Be the Change for Pets

You've probably noticed my little Petfinder widget in the right-hand sidebar. Well, as you can see, Sunday marks the start of Adopt-a-Less-Adoptable-Pet Week. The event was created by Petfinder.com in order to help encourage the adoption of "less desirable" pets. What kinds of pets fall into that category? Seniors, those with special needs, certain breeds and colors of animals. In fact, Petfinder surveyed their adoption groups to reveal which animals are the hardest to place and here are their results.

I myself have a "less desirable" pet - a big, black dog. I have always been drawn to black dogs of all breeds (maybe because my first dog, Ziggy, was a black Cocker Spaniel) so Garfunkel caught my eye immediately when Robert and I looked at his litter. When I asked the 'litter monitor' if he was a popular guy (after all, how could he not be?!), I was told that he was not. In fact, he was the least popular - a runt of his litter and shy to boot. Well, you know me - I love all things underdog!!! :o) So that just sealed the deal. We love Garfunkel to bits, of course, shy, black, big and all. But for every person who compliments us on his coat or his physique, there is a person who thinks he is intimidating, scary, mean or vicious. For some, the fact that he is a rescue dog just compounds the prejudice; people have visions of all rescue dogs being abused animals with deep-seated emotional problems. Luckily, there are lots of great rescue dog ambassadors out there (who have fewer idiosyncrasies than Funk!) to show them just how wrong they are. Just because a dog isn't perfect doesn't mean they're not perfect for you.

I read about Adopt-a-Less-Desirable-Pet Week at Pawcurious. Dr. V went to the BlogPaws event in Denver last week and BlogPaws, via Be the Change for Pets, is encouraging all bloggers to highlight a "less desirable" pet in their area. I'll be doing just that in a separate post; for now, I just wanted to share with you a few interesting videos I've discovered while researching BlogPaws and Be the Change for Pets over the past couple days. (I'm well aware that most of you won't be interested in this and that's totally fine. I won't take it personally. :o) But I was touched by these videos and felt it important to pass them along.)

First up is a video of the keynote speaker at the BlogPaws conference. His name is Mike Arms and he is the President and CEO of the Helen Woodward Animal Center in San Diego. His speech is about 35 minutes long and I enjoyed the entire thing; he's just so passionate about what he does and has all sorts of ideas to help eliminate shelters and shelter killings. There is a particularly moving story about that at the 26-minute mark (the person reading the letter is Dr. V, in case you care). You can read the same story here (Dr. V doesn't get through the entire thing) but I must warn you - it's VERY difficult to get through. I blubbered through it and the rest of the video. It makes its point, though, that's for sure.

(The video starts @ 10:35; the keynote speaker begins @ 13:50)

While you are still teary, you can watch this tribute to the Search and Rescue dogs of 09/11. (Why did the dogs not get masks like the humans?! Poor things. And why do bagpipes make everything seem so much sadder? Yeesh. Actually, the conference video also has a little story 09/11 - about a guide dog that helped a man on the 86th floor of the WTC. You can find it @ 34:23.)

To cheer yourself up a bit, here's a video of before and after shots of various shelter dogs. Volunteer Seth Casteel professionally photographs shelter dogs to give them a better chance of finding a forever home. SO SWEET!

Of course, after I spent so much time watching such heart-tugging videos, Robert came home from work to find me a big pile of goo on the office floor. I don't know why I do this to myself! I am a Sucker (note the capital S).

Help A Rescue (By Shopping!)

If you buy a pane of these adorable stamps, you'll be helping to feed a shelter animal. And your mail will never have looked better!






You can buy these silicone paw measuring spoons for just $12.95 and help 14 animals have another meal. If you're not into cooking, you can peruse The Animal Rescue Site's store and find something else that will both tickle your fancy and help shelter animals. It's a win-win!




You know you want to! I've had the stamp site bookmarked for a while to remind myself to post about it and when I saw a separate post on the measuring spoons, I took it as a sign to get off my butt and do it. You know how I loves me the puppies...

Hope Update

Remember the sad little gal Hope for whom PPR is trying to raise $5,000? Well, they just posted an update on her so I thought I'd pass it along. :o)

From her foster:
"She is very sweet natured and gentle, but does have a spunky, mischievous side to her... socks aren't safe! She also must imagine she's the size of a chihuahua, as she loves to climb onto your lap if you're on the floor. She relishes being petted and doted upon, and she loves everyone she meets - dogs and people alike. Her favorite toy is her squeaky squirrel.

