buttscratch

Peaceful sleep

2007-02-04T11:08:00.000-05:00

I thought I'd weigh in on the PETA trial now that a verdict has been handed down. For those of you that haven't been following this case (or live in the peaceful bubble of reality TV or, thankfully, do not watch Fox News), two PETA employees were on trial in NC last week for animal cruelty, littering, and obtaining property on false pretenses. In short, the two employees were caught behind a Bertie County Piggly Wiggly dumping the bodies of animals they had picked up from vets and shelters and had euthanized in their PETA van. Pretty much, the employees were only found guilty of littering and have to pay a fine, pay restitution, and do community service.
Now, when I first heard the story, my honest first impression was sheer confusion. I was mortified because I always thought that PETA, sometimes too radically for my blood, but always with their unwavering save-the-furries ideology, was the one organization that would always stand up for animal rights. So I assumed that these were rogue employees, right?
Then I caught wind of the somewhat biased website, PETAkillsAnimals.com that was following the trial. When I found out that the PETA employees were following the directions of their employer, I was even more confused. And on the Dogster Blog, folks were chiming in with the "I knew PETA went too far" and "they're a bunch of hypocrites" and so on.
Being the "fair and balanced" journalist that I am, I did a little searching for PETA's statements on the matter. I found it odd that they really buried their statements on their website, since when taken alone, give very reasonable and sane accounts of why they work in NC, which is very close tho their Norfolk VA headquarters. They have a picture of the old Bertie County gas chamber in which the animals used to be gassed(when not just "shot with a .22"). But again, due to the lack of national media attention to the trial, they didn't feel a need to put this in their Media Response center. So a little part of me thinks they're trying to hide the fact that they're in the business of euthanizing puppies because it's not what their celebrity superstars would find glamorous. Not like Cruelty-Free wear at New York's Fashion Week, which is today's banner splash.
While reading about the trial, I found out that one of the puppies the employees put down was also named Toby. A lot of them have names. For me, the most distressing part of the melee is the political volley between PETA and the anti-PETA folks decrying the "terrorist" group. While the meat-packers and virulently anti-PETA folks paint the general picture of "hypocrite," and everyday folks latch on to the supposedly hypocrisy of killing puppies while "forcing" us to go without leather belts, Chik Filet, and animal-tested lipstick, the focus is on whether or not what the kids did is considered "animal cruelty" or not. I personally and unpopularly do not believe that it is. If indeed the shelters are overrun, and Bertie County does not have an adoption program, and the poor animals are being gassed or frozen in their outdoor dogruns, then the humane thing to do is indeed sadly euthanize them. I personally find it upsetting that anyone with a dog from a puppy farm or even a regular breeder would cast a first stone at those trying to control the pet population. That is the real hypocrisy.
My beef (no pun intended) is with the fact that the kids got off on the False Pretenses charge. It is apparent, at least to me, that many of the folks from whom they were picking the animals were assuming that the PETA van was coming to find the animals homes, not automatically euthanizing them and putting them in the Norfolk storage freezer (which is in fact what the stated procedure is). It's on the personal level where things break down (like when folks bring puppies to shelters when they can't handle them after convincing themselves that they will for sure be adopted by a better person before their time is up).
The policies should be clearly stated. People should realize that they are bringing an animal to a shelter to be put down, plain and simple. And PETA should train its employees to know that one can't just take animals from hospitals saying you are finding the animal a home. Perhaps they are so use to "liberating" animals from labs and circuses that they get confused about the propriety of taking animals from veterinarians, telling them that they have found Toby and Happy good homes, and secretly putting them down in a van because they think they know best.

Guest post

2007-01-23T14:08:00.000-05:00

Hey there! I thought I'd take a break and let my Momma C post. She has a list she's been working on...

20 Random Pet Peeves:

1) People-parents that don’t get pet-parents. I recently read a letter to Miss Manners (or Dear Abby) where someone took the time to complain to the columnist that her friends signed their holiday card from each “member of the family” including their dog. The advice seeker wished justification for her rage that the pet-owner “equated [their] dog to [her] children.” Miss Manners explained that this was not, in fact, what the animal folk were doing and wished that the parent wouldn’t be so sensitive. Some of us really do consider our dog a part of the family, and wish breeders no harm.
2) Incessant cell phone usage. Uh, really, do you need to be on the phone in the restaurant, in the grocery store, in the car, in the mall, in the woods, walking down the street, crossing the street, in the elevator… This peeve is directly related to…
3) Getting hijacked into someone’s little world from being subjected to her end of an insipid cell phone conversation. Has reality television really convoluted our sense of privacy to the point where folks don’t comprehend that most people around them are completely uninterested in their lives? Cell phone users seem totally oblivious to the folks in their actual physical vicinity. Your neighbors in space do not need to know about that cute guy too. Really.
4) Cashiers that don’t acknowledge your presence. There was a time in our country’s short history when customer service was king. Remember those old commercials with the gas station attendants with little paper hats? Some of us, when checking out of the grocery store, would still pay that little extra to have someone smile and say “Did you find everything that you needed?” Yet, I have, with increasing frequency, been able to go right through a check-out line without as much as a “Hey,” and, most likely, without any actual eye contact being made. Frankly, I can’t just blame this on the sorry state of customer service training. We (the collective “we” known as American consumers) actually brought this upon ourselves, as we demanded the U-Checkout Stands and e-commerce and all those wonderful other ways to speed things up and avoid human contact by all means.
5) Automated customer service telephone menus. Another victim of the Decline of Civilized Customer Service, this technology forces us to accept the loss of personal interaction as inevitable, convincing us that all of our problems can be solved through a series of vocal “Yes,” “No,” and number prompts. Since my blood pressure seems to rise dramatically every time I call one of these lines, perhaps I won’t live to see humans replaced completely.
6) Script-reading help-line technicians. I know, I know, I want it all. So you give me a human, because I bitched about the automatron. Well, give me back the robot if all you’ve got is a guy in India, asking me “yes or “no” questions while slowly scrolling through on-screen manuals. Better yet, send me the on-screen manual. OR, even better yet, make my product stable and free of gliches in the first place.
7) Telemarketers. Yup.
8) Telemarketers who, after I tell them that B. is not in, ask to speak to her husband. B. has been known to tell telemarketers, after being asked for C. and then asked “Is there a husband?,” that a husband does not exist on account of “her being a lesbian.” I wonder where that is on the “yes” / “no” script.
9) Saying something is “very unique.” Unique is unique. I can’t say I’ve never said this, but I’ll be that person that calls people out that do.
10) Inappropriately calling friends out in non-safe spaces. This requires a much longer explanation, I’m sure. I will be the first to accept someone’s constructive criticism and empowering enlightenment of hidden oppression, but sometimes certain situations call for some semblance of tact.
11) Describing something as “ironic” when, really, it’s not. This still makes the list after all these years. Ever since that damn Alanis Morrisette song, it STILL bothers me.
12) The colloquialism “Beyotch” Do I have to explain? Really?
13) The Melting Pot idea. I remember growing up in the seventies, watching Sesame Street, and feeling glad that the US was all colors of a distinct multi-cultural rainbow. Then in the eighties, I chanted along with the Schoolhouse Rock chorus, “The Great American Melt-Ing-Pot,” with its pretty swirling and whirling, not realizing that the resulting fondue was a pseudo-homogenized culture assimilated to some Dynasty-aspiring norm, a watered down version of what each of the component parts brought. To extend the spoiled dairy analogy, a well-balanced cheese plate - with a soft ripened triple creme, an aggressive blue, a tangy Trappist washed rind, and an aged boorenkaas – is more agreeable to me than a fondue or fromage forte where I can’t tell each individuals’ characteristics or origins. It’s just my preference.
14) The bootstrap theory (related somewhat to “The American Dream”). Some people claim it works. I personally think it’s flawed and more often creates…
15) Oppressed persons that oppress others in order to rise up. So, the theory goes, if you don’t succeed, then it’s your own damn fault, not the fault of systemic modes of oppression or yet-to-be surmounted historic injustices that keep folks where they are.
16) People who think they are Righteous but do not work for Justice. We once had a great Sunday School lesson with a theological scholar who broke down various Biblical texts that used the word “righteous.” On many occasions, the same root word that translates to “Justice” was used to translated to “Righteous,” such that in the case where we learn “Blessed are the Righteous,” the meaning is not so much “Blessed are the upstanding,” but rather “Blessed are the Just.” A minor nit-picky point, but a powerful one, I think.
17) Deer Ticks. Yes, the lyme disease-carrying insects you get in the forest. I was getting a little heavy handed and didactic, and, since Toby was so kind as to let me "hijack" his blog, I thought I’d throw in some pet peeves that were less conceptual, and more tangible.
18)Dandruff. I try really hard to avoid it, but I think my hair products add to the problem.
19) Unnecessary staff meetings. Again, it should go without saying.
20) Long winded blog posts. Cuz really, who has time to read that nonsense.

