Monday Mischief: April 30 2012

The park that Elka and I visit the most often also boasts some tennis courts.

Elka finds this fascinating, of course, to see an object of her acute interest to be used in such a different manner from the one to which she is accustomed. It's especially amusing for me when summer is in full swing, as there are apparently group tennis lessons for children, so not only are there lots of tennis balls, but also lots of kids, some of whom are using comically large tennis balls, at least until they get the hang of it, I guess.

So, at the park, Elka stared like a creeper at a Japanese couple, who (to my relief) seemed amused by her, not intimidated or upset. In hindsight, it might have been cute if I had her "bow". Or maybe it would not have been and it's good I didn't. The world may never know. We also sometimes see a pair of Indian ladies who are literally swathed in white cloth and always walking. While they never want to pet Elka or actually interact with her, we've seen them enough that they smile and gesture hello, and this last time, one of them blew Elka a kiss and said hello to her too.

But, international relations aside, that wasn't the little bit of mischief. Or perhaps shenanigans? It was innocuous, certainly, just a bit of fun!

Uggie, inaugural Golden Collar winner, lands a book deal

You remember the kerfluffle over the Golden Collar awards, with Martin Scorsese writing an impassioned letter about Blackie the Doberman? And how Uggie the Jack Russel Terrier from The Artist won anyway, which makes me think the whole thing was rigged to begin with?

(Okay, maybe not, but I can't help but feel that despite the Blackie write-in, she still wasn't given fair consideration. Call me paranoid, but that's what I think.)

Well, Uggie has apparently landed himself a book deal. That's right. Uggie's memoir is slated to come out this October. I mean, somebody else is writing the book for him, as "acting" abilities aside, he is in fact still a dog. I'm not sure he even knows as many words as Elka, but I still wouldn't rely upon her to write a book. Heck, I don't even let her blog.

A Wedding for Dogs?

I'm not sure what's going on in California.

Scruffy Rubin and Snickers Carter tied the knot, in an event to the tune of $5000. The bride wore a couture dress, Snickers had a tux and in lieu of gifts, the couple asked that donations be made to The Orphan Pet Oasis Humane Society of the Desert in Palm Springs (What an acronym that must be: OPOHSDPS. It might even be a key of Solomon.)

Oh yeah. And Scruffy and Snickers are little dogs.

Photo by Wade Byars for the Desert Sun

Vicktory Dogs: 5 years later

April 25 was the five  year anniversary for the rescue of 51 dogs from Bad Rap kennels, the property in Virginia owned by Michael Vick. Considering the man in question is already back playing football, I'd guess a lot of people find his debt to society paid.

About a year ago, on April 24, I reviewed Jim Gorant's book The Lost Dogs. Frankly, the case still makes me feel ill. That Vick has another multimillion dollar contract makes me ill. That he doesn't seem to be sorry for what he does, but rather sorry that he got caught...well, enough about him.

Because so many of those dogs have been successful. They're therapy dogs. They have their Canine Good Citizen titles. They're in happy homes, with families who love them. Apparently they're referred to by some as Vicktory Dogs, and I like it. It shows what can be accomplished with care and consideration.

As I've said before,  I can't in good conscience speak out against breed prejudices that target the Doberman without giving pit bull prejudice the time of day. Dogs are dogs. These dogs are pit bulls, these dogs were bred for fighting, these dogs were raised in horrible isolated conditions where the people they  interacted with were not kind. Today, these dogs are successful in home settings. These dogs interact with other dogs. Dogs are individuals. These dogs were individually given a chance, and I'm very glad, because it sets the precedent.

You can read more about them on http://vickdogsblog.blogspot.com/ and also on the Bad Rap web page, here: http://www.badrap.org/vick-dogs

The Doberman: Size Matters

A lot of advertisements for Dobermans list their puppies and dogs as "oversized", "king Dobermans", "superior size" and even "warlock". These things are meant as selling points, suggesting that bigger is better, suggesting a certain quality comes along with such things. A lot of people buy into the notion of having a "big scary Doberman" as more intimidating, stronger, etc.

There is a breed standard for a reason, though. The making of the breed took years, and size was certainly a consideration when it came to the Doberman's athletic and working ability.

Wordless Wednesday: April 25 2012

Sunny again!

Liebster Blog!

Oh boy, are we in trouble.

Well, I'm in trouble. It isn't Elka's fault.

You see, waaaaay back on January 9, Pennypup from Dobermann Daze was so kind as to give us the Liebster Blog award. I'm wondering if she's regretting it at this point! I don't recall what it was I was doing in January that was sooooo important that made me forget to acknowledge this, and pass it on.

But wait, it gets better. Or worse.

So then, on March 5, Katherine at Life With Arie gave it to us as well!

I thanked both lovely bloggers in the comments on their entries, and in March, I even said "Gee, somebody gave me this, I haven't gotten to it" and still didn't get to it! Geeze, they're going to take my stripes or something. I really am sorry, fellow dog bloggers (which we may or may not want to shorten to "dloggers", but I'm not sure it'll catch on). I do appreciate you! So, with no further delay: