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Monday, December 31, 2012
"The most devastating crime against Palestinians in Israel during military rule was the Kfar Qassem..."
??The most devastating crime against Palestinians in Israel during military rule was the Kfar Qassem massacre. On 1957, Israel imposed a military curfew on Arab villages that would start at five in the evening. The notice of the curfew did not reach the village head of Kfar Qassem until an hour and a half before five. He told the military commanders that it would be impossible for him to alert the farmers and shepherds to vacate their fields in time. When soldiers arrived in the village they collected all of those who remained outside and shot to death forty-seven men, women and children.
??Reat at ReadyOkayGo
Posted 10 hours ago with 3 notes
#Israel#Middle EastSource: http://stay-human.tumblr.com/post/39168110708
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We continue our look at the Top 50 moments in local sports with some record-brea...
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Report: iPad Still Destroying Other Tablets in Web Usage
| Home | Apple Stock | Tracked Sites | TechNN | | E-Mail | Sherlock Plugin Close Left Panel | Login | Subscribe to MacSurfer's Headline News Poll | Most Popular | Talking Heads | A Year Ago Today | Checked 10:50 PM; Last Updated 9:30 PM CST; 03:30 GMT | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Do you agree that Apple shares are unequivocally cheap?
Cast your vote in "Today's Poll..." in the left column below or go straight to the results here. WEEKEND BLOWOUT: Every NEW or RENEWING paid subscriber receives 2 YEARS FREE.... Weekend Highlights: Foss Patents reports that the ITC Judge wants Samsung to post a bond for 88 percent of its U.S. smartphone sales due to the Apple patent case; The Macalope considers small sample sizes; Insanely Great Mac updates a video review of results of charging iOS devices with the newest 12v charger, with interesting results; Rocco Pendola at TheStreet on the massive opportunity yet to be realized with Apple's million-dollar-per-day retail stores; MacNewsWorld's John Mello clarifies reports claiming Tim Cook's pay was cut 99%, when in actuality his base pay was raised by 51%; Macworld reviews the big Apple news stories of 2012; it seems that Apple's lack of online reviews are what brought down their online customer satisfaction score, which is still a respectable 80; $15 billion is what Samsung may be forced to pay for its attempt to ban Apple products in the EU; Apple had a huge Christmas according to Distimo, seeing an 87% increase in App Store downloads; report from Ina Fried over at AllThingsD says developers finding it more difficult to obtain app loyalty; Google's YouTube and Maps apps topped list of most downloaded apps on December 25th; former Apple designer reveals early product prototypes featuring some very interesting designs; LG seeking to ban Samsung's Galaxy Note for patent infringement; sending a quake of concern through ultrabook vendors, MacBook Air rumored to feature new processor platform in 2013 while retaining same design?reports in our Hardware/Software section; and apparently iDevice demand is so high that Apple's suppliers are going to keep working through the Chinese New Year; PC Magazine reviews Flickr for iPhone; PadGadget offers advice on finding accessories for your new iPad, iPad mini; Charles Moore discusses the pros/cons of buying Apple's extended AppleCare warranty for your devices; tablets now disposable commodity? This weekend's MacUpdate Promo offers 82% savings on Strata Design 3D CX & Foto 3D CX 7. "Strata Design 3D CX and Foto 3D CX are the ultimate pairing when it comes to 3D rendering and animation. Foto 3D CX has the power to turn any set of images into a textured 3D rendering of real-life objects. While Strata Design 3D CX allows you to bring your imagination to life with gorgeous textures, lighting effects, and animation." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Benefits of Mindfulness in Early Parenting | World of Psychology
When my first daughter was born ? nearly 15 years ago ? I remember a level of anxiety that I carried with me wherever I was and whatever I was doing.
Was I doing things right? Would my decisions as a parent serve her well? Would she grow up to be a well-adjusted person, at ease and self-confident?
Being in the mental health field, these things were of primary importance to me. I would often ask myselff: Was I stimulating her enough? Was I providing her with an optimal amount of external stimuli? Was I stimulating her too much, interfering with her ability to soothe herself?
The answers from developmental and parenting experts were contradictory and confusing. They ranged from advice, such as never to put your baby in a crib (the equivalent of being ?put behind bars?), to the need to teach your baby to self-soothe by several months of age. (Otherwise she will have difficulty developing a sense of independence and self-reliance.)
