It's a Doggy Sleepover!

Franklin and Tyler

Happy rainy Tuesday. Our kids enjoyed a doggy sleepover last night with their friend Mopar (joining us for several days). Hope you enjoy your day whatever the weather!

Dolly enjoying a nap

Mopar

Jim's Dad's Spirit Sends a Message on Moving Day

Spirits can give messages that they're around us in many ways. One of the most common ways is through coins. The

Penny from Jim's Dad's Spirit

year on the coin is the best way to identify which spirit is paying you a visit.
  On Saturday, April 11, I received an email from my good friend Jim, who was moving out of the house that he lived in for the last 7 years. He had recently experienced a divorce, and was dealing with being on his own again. There was one spirit who apparently knew that he needed to know he really wasn't alone.

EMAIL FROM JIM:
I remember you saying that our dear departed will leave coins for us...well I found a penny today while moving. Year was 1994...year my dad passed...

MY RESPONSE:
That's awesome. So he's there helping you move, and assuring you that it's the right thing to do.


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To learn more about signs that spirits send us, check out my book "Lessons Learned from Talking to the Dead."
* Lessons Learned from Talking to the Dead for $8.99 paperback and $2.99 E-book on AMAZON: http://tinyurl.com/q3bhgdeor to Purchase from the CreateSpace eStore: https://www.createspace.com/3824548
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SUMMARY for LESSONS LEARNED: Follow Rob on a treasure-hunt-style journey in Virginia as he and others try to explain what appear to be random and obscure words, signs and symbols from a spirit, that all wind up being intensely personal to the spirit.Explore the science behind how they communicate. Learn how to receive their messages, where they appear, and important messages in how to live your life. Rob takes you into cemeteries, battlefields, and historic places. You’ll see what happens to victims of suicide and murders, and how infants and animals pass messages to the living. Featuring: Inspired Ghost Tracking and mediums Barb Mallon, Troy Cline and Ruth Larkin.

Met Some Amazing folks with Pet Services in NE Maryland

Last week when I spoke about my book "Pets and the Afterlife" at the Northeastern Maryland Kennel Club, I met some wonderful people who work in various areas of pet care, so I thought I would share them with you here in case you live in the region (between Baltimore and Delaware).

Luckie Dog Wellness

ANIMAL WELLNESS - I met Jane Rainier of Luckie Dog Wellness
ABOUT:  I support traditional veterinary services by supplementing your dog’s care with Canine Massage, which benefits your dog’s physical body and Animal Reiki, which balances your dog’s energy field. Massage and Reiki are proven methods for alleviating pain, joint discomfort, stress, anxiety and fighting diseases like cancer, liver and kidney disease and spinal issues, to name a few. They clear toxins and keep energy flowing so your animal companion’s immune system can work at its optimal level. Together they are a perfect combination for a healthier dog.
When health issues are involved, I prefer to consult with the dog’s veterinarian prior to providing services. There is no additional fee for this service.
TEL, 410-961-3542    FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/luckiedogwellness?fref=ts
WEBSITE:  http://luckiedogwellness.com/ 
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Emma's Place

ORIGINAL ARTWORK - I met Roberta Klein talented artist of "Emma's Place" who does original Greyhound Art
In fact, Roberta told me that she's had 7 Greyhounds, one terrier and 2 Akitas.
ABOUT: Welcome to "Emma's Place".  I hope you enjoy this unique collection of pet portraits and note cards, featuring my love of greyhounds and other companions.  For the most part, I am a self-taught artist working with mediums such as oils, water colors, pencil and ink. I would like to thank my friends, guardian angels and spirit guides, and especially my husband, Michael, and Emma, of course, for their encouragement, love and support. 
EMAIL: Roberta@emmasplace.biz   
WEBSITE: http://www.emmasplace.biz/ 

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Peaceful Paws Pet Care

PET CARE - I met Judi Mayberry of Peaceful Paws Pet Care.
ABOUT:  Peaceful paws does pet sitting visits, and overnights for your pets. Private training is also offered. 
PHONE: 443-564-2614   EMAIL: jamlabs@hotmail.com  
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/peacefulpawspetcareofmd
WEBSITE: w

Study Shows Gay Guys Make Generous Uncles

Our friend Carla in Massachusetts sent this article to us!  Thanks, Carla!
(Neither Tom, nor I had a gay uncle, however. That makes us sad! ) :) 


Study Shows Gay Guys Make Generous Uncles
By LiveScience.com
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/35347847/ns/health-behavior/#.VSPJa-FrFb1

Maybe everyone could use a gay uncle.

