Yeah, I haven’t been posting a lot.  There’s no special reason; just focusing on reading cheap novels and working at the dog daycare where I’m spending most of my time these days.

Dogs are filthy creatures, by the way.

There are still a lot of things I want to talk about… I’m just having a hard time organizing them enough to write down.  Like the whole ‘purebred vs. crossbred vs. landrace’ thing.  And the Pedigree Dogs Exposed issues.  And there’s a whole shit-TON of books I have that I want to read and review.

Oh well, things will come as they may.  Have a picture of sleeping Tierce:

I'm so tired, my Shiba Mind Control Powers have failed to make regular blog posts.

Blog entries are dated from January 2010 to December 2011.  Blog posts include stories about some of the pets, weird customers and thoughts on the motives of people who buy dogs from pet stores.  One blog post goes over the pet store’s warranty for puppies.

I found the blog interesting and well-written – K9Trainer knows how to spell and how to form a coherent paragraph.  Blog posts were thought-provoking.  The comments on each post were few, but they often expanded on the discussion started by the blog post, so I found them also worth reading.

Despite the readability of the blog and the interest I felt in K9Trainer’s life with dogs, I can’t say that the blog changed my opinion on pet stores that sell animals.

I think that selling dogs in pet stores promotes irresponsible breeding and cruelty and no matter how nice the owners are and how much they like dogs. Choosing to buy puppies from puppy mills for resale does not help them.   ‘K9Trainer’s’ boss may have been a ‘softee‘, but he was still supporting an industry that thrives on breeding genetically unhealthy animals for sale to people who aren’t screened and not refused a dog if they are clearly unsuitable for dog ownership.

Reading this blog did raise my hackles up considerably – I appreciated K9Trainer’s candour (and that of the other blog contributor, ‘SaintTawny’, but the little bits of information that I got from the blog posts about where the dogs come from and their eventual fates made me very uncomfortable.  There was the Dane that was sold to ‘a really distasteful customer‘ (who fortunately returned him), the Puggle sold to a clearly unsuitable person (who also fortunately returned him) and the lies that K9Trainer has told to dissuade unsuitable potential dog owners from buying dogs.

The line that K9Trainer walked to provide the pet store dogs with the best care and find them the best owners seemed extremely fine.  K9Trainer did not appear to have much control over where the dogs went or a veto if someone who was not suitable for dog ownership wanted to buy one.

It bothered me that on one hand, K9Trainer seemed to feel that it was okay for the pet store to buy dogs from puppy mills and sell them to owners who may or may not be suitable, but on the other, K9Trainer clearly gives a damn about the dogs and wants the best for them.  My feelings while reading the blog were that I did not understand how someone could care about dogs so much – and it seems clear that this person does – and still be able to work in an environment that contributes to canine suffering (whether from being used as puppy production in puppy mills, the pain from debilitating genetic conditions or from owner mismanagement).

Even the ‘good’ breeders didn’t seem that great to me.  One breeder apparently came in every day to see his Beagle puppies in the store – if he was concerned enough to drive across the state to do this, why didn’t he sell them himself and screen the owners himself?  K9Trainer says of the pet store owner, “It’s hard to be mad at compassion” when describing his taking in of dogs and litters that would otherwise be abandoned and selling them ‘at cost’ (the cost of bringing them to sale condition essentially negates any profit from the sale).  However, I see no indication that he realizes that his purchase of puppy mill  and ‘backyard bred’ puppies is contributing to the suffering that he appears to be eager to alleviate.

At some points in this blog, comparisons with the pet store and rescues come up – often to rescue’s detriment.  Here, I believe that K9Trainer has a good point – many rescues are very exacting in their requirements for dogs, don’t screen prospective owners properly and some even are just profit driven.  When otherwise good owners are turned away solely because they don’t have a fenced yard, there’s something wrong.  However, I don’t believe that the fact that some rescues are too strict, poorly and/or unethically run means that pet stores are somehow doing something ‘right’ by providing badly bred puppies to ignorant buyers.

In conclusion, I urge TMS readers to check out this blog.  It is certainly worth reading and provides a ‘behind the scenes’ look at some of the pet store activities behind that puppy in the window.  K9Trainer appears to be a person who cares about dogs and is moving on to better things in the vet office that treats the pet store puppies.  The blog seems to be on hiatus for now, but it has experienced gaps between posts before, so you might see more from this writer in the future.

If 'typey' means 'fatass', sure.