Blessed are the meek. Have a beautiful day.

What's in a name?

2007-01-08T11:19:00.000-05:00

Since I have doing this for a little while now, I thought I would re-introduce why I named this site the name that I did. This is mainly for you non-dog people out there, for whom the term "buttscratch" perhaps means "the middle of nowhere."

(I am nowhere near the middle of nowhere, and love my little space in the world.)

The blog title is derived from my constant desire for buttscratches. These are, more specifically, scratches on my lower back near the base of my tail. (I will not say what they are not - this is a family site.) Again, these things don't need to be explained to dogpeople. When I wake up in the morning, I walk up to my Momma B asleep in her bed and whine until she scratches me.

I would also like to apologize for not asking Momma C. She just doesn't do it right.

The Real Deal

2007-01-05T15:03:00.000-05:00

I'M the original Good German Shepard!
'Nuff Said.
But just in case, you need more... The Good German Shepard

Gourmet

2007-01-04T14:40:00.000-05:00

I have been dreaming of the Christmas Carob Cookies my mommas made me. While quite tasty, they do pale in comparison to the lovely little treats that came in my Advent Calendar. Each night in December (that is, each night until they shipped me off to Puppy Camp for the holidays), one of my mommas would open the next door on my cardboard calendar and pop out a tiny dog biscuit before bedtime. They plan to save the calendar and refill it with more homemade snacks each year.

My momma C considers herself a bit of a gourmet. She use to be a cheesebuyer before doing the videography thing and then becoming a CPA. After a hard week of number-crunching, Momma C takes great pride in being able to name all the cheeses at a party - a weird party trick, I suppose, but a surefire way to screen people for who you REALLY want to spend your evening talking. People that know their cheese (or at least appreciate it) are just good people.

The trouble with cheese is that the good stuff tends to be a little pricey, so "knowing cheese" gets to be a snooty thing if you are in certain crowds. The precious farmhouse, so-called artisan stuff can run from $15-25 a pound. Of course, if you cut out premium cable (which my mommas have) and going out to eat every night at the Applebees, I think you can splurge every now and then on some premium stuff (what happened to Tyler Florence?).

On the other hand, my momma will forever be known for her ability to appreciate both "high" and "low" culture. She is perhaps the only cheesebuyer to extol the glories of pasteurized cheese spread (c'mon, who doesn't like Laughing Cow and those little processed wedges from Germany. A little cloud of caraway heaven?). Please note that Momma C (or, "The Big Cheese" as her business cards use to say) also almost had a car accident while trying to eat Kraft Spray Cheez from the bottle while driving. Really. Think, windshield.

Momma C will always remember a story her dad told her when she was little about how his family use to looooove processed meat from a can (corned beef, Spam, etc.). They always had to have fresh food growing up in the Philippines. You know, vegetables, fish, rice. For special breakfasts, they had the imported stuff like Spam. For Christmas, they had Virginia ham and Queso de Bola (the big red Edam ball especially marketed to the Islands). Growing up in Maryland, Momma C ate the now readily available Spam at least once a week. (I think I'd love the stuff if Momma B wasn't a gosh-darn fish-etarian...)

Once, while working in restaurants, Momma C was inspired by the Annual Spam Contest and made a Spam and Cheese Soup. I hear it was too salty.

All and all, I don't care what my mommas eat, as long as they don't eat me. This may seem a little insensitive, since Momma C is a first-generation Filipino-American, who suffered through decades of being taunted with "Dog Eater" cries. She use to think this was just an outdated epithet though, and was saddened to see on the Dogster Blog that, despite its being illegal, hundreds of dogs are still eaten in the Philippines every day. Every day! (And I get to sleep in the master bedroom!) It is a multimillion peso "underground" industry there (roughly $1.1M US). Of course, as wretched as this may sound to most Americans (who spend many more millions of dollars on dog toys every year), I'm not sure most can cast the first stone with the monster steaks on their dinner plates. Or perhaps monster steaks wrapped in bacon. Or with those ducks stuffed in chickens stuffed in turkeys. I suppose, humans, with their superior intellect, also "won the right" to eat puppies too.

