When I draw for someone I ask them questions. It was a heart breaking reality for me when reminded that Alex does not and has not communicated since little.  Alex is completely non-verbal.
Dad told me they call him 'Alexander Salamander'! That's enough. 
;-) Boys, toads, bugs, all I wanted to draw was happy, at the same time keeping the mood very boy. ;-) What an awesome little boy he is . That photo - wow ❤ look at that smile!!!
*and promise me you will watch the link below.

I have known about Alex for a while - I have already talked about him in a blog.
I am so thrilled that Axel is finally getting some media attention.

Imagine how frustrated you are that you can not use cannabis - recreationally because you want to enjoy and relax- I see nothing wrong with it. But...
O.k. Now imagine that your child is seriously ill and Cannabis eases his/her pain and 
they can not use it medically. Imagine that level of frustration.
 YOU can't. 

This is Alex ❤:
 http://www.kptv.com/story/20660400/medical-marijuana-used-to-treat-autism

I am really getting tired of hearing a Dr. say that "the long term use..." 
Look around. There is already a lot of long term use proof. Centuries of it. 
Do they forget the long term use of Prescribed medications!? I  looked into that when I thought that my son was going to live a life on pain killers &  Morphine from the age of 4. The long term use of  all of the medications I was looking at was pretty much the same-  and to be honest with you - I'm not going there. 

Cannabis - Thank God is Storm's medicine and  thank God for Alex too, who looks like he is at PEACE when medicated! Imagine how his parents feel to watch him, see the difference and then -know they have to stress over political bullshit! I won't even pretend to imagine what they deal with.  All I can do is draw and pray for their continued strength, send good vibes!!
They live with this heart ache of watching Alex suffer as it is. 
I really think these decisions should be strictly between a Dr. and patient and parent.
The final call parent.  

Hmmm’  I must admit the very first time I saw the idea I thought it was good.

It was a teen on the side of the road - I forget what it was even about - I saw it in the paper. Since, I have seen a few that I don’t really agree with and wonder like everything else, has it crossed the line? 

One man’s shame is another’s funny? 

I did see one that upset me, It was a little girl - perhaps 3, looking really sad - Pee’d the bed again. ;-( Wow. Compassion has left the building in that house. 3 Years old! Not everyone is a  Beethoven.  Come on, how is that gong to help the child? 
I felt sorry for the little girl. 

Poor parenting skills ? Sometimes we do things that we think are funny but others don’t - I can’t justify it in my mind. The image was not well received so I hope the person that shared it realized.

I do giggle at most pet shaming. I know because I have my girls' and they know when they are bad, NOT because I beat them - because I don’t.  Some dogs I worried might be frightened. But you cannot assume that. 

I have one the second I see her in the morning if she meets my glance - terrific! 
If not - I look for pooh, and usually I find it! Some of the images are very cute and amusing.  I love dogs. 

Not fond of the public shaming of anyone or anything now; usually we feel ashamed enough when we disappoint a loved one. Pets included. 
I did NOT like the one where the dog was put in the bucket for vomiting. That can’t be helped if the dog was ill and the dog did not look comfortable in the bucket.  

Anyhow - Good thing I’m not into public shaming although I have thought about it! 
My kitty “ I like to lick the gecko when no one is looking.” 
Tequila “ I don’t share balls and I hide them so no one else can play”
Scruffy “I eat cat food”...   “I beat on Daisy” 
Daisy “I chase squirrels and dirty my moms floor several times a day”
Norm “I ate all the cookies, again.”
^Time to go bake. 

xox <><

Niki sends me messages from time to time. More support and smiles.  It is friends I have made online that have shared experiences that continue to make me more determined on helping them share their story! Niki made my day when she told me that part of helping her own family understand the issues they are dealing with - they shared Storm's story with their family!
 It made family members have a new outlook. - THAT is why we do what we do. 
Simple ❤ 

Women leading in alternative medicine education
Posted by Niki Smokes

Mainstream media has taken a grip on all of our minds and injected the paradigm of moral medicine. How did we go from drinking teas and eating nutritious foods to care for our organic bodies to accepting manufactured magic bullets as cure-alls? Sad?! ..there's a pill for that. In pain?! ..there's a pill for that. Not ready for parenthood? ..there's a pill for that too.

Cher Kore, AromatherapistAlternative Medicine has been around longer than Big Pharma. Literally thousands of years of prescribed teas and tinctures verses less than hundred years of pills and injections. Why are the pharmacies winning? They have marketing committees yet to be matched. Because media and government are selling you their magic pills and fear of the unknown, we are neglecting to discover the true potential of the ever healing human body.

Today women are taking on that challenge and bringing it to the next level. Emerging in the independent and mainstream media is a new acceptance of natural health care and its ability to assist patients through their most dire struggles. We hear the stories and can briefly catch them in the local news before they are quickly buried under the weather.

Survivors, caretakers and advocates want you realize the miracles happening all over the world. They are here to change your perspective of combining the alternatives with modern medicine.

From Storm's Story in Treating Yourself Magazine Georgia's son Storm was born with a painful and debilitating syndrome called multiple stenosis. Sometimes conventional medicine can be too demanding on a human body.. especially a growing one. Left with very limited choices Georgia decided it was time for an alternative. Cannabis is now Storm's medicine of choice.
"From the first puff, we saw the results, and that is what mattered most to US! Results we had not ever seen with any other medication. Not to mention we did not have a fear of overdoses or liver damage or organs shutting down! From a PLANT!" - Georgia Peschel
Click here to read Storm's Story written by Georgia Peschel in Treating Yourself
Georgia enjoys drawing cartoons chronicling life's fleeting moments and uses her talent to educate about cannabis as an alternative medicine. Check out her blah blah blog!
From "Storm's Story" in Treating Yourself Magazinewww.georgiatoons.com

Cheryl Shuman.. Survivor and advocate.
Cheryl made history with Ricki Lake and brought legal cannabis products to mainstream daytime television onThe Ricki Lake Show. She's a survivor of stage four ovarian cancer and this fighter is not backing down until everyone understands their right to choose.

Cher Kore.. Aromatherapist.
Owner and Scentstrodinaire of Kameleon Healing Aromatherapy, Cher Kore has taught me so much about Aromatherapy and other natural remedies that I use everyday. Local to Boston, Cher is a contributer at FreeMassMedia.com where she blogs about new approaches to alternative healing.

