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Moggies, then and now

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A "Moggie" road sign - cats live here?

A "Moggie" road sign - cats live here?

I’ve spent the last six and a half months taking the same drive to work almost every day. It’s picturesque – a winding back road, past creeks, over rivers, and through landscape that ranges from stark cedars on bare rock to lush pastures with contentedly grazing cows. Every day, I’ve passed the same red brick cottage, and every day, I’ve smiled at the sign they have on their side lawn.

“Moggie”, it says – white letters on a green background. In the spring, they have flowers attached to the base of the sign.  I’ve been touched to picture the type of cat loving ex pats who’d have to gone to such lengths to display their devotion to their pets. ‘Moggie’, for anyone in Great Britain, is affectionate slang for ‘cat’ – non pedigreed cats, in particular.

From About.Com –

Moggie

Definition: Noun.Term used in Great Britain to describe a domestic non-pedigreed cat. Also used as an affectionate term for “stray” cats.
Pronunciation: moh-gee
Also Known As: stray, alley cat

Examples:
My favorite “breed” of cats is the Moggie.

It took me until last week before I realized that their sign had absolutely nothing to do with cats – a fact I realized only when I finally noticed this tiny cemetary, tucked away at the side of the road a few hundred yards from the Moggie sign I’d been admiring.

Moggie Pioneer Cemetery - no pets in sight

Moggie Pioneer Cemetery - no pets in sight

Turns out Moggie was another one of Ontario’s lost villages – early settlements that had just slowly vanished, absorbed into larger towns, or simply disappearing when the small schools and churches had ceased to exist. Moggie is marked now by three things only – a small cemetery, home to three gravestones, each dating from the mid 1850’s, a green road sign, and this small commemorative sign, almost buried in the brush near the roadside entrance to the cemetery.

Pioneer Settlement Moggie

I’ve since learned that the village of Moggie has a very interesting story behind it, but I’ll leave that for another blog I’m currently working on. Suffice to say, it has nothing to do with house cats.

Pit Bull Ban Author Fail!

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Michael Bryant Kills Cyclist

Is schadenfreude ever excusable? I hope so, because I’m having a serious case of it right now….

Ontario’s Former AG Michael Bryant-Author of Bill 132 in Trouble

From the Toronto Star –

Former Ontario attorney general Michael Bryant is being questioned by police this morning after a cyclist was struck and killed last night.

Bryant was taken into custody following the incident and police are trying to determine whether to charge him, said Sgt. Tim Burrows. Police did say alcohol was not involved.

Burrows would not confirm witness reports the cyclist jumped on the car after a collision around 9:45 p.m. on Bloor St., just west of St. Thomas St., and began fighting with the driver of a black Saab.

Witnesses said the cyclist hung onto the driver’s side of the car, which had its convertible top down, while the driver allegedly yelled at him to get off.

The vehicle was driving on the wrong side of the road and drove up on to a curb trying to knock the cyclist off for about 100 metres, witnesses said.

“Lots of people were watching and they couldn’t believe what was happening,” said Ryan Brazeau, a worker with a crew laying sewer pipes on Bloor.

Yeah, I guess this is the guy we should all be listening to when it comes to dangerous dog legislation. Takes one to know one, it seems.

Or, as Kate put it over on the small dead animals blog,

Since the law’s enactment in 2005, pit bulls have killed fewer Ontarians than former attorney general Michael Bryant;

“Burrows could not explain why the driver crossed lanes of traffic and drove up onto the curb.”

Well, duh. Obviously he thought it was a Pit Bull attached to his car.

London Animal Control – Overly Diligent Much?

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London Ontario Thinks Solo Might be a Dangerous DogDo you remember this little guy?

He’s Solo, our singleton French Bulldog puppy, born last fall. He was cute then, and he’s still cute now – a happy little bundle of cream, with a big grin and even bigger ears.

Unfortunately, to the city of London, Ontario, Solo is just one more ‘potential Pit Bull’ – and they’re not taking any chances on him rampaging around the town, savaging stuffed animals and viciously attacking sticks.

After a few recent posts to the Frenchie mailing lists about the possible risk to French Bulldogs because of Ontario’s so-called ‘Pit Bull’ ban, I received an email from Solo’s mom. Solo lives with his family in London, Ontario, where he shares the house with two kids, his mom and dad and assorted small animals.

Solo’s mom, who has asked to remain anonymous for fear that they’ll be targeted by London Animal Control, related to me what had happened when she attempted to purchase a City of London Dog License for Solo.