I am not a vegetarian. Despite the repeated announcements from my Momma B that, unlike a cat, I don't have to eat meat, I do eat seafood and, on occasion, other meats. I do not mean to cause a stir. (I tried to eat a chicken bone once, but Momma C wrenched it out of my mouth just in time to get her hand chomped.) I just hope that folks take the time that I do to wonder were the food came from before gobbling it down - whether it was a gift from a deity, or grown through the back-breaking toil of migrant laborers, or with the sacrifice of a happy turkey that grew up under a pecan tree in Alabama without getting poked full of drugs and hormones. I am compelled to bring up the musing of the old canine in Kafka's "Investigation of a Dog." (Momma C shared this with me while she was at Duke.) The dog had spent his entire life wondering from whence his food came. He's totally oblivious of humans and believed that he needed to water the ground to make the food come (sometimes "from the ground", sometimes "from the air"). While the philosophical pursuit consumes him, I at least see his appreciation for the vittles, knowing he mustn't tempt forces by quiting his ground-wetting rituals.

Momma C has started back on the chuck wagon (quite literally) but thinks she can fend of the Gods of PETA (or at least Reese Witherspoon and the Baldwin bros) by appropriating the Native American ritual of thanking the animal soul before consuming its flesh.

Now, is a blanket thank-you to all the souls okay or must she be able to discern each little soul that may have gone into, say, a sausage and address each one?

Venturing into 2007

2007-01-03T15:01:00.000-05:00

Howdy, folks!! Tobias Poindexter here after a very long, long hiatus.

First of all, HAPPY NEW YEAR!! This should prove to be an interesting year - with the Dems controlling Congress and the '08 elections a small but noticeable blip on the horizon. (Carolina boy John Edwards has left the Center on Poverty and thrown his big grin into the ring. We'll see...) In Iraq, we clocked the 3000th American military casualty before the big apple (and big Raleigh acorn) dropped. But things could be a-changin' - with Rummy gone and Secretary Gates in, Saddam is out of the picture (save perhaps his martyrdom), and focus is now on sectarian violence (i.e. "civil war" semantics). Too bad there's still the Taliban on the other end of the continent. (Osama Bin who-now?)

Locally, the Duke Lacrosse case is STILL rearing its ugly head. Yesterday, Mike Nifong was sworn is as DA in a "private ceremony," as the State Bar announced it has opened up its own investigation into Mr. Nifong himself. At the start of it all, my mommas were unapologetic Nifong supporters, because they had met him personally, appreciated what he had done thus far for the citizens of Durham, and didn't like the sensational national media (and the Raleigh New and Observer) telling us and our fellow Durhamites that we were putzes. But now is not the time to circle the wagons (lest we trap all that ill blood in). (Duke had a discernible drop in the number of kids who took their Duke acceptances this year, meaning the university didn't get many of their first choice students 'cuz of this thing. The alumni are a-steamin'. Remarkably, per Momma C's Duke Annual Fund Report, Alumni Giving was at an all time high last year. Talk about circlin' the wagons!)
At this point, if one is making the case for "justice," no "justice" can be served (for anyone) with Mr. Nifong still prosecuting the case. If anything (to find the last shred of humor in it...), Nifong's current actions (inaction?) may now prove how he never went after this case for political gain, as had been the cry when the accusations first came up in March/April '06, close to the DA primary. Any true politician would have dropped this case like a hot potato long ago. What a way to muck up your CV for life.

This year, Durham also had the auspicious achievement of lowering its annual murder total from 37 in 2005 to a mere 15 in 2006. (The 15th just happened the last weekend of the year. So really, it's more like 14...). The mayor's "pleased". Too bad non-homicide violent crime is on the rise.

But, as is hopefully apparent to those that read my musings (or those less coherent ramblings of my Momma C), we only make these commentaries because we truly love and care for this city, this nation, and this planet and all of its citizens, two, four, and other-legged.

Perhaps in 2007, I will try to be more upbeat and make sure to also balance my posts with the wonderful and the wondrous in our midst, like the British springer-mix Saffy who saved her people from imminent danger by warning them of a gas leak or the 6-month old puppy, prophetically named Hero, who save his people from fire in Indiana. (Thanks to Joy Ward of Dogster Blog for these!)

Here's to a better, bigger, brighter year!!

Long silence

2006-06-14T15:44:00.000-04:00

I haven't written in awhile. It's because my mommas work so hard so I never get on the computer. (At least, that's what they tell me. I hope they are not just out there playing with other dogs, keeping their own blogs, etc.) (That would be CRAZY!)

The Duke Lacrosse fiasco is just that. I am slowly pulling my support away from Mr. Nifong (lucky for him, as a dog, I can't vote). The calls for him to appoint a special prosecutor are valid. He should take the out. It would silence a few critics and give him a clearer head. But what do I know.

On the gay marriage front, they are pulling out the Federal Marriage Amendment again. And Florida's ban on gay adoption was just upheld. Crikey. Are you people listening?

I read a cool op ed today in the Philadelphia Inquirer. Here's a bit:

My 75-year-old husband and I have been trying to figure out how our marriage would be threatened if gay and lesbian couples tied the knot, just as we did 22 years ago.
Political pollsters say we're in the demographic group (older Americans) most likely to oppose same-sex marriage, so I decided to informally poll my friends to see if this is an important issue to them. I asked eight friends what their most pressing concerns were. My question elicited a torrent of concerns: finding cures for cancer and Alzheimer's, high property taxes, the chaos in Iraq, fears about the environment, and anxiety that Social Security might not be around when their children retire.
When I finally brought up the prospect of gay marriage, not one person was concerned. In fact, they thought everyone should have the right to marry...

