Really, Time Magazine? The Problem With Pit Bulls?

Time Magazine, on June 20, ran the article "The Problem With Pit Bulls". I only just read it, and haven't really heard it discussed in my usual online watering holes. Go read it; I didn't watch the video or anything, so can't vouch for that, but otherwise it doesn't have any terrible pictures or language or anything.

It's hard to read things like that, because they aren't wrong. This is Time Magazine here; they're able to present a compelling argument and back it up with sources. It's what they're for.  But they aren't right, either, and I feel leaning on PETA for citation weakens their case. "Even PETA, the largest animal-rights organization in the world, supports breed-specific sterilization for pit bulls" says Time magazine. Well, PETA thinks it would be best if this convention of keeping pets never existed. We all probably know by now about PETA's high euthanization rate of animals surrendered into their care (that one's from Time, here's one from The Washington Post).

Practically Human, But Better

By now, you've probably heard or even read the article "Dogs are people, too" in the New York Times (in the opinion section, despite the usages of Science™ to carry out the experiment. That's telling, n'est-ce pas?) If you haven't, in a nutshell, the neuroscientist on the case, Gregory Berns, trained (with positive methods and help from a dog trainer) a team of 12 dogs to voluntarily go into an MRI, wearing a pair of noise blocking headphones, and stay there perfectly still for the duration of a brain scan wherein they confirmed brain activity that is indicative of canine emotions.

Dogs and Babies

I got the New York Times "dogs" article alert and sighed when I saw the title: "The Dog Bit Me". Oh boy. I read it anyway, of course. I wanted to know how bad it ended up for the parties involved. For those of you whose stomachs dropped with mine, the kid was bitten, but not "mauled" or disfigured. The dog was also fine; already, in fact, in residence with the grandparents, but this was a family visit.

I might as well share it too: Doberman Playing with Baby

Obviously, I feel the Doberman needs all the good press it can get. Well, within reason. I don't want a breed popularity explosion like the Dalmatian or the Chihuahua did after certain movies came out.

But, this has (or is perhaps in the process of?) gone viral and it's worth discussing.

Doberman....or reindeer?

At the park today, we had what was one of the most adorable child-encounters ever.

There was a four year old and a two year old, something along those lines, both boys. They were playing with sticks, their parents watching nearby, and the older one noticed Elka and I and waved. I waved back. He just stood and watched. The littler guy, though, started to make a beeline, so the mother got up to intercept. They were still somewhat at a distance, and I'd more or less kept walking.

The smaller boy said something, pointed, and then clearly yelled "Reindeer!" The mother laughed, and the older boy yelled "yeah, Reindeer!"


I said "She kind of looks like a reindeer." The mother shrugged, still laughing.

The older boy said "Thank you for showing us that!"

I said "You're welcome! Merry Christmas?"

Both little boys were all "Yeah! Merry Christmas!"