I was, as many new mothers are, vulnerable to the ?shoulds? and ?shouldn?ts? that were expressed all around me, both from experts and from other new mothers.
Our culture is one which places a lot of pressure on new mothers to parent their infants in a way that both provides a more advanced and fine-tuned form of stimulation than we were parented with (from Baby Einstein to readings of Ulysses in utero) while at the same time criticizing them for raising children who are ?too needy? and ?self-absorbed.?
What I wish I had known at this vulnerable time ? and which sadly seems all too obvious in retrospect ? is that more important than whether I was providing this kind of stimulation or that, or whether I purchased the car seat with the absolute highest safety rating or not, was my ability to be present with my children, and that giving them my presence was more important than any other decision I might make as a parent.
What does it mean to give one?s presence? In short, it means to find moments, and more moments, to leave one?s thinking/analyzing/judging brain behind and to just be with one?s baby, staring into their eyes, smelling their scent, trusting one?s intuition, and being available to respond in a spontaneous and loving manner to the cues they inevitably provide us with.
In my work as a psychologist with pregnant and postpartum women, what I have seen repeatedly is women?s lack of ability to trust themselves and their babies to know what is right for this mother-baby dyad, and this particular family. Just like the birthing process itself, which has become so heavily ?medicalized,? early motherhood and parenthood have become the domain of scholarly experts rather then living mothers.
So how is a new mother to protect herself from the commercialization and anxiety of motherhood?
First and foremost, limiting external input from books, magazines, websites, and professionals may be important. Rather than looking outside for generic advice and direction, it may well be better to turn inward ? allowing yourself to listen to what feels right in this moment for you and your baby. Make time to sit with your feelings. Pay attention to sensation. Make room to name the feeling and to observe how it may change with moments of meditative awareness.
And ask yourself the question: ?What do I most need in this moment, and what does my baby most need??
Trust that babies are powerful, resilient beings who need moms to give them the room to learn to communicate their needs, who model self-care, and who allow moments of spaciousness to color their days rather than lists of ?shoulds.?
Mindfulness-based Advice for New Mothers
Below is a list of suggestions you may find helpful. What is right for you, however, is different than what will be right for any other new mother. Breathe deeply, pay attention to sensation, and?
- Do your best to get sleep.
- Try to have at least some time for yourself every day.
- Do your best to make time for connecting with your partner each day.
- Combat isolation.
- Ask for and accept help.
- Don?t compare your baby or your situation to someone else?s.
- It is not a helpful strategy to blame yourself for your experience.
- Be kind to yourself.
- Allow yourself some luxuries.
- If you experience yourself as overwhelmed by advice sit still and turn inward.
- Identify and make use of constructive stress relievers.
- Seek professional help if you are feeling low or anxious. You can go in for a ?well check? if nothing else.
- Prioritize what?s really important. Try to let go of standards of perfection.
????Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 29 Dec 2012
????Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved.
APA Reference
Hassan, G. (2012). The Benefits of Mindfulness in Early Parenting. Psych Central. Retrieved on December 30, 2012, from http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2012/12/29/the-benefits-of-mindfulness-in-early-parenting/
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Source: http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2012/12/29/the-benefits-of-mindfulness-in-early-parenting/
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Latest Jobs In London News
Will Hong Kong overtake London, New York in financial jobs stakes?
That's because the Asian city looks set to become the center of the Earth when it comes to jobs in the financial sector. CEBR, the London-based economics consultancy, recently forecast Hong Kong will have more financial services jobs than New York or ?
Read more on CNN
Source: http://www.starting-out-london.com/latest-jobs-in-london-news-7/
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GOP governors walk balance beam on health law
ATLANTA (AP) ? Florida Gov. Rick Scott, who made a fortune as a health care executive, long opposed President Barack Obama's remake of the health insurance market. After the Democratic president won re-election, the Republican governor softened his tone. He said he wanted to "have a conversation" with the administration about implementing the 2010 law. With a federal deadline approaching, he also said while Florida won't set up the exchange for individuals to buy private insurance policies, the feds can do it.
In New Jersey, Gov. Chris Christie held his cards before saying he won't set up his own exchange, but he's avoided absolute language and says he could change his mind. He's also leaving his options open to accept federal money to expand Medicaid insurance for people who aren't covered. The caveat, Christie says, is whether Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius can "answer my questions" about its operations and expense.
Both Republican governors face re-election in states that Obama won twice, Christie in 2013 and Scott in 2014. And both will encounter well-financed Democrats.