See the actual LINK here: http://www.mikecann.net/2013/01/women-leading-in-alternative-medicine_10.html

Norm and I went out last night to pick up a few things. Walmart opened not long ago - too close for comfort. You can see it from my house, it is the quickest and easiest for Norm. 
Not being well, I have had to rely on him to go shopping and this has led to endless frustration and numerous untold arguments. 

I Am NOT a fan of their produce to begin with! I swear, buy something and almost over night it starts to shrivel in my fridge! Never buy anything in a bag, usually one or more is rotten.. it’s endless,  last night I need garlic.  

Garlic a little root plant right? That grows in the ground grown in Canada. 
Do you think I could find any? Only garlic from China - not even another option or choice - there it is!!  That is what divides Norm and I he will say “Screw it, I’m not driving all over for garlic...” and get it. I will say  “Screw it I’m not buying it!”  That is what we have to do. 

Why can't I get some F&^%$ garlic from Canada - or anything else for that matter!?
We can invent all sorts of stuff, send men to the moon but can't grow a decent tomato year round without pumping it full of S*&^?
Why are our options stuff that has come from foreign soil, foreign pests, foreign 
rules/laws/regulations for growing...  across miles in crates and trucks for days, picked too early to ripen on the way!?

YUK!
YUK!
YUK! 

I hate this time of the year for vegetable shopping and being on a limited budget  (aren’t we all) you lean towards deals instead of health! 
Less off, in the cart yesterday was MEAT.  
More spices, greens, fruit and WHOLE grain bread. No food in a box.
No Junk isle.  I am on the road to recovery and I am taking him with me like it or not. 

Don’t get me wrong - I get it! I get he’s tired, worked and then has to go get groceries and does not want to drive all over for garlic!  When does it end and when will it start to change if we don’t act every chance we get?

Please the next time you go to  the grocery store - make a point to buy Canadian.
As a matter of  fact I was so pissed that I put stuff back and that is all we bought.
Going to feasting on mushrooms and sweet potatoes for a while! LOL - Choices limited.

Thank God, Canadian have been able to produce their own HOMEGROWN Herbal medicines.  That could all change in the future. Just as it has been with Cannabis it may become illegal to grow other herbs and foods, then our limited choices even fewer and our chance to say no to GMO - out will go!  
While in Canada - for as long as it remains I prefer to support fellow Canadians and keep my greens as FRESH and HEALTHY as possible - the best way to do that:

                                                                  GROW your OWN! 


Wait till you see my garden this summer !
xox <><

Man it is good to be alive! 

The past couple of days have been good.  The week started off bad, with a real bad day of twitching, but the past few- so good in fact I have wanted to clean my house! 

Now, you know that’s good ;-)  
I had a friend admit to me that she really thought that the last time she saw me, was going to be the last time she saw me.. and that she was worried I would even make it to surgery, let alone come through it. Wow That is a couple of people now... 
To hear the words said out loud that I have thought too many times myself,  as I know Norman and Storm  have also wondered these past few months. 
Whew... 
Thank you, I whisper at least 20 times a day.

So let me tell you ` I feel Lucky to be alive!  
No - Let me correct that... 
I am BLESSED to be here today!  

Thank you.

As I type this Norm came in the door - we both shout - “Friday!!!”

I thought of this toon today while doing dishes and it made me giggle. 
 One symptom I have had  get much worse before surgery was speech - I believe it is getting better - but you know its always words that people catch and laugh at. 
 For example instead of saying google the other day I say Gooble..  “ I goobled it! “ 
 Norm almost spat out diner!  “You Goobled it!?”  He shouts back, laughing. Not able to resist YET AGAIN and he knows he is going to get the evil eye for it! 
 When I stop giggling.

Sigh .. hee hee hee, you have to laugh... & let it go.  ALSO embarrassing when speaking with strangers - nice ice breaker it appears as most people find this quite amusing - including me. ;-)  Well usually people don't laugh but they smirk or smile.

Time to turn off and go spend some time with my family 2 legs and 4!
 I am so happy to be still here doing it. 

Have an awesome weekend!  Don’t drink and drive.’
If you must & IF you can, choose a healthier alternative.  ❤
xox <>< 

It's time to get Crafty! I made this little night light and can't wait to share! So easy and cheap, I know people will make them to add just a little warm glow to their lives ;-)  I love Sea urchins - such beauty! Natures art for all to be amazed!
Mine is already gone - a gift, but you can believe I'll be making more! Enjoy! 
Have a Creative day!!!

WOO! Baby it’s cold out! -21  I am not one for winter so I go from the door to the car- that’s it. Lucky for me I have a handsome Chauffeur waiting with the truck warm and seats heated! -My boys spoils me ;-)  I went to visit a friend yesterday, it was wonderful and needed, I found myself laughing - sometimes out of frustration - but laughing all the same, and I had a nice break in my twitch - I’d say a good 20 minutes! She noticed it right way - you can see peace slip back over my face when the twitch tames ;-) 

You could not see with the botox.  It is huge  if you frown at someone - what - chances are they frown back. I need my smile. I know a few that cannot SMILE  due to illness, disease or accident. I won’t take mine for granted ever again. Powerful tool.

I left feeling my brain better organized and it needed it. I came home inspired to re-organize my office!  It’s time. I want to spend more time drawing and less time 
function- comp, business,  know what I mean?

I’m one of those women men fear! 
Oh honeyyyyyyy..... can you give me a hand. LOL!  Next thing you know the bedroom is completely re-arranged and hand you asked for turned into a 4 hour - wait- just one more thing... hee hee hee 

So I <3 Charles Schultz- reading his book - he was a nice human! AS a cartoonist - I am astonished and humbled when I think of the drawing he did for the number of years he did them!!! So I saw this cool photo of his office online and I’m going to re-arrange the furniture so the ‘feng-thing’- is the same ;-) - If that only means something in my mind- so be it. 

 I just think if anyone knew how to make this function - he did. Although I doubt very much he used a computer at all- except for the last few years.

