The Poodle (and Dog) Blog

Barbershop dog returns to his post

This is Franklin. Franklin is a Basset Hound.

The reason Franklin looks so happy and excited is that he took on a state government bureaucracy and won.

Four-year-old Franklin had accompanied his human, Matt Schwendiman, each morning to the old-fashioned one-chair barber shop that Schwendiman owns. Franklin was a fixture there, greeting customers and keeping order. Everyone loved Franklin.

Then about ten months ago an inspector for the Ohio State Barber Board declared that animals are not allowed in barbershops.

Franklin protested his exile, gazing sadly out the window as his owner left him, scratching the windowsill to get out. Then a local newspaper printed the story and the law was changed to allow Franklin to once again serve as barbershop host and sentry.

Now, thanks to Franklin, one healthy animal is allowed in a barbershop if the owner provides liability insurance. So Franklin is back to his spot on the sofa, greeting customers once more.

The barber is happy. The customers are happy. And you can see the joy on Franklin’s Basset Hound face if you just look for it.

Complete story and a shot of Schwendiman’s 1950’s style barbershop is here

The American Pit Bull Terrier—“America’s favorite dog”…once

According to an email I received from Vanessa, I incorrect identified the World War I dog hero, Stubby, as a Bull Terrier instead of an American Pit Bull Terrier. Vanessa is a defender of the breed and is experienced and realistic about the so-called Pit Bull. She writes that

At one time the American Pit Bull Terrier was America's Favorite Dog. There was Petey from the Little Rascals movie shorts, the RCA dog (His master’s voice), Buster Brown’s dog ("Hi, I'm Buster Brown. I live in a shoe. Here's my dog Tigh. He lives in there too.") and, of course, Stubby.

The American Pit Bull Terrier was imported from Irish stock mostly and they were created by crossing bulldog and terrier to make the ultimate fighting dog.

As gruesome as we see dog fighting today, it was a sport enjoyed at one time, great entertainment for the masses, like bullfighting, cockfighting and feeding Christians to lions. The dogs were bred and trained to fight other dogs and the owners gave them the ultimate in care.

In the fighting pit were two dogs, two handlers and a referee. At any time the humans could pull the dogs apart with their hands by prying open the mouths. How could these men not be bitten? Because the American Pit Bull Terrier is superbly loyal to humans and more trustworthy with humans than most other breeds.

Vanessa has a Siberian Husky who is best buddies with her Pit Bull, but she trusts the Pit Bulls more than any other breed she has known not to bite humans. They can, of course, be taught to get along with other dogs. Vanessa’s Pit Bull loves Chihuahuas!

The reason Pit Bulls are in the headlines today more than any other breed, according to Vanessa, is “because they are ill bred and ill managed.”

The dog—our only ally on earth

We are alone, absolutely alone, on this chance planet, and amid all the forms of life that surround us, not one, excepting the dog, has made an alliance with us. --Maurice Maeterlinck

Long before written history, certain wild wolves were taken into the caves of our ancestors, bred and trained to serve, to obey, to do our work willingly in return for food, safety and companionship.

Other animals we have penned, caged, yoked, saddled and broken to serve us, but they have no alliance with us. The cat will insinuate itself into our lives and allow us to love, pet and feed it, but it’s mostly on terms laid down by the cat.

Only the dog, of all the forms of life on earth, has formed an alliance with humans.