The Poodle (and Dog) Blog

Hero dog condemned to death by Ontario breed laws

As with all of the stories on The Poodle (and dog) blog this story has a happy ending.

Well, maybe not so happy for the province of Ontario where dogs are killed just for looking like Pit Bulls. Ontario lost a heroic dog.

And not so happy for Kalena Mallon who probably will never again see the dog that saved her life.

Kalena, who suffers from a rare heart condition, passed out on a busy roadway near her home at around 11 o’clock at night. Although no humans stopped to help, out of nowhere a little dog rushed to her side and barked at cars threatening to hit her.

Alerted by car horns and a barking dog, Mallon’s husband found his wife and carried her home, followed by her guardian angel dog. The medication worked quickly and she recovered.

Snuggling with Kalena on the couch, the young dog met their other two dogs and cat, even suffering an unfriendly swipe by the cat.

When they were unable to locate the owners in the neighborhood, they called the Brandford SPCA which referred them to the local police since it was after hours. The officer was greeted with wiggles and a wagging tail as the two went off together.

Two days later Kalena called the SPCA to find out if the dog had been claimed and learned that...

Oh, oops, this dog has no owner. She was obviously dumped. Ontario lawmakers in their infinite wisdom are protecting the fragile citizenry from any dog that resembles a Pit Bull. In Ontario this sweet brave dog is one of those vicious human-flesh-devouring killing-machines.

By a law passed in 2005, owning a dog with even the appearance of a Pit Bull can result in a $10,000 fine and or 6 months in jail and the dog is to be destroyed. The only hope for the 10-month-old dog was to be adopted out of the area, not by the woman who so desperately wanted to keep the dog she named Faith.

Kalena turned to Facebook with her story. As you might imagine, when word got out many people offered to drive to Ontario and take the young dog to the life she deserves.

The Brantford SPCA has been the subject of hate emails, phone calls, and bad press. However they have to follow the law, no matter how cruel and unfathomably stupid it is. From Canada Let's Adopt:

Brantford SPCA has not killed a healthy dog in more than five years! The management and staff at this SPCA go above and beyond to place the animals in their care, sometimes personally driving them to new homes. When it comes to finding homes, they know no boundaries. One dog was transported with a trucker to a new home in Las Vegas!

These folks “get it!” These folks are knowledgeable and compassionate about the animals in their care.

They have fielded offers for Faith from all over North America. They have carefully weighed their choices, checked references and made their decision. Faith will be heading out west to start a new life as a free dog; no BSL hanging over her head.

Way to go, Ontario legislators. How’s that law working out for you? Not well, we hear.

Morons.

More on BSL

Border Collie vs. Chihuahua—which is the better sheep herding dog?

Do genetics and instinct make a dog a good sheepdog?

Not always.

Ci the Border Collie wants to work the sheep, but from the time he was a puppy he has been afraid of them. When sheep think they have the upper hand, they can be total buttheads.

Ci’s owner Jane Lippington said, "If they run away from him, he will go after them and act like a proper sheepdog, but the moment they turn and face him he runs away.

"He might be the worst sheepdog in Britain but there's no way we would be without Ci, he's part of the family.”

Nancy the Chihuahua definitely does not belong in a purse as she demonstrates her sheep herding skills.

Sheep are a lot like some people, aren't they?

 

 

And a bonus feature What happens when an annoying younger dog wants to play and the alpha wants to take a nap? Here is the conversation complete with subtitles for those not fluent in dogspeak.

 

Please stop teaching Chihuahuas food aggression—video

A while back I posted a video of a moron trying to take an apple away from a tiny Chihuahua puppy who tried her best to protect her treasure. She finally resorted to growling and snapping while the moron laughed hysterically and continued teasing.

Fortunately whoever posted it took it off the internet.

Now this video shows up on what is usually a responsible blog. The bewildered Chihuahua is trying to protect his banana while the humans are doing their best to teach obnoxious and what can easily become dangerous behavior.

This is how small dogs get a bad reputation. If they are later tested for temperament, this behavior could send them to the kill room.