Anyhow I’m also digging out the CHALK BOARD! Nothing sparks creativity like a chalk board every kids room should have one - mandatory! Just the thought puts a smile on my face! - I might have to wait a day - my helper is down with the flu ;-) 

Speaking of office -  I was asked to take a photo at my desk for an article that someone wrote on me (very flattered) so I asked Storm. I am not great about photos, could care less if I am in them or not - I did take photos of just my desk - where the magic happens! LOL - O.k. Not magic - but it is where I am at my best. Mentally, emotionally and spiritually;-)  I try to surround myself with good thoughts and images.   Storm took one photo that I really liked! Enough to change my FB profile! -I have not changed it in over  a year I believe - perhaps 2. But this one - is me ;-) Says it all. I love it. We were just talking and laughing and he was taking photos - I was working on a image for a friend in the UK. I love it ;-) So new profile and I think I’ll stick with it another 2 years :-) 

 Have a creative day! Move furniture! Give yourself a new outlook! xox <>< 

I had the pleasure on the weekend to draw for this lovely little lady ;-). I have been paying close attention ever since I read; Mykayla's mom decided to get her daughter a prescription for Cannabis  to help her daughter who is suffering from Leukemia.  I remember, I was pissed because someone said - "that didn't take her long" soon after learning her daughter had Leukemia .
                            Knowing what I know now, I would be in line the next hour.

I wrote about her before - when It started in the news people whould make - RUDE, un-educated comments regarding moms decision. But that is exactly what they are - and we must remember this, with decades of reefer madness pummeled into our brains. 
No one, especially another parent - who understands the circumstance would dare to differ. Either way I would RESPECT their choice. 
 
WHO is anyone to say what these parents should or should not do when it comes to the decision of their child? Most parents I know would die for their children (I  know I would) and we want to do what we believe is best for them. Cannabis for seriously ill children in my opinion should be the first CHOICE!  Especially, when we read kids are being prescribed OXY as young as 6.  

Mykayla was on the television show Ricki Lake -  you can watch it here: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsNd85kQwMM&feature=player_embedded
It is about time that this is reaching main stream!  The more people that know the more can help. What this little girl must endure - Cannabis I pray, will help her and make this experience as pleasant as it can possibly can be. There are too many children who are already going through treatment that makes them terribly ill. 
Cannabis can make them feel normal. I know - and am amazed myself how it works for nausea! AND it makes them feel better!!!! There is nothing wrong with feeling good!

Pain - I see everyday living proof (thank God)  on how amazing cannabis is for pain. 
I see it to the point I sit here now defending a plant.  ;-) 
I am so proud of these parents and the many more that are starting to speak up and speak out! No one has the right to tell us how to care for our children or pump them with pills.
Dr.s,  DO NOT know everything - they are learning also - I remember being a kid at the Dr.s looking at his huge crystal ashtray on his desk full of butts!   That was then.... 
WE are all here to learn. No ONE is an exception.
Here is how they make Mykayla her medicine:
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TRc99VhHRY&feature=player_embedded
To learn more and read about Mykayla, check out their  web page:http://www.bravemykayla.com/  
also on FB:  https://www.facebook.com/BraveMyKayla?fref=ts

 - perhaps you know someone who is dealing with the same thing.
SHARE! You could help save a life, ease pain  and correct a HUGE injustice done to too many over this plant. Cannabis.
Please go show them some love and support if only in your mind! It is a start!

As you might guess I went through several emotions doing this drawing,  I did allot of thinking about what they're actually dealing with daily, mentally, physically, financially.. it starts to feel like a HUGE weight on your back you have no idea....    then    - click - 
you look over into the eyes of your child and none of it matters.  NONE.
You will give it all away to keep the love of your child. 

Let me start today's guest blog by saying that I in fact, have the opposite of the blog you are about to read. I have been blessed with an incredible Dr. who has always taken the time, asked questions, listened and made decisions based on how we both felt about what is ever going on.   I have a couple of terrific Dr.s - I am blessed, BUT I am no stranger to the treatment of others from time to time and I hear the stories from almost everyone we talk to. 
Waiting HOURS to see your Dr., rushed appointments, confusion & of course Dr.s who will NOT EVEN discuss Cannabis as an option. 
It can be cold and uncaring experience at a time when we NEED care & compassion most.  I have read several of Blains Blogs  - a common thread has brought us together- some of his blogs I don't always agree with but there are people that do and we ALL need to be heard to solve this problem that has been going on for far too long. 
Blain and I have exchanged a few e mail and he is always polite, interesting and expressive- and has a lot to say - that come with experience and he has it. He also has a flair with words. 

M.D.?  Medical Doctor? = Mental Defective? = 
Morally Destitute? 

Character
Trustworthiness. Respect. Responsibility. Fairness. Caring. Citizenship.

The Six Pillars of Character are ethical values to guide our choices. The standards of conduct that arise out of those values constitute the ground rules of ethics, and therefore of ethical decision-making. 

Doctors! Who are they?
The Canadian Medical Association represents the 67000 modern doctors practicing in Canada. To introduce you to my concept of what Medical Practice should be, I’m simply going to compare the conduct of the majority of those members, to that of just one man of character, a real Doctor, still in practice at the beginning of the decline. His name was Dr. T.W.E. Henry and he was the local physician in Ft. Saskatchewan, Alberta where I grew up. At that time the town was about pop. 250 and we were a community who considered him next to Jesus for his Samaritan conduct, common sense and good advice. 

Dr. Henry was the center of our social system, he was trusted above all others and he knew every secret and personal detail about every one of his flock. He was a part of every family in town and often if he happened to make a house call at lunch or tea time he would stop for a coffee or to share a meal and take the time to get updated on the family history. He was a skilled interrogator and asked personal questions in such a manner that he created a desire to answer because he would understand and never condemn.

One evening near Christmas I and my family were visiting and just as supper hit the table TWE got a call and he was needed by a sick child. 10-15 degrees below zero, snowing like hell, winds harsh and gusty, driving clouds of icy particles that skin your face like sandpaper. No bloody way I was going out in that! Not!

Blaine! Get with it! I might need a push and you’re it! Crap: on with all the layers, boots, scarves, gloves! All the bulky crap that make wading though powder snow like wading through a swamp and then the open door and Holy Shit its nasty out here. Naturally the damned car won’t start so I harness the team, hook up his runabout sleigh, load the old fart up grab the reins and off we go into nowhere.

You don’t really drive horses in a blizzard: you just sort of aim them and trust them to figure out where the center of the road is. You just sit there and squint and squint trying to pick out landmarks in the little gaps between white sheets of snow. Fortunately it was a straight 5 mile run and only took about an hour and a half to get to the destination.