Their apparent struggles on the issue, along with other postures by their GOP colleagues elsewhere, suggest political uncertainty for Republicans as the Affordable Care Act starts to go into effect two years after clearing Congress without a single Republican vote. The risks also are acute for governors in Democratic-leaning or swing-voting states or who know their records will be parsed should they seek the presidency in 2016 or beyond.
"It's a tough call for many Republican governors who want to do the best thing for their state but don't want to be seen as advancing an overhaul that many Republicans continue to detest," said Whit Ayers, a consultant in Virginia whose clients include Gov. Bill Haslam of Tennessee, a Republican who didn't announce his rejection of a state exchange until days before Sebelius's Dec. 14 deadline.
Indeed, cracks keep growing in the near-unanimous Republican rejection of Obama's health care law that characterized the GOP's political messaging for the last two years. Five GOP-led states ? Idaho, Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah ? are pressing ahead with state insurance exchanges. Ongoing monitoring by The Associated Press shows that another five Republican-led states are pursuing or seriously a partnership with Washington to help run the new markets.
Democrats, meanwhile, hope to use the law and Republican inflexibility to their advantage, betting that more Americans will embrace the law once it expands coverage. The calculus for voters, Democrats assume, will become more about the policy and less about a polarizing president.
"It shouldn't be complicated at all," said John Anzalone, an Obama pollster who assists Democrats in federal races across the country. Anzalone said Republicans could use their own states-rights argument to justify running exchanges. Instead, he said, "They are blinded by Obama-hatred rather than seeing what's good for their citizens."
Governors can set up their own exchanges, partner with Sebelius' agency or let the federal government do it. The exchanges are set to open Jan. 1, 2014, allowing individuals and businesses to shop online for individual policies from private insurers. Low- and middle-income individuals will get federal premium subsidies calculated on a sliding income scale. Eighteen states plus Washington, DC, most led by Democrats, have committed to opening their own exchanges.
The law also calls for raising the income threshold for Medicaid eligibility to cover people making up to 138 percent of the federal poverty line, or about $15,400 a year for an individual. That could add more than 10 million people, most of them childless adults, to the joint state-federal insurance program for low-income and disabled Americans. Together, the exchanges and the Medicaid expansion are expected to reduce the number of uninsured by about 30 million people within the next decade.
A Supreme Court ruling last summer made the Medicaid expansion voluntary, rather than mandatory for states. At least eight governors, all of them Republicans, have already said they have no plans to expand Medicaid.
The complexity is obvious.
National exit polls from last month's election showed that 49 percent of voters wanted some or all of Obama's signature legislative achievement rolled back. Among self-identified independents, that number was 58 percent. Among Republicans, it spiked to 81 percent. When asked about the role of government, half of respondents said the notion that government is doing too much fits their views more closely than the idea that government should do more.
Before the election, a national AP-GfK poll suggested that 63 percent of respondents preferred their states to run insurance exchanges, almost double the 32 percent who wanted the federal government to take that role. And the same electorate that tilts toward repealing some or all of the new law clearly re-elected its champion.
That's not the most important consideration for governors who face re-election in Republican states. Georgia's Nathan Deal and Alabama's Robert Bentley, who also face 2014 campaigns, initially set up advisory commissions to consider how to carry out the health care law, but they've since jumped ship. But, unlike others, Deal and Bentley aren't eyeing national office.
Three Republicans who are viewed as potential national candidates ? Rick Perry of Texas, Nikki Haley of South Carolina and Bobby Jindal of Louisiana ? were full-throated opponents. Jindal, the only one of the three who is term-limited, is the incoming chairman of the Republican Governors Association. In that role, he has co-signed more conciliatory letters to Sebelius asking questions to flesh out how the designs might work.
Republican governors also are feeling quiet pressure from hospitals and other providers.
Deal, the Georgia governor, offers the typical argument for saying no: "We can't afford it." But the law envisions the new Medicaid coverage more or less as a replacement of an existing financing situation that pays hospitals to treat the uninsured. The law contemplates cuts in that program, which already requires state seed money. The idea was that expanding Medicaid coverage would reduce "uncompensated care" costs.
"Some of those cuts were made with the expectation that Medicaid would be expanded and that hospitals would be paid for portions of business that we are not being paid for now," said Don Dalton of the North Carolina Hospital Association.
