How to STOP a DOG ATTACK in 3 Seconds - GUARANTEED!

This isn't the kind of thing we like to think about. But if you've ever been attacked by a dog, or had your own dog attacked by another dog, then you know that this is really good information to have:

Do Cats Really Rule?

Not everywhere, but in overall numbers, perhaps yes:

Where cats are more popular than dogs in the U.S.—and all over the world

We all know there are only two types of people in the world: cat people and dog people. But data from market research firm Euromonitor suggest that these differences extend beyond individual preferences and to the realm of geopolitics: it turns out there are cat countries and dog countries, too.

Here in the U.S., slightly more households own dogs than own cats. But Euromonitor’s numbers show that in terms of raw population, cats outnumber dogs to the tune of 2 million (the number is closer to 4 million, by the American Veterinary Medical Association's estimate). Why? One simple explanation is that cats are more compact. You can fit more cats in a house than you can, say, golden retrievers. (You can also geolocate a lot of them, which is fun, but entirely besides the point.)

At the state level in the U.S., cats outnumber dogs in the Northeast and Upper Midwest. Dogs are the favorite in the South and Southwest. The most dog-friendly state is Arkansas, where dogs outnumber cats 1.35-to-1. At the other end of the spectrum stands Massachusetts with 1.87 cats for every dog.

"A lot of that simply has to do with population density," Jared Koerten, a pet industry analyst at Euromonitor, said in an interview. "Many cities just aren't that dog-friendly."

[...]

World pet populations also appear to follow a few interesting—if inexplicable—trends. For one, highly developed countries, for reasons yet unclear, tend to have more balanced cat and dog populations. "Looking across all countries, there's a correlation between developed economies and balanced pet preferences," Koerten said. Brazil, as is turns out, has a strange affinity for small dogs—it has more small dogs per capita than any other country. [...]

Go to the original article to see the 10 top cat loving states, the 10 top dog loving states, and the countries around the world with their large differences. There is a color coded map of the states, and also a map of the world too.

     

Goodbye to Herbie, Last of the Spice Dogs

We took our 17 year old Chihuahua, Herbie, to the vet today, to be euthanized. His health had been steadily deteriorating, and this last week, rapidly so. He was in much pain, so it was the only kind choice, to end his suffering.

We had a group of dogs when we owned our restaurant many years ago. The first four were females, and we gave them all the names of spices, so we called them "The Spice Girls". Then we added one more dog, the only male. We named him Herbie (as in "herbs and spices"). Thereafter, the group was "Herbie and the Spice Girls". Here they are, at the height of their glory days:

In the above photo, Herbie is standing at the forefront. In the back, from left to right, is: Coriander, Saffron, Rosemary, and Marjoram.

Marjoram and Rosemary died while we were still living in San Francisco. The rest came to Oregon with us to live here on the farm.

Saffron died in 2007. Coriander died in 2011. Herbie, the last of the group, was also the last to go. We did a toast to him and the Spice Girls at dinner. It was the end of an era, and the end of a group that was (is and always will be) close to our hearts.

They are survived by our farm dog Digby, and our siamese cat, Smudgie, and 23 chickens and three ducks.

Here is how I'll always remember Herbie: leading Corrie and Digby in a charge attack on the Evil Vacuum cleaner:




Here is a photo of Herbie, when we adopted him from a dog rescue organization:

Here is probably the last photo I have of him, taken last summer:

He had a good long life. R.I.P. Herbie. May all of our Spice Dogs R.I.P.

Thanks for all your love. The world was a better place for having you here. And now Heaven is a better place for having you there.


   

The Actual Problem with Pit Bulls

I've seen numerous articles lately, extolling the virtues of Pit Bulls. Here is a prime example:

Pit Bulls: What's Hype, What's Not
Do pit bulls get a bad rap? Experts weigh in.

Doberman pinschers, rottweilers, and German shepherds topped lists of dogs some considered dangerous in the not-too-distant past.