My observation of gays and lesbians is that their lives pretty much consist of the same elements as mine: going to work or volunteering, caring for aging parents, trying hard to create meaningful relationships, and, yes, for some, raising families. What these families do want, I believe, is recognition of their love and commitment, as well as things we heterosexuals take for granted, such as pension rights, health-care coverage, and hospital visitation....
Our president - if he really cared about families - would not be speaking out in favor of the marriage ban. Instead, he would be using his bully pulpit to address the real problems facing families, including the fact that many heterosexual marriages end in divorce. Our legislators in Harrisburg and Washington would be passing laws to take guns off the street and make health care available to all.
My husband and I will probably not live long enough to see all [15] of our grandchildren reach adulthood. But we would like to know that regardless of their sexual orientation, none will be second-class citizens. We want each of them to have the same legal right to marry and, if he or she chooses, raise a family. I know that, gay or straight, they would all make wonderful parents.

I'll be back soon.

2006-05-08T17:44:00.000-04:00

Yet Another View

2006-05-08T17:43:00.000-04:00

It has now been over one month since I last posted something here. I can blame my Moms who kept coming home late during Momma C’s “busy season,” thus keeping me off the computer (I STILL haven’t learned how to turn this thing on by myself – Momma C will not show me for fear I will order my own on-line treats.) I can blame the delay on the Easter holiday and all of the fun out-of-town guests I have had. But, really, what has kept this dog’s trap shut has been the fear of fulfilling my promise, back in March, that I would “soon” write something meaningful about the Duke Lacrosse incident.

This is very odd for me. I am a strong proponent of dialogue, and it will only be through discussion of this situation and its multitude of complexities that any real change can occur. But I have held my tongue to see what comes out of the woodwork, and in a way, I am glad I have done so. In the course of the month, I have seen every actor in this fiasco have his or her words turned upside-down and against them. I have seen women slandered for their choices, men shamed for their station, a DA of integrity caricatured as a Bonfire of the Vanities political climber, a city stereotyped as being just on the edge of a race war (no doubt started because of all the Yankee influx)… That is not dialogue…

AND, I have been told, in action more than words, that I cannot speak with authority because I am not black. Or I am not white. Or because I am priviledged. Or because I come from nothing…

BUT, as I have found, we are all entitled to our opinions and are allotted a few openings here and there to interject minor points of clarification that may, or may not (mostly not) be helpful to those of you bloggers who keep insisting you know what you are talking about because you are black,white, priviledged, working-class, male, female, gay, transgendered, republican, atheist, bald, three-toed, or whatever point-of-view you are writing from that makes you the authority on something. (Again, I am a dog. That is my point of view. I can only speak from this perspective.)

Point 1: Just a technicality – but in the news, when enhancing the imagery of Duke as the elite institution that it is, the reporters like to talk about the “Wall” separating the campus from Durham. Again, merely a technicality but this said three-foot wall simply surrounds Duke’s East Campus (the former artsy-fartsy one that my mom used to live on before they made it an all-freshman campus despite our fruitless protests (see, they apparently had nothing to protest back then being that it was in between Gulf Wars)). This low wall is visible from the now-infamous Buchanan House. I use to walk around that wall with my mom for exercise. A lot of puppy parents use to walk around the inside of that wall and use the puppy doo bags provided by the campus – many of us were just regular Durham folks and the path on the inside seemed safer than the one on the outside. There is no all-encompassing wall surrounding the entire campus cutting it off from the community, at least not yet. That wall appears to only exist in our collective minds.

Point 2: While on our daily walks through the neighborhood, my moms have had to explain the “Let’s Keep Mike” Nifong sign in their yard. I am a little tired of hearing them be so apologetic. You can flame me all you wish but when my Momma C first met Mike Nifong several months ago, he seemed to be the most genuine and real person you could ever want in that position. We’re admittedly biased because he was so wholeheartedly endorsed by the most respected of our legal friends before this whole debacle began. We are also friends with one of the ADA’s who repeatedly tells me he’s the best boss for whom she’s had the priviledge of working. He has a competent Family and Domestic Violence team, and prosecutors with a good mix of both law enforcement and social work backgrounds. Before the rape accusations, his opponents were running on the idea that Mike was not tough enough on gangs (agreeably the most important issue facing our law-enforcement community). But apparently the “solution” in their minds was, what, more incarcerations? Fill the jail, fill the jail, fill the jail… (Nifong was blasted in one non-local* blog as pandering to the minority community by “trying the case in the media,” while, on the flip-side, labeled a racist in another blog because the Durham conviction rate was disproprotionately people of color (the result of race/class inequity in our judicial system, for sure)). I was disappointed to see the DA do so many interviews at the beginning when the story broke, and I agree with what some have labeled his “amatuer mistakes.” But, it truly gets my goat that his campaign was completely framed in a way that made his election a referendum on the Duke Lacrosse case. Perhaps it’s just sour grapes – I’m all for democracy, but I really think people shouldn’t vote based solely from what they gleen from the 6 o’clock news (the time I like to call, post-Maury, pre-Idol...) For all you newcomers who, through this sensation, have finally decided to join the party – welcome to the cockamamie world that is Durham politics – I hope you stay awhile and make a difference.

I could go on, but I won’t for now. (I was going to remind people, for example, that in painting NC Central, the accuser’s university, as a poor, helpless victim of Duke and dreging up the diversity stats, the media negates that fact that our state’s very own (white) governor went to law school there.) But that goes a little beyond my doggie view, doesn't it?

I’m getting tired. Maybe I will continue this later…

*When I say specify “non-local,” it’s primarily to bring up my personal distaste of the national attention this case has brought. Our local papers are full of op-eds from out-of-towners who think they know what’s going on here. I would like to personally thank each of you for giving us your uninformed opinions, because we could have NEVER figured our heads from our asses without you. This is my town, not a Tom Wolfe novel.

I knew Prada wasn't my style...

2006-03-31T09:13:00.000-05:00

I know I'm one tough cookie (hence the picture), but look what Momma C forwarded me from the papers today!

From today’s AP wire:

Cop wrestles pot bags out of dog's mouth

March 31, 2006
BOSTON --This Prada's bag was no designer purse. A Boston detective searching the apartment of a drug suspect wound up wrestling a sack containing 108 bags of marijuana out of the clenched jaws of a pitbull named Prada.

The dog was running around carrying a tan-colored bag Tuesday as police were searching the apartment, where they had already found a loaded gun, $1,000 cash and 14 bags of marijuana.

Prada did not give up without a fight.

When an officer tried to grab Prada's bag, the pooch pulled back. The plastic tore, and police said could they could see bags of marijuana inside the sack in Prada's mouth.

"All 108 bags were recovered from the dog's mouth after a vigorous struggle," police said in a written statement.