Dalton's Governor-elect, Republican Pat McCrory, said as a candidate that he opposed Medicaid expansion. Dalton said his industry is leaning on McCrory and legislative leaders, though he commended "their deliberate approach." Similar efforts are underway in South Carolina, Georgia, Missouri and elsewhere.
For Democrats, Anzalone said the framing will be simpler: "You don't want to take a 9-to-1 match? That's a pretty easy investment. These governors who aren't expanding Medicaid, they're basically giving taxpayer money to the states that do."
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/gop-governors-walk-balance-beam-health-law-150134024--politics.html
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Sunday, December 30, 2012
India gang-rape victim cremated as UN chief calls for action to protect women
Indian protesters rally in Delhi following the cremation of the 23-year-old gang-rape victim. Photograph: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images
The UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, has urged the Indian government to take action to protect women after a 23-year-old student died of injuries sustained during a gang rape in Delhi.
"Every girl and woman has the right to be respected, valued and protected," Ban said in a statement in which he welcomed efforts by the government but called for "further steps and reforms to deter such crimes and bring perpetrators to justice".
The intervention of the UN takes the fallout from the incident two weeks ago to a new level and underlines the damage it has done to India's international image, already battered by corruption scandals, a huge power failure earlier this year, and slowing economic growth.
The body of the still unnamed victim was cremated according to Hindu rites in Delhi shortly after dawn on Sunday. More details have emerged about her: the eldest of three children, she was reportedly a bright and funny independent woman from a humble background who impressed her tutors at medical college and taught schoolchildren in the family home, a one-bedroom flat, to help with finances. Her father is reported to be a loader at Delhi's airport.
Friends quoted by local media said she was planning to marry the 28-year-old male friend she was with when the attack took place.
The prime minister, Manmohan Singh, and Sonia Gandhi, the president of the ruling Congress party, met the plane carrying her remains from Singapore, where doctors had tried to save her life following 10 days of treatment in India. Singh and Gandhi, with other senior Indian politicians, have been criticised for their slow and high-handed response to the incident, which has generated outrage, grief and anger across India.
"It's been a huge challenge to all of them. They have seen the whole affair as basically a law and order problem. There has been no conversation. But that style of top-down politics is not going to work any more, particularly with young, aspirational urban people," Swapan Dasgupta, a Delhi-based analyst, said.
Figures published on Sunday revealed that despite 635 reported cases of rape and 745 arrests in Delhi this year, there has been only one conviction. A total of 572 rapes were reported to Delhi police in 2011, up from 507 in 2010, 469 in 2009 and 466 in 2008. The government has said it will bring in fast-track courts to accelerate the legal process.
The funeral was conducted in secrecy and under heavy police guard, with the media abiding by a collective decision to stay away. Demonstrations calling for reforms and the execution of the six men detained for the attack continued in Delhi and other major cities, as they have done every day for nearly two weeks.
Despite a major security operation that has kept mourners and protesters away from the centre of the capital, there were some clashes on Sunday afternoon. Local newspapers said more than 18,000 police had been deployed, nearly a quarter of the Delhi force's total strength.
India has been plunged into an extraordinary bout of self-analysis following the woman's death. The media has given blanket coverage of the attack, which took place on a moving bus in south Delhi on 16 December.
All of Sunday's front pages and news bulletins were devoted to the incident and its aftermath. High profile new year parties in the capital and elsewhere have been cancelled. Bollywood stars have expressed their shame and anger. One of the biggest, Shahrukh Khan, posted on Twitter: "Rape embodies sexuality as our culture and society has defined it. I am so sorry that I am a part of this society and culture."
Bollywood itself has been under fire. One columnist spoke of how plots of often classic films "sanctify pestering and stalking of women".
The new interest in sexual crimes has led to reports that would have struggled to make it on air or into newspapers in the normal frenzied India news cycle, where often sensationalist TV channels compete ruthlessly. One major newspaper ran a list of sexual crimes against women that have taken place during the ongoing battle between security forces and Maoist guerillas in the centre of the country. Headlined "Women suffer big in India's state vs rebels war", it held both sides responsible.Over the past 24 hours other reported incidents have included women attempting to take their own lives after being gang raped, the attempted murder of a rape victim in Rajasthan and an infant dying after a rape in Gujerat. In West Bengal a woman was reportedly raped by three hospital workers after seeking treatment for her baby. A woman was also allegedly assaulted on a bus in Delhi. One man was arrested.
