Petiquette — Teach Your Kids to Treat Pets Kindly

Last night I watched an episode of  ‘My Cat From Hell’ that was of particular interest to me. Teaching kids to treat their pets with respect. 

The episode showed a family with two cats, one that was so laid back it didn’t seem to care what the kids did with it. It just flopped about in their arms and allowed them to tip it upside down and one kid ever tried to put it into the refrigerator. Basically, the child treated it like it was a stuffed toy. The other cat, understandably, was terrified of the kids, and scratched and spat whenever anyone reached out a hand toward it–or a foot as one of the children did, threatening to kick it.

My peeve is that some parents don’t seem to notice, as was the case with this family. I don’t imagine for one second that they would deliberately be unkind to animals. They’re just uninformed. The cats or dogs either submit to a life of hell, or rebel, and get sent to the shelter or euthanized because they are considered dangerous.

I commend the cat whisperer, Jackson, for his patience and consideration in this episode, in which he admitted he knew nothing about kids or how to get through to them, but he did, in fact, achieve this. He even took the time to visit the children’s school and teach their classmates how to treat animals–what to do and what not to do and how to pet them. By the end of the episode the problem cat had gone through a surprising transformation, and obviously realized the children were no longer going to hurt her.

Writers who do research on psychopaths will often include an episode in which their antagonist does something to hurt an animal, although it is not recommended that you go into any great detail. Readers find it easier to read about people being tortured than animals. Perhaps our empathy for animals comes from their innocence–and the same goes for children. No animal–or child–is born with a cruel and nasty temperament. If they become aggressive, it usually has something to do with the treatment they get from the humans around them.

If ever I visit a home in which children don’t seem to understand and have never been taught how to treat animals, I am quick to take them aside and explain to them that animals have feelings too. I hope you guys reading this will do the same.

(I am an incurable animals lover, and always try to include them in my stories. In the Redneck P.I. Series, Twila’s rescue dog, Scratch rides on the back of her Harley with her in a special metal basket fabricated by Twila’s Pops. In Aquarius Addiction, Arlette Xylander’s crazy black cat, Marbles seems to know what’s going on when the Voodoo queen performs a ceremony to find out what secrets the old mansion holds in its walls.)

It Matters Radio – Trish jackson

Last night I had the privilege of being interviewed by Ken Weene on It Matters Radio, about my new Redneck P.I. Adventures book, Backwoods Boogie.

First I have to thank all three presenters — Ken, Monica and Kerry. They are so warm and friendly, it’s like being invited into their homes. There’s even a cat called Punky who manages to get into a lot of the coverage, which made me feel more at home since I love animals.

We discussed the salient points of Backwoods Boogie — first about the unlikely Picadilly Tearoom — a British tea room in a little redneck town in Alabama called Quisby.  Ken asked what they were serving I said probably cucumber sandwiches and scones with strawberry jam and thick cream. Of course the interview took place at my time 9:30 pm so I actually had a glass of wine in front of me. Monica was in central time, and hour behind me, and Ken was in mountain time, and Kerry in Pacific time. Before my interview, a very talented musician, John Cee Stannard was the musical guest, broadcasting from London, England where it was some ungodly hour of the morning.

Some of my family members and friends attended and I wished I could have interacted more with them and the others who were there. 

We talked about Twila’s mission to rescue almost 100 abused and mistreated dogs from an illegal puppy mill, and her venture with biker Bart and his vigilante’s gang to take down a dog-fighting ring. It just happens to be Superbowl weekend and we discussed the fact that Godaddy agreed to remove their ad from the Superbowl because it depicted puppies being sold over the Internet — which is how a lot of puppy mill dogs are sold.

Then we discussed my newest book, Aquarius Addiction, which had just been released the same day. 

Here’s a link to the show: http://www.spreecast.com/events/talent-of-john-cee-trish-jackson/clips/fun-time-from-talent-of-john-cee-trish-jackson

Backwoods Boogie on Amazon

Aquarius Addiction on Amazon

Goodbye to my Brave Little Girl

My beautiful little Yorkie Purdy went to rainbow bridge on November 14th 2014, when I took her to the vet and had her put to sleep. It was a heartbreaking decision, but I knew it was the best thing for her.

Purdy was rescued from an illegal puppy mill in Arkansas in 2006. She was suffering from heartworm, and many of her teeth were loose due to poor nutrition and a calcium deficiency, and had to be extracted. She was so horribly emaciated that they guessed her age to be 12 when she was actually probably only six.

After being treated and spayed, she was transferred to Jacksonville Florida where she went into a foster home.

I could hardly contain my excitement when my husband and I went to fetch her, and the thrill of the first time I held her in my arms will always be with me. At that time I had no idea what far-reaching effects the neglect and abuse would have on her health. She quickly made friends with our Yorkie boy, Frank and they played tag around the dining room table.

Purdy bonded with me immediately. Whenever she sat on my lap, she would face me and stare into my face. If I spoke to her, she would push her head into me and snuggle to show her love. It was always such a humbling experience to be the object of such adoration.

She couldn’t jump. The muscles in her hind legs were too weak from living in a small cage all her life, so I placed her bed on the floor beside me. I wanted her to be free to get up and move around in the night without having to wake me and have me lift her off the bed. She soon learned that a cold winter’s night all she had to do was groan and I would reach down and cover her with the blanket.