These days, pit bulls often make headlines and it’s rarely good news. If it isn’t about an attack on a child or a shooting by police, it’s a tale of neglect or abuse. The heat of such reports has forged a frightening image of the pit bull as having a hair-trigger temper and a lock-jawed bite.

But pit bull advocates and some experts say the dogs get a bad rap. They say the dogs are not inherently aggressive, but in many cases suffer at the hands of irresponsible owners drawn to the dog's macho image who encourage aggression for fighting and protection.

Indeed, the ASPCA web site gives the breed an endorsement that could fit a golden retriever. It says, “A well-socialized and well-trained pit bull is one of the most delightful, intelligent, and gentle dogs imaginable.”

In general, pit bulls aren’t aggressive with people but are “less tolerant” of other dogs than many other breeds, says Pamela Reid, PhD, vice president of the ASPCA’s Animal Behavior Center in New York. They also have “great tenacity. They put their mind to something, and they do it. That’s what makes them great dogs for sports like weight pulling. They are very strong, athletic animals," Reid says.

Owning a pit bull should not be taken lightly. Some cities and towns have banned the breed. You also may face rising insurance rates or cancellation of your policy, difficulty renting, and the watchful eye of neighbors and passersby. [...]

The article goes on to give a detailed, realistic, balanced and fair assessment of the pros and cons of owning a pit bull. I don't disagree with it. I was a foster parent to a pit bull for a while, so I know what they are saying is true. They can be wonderful, wonderful dogs.

BUT. I've yet to see one of these articles mention an important fact.

People who have gotten out of prison and are on parole, are forbidden to own weapons like guns or knives. But they are allowed to have pets. So frequently, they get a pit bull, and train it to be aggressive and use it like a weapon, or at the very least, to intimidate people.

I make this observation as a landlord. It's not the dogs I object to, it's the owners. Yet as a landlord, I'm not supposed to discriminate, i.e., treat some tenants differently than others. I'm not allowed to say to one, "You are a responsible and kind person, so you may keep a pit bull." and then say to another, "You are an irresponsible and cruel person, so you may NOT keep a pit bull."

I have to treat them both the same, so as not to "discriminate". So the answer has to be to not allow either tenant to have them. Not because of the dogs, but because of some of the people. And the law (and my Insurance!).


Here is a pit bull story with a happy ending:


Daisy the dog recovering after Gresham rock quarry rescue, tired but happy owner says

Daisy's home.

On Wednesday morning, hours after the dramatic rescue of the 3-year-old pitbull mix from a deep Gresham rock quarry, she was still asleep in Tammie Johnson's Gresham home. Johnson let a giant yawn escape as she talked on the phone.

"I hardly slept," Johnson said. "I kept getting up during the night and just petting Daisy. It's so good to have her back."

On the Internet and national cable news, the world watched as Gresham firefighter Bob Chamberlin rappelled down onto a ledge in the Knife River Quarry at 1339 N.W. Eastwood Ave., and retrieved Daisy shortly after 9:30 p.m.

Johnson believes Daisy, missing for a week, became stuck on the ledge days ago. "She was so thirsty and hungry," the dog's owner said.

Daisy has a mischievous streak. For instance, the brown and white dog likes to walk a quarter of the way down Johnson's long driveway just to tease Johnson's other dog, a Rottweiler named Angel that gets excited at the sight.

"But she had never left the driveway," Johnson, 49, said.

Well, not until June 27 anyway. That was the night Johnson returned home from her job at Oregon Health & Science University's customer-service department to find Daisy missing.

Worried that the dog had been stolen, Johnson spent countless hours searching the eastern suburb, calling Daisy's name and hanging up fliers.

Gresham police, neighbors and the local animal shelter joined in, calling Johnson whenever they had a tip. At one point, Johnson said, the police took a pitbull mix from a homeless couple that they suspected was Daisy.

"It wasn't her," Johnson said.

Last Friday, Johnson was supposed to head to the ocean to spend time with family members. She told her husband to go without her. She wanted to be home if Daisy came walking up the driveway.

It was actually Johnson's daughter, Jennifer, who bought Daisy as a puppy. Johnson didn't know what to think of her daughter's new pet.