She is great about taking her medicine - which is good b/c she has had quite a few pills to swallow several times a day. Her hind area does bother her... she has to skip every other step as she walks b/c of her hips and broken leg, so we try to go slowly and keep her as comfortable as we can. This is a challenge because she has lots of energy, and would like nothing better than to play with the other dogs in the park across the street! She has beautiful light brown eyes and a face that will melt your heart."

From PPR:
"We are slowing getting there. We have raised $3410 for sweet Hope! The vet says she is doing wonderfully, thanks to her amazing fosters Kristi and Warner. A big shout out to them! Hope is due back at the vet on the 17th of March for a check-up and x-rays in prep for her hip surgery.
Hope has put on a little weight and the vet was very pleased with that.

Hope seems well on the road to recovery and with a few more donations we will be able to cover her next surgery, we need a total of $5000! Thanks everyone!"
---
There is a sad note to the story, however - the fourth puppy that wasn't doing so well passed away February 24th. Now there is only 1 puppy remaining - and it's the all black one, a boy - but he's thriving so hopefully that will continue.

On a happier note, I'm so glad so much has already been raised!!! The schmoop in me is all atwitter. :o) Hopefully, raising the remaining $1,600 will be a piece of cake...

Oh, Were I a Rich Woman...

I would have a big house with a big yard full of rescued dogs. But I am not. So I do not. :o( Life? Kinda stinky at the moment.*

I would LOVE to adopt this little girl:

The Ben & Jerry puppies were rescued from the Modesto Animal Shelter. They are the cutest little pups who sort of look like pit bulls but seem too small to be full pit bull so we guessed there is some smaller breed mixed in like chihuahua or beagle. 2 of them are a light brindle in color and rest are all a warm creamy tan. Whatever they are, they are just full of love and ready to show the world how wrong the stereotypes are about their breed.

Unfortunately, I don't think Robert will go for a 2nd dog in our current abode. And somehow I think my parents would think 2 dogs is 1 too many to dog-sit everyday (seeing as they have Quigley)... ! Damn me and my government salary!

In a similar vein, here's a sad-but-will-hopefully-have-a-happy-ending story about a new PPR rescue:

Hope came to us from the Tulare County Animal Shelter on January 14th, 2010. Unbeknownst to us when we agreed to take her, she was in a dire medical state. The doctors assume she was hit by a car while a stray. To make matters worse, she got pregnant and delivered 5 babies with her severe injuries: a broken pelvis, two broken legs and a hernia. The date of birth of the puppies is estimated at around Christmas Day 2009. A good Samaritan found her and her pups and brought them all to the shelter. It is an absolute miracle that she has survived thus far, especially considering she also survived distemper as a puppy (the vets can tell this somehow).

Unfortunately, her sweet babies are not so lucky. They also came to us sick and three have died from distemper. The fourth one has just crashed and will likely be gone soon too. We were told Hope was going to die if we didn't have her hernia repaired so Pound Puppy Rescue paid almost $5500 for that surgery. She still needs one of her legs repaired (the other healed on its own and should be okay) as well as hip replacement. We hate to ask, but we really need your help because the remaining surgeries will likely cost $5000 or more. Since Hope is now a Pound Puppy Rescue dog we are dedicated to making her well. Despite all her hardship -- being homeless, severely injured and raising puppies all alone -- she is the most wonderful, sweet, loving dog you will ever meet. A true testament to how amazing dogs can be. We hope you can help. In [the first] picture you can see how crooked she was when we first got her, due to her broken pelvis, leg and hip problems.

I am a schmoop and so donated a very small amount to PPR's Hope fund. Should you feel like doing the same, you can do so at their site. (Just put 'Hope' in the memo line.) Poor baby!

* Life really isn't all that stinky... I just got an assignment at work that sucks balls and so I am majorly deflated. Thus the bleak outlook on life.