    A new study found that homosexual men may be predisposed to nurture their nieces and nephews as a way of helping to ensure their own genes get passed down to the next generation.
     Research has confirmed that male homosexuality is at least partly hereditary – it tends to cluster in families, and identical twin brothers of gay men are more likely to be gay than fraternal twin brothers, who do not share identical DNA.
But scientists have been puzzled about how these genes are perpetuated, since homosexual males are less likely to reproduce than straight males. Basically, why haven't gay people gone extinct?
    One idea is called the "kin selection hypothesis." Perhaps gay men are biologically predisposed to help raise the offspring of their siblings and other relatives.
      "Maybe what's happening is they're helping their kin reproduce more by just being altruistic towards kin," said evolutionary psychologist Paul Vasey of the University of Lethbridge in Canada. "Kin therefore pass on more of the genes which they would share with their homosexual relatives."
Vasey and his student Doug VanderLaan tested this hypothesis among a group of men called fa'afafine on the Pacific island of Samoa. Fa'afafine are effeminate men who are exclusively attracted to men as sexual partners, and are generally recognized and tolerated as a distinct gender category — neither male nor female.

     The researchers surveyed about 300 fa'afafine, and found that they were significantly more likely to be altruistic toward their nieces and nephews than either single men or women, or mothers or fathers. The scientists call this behavior avuncular, or uncle-like.

     The fa'afafine reported being much more willing to pay medical and school fees for their nieces and nephews, to help them with homework, babysit, teach them songs and dances. And a follow-up study confirmed that fa’afafine had indeed spent more money on their young relatives than straight people.
    "I am convinced that the fa'afafine have significantly higher avuncular tendencies than men and women," Vasey told LiveScience. "And [the] latest batch of data seems to indicate that this manifests in [the] real world."
In their most recent study, the researchers tested whether fa'afafine are simply more altruistic toward everyone, or if their attention is targeted at their genetic kin. Only the latter would help explain how homosexual genes are passed down through generations.
   "We thought maybe they just like helping kids in general, so we compared their avuncularity to kin and non-relations, and we found a significant difference," Vasey said. "They're interested in helping their nieces and nephews, and not in non-kin children."
         This divergence differed from straight men and women, who tended to show a more equivalent level of altruism to related and non-related children. This implies that the behavior is an evolutionary adaptation, the researchers say.
"If fa'afafine have really been selected to be avuncular and this is an adaptation, then they would not be redirecting resources to non-kin children," Vasey said.
    The researchers published their findings in a February issue of the journal Psychological Science.
     The kin selection hypothesis was first proposed in the 1970s, but previous efforts to test it among gay male populations in Western societies found no effect. A study in Chicago and another in England found no difference between gay men and straight people in altruistic behavior toward family members.
   "I thought, 'Well, I'll do the study in Samoa, it's a non-Western culture and I’ll get the exact same results and it'll be the nail in the coffin for this theory,'" Vasey recalled. "We analyzed the data and we found a significant result for avuncularity. I couldn't believe it. I told them go back and check the data — we must have made a mistake."
      But subsequent attempts to reproduce the results confirmed the findings in Samoa.
Vasey said he suspects that the conditions just aren't right in modern Western societies for this genetic predisposition to express itself.

    One major cultural difference is the individualistic nature of Western society, compared with the collectivistic culture in Samoa.
    "We think we're close to our families, but Samoans are really close to their families," Vasey said. "People are more geographically connected in Samoa."
     Additionally, there is less discrimination against fa'afafine, compared with the still-widespread homophobia that exists in many Western societies. Even if many Western gay men wanted to be doting uncles, their families might not always encourage it.
     Vasey said the next step is to test whether this trend exists in other non-Western cultures where males with same-sex attractions are also accepted as a unique category.
           He also said that he doesn't think the kin selection hypothesis entirely accounts for the endurance of gay genes, but that it likely plays a role in combination with other biological factors.
© 2012 LiveScience.com. All rights reserved.

In the News: Great new law in Virginia banning sales of animals in public places

We applaud Virginia's Governor Terry McAuliffe who signed this legislation!

