Man's Best Friend!

When Ara Met Spirit, To Lance With Love....

The Secret Of His Success!

Over the last few months, Novak Djokovic has established himself as the most dominant tennis player on the planet! He has repeatedly beaten the likes of Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer and is unbeaten so far this year. While his maturity as a player & as a person, plus an impressive work-ethic have undoubtedly played important roles in his incredible success, I cannot help feeling there's some other factor that's proved to be a boon for him! Here's a picture (worth a thousand words)of the life-altering incident in discussion, and Novak has never looked back!

NBA Defensive Teams 2010-2011.

In "Defence" of Dwayne Wade!!!!

The NBA has announced its Defensive Teams for this season. Once again, the "geniuses" have voted for Kobe Bryant ahead of Dwayne Wade as the shooting guard in the all-defensive first team! In fact, Wade doesn't even appear in the second team!

Now, let's take a look at the relevant statistics for the season, shall we?

Rebounds: Wade=6.4, Kobe=5.1
Steals: Wade=1.5, Kobe=1.2
Blocks: Wade=1.1, Kobe=0.2

Do the math! Oooops, sorry! Mathematically (and Mentally, for that matter)-Challenged people are unable to achieve this "feat"!

"Bear" Necessities

AT 120 DEGREES IN AUSTRALIA , IT WAS SO HOT FOR A WEEK THAT KOALAS WERE ASKING PEOPLE FOR WATER. IT'S NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE. ONE WENT INTO A HOUSE TO FIND SOME SHADE & QUENCH HIS/HER THIRST....

Friends

Polar Bear: "I come in Peace."

Norbert Rosing's striking images of a wild polar bear coming upon
Tethered sled dogs in the Wilds of Canada's Hudson Bay ........the photographer was sure that he was going to see the end of his dogs when the polar bear wandered in. It's hard to believe that this polar bear only needed to hug someone! The polar bear
returned every night that week to play with the dogs.

Beautiful People

"A CHANCE FOR BLISS" welcomes old, sick and disabled animals that would face certain euthanasia at most shelters.

It can be close to impossible to find homes for animals who are older, disabled or sick, so David "Woody" Bartley and his wife, Deanna, founded A Chance For Bliss Animal Sanctuary and Wellness Institute in Penryn, Calif., specifically to provide a home for these "unadoptable" animals.

They unknowingly began their quest in 2000, when they took in a couple of elderly Boston Terriers named Chance and Bliss that had been surrendered to a shelter. "We were amazed at how grateful these two beings were," Woody says. "It was like they said thank you to us every day in a variety of ways."

After that, the Bartleys were hooked on helping the most vulnerable animals, and decided to start a sanctuary specifically to provide a home for old, sick and disabled creatures. The primary difference between A Chance For Bliss and other shelters is that every animal that comes to their sanctuary gets to stay forever.


Over the last decade, Woody and Deanna have welcomed more than 170 animals to the sanctuary; some have lived as briefly as six days while one dog has lasted more than ten years. While many pet lovers would balk at caring for an animal that is not long for this world, the Bartleys don't care. Besides, they see the difference that a permanent home makes in the sometimes all-too-brief lives of the animals. "Tenure is not important to us, just that each resident experiences dignity and love for every day they are with us," Woody explains.

Currently 90 animals call A Chance For Bliss home, including 24 horses, 22 dogs, eight pot-belly pigs, seven goats, seven ducks, five geese, five chicken, four rabbits, three cats, three sheep, two steers and one cockatiel.

The star of the show is Homer Le Porc, the official "spokes-pig" at the sanctuary. Before coming to the shelter, Homer lived in a small box and was left behind when his previous guardians — a term Woody uses rather loosely — moved away. Since he came to the sanctuary, Homer has blossomed.


Last year, like many people, the Bartleys fell behind on their mortgage payments and were in danger of losing their home and the sanctuary. Woody kicked the fundraising efforts into high gear by launching a sponsor program where animal lovers can pledge $10 a month to help offset some of the $4,000 the sanctuary spends just on food each month. The bank also granted the Bartleys a loan modification, which has eased the financial burden.

"With all the animals we've had, it continues to amaze me how every new resident sparks an even higher level of wonder in us," Woody says. "I stand in awe of an animal's ability to forgive and forget, and we are the daily recipients of gratitude by this amazing flock."

"If others could simply welcome one old or sick animal into their home and allow them to live out their lives in dignity and peace, it would make an extraordinary difference."





Source: http://www.tonic.com/article/a-couple-in-california-have-pledged-their-lives-to-caring-for-unadoptable-animals/

Unique Treehouse!

It's not unusual for kind-hearted people to take care of stray cats by leaving out food and providing shelter. However, the story of one Wisconsin man's adopted kitty is a little more unusual. The cat, Almond, never comes out of his tree!

The 7-month-old cat was born in a maple tree in Ron Venden's back yard, but when the mother cat moved her kittens from their perch, she left little Almond behind, Venden tells the Wisconsin State Journal. Since then, the cat has remained in his treetop home — Venden has never seen paw prints in the snow.

And why should he leave? Venden climbs a ladder to check on and feed Almond twice a day, spoiling him with fresh food like meatloaf, salami and milk. The 66-year-old retired carpenter also created a protected straw bed for him in a hollow in the tree and set up a dry food feeder.

It's not that Venden hasn't tried to show the kitty the joys of ground-floor living, but Almond scratches Venden whenever he tries to move the kitty. According to the county's lead animal services officer, living among the leaves shouldn't be a problem for Almond since he is grown and has adequate food and shelter.



(Source: http://www.tonic.com/article/cat-that-never-leaves-its-tree-has-found-a-good-home-and-owner/)