off almost 20 ribs...

This is Josh after he finished all his food...he still had room for a 4th roll!

Our last day, we had to drive through a horrible storm. What should have been a quick 2 hour drive home, turned into a 4 hour drive home. Winds reached speeds of 70 mph and the rain came down in torrents to the point that driving over 20 mph would have been risking our lives.

Human Cruelty to Animals

Scooter looking like a normal dog at our house...she got along with our dogs & cats.

There is one thing that thoroughly disgusts me and that is when a human being beats an animal or neglects an animal. This is my account of "Scooter". Some of these pictures might be "graphic" for little kids.

On Sunday, July 5, Josh and I were returning home after playing tennis. On the ramp to one of the major roads near our home. On the ramp was a Jack Russell dog. Being animal lovers (and the threat of pain if he doesn't stop), we stopped and picked up the dog.

On the way home, I inspected the dog and noticed some fleas, the dog was thin (you could see all the ribs and her haunches), she had several wounds, and was filthy. She looked as though she had been stray for 1-2 weeks in the least.

At home, we gave her a bath and discovered a nest of over 100 fleas living on her back. We washed her twice and used the flea comb to get rid of most of the fleas. We drived her off and fed her a mix of dry and moist dog food. She was not only hungry for food, but also for attention.

Needless to say, that in just a few hours, Josh and I were falling in love. Luckily for "Scooter", she had two rabies tags and that would help us find her owners. I took the task to hand on Monday.

Tag #1 from 2008 - This tag was from Prospect Animal Clinic and they had no record of the tag being listed in their register. The receptionist stated it is likely that the tag was stolen. This was my first RED flag.

Tag #1 from 2006 - This tag was from Bannister Animal Hospital and they had record of the tag, but it was registered to for a Cocker Spaniel. They had a number for the owner and called. The owner claimed that the dog missing was a Jack Russ and the receptionist gave me a number to the owner. This was my second RED flag...you can't confuse a cocker with a Jack Russ.

The Owner - According to the owner, her dog had only been missing for 1 day...24 hours...since July 4. This was my third RED flag.

After speaking with Josh, we decided it would be best to speak with Wayside Waifs to see what they suggested. According to them, they could do nothing in the case of neglect. They suggested we not take the dog back, but contact the KCMO 311 Action Center.

Monday night, we called 311 and they stated we couldn't keep the do because it would be considered stealing since we had spoken with the owner. They suggested we take Scooter to the Animal Control Center/Halfway Home Pet Adoptions so they could investigate the situation.

Tuesday we took Scooter to Halfway Home Pet Adoptions and presented them with the facts and our plea that they look into the neglect case. That was the last time we saw Scooter. We have several friends who have opted to adopt Scooter if she comes up for adoption, but we are still waiting to see how the investigation turns out...we'll have to update you once we get an update.

All of her paws were inflamed and swollen...very painful for her.

Jack Russ' should have hair all over this area & Scooter has none at all!

Several scars & oozing wounds cover her body.

Open wounds were very abundant all over her body.