Tuesday, June 05, 2007

Coffee and Provocation

Oppose California's Mandatory Sterilization Law:
California Assembly Bill 1634 would require the mandatory sterilization of most working dogs in California. Hard to believe, but true. If you live in California and have a working terrier, a lurcher, a bandog, or any type of breed not recognized by the AKC or the UKC, then the State is going to require that your dog be sterilized by the age of four months.

Deben Mark III for Sale:
A fellow in New Mexico is selling a Deben Mark III locator set for $150 (original cost was $300). It was used for ferreting, and is very good condition. Email Clint at >> cchisler@unm.edu
to inquire and/or work out the details.

Jon and Roseann Hanson's New Magazine:
Jon and Roseann Hanson have come out with a new magazine called Overland Journal
, which is dedicated to vehicle-centered expedition travel and exploration in North America and around the world. The premier issue features over 100 pages of expedition vehicles, travel stories, equipment reviews, and conservation news, and has a crack-shot group of writers and editors associated with it. All good and long may it prosper! A hat tip to Steve Bodio for pointing me to this one.

The End of Playboy Bunnies?
Hugh Hefner's bunnies are under threat. No, not the dim-brained silicon-injected automatons that Hugh Hefner shares his mansion with, but the real marsh rabbits that live on Big Pine Key in Florida and that were named after Hefner by a couple of scientists with a sense of humor. It seems feral cats on the island and a nearby airforce base threaten to make Sylvilagus palustris hefneri extinct. >> To read more


A Good Read on Canine Diet:
I'm tired of reading about dog food, but this essay was well-worth the time >> Are Dogs Carnivores? A hat tip to Teddy Moritz for this one!

The Monks of New Skete Use Choke Collars:
A while back I wrote a piece about television dog trainers who work with problem dogs, and that most use chain slip collars to teach basic commands. While watching Divine Canine, the new dog show about the dog trainers at the New Skete monastery, I noticed the use of chain skip collars once again. Of course they use choke collars. Why change what works?

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Re: Mandatory spay/neuter - What the state can "require" and what the state can "enforce" are not synonymous.

Just say "No" to BS laws. It's a great American tradition. Dump a few legislators in Boston Harbor and the rest will get the message. ;-)

Anonymous said...

I was speaking with a young Sacramento Bee reporter and he said that they had had to close off part of the capitol building so many people came to protest the so-called Healthy Pets Act.

Sadly, he said, it will pass.

Eliza

BorderWars said...

^^ to anon,
Laws that are on the books but not generally enforceable can still be used to selectively harass and target. Enforcement might be rare like a bee sting or a lightning bolt, but getting hit is still rather unpleasant.

Add that to the general sociopathy that exists in the dog catcher ranks (similar mentality to cops but without the respect and without the same high standards) and you've got a mess on your hands. Having an intact dog can be used as a starting point to cease your animals and take you down a long road for any reason enforcement officers see fit.

Remember, serial killer Dennis Raider was a dog catcher.

<< to P re: Dog Food

Good article, despite the guilt trip about the dirty meat industry and other "red meat" (nyuk nyuk) thrown in for the "Progressive, Tough Liberal News Page" crowd.

I'll note that his readership is trying to bait him onto their yahoo list (dog matron heaven) so they can argue and when it goes his way, they will then censor him.

It does amaze me how much dogma and crap science and evangelism runs through just about everything in the dog world. How your dogs are born, how they eat, what you do and how you train, and then how they die. For being man's best friend, it seems that they're also one of man's favorite toys. We play with them when it suits us, and we don't like to share.

Anonymous said...

Along the lines of the reprehensible California proposal, have you seen this: http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_108262.asp? I hope to get my letter to Mr. Gates composed tomorrow, and plan to reference your fine post on Hunting for Adults as part of my objection. I think all of us that love working dogs need to get together and buy a state somewhere :-(.