dangerous dogs? or stupid people?

Sometimes, it's hard to tell.

The Alton, Ill. paper (The Telegraph) has published an article so riddled with typos one can't be sure they got their facts straight. Assuming that it is true, the owner of these borzoi (notice the CORRECT plural form) is an idiot. As is anyone that assumes what's apparently true of these borzoi is true of the breed as a whole. A quick read of the comments posted by readers is a mish-mash of breed-bashing and ignorance. No doubt the Telegraph reflects its readership; one is lacking proper grammar, the other common sense.

Then there is Chicago, Ill. (What is it about Illinois this week??) There is a proposal before City Council to change the animal control ordinance, with assorted provisions that make criminals out of responsible dog owners. As usual, the lack of enforcement of current regulations and a few truly horrific owners are generating a gross overreaction by elected officials. Thanks heavens for John Yeats and his level-headed editorials. There's a similar proposal in my county under public comment; it's an uphill battle, my friends.

Sometimes the data help, sometimes they don't. Remember "lies, damn lies, and statistics" ? Well, recent media reports on the top-ten biting breeds pick and choose how the numbers are added up and presented. I went to the raw data (the page sometimes moves, search July 08 for the table) and came up with a different list: Dachshund, Chihuahua, Jack (Parson) Russell Terrier, Pit Bull, Australian Cattle Dog, Beagle, English Springer Spaniel, Border Collie, German Shepherd, Boxer. Now it just so happens that I own two of those breeds, and I'm not so shocked to see them on this list. The big lie here is in calling these breeds "aggressive" - I have no doubt that people reported bites from these dogs, and the data are based on reported bites. But the REASON for the bites is not clear; there is an assumption that bite = aggression. No, it doesn't. I'm not saying it's OK for dogs to bite people - it's not. BUT we have to understand that some dogs are more prone to be defensive about food, be space defensive, or apt for one reason or another to be inclined to react badly to being knocked about by a rambunctious child. Dogs are PREDATORS, and if we allow children to act like prey animals or any person to provoke one, well here's a shocker - dogs react like dogs. Duh. Some dogs are in fact aggressive; call a behaviorist if you think you have one.

The next thing you know, breed ban laws will be back - with a vengeance. BSL doesn't work.

So, what are we to do? I'm a fan of the "I'm a taxpayer & voter" route, and so is Barbara at My Dog Votes. Started in response to anti-breed laws in her area, Barbara's grass-roots campaign to identify and support dog owner-friendly and dog-friendly legislation and government representatives is to be applauded. Buy her stuff, show up at your government's public meetings, and speak out. 'Cause they are coming for us.

And sometimes it's just plain fun to poke at the establishment. Links to two sites made their way to me this week, and I've enjoyed forwarding them to my like-minded friends and family and getting their amused replies. Enjoy One Horse Shy and Stylin Online.

Being a mother means...

...never having to apologize for worrying. Which, at the moment, I'm trying very hard to do in moderation.

My one and only very fabulous son, Anthony, is in China this summer, taking seven weeks of intensive language classes. His e-mails home are both interesting and informative... he's a great kid off on a grand adventure.

But. This morning I awoke to news reports of bombs on buses - which is how he gets home from school. The fact that they were in Kunming (near Tibet and Viet Nam) and Anthony is about 1,300 miles away doesn't ease my mind very much. Becoming a mother transformed me into an Olympic-class worry wart.

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Happily, Anthony has now checked in. We spent an hour chatting on Skype, which is one of the coolest things ever. There is no news reporting in Beijing about the bus bombings, and links to news reports in the U.S. and U.K. media are blocked. No surprise, the Chinese government continues to exercise paranoia. Note to Dubya: a government that doesn't trust the People can not be trusted by the People, dude.

This past weekend Anthony and his classmates were supposed to camp out at the Great Wall. They were allowed to visit, but the camping was canceled due to concerns about protests. Now I can sorta understand the concern - a group of highly intelligent and well educated teenagers just might express their opinions - but you gotta know that the only thing they're going to agree on is that everybody else is wrong. Regardless, he sent a picture showing where they climbed - er, actually he raced somebody up to the top. It took an hour.

If you look carefully, there's a building just below the ridgeline by the right-most peak. It looks reddish. That's where they went, Anthony said he took pictures. Hope the camera survives the trip, if he's racing around with it strapped to his back.

See? Something else for me to worry about...

bugs and plague

So, here's a phone call I don't want to make ever again - to every student in my class. Hi, just wanted to let you know that one of the dogs in your class has been diagnosed with Tularemia. Type B, no big deal - except that it's zoonotic, did you handle that dog today? No? Excellent. If you observe the following symptoms, please take your dog to the vet at once...

Tularemia - also called "rabbit fever" - is endemic in this area. Few dogs exhibit symptoms, and it's actually not particularly contagious, but still... I had planned a siesta today; it was not to be. Thankfully the species of fleas and ticks that favor dogs are not common to this area.

Unlike Parvo. No other disease strikes fear into the heart of a breeder or puppy owner like this one. I know of a spectacular litter that was hit yesterday. So far, one dead, no word on the others. Everyone has a horror story; even survivors are often disabled in some way.

And then there's cancer. A friend of mine died in the wee hours this morning from it, after a nearly 10-year long battle. I can't count the number of dogs I know of that have been affected. In my family there's virtually no incidence of it - said at the risk of tempting fate. The capricious and cruel disease usually kills slowly and painfully; I can't imagine. Sleep softly, Diana. You are missed.

And we've had so much rain (yeah!) that the mud wasps have "bloomed" and are trying to invade the living room (boo hiss). Try chasing those buggers out without letting the cat escape, what fun.

the first time

we're in for a busy summer and crazy school year, this might be a place to share some things with others. or it may be a bust...