However, we don’t have enough money to donate to rescue.  I need more money for more chocolate, Mischa needs more money for weird SCA weapons and Tierce needs to pay a lawyer to sue us for libel.

However, I do have a computer, a scanner and a graphics program.  I have several stores on Cafepress and Zazzle.  I have a PayPal account and, by Dog, I know how to use it.

Simply put, I netted $100 for rescue with stuff that most people already have in their homes.

If you want to donate to rescue, you don’t have any money and you’re in the habit of doodling, you can still donate to rescue!  Scan a picture, play with it in GIMP (free image editing software!) and pop it up on the hundreds of items that Cafepress, Zazzle and other businesses of this type offer for sale.

This is one of my stores.  There are more out there.  Now that I’m starting to make more money through them, I can afford to give more money.  (Yeah, yeah, sometimes I have to be reminded with pathetic pictures of Shibas in need.)

Unfortunately, I’m too lazy/busy right now to start a Doodle Donate campaign.  I just had a burning need for a tile with Shassi’s name on it.  This has got to be her penultimate laugh; 2 years after she died, I am still spending money on her.  (The ultimate laugh is that I got hooked on Shibas because of her.  Shassi, you’re still a bitch.)

And I'm still laughing.

This picture was basely stolen from NW Shibas4Life Rescue's Facebook page because they said 'Share'. So I said, "WELL, I guess I'll just use this to show people that I know how to save a picture off of the Internet!" And because she looks so sad...

It was partly because we saw a photo of Mama on the site and read her unhappy story (she needs $890 for an operation to fix her hip – more info on the Facebook page) and only $220 has been raised so far.

It was also because we heard that VancouverShiba.com had raised $250 for Shibas4Life earlier this year and we were all like, “Wow, we can’t have them forgetting about Vancouver Island down there in Oregon.  You know, because we’re, like, important.”

He means it, too.

The Shiba with his lawful prey.

Me:  So it says that Shibas are the most wolflike of all dogs.

Tierce:  Really.

Me:  Yep.  You’re as genetically close to a wolf as it’s possible to be without actually breeding with one.

Tierce:  If you’re expecting me to hunt for the dinner table, you’re going to be sadly disappointed.

Me:  It’s just an interesting fact.

Tierce:  Well, you’re interested in all sorts of boring shit.

Me:  Says the dog who thinks it’s a delicacy.

Tierce:  Don’t knock it til you’ve tried it.

Me:  You are disgusting.

Tierce:  Shaking your fist at me will not change my opinion.

Me:  I’m not shaking my fist at you!  I’m suppressing my gag reflex.

Tierce:  Like that’ll do anything.

Me:  You know, genetic similarity works both ways.

Tierce:  And?

Me:  Well, like wolf behaviour reveals interesting facts about dog behaviour, your behaviour reveals fascinating things about wolf behaviour.

Tierce:  Such as?

Me:  Wolves are assholes.

Mischa:  The only argument we have is whether we’re kicking the dog enough.

Me:  We don’t kick the dog.

Mischa:  That’s what I mean; we’re just not kicking him enough.

Tierce:  Am I allowed to weigh in here on the whole dog-kicking thing?

Me:  Well, zero is technically a score that could be improved on- wait.  We’re not kicking the dog just to confirm your theory.

Tierce:  IX-NAY ON-WAY UH-THEY OG-DAY ICKING-KAY.

Mischa:  Is this one of the things that other people argue about regarding their dogs?

Me:  No.  Wait, there’s a top 20 list.  Hmm. Oh, here’s number 6.  ”Being too harsh on the dog.”  That would apply.

Tierce:  Does the article make any definitive statements concerning recommendations against kicking dogs?

Me:  Nope, actually they recommend it.  It’s a perfect training tool, they say.

Tierce:  That’s a lie!  Let me see that!

Me:  Okay, it actually doesn’t say anything about animal abuse.  But I’m sure that I could find a place on the Internet where puppy-booting is an approved and even a religious practice.

Tierce:  You can find any kind of bullshit on the Net if you look long enough.  Look at this piece of crap from ScienceDaily where they talk about a study saying dogs read humans’ intentions?  Why the hell would I pay attention to a video of some asshole pointing at a dogdamned pot?  Speaking of crap, I need to take a walk.

Mischa:  Hon, do you mind taking him out this time?

Me:  That’s number 2.

Tierce:  Exactly.