That's what I call dedication to a cause!

On the lookout

2006-03-30T07:06:00.000-05:00

There's a lot of crap going on here in Durham these days. I will shortly write about what I think about the terrible things members of the Duke Lacrosse team have been accused of doing, along with all the hope the actions of local Duke and Durham folks have given me for a better future. (You can keep up-to-date at the blog: Justice 4 Two Sisters. )There are some fierce cats down here.

Speaking of fierce cats, we have a frequent visitor to our house whom my mommas have now determined is "playing us."
A rather-big-for-a-stray cat had been visiting our doorstep and receiving handouts while my mommas tried to find its human companions. At first, we gave it milk but quickly learned from a friend that milk can be bad for cats (the little saucer thing is a myth perputated through old cartoons coupled with nostalgia). When we switched to Kroger-brand cat food, he snubbed it and stopped coming around. We'd still see him going up and down the street from house to house (which is frightening because our home backs up to a busy street, and the cat doesn't seemed phased by it.) And one day, he actually came around with a weird little collar and a tag that read "Tim" - but no phone number. We ran to get our digital camera so as to put up "Wanted", er, "Lost Cat" posters, but when we came back out, he had disappeared again.

It has been an on-going saga... When we get a picture of him, I will post it as we are still trying to find out where he belongs. (He, of course, isn't scared of me one bit. I am a bit of him.) (He has claws!)

So for now, while I compose my response to the Durham events, be on the lookout for a rambling player cat. I know he can't be all that bad. As I learned in yesterday's paper, at least we currently don't need a restraining order.

from the AP wire

Crazy cat terrorizes Connecticut town
March 29, 2006
FAIRFIELD, Conn. --Residents of the neighborhood of Sunset Circle say they have been terrorized by a crazy cat named Lewis. Lewis for his part has been uniquely cited, personally issued a restraining order by the town's animal control officer.
"He looks like Felix the Cat and has six toes on each foot, each with a long claw," Janet Kettman, a neighbor said Monday. "They are formidable weapons."
The neighbors said those weapons, along with catlike stealth, have allowed Lewis to attack at least a half dozen people and ambush the Avon lady as she was getting out of her car.
Some of those who were bitten and scratched ended up seeking treatment at area hospitals.
Animal Control Officer Rachel Solveira placed a restraining order on him. It was the first time such an action was taken against a cat in Fairfield.
In effect, Lewis is under house arrest, forbidden to leave his home.
Solveira also arrested the cat's owner, Ruth Cisero, charging her with failing to comply with the restraining order and reckless endangerment

Great pic

2006-03-26T17:39:00.000-05:00

On New Year's Day,my mommas and I always take a New Years Day walk. It's a great way to start of the year refreshed and thinking about the year to come.

I always need to take a break about a mile in because my hips are so achey.

Momma B is the best scratcher in the world...

Adopt this.

2006-03-20T18:58:00.000-05:00

I’m confused.

I know, I know, I’m a dog. It’s not that easy to confuse me, but here’s the deal.

I just read in the paper that Catholic Charities of Boston has halted the adoptions of all its children in order to circumvent Massachusetts’s anti-discrimination laws. Put another way: the Diocese of Boston would rather NO children find a safe, permanent home and family than place a child with a same-sex couple.

So I’m confused. I live with two mommies. And I suppose because I’m a dog, this is okay. But I can’t see why a little boy or little girl with no mommy and daddy couldn’t live here with us. Well, sure, the child would probably take up more of their time and get to go places I couldn’t go, like school and inside the mall and restaurants – so, sure, I’d be a little jealous. But, doesn’t raising a child take a lot of love and patience and generosity of spirit (and not just a few bucks)?

Anti-adoption proponents make it seem like gay couples just up and decided one day – hmmm, we should go pick ourselves up a little kid – you know, like some people up and decide one day to purchase a handbag or designer pet (don’t get me started on THOSE people). It takes a little bit of planning and a whole lot of soul searching to decide to adopt. Hell, it’s easier nowadays to use a turkey baster and parenting buddies, than to decide to open your home to a hard-to-place child that’s been a ward of the System.

My mommies are pretty young but have been together for seven years (on Friday). They have a comfortable home and now are both employed in good, stable jobs. For many years, they have said that, while their individual genes would produced one heckuva good looking baby, if they were ever to parent, it would be through adoption – solely because there were TOO many children out there who needed homes.

Momma B is from Florida, the state where Anita Bryant “saved the children,” and gays are now banned from adopting. If there is ANYTHING good to come out of this Massachusetts thing, it’s the awareness of these various states that already have these discriminatory laws on the books.

Momma C grew up Catholic and tried to hold on to that faith for as long as possible. And while there are many American Catholics fighting for justice (not just on this issue), she could no longer stand the “spiritual violence” perpetrated through the mandates of its patriarchy. She and Momma B have found a wonderful new, yet challenging, spiritual home within Momma B’s home faith (PC(USA), which consequently is having its own battles in the realm of LGBT issues – the difference being the structure of the denomination allows for this dialogue on social change to even exist)). But they participate fully in the life of the church, go to Sunday school - Momma C is even in the choir.

So, see, I’m confused. As I’ve mentioned before, when my Momma’s are away, I sneak a peek at that Maury Povich on TV, and it appears that heterosexual couples sometimes don’t even WANT their babies. They “accidentally” make them all the time, it seems. When they’re not ready. When they have no support network of extended family and community. Warm home? Decent job?

Talk about “spiritual violence!” What these folks are saying is that my Mommas are not fit to raise a child. Even though Momma C has had classrooms full of children in her charge, they're saying, just don’t bring any of them home! Don’t love them! Don’t care for them!

Long long ago, before Momma C had the crazy idea of becoming a non-profit auditor, she had dreamed of being a producer of children’s programming on PBS. After some college, she thought of writing children’s books. When she came out as a lesbian, she was so scared that they (some nebulous “they” she could never articulated) wouldn’t let her near kids again, based on some of the stories she’d heard - parents getting their own biological children taken away from them “because.” But these fears turned out to be unfounded. She got many jobs working, inspiring, teaching young people. It was, as they say, “all good.”

