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THE TURNER ZOO: Our Home, Barely Controlled Chaos |
Canines in my Life Canine Health My Faith Piggies
About Me:
Who am I? That’s too complex a question to tackle in a limited space. What am I? What do I do? Well, that’s much easier. For the most part.
I am a part-time church secretary and most-time stay-at-home wife and critter-keeper. After spending years working stressful secular jobs, working for our church and staying at home is real blessing for my mental and physical health, not to mention my marriage. It gives me time to do the things that need to be done at home, plus the added bonus of giving me time to pursue things I enjoy. Hubby and I are active in our church, including being involved in a work team (doing maintenance and remodeling), Bible study, fellowship groups (dinners, crafts, etc), and other things as they arise, such as fun trips together with other members of the congregation.
My interests include, but are not limited to:
Church – we spend a lot of time at church-related activities, a great source of strength, encouragement & enjoyment for us
Crafts – cross stitch, crochet (especially stuffed animals), scrapbooking, spinning my own yarn & mosaic tile work
Gardening – primarily herbs & veggies, some companion flowers. ORGANIC only!
German Shepherd Dog Pedigree Research
Home Remodeling
Homemaking – yes, it is possible to enjoy this!
Pet Advocacy – using my writing skills and working in conjunction with other pet advocates to educate pet owners about improving the lives of their four-legged companions (I am NOT involved with animal RIGHTS and don’t support the animal rights movement)
Photography
Reading– the Bible, and books on herbal medicine, homeopathy, conventional medicine, human and animal nutrition, genetics, dogs, horses, cavies & some fiction (Christian inspirational)
Spending time with family & friends
Writing – fiction and non-fiction
God has blessed me with a wonderful man who is probably far too tolerant of my love for critters. We have no two-legged children, but our lives are full with friends, family, our church, various hobbies and interests, and our non-human companions. Currently residing in our home are 3 wonderful dogs, 3 rabbits, 3 chickens, an opinionated cockatiel, a lovely young sun conure, 2 axolotls (wild strain & leucistic) and a chatty herd of guinea pigs. I’m in the process of setting up an aquarium as well. Haven’t made a final decision about what will go in it, except for the Red Cherry Shrimp that will arrive shortly. In the past, we had other guinea pigs (many colors – Abyssinian, Peruvian, American and Teddy), chinchillas, and society and zebra finches, not to mention a huge array of fish. We have also served as summer camp for chinchillas, dogs, snakes, mice and rats. All that in addition to acting as a hospital of sorts for other people’s sick guinea pigs on occasion.
I have struggled over the years with acute and chronic health issues, including Palindromic rheumatism, adrenal fatigue and endometriosis. Also, I’m allergic to petroleum chemicals and soy products, the latter of which I have found in my research to be an increasingly common allergy. I compiled a list from government sources on the aliases soy hides under. Sadly, I have also discovered that my soy allergy is actually a good thing given the adverse health ramifications of soy consumption (particularly genetically modified soy, which makes up about 80% of the soy produced in the US). Not surprisingly, much of that information has been suppressed by the soy industry. Having cleaned up my diet (removing soy products especially) and removing toxins from our household has helped me a great deal. I still have a ways to go to be healthy, but by the grace of God, I’m making definite strides in that direction.
Free Stock & Reference Photos (includes a photographer community forum)
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I HIGHLY recommend the following Yahoo Groups for those seeking better, healthier lives for their furry (and feathered) companions:
A wonderful discussion group consisting of natural rearing breeders and dog owners. Discussion focuses on providing as natural a life as possible for our canines through means of a species appropriate diet and avoiding vaccinations and harmful chemicals commonly used on/in pets.
An OUTSTANDING group about natural diets for pet birds of all sizes. There’s a companion group for discussion about things other than diet, but you must be a member of FF in order to join that group.
Fabulous discussion group about the hazards of vaccinations, includes support from many limited and no-vacc breeders and dog owners. The whole group is very holistically minded – raw diets, medications and natural treatment alternatives are commonly discussed in addition to the main topic.
Fabulous discussion group about feeding a raw diet. Focus is primarily on feeding prey model, or as close to it as reasonably possible. Lots of very knowledge, friendly, experienced raw feeders to answer question, guide raw newbies or just help with troubleshooting a raw diet.
Dawn Turner
Last edited: 05/01/2008