Recently, I went out on a date with a guy with whom I had some great conversations. We had a very nice date, except for the fact that at the end of the night, he said nothing about being in touch. Well, it turned out that I never heard from him since.
Understanding the Dating/Dog Dynamic
Many times, men (and women) will say they like dogs. However, that may mean they like them from a distance or like the novelty. To truly appreciate dogs, you have to be willing to accept that they're a part of that person's life. In retrospect, when the guy I was dating said "Must love Dogs huh?", I was surprised but had quickly interjected that it should be "must tolerate". He had said that comment with no smile or in a joking manner, but more in an annoyed way.
So, I guess my point is that many people will say it, but when push comes to shove, they don't stand behind it.
Seeing The Positive
While it's disappointing to think that I won't meet another because they won't be tolerant of dogs, I just can't look at the situation that way. Instead, I look at my dogs as a detector of true dog lovers and posers. This guy turned out to be a poser. After the initial disappointment lifted, I'm better off without this person in the long run. Each person you meet that doesn't work out, brings you closer to the one person who does.
Let's Discuss!
Have you encountered a dog-loving poser in your dating trials and tribulations?
In the past week, there's been a story that's been in the forefront. Lennox, a 7-year-old Lab/Bulldog mix was seized from his home under the "Dangerous Dogs Law" in Belfast. The irony is there is no Pit Bull in him whatsoever. The owners had no choice but to let the government seize the dogs or they would face imprisonment themselves. Never mind that this dog has never been aggressive or acted inappropriately to another dog or human being. In fact, his purpose in life has been to serve as a therapy dog to the owner's young daughter.
The gall of the Belfast city government to step in and remove this dog without provocation is ignorance at its finest. This breed specific law does not give dogs the opportunities to be judged as individuals but rather be labelled with a group of dogs that no one wants to deal with. They have overstepped their bounds to uphold a law that's controversial to begin with. Little did they count on the willingness of the family to fight back.
The family created a website called SaveLennox.co.uk to help get back a dog that was taken away from them for no good reason. They also started a petition which has over 155,000 signatures to bring Lennox back to them. In addition they have a Facebook page, Twitter Page and other social media outlets to help them get the word out about this injustice.
Since he's been confiscated by the government, he's been forced to live in decrepit conditions and treated as a nuisance. One can only see the true effect of neglect. The dog in the video above was happy, playful and loved by his family. Lennox has been so stressed by his captivity, his hair has been falling out. The dog that you see in internet photos is lonely, neglected and abandoned by the same entity that is said to speak for the voice of the people. This time, their voice has a huge frog in its throat.
About Belfast
Belfast is a city of 305,000 people. Known for its civil wars, one thing that makes Belfast stand out is that the Titanic was built there. Ireland is known for its lush green land and that also applies to Belfast.
It Didn't Matter
On June 12th, Lord Justice Girvan of the Appeals Court upheld the death sentence by the lower courts. Many have speculated that this was the need to save face. I think if he judged in favor of Lennox, it would have greatly diminished the strength of a law that few believe in its merits as is.
Generally, governments are elected to represent the people as a whole. They fight for their beliefs. This time, the governments miserably failed. All they've proven is they have a huge ego and are not astute enough to see the forest through the trees. It didn't matter how their actions affected the people.
155,000 + signatures hasn't made a difference to them. Testimonials of famous dog trainers like Cesar Millan and Victoria Stillwell has fallen on deaf ears. The voice of the media is powerful when sensationalizing dog attacks but is unheard when it comes to celebrating the magnificence of dogs. Even an article where the First Minister of Northern Ireland had issues with this.
This goes to show how pride can wound as much as prevail. Is Lennox still alive? No one knows for sure. One thing I do know is that when I visited their site a couple of days ago, there was a timer that counted the amount of time that Lennox had been seized down to the very second. When I visited the website again, that timer is nowhere to be found. Either the website owners took it down voluntarily, were forced to do it because of the government or worse yet, was taken down because Lennox was euthanized.
Looking Forward
I only hope Lennox's life is spared. However, this situation has tainted a beautiful, modern city because of the actions of a weak-minded few that are in power. They chose to darken the line in the sand instead of looking at the fact that this situation blurred it for good reason. Many times, no one is to blame, but in this situation, that's not the case.
Earlier this month, I received a package from the cool folks at Cesar. They have made a new product called Cookie Crunchers. Instead of soft and chewy, these are crunchy. After using them testing them on my dogs, as well as the ones I walk, they are a runaway hit.
All three of my dogs love these. I also walk two small dogs who can be a little finicky when it comes to treats. They smell like beef and chicken not like a cookie.
Win The Chicken and Filet Mignon Flavors!
One lucky winner will get a chance to win these for your pooch. How to win? Please leave a comment below. Want an extra chance? Tweet the following on Twitter: I just entered Too Kool Doggies Cesar Cookie Giveaway! #TKD
Here are a couple of rules to remember:
Contest runs from June 14th to June 28th at 11:59p.m.
Only one comment per person. If you would like an extra chance you can tweet the sentence above.
Contest is limited to residents of the U.S. and Canada.
Recently, I came across an article about Maddie the dog. This English Coonhound is participating in a project by her owner where they photograph her every day in unique positions. It's part of the thiswildidea.com project where he meets one person a day for 365 days.
The idea of this is to connect dogs and physics. The pictures are very creative as you can see below. Maddie has a great deal of patience and really enjoys posing.