Modern people have no idea what kind of rotten conditions a lot of poor farm families lived in the 50’s. This was one such family and they were toughing out the blizzard in a two room clapboards shack heated by two stoves, one in the kitchen and a barrel type wood stove in the main room. Unless you have felt it you cannot imagine the drafts in a shack built of planks, you don’t know how cold the air is inside a house with iced up single pane windows. Stand next to one and suddenly your arm is radiated with cold from the glass.

It was a little guy about three and he was sick, you knew he was simply by looking. I don’t know what was wrong but after a long examination by TWE he was given a tablespoon of some syrup, handed back to his mother and she was told that he didn’t think it was serious but he’d like that fever to break. “Take that goose grease you have on the front stove warmer, warm him up, rub him down with it then wrap him up in that flannel blanket and put him to bed. He’s already so tired he’ll fall asleep quickly. He should feel better in the morning but if he doesn’t give me a call and we’ll take care of it.”

We got ready to leave and the husband came over to TWE and explained they were a little short on cash, would he take a couple of chickens as payment. TWE simply told him “John you’ll need them more than I do right now. Tell you what you’re good with a hammer and saw. Come over when the weather gets good in the spring and I’ve got a back porch that needs some repair. What do you say to an Even Steven deal?” John simply looked at him and I thought he would cry, but he just swallowed hard, nodded his agreement and shook TWE’s hand. We left

That was one example of his character at work: it is also the reason why he represents the best aspects of the generations of his predecessors. His position as a respected and admired man of character made him worthy to bear the title Doctor

Once again to stress: The Six Pillars of Character are ethical values to guide our choices. The standards of conduct that arise out of those values constitute the ground rules of ethics, and therefore of ethical decision-making. 

Cannabis has been prescribed by Doctors, Medicine men, Shamans for now 4800 years. For 4750 of those years this medication was freely prescribed by a person of trust who had the best interest of the patient in mind. The witch doctor was trusted because he knew every aspect of his patient’s life. He was part of a tight community that no longer exists, and his reward was not financial gain at patient expense but a position of respect and trust far above that of any other profession. The current crop of medicine men, and I call them that because they do not deserve the title of Doctor, are simply skilled technicians who lack the moral and ethical quality to earn the respect they are granted as physicians.

From that point in the past, we fast forward to the present and it is only men of my age has the knowledge of what the title Doctor Represents in terms of how it is earned and expects little from his current Physician. We knew a Model for Comparison and there is no Expectation of Samaritan acts that demonstrate the qualities inherent in the 6 Pillars of Character: Trustworthiness. Respect. Responsibility. Fairness. Caring. Citizenship. These have been lost by the Profession.

The Destruction of Ethical Medical Practice
The practice of medicine has gradually changed into a commercially structured and oriented system designed to derive maximum profit. This was created from the sheer volume of patients that became available as a result of post WWII urbanization. Instead of a couple of dozen or hundred patients in his community, every doctor had a chance to bag any number of visits from the occupants of the hundreds of tenements surrounding them. 

Appointments got shorter and further apart separated by many intruding and competing strangers’ entries into a doctor’s capacity to remember his diagnosis and previous treatment for the new volume of patients. Thus came into being the Personal Medical Record to serve as a reminder when a physician’s memory failed. The natural result was simple neglect to bother to remember Mickey Mouse details: a one minute skim of the patent’s last visit began to serve as the entire content of a physician’s knowledge of his patient. There began the complete lack of empathy now apparent in the profession at large and its absence was accompanied by the eventual loss of all character from the profession. That is simple fact.

A modern day patient with any problem needing medical attention assumes that when they make an appointment with their physician they are going to see a Doctor. They are not: they are making an appointment with an M.D. (Medical Doctor) a university graduate who had the minimal qualification to join a College of Physicians with lack standards and qualify to open an office. 

His first act after qualification to practice was not to do Samaritan work at the local shelters, but rather, a call to his lawyer and accountant and to approve the creation of his new practice, Dr. False Front, MD, Inc. Shyster and BeanCounter  Consulting already had the necessary plans approved, the forms got filed and the fees got paid. From this point on the man across the desk; the MD in the modern medical office, presents himself as worthy to wear the honorific title Doctor and expects all the respect and trust due him for a title based on Character. He is actually talking to President CEO of the TYMAR Corp acting as the sucker mechanism for the TakeYourMoneyAndRun machine.

To clarify the difference between a Doctor and President, MD, only one simple comparison is required. Imagine wandering down a deserted wasteland road and encountering a man with a severe wound needing medical help. His wound is not fatal but without treatment soon will be if not helped. How would each react to that situation? 
I think: 
The Doctor would stop, assess the situation, accept the man as a a patient, pack the wound, stop the bleeding and then arrange for his care until recovery.

The President, MD would stop, frisk the man to see if he had the cash or credit to pay for treatment, if not kick him in the ditch. It would probably never occur to him to call an ambulance to get charity involved. That would take too much time and he already had a cash customer waiting for the sales pitch. “Sorry. I can’t be bothered guy, die in peace.

If I am disillusioned it is rightfully so. The machine has no recognition of the patient, only his symptoms are used to maximize the medical billing opportunities and tap them all. Office visits = Prescriptions benefits = repeat = referral to higher priced care of specialists= over-reliance on technology= excess testing = everybody happy and rich = CMA.

The President, MD across the desk does not know his patents, has no idea how they live, or anything about them beyond their ability to pay and the chart details of the last visit.  They do not want to know or be bothered by their patients outside of Office Hours. They move in invisible circles away from the common herd, superior circles by virtue of greed! Away from the place of business they do not exist and cannot be found. They have no addresses, unlisted home phones, and undisclosed and rigidly guarded e-mail. They long ago abandoned house calla and after hour phone calls are answered by recorded direction to go to emergency.

Suddenly the majority of these 67000 MD’s fly in the face of common sense and are balking at allowing Medical Cannabis, and its benefits, on the basis that they don’t have sufficient knowledge of the long term harmful effects of smoking it.

Bullshit! They discount 4750 years of testimonial evidence passed down by all the preceding generations of real Doctors who freely advocated it for its curative power and lack of risk in its use.
Bullshit!

Today’s Doctors all claim to honour what was the primary tenet of the Hippocratic Oath: “FIRST, DO NO HARM”. Nobody reveals that this guiding principle has been removed from the Hippocratic Oath Modern Version and has not been replaced by an equivalent prohibition.. 

I find it interesting that given the respect they are sworn to hold for their predecessor’s intelligence, in another part of the oath they dismiss all the traditional knowledge that Cannabis has shown no harm from occasional or even lifelong use. They swear: “I will respect the “hard-won scientific gains” of those physicians in whose steps I walk, and gladly share such knowledge as is mine with those who are to follow”. 