"We said, 'What are you doing? It's a pit bull,'" Johnson recalled. "We had watched the news. We weren't thrilled that it was a pitbull."

A few months later, Johnson's daughter, a mechanic with the Oregon National Guard, found out she was being sent to Iraq for a tour of duty in the waning war. She asked her mom if she would look after Daisy while she was gone.

"She was shipped off to Iraq," Johnson said, "and Daisy was shipped to my house."

The two bonded. When Johnson's daughter returned from the war, she saw that Daisy had settled in. Taking her away would be unfair. Jennifer Johnson told her mom to keep the dog.

After a week of unsuccessfully searching for Daisy, Johnson was "feeling devastated" on Tuesday. Then she received a phone call about 3:30 p.m. from a Multnomah County Animal Services worker saying Daisy had been located.

Johnson asked, Is she alive?

Yes, the caller reportedly told Johnson, "but she's in a bit of a pickle." [...]

The poor little snookie. But it's a good story, with a happy ending.
     

Orangutan and Hound Dog, Best Buddies

When Surya the orangutan meets a hound dog by the river, the two carry on like long lost friends.     

Corriander, our beloved Chug, is no more

She was a Chihuahua - Pug mix, so we called her a "Chug". She was 16 years old, which is something like 115 in dog years. She died one week ago tonight.

It was my ham radio night, when our radio net meets on the air. I always feed the dogs a little later on those nights. The net had ended, and I had prepared her food and was bringing it to her when I heard her yelping rapidly, in a panic. She was on her bed, with her head hanging over the edge, like she was trying to get up.

I put the food down and rushed to her, just in time to hold her while she died.

I think it was her heart. It didn't last long. I held her and stroked her and rubbed her ears and spoke the usual words of comfort to her, as the life left her body.

It was sad. And it sounds kinda awful, but it wasn't really. She died at home, in the hands of someone who loved her. And it was quick.

She was completely deaf, and almost completely blind. She slept most of the time.

Last year, she started to lose her mind, like a kind of doggie alzheimers. The vet put her on some prescription dog kibble, called "b/d" (for "brain diet"). It worked; she came back to us, mentally. But she continued to slow down physically.

I had to walk her on the leash, or she wouldn't walk with us. Toward the end, I carried her a lot. On that last day, I could not find her leash, so I had carried her most of the way through our walk in the woods.

At night she would poop and pee on newspapers I left out for her, because she couldn't manage the stairs anymore, or even the dog door. Lately she had stared to become careless about going on the paper; I was dreading having to take her to the vet to be put down, putting it off as long as I could. Now that won't be necessary.

I had hoped she would die quietly in her sleep. But perhaps she needed me to be there at the end. Anyway, that's how it played out. I was there.

Our other two dogs were there, watching. They understood.




She had a good long life. We had some fun times. I posted once years back about how she survived cancer, using natural treatments. She continued to enjoy life, even as she aged. As she slowed down, we made it easier for her.




We buried her in the garden, next to Saffron, our Boarder Collie - Aussie Shepard mix, whom she was very attached to. I planted blue daisies on top of her grave, so that when I say "Corrie's pushing up daisies now", it will be more than just a figure of speech.




Good bye, Corrie. You will always be my favorite Chug.
     

Lola the Dachshund's shocking story

The poor little beast! And what a shock for her owner:


Dog Found Alive in Massachusetts Apartment One Month After Devastating Fire

HYDE PARK, Mass.-- Fire destroyed Terisa Acevedo's apartment nearly one month ago. She was told that everything was gone, including her 2-year-old Dachshund named Lola.

But on Monday, when Acevedo, 24, went back to her apartment to tend to some business, she heard some scratching at the door, MyFoxBoston reports.

"I called out her name and she started crying. She's been in the house the whole time!" Acevedo said.

The amazing discovery led to a reunion that seemed impossible. Lola was found in the rubble of the apartment, which had been destroyed by fire. [...]

It says Lola's recuperating at an animal hospital now. She must have hid during the fire. Then to survive for a whole month, during a MA winter... the poor snookie. She's lucky to be alive.