Bonnie Biscuits

Another dog post, another soapbox moment. Pound Puppy Rescue (the place from which Garfunkel was adopted) posted a little blurb on Facebook yesterday about a 10-month-old puppy in dire need of some medical assistance. Seeing as I am a dog lover with a 10-month-old puppy and was born with hip dysplasia myself, it is only fitting that I pass it along to better guilt-trip you. :o) Here's the snippet:

Bonnie is a Pound Puppy that has been diagnosed with severe hip dysplasia. Her family cannot afford the surgery and she may have to be euthanized. We are posting her story in hopes that the PPR family can help. We will accept PayPal donations (the donate button is on the left side of our page) for her surgery. If you choose to donate, please make sure to type "Bonnie" in the purpose field. You may also send checks to the address listed; please write "Bonnie" in the memo line of your check.*

From Bonnie's family:

Bonnie (otherwise known as Bonnie Biscuits) is a wonderful 10 month old Border Collie cross that we got at 8 weeks old. She is always happy to be wherever we are and enjoys all life has to offer. Sadly, she started showing signs of difficulty getting up @6-7 months old so we took her to the vet. The x-rays revealed severe bilateral hip dysplasia which was devastating. It means that she needs costly surgery to repair the problem or to be put to sleep, otherwise she is doomed to a life of pain. Our family includes 3 children and a variety of rescued dogs and birds, so the idea of spending thousands of dollars on surgery is not even a remote possibility, given our current financial situation. But the thought of euthanizing this sweet, well mannered, devoted and loving dog is more than we can handle. We told PPR about our tragic situation and they kindly agreed to post Bonnie’s story on their Facebook site in the hopes we might be able to collect enough money to pay for her surgery and save her life. So if any of you have even $5 to donate to help our sweet girl, it would make our family so happy to know we can get the surgery, end her suffering and enjoy our sweet little dog for years to come. We need to raise $3,000 to make this happen and the sooner we get it done, the sooner she is out of pain for the rest of her days. Would you be willing to help save this wonderful girl? We are hoping for a miracle right now and we are so grateful to PPR for attempting to make this dream come true.

Thank you for your consideration, appreciate your help.

*Pound Puppy Rescue has agreed to help in this case due to the urgency and severity of the situation. This is an unusual case and we will not be making this a regular activity.

You can check out some photos of little Bonnie Biscuits at http://www.facebook.com/poundpuppyrescue. Even if every fan of PPR on Facebook donated only $5, the family would reach their goal...

Rolling Dog Ranch

I know, I know, I know - my constant stream of schmoopy dog posts is making something of you want to throw up a little bit. And for that, I apologize. But I can't help myself! Dogs are just so darn fabulous! So you're just going to have to learn to love my puppy posts. Or skip out on my blog. But then you risk missing out on all of my HI-larious stories about Robert and his adventures in woodworking and, really, who wants that?

Today's schmoop-a-rific post is about the Rolling Dog Ranch, a sanctuary for disabled dogs, cats and horses. A married couple retired from their jobs at Boeing and bought a bunch of acreage in Montana for the express purpose of creating a home for those animals least likely to be adopted (i.e. most likely to be euthanized) from shelters. They finally posted a little video about what they do on their blog and I wanted to share it:

ASPCA Video "Rolling Dog Ranch" from V K on Vimeo.

What a fantastic place! It would be truly awesome to be able to dedicate your life to doing something you're so passionate about.

*** Oh, and if you feel like supporting the RDR, Love of Dog Bakery is donating 5% of all their sales in December to the Ranch. So, if you want to buy your pooch a vanilla dipped peanut butter bone or a peanut butter carob paw for Christmas, you should give the LoD Bakery a whirl!

Foster a Lonely Pet for the Holidays

I didn't watch last night's Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation A Dog Named Christmas (though it is TiVo'd. I just didn't watch it live because I wanted to make sure the dog didn't die. Yeah, it's a Hallmark movie but still! Old Yeller died. Marley died. Old Dan and Little Ann died. You see where I'm going with this...), but I did catch the final 5 minutes and it looks like a Lauren movie. :o) The movie is based on a book about a developmentally challenged young man who fosters a dog from his local shelter and encourages others in his town to foster dogs that would otherwise be alone during the holiday season. And while the story isn't true, the plight of shelter dogs during the holidays is - many are either left completely alone or are let out of their cages much less frequently due to staff shortages. So, Hallmark teamed up with PetFinder.com to launch the Foster a Lonely Pet for the Holidays program this year in order to (hopefully) get people involved and get a lot of cats and dogs out of their cages and next to a warm fire this Christmas. You don't have to foster the dogs for long - a weekend, a week, whatever you and the shelter work out - but it seems like a fabulous idea and I've already pestered Robert to start thinking about having another dog around for the holidays. :o)

If you are interested, check out PetFinder.com's program page here.