To claim harm for a product all preceding generations of doctors recommend is to hold their collective intelligence in contempt. To dismiss all of it in favour of the hard-won scientific gains of last 50 years of billing possibility experts, who don’t even know who their patients are, is probably the grossest display of the lack of simple common sense I could have imagined from any profession. They have completely lost touch with the populace they are supposed to be serving.

I hear no outcry from the medical ethics experts: Where are they? because the ethical deficiency list is horrendous! I could keep on ranting forever but I don’t have to. Following is a simple listing of the components of Character from 

Making Ethical Decisions: The Six Pillars of Character

Simply reading the Index is enough to awaken almost anyone to the manifold shortcomings of the Profession. It seems every little word harkens memories of little things noticed that didn’t add up until now

Character:
• Trustworthiness
     - Honesty
     - Integrity
     - Reliability (Promise-keeping)
     - Loyalty
• Respect
     - Civility, Courtesy and Decency
     - Dignity and Autonomy
     - Tolerance and Acceptance
• Responsibility
     - Accountability
     - Pursuit of Excellence
     - Self-Restraint
• Fairness
     - Process
     - Impartiality
     - Equity
• Caring
• Citizenship

Can you smell the rot too?

Blaine Barrett

To read more of Blaines Blog >>>  http://goan-smee.blogspot.ca/
You can e Blaine here: [email protected]

Not too much to say today - other than It has been a good day! I drew for someone very special (always a pleasure). It was a quiet - Pajama day!- I realized it was a P.J. day at about 2:30 - lol.
Below a cookies recipe I made this week - nom nom nom - especially for those who like matcha!  

If you are on PIN look me up - Georgia Toons  - you find the most awesome stuff, photos, crafts.. It is an enjoyable experience - BUT I have a sand timer on my desk to remind me - MODERATION! - Even PIN! 
Below - My son suggested we go for a walk this week. It was beautiful - Hard to believe for the middle of January! Mother nature is going to apparently correct that this week with temperatures of -20 . yippie.
My toon - I think I just wanted to draw a troll!  FB trolls: People who comment on your posts - usually something to piss someone off and then - let the games begin! (mind games) I find it mostly... amusing and quickly boring. 'Shit disturbers' - a common term used here in Canada ;-)  I find the more time I focus on doing good the less time I have for them. 
Storm liked my troll. 

Tomorrow: a Guest Blog on the M.D.'s  in Canada- One mans opinion ;-) 
Tuesday: Please show this new little 'cupcake' some love and support.

Have faith! 
Tomorrow is a new day! 
How will you make it just a bit better???
xox <>< 

I love these little hearts and leaves- the photos do not do them justice. They hang in my studio window and gently turn in the breeze. With the different 'shades' it makes it look like beautiful stained glass.  I think I'm going to do it again only next time all different colors and I'm going to cut out tons of butterfly shapes and drape them across the window to give the appearance for flying!  
This craft is VERY easy and fairly safe, other than cutting the crayons and hot iron it is easily adaptable to do with children too!  I had a couple of 'leaves' left over I put one in an envelope and mailed to a friend for her window ;-) and just stuck the other to my window with a bit of glue stick.   Be creative! have fun and most importantly - Enjoy the sunshine! 
xox <>< 
I got the idea from PIN .
I ❤ PIN - very inspiring.
Feel free to PIN anything from my site! 

I am curious to see reaction to this cartoon. It is one of those that I think people will go 'huh'? Oh well. I was in bed and the 'middle panel'- the lady bug formation,  popped into my mind! I could see it clear as day! I was tired but got up, turned on a light found a pencil, (you think I'd be wise to this by now and be prepared) envelope and wrote on it ladybugs. The image too strong to ignore. 
HELLO!? Could it not have been worms!? 
LOL do you see how many lady bugs it took to write that!  I asked Storm - "quick without counting how many lady bugs!?"  Storm  - 24?           108 ladybugs! 
But I can understand - if I said how many lady bugs chances are no one could guess 108!
It is the first time I ever started a cartoon with the middle and as I drew the rest came to me. So we shall see. 
I said what I always say to my guys "I like it."

Seeds are it. 
With out them we have nothing. 
No food, no hope for the future of a healthy planet. 
No control over world hunger ;-( . 
SEEDS.
NEED SEED! 
xox <>< 

I had a very difficult time with this carton from the second I first read the sentence: 
Two fishermen sentenced to death for trafficking in cannabis
http://www.nst.com.my/latest/two-fishermen-sentenced-to-death-for-trafficking-in-cannabis-1.197967

I mentioned to someone the other day about the expected cost of Cannabis  because of the increase suggested by  Health Canada MMAR,  they told me - "That's a   700% INCREASE !"   WOW!   
A small price to pay when you read what it costs others around the world? 
No, ones health and freedom are never a small price.
Our health can be a high price to pay, our health and security both.  
Life needs we should not have to 'stress over' living in Canada.

Cannabis is a world wide problem. 
No, it is NOT world HUNGER - compared to that it is bullshit - but bullshit is exactly what all this is! All smoke and mirrors.
 Stop wasting money on cannabis and drug prohibition and you will have the money to avoid world hunger! Not to mention the plant! We should be shipping hungry nations hemp: protein, fiber, essential fatty acids, antioxidants, amino acids, vitamins and minerals! 

I had a difficult time for several reasons and when time to ink I was inking and crying.  
I had to walk away and go for  a nap.  
I love to learn, research, discuss and draw and then I remember I’m living these cartoons too. It set me back a bit - but in between tears 'Mama bears' hackles rise ...

I was also dismal when I thought - I’m going to put the ‘place’ on the bottom of the cartoon - my first intentions the first pane - Colorado - but it could be may places including Amsterdam!  The second my obvious choice : CANADA.   The third (inspired the cartoon) was Thailand, but it could as easily be other places and has been and might continue to be.  Too many places! 

Death for a plant. It is not by hanging it is by lethal injection. Drawing the hang noose was hard enough  for me. 
Putting men to death for a plant - death for what God provided on this earth. 

Next year in Canada will people be put in jail for doing what they were told they could do in the first place. Will sick Canadians be treated like criminals for a plant that is a proven medicine all around the world? Recognized by our own Country as a medicine! 
If they don’t go to jail,  who will help with the added stress of now having to pay a up to 700% increase for medicine they use to provide for themselves or were able to purchase at a fraction of the cost?