This article says she went home today with her owner:

Lola, the miracle dog, reunited with owner

(NECN: Boston, Mass.) - A doctor at the MSPCA-Angell Animal Medical Center presented a healed-up Lola back to her owner on Thursday.

The veterinarian confirms Lola is in good health, but will be on a restricted diet for a few weeks while she gets completely back to normal. [...]

Follow link for video.
     

Dog story from Japan: Towa and Melody

Amidst much bad news, some small bit of good news:

Two Dogs Defy the Wave

ARAHAMA, Miyagi Prefecture—When the tsunami warnings sounded after the massive earthquake that struck Japan on Friday, Masaki Kikuchi sprinted upstairs to grab his sleeping 12-year-old daughter before racing away to escape the rushing waters.

In the backyard tied to a small shed, Mr. Kikuchi left behind two dogs: Towa, a two-year-old Sheltie and Melody, a one-year-old Golden Retriever. Mr. Kikuchi assumed the giant tsunami that flattened his neighbors' homes and whisked away their cars probably killed Towa and Melody too.

Koya Kikuchi, the 20-year-old daughter of Mr. Kikuchi, was riding the bus home from her job at a local restaurant. When the earthquake struck, a power line fell in front of the bus and passengers started filing out.

She rushed to her cousin's house, which was nearby. She asked her cousin to drive her back home because she wanted to go save the dogs that she had begged her father to get. Within a half-mile of her home, police stopped the car. They told Ms. Kikuchi that a tsunami was coming and she could not go any farther.

"I told my cousin that I was going to walk. She told me that I would die if I went," said Ms. Kikuchi. "I was crushed. I thought they were dead." [...]

But they weren't. Read the whole thing. Link has video too.
     

Mary Steenburgen's dead dog guides her from beyond the grave

Ok, I admit, it's more subtle than that!

I had some dental work done recently, and in the dentist's office was this issue of Guideposts magazine.

There was an article by Mary Steenburgen, about a much beloved dog she had had, and how she eventually came to get another to replace it.

The title I used for this blog post sounds like something from the National Inquirer, but the title Guideposts used was much more tasteful, and it's actually a pretty good story:

The Dog of My Dreams
Actress Mary Steenburgen knows that a dog can change your life. She's had two inspiring canine earth angels do just that!

My 12-year-old dog Lucy was lying under the kitchen table, one of her favorite spots.

She looked up at me with those intelligent eyes of hers—one blue, one brown—but I knew when she didn’t get up to greet me that the day I’d been dreading had come. I called the veterinarian, who’d taken good care of Lucy ever since I’d adopted her, and asked her to come over one last time.

I sat down on the floor next to her to wait for the vet, stroking her fur and thinking back on everything we’d been through together. Lucy was part Australian shepherd, part Queensland heeler. A rescue, so you could say I saved her life. Really, though, she saved mine. That’s why I thought of her as my angel here on earth.

When I met Lucy at the Humane Society, I was living with my two children in an old farmhouse in Ojai, a laid-back California town with paths made for strolling, gorgeous sunsets and mountains all around. Although I worked in Hollywood, I didn’t want my kids to grow up there. I wanted my daughter and son to have an upbringing more like my own back in Arkansas.

The farmhouse had a curvy staircase and on Christmas morning, I insisted the kids come down it with their hands over their eyes. “Okay, everybody, open your eyes!” I’d say. I loved to see them take in the presents, the tree, the lights…the wonder of Christmas.

It didn’t take Lucy long to fit into our family. She decided her job was to watch over us, like any good herding dog. She claimed certain spots—a particular section of the sofa, under the kitchen table, outside by the lavender, places where she could keep an eye on things. She snapped at bees and occasionally got stung. She even took part in our rituals, like coming down the stairs with the kids on Christmas morning (though she didn’t put her paw over her eyes).

One day I got home from grocery shopping and Lucy trotted out to the driveway to greet me. I walked slowly on the gravel because I couldn’t quite see around the bags I was carrying. All of a sudden Lucy blocked my way. I moved to the right to go around her. She blocked me again. [...]