Check out the list of participating shelters in California here.

Yay for Animal Shelters!

This week (November 1 - 7) is National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week. Most of you probably don't care a ton but Maria is a good woman and volunteers at the Human Society of Silicon Valley so she might! :o) Since you all know my love of all things dog requires me to pass the info along, here is the press blurb from the Humane Society of the U.S.:

The Humane Society of the United States' National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week—Nov. 1-7—is a way to honor animal shelters and their dedicated staff across the country.

"Animal shelters are a vital resource in their communities," said Kim Intino, director of shelter services for The HSUS. "A shelter is a safe haven for animals, and a great place to adopt a new family pet. And many also serve their communities by providing emergency animal services, resources for pet owners, and community education on humane issues."

There are approximately 4,000 animal shelters across the United States, available to serve the estimated 6-8 million homeless animals who seek refuge each year. While 63 percent of American households include pets, only 10 percent of owned dogs and 18 percent of owned cats are adopted from animal shelters.

"If you don't know your local shelter, there is no better time to get acquainted than National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week. Look them up on the web, or find out when they're open to the public and pay them a visit. Talk to the staff, ask what you can do to help support the work they do for animals in your community."

Spread the word about animals waiting to be adopted, and celebrate the many services provided by your local animal shelter—here are some ideas!

1. Donate a Subscription to Animal Sheltering Magazine
Shelter workers just can't get enough of Animal Sheltering—an award-winning bi-monthly magazine chock full of articles to educate, inform and inspire anyone who works or volunteers with homeless pets. Donate a year's subscription to your local shelter for just $20. more»

2. Learn How to Help Injured or Abandoned Animals
Your local shelter and animal control officers depend on the community's help to reach animals in need. Learn everything you need to know to take action, from how to put together a first aid kit to which community phone numbers you need to know. more»

3. Be an Email Ambassador
Spread a shelter-friendly message every time you hit send—attach a tagline like the one below to your signature for all outgoing email messages: Love animals? Support your local shelter!

4. Adopt or Foster an Animal
Consider adopting or fostering a homeless animal. Whether you decide to bring home a new pet or foster an animal until she finds a forever family, you'll be giving a critter a safe and caring home while making room for another homeless pet in your community's animal shelter, where space is limited. You can find adoptable pets in your area at The Shelter Pet Project's website.

5. Say Thank You
Drop a note in the mail or shoot an email to your local shelter and let them know how much you appreciate all they do for animals. If you can, sweeten your thank you by adding an item from the shelter's wish list, a check or a gift card from a pet supply store.

6. Volunteer Your Time and Skills
Whether you end up walking pooches, helping at special events or lending your expertise as a newsletter editor, your shelter can match your schedule and talents to their needs. Not only will you be helping animals in your community, but you also will be building knowledge and skills. Call your local shelter and find out how to start volunteering. more»

7. Support Spay/Neuter
Spaying or neutering your pet or offering to help fund a spay/neuter surgery for a friend, family member or neighbor's pet will save animals' lives by helping to lower the number of unwanted animals in your community and reduce the strain on your local shelter's resources. more»

8. Donate a Dog Bed
No shelter dog should have to sleep on a cold, concrete floor while waiting for a forever home, but providing bedding for the millions of homeless animals in our nation's animal shelters can add up to thousands of dollars each year—not to mention loads of laundry. Help a dog in need by donating a durable, shelter-tested bed to a shelter of your choice through the Kuranda shelter donation program. The beds can increase the overall physical and mental well-being of a shelter's doggie residents. more»

9. ID Your Pet
Your pet should never go naked—that is, without a collar and ID tags. It's the number one way that lost pets are returned to their owners. Without it a Good Samaritan or animal shelter will likely have no idea how to contact you. Even if your pet is microchipped or your cat never goes outdoors, always err on the safe side and make a collar and tag permanent—your pet's life could depend on it.

10. See Why Shelters Rock
See which music artists are celebrating animal shelters with us! more »

Michael Vick Is a Dick

Today must be soapbox day! Sorry, guys. Feel free to skip these posts if they don't float your boat.