India's courts have a backlog of hundreds of thousands of cases, which would take decades to clear if all were heard. Facilities for forensic analysis are few and poorly-equipped. Healthcare in many of the rural areas where assaults are endemic is often rudimentary. The UN has offered to help India "strengthen critical services for rape victims" with technical expertise and other support as required," Ban said. The problem is, however, enormously complex. For example, women in rural India are rendered more vulnerable because a lack of sanitation facilities forces them to defecate in woods or fields after dark.
Dasgupta said the affair had laid bare the gulf between India's political elite and younger voters. "There's a big demographic factor that we are beginning to see. How parties react to it will determine their political future," he said.
Priyamvada Gopal, page 24
Source: http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/~r/theguardian/rss/~3/Kc7DE_pDypU/india-gang-rape-un-call-action
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2012's 'good news' stories
A volunteer signs on red ribbons during an AIDS awareness campaign in a college in Anshun city in southwest China's Guizhou province.
AP
By Jina Moore/Correspondent
One of the areas where incremental progress is easiest to miss is global health. It's hard even to say the word "progress" in the face of continued suffering, but this year has brought some significant achievements.
Not 15 years ago, an HIV diagnosis was medically considered a death sentence, and policymakers worried whether the world could contain the spread of AIDS. In that context, today's news is surprising: AIDS infections have dropped 50 percent or more in 25 countries, compared with a decade ago, reports the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).
"For many years, we've been talking about the millions of people dying from AIDS, which is still the case in many countries, but for the first time we see the light at the end of the tunnel," says Christoph Benn, director of external relations and partnerships at The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. "Treatment prices have come down, and you're now finding drugs not just in hospitals, but in rural clinics."
UNAIDS reports that the number of children newly infected with HIV is down by more than a quarter in the past two years. "This progress in reducing new infections among children is actually quite dramatic," says Peter Ghys, chief of Data for Action at UNAIDS. "We're seeing this in a large number of countries."
One place that might be lagging? The United States. A November report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that young people ages 13 to 24 make up fully a quarter of new HIV infections each year; and 60 percent of them don't know they are infected, making it impossible to medically treat them.
Antiretroviral therapy is credited with reducing the pace of HIV-related deaths and limiting the transmission of the virus. The UN Millennium Development Program put universal access on the global agenda. Though it failed to meet the objective by its 2010 deadline (now revised to 2015), this year for the first time the majority of people eligible for HIV treatment in low- and middle-income countries receive ART. Dr. Benn singles out Rwanda as an example of stunning progress: More than 90 percent of eligible Rwandans were receiving ART by the end of October.
"This is fantastic ... historical. That is beyond our expectations from a couple of years ago," Benn says.
Kazakhstan is the site of another moment of global public health progress this year. In March, it was certified malaria-free by the World Health Organization, joining only four other malaria-endemic countries with that designation.
Nigeria heads the pack of 17 countries poised to eliminate malaria. Their antimalaria agenda includes a $50 million bed-net program, underwritten by The Global Fund, which hopes the country will offer two bed nets per household.
The Republic of the Congo, meanwhile, has made massive strides in combating maternal mortality. The number of women dying in childbirth dropped 60 percent between 2010 and 2011, from 740 deaths per 100,000 live births to 300 deaths.
David Lawson, who heads the UN Population Fund's Congo Republic office, says a government strategy and increases in the health budget have been factors in the change. Starting in March, Caesarean sections were offered free of charge, reducing deaths from delivery complications.
More than 80 percent of Congolese women deliver babies in health centers, an unusually high rate in sub-Saharan Africa, which Mr. Lawson attributes to the Congo Republic's high degree of urbanization. But he did caution, in an e-mail interview, against too much optimism: "While such a significant drop is spectacular and certainly unusual in Africa [the maternal mortality rate nevertheless] remain[s] very high for a middle-income country where women deliver babies in health centers."
Sarah Kess contributed to this report.
Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/n9Ep8W97QY0/2012-s-good-news-stories
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Pet Talk: Volunteer puppy raisers socialize assistance dogs for ...
If you?ve resolved to find a meaningful way to help people and the animals that aid them this coming year, here?s one thought: volunteer to raise a puppy.
Canine Companions for Independence, a national nonprofit which provides trained assistance dogs free of charge?to people with disabilities, relies on volunteers to help socialize the dogs before their formal career training begins.
?We call it getting ready for college,? says Susan Manuel, president of CCI?s Cascade Chapter and a volunteer puppy raiser. ?There are certain things you have to learn, you have to be a certain level of maturity and have some life experience to be successful in college. It?s kind of the same thing with these dogs.?