Read the whole thing, it's a wonderful story. It made me a bit teary, not just because I love dogs, but because her dog Lucy, reminded me of my dog,
Saffron, who was also an Aussie Shepard Mix with one blue eye, that we rescued from the Dog Pound. I'm glad to see Mary did the same, and that her next one was a rescue, too. Bless her!


Also see:

Mary Steenburgen Loves Dogs

Mary Steenburgen's Tips for Positive Thinking
     

The Story Without a Word

Renewing Faith in the Human Race


UPDATE: Here is a link with the words, if you want the whole story:

The dramatic moment man scattering grandmother's ashes jumped off pier to rescue drowning dog

Each link has some photos that the other does not, so follow both links to see all the photos.
     

"Sabi", MIA military dog, found in Afghanistan

An American soldier knew Sabi was not a
stray when she responded to commands.
Dog back after a year MIA in Afghanistan

(CNN) -- An Australian special forces dog has been found alive and well more than a year after going missing in action in Afghanistan.

Explosives detection dog Sabi was recovered by a U.S. soldier who found her wandering near an isolated patrol base in the desolate southern province of Oruzgan last week, according to the Australian Government Department of Defense.

John, the U.S. soldier, who was identified only by first name, knew his Australian counterparts were missing an explosive detection dog. He knew immediately that Sabi was not a stray.

"I took the dog and gave it some commands it understood," he said.

When she disappeared, the black Labrador was nearing the end of her second tour of duty in Afghanistan. She went missing in September 2008 when insurgents ambushed a combined Australian, U.S. and Afghan army convoy. Nine Australian soldiers, including Sabi's handler, were wounded during the gunbattle.

Trooper Mark Donaldson, currently in the United Kingdom after meeting Queen Elizabeth, said Sabi's return closed a chapter of their shared history.

"She's the last piece of the puzzle," Donaldson said. "Having Sabi back gives some closure for the handler and the rest of us that served with her in 2008. It's a fantastic morale booster for the guys." [...]

I love happy dog stories. She still needs to be checked out for diseases though, before they will let her return. Most likely she will return. They are planning to award her some canine medals! Follow the link for video.


Also See:

Dogs welcoming home their soldiers


     

Dog has Kittens for Lunch

And breakfast and dinner, too. Here is a video I got in my email recently:



The cat and the leopard mommies in the video also make some interesting adoption choices: A fawn and a baboon.
     

Finally, the First Dog... from Ted Kennedy

So that campaign promise was fulfilled. The girls look thrilled:


A good choice, considering that allergies were a concern. They needed a dog with hair, not fur, which meant this breed, or a poodle. Poodles are great dogs, but as an image for the White House... they'd never hear the end of it.

Ted Kennedy is known for his love of Portuguese water dogs, so I guess it's not surprising that it should have come from him. I made a post a while back, mentioning the irony and bad taste of Kennedy naming his dog "Splash". He made a children's book featuring the dog.

Oh well. The Obama's would not have likely found a dog like that from a shelter. And they made a donation to a shelter anyway, a nice gesture. I must say, it looks like a nice dog.

     

Animal Odd Couple, Tara and Bella

I got this in my email, it made me teary.
     

Run, Bizkit, Run... but watch out for the...

Hat tip to Neal Boortz for the link.
     

Artificial voice synthesis, 1939 to the present

This is a neat AT&T commercial, which shows the evolution of artificial voices, intermixed with some Sci-Fi robot characters:



And just for fun, here's two more videos. First, Puppy V.S. The Robot:



The puppy had it easy. Here is a future with Robots that we definitely don't want:

The Best Dog Training Book I've Ever Read

And believe me, over the years I've read plenty of them. If I could only recommend one, this one, my favorite, would certainly be it:


The Dog Listener: Learn How to Communicate with Your Dog for Willing Cooperation

From Publishers Weekly
Standard dog training has long advocated the use of force choke collars, sharp smacks, harsh language. Fennell, a dog trainer in England for 30 years, wants to change all that. Expanding upon the theories of horse trainer Monty Roberts (the basis for The Horse Whisperer), Fennell believes one can best train dogs by emulating natural behaviors, that is, by treating them as they would treat each other in the wild. Her intelligent, straightforward and humane method has engendered controversy and increasing enthusiasm.