But, as you know, the plight of the pit bull has been a pet cause (pardon the pun) of mine for a little bit now. I have been particularly interested in the dogs saved from Michael Vick's Bad Newz Kennels and what they are doing now. Some of you may not be aware but 13 of the 48 dogs that were able to be saved from Bad Newz wound up at BAD RAP in Oakland. You may also not be aware that this Sunday marks the first time Vick will be in Oakland since he was reinstated in the NFL three weeks ago. The San Jose Mercury News' Mark Purdy published this article earlier this week:

Frodo won't be at the Raiders' game Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles. He will be way too busy.

Probably playing with other dogs.

"To him, dogs equal good," said Kim Ramirez, who adopted Frodo several months ago. "Humans equal scary."

Frodo is a pit bull. He really doesn't know much about football. But he knows Philadelphia's backup quarterback, Michael Vick. They once had a very personal relationship.

Unfortunately.

Vick was convicted two years ago of financing and participating in a dogfighting ring. He served prison time. This is his first regular-season road game since being reinstated by the NFL three weeks ago. But what of the dogs left behind at his grotesque kennel operation in Virginia? After spending several months in shelters, most found foster homes. A dozen of the dogs have ended up in the Bay Area.

Frodo is one of them. He came to Ramirez's home through a local non-profit organization called BAD RAP, which stands for Bay Area Dog Lovers Responsible About Pit bulls. Basically, the group takes troubled rescue dogs and places them in loving homes. There, they can learn to become family-friendly.

Ramirez understands that people can be skeptical about that. But that's why BAD RAP exists. The group was founded (quoting here from the Web site) as a response to the "difficult issues facing this misunderstood breed."

And for sure, the Michael Vick case definitely qualifies as a difficult issue. Crowds in Philadelphia have been largely supportive of his comeback. But what about this weekend? How will he fare with the public here in the animal-rights-intensive Bay Area?

Donna Reynolds, BAD RAP's executive director, said she will have an announcement today about the group's plans for Vick's visit to Oakland. She has been in touch with the Eagles, so the plan potentially involves the team — and maybe even Vick.

Whatever happens, Frodo won't care much. He was five months old when cops raided the Vick property. The puppies there were chained to a partially buried car axle, left largely exposed to the elements. Frodo was taken to a shelter where he lived for seven months with little human contact.

That's where BAD RAP co-founder Tim Race, met and named him. Race flew to Virginia and assessed which of the Vick dogs might best travel back to the Bay Area for adoption. A certain dark-coated dog reminded him of a Hobbit character from "Lord of the Rings."

Hence, Frodo. He now cuddles up to Ramirez and loves to eat treats from her hand. But it's no wonder that Frodo is generally shy around people and jumpy whenever he hears an unfamiliar sound.

"Anything mechanical, the sound bothers him," said Ramirez, an information analyst at Kaiser Permanente. "We have ceiling fans at our house and he would become fixated on them, looking up at them with apprehension. If I opened a cabinet, he would shy away. Or popcorn in the microwave. I don't know, maybe the popcorn equates to gunshots for him. I don't think he witnessed any of the fights. But I'm sure he heard them."

Ramirez at first calmed Frodo the way she would treat a frightened infant, by wrapping him tightly in blankets and gently petting him in her arms for 45 minutes straight, if necessary. In the back of her head, Ramirez wonders if Vick has ever done any of this stuff — for any dog, ever. The public apologies made by the Philadelphia quarterback haven't impressed her much.

"It's not about what you say, it's about what you actually do," Ramirez said. "Just because he's done the time for what he did, that doesn't mean everything's all right now. The damage done to these dogs will last the rest of their lives."

Martina McClay is just as skeptical. She has adopted another Vick dog, Leo, through her Our Pack rescue operation in Los Gatos. She has trained Leo to be a "therapy dog" who visits elder care facilities and cancer clinics to cheer up patients. McClay watched Vick's interview on "60 Minutes" and rolled her eyes.

"I just didn't see the remorse," McClay said. "Maybe he is remorseful and he's just not good at communicating it. But it looked very rehearsed to me. You know, like a sock puppet? He just says he made bad choices and what happened was bad. I haven't heard him say a word about the dogs. What should he do to show he has changed? Why ask us? I think the NFL should answer these questions, not us."

She has a point. It would be a fine thing in our world if, when athletes commit crimes beyond the pale, fans stopped buying tickets to watch and cheer them. But it's not going to happen, at least not in the country's most popular sports league. Eleven years ago in St. Louis, a defensive tackle named Leonard Little was convicted of manslaughter for killing a woman while driving drunk. He returned to the NFL. He is being cheered every Sunday. So is Vick.