These aren’t that funny.

Asta—detective dog of classic movies

Asta was a cute little Wirehaired Terrier who was a very popular movie dog of the 30’s and 40’s.

Asta was originally named Skippy in his first movies, but when he was cast as Asta in the popular Thin Man series, his name was changed to Asta, although from all accounts he answered to both names when noms were involved.

The Thin Man was based on a story by Dashiel Hammett, in which the dog is a female Schnauzer. However, because of Skippy’s popularity in his first movies, he won the role and became Asta.

The Thin Man was one of the most popular films of 1934 and was nominated for four Oscars. It was followed by five sequels, Another Thin Man, Shadow of the Thin Man, The Thin Man Goes Home, Song of the Thin Man, as well as a radio and television series.

Asta’s owners were sophisticated socialites, Nick and Nora Charles, played by William Powell and Myrna Loy. At one time Nick had been a well known private detective, but when he married the wealthy Nora, he gave up any pretense of actually working.

The movies are best described by Roger Ebert as a “drawing room comedy with dead bodies.” Solving murders was something Nick and Nora did in their spare time since they were more concerned with leading the lives of fun loving, hard drinking socialites. At one time Nick was asked what he thought of a case and he answered to the effect that it was seriously putting him behind in his drinking.

The couple included Asta in their activities (except drinking). As the series progressed, Asta was given more and more screen time. He was the one who actually found clues and did most of the detective work. He was also there to help them out of any trouble they got into, and they got into a lot of trouble.

The plot of the original movie is so convoluted that I’m not sure even the writers could follow it, but as the series went on, the plots got simpler and Asta did more cute things. Audiences seemed to prefer a cute dog to plot twists.

Nick, Nora and Asta continue to be popular, thanks to classic movie channels and newly released DVD’s.

Other movie dogs: 

Lassie    Toto    Strongheart     Rin Tin Tin     Beethoven     Air Bud

The tomato hornworm can take the joy out of growing tomatoes

I try to love all creatures large and small.

Well, maybe not love, but at least to value them for their place in the grand scheme of things.

I’m one of the few people I know who likes snakes, spiders and bats. They are our friends. They eat harmful insects and try to stay out of our way as much as possible.

As long as ants stay outside and function as nature’s garbage collectors, I’m all right with them. I regularly put down Grants Kills Ants so they will understand their boundaries.

Invading flies I figure will be spider food in a short time and invading mice will become cat toys very quickly. It’s the circle of life.

But tomato hornworms are evil. They have no redeeming qualities.

If you aren't familiar with them, they start off as eggs laid by a moth on tomato plants. They hatch into tiny green worms with an incredibly voracious appetite. In just a few hours they strip the leaves off the stalks of a tomato plant, eventually destroying the plant if you don’t stop them.

The problem is that you don’t know they are there until the bare stalks appear and even then you can be looking right at one and not see it because they look like part of the tomato plant.

After you clip off the bare stalks, it’s time to go after the worm with the shears. But you can examine the plant until you feel like an idiot wasting away the day and still not see the worm.They have suction feet so they can be on top, underneath, or over in another area of the plant.

Sometimes you have to just give up and let it continue to ravish the plant until it grows big enough to spot. And eventually it will.

They grow up to five inches of ugliness. This is a photo of one in a hand. And you can bet it isn’t my hand.

 

And yet…

There is something sadly vulnerable about the way the tomato hornworm just sits there munching away, with no fight or flight ability, totally oblivious to its fate.

There is something amazing about the way it got there. Somehow a male and a female worm had to survive into the adult moth stage, find each other, fall in love and mate. And then the mother had to find a tomato plant to lay her eggs on, even finding tomato plants in areas where they have never been grown before.

Of course that is not enough to keep me from snipping them in two parts.

I love tomatoes.

Wordless Wednesday

The Aristochiens

Perhaps an apology to Theirry Poncelet is in order.

 

Police rescue dog two miles out at sea

Irina Frid and her husband traveled to the Czech Republic to buy Charlie, a 8-month-old German Shepherd.

