Technically, this one could be about Dexter. It just also happens to have Solo in it. Sorry for the music, but between L Word and Clerks 2, I’ve got Jackson 5 on the brain.
If you have issues with the Blip TV Player, this video should be up on my YouTube page later today.
I don’t have much to write about today – not much that I feel like setting down in print, at any rate. Solo goes home on Sunday, and I know that it’s for the best, and I know that it’s a great home, and I know that part of being a breeder is making the tough decision about winnowing pet from show and placing puppies accordingly.
I know all of that. I just don’t care.
I don’t care about it being logical, or rational, or about the fact that I’m at my ‘dogs I keep just as pets just because I want to even though they’re retired or defective or whatever’ limit. I know all about the dangers of kennel blindness, or the more appealing danger of fooling myself into thinking a dog has ‘potential’, when what I really mean is ‘I just love them, that’s all’. I know.
But after two short months, don’t believe it isn’t possible for us to fall head over heels madly in love with one small puppy. And it isn’t just me, either – Solo has an entire fan club, who’ve supported me when he was sick, and rooted for him as he got well, and enjoyed watching him as he grew up.
Still. When you’ve stayed up nights, nursing a puppy through times when you’re afraid he’s never going to start gaining weight, you’re going to lose your heart. The first time he starts gazing into your eyes while you bottle feed him is when you know you’re in deep trouble. You’ve fallen in love with another puppy, long before it’s logical for you to do so.
Of course, according to the ‘experts’ over at Peta or the HSUS, I’m just in this for the money. I’m cold and heartless and making myself rich off of puppies like this – never mind that my recent math on this litter shows us just under $2K in the hole for it. If you’re a breeder, you’re supposed to see dollar signs instead of puppies, and handing them over should be no problem at all.
Except it is. And I guess I really did have something I wanted to write about, after all.
A new photoset is up on Flickr – random shots of the dogs being crazy nutjobs, with Delilah, Bunny, Dexter, Penelope, Fanny and (of course) Solo all featured. Link here, thumbnails below.
Here’s Solo’s last video, taken two days ago. We’ll miss you, baby boy.
I almost wonder if we’re in the middle of a revolution. Could the tide finally, finally be turning?
Could media stories about killer monster Pit Bulls be falling out of fashion?
Could the press finally be realizing that people love to read happy ending stories about cuddly Pit Bulls leading fulfilling lives?
Wouldn’t it be nice…. and wouldn’t it be nice if that tide was enough to wash away Ontario’s idiotic, press driven breed slaughtering specific legislation?
Hey, Mr. Media Journalist! Hey, you! Look at all the press frenzy a Pit Bull positive story can generate? Someone out there is getting a Pulitzer for this, trust us! Wouldn’t you like a Pulitzer, too? I bet you would. So, read these top Thirteen press positive stories on the Vick Pit Bulls, and go write your own!
Oh, and Peta? You and the HSUS?
Are you realizing yet what a bad, bad, badly chosen side of this argument you came down on? Are you feeling stupid yet, looking at all those pictures of happy, face licking Pit Bulls?
I bet you are. I just bet you are.
(note – most of these links are from those tireless fighters for justice over at Bad Rap. You guys rock. so. much.)
1. Cheryl Wittenauer’s wonderful AP article, on CNN
2. Dan Simon’s great article on CNN – in which he makes sure to mention that HSUS and PETA wanted the dogs murdered killed euthanized
3. NPR did several positive stories on the dogs – here, and here. These are snippets linked to the audio file of the broadcast.
4. Tim Racer of Bad Rap’s appearance on CNN (sensing a theme here? You go, CNN). Watch the video clip here.
5. Juliet Macur of the New York Times did a wonderful, full page story on the dogs Best Friends Animal Sanctuary is caring for. I dare you not to cry when you read about Georgia. I just dare you.