Read more →

Would You Pay $1 to Fight Stupidity?

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Please help the BannedAid coalition in their upcoming legal battle to have Ontario’s Breed Bans over turned. They have retained of Canada’s TOP attorneys, Clayton Ruby, and now they need our help to continue the fight.

This fight is NOT just about “pit bulls” — it affects pedigree dogs of a large variety of breeds, and their owners ability to show, breed, own and love them. Even if you’re not a fan of Pitties, if you’re a fan of the right to own the pedigree breed of your choice, then please make a tiny donation of just one dollar.

That’s all they’re asking for — just donate $1 for every dog you can reach out and touch right now, in honor of all the despairing owners who have had their own beloved dogs ripped away from their sides.

In case you think that issues ‘like this’ can’t or won’t or don’t affect French Bulldogs, please note that rumors abound that if the ban isn’t over turned, it will be expanded to include “All Bull Breeds” (this means Boston BULL Terriers, ‘English’ Bulldogs, French Bulldogs, Bullmastiffs and Bull Terriers), as well as Rotties, Dobes and most of the remaining non banned Mastiff breeds. In other cities with breed bans, Bulldogs, Frenchies and even PUGS have been banned.

It’s time we all put a stop to this madness, and fight back wherever we are. This isn’t about “Pit Bulls” anymore – it’s about a concerted effort, spearheaded by the Animal Rights Groups who are too often called in as ‘experts’ when these laws are being drafted, to put an end to pure bred dog ownership. We can’t afford the luxury anymore of thinking this is about ‘them’, not ‘us’. The future is here, and we are now ‘them’.

Again, just $1 – think about what $1 from every owner or breeder of a purebred dog could accomplish.

Here’s the URL to donate – http://www.bannedaid.com/index.php?pr=Donate

The  companies below are doing their  bit for the fund raising effort. Please patronize them, and help the defense fund grow!

Best Dressed Dog –
www.bestdresseddog.net
This site is donating 25% of their January sales.  You will see pits “modelling” their products so there is no need to wonder why they want to support the cause. 🙂

Mimmenuk Canine Designs – Braided Kangaroo Show Leads
http://www.alaskanmalamutes.com/Show%20Leads/show_leads_home.htm
This site is donating 10% of their January profits.

ONLY at the below location : The owners will donate 10 % of the restaurant sales for Saturday January 17th
Boston Pizza
1164 Chemong Road in Peterborough Ontario.

Dog Days of Scugog Festival

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Our friend Ruth Ann of “And Puppy Dog Tails” Dog grooming in Bowmanville sent on this report on Port Perry’s annual “Dog Days of Scugog” Festival –

The fifth annual Dog Days of Scugog was held on July 19 & 20th. at the Scugog Shores Museum in Port Perry, Ontario. Dog Days is a two day event for families and their canines. Numerous vendors, rescues and competitions were available for you and your dog!

Rally, Dock diving, Agility, and Disc dog demos ran alongside the Jack Russell racing, lots of action, canine style! Competitions were held for the  longest tail, longest ears, longest hair, best trick and owner lookalike contest. Local groomers were invited to participate in Stump the Groomer, where they had to  correctly identify six breeds of dogs, while wearing a blindfold! For a five dollar donation, you could have your very own Pawcasso of your dogs foot prints. I was very disappointed I had no time to participate!

Amelia Bedelia, 2 year old French bulldog was in the parade of breeds and the fashion show along with her  housemate Angell, a 6 year old Brussels Griffon.  Their owner Ruth Ann Miller was the coordinator and the M.C. for the festivities. There were so many prizes donated for the winners of the competitions, almost everyone received a prize.

Each year the venue is becoming larger and more interesting, stop by next year!!

Here is the web site: http://www.scugogshoresmuseum.com/event-dog-days.php

Thanks Ruth Ann! Sounds like everyone had a great time, and I think it’s well worth the drive to attend. Delilah, who decided yesterday that it’d be fun to jump onto my stomach as I was floating on the air mattress in our pool, mentioned she’d like to try Dock Diving. I think she’ll be sticking to the Fashion show competition.

By the way, if you’re near Bowmanville and have a dog in need of grooming, be sure to stop in and visit And Puppy Dog Tails. Here’s their contact info:

And Puppy Dog Tails
12 Silver Street
Bowmanville, ON L1C 3C3, Canada
(905) 623-8000
Get directions

Here are some photos from the Dog Days of Scugog.