Will I see people I know and love go to jail - people that have NEVER harmed another person a day in their life for a plant? 
Probably,  being in control of ones life, happiness and health is worth fighting for.
It is NOT worth dying for or killing for.  
Is that what 'Health' Canada will be doing to a few people on the program? 
Unfortunately,  I believe so.  ;-( 

Remember when educating others on Cannabis - It is a world wide problem. 
ONE LOVE.
xox <>< 

For growing a plant. 
People go to jail every day because of a plant. Cannabis. 
Put into prison  for gardening.  
Put into prison for growing a plant to help another, often loved ones and family, put in jail for helping ease their suffering. 

Is this compassion?  Is this o.k.?
No - But you can prescribe OXY to children - that's o.k... A REAL CRIME
I want to ask you, who is to blame? Marketing? The media? Dr.s? Big Pharma?
NO! YOU!! You are to blame if you continue allow this to happen! 

If your child is so sick you would consider OXY - with all we now know -
you should be demanding that they first TRY Cannabis! Safe, effective and NOT addictive - never mind overdose.  This article is a very sad state of the direction humanity. 
The article - will have it's own toon in a few days:
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/powerful-pain-med-oxycontin-tested-children-prize-patent/story?id=16706074

Education is key - Please help educate each other! 
xox <><   Have Faith! In each other ;-)

Well - as much as I'd like to think it's great minds - it's more like a too common problem on either sides of the planet.;-) I  wrote a blog and was trying to think of how to draw it when I saw one of Ivan's latest cartoons and  - it is exactly how I'm feeling!  My work done for me! 

After my surgery (photo - my badass mama bear scar! - lol no longer visible with hair) I got SICK.  It was a concern before going in- they don't want you heaving etc. when the fluid has just been drained from the brain. They had warned me about anti nausea medication that I would be on after surgery as well as some pain medication. 
I reminded my surgeon I was already on what I believe to be the best nausea medication - (Cannabis) to which he said something along the lines - yeah but we can't have it in the hospital and can't get into that now..
One needs to remember that I was sick- I was not about to argue with a brain surgeon, I just wanted him in and out and it fixed.  LOL - if only! 
                            
                                     You might not 'get that' until you are in my shoes.
                      There are times to pick you battles and that was not one of them.

Anyhow - he did just that - soon after I woke in the recovery room it started. Vomit.  
I could not stop and I was wondering the 3rd day, where the heck is this coming from!? They had  me on intravenous, that and the occasional attempt at a sip of juice was all I had in me... I went from those USELESS, little, liver, shaped spit bowls to my own batch (stack) of recycled compost-able vomit bowls. 
I remember the nurse looked just as upset when she told me yet again - "o.k. were going to try this medication - this one the 'cadillac" of chemo anti-nausea medication! It should work!!!"  It did NOT.  I was still twitching, and now worried about the nasty head ache from vomiting all the time and sore insides I was also getting from all the heaving. 
The 4th day they said I could go - I still had not eaten anything solid - but I nibbled and I wanted OUT of there. Storm brought me a Booster juice - banana - it was perfect I sipped the long drive home. Once home and in bed, vomit. Then I was frightened, at home and still sick...  Norm picked up 2 prescriptions they sent me home with for nausea- I took a couple but still felt sick and then "groogy" from the pills. NOTE: They were also $$$ (we do not have a drug plan) 

Storm came up stairs with a full volcano bag and I won't lie to you - he said to me 
                              "MOM, stop being a hypocrite - here vaporize!"  
I was worried! Nothing else worked, my head spinning, vomiting for 4 days, still recovering from major surgery  -  I took it and inhaled.  
That was it. I was never sick again. Never took a Pill again - I am giving them to a friend who's hubby is suffering with terrible sickness from Chemo. 

 My surgery was not the success I had hoped but I can say that thankfully - for now I appear to be getting breaks when I medicate and when it gets to be too much I can medicate and go nap- try napping with something poking you in the every second... Cannabis lets that happen.  Thank God.

The Dr. mentioned another surgery in the future,  I would not consider it unless I could have my plenty with me when I woke up. I did use my plenty steady as I recovered - I never had to have any pain pills either!! ;D I must say - I dropped that plenty a few times - I am very pleased with it as a product.  I still have some pain and am waken by the twitch very early  so I just turn on the switch, inhale and usually If Im lucky I drift back off.  

Cannabis  is  medicine.  Recognized in this country, prescribed by my Dr., 
But I could not use it in the hospital! ? WTF?
                                                    CHANGES need to be made! 


xox <>< 

Now Is that not the perfect cartoon!!?  I wonder if he was thinking of me ;-) 
Ivan is a friend and mentor and has been since I first started all of this. He was one of the very first people to ever encourage me on my Cannabis mission ;-) I am forever grateful.
He has an awesome book out : Hempathy!
You can find his page on FaceBook  @
https://www.facebook.com/HempathyFoodForThought?
A little bird tells me he also might actually make it to the next TY EXPO! 
I hope so I just love to watch him draw! 

Time to go medicate.

I know today's hero personally.  Asked to remain as "D" for fear of backlash from others in the industry. This is a shame, I completely understand it.  I have witnessed it over and over again and it must stop. 

What are little boys made of?
What are little boys made of?
Slugs and snails and puppy-dogs' tails,
That's what little boys are made of.
 What are little girls made of?
What are little girls made of?
Sugar and spice and everything nice,
That's what little girls are made of.

I drew this cartoon in the summer  in the evening after a day of fishing.  It's true, it happened.  Storm makes me laugh. He knew I would not get mad as I dress like a lumberjack to go fishing and prepare for fish guts and more.... it is the way he did it that is priceless. 

January 12, in Canada and I'm outside in a  'Keswick dinner jacket'! lol 
I had to, Daisy takes all her toys outside, armed in boots (of course) and my coffee in hand,  it is a mess outside and I am loving every second of it! I have not really been out back since before the surgery. 
So nice I had to go in sit in my favorite place!

Somedays my job is too darn easy...
What a imprudent comment to make. (above in toon) 
 I took it directly from the article.
Read it yourself: 
 Health Canada plans to treat marijuana like other medicines
Yes, it plans on treating Marijuana (*CANNABIS - *sigh* own government -does not address it by it's official/correct name) like other medications - Charging ridiculous prices and making it harder to get!
 Not to mention limiting strains and options. People will have no choice but return to the more harmful - cheaper and easier to obtain  prescribed pills/opiates.