Purdy’s liver was badly damaged from years of neglect and poor nutrition, and subsequently her immune system didn’t work properly. Flea control is a must in Florida, but she was allergic to the flea medication and it caused her to throw up and scratch even more. It became such a nightmare and I felt so desperate I sometimes sat up all night just holding her so she could have some relief. We also had  to stop giving her the heartworm preventative most dogs need in Florida. Her little body just couldn’t handle the poison in it.

We fed her a diet of kibbles and chicken thighs that I cooked especially for her, but when she landed up on a drip in the veterinary hospital with pancreas problems, we learned that she couldn’t ever eat any fat of any kind. I changed her diet to skinless chicken breasts, but every now and then she still suffered from pancreatitis attacks, which were very painful, and all we could do was give her medication to ease the pain and wait helplessly for the attacks to run their course.

Purdy was allergic to shampoo. Whenever she had a bath she vomited and broke out in hives. I tried human baby shampoo but it made no difference. I eventually figured out it was the sulfates causing the reaction, and I had to bathe her in pure soap with no additives. It took years to get rid of the dirty marks that were ingrained in her skin from lying in her own waste in the puppy mill.

The flea pill was a great help to her at first, and for a while it seemed to be safe for her. Eventually it must have accumulated inside her, though, and she became more and more resistant to taking it, and started throwing up more and more often.

My veterinarian suggested I try a tiny dose of Prilosec for the nausea and indigestion, with disastrous effects. Purdy vomited all night and pooped blood. I was terrified she would die, and that was when I decided she couldn’t ever have any sort of medication again.

Fleas were still a problem, and I decided to try cat flea powder on her. It seemed to help for a while and the constant nausea abated. Purdy started eating better and she actually managed to put on a little weight. I was immensely relieved.

My relief was short-lived though. Purdy’s hind legs started giving her problems. They seemed to collapse and jerk around uncontrollably. This happened at any time day or night and for a while it became a very worrying and frightening problem. My veterinarian had not witnessed anything like it before and anyhow, any sort of medication was not an option. I figured out eventually that it was probably the organo-phosphates in the cat flea powder that were having a bad effect on her nervous system. I stopped using it. The problem slowly seemed to get less and less after that.

I was thrilled when I finally found Flea Free, an all natural liquid that I added to her water. Finally, Purdy’s digestive system and flea control seemed to be under control and life eased a little.

That was when her front legs started to develop arthritis. There was no chance she could take any sort of medication for it and we could only watch it get worse and become more and more of a hindrance to her until she could hardly get around, and she started losing her footing and falling. That was when I knew I would have to make the decision to put her to sleep.

I was determined to be there for her to the end. I couldn’t control the tears, but I’ll always treasure the precious few minutes I held her in my arms for the last time, and I’ll never forget how tiny her little body looked after she had gone.

It’s been over a month now and I miss Purdy every single day and tears come to my eyes without warning when I think about her. She had a very hard life all caused by the inhumane treatment she was given at the puppy mill.

If you are reading this you are probably a dog or animal lover. Pet shops in the USA often obtain their puppies from illegal puppy mills and you would be helping dogs all over the country just by warning your friends not to purchase a puppy from any pet store without first verifying that they came from a legitimate breeder who takes proper care of their dogs.

Although it is primarily a romantic comedy, my most recent novel, Backwoods Boogie is designed to create awareness and to send a strong message against illegal puppy mills. I’ve dedicated the print version to my wonderful, loyal and brave little companion who will always hold a place in my heart.

Backwoods Boogie Countdown…

It’s not long now before Backwoods Boogie is released by my publisher, Uncial Press on November 14th, 2014.  I will be hosting a launch party on Facebook and I’ll give away free downloads of this and the prior books in the Redneck P.I. Series — Redneck P.I and Kick Assitude.

Redneck P.I. has been off the market for a while in e-book format, and it will come back on the same day as Backwoods Boogie and with a brand new, very fancy cover. I think Twila looks pretty tough in it!

(The print version has not changed and will keep its old cover.)

BACKWOODS BOOGIE is getting not one but two covers. As you will see, in the two years that have passed since Redneck P.I. was released, Twila has grown her hair quite a bit and she wears it in a different style.
This is the third book in the Redneck P.I. Mystery Series.

Redneck P.I. Twila Taunton cannot believe she is working for Jimmie-Ray, the man who stood her up on her wedding day. But she can’t allow gentle Pam Taylor to go to prison for a murder she did not commit. Twila sets out to hunt down the real killer, with the help of hacker and mean guitarist Gasser Cunha, her hard-drinking great aunt Essie, and office assistant LaMercy Howard, who reluctantly agrees to go Goth. When she discovers an illegal puppy mill, and a possible dog fighting ring, Twila calls on a vigilante biker gang and her long distance lover, Harland to help. 
Oh… and she might be pregnant. 

20% of the author’s proceeds will be donated to the ASPCA to aid in their fight against the disgusting cruelty and deplorable conditions of illegal puppy mills in the US.

Click on the Link below to get your copy:

click here for backwoods boogie