Just not by Frodo.

Turns out, BAD RAP was indeed in touch with the Eagles - they offered to let Vick come and see the dogs during his trip:

Vick refuses to meet former Bad Newz Kennel dogs while in Oakland

Late last week, Oakland based pit bull advocacy group BAD RAP invited Michael Vick to view eight of his former Bad Newz Kennels dogs from behind a window while in town for the Raiders game on October 18, but the offer was refused. The invitation was extended to allow Vick an opportunity to acknowledge the victims of the crimes he committed while running a dogfighting operation that employed torture and death as a means to punish underperforming dogs. Vick has indicated remorse for disappointing his fans, his family, his teammates and his coach, but has steered clear of mentioning his victim dogs in public statements.

BAD RAP Co-Founder, Tim Racer said: "Oakland is a town that welcomed Vick's broken dogs with open arms back in 2007. We understand Vick is trying to right his wrongs and is very interested in redemption, but you can't find redemption without acknowledging your victims. Making amends to the dogs themselves would have helped to create some closure for many of us, especially the people who worked so hard to keep them from being destroyed. It seems that Vick is not ready to go there."

Pamela Browner-Crawley, public affairs director for the Philadelphia Eagles, relayed BAD RAP's offer to Vick. To satisfy the conditions of Vick's parole that bars him from being near animals, a location was identified that would allow him to view his former dogs from behind a window, at legal distance. On Wednesday, Crawley contacted BAD RAP to decline on behalf of Vick. Ignoring the fact that legalities would be followed, she explained, "Michael is not allowed to be around dogs by a court order, so logistically and legally, your plan can't work."

"We were fairly certain that he would decline our invitation, given his continued refusal to make mention of his dogs," said Racer. "The unfortunate thing is that his new position of compassion towards animals would be so much more credible if he could actually say that he looked his victims in the eye and said, "I'm sorry."

As much as I support BAD RAP and their endeavors, I have to say the whole Vick visitation thing seems a bit wonky. Well, only in the sense that the dogs could not really care less about Vick looking them in the eye - through a glass window a legal distance away - and saying I'm sorry. ;o) And in that regard I can certainly understand why a visit with the dogs would be a strange and somewhat superfluous gesture. But I do agree that it seems like Vick should do something about it while he's here... I'm just not sure what exactly that something is. For those of us that would care to protest Vick's arrival, however, "In Defense of Animals is calling for people to join them in a peaceful protest at the Oakland Coliseum Sunday, October 18 from 12-2pm to let the Eagles know that Vick is not welcome in Oakland. Their news release."

If you are at all interested in finding out more about what happened to the dogs during their Bad Newz imprisonment, the struggles to get them to California or in how the dogs are doing now (a lot are actually therapy dogs!), check out some of these links:

• Meet the Vick dogs, then & now (excellent site - I recommend it)

• Vick Dog Blog

• BAD RAP blog

• Sports Illustrated cover story (12/29/08)
  

No Posts This Week?

This is definitely one of my random posts but it's been a slow week - indulge me, please. :o)

Poor Robert has to listen to me whine and whimper all the time because I want to adopt more dogs. Now, I should qualify that statement by saying that I am fully aware that we currently have... probably... not enough space or discretionary funds to make a 2nd dog happy. I get it. Blah blah rational responsible blah. And Garfunkel is a very, very happy little dog. But! He just has so much fun at the dog park and is always soooooo loathe to be without humans that I just think he'd benefit from a full-time friend and companion. Plus, there are just SO very many dogs out there that need homes... I drive my self bonkers looking at rescue sites. I have a home! Live with me! I will love you! I'm kind of sad.

My parents also have to endure my rescue dog pitch because they're kinda-sorta-maybe-probably looking at getting a puppy in September. I keep looking at sites and sending them potential dogs; I'm sure they are ready for me to get a new hobby! :o) My particular pet cause (pardon the pun) of the moment is Pit Bulls. There are so, so, so many Pit Bulls on rescue sites because people are either afraid of or prejudiced against them. Now, again, I'm not saying that I'm ignorant of why people feel this way - Pit Bulls have their reputation for a reason. They do have a "built-in fighting heritage." But... they can also be very sweet and loving family dogs if trained in a positive environment. Much like every other breed, it's nurture as well as nature that plays a part in a dog's ultimate temperament.