6. If Fox News – never before known as a bastion of unbiased news reporting – is doing positive stories on Pit Bulls, can the rest of the media be far behind? See Pibble Johnny Racer on Fox News here
7. TV Station KPIX did two nice News Clips with great quotes
8. A positive article on SFGate.com
9. A news clip detailing National Geographic show ‘Dogtown’s upcoming feature on the dogs
10. Anderson Cooper’s 360 did a wonderful report on the Best Friends dogs. There’s video footage here
11. A Positive news story by John Sasaki of KTVU
12. Great stories in the Mercury News – here, and here
And finally….
13. Full color, multi page coverage in People frickin’ Magazine!
Watch the Bad Rap video on the People Magazine photo shoot…And happy Valentine’s Day to every single Pit Bull, and to their people!
I thought the Hellion-ettes had accomplished something when they removed the downspout.
Turns out, they were mere pikers in the ‘let’s redecorate the house game’, as proven in this photo, sent to us by Janeen of the wonderful Smart Dogs Blog –
Impressive! Truly impressive. But have they removed the siding yet?
We have a lot of snow up here in my neck of woods. You, wherever you are, you think you have snow – but trust me, you don’t.
I have snow so deep, the dogs can’t get out the dog doors.
Snow so deep, the dogs can climb over the five foot fence around the dog areas, because the drifts are that high.
Snow so deep that when Delilah looks for her poo spot, all you can see are the tips of her ears.
Snow so deep that they close off all the roads for 24 hours at a time.
That, my friends – that’s the kind of snow we have.
There are a few bad things about this amount of snow, other than the oh so obvious things, like ‘it sucks, and so does shoveling it’. The dogs, for instance, are bored out of their skulls. Even my lazy Frenchies are experiencing cabin fever, especially the perky gals I fondly refer to as the Hellion-ettes : Bunny; Tula; Fanny and Paris.
The Hellion-ettes enjoy a good romp or twelve, and a little bit of snow doesn’t stop them. The operative word there is ‘little’ – this influx of snow has done a fine job of stopping them from getting further than the ten foot runway I keep cleared outside the dog room door. For half the day, in alternating periods of time, the dogs are shuffled between the family room, and the dog room. The dog room is well stocked with amusements – treat balls, kongs, nylabones and hooves, but all the toys in the world can’t make up for the limited outdoor play space the dogs have been putting up with lately.
The good news is that bored dogs are well able to invent their own pastimes. The bad news is that they rarely invent games that their people enjoy equally well.
Sean was upstairs gathering wood for the fireplace when he yelled for me to check on the dogs. “They’re up to no good, I can hear them dragging something around.”
I walked in and found Fanny and Bunny lying on their donut beds, peacefully chewing nylabones, and looking at me with expressions of pleasant incomprehension. I shrugged, and went back to finish my work.
Five minutes later, Sean yelled at me again – “I swear to God, it sounds like they’re tearing something apart in there. Go check it out!”. I sighed, and went to have another look. Again, two innocent dogs, looking at me with innocent faces. I ignored the sneaking suspicion that they were snickering at me as I left the room, and walked back to my desk.
The next time, Sean didn’t need to yell at me – I heard a crash banging racket coming from the dog room, and the sounds of the dog doors flapping back and forth. I decided to pop outside to see what they were up to, and, since I’m not stupid, I decided to bring the camera with me.
I’m glad I did.
This is Fanny, coming out the dog door, as Bunny disappeared back into it.
That piece of beige metal? That’s the downspout off of our house, which Bunny had been trying to drag inside through the dog door. Fanny was apparently her cheering section, but the fun wore off when she heard my yelp of anger.
Here’s Fanny, bolting for the safety of the house. You can barely see her, but Bunny is peering out of the dog doors with a worried “Oh crap, she caught us” look on her face.
I’m thinking of investing in some treadmills for the Hellion-ettes – and for myself. I’m going to need some serious training to be able to keep up with the trouble these girls get into.