Socializing is a key factor in prepping the puppies for their future careers because the work they will do is vital to their future owner?s well-being.
They need to be able to behave properly while their handler is at work and out and about, so the puppy raisers provide the dogs with basic obedience training and expose them to as many people and places as possible. Dogs often accompany them to work, out shopping and even on vacation.
The California-based nonprofit, established in 1975, trains four types of assistance dogs to help people who have physical or developmental disabilities; are hearing-impaired; or who need comfort in a health care, courtroom or educational setting.
The puppies are bred by volunteer breeder caretakers, who must live within 90 miles of the organization?s headquarters in Santa Rosa, Calif. All of the dogs are either Labrador retrievers, golden retrievers or a cross of the two.
Becoming a puppy raiser
The puppies spend their first eight weeks in a volunteer breeder caretaker?s home, then go through a health check and are shipped out to one of the 1,050 puppy raisers in five regions around the country. They?ll live in the volunteers? homes for the next 16 to 18 months.
Puppy raisers don?t have to be dog experts by any means. In fact, some volunteers have never even owned a dog before.
?We have people that come to us with zero dog experience and have never had a dog before in their life,? says Heather Ohmart, a contract trainer for CCI and volunteer puppy raiser. ?It?s something most anybody can do.?
New volunteers are equipped with a manual, video, and classroom support from fellow CCI volunteers.
The assistance offered by fellow volunteers was a big bonus for Manuel, who has owned dogs before but never raised a puppy. Now, she?s caring for her fifth.
A software engineer for Hewlett-Packard, Manuel was inspired to socialize puppies after seeing a co-worker get involved. She contacted him, and was caring for a puppy about six weeks later.
?I love the idea of combining my love of dogs with helping people,? she says.
Her participation with CCI has connected her to a whole new community, she says. What?s more, the trademark blue-and-yellow capes often inspire others to inquire about the dogs.
?You find connections everywhere and it?s such a wonderful thing,? Manuel says. ?It?s given me a whole world I never even knew about.?
Ohmart stepped up after hearing a CCI graduate do a presentation about the importance of service dogs in her life.?
The woman was on a waiting list for her next service dog after the previous one passed away. Without a dog to assist her, she said, she was unable to leave her home independently without her husband or children.
?I filled out an application on the spot,? says Ohmart, who also works with female inmates in CCI?s puppy training program at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility in Wilsonville.
Prospective puppy raisers should have no more than three dogs at home already. Kids are fine ? the more opportunities to socialize, the better ? but people with infants are encouraged to hold off until the children are a little more self-sufficient.
Puppy raisers should also be financially capable of caring for the dogs and be able to afford food, medical care, training and transportation (all of which should be tax-deductible, but check with your tax adviser first).
Traits that make good puppy raisers include consistency, reliability and an appreciation for CCI?s mission.
Volunteering is ideal for families with teenagers, Manuel points out, and makes for a good senior-year project. It?s also a good way to introduce potential owners to daily life with dogs on a short-term basis.
One of the most common questions Manuel and Ohmart frequently hear is, how can they ever give the puppies up?
Some won?t have to. Some dogs are released from the program, and their puppy raisers have the first right of adoption to those dogs.
Those that do graduate help their new handlers so much that their stories are inspiration enough to wipe away the tears and turn over the leash, Ohmart says
For instance, there?s Vancouver resident Mary Williams, who relies on her hearing dog Suzanne the Second to navigate her through her now-silent world.
After losing her hearing, she no longer felt safe going for walks because she couldn?t hear people coming behind her.
?My world became smaller,? she says.
Suzanne expanded it again. The hearing dog, which has been with Williams for eight years, recognizes at least 30 sounds, ranging from the doorbell and phone to a honking car horn.
?The deafness kind of clipped my wings,? Williams says, ?and Suzie gave them back.?
To volunteer as a CCI puppy raiser:
Visit the website for more information and to fill out the volunteer application: cci.org. Call Susan Manuel, president of CCI?s Cascade Chapter, with questions at 971-533-7458.
If you think you might want to raise a puppy, you can start by filling out an application online. The application process usually involves a phone interview and a home visit to make sure your home is safe for a puppy.
--Monique Balas
Source: http://www.oregonlive.com/pets/index.ssf/2012/12/pet_talk_volunteer_puppy_raise.html
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