Fantasy and Fable Obscures Human Error:Let's start the story by telling what really happened: Some idiot let two Pit Bulls off the leash in New Zealand, and some other idiot sent five children out with a Jack Russell who was similarly off-lead. The predictable result when the canine protagonists met: The Jack Russell told the pair of Pit Bulls to go screw themselves, and the pair of Pit Bulls told the Jack Russell likewise. Pretty soon all hell broke loose and the Jack Russell ended up dead. Now the parents of the children are trying to dress up this disaster by saying the Jack Russell terrier was trying to "protect" the kids from the "killer Pit Bulls." Nice try, but I'm not having any of it. The Pit Bulls are not likely to have been psychotic child-killers, and the Jack Russell was not likely to have been Lassie. Let's tell our kids the truth for once. This was a sad and preventable dog fight set in motion by negligent humans. There are leash laws for a reason.
Nice Hat Queenie, and I Loved Your Movie:
The Queen is over here in Virginia this week, touring the lands that were lost because of a terrier. For those unfamiliar with the story, see >> here.
Tony Blair -- Good Riddance to Bad Meat:
British Prime Minister Tony Blair is stepping down, only 8 years too late. It's hard to remember the enthusiasm with which Blair was welcomed into office 10 years ago -- a real landslide election. Since then he has worked tirelessly to unite Britain against his policies. George Bush, of course, is following the same play book, and both politicians are at a nadir of public opinion. Prime Minister-in-waiting Gordon Brown is seen as more arrogant and even less in touch with voters then Tony Blair, while Conservative leader David Cameron has said he wants to bring back fox hunting.
Glad to Be an American:
Virginia is one of several states (Minnesota, North Dakota, Wisconsin, California, Rhode Island, Vermont, Alabama) where there is a state-constitution-guaranteed right to hunt and fish. Tenneessee is about to be the latest addition.
Wildlife in the Driveway:
In Homer, Alaska, a fellow looked out his back window to see a 500-pound grizzly killing a moose in the back yard. And yes, there's video of it >> here.
Hillbilly Heaven:
I want a bigger version of this Airstream that has been pimped out by Ralph Lauren. Go ahead and call me names. At least Dr. Hypercube gets it.
God Loves a Redhead:
A shout out to hawker Rebecca O'Conner who recently lost her Brittany, but may have found true love with a rescue. Good on 'ya and the Fates that Move All Things.
Saving Big Foot?:
A petition has been introduced into Canada’s House of Commons seeking legislation to protect Big Foot as an endangered species, never mind the lack of evidence it exists. Folks on the political right will see this as a down-zoning land-grab by some sort of wacko tree hugger. Folks on the left will see this as a total trivialization of the Endangered Species Act. Both sides are completlely right, and for the record a similar appeal has been made to the U.S. Congress. Insanity without borders.
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There's a woman at my flyball class whose JRT has gotten into two "fights" (nothing more than a growl and a bark, IMO) with two of the other dogs in the class. The woman has chastised the other dogs' owners and made a scene each time, the latest she polled the class about how to prevent the "aggressive attacks" and how to keep her JRT safe.
ReplyDeleteI would suspect this woman has some experience with JRTS, as her vanity license plate spells out her love for JRTS and she has JRTCA logos on her backpack. But, she seemed amazed when I pointed out the simple fact that of the 8-10 dogs in the class, hers and another terrier were the only dogs bred for confrontation and killing.
There are more than a handful of Border Collies (herding without biting), a Springer Spaniel and a Lab (retrieving dead game), a Husky (sled pulling), and a Samoyed-Collie mix (sled pull, herding). The Spaniel and the Husky are the supposed aggressors.
When I noted that the first "attack" happened only minutes after the woman scurried into class late (I was 5 minutes late and she was riding my bumper all the way from the highway exit to the barn at the fair grounds where the club meets, thus my knowledge of her vanity plate) and in a huff, she asked if I dared to suggest that the problem was with her dog.
My reply was "it's only a problem if you think that your JRT should act like a Papillon! Did you somehow forget that your dog is the only one here that was bred to dispatch a rat with minimal effort, to rush down a dark hole in the ground and corner any number of lethal animals with hooked spines, sharp teeth, chemical weapons, lengthy claws and nasty dispositions, and to keep said beasts cornered until their master digs down to them. I'd give the best odds on the tiny JRT should any of the dogs in this class come face to face with a badger. You've labeled two rather passive dogs as "showing aggression" yet you're holding the only dog who needs to be aggressive and is bred to be so."
Needless to say she left in a huff.