Me:  No, that’s number 2 on the list.  Who should walk the dog.  Big arguments there.

Mischa:  Well, what’s number 1?

Me:  What to do with the dog during a vacation.

Mischa:  We mostly take him with us.

Tierce:  Let’s take a vacation right now!  Outside.  Where I can, you know, argue number 2?

Me:  And number 3 is whether the dog should be allowed on the beds.

Tierce:  Good luck arguing that one.  I’ll be plastered miserably to the door if anyone needs me.

Mischa:  We don’t seem to argue a lot about the dog.

Me:  No, doesn’t seem like it.

Mischa:  Well, you did get on me about feeding him at the table.

Me:  That’s number 10.

Mischa:  Mostly, though, we’re okay.

Me:  Yeah.  Anyway, I’ve got to get to work on this blog post.

Mischa:  Before you do, can you take the puppy out?  I’m kind of tired.

Me:  Dammit, I really need to get this done!

Mischa:  Just this one time?  After all, he’s YOUR dog.

Me:  Number 14!  You’re the one who spoils him.  That’s number 17!

Mischa:  That says humanising.  I don’t spoil him!

Me:  Close enough!

Tierce:  Are you two having a fight?

Typically, it took forever just to get this photo.

His owner identified him as a Shiba Shar Pei cross and, while it might be hard to tell from the photos (it was getting dark and my iPhone camera was getting cranky), he did look like he had Shiba in him. Scary, huh?

"I'm only standing still because I'm listing all the better things I could be doing at this moment."

http://www.fidocastingcall.ca/dogs/178

Tierce: What is this?

Me: Oh, just the latest Fido Casting Call blog post.

Tierce: It’s done.

Me: Don’t be so negative.

Tierce: I’m not being negative; it’s over.

Me: You see? You lose a few hundred spots and you get all pouty.

Tierce: No, I mean the contest is over.

Me: Maybe for you, but not for me.

Tierce: The. Fido. Casting. Call. Contest. Is. Over. As in ‘it’s finished’. As in ‘we’ll announce the winners soon’. As in ‘Thank Dog it’s over and you aren’t going to be dressing me up in an Elvis suit, just to have another excuse to post that Dogawful link everywhere.’

Me: Elvis suit… hmmm, good idea. I wonder where I could buy one of those. Too bad you didn’t mention this before the Halloween sales were over.

Tierce: Are you even listening to me?

Me: …then there’s Barry Manilow, but I don’t think anyone would recognize the costume…

Tierce: THE CONTEST IS OVER. MY FOOD DISH IS EMPTY. I COULD USE A TRIP TO THE DOG PARK. Any one of these basic facts can be the impetus for you to change your life, make it into something useful instead of into something pathetic.

Me: Do you think you could hold still if I buried you in those plastic playpen balls? Because that would be an awesome picture. People would certainly vote for you if they saw you like that.

Tierce: Kill me. I want to die. Life is not worth living any mo- hey, that’s smoked salmon. You never told me that you had smoked salmon. Why am I not having smoked salmon?

Me: Mischa’s dad brought it when he passed through on his way to Victoria. Hey, maybe we could take a picture of you with some sushi! That would be cute.

Tierce: You’re an idiot.

Me: What?!

Tierce: I said, ‘you’re an idiot’.

Me: The contest is over! I just went to your page and it’s over!

Tierce: You know what? I give up. I try to tell you things and you never listen to me and I try and give you good advice and you never heed it. Why do I even bother talking to you?

Me: Oh, so you can dish it out, but you can’t take it.

Tierce: I can take things. I can be taken out for a walk, for example. Forget about the stupid contest; you didn’t even post about it regularly in November. Your subconscious obviously was working on you to stop while you still could. It’s over now and we can return to our happy lives.

Me: Well, there’s always other contests.

Tierce: Oh, Dog, no.

Me: Do you think we could find a Smurf costume that would fit you?

Tierce: Do you think the SPCA or animal shelter has room for me? Maybe you could just let me run loose in traffic. It would save us all a lot of pain and heartache.

Me: You know what would be really awesome and cute? A kimono! You’re not the right gender, but after we finish tying the obi, who would know?

Tierce: That’s it! I’m jumping the fence at the dog park and sneaking on board the next ferry to the Mainland. Hopefully a coyote will eat me before you subject me to these tortures.

Um, well, never mind.

THANK YOU!!! To everyone who voted for Tierce and promoted him while he was in this contest!