IN THE NEWS: Animal advocates are celebrating the passage of a new law in Virginia that they hope will make it harder for bad breeders to do business in the state and will get more pets adopted.

Last week Governor Terry McAuliffe signed legislation that aims to shut down shady sellers by banning sales of dogs and cats in public places, including parking lots, flea markets or the side of the road. Even better it makes Virginia the third state to enact legislation restricting the sale of companion animals in pet stores.

Under the new law, which will go into effect in July, pet stores will need to obtain animals from rescues and shelters, or prove they came from a breeder with no violations of the Animal Welfare Act. They will also be required to keep and provide health records. Violators will be charged with a Class 1 misdemeanor for each dog sold or offered for sale, which could bring up to 12 months in jail and a fine of up to $2,500.

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Matthew Gray, Virginia state director for The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), said in a statement:

We applaud Governor McAuliffe and the Virginia General Assembly for enacting real, tangible protections, not just for puppies, but also for all Virginians who are seeking to add a dog or cat to their family.  By prohibiting Virginia pet stores from acquiring dogs from some of the worst puppy mills in the nation, and cracking down on unregulated sales of dogs and cats at flea markets, parking lots and rest stops, this bill makes the Commonwealth an even more humane and pet-friendly place for everyone.

This past November, the HSUS sent investigators into Virginia pet stores and found what it called “widespread deception, omissions and cover-ups” intended to trick well-meaning customers into buying their dogs …most of who came from deplorable conditions in puppy mills.

Among a host of problems ranging from obviously sick puppies in stores to blatant lies being told by employees, the organization found six of the pet stores it investigated had purchased puppies from mills so bad they had previously been identified by name in its 101 Puppy Mills report on problem breeders across the country.

While many stores continue to defend selling dogs by saying they only source from breeders who are licensed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), it’s important to note that standards for basic care under USDA guidelines are disgustingly low and violations continue to go without consequences that are severe enough to incite meaningful change within the industry.
Fortunately, as awareness about the seriousness of the problems that surround large-scale commercial breeders and their relationships with pet stores continues to grow, more areas are adopting and working towards adopting, common-sense laws that address this issue.
Hopefully Virginia’s new law will help protect both consumers who want to welcome a new member to their families and dogs who are left behind at mills by cutting off suppliers.

 

Read more: http://www.care2.com/causes/why-dog-breeders-in-virginia-arent-happy.html#ixzz3WM6M9sWy

Video Proof: My Mom's Spirit Visit: Playing with Lights!

On Monday, April 6th I was teleworking when my mom's spirit visited our house and made her presence known by manipulating electricity and I had the wherewithal to videotape and try to debunk it in the 30 seconds it was happening.
   We have a nice sun porch where I telework when the temperatures warm enough outside to warm the porch to a comfy 70 degrees Fahrenheit. On Monday, temperatures were higher than that outside (finally!) and the sun porch was the place to work.
  Around 3 p.m. EDT, our three dogs who were sitting on the carpet in the sun porch and on a bed in the kitchen, started barking. I didn't hear anything, but I got a headache in the back of my head, which is always indicative to me of a ghost (earth bound) or spirit (that crossed over). I got up and turned around and went into the kitchen to find the chandelier light over our kitchen table turning bright, and turning dim!  I sensed a woman's spirit in the kitchen. I whipped out my cell phone and videotaped the lights, and then walked over to the switch and tapped on the switch to show they were in the "OFF" position.
   HOW CAN SPIRITS AFFECT ELECTRICITY? - Because they're energy, they have the ability to manipulate electricity, and make lights go dim or bright. 
   WHAT DID I DO? -    I acknowledged the spirit, but because the dogs also saw her and wouldn't stop barking (they knew my mom in the physical sense, and obviously they recognized her because it was a happy bark, not an irritated bark). The barking, however, was distracting so I couldn't hone in on the identity of the spirit. I solved that shortly thereafter.
  SOLVING THE MYSTERY OF THE SPIRIT IDENTITY- Earlier that day I wrote a story about a tropical cyclone and for some reason used the title of a Beatles song from 1969 called "Come Together, Right Now." I don't have Beatles music and never listened to them all that much (don't judge!), but was inspired to use that song title. Keep that in mind, because SPIRITS CAN INFLUENCE OUR THOUGHTS.  About 2 hours later I was driving to a chiropractor appointment and said "Okay, give me a clue to your identity." That's when the Beatles song "Let it Be" came on the radio, and the line "Mother Mary Come to Me" stood out. My mother used to identify with that line (no, her name wasn't Mary)- because Mary was her favorite "saint." That confirmed for me that it was my Mom. She was saying hello for some reason (although she was around again on Easter an influenced me to bake a bunny cake that I hadn't made in over a decade and used to bake for her when I was a teenager living at home). So, Mom is around. I'm listening for another clue to see if she's hanging around for more than a "Hello."
VIDEO: https://youtu.be/_9RH6_SqGgo 

   
 

It's fun until a bird poops on your head...