Shortly after she picked him up from Kennedy airport and took him home, Charlie escaped from the yard. Charlie was undoubtedly disoriented and confused.

Or perhaps he was trying to return to the Czech Republic.

At any rate he jumped into Jamaica Bay and swam for about 40 minutes before being spotted by harbor police officers, Benjamin Reiver and Edward Carr.

The rescue was not easy. Reiver described it:

The wind and the current were so bad. It was actually pushing us away from the dog so I put the boat in gear. It's actually a pretty risky move with these types of boats because you can hurt folks or you can hurt the animal. We only had one shot because he was losing it. The only thing sitting out of the water was his snout and his eyes.

Charlie is now back with his family. The story

Ozzy Osborne pays $10,000 for a puppy—but wait…

This isn’t a story about an aging stoner with too much money.

This happened in an auction at a benefit for Holly Robinson Peete’s HollyRod Foundation.

The money raised at the auction goes to help families cope with autism.

Holly and her husband Rodney, who was an NFL quarterback for 16 seasons, have four children. R.J., now 13-years-old, was diagnosed with autism at the age of 3. Since then she has become an advocate and activist for autism education, outreach, and support.

Bidding started at $5000 for the 8-week old rescue Yorkie puppy, but it was evident to all that Ozzy was intent on outbidding everyone.

Ozzy and his wife Sharon are mega dog lovers. They have quietly contributed to many dog related causes, including buying a $10,000 dog for a police department in Indiana.

At one time Ozzy said, “I’ve got 18 dogs now. We get them from the pound now. When I get home it’s like I’ve got four new dogs.”

Not all German Shepherds and Rottweilers have The Right Stuff

In Northumbria, UK, police have given up trying to train Vegas, a German Shepherd police dog.

Although she comes from good police dog stock, it seems she is afraid of children, afraid of noise, won’t bark on command, doesn’t like other dogs, and doesn’t want to bite.

Having been mustered out of police service, Vegas has had more than 300 calls from people who want to adopt her.

Many of them probably think they will be getting a Poodle disposition in a German Shepherd police dog body.

But authorities are warning that Vegas is unpredictable and will not an easy dog to train. Having resisted professional training for the job she was bred to do, she may be aggressive toward children and other animals, among other problems.

 

And how embarrassing would it be to call the police to report a home robbery and then to have to tell them that the only thing stolen was, uh, your…guard dog.

That’s what happened in Gloucestershire, UK, when owners had to report that Rocky the Rottweiler, a dog who they hoped would be a deterrent to burglars, was snatched.

Apparently the thieves lifted the fence in the area where Rocky was and wafted him away, obviously with his full consent.

 

Both dogs might take lessons from Paco, the 10-pound Chihuahua who ran burglars out of his owner’s store and chased them down the street.

Little Dachshund rescues her owner and inspires his recovery

Chelse the Dachshund channeled her best Lassie imitation to save her owner.

Tom McKinney, a Little League coach in Sacramento, fell 17 feet when his wooden ladder broke while working in his backyard. Lying on the ground he was unable to move from the neck down and too weak to call his wife who was taking a nap in the house.

But there was Chelse.

“I just said, ‘go get your mama’. She literally, like Lassie, took off. I could hear her barking in the house,” said Tom.

His wife knew something was wrong from the persistent barking. She followed Chelse to Tom and quickly called 9-11.

Tom suffered a broken neck and other serious injuries. Doctors were concerned that he might not ever walk again, but two months later he is moving around.

Tom says he is drawing strength from 10-year-old Chelse who broke her back seven years ago and surprised everyone by learning to walk again. They never thought Chelse could walk again.

Tom says that if she can do it, why can’t he? “[She] basically said, ‘don’t you quit.’ Anyway, I won’t,” said Tom.

With the progress he has made doctors are optimistic about his recovery. He wants to get back to working for the Little League and to hug his wife again.

Lassie is just a bunch of actor-dogs who have learned to do tricks. Chelse is real.

Story and video

H/T to Bungirl (who I wish would start blogging again)