That's him. Could you ask for anyone more intelligent, awkward or lovable to have in your life?
Unfortunately, Sammy Boy had to cross Rainbow Bridge a few years ago because OUR 15 years with him were up. Rainbow Bridge being something that your vet tells your kid to make them feel better about their unconditional best friend who can't hang around anymore.
Anyway, so that I stop crying, let me tell you about Lou Lou. After Sam was gone, we decided that we still had the perfect home to take in another furry friend without a home. It's what Sam would have wanted.
As an aside, I will ALWAYS encourage you to ADOPT ADOPT ADOPT your pets.
So this is Lou. He came from a no-kill shelter on Hilton Head. A dopey Southern boy who never lets us forget it.
He's clearly very photogenic and in love with the sun.
Now before you all get bored, let me get to my point...
ALWAYS CHECK YOUR PRODUCTS!
I was in the shower this afternoon, using my new Avalon Organics Conditioner from Fairway, one of my most dangerous addictions.
And why I was only using conditioner is a different story for a different day.
Any-who, during the tenure of my shower I began scanning the back of the bottle, pleased to see that they don't test on animals. This started to jog my curiosity. How many products do I use that do not test on animals?
After conducting my small, non-professional study, I was disappointed to say the least.
Some of my most favorite and reliable products said nothing on their labels about not testing on animals. Am I left here to just assume that they don't? I don't think so. In this day and age, that is not only a fact about your product, but about the integrity of your company that you want people to know.
Among the products in my bathroom the following are ones that I will not be buying again in the future.
Head & Shoulders (the ONLY thing I have been shaving my legs with. I guess it's back to the drawing boards)
L'Occitane (I guess it was meant to be that the scent of their that I fell in love with has been discontinued)
Michael Kors (There goes my emergency perfume and for protests sake, the first gift I received from my boyfriend, a beautiful grey and black Hamilton. Oh well, it's too heavy anyway)
Kiehl's (This one won't be too painful for me since it leaves my face feeling almost sticky, but I might have to pry my boyfriend's from his cold, dead hands)
TAMPAX?!
And I'm sure there are others in there that I am going to need to do some more research on. If you want to check out the products that you used, look at this list that I refer to by Animals Australia.
Back to my diatribe about my family pets for a moment, I was nearly brought to tears every time Sam would pull out one of his claws while playing in the woods and spent the duration of the day licking his foot; or when he lost his vision and was whimpering because he was stuck in the corner and didn't know where he was; or when I accidentally step on Lou's foot and he lets out that heart breaking squeal that makes your skin crawl.
That being said, think about the pets that take up the most room in your heart. Then think about the blemish cream that you just purchased that is painful enough to make you want to virtually throw away your hard earned $20.
You did that to yourself! What about the innocent dogs, cats, rabbits, among many others, who are taken against their will and slathered with these products in order to make them comfortable for us. Imagine how they feel before these products are approved for humans.
The only difference between your household pets and yourself is that they were blessed with the inability to speak and understand some of the stupid, mundane, hurtful things that come out of our mouths sometimes. All they are guilty of is loving you unconditionally for making sure that they have dry kibble and wet water in their bowls, a trip to the bathroom every few hours, and a roof over their heads.
BELIEVE ME when I tell you that there are PLENTY of people out there willing to do ridiculous things to their bodies for a few bucks. Test on them. They know what is potentially coming to them and they're getting a pay out in the end.
PETA provides several methods with which you can search for your favorite products to see if they are cruelty free.
I guess I'm off to Fairway tomorrow to find something else to shave my legs with!
<3,
KJM