But now, she is fearful again. She and Momma B had not planned on adopting until they were much more settled; Momma B wants to go to law school, after all. (You see, Momma B is nothing to sneeze at either – as her family likes to say, she earns the karma points for ALL of us, directing a non-profit that coordinates funding for people living with HIV/AIDS and ALL that that entails. Law school would make her just that much better an advocate.) (Momma B told me that back at the beginning of the AIDS epidemic, gay couples started adopting because they were the only folks that WOULD TAKE an infected child. Adoption policy folks, we suppose, thought that would be okay because the child wouldn’t live very long!) Where was I…?

Oh, yes, Momma C is fearful again. The Far Right and Christian Conservatives (once again undermining the idea of “moral values”) are trying to make this the new front in the “Culture Wars.”
Well, I say “BRING IT”! As a pup, I stayed somewhat out of the marriage thing. Dogs can’t marry. My parents weren't married. Not my issue.

But I know, from first hand experience, what good parents I have. I cannot believe that anyone in their right mind (left mind?) or anyone with any REAL moral decency would prevent them from adopting a child that needed a permanent loving home. BRING IT!

I cannot believe that anyone that knows my parents would think that they could not provide a safe environment for a young person to develop into a decent upstanding citizen.

BRING IT!
I cannot believe that a church purports to be doing this “for the children because they don’t have any say in the matter” (as oppose to when they “choose” to be born into violent and abusive families).

BRING IT!

You really want to make this the battleground?
You ain’t see nothing yet.

Homebody

2006-02-09T20:00:00.000-05:00

I'm slowly adapting to being alone all day now that both my mommas work outside the home. I know it's been quite a few months now, but seeing that I use to go to work with one of my moms for two and a half years, it's been a difficult adjustment.

But I've really gotten to the point of appreciating my alone time. Don't tell them, but sometimes I turn off the NPR they leave on for me and turn on the good old boobtube for some real stimulation. Boy, that Maury Povich is a winner, isn't he?

So I've seen the previews for a new Disney film called "Eight Below" about a family of dogs in Antartica. It's vaguely "inspired by a true story" and more truthfully "inspired by a Japanese movie 'Nankyoku Monogatari'" which is on my moms' "To Watch" list. (Don't tell any one but the previews made Momma B cry!)

This does remind me that I wanted to do more research into the Iditarod, the grueling sleddog race across Alaska that purports to memorialize a famous serum run. There is currently a lot of buzz around how it is actually quite cruel to the dogs. I visited the site for the Sled Dog Action Coalition and was quite convinced. Then, while looking for the site again, I came across a "Pro"-Iditarod site with "expert" testimony. 'Eh. Not as convincing. I'll let you visit them and make up your own minds. Just don't wake me for any races anytime soon. I value my paws.

Happy New Year!

2006-01-23T18:19:00.000-05:00

Lunar New Year is this Sunday, and guess what? It’s the Year of the Dog!

According to the Eastern Zodiac, those born in this year will be loyal, honest, and can keep secrets. They don't necessarily care about wealth but always seem to have money. They also "always stick to their firm codes of ethics.” With all this, according to Momma, Dogs therefore make perfect CPA’s! This is eerie since both of the named partners at Momma's firm actually are “Dogs” born in 1946. Other Dog years include 1922, 1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, and 1994. You can read more about Dog traits here or on a Chinese restaurant place mat near you.

I was born in 1998, which makes me a Tiger.

“Tiger people are sensitive, given to deep thinking, capable of great sympathy.”

True.

“They can be extremely short-tempered, however.”

Not True.

“Other people have great respect for them, but sometimes tiger people come into conflict with older people or those in authority.”

My mommas are a Rat and a Rabbit. Technically, they are lunch.

“Sometimes Tiger people cannot make up their minds, which can result in a poor, hasty decision or a sound decision arrived at too late.”

Sometimes, if I have to decide between behaving and making my own lunch from the pantry, I have trouble. This is especially if my mommas have been gone for a long time and I determine they are never coming back. And by “a long time,” I mean half an hour…

“They are suspicious of others, but they are courageous and powerful.”

All true! Fascinating!

Of course, I’m not sure how this all relates in terms of dog years. Dog years are 10.5 dog years per the first two human years, and then 4 dog years per each human year thereafter. (This is a formula based on the fact that we dogs mature more quickly than you humans – here’s a fun calculator for you.) So if I’m 45 in human years (or put another way, my momma is 5 in dog years), I’m the older, hense wiser, of the two of us. Cool.

Even though neither of my mommas typically celebrates the Lunar New Year, we have decided to celebrate this year, albeit not with the festive fireworks and sticky round sweets, but with chili and beer and the Duke-UNC Women’s basketball game. Arguably, the chili is a brilliant red and has lots of round beans so it will a passable. We may break out the mahjong though. Eh, who are we kidding? It’s all an excuse to send our holiday cards a regrettable month overdue.
Happy New Year, folks! You’ll be getting your card shortly!

For more astrology: http://chinese.astrology.com/dog.html

Diet Time!

2006-01-06T12:50:00.000-05:00

From the UK (news.Scotsman.com)

Pet owners failing to help animals fight flab
PET owners are failing to help their animals work off their Christmas excess despite a third of domestic animals in the UK being overweight, a survey showed today.
Nearly four out of 10 owners admitted their pet put on weight during the Christmas period, with 46 per cent saying they even prepared a special Christmas meal for them.
But despite this only 13 per cent of people questioned said they planned to put their animal on a New Year diet or exercise regime to help them get back into shape, according to Halifax Pet Insurance. The group warned that overweight pets were more likely to develop problems such as heart complaints, diabetes and arthritis.
It is calling on owners to find out what their pet's ideal weight is and take steps to help them maintain it.

Okay, I’ve been on “weight maintenance” dog food for years now. And I’m getting pretty trim. In fact, I thinks it’s my momma that better get on that treadmill. Walk me more!

Open invitation to Ramble

2005-11-15T15:44:00.000-05:00

Have I mentioned lately how much I enjoy being a dog?  Granted, I do hate being left alone everyday to fend for myself without opposable thumbs. Sometimes I do get bored.

But really, when I see how exhausted my Moms look when they come home from work, I think, thank god… now where’s my dinner…

So, my fans know that I listen to NPR all day long. WUNC – North Carolina Public Radio to be exact. They just finished their “fall fun drive.”  I don’t know what’s so fun about it – all they did was ask for money all week. There’s no “driving” unless they mean listening to those Car Talk guys.  But my Momma B is super excited that her hero Dick Gordon, originally from WBUR in Boston, is coming down here to do a national show from Durham. Again, I don’t get the excitement. Wasn’t Dick Gordon the commissioner on Batman?*

Where was I? Oh, yeah. I listen to NPR all day long… So I’m super smart (albeit somewhat full of myself and erroneously assume I’m progressive when in actuality I’m somewhat just as narrowminded as some of my conservative brethren because I only have one source of information for all of my news…) Of course, if I’m only going to have one viewpoint, my Moms are happy it’s a blissfully ignorant left-leaning one.

