Hold on to what is good even if it is a handful of earth.
Hold on to what you believe even if it is a tree which stands by itself.
Hold on to what you must do even if it is a long way from here.
Hold on to life even when it is easier letting go.
Hold on to my hand even when I have gone away from you.
- Pueblo Blessing
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Friday, May. 06, 2005 - 3:39 a.m.
WARNING!!!! if you know me personally, you may read my diary, but if you do, you take the chance of hearing things you don't want to know, misunderstanding what I've written and being hurt by it. If you are unsure if it is ok to read, save yourself and me the grief and heartache, and ask first!!! Please note that this is a DIARY, ie my subjective feelings, hearsay, suppositions, and outpourings of ranting of the moment. It does not represent objective news, the whole of what I think of a topic or someone, or even a thought-out representation of any of the above. Keep that in mind. Thanks. * Here is a Diary Etiquette Read Me.
ANOTHER dog rant
OK it seems I have gone from bashing rats (yes, pet rats make excellent and wonderful pets. Don't let them near your baby hamsters though if you don't feed your rats enough protein. Rats need protein) to bashing terriers.
Sorry. I bring up the terriers past life regressions since that seems to be the number one reason for people saying, without knowing me, my dog, or indeed St Bernards in general "that dog is too big, you should have a small dog". They say that St Bernards were bred to climb in the mountains.
Yes, and Inuit were bred to cross the Arctic. And the Greeks were bred to live on rocky little islands with incredibly blue sea and lots of fishing and olive oil. Blacks were bred to live in Africa... which of course covers about 700 different ecosystems, none of which resemble downtown montreal apartments. White Northern European people were bred to live with fleas and um, who knows. Suck up every one else's foods and cultures as soon as they were introduced, since they were so hard up? hehe. OK White Northern American people still do that.
Though they have managed somehow to export the swedish meatball everywhere via Ikea.
But back to dogs. St. Bernards are supposedly only supposed to live with the monks in the alps where, ironically, they have been deemed caninis non grata, and the monks have tried to sell them off.
In fact, did you know that one reason there are so many longhaired St Bernard pets is that the long haired ones were ALWAYS persona non grata in the Swiss Alps saving people?? Yes. They had problems with the St Bernard breed and they nearly died out, so they bred them with Newfoundland dogs (one reason why Saints and Newfs look so similar in profile), but the long Newfie hair, although somewhat shorter on Saints, picked up the snow in huge hanging globs and icicles (I have to dig them out from between my dogs toe pads since they form on the long hair between her toes and she can't walk), weighing them down so they cannot save anyone.
So every longhaired Saint you see is by definition NOT GOOD FOR THE SWISS ALPS IN WINTER SNOW. Strange no one ever tells me my dog is made to save lost sailors in Atlantic Canada, which would be equally the truth to the Alps thing.
But yeah, they are supposedly bred for that reason, and that place, and therefore, I should have a small dog like a little terrier. To which I reply, small little terriers were bred to kill rodents and small omnivores in holes in the ground (des terriers dans la terre).
It is NOTHING specific I have myself against terriers. It is a reply to their suggestion.
Like if every time you drank coffee, people gave you shit and told you you shouldn't drink tea cuz coffee has caffeine. Well, if that happened three times a day at your coffeebreak, wouldn't you start in on "tea has just as much caffeine coffee!!" non??
Not that you have something against drinking tea, but when it is pushed on you constantly as the GOOD choice, the INTELLIGENT choice, the REASONABLE choice, the choice that landlords would RENT to you choice, wouldn't you begin to point out that perhaps it has its failings too... or that indeed if they could tolerate the caffeine in tea, and the insane territorialness of terriers, they could tolerate your choice of caffeine in coffee or the largeness of st bernards???
My point is not that terriers or bad, or that rats are bad or that anything else is bad.
My point is that if your bred to do something other than walk in a plaid coat in the city terrier is a fine choice, well so is my bred to do something other than walk in a plastic garbage bag in the city St. Bernard.
Thankyou.
And jeesh. I do NOT walk up to strangers everyday and tell them their choice of dog, cat, child, boots, whatever is bad. But people seem to think that they have a godgiven right to tell me that the animal I have lived with for 9 years is not ok.
And it makes me annoyed.
Really. Every day.
"you have that dog in an APARTMENT??!!" "You have that dog in the HOUSE??""
do you think I have ONCE IN MY ENTIRE LIFE said such a thing to a terrier owner? Even a barking hopping up and down, wants to kill every animal that passes by its house (they are usually much nicer in the park, but are really territorial in the house) terrier that I see every day owner? No I do not.
I smile and nod and patiently say oh yes little floofloo looks nice in her new plaid jacket, while the owner says "pooky wooky floofloo stop barking barking barking barking at that large dog, she could eat you alive, please pooky wooky floofloo stop barking please stop barking, that doggy isn't doing anything, oh she has problems with large dogs, and small dogs and squirrels and cats and mailmen and my boyfriend if I"m not home, but oh, floofloo that's it. You won't stop barking so you have to go into the house".
And do I say "you have THAT DOG in an APARTMENT?!!" "why don't you get a BIG dog?"
I do not.
So they can effin stop bugging me and I won't retaliate any more at all. I will not say any more against the little effin dogs that people want to push on me, and landlords want to rent to. I will smile and nod and smile and nod and keep quiet. If they keep quiet to me.
End of rant.
So no more "all dogs have their qualities".
I KNOW!!
EVERY sort of dog has its place. Dominant ones and submissive ones. Some chihuahas are well-trained good dogs that fetch tennis balls (believe me, I saw it, running with dalmations and rotweilers and black labs... impressive). Some Saints are viscious agressive hyperactive antisocial dogs. I have nearly had my head eaten off by one... yes by a nasty attacking barking mean St bernard.
But my question was not "why have such a huge dog in the city" it was "why isn't that dog properly socialized and trained?". The answer was because the idiot woman thought that he'd "grow out of it" and "she likes him to be protective of her car". Not because he should be in the Swiss Alps.
Oh dear, I promised the end of the rant and i am still ranting. ok. I will write a new entry of a different topic.
But yah, I am levelheaded and sensible and will give a fair hearing to any and all animals.
thankyou.
wenchie
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previous meanderings - future past
Goodbye Michael. May your next life be kinder to you. - Thursday, Jun. 25, 2009
Taking Care of Your Cows - Thursday, Jun. 25, 2009
Saint Joseph robs the cradle and eats spaghetti - Sunday, Jun. 14, 2009
sticky notes and broken irises - Friday, Jun. 12, 2009
The FOODCOMMANDER - Monday, Jun. 08, 2009
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