After Fennel's dog Purdey went manic, injured Fennell's young children and had to be euthanized, she was fearful of owning a dog again. Lured back into it by the pleasure of showing spaniels, she adopted a high-strung young shepherd, Sasha, and investigated alternative training methods. Fennell's simple and succinct method posits that domesticated dogs are confused, believing themselves to be the pack leaders, and humans their subordinates.

Fennell retrains dogs to accept a human as their alpha leader. She spurns the use of force, even in training language, employing instead a system of Pavlovian rewards. Those wanting true canine companionship will find Fennell's commonsense approach attractive and easy to apply with puppies as well as with older dogs. She addresses common problems, from separation anxiety to barking at guests to the mistrust of strangers that rescued dogs often harbor. Her knowledge and love of dogs is expansive and her concern for their well-being balances kindness and appropriate discipline. (Aug.)

I've found that dog training books tend to be dry at best; boring at worst. I wasn't looking forward to reading yet another one. But this one was different. The foreword in the book starts off with the dramatic and tragic story of "Purdey", the dog mentioned in the description above. She wanted to save her dog, but didn't know what to do.

We were facing just such a situation with our new dog, "Tippy".




Tippy's Tale
Tippy, a Border Collie-Labrador mix, had come with our new house; the original owners of the house were moving to a small apartment, and asked us if we would keep the dog. We already had three dogs; being dog lovers, we figured we could easily handle one more. We agreed.

At first I was thrilled; he seemed to be just the kind of dog I always wanted when I was a kid. But he was the first large male dog I had ever owned. He had been fixed, but he lacked the most basic training. He jumped up on people. He would frantically lick your hands whenever you tried to pet him. His former owners taught him to lick, because they thought it was cute. But worse still, they taught him other bad habits.

It seems his former owners didn't like our neighbors, and encouraged Tippy to bark at them whenever he saw them. Worse still, if he saw or heard the neighbors walking their own dogs on their own property, he would run onto their property and attack their dogs. I discovered this the hard way.

Worse still, no amount of shouting or yelling would get him to stop. I never had a dog before that would not stay when I told it, or not come back to me when I called it.

I worked extensively with Tippy, to get him to lay down and stay, and to come when I called him. But no matter how much progress I seemed to make, when he would see or hear the neighbors, it all went out the window; he would run and attack.

I didn't understand it. He wasn't a mean dog. He never injured the other dogs (two friendly golden retrievers), but it was a terrible drama every time. Our neighbors had every right to not be accosted by our dog on their own property.

Because I could not control Tippy, it seemed that he would always have to be kept locked up or tied up. That is no kind of life for a dog. I also wanted to get chickens, ducks and guinea fowls, and let them roam free-range. Having such a dog as this loose among them was out of the question.

I considered turning him in to the pound, but how could they adopt out such a problem dog? It looked like he would have to be euthanized.




By now I had become attached to him, despite the problems, and the idea of destroying him was heartbreaking. I searched the internet for an answer, an alternative, and found nothing very helpful. Then I found the above description of "The Dog Whisperer". I read the reviews posted by people who had read the book. It sounded like just the thing we needed!

I talked to Pat and Andy about it. They agreed it was worth trying, so I ordered the book. It was to be Tippy's last chance.

The book is an easy and enjoyable read. Author Jan Fennell tells the story of how she became involved in dog training, and how she eventually became the "dog whisperer", after understanding how to get dogs to obey her of their own free-will. She explains her methods in an easy and natural way; you understand why the methods work, as well as how to implement them.

At the time, we also had a female Aussie Shepard-Border Collie mix, a female chihuahua-pug mix, and a male chihuahua mix. I put them and Tippy through the Dog Listener's methods, and the results were quick and dramatic.