Every time I read something about this It makes me angry, sad, disappointed and worried. 
Everyone that I have spoke with, be it someone who uses Cannabis or not, does NOT agrees with these changes.  

It is taking a situation for many - were they are able to supply themselves with their own quality medicine and say - now stop and pay someone else for what you have been successfully doing on your own. 
                   ????????????????????????   How is this o.k.?   Does this make sense to anyone?
* Don't forget - people were told from Health Canada that they could in fact  grow their own medicine. I know people who have invested THOUSANDS of dollars to properly set up and grow their  own medicine.  They have been producing it for years. One friend told me - he will continue to grow after they try to take away personal licenses, if he is arrested - he is prepared to fight. He is ill.  He still works from home and has not had to apply for any gov. assistance.  IF he loses his license he will NOT be albe to afford the SUGGESTED price increase!  How can they do this? 

THEY can't if we don't let them.

Among its proposals, the MMPR suggests the price of medical marijuana should rise to $8.80 per gram. It currently ranges from $1.80 to $5 per gram.
WTF? HOW dare they 'suggest' anything, let alone a price for something many people have been able to provide for themselves for much less than the 'SUGGESTED' price! I am sure all other growers (especially the ILLEGAL ones) are thrilled at the price increase!  Read a comment made by someone on Fb:
 
When you think about it, all they're doing is shooting themselves in the foot. 
A majority of people who have an exemption are also on disability because they're severely disabled or ill. If they choose to- on the tax payer's dime they have to pay to arrest these people, then pay for their lawyers with legal aid, while also paying court costs. Then should they become imprisoned, they must pay MORE to care for them with monthly transportation to doctors/hospitals, special diets and so on. Don't think because you're in jail you don't receive care anymore. In Canada, they pay to drive you to your doctor's appointments, MRIs, tests and so on while two guards making $30/hr have to baby sit you and drive you around since most prisons are not equipped with this. So really, the government wants to pay millions of more dollars, so a private company can make more money, and the 100 people abusing the MMAR out of 20,000 won't be able to anymore. 

I'm so worried about people not having their medicine I never even started to think about that! What bothers me most right now is, why so many already sick and hurting are even having to think or deal with this BULL and added STRESS is beyond me. 
Oh Canada ;-(  Focus your attention on crimes THAT HURT- Sex trafficking, child pornography, rape, murder...

ALL this over a fucking plant. Take a LOOK around the wold! 
A Plant that saves lives. 

xox 
<><

“We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand.” 
― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture



“The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough. They’re there to stop the other people.” 
― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

The more I read about these 'proposed changes' the more grief I feel.
I do not believe Health Canada has taken the best interest of the patients - the ones who this entire program was designed to help -
to heart when they came to these conclusions. 
It is a crime against Canadians who need help, compassion and understanding.

Lot's of drawing to do...
xox 

Today I read about 2 men that will be executed for just over 7lbs of Cannabis. 
Two men will be put to death, poor, struggling to provide for families, not harming anyone physically - will be murdered over a plant. Read about it here.
Who says Cannabis is not a serious issue? 
A world wide problem?

Cannabis laws don't effect me...
Oh yeah- Think again! How about the suspicion of marijuana.
Watch this:  
http://www.alternet.org/drugs/outrage-texas-women-cavity-searched-police-over-alleged-marijuana-smell  
I saw this on Fb and could not believe the extent that this was taken. I believe the woman will win in court. I HOPE.   
REALLY - Just for the smell of Cannabis!? It could easily be you. 
For a drug that has never killed anyone - unlike alcohol and prescription drugs.
I first thought Legalize but it's not enough. Decriminalize - well I thought this was the way to go but it appears people are still being arrested in states where it is decriminalized. It appears many people feel like I do and just want it to be exactly what it is a plant. 
Some comments on a recent post:

-Legalize, if we only decriminalize it the government will still try to control it and restrict our access as well as itll probably not even be the high grade medicine we are looking for considering everyones needs are different and not every strain works for another i have had some meds that just don't cut it at all and other times its perfect.
- Neither, the ONLY and I stress ONLY way to end prohibition is to deschedule it off the controlled substance list and to repeal all of the laws surrounding this plant and get the DEA off our back and people out of jail. That's it. I know it isn't that simple but if we ALL pull together we can do this. And another thing I live in a decriminalized state. Funny thing is 1 person is arrested every 37 seconds here.
-Should be as legal to grow as any other delicious herb  the gov doesnt limit how many basil or garlic plants i can grow, or control their potency... Cannabis should be no different.
-Oops forgot to reason. Marijuana never got its day in court. Instead an overweight white man testified that it made white girls want black men and that was considered evidence. Pot needs to be put back where it was, off the legal books, legalize not decriminalize, its not a crime.
-Remove cannabis from the law books entirely. No laws, no controlled substance designation. Just a plant, simple and free. Just like anything else in a common backyard garden.
-The worst possible side effect from marijuana use is a criminal record

At one point Homosexuality was a crime and was decriminalized. No one being arrested since I believe. WHY? Because it is a crime against the person. Women breast feeding in public was a crime! IMAGINE - Feeding your baby - the most natural act in the world for a mother - makes me wonder who the idiots are that invented these laws in the first place and why are we being punished for their stupidity decades later.
Judging someone and punishing them for using a plant as their medicine or recreationally - when no other person is being harmed is a crime against the person.  
Legalize! Decriminalize! Both are steps in the right direction.  
Put this plant back in the garden where it belongs. That is the ultimate goal ;-) 
xox <>< 

Today features two hero's really IMO, Peter and Julia.
Honestly, the first time I met Julia was the last day of the EXPO, literally sitting on boxes waiting for Norm to get the truck to pack up and head home! EXHAUSTED. It really does exhaust me; every time a few days later it hits me and I get sick. I guess with all else that is going on it is just physical and mental overload.  Well, she too was waiting at the top of the stairs and introduced herself. She said she hopes one day I'll draw a toon for Peter- I told her I make no promises ;-).  She was very sweet, had a huge smile on her face, - she did in fact every time I saw her walking around the EXPO, she stands out as I remember as she also wears hats!
 I love a HAT! I think people who can pull off a hat are lucky, not everyone can - she can pull off a hat beautifully I might add! ;-) First impressions - I liked her. It was not until very recently that I had heard from her again.  All I can say is Julia is lovely.  
I asked her for a blog and she happily replied -would I promote Peter's page!? Of course. Peter no longer with us - Julia continues to promote Peter, his life, poems, books and fight!  The fight to Legalize Cannabis.  So 'Two' Hero's. 
We should all be so lucky to have someone light Julia who continues our fight long after we are gone .  ♥ 