Tyler gets a "message" from an irritated bird

Now that spring time has finally arrived in the Mid-Atlantic U.S.A., it's fun for the dogs to run around in the backyard. This past weekend, our 5 year old Dachshund Tyler noticed that some small birds were nesting in one of Leland Cypress trees (we have 5 in the backyard in a semi-circle and they all stand about 6-8 feet high). 

Daddy Rob gives Tyler a bath!

   Tyler decided it would be fun to bark at them and run around the tree. That is until he got a message from them. When Tyler walked up to the back door I saw a bird had pooped on his back, leaving a nice big, white and black calling card. ICK!!  Of course, that meant a bath for Tyler! 
   So, if you're having a bad day, look at the bright side  - a least a bird didn't poop on YOUR head! 

Another Great Mystery: Mr. Monk Gets on Board

Awesome Book!

 The paperback series "Mr. Monk" continues to be entertaining, awesome and fun with (new) writer Hy Conrad. Hy took over for Lee Goldberg who wrote many books in the beginning of the mystery book series based on the TV show. 
  The latest in the series that I just enjoyed,  called "Mr. Monk Gets on Board" came out in paperback in May 2014 (there's a newer one out on my "to read" stack). 
   This is another classic Mr. Monk story involving the OCD detective taking a cruise with Natalie Teeger, his once assistant, now boss of the "Monk and Teeger  P.I." business. This story as it turns out, was one the writer originally pitched for the show, but wasn't made for television because the producers couldn't find a cruise to allow them to "stage a murder or two" because it looked bad for business, even if it was just for television. 

Mr. Monk and Natalie

   Obviously, the story was updated for the book series, in which Natalie graduated from assistant to full-fledged private investigator, and it's classic Monk. The mysterious murder in the beginning is wrapped up somehow (you'll find out) in the cruise that Natalie and Mr. Monk take to promote their new business venture. While on the ship, they also have to solve another murder or two. It will keep you guessing and is totally entertaining in the "Monk" way. 
   Another in the series that I HIGHLY RECOMMEND. Come to think of it, every book in the series has been that way- and I highly recommend all of them. 
   There are very few mystery books that I keep, but the Mr. Monk series is one, and Murder She Wrote is the other! - Rob

Tyler's Good and Bad Days at Doggy Training!

Tyler was READY for school last week

   It's such a pleasure when your kids do well at school - whether human or canine. This is another short 10 second video of
our 5 year old Dachshund Tyler in pre-agility school on April 1. He did a great job, and I really have to think when I'm directing him. Being a smaller dog he actually watches the direction of my feet more than my hands (larger dogs will watch your arms and hands).
NOT INTO CLASS LAST WEEK -   In the previous class, Tyler was defiant and basically told me he didn't want to be in school. Instead of running through the tunnels he ran around them, jumped on TOP of them and stood there staring at me as if to say "I am just in no mood for this." He did that through the entire hour of the previous week.
BACK ON TOP IN CLASS -   This past week though, on Wed. April 1st, he was back into it and had a lot of fun, as this short video clip shows.

A tunnel

Tux the black dog learning to stop on a ramp

Mike and Cooper

Rob and Tyler

TO SEE THE VIDEO (if not below), CLICK:
https://youtu.be/hPgFfx_Zql0

Holiday Baking (and a memory)

My homemade bunny cake (left),colored eggs (ctr) and basket from Tom (right)

Back when I (Rob) was a teenager, my mom taught me how to make a bunny cake for Easter and I haven't made one in years, so I think she influenced me to make one this year. Here's a picture of it. I also colored hard boiled eggs (Tom didn't partake) by adding 5 drops of food coloring to a glass with 1/4 cup white vinegar and water.  Tom DID surprise me with a specially ordered easter basket, complete with my name embroidered on the napkin within. Most importantly, it had chocolate and jelly beans! :) 
  Happy Easter, Happy Passover, Happy Sunday. Enjoy your day whatever you're celebrating whether a holiday or the weekend. 