Basically Fennell's methods teach YOU how to be an Alpha Dog to your dogs. Once they acknowledge you as the Alpha, they are happy to let you take the lead, and willingly follow you and what you tell them.

I was so thrilled (and amazed!) the first time it happened. Tippy saw the neighbors on their property and went charging and barking after them, as usual. I called him back... and he did it! He deferred to me. And things only got better after that.

We've changed his name from "Tippy" to "Digby", and he's now a great, obedient, happy dog!

We also now have our barnyard fowls running free-range, and Digby gets along with them just fine. We have a dog run that I keep the dogs in when we are not outside with them or when we are away from home. Our big dogs had a nasty encounter with a porcupine once, which taught us to keep them locked up when they aren't supervised. I have left Digby outside alone with fowls for brief periods though, with no problems. He often waits on the porch for me until I come back outside. He likes to be told what to do.




The methods Fennell teaches are easy and they really work, if you apply them consistently. It's such a pleasure to have a dog that willingly obeys you.

Read the comments left on the Amazon website, from people who have used the book. Many people have had success with these methods. For obedience problems big or small, I highly recommend this book. It literally saved our dog.


Related Links:

The Greatest Threat the World Faces

The Dogs of War... [need good homes]

"It's a dog's life" And it looks pretty good

A Bagdad Puppy Rescue for a Soldier's Dog
     

More British Nonsense for the Holidays

Does this guy look like a criminal to you?


He will be if he shakes that can. He'll be arrested for "Religious Harassment".

After 130 years of fundraising, Sally Army told to stop rattling collecting tins because it might 'offend other religions'

[...] One collector told the Daily Mail: 'I've been doing this for more than 40 years and I fail to see how rattling a tin could cause offence. If I was shaking a tambourine I could do it all day - if I shake my tin, I could end up in court.'

The 'Silent Night' rattle ban manifested itself at the weekend in Uxbridge, West London, when musicians from two local branches performed outside a shopping mall.

(They were outside because traders complained last year they were too loud to play inside).

Tony Keywood, shopping with his wife Sheila, was among a crowd enjoying the carols and stepped forward to make a donation.

'I jokingly told them off for not shaking their tins,' said Mr Keywood, 78, a retired telecoms executive. 'They said they weren't allowed to do that in case it caused offence to other religions. They said they'd been told rattling a tin was considered to be intimidating.

'I don't know who makes up these rules but I suspect it will have something to do with human rights. I do feel Britain has lost its way on things like this.' [...]

Sheesh! Religious harassment? Where is Major Barbara when you need her?

How about this, for genuine religious harassment:

Blind man's guide dog barred from restaurant for offending Muslims

[...] Mr Elder-Brown was taking his girlfriend out to celebrate her birthday with her five year-old daughter last week when he was told he would have to leave his dog, Finn, tied up outside.

He showed a card issued by the Institute of Environmental Health Officers certifying he and his dog were allowed into any premises but an argument ensued and the owners threatened to call the police if he did not leave.

"It was humiliating and degrading, especially as there were a lot of people around me," he said.

"I was made to feel like a piece of dirt. They told me I couldn't come in because it was against their religious beliefs to have a dog in the restaurant.

"They then said I could leave Finn tied up outside. I stayed calm but when they threatened to call police I left."

He added: "It was horrible. It put a dampener on the whole celebration."

Under the Disability Discrimination Act it is illegal to refuse to serve a disabled person of give them a diminished level of service because of their disability. [...]

People are emigrating out of Great Britain in record numbers. Gee, I wonder why?
     

The Greatest Threat the World Faces

Would you believe that it's... the humble vacuum cleaner? I wouldn't, but Herbie, our chihuahua-dachshund mix, is convinced that it IS. But our other dogs aren't quite as convinced, they see HERBIE as the problem. Digby, our Border Collie-Labrador mix, likes to snap at Herbie while he snaps at the vacuum, while Corrie, our Chihuahua-pug mix, barks at both of them:



It was funny at first, but I dare not encourage it, because Herbie tries to tear the rubber bumpers off of the vacuum, or bite the plastic attachments. I'm afraid he will chip