Julia of petermcwilliams.org 

The layers I have put around your going are thin. 
~ I walk softly through life, adding thickness each day. 
~ a thought or a feeling 
~ of you cracks the surface.
 ~ a call to you ~ shatters it all.
 ~ I spend that night in death 
~ and spin the first layer of life 
~ with the sunrise"
~ Peter McWilliams

When a dashing, tossel-haired poet came along in the '70s, many a young woman swooned. They gobbled up Peter's books like hotcakes, they hungered for some understanding voice to help guide them through the tumult of adolescence and young adulthood and Peter McWilliams was their answer.
Peter McWilliams wore many hats, he was a true Renaissance man. If you wanted to learn about computers, you could pick up one of Peter's manuals and laugh and learn at the same time. Peter sprinkled his sense of humour in all of his books. Even when he was hurting.
In the 70's, meditation was the in thing to do, and Peter enjoyed exploring this peaceful new existence. He wanted to help others find that shining inner peace as well and co-authored "The TM Book: How to Enjoy the Rest of Your Life" with Denise Denniston. Along the way he met Harold Bloomfield, M.D. Peter and Hari formed a friendship and wrote a few things together. Peter combined the poetry he had published in the book "Surviving" along with Melba Colgrove, Ph.D. and Harold Bloomfield's soothing advice, and voila, "How to Survive the Loss of a Love." So many have felt touched by this book, including Kristin Flor, who had just lost her dad, Cannabis warrior, Richard Flor, this past August. The book was published in 1971 and is still around to this day, a true testament to its value. This brilliant book is written so simply, it speaks to you like a comforting friend.
Peter drifted away from the computer world into the "personal growth" world. He disliked the phrase "self-help." But Peter's Life 101 series surely helped many who struggle with self-esteem. Such titles as "Life 101," "You Can't Afford the Luxury of a Negative Thought," "Do It! Let's Get off Our Buts" and "Love 101" inspired many and to this day, are still touching lives and hearts. 
In the early 90's Peter wrote "Ain't Nobody's Business if You Do," considered the "Libertarian Bible" by many libertarians, even today. This book explains why the war on drugs is doing more harm than good . Peter wrote, "Drugs, gambling, and prostitution are the Big Three underground 'moneymakers' in consensual crime. There would be, however, significant boosts to the economy if the stigma attached to the other consensual crimes were eliminated through legalization." 
In March 1996, Peter learned the devastating news that he had AIDS and non-Hodgkins lymphoma. He tried every drug his doctor could come up with, but nothing seemed to relieve his nausea. It was becoming normal for Peter to spend many hours a day throwing up. He was getting hardly any work done, and he was robbed of energy. After doing much research he discovered marijuana was the one thing that helped keep his medicines down. 
Proposition 215 had been passed allowing Californians access to medical marijuana. Around that time, Peter had published Todd McCormick's book, "How to Grow Medical Marijuana" and Peter was soon labeled a "drug kingpin" because the feds felt he was growing plants for profit when Peter said they were for the patients. Peter's house was raided and the DEA descended upon him in a huge thundercloud. They took his computer, and it came back totally clean, along with a surprise, a virus. People still to this day wonder why there was a mysterious house fire just a few days before Peter's death. It destroyed everything.

Peter had been jailed for 30 days, and he was told if he ever smoked cannabis again his mother and brother would lose their house. Some collateral, eh? Peter was facing 10 years of jail. So he took the plea, and he ended up dying at the young age of fifty. After he died, the Libertarians honoured Peter with the "Champion of Liberty" award. Peter's speech had touched many. He called for an end to the war on drugs and felt that marijuana should be available to anyone who needed it. "I feel that I am entitled to take medicinal marijuana. In general, I believe that everyone who has a doctor's prescription is entitled to take marijuana. I, however, do not believe that my day in court should be taken from me, and that's essentially what's happening," Peter said.
On Flag Day, June 14, 2000, Peter died. 
At the Treating Yourself Expo in Toronto this year, Mr. Marco Renda, the founder, walked around in a PeterMcWilliams.org t shirt. Many patients there were moved by the words on the back of Marco's shirt:

"Nausea is an unsolved problem of medicine and marijuana is the finest anti-nausea medication known to science."

Twelve years later, people still consider him one of the Cannabis Movement's biggest heroes. But many still don't know his name. PeterMcWilliams.org strives to educate everyone about this brave, beautiful man, the same man who once penned, 
"This poem is a kiss for your mind."

Peter McWilliams still lives on, in poetry and in politics, in the cannabis movement and in the meditation movement. In liberty and in love.
Peter still lives. And we're thankful for that. After all, he's got many more lives to touch.

I have a friend who says his all the time.. Let Go and Let God. Surrender.  Have faith.  I struggle every day with this. 
It is so hard to just let go. I try to  control this ^%$# twitch - still - 3 years later and I say to myself - I can make it stop.  It's no different from yesterday - it just seems like on some days it becomes too much. Little things that I deal with all the time suddenly seem HUGE and I want to scream out of frustration. I feel myself build up anger, resentment - I start to feel emotionally and physically exhausted and overwhelmed. 
Time to LET GO! 
Time to stop fighting it, take a mental break - step aside, read a book, distract yourself, meditate.  Time to hand it over. 
As if we have any control over any of this anyway.
xox <>< 

Winter is here and I am not a fan! That and still occasionally dizzy from surgery  I don't dare go for a walk, it's too slippery,  I did to the mail box last week and it took me way too long.  Thank goodness my guys still take the girls out for a walk. They are out in the back yard when ever they want but that just does not cut it - boring!  Storm walks Daisy daily for his health and hers. Tequila old and our most obese - does not like to walk at night any longer and also not fond of the cold is getting away with less exercise - so when the guys walk them outside I try to play a little more ball with Ticky in the house. 
We do what we can for our friends! They love us so! 
I had a friend who had a dog - like in the photo - who was obese and she had to squeeze his anal glands  weekly - LOL NOW that's LOVE!!!  So  sNOw excuse - walk the dog! 
xox <><