A Walk Through the Haunted Whaley House

Our friend Anne Marie recently went to the Whaley House Museum in San Diego and caught an orb (the most  simple form a ghost can take) in one of her photos looking down the main stairway. 

 

The orb is at the bottom of the stairway

Whaleyhouse.org said the earliest documented ghost at the Whaley House is "Yankee Jim." James (aka Santiago) Robinson was convicted of attempted grand larceny in San Diego in 1852, and hanged on a gallows off the back of a wagon on the site where the house now stands. Heavy footsteps were heard moving about the house. Whaley described them as sounding as though they were made by the boots of a large man.

Then there's the ghost of Mr. Whaley: Many visitors to the house have reported encountering Thomas Whaley himself. .
- The website says: The specter of Anna Whaley has also been reported, usually in the downstairs rooms or in the garden. In 1964, Mrs. Whaley's floating, drifting spirit appeared to [television personality Regis] Philbin.Other visitors have described seeing or sensing the presence of a woman in the courtroom.  The site also says there's a ghost of a young girl and a spotted dog. There's a LOT going on in there!!!

Yankee Jim's Grave

Anne Marie said:    Violet committed suicide in the “privy” (a.k.a. outhouse) after her husband, whose intent was to marry her and then run away with the money she’d inherit, left her. He bailed on her and never got the money. She’d been prone to depression, and of course at that time, with no true understanding of depression, and then this having happened to her, and she was in her early 20’s (when a lot of mental illness decides to emerge), she took her father’s gone, went out into the “privy” and shot herself. So tragic!

I stood over Yankee Jim’s grave and asked him to show himself to me there. He didn't.  I don’t think he was the orb in the house. The archway that you see in the salon is the spot where he was hanged. The thing about Yankee Jim was that he was 6’3” or so, and the gallows were not set up for such a tall man, so when the bottom was released to hang him, his neck never broke, and he hung there for about 40 minutes or so, strangling to death. 

My gut instinct tells me that the orbs were women of the house. Possibly Violet, Anna, or someone else. The feeling I get when I look at these are not one of fear or happiness or really anything. They’re just kind of there. Not good, not bad… just there. Like maybe a mother and 2 daughters??? Not sure.

The courtroom gave me some pretty significant feelings. The feeling within the courtroom was not a happy feeling. It’s hard to describe – it was like a feeling of severity and harshness. Justice may have been carried out, but not always, and I don’t think people’s outcomes there were necessarily fair. The feeling was “stern” if that makes any sense. 

For more information: http://whaleyhouse.org/hauntedfolklore.htm 

Bizarro Speak: Why Spelling and Grammar are SO Important!

Spelling and grammar are really important. As an English major I've always tried to be very aware of the importance of 

Bizarro Speak

spelling words correctly and using the correct word. If I didn't know what it meant or how to use it, I'd look it up.

We'll definitely be skipping this egg hunt!

Unfortunately, about half the population isn't good with spelling words properly, and it drives people like me crazy.
   In my office, there's a woman who is in a management position, and has a degree in communications and even a master's degree (somehow), that can't spell or write in a grammatically correct manner to save herself. In fact, her spelling and grammar is atrocious, and every day in emails in and outside of the office there are misspellings. It's embarrassing. Even more so because emails have the ability to do spell and grammar checks. She's also quite careless. Here are a few examples just in the last week:
  She recently wrote to a television production company, " The animation is are (instead of "our") highest-resolution."
AND, then she wrote "Yes, but you always to the job of three over 1."  (instead of "do" the job)
"Subject: I is at my desk"  
    I call this "Bizarro speak" after the Superman character who is the "imperfect duplicate" of Superman and speaks that way. For example, he says "Me am Bizarro." That's exactly how this woman communicates in emails. 
-    Anyway, if you don't know how to use a word, look it up (dictionary.com, thesaurus.com, etc.). 
-    Do a Grammar and Spell Check before sending important emails (friends won't care as much and you don't have to impress them, but it's a good habit to get into).

Finally, Happy Easter. Here's one poor speller that is going to drive people away in droves. This is one disgusting egg hunt that we don't want any part of!