So! While I'm on my soapbox here, I thought I'd pass on a Web site that has a lot of useful information regarding Pit Bull Rescue Central. I have enjoyed popping around the site and think it offers a lot of help and information for those interested in adopting the breed. That will probably be me in the future. In fact, there's a little Pit Bull puppy that's a regular at the dog park we take the Funk to and I just think she's the most beautiful little puppy. My mom was with me a couple days ago and said "You're going to adopt a little mangy Pit Bull someday, aren't you?" Yep. I think so. It' the least I can do after I've pestered everyone else!

Here's a test: Only ONE of the dogs below is a Pit Bull. Can you tell which one?
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Here's the key:

UPDATE: A woman Robert chats with at the dog park learned of my newfound affinity for pit bulls and turned him on to an organization in the Bay Area called Bad Rap (Bay Area Doglovers Responsible About Pit Bulls). They have a ton of info on programs and available dogs in the area so, again, if you are interested in gaining a bit more info on the breed, please check it out.

Boy Interrupted

I stumbled on to this documentary on HBO on Monday night after coming home from an appointment. I honestly don't know what made me stop on this particular show - especially since it was already almost 20 minutes into it before I started watching - but something about it just sort of drew me in. I was home alone and I watched the entire thing, just riveted to the TV. When Robert came home and the show finished, I babbled on at him about how interesting it was and set the TiVo up to record the next showing so I could catch the beginning moments I'd missed. Robert and I always like documentaries (The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters is one of my favorites and I highly recommend it!) and this was a particularly moving one about a 15-year-old boy who committed suicide. His mother put the film together with her husband - both are filmmakers - and what makes the documentary SO interesting is that there is just oodles footage of the boy, Evan, all through his life. You really get to see so much and get a feel for just how extraordinary and sad his life truly was.

With a strong history of mental illness on both sides of his family (but particularly his fathers' - his paternal uncle suffered from depression and committed suicide at 20), Evan grew up with bipolar illness almost all of his life. His parents filmed him constantly, as I'm sure filmmaker parents are wont to do, but once he started exhibiting suicidal tendencies at age 5, they would film and take photos for documentation purposes. And it's really quite fascinating; there is footage of him singing songs he wrote about wanting to cut his throat and die, photos of him showing his mom a noose he made and hung from his bunk bed (including a photo of him IN the noose, showing her what he planned to do), and footage of a play he wrote - at age 10 - about a depressed boy who dies and how everyone gathers around his grave to talk about how much they loved him. It's eerie - but interesting (especially when you consider the repercussions on the rest of the family, like Evan's younger brother. Poor guy.) Of course, the subject matter is sensitive and sad so it may not be your cup of tea... but I do recommend catching a showing if you think you'd be interested. It's quite good.

Boy Interrupted Web site

A Tiny Soapbox Moment

Indulge me a moment while I rant about a, in my opinion, completely inane and useless petition going around. I don't usually get involved in or worked up about union stuff because, quite frankly, I don't feel like the state system is going to be my employment home forever. But a coworker just came around and chatted with me about an e-mail we'd just received (that I'd deleted without reading, of course!) from our union rep and it struck a minor chord with me. Apparently, some guy name Paul McCauley is circulating a petition to qualify for a ballot initiative that could "reduce public employees’ pensions. Unlike previous pension attacks, which proposed a two-tier system that would pit current retirees against new hires, this proposition would allow public entities to “renegotiate” with current retirees. McCauley needs nearly 700,000 signatures by June 22, but, as he pointedly noted in a recent newspaper column, California has 38 million people not covered by public pensions." Here's the Secretary of State's announcement about the initiative drive:


Now, again, I usually don't pay too much attention to union stuff but this is ridiculous. State workers get paid in loose change and gum, people! The tradeoff is a (slightly) greater degree of job security and better benefits on the back end. These are the only reason people accept such smaller salaries working for the state! I have not contributed to my 401k - or started up a 403b - because I just don't feel like I can sacrifice any of the pennies I bring home each month. And I suspect a lot of other people are in the same boat. Pensions are, therefore, quite important to people in the public sector. Plus, since this would affect current retirees as well, they would be in worse shape than anyone, being unable to 'benifit' from the possible increase in wages and salaries to offset the pension reductions. I would, then, urge you not to sign any such petition should it pass your way. That is all. :o)