So, the Dems are finally putting the screws to the Administration about this Iraq fiasco. Better late than never, I guess. It’s what the anti-war folks have been saying since the day after 9-11, but hey, okay, welcome to the party. As W’s approval rating slips, it seems more and more safe for folks to say, how does it go, “I support the troops, just not what they’re doing.”  (I love safe answers. It’s nice that there seems to one for everything.)

If you’ve come to my site for answers. I have none. I’m a dog. All I have is opinions. You should have them too. Go read three blogs with decidedly different political slants and throw in an indymedia site for good measure. Wade through the muck, and come tell me what you got.  We can chew the fat so to speak.

Mmmmm… fat….

* Don’t flame me about the Dick Gordon crack. I know it was Commissioner James Gordon. Dick Grayson was Robin… Isn’t that impressive for a dog?

VOTE TOBY!

2005-11-09T16:13:00.000-05:00

On this day after Election Day, I thought I give y’all something to vote on that really matters. As you know, I’ve written a lot on the right to vote (and my particular lack thereof as a canine). You can check the archives.

I entered the Dogster photo contest, just for laughs. I’m not a very vain pooch (though some have been known to disagree). You can visit my page. I value your vote.

RIP Basko

2005-11-07T10:02:00.000-05:00

After reading and writing about something great in my last post, I have a sad story to share. The AP wire reported that a 5-year-old drug-sniffing German shepherd named Basko died last Friday after he bit into a bag of cocaine during an annual certification search with the Redondo Beach Police Department (California).

Basko had successfully completed the search and was in his partner's car for the ride home when he had a seizure. The partner, Officer Ken Greenleaf, rushed Basko to a nearby animal clinic, where the dog died before he could be treated…Basko had been with the Police Department for four years, helping to apprehend suspects, including one wanted for murder, and assisting in the recovery of narcotics.

I wish I could go to his memorial service, but I don’t like planes.

Sometimes these things happen. Some people would say that the dog should not have been used for this line of work and it was an unnecessary death. And surely, there were things that may have been done to prevent an accidental death like this.
But like a human officer accidentally killed in the line of duty, Basko was a hero who loved doing what he did. I stumbled across a site last year that I meant to post a link to ages ago. It was a memorial site for K-9 officers. Momma C and I sat at the computer and cried reading about the brave doggies who worked to keep our communities safe. I can’t find the exact site now, but I did find this one in Arizona that other useful links if you’re interested in learning more about police dogs.

Recently, a local politician mocked the legislature for putting money in the budget for bullet-proof dog vests. This made me sad; then, I was mad. I would like to see that fat cat chase down a subject, corner him, and alert his partner, all the while resisting the urge to chomp the dickens out of him while the guy’s waving a gun all around. I could grab the bad guy by his pant leg with my teeth, but I don’t know if I’d get that close to someone with a weapon.

If you’re going to have animals on your force, they need to be protected. Just like, if you’re going to have soldiers at war in the desert, you better equip them with flak jackets and properly armored vehicles (hint, Mr. President?).

Just my two paws.

Man Saved By Dog He Saved

2005-11-02T10:22:00.000-05:00

I just read a posting at ABC News about a California man who was saved by his cocker spaniel. They had driven into a 40-foot ravine and flipped upside down. The man was pinned inside by the stump that had pierce through the roof, but was able to roll down the window. He then told Honey, the cocker spaniel he had rescued from the local shelter two weeks prior, to get help.

Honey ran half a mile down the road to a neighbor’s house and directed her back to the up-turned SUV. The man had been hanging upside-down for six hours and his pulse was weakening. Rescuers were able to get him out. There is video footage here.

The man had been waiting for a cocker spaniel for a year before Honey came into his life. Karma, guys, karma.

Many apologies

2005-11-02T09:58:00.000-05:00

I'd like to apologize to my many doggie friends for not posting in a couple months. My mom had been too busy with work to come help me with my typing. And then I got super spammed (thanks to Freda for telling me how to stop them with word verification).

I will try to keep up with this blog. So MANY things have happened since I last asked if anyone was out there. I've been watching the news about all the Gulf Coast doggies and other animals and been quite at a loss on what to say.

Let me get my thoughts together and I promise a "decent" post soon.

Is anyone out there?

2005-08-04T16:33:00.000-04:00

First of all, I know my mom is torn about telling her friends that I write this thing and having everyone converge and judge us. On the other hand, if we knew people were actually reading this, maybe it will give us some incentive to post more frequently. Secondly, we are torn as to the direction of our posts. We can write about hard hitting political issues (which, quite frankly, a lot of people do very well already), or we can try to scrunge up more bizarre news, or news about other furry friends, and comment on that. (That would be the "niche" blogging we keep hearing we should be doing.) Also, we have recently read that we should try to keep our posts short. On the other hand, we want to keep them meaningful. (I don't want to just report on how much kibble I've eaten today.) (I have eaten my normal 2 cups so far.)

Mom has gotten a feedreader up for us to peruse (finally), so now we'll get up-to-the minute puppy news for all of us. Feel free to link to me and to syndicate my feed. If you're a blogging pup like me, I'd love to know about it. And I will make it worth your while to visit. I promise.

So let me know what you want to read and we'll try to keep this going! Quite honestly, I worry about my Mom because she's going to be a gainfully employed accountant soon (and no longer a starving filmmaker/arts teacher), and we want her to keep it real. Please help...

Fatal Dog Beating

2005-08-02T10:13:00.000-04:00

This is Roxi.
She looks like she could be my sister, which is another reason Mom found this so heart wrenching.

My mom received a sad and frustrating email this week from one of her fellow animal lovers. Last Memorial Day weekend, a man in New York, for no reason, kicked a dog in the stomach so hard that she died. He is now about to stand trial for animal cruelty charges.

Under New York law (and in most places), this is not treated like a murder charge but more like a destruction of property offense, and even though "aggravated cruelty to animals" carries a maximum sentence of 2 years and/or a $5000 fine, the accused Frank Aquino will probably get off because, according to his attorney, he has a clean record.

