v3stige:

Outside England ‘s Bristol Zoo there is a parking lot for 150 cars and 8 buses. For 25 years, it’s parking fees were managed by a very pleasant attendant. The fees were £1.40 for cars and £7 for buses.

Then, one day, after 25 solid years of never missing a day of work, he just didn’t show up; so the Zoo Management called the City Council and asked it to send them another parking agent.

The Council did some research and replied that the parking lot was the Zoo’s own responsibility.

The Zoo advised the Council that the attendant was a City employee.

The City Council responded that the lot attendant had never been on the City payroll.

Meanwhile, sitting in his villa somewhere on the coast of Spain or France or Italy … is a man who’d apparently had a ticket machine installed completely on his own and then had simply begun to show up every day, commencing to collect and keep the parking fees, estimated at about £560 per day — for 25 years.

Assuming 7 days a week, this amounts to just over 7 million pounds … and no one even knows his name.

omfg.

fishyfingers:

Australian Dog Experts Defend the ‘Pit Bull’

Just days after the Victorian government ended its amnesty on unregistered restricted-breed dogs, Point Cook veterinarian Karen Davies did something that hurt her more than anything else in her career. She put down a healthy and seemingly well-adjusted dog because of the way it looked.

Haunted by the experience, she posted an entry on her clinic’s Facebook page, which read in part:

“Today for the first time in 20 years I am questioning if I still want to do this job. My staff and I are all in tears after having to put down our first pit bull under the new legislation.

“He had been dumped, by an owner who had put in the time for this magnificent dog to be friendly to all, shake hands and worse still licked my face with kisses as he passed … to the unknown dog that now sleeps in the arms of my staff with our tears, may life make you look different next time because in this life that was your only flaw.”

The comments were picked up online and posted on online discussion groups and Dr Davies has now been propelled into the front line of those fighting breed-specific legislation or BSL.

Council officers are now able to use visual guidelines to seize and possibly put down a dog that looks like an American pit bull terrier or a cross if it has not been registered as a restricted breed.

“Putting to sleep a perfectly healthy animal that would fit into any happy home for no reason other than he had a label on him because of his looks was dreadful,” she said.

Dr Davies believes that dangerous dogs of any breed should be destroyed. But she points to countries such as the Netherlands and Italy, which have repealed breed-specific legislation, to argue that the current approach does not reduce dog attacks.

Those arguing against banning selective breeds, and that comprises many animal welfare associations including the RSPCA, say a more effective and humane approach is to implement a system of education and training of dogs enforced by policing with fines and jail for irresponsible owners. They say a dog should be deemed irredeemably dangerous on the basis of its temperament not the way it looks.

”Because I am six foot two and a half, and have freckles, it’s like banning every six foot two-plus, freckled person because 10 of them did something wrong over a period of five years,” says Brad Griggs, from the National Dog Trainers Federation.

”It is the equivalent of racism.”

Griggs is concerned that a ban would push owners of pit bulls away.

”If these people are likely to have these dogs seized or be discriminated against, it’s hardly going to bring them into the dog training community fold, and encourage them to train their dogs and raise them properly,” he says.

Griggs says that, internationally, educated dog trainers don’t have a bias against the breed. Genetics are only part of the picture. ”Genetics are the potential a dog has to live into,” he says, arguing that nurture, as opposed to nature, is extremely important.

”All dogs should be heavily socialised and habituated and that is the key point. The majority of dogs that have these issues to attack like this have had a poor critical socialisation period, up to about 16 or 20 weeks of age.”

Australian Veterinary Association (AVA) spokeswoman Kersti Seksel says, “It’s understandable that people are now calling for the banning of some breeds, however all the good evidence available shows that this doesn’t work.”

“Unfortunately, we believe the banning and over-regulation of dogs in our communities could be part of the problem as this leads to poor socialisation and increased risk of attacks.”

The AVA is instead calling for the government to increase funding for education and socialisation programs for dogs, their owners and young children. Its statistics show that the most likely victims of dog attacks are children aged under 10, usually by their own dogs at their homes.

“We’re never going to be able to prevent every incident, but a really good way to help prevent bites and attack is through socialisation of puppies with people and other dogs at a young age, and teaching our children how to be safe around animals.”

In 2001, an American Veterinary Medical Association taskforce investigating canine aggression reported it had found no statistical, biological or behavioural evidence that any breed of dog was more vicious or more dangerous than others.
Statistics provided by Monash University’s Victorian Injury Surveillance Unit show the number of hospital admissions because of dog-related injuries - not just bites - almost doubled from 451 in 2000-01 to 717 last year. This is despite the introduction of breed-specific legislation a decade ago. There were 5180 reported injuries over the past 10 years.

[Read More.]

Story of my life.

(Source: spacestepmom)

wallacewellsbian:

naivewaltz:

opalsinearrings:

ministryofdone:

Done with libraries and candles in mind

I have never wanted a scented candle more than this one. And I’ve got to be honest, I haven’t even had a sniff.

It’ll smell of books and dark wood and sexy leather and maybe even a little bit of cognac. Basically all really really brilliant things.

this exists.  o.o

OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD I HAVE WANTED SOMETHING SCENTED LIKE THIS FOR YEARS EXCEPT I KIND OF WANT PERFUME BUT THIS IS ALSO ACCEPTABLE I WANT IT SO BAD.

Sounds lovely.

wallacewellsbian:

hemohasmyheart:

theneverendingactress:

distastefortruth:

not-xdanimalx:

secretsbest:

 

The Defibrillator Toaster

My mom would be so annoyed… every morning I would run into the kitchen screaming “WE’RE LOSING THEM!!! BEEP BEEP BEEPBEEPBEEP!”

“DON’T YOU DIE ON ME, DAMNIT!!!  NURSE, WE NEED 12 CC’S OF CREAM CHEESE, STAT!!!”

this is the best oh my god

“We’ve lost him, Doctor. Give up.” 

“NO! THIS BREAD HAD BAGELS! YOU TELL HIS WIFE AND BAGELS HE’S DEAD! CLEAR! COME ON DAMN YOU TOAST!

“Doctor, please, it’s be-“

“WE HAVE HIM! NURSE GET THE BUTTER!”

“Yes, Doctor.  Right away!” 

WE SAVED HIM GET THE JAM AND BUTTER STAT 

He lived through the procedure…but we had to remove his crusts.

“Try again! Turn it up to medium-dark, and… clarified butter!”