wolfspirit8993 Last Tribe's blog: "Wolves vs Domestic Dogs"

Wolves vs. Domestic Dogs The controversy continues about the wolf and the domestic dogs; are they the same animal or are they different? The truth is they are both. The domestic dog and the wolf can trace their ancestry back to the same beginning. Through DNA testing of all the different species of domestic dog and wolves, scientist have proven that they come from the same ancestry. However, scientists greatly differ on where and when the wolf and man became the loyal companion of man. Some believe they were domesticated back in the Stone Age while others believe the domestication of wolves is a lot more recently, possibly as recent as 15,000 years ago. The wolf and dog have a lot in common. They are both from the canine family, both have the same amount of teeth, they both come in a variety of colors, and they are susceptible to the same infections such as mange, heartworm, rabies, parvovirus and canine distemper. The wolf, although similar to the domestic dog in many ways, differ dramatically. The wolf is larger than the domestic dog. The heaviest recorded wolf was in Alaska; it weighed 175 pounds. The tallest wolf recorded was measured at 38 inches at its shoulders. The female wolf is generally smaller by about 20% than their male counterpart. Wolves are built for stamina they have a narrow chest, powerful backs and legs that allow efficient locomotion so that they are capable of covering several miles at a pace of 6 miles per hour. They can also reach speeds of 40 miles per hour and can cover up to 16 feet per bound while sprinting. Unlike dog, wolves have no sweat glands on their paw pads instead they have scent glands that leave chemical markers that allow them to navigate and keep the pack informed of its whereabouts. The wolf has a different coat for summer and winter unlike the domestic dog that keeps the same markings at all times. The wolves’ coats generally change in spring and fall to their summer or winter coats. The wolf’s brain, paws are larger than the domestic dog and their legs and muzzles are longer. However the wolf’s orbital angles are smaller than the dog. The dog’s orbital angles are generally 55 degrees and the wolf’s only 45 degrees, but the wolves’ sense of smell is much more defined. The wolf mates once a year and stays with the mate until one of them die. The wolves’ alpha male and alpha female of the pack are the only wolves allowed to mate because the pack can only support one litter. They do not mate with domestic dogs in the wild, unlike stories that have been told. The wolf will kill a domestic dog before it would mate with it. The wolf/dog is a product of captive wolves being bred with domestic dogs in captivity. However, the domestic dog breeds twice a year and rarely stay with the same mate at all times. Wolves generally have smaller litters than dogs, but their pups are born, like the dog, mute and deaf. The pups eyes and ears open usually within the second week. Unlike dogs, the wolf prefers to avoid people and will generally run from them unless cornered or threatened in some way. Wolves only tend to bite if they are challenged for dominance or they perceive they are in danger. The dog however, tends to gravitate toward people and show little fear; but dogs are much more aggressive than wolves and will bite for unknown reasons. Scientists believe this is because they do not have to fight for rank in a pack. In conclusion I would say there are more differences in wolves and dogs than there are similarities. I believe that wolves, although harder to train than the domestic dog, would not be as apt to hurt someone as a domestic dog.

This was recently sent to me when a friend heard that if Hilary Clinton became elected President, she was going to try to have the same kind of insurance implamented here. What do you think about this? This was sent from Canada to a friend in the States. I saw on the news up here in Canada where Hillary Clinton introduced her new health care plan. Something similar to what we have in Canada. I also heard that Michael Moore was raving about the health care up here in Canada in his latest movie. As your friend and someone who lives with the Canada health care plan I thought I would give you some facts about this great medical plan that we have in Canada. First of all: 1) The health care plan in Canada is not free. We pay a premium every month of $96. for Shirley and I to be covered. Sounds great eh. What they don't tell you is how much we pay in taxes to keep the health care system afloat. I am personally in the 55% tax bracket. Yes 55% of my earnings go to taxes. A large portion of that and I am not sure of the exact amount goes directly to health care our #1 expense. 2) I would not classify what we have as health care plan, it is more like a health diagnosis system. You can get into to see a doctor quick enough so he can tell you "yes indeed you are sick or you need an operation" but now the challenge becomes getting treated or operated on. We have waiting lists out the ying yang some as much as 2 years down the road. 3) Rather than fix what is wrong with you the usual tactic in Canada is to prescribe drugs. Have a pain here is a drug to take- not what is causing the pain and why. No time for checking you out because it is more important to move as many pa tients thru as possible each hour for Government re-imbursement 4) Many Canadians do not have a family Doctor. 5) Don't require emergency treatment as you may wait for hours in the emergency room waiting for treatment. 6) Shirley's dad cut his hand on a power saw a few weeks back and it required that his hand be put in a splint - to our surprise we had to pay $125. for a splint because it is not covered under health care plus we have to pay $60. for each visit for him to check it out each week. 7) Shirley's cousin was diagnosed with a heart blockage. Put on a waiting list . Died before he could get treatment. 8) Government allots so many operations per year. When that is done no more operations, unless you go to your local newspaper and plead your case and embarrass the government then money suddenly appears. 9)The Government takes great pride in telling us how much more they are increasing the funding for health care but waiting lists nev er get shorter. Government just keeps throwing money at the problem but it never goes away. But they are good at finding new ways to tax us, but they don't call it a tax anymore it is now a user fee. 10) A friend needs an operation for a blockage in her leg but because she is a smoker they will not do it. Despite paying into the health care system all these years. My friend is 65 years old. Now there is talk that maybe we should not treat fat and obese people either because they are a drain on the health care system. Let me see now, what we want in Canada is a health care system for healthy people only. That should reduce our health care costs. 11) Forget getting a second opinion, what you see is what you get. 12) I can spend what money I have left after taxes on booze, cigarettes, junk food and anything else that could kill me but I am not allowed by law to spend my money on getting an operation I need because that would be jumping the queue. I must wait my tu rn except if I am a hockey player or athlete then I can get looked at right away. Go figger. Where else in the world can you spend money to kill yourself but not allowed to spend money to get healthy. 13) Oh did I mention that immigrants are covered automatically at tax payer expense having never contributed a dollar to the system and pay no premiums. 14) Oh yeh we now give free needles to drug users to try and keep them healthy. Wouldn't want a sickly druggie breaking into your house and stealing your things. But people with diabetes who pay into the health care system have to pay for their needles because it is not covered but the health care system. I send this out not looking for sympathy but as the election looms in the states you will be hearing more and more about universal health care down there and the advocates will be pointing to Canada. I just want to make sure that you hear the truth about health care up here and have some food for thought and info rmed questions to ask when broached with this subject. Step wisely and don't make the same mistakes we have.