There are folks on-line trying to sway public opinion and pressure the officials in Roxi the Dog's town to give Aquino the maximum sentence. You can read about that here: www.rememberroxi.com. I am a little ambivalent about writing to town officials directly, because I actually do not believe that out-of-staters should be directly involved in local politics/government. However, I wouldn't mind going up there personally to try to rile up the citizenry of Putnam Valley. It is outrageous that someone could get away with "walk[ing] over to [a] dog and kick[ing her] like a football." I will attempt to spread awareness to everyone I know in New York, and I think you should too. The next court date is August 11 at Putnam Valley Town Court, if you happen to be in the area.

As I was saying, I am a little wary about out-of-staters coming into my hometown and trying to pressure local public officials. I know that this has, in the past, worked both for us (progressives) and against us. Coalitions with whom my moms have worked have brought in organizers to help with local issues, but it never feels good when the other side does the same thing. When Massachusetts legalized same-sex marriages, the religious Right brought in young conservative interns by the truckload to canvas and work against it. So much for the Republican party standing up for states rights.

And in light of everything that's going on surrounding the Supreme Court, I think I need to state my belief that the courts are not to be actively swayed by public opinion. That's what the legislative branch is for. The court merely interprets the law on the books and sets precedence for the future. Okay, so that's a pie-eyed view of what the courts do, but I needed to state that before I started ranting about the way the Bush administration has been framing the "activist court." All this Republican talk of "activist judges" makes my canine blood boil. Anything that doesn't go the administration's way is apparently an "activist's" work. Well, maybe an activist's/lobbyist's work sure, but not necessarily in the court. (Well, maybe a couple of O'Connor's opinions...) But the Right always makes it look like they are somehow being persecuted by a left-wing court. WHAT??!?!!? Are we reading the same paper?

Doesn't the left supposedly have a whole bunch of wordsmiths on its side? Why then are we always getting beaten up in the rhetoric department? Stop analyzing and talking all highbrow and start speaking some sense to the people out there. But I severely digress...

My charge for today: let folks know about Roxi. Let's try to change the laws on our local books so that the destruction of an animal looks more like the murder of a friend rather than the damage of a hood ornament. A person callous enough to kick a dog to death will not stop at animals and is a danger to society at large. But let's also change public opinion on this matter. I do not need the prisons to overflow with minority dog kickers now. I don't need this to become the next class/race issue. Education and social services support may have also clipped Mr. Aquino's path; I don't know for sure. But dialogue surrounding this issue, as it is with all other issues, always is good.

Dog swims to prison

2005-08-01T11:19:00.000-04:00

German Shepards aren't suppose to swim, right? We herd, right? I'm glad. I wouldn't want to seem TOO lazy. I saw this on a bulletin board recently...

Dog Beats Most in Swim From Alcatraz
Mon Aug 1, 11:43 AM

SAN FRANCISCO - With a stomach full of scrambled eggs, Jake dog-paddled his way into history, leaving most of the serious - and human - swimmers in his wake.

Organizers of the South End Rowing Club's 10th annual Alcatraz Invitational - a 1.2 mile swim from the infamous prison island to the San Francisco shoreline - say the 65-pound golden retriever is the first canine known to have made the crossing.

He was the only dog among more than 500 swimmers who lept into the chilly, choppy waters on Saturday, coming in 72nd overall. His time was 41 minutes and 45 seconds.

"It was colder and rougher than we thought it would be," said Jeff Pokonosky, Jake's owner and swim partner. "Jake amazed me. He was very focused." The pair live in San Diego and swim 4 miles a week and bodysurf together, Pokonosky said. And Jake always eats scrambled eggs before a big swim.

Bill Wygant, president of the South End Rowing Club, said he was more than happy to allow a dog into the race, a first for the more than 100-year-old group. "This swim is about personal challenge. Whether you are dog or human, it's whatever you can achieve that counts."

Maybe if my moms gave me scrambled eggs, I would be more active. I also think I'd like one of those dog floats for when I got tired. Apparently swimming is the best exercise for me since I have arthritis, but deep water scares me, especially if it's moving. I do like dipping my feet. Here I am in the Little River a few years ago when my mom lived in the country:

Like I said, since I have bad hips, this kind of exercise it perfect for me. I just don't know about swimming to a far away island/prison/tourist attraction. Do I get to take a boat back?

Wearing my Ruff Riders

2005-07-06T11:53:00.000-04:00

Yes, I know it's been awhile. Mom has been BUSY trying to get a job and jetting off everywhere. I can't get on the computer when she's not around. This is why I get ansy and sometimes do things I'm not suppose to. Eh...

My friend Owen sent me an article today about a Pennsylvania House Bill requiring dogs to wear stability/protective restraints. It was submitted by state Rep. Tom Stevenson who got the idea from an 11-year old. Marc McCann had submitted this recommendation in Rep. Stevenson's annual "There Ought to be a Law" contest.

I believe California currently has a doggie restraint law, which I am actually all for. I myself have a seat belt made by Ruff Rider that I believe is quite fetching.
(A model in his Roadie harness)

It is hard to remember to wear it ALL the time, but as we know, most automobile accidents happen within three miles from the home.

The part of the bill that I don't like is that it requires "drivers to keep their dogs' heads inside the vehicle at all times." I know this makes sense since, as little Marc McCann put it,"maybe a sign might have been too close to the road and they'd get hit." But I LOVE sticking my head out the window. I know that this is also bad for my eyes, but I have Doggles to keep things out of them!

But it is for the best. I encourage you all to wear your seatbelts too. It keeps not only the animal safe, but all the people. Imagine if my 100 pound body went hurdling at my moms in the front seat at 60 mph. Or out the window. Yikes! Plus if we were ever in an accident and my moms were incapacitated, I might be too scared to let rescue workers come near us. I've heard that some animals have even been shot because they tried to bite rescuers and police officers trying to tend to humans. I like people, but who knows what I'd do in certain instances.

That's my two cents on the matter. Again, I promise to lean into the political stuff soon. It's quite overwhelming, everything going on. I'm getting media fatigue with the rest of you - G8 Summit, perpetual war, yada,yada, yada. (Isn't it sad when "war" becomes "yada, yada, yada" - these are the sad times we live in...)

UPDATE: FOR XXAN and others, this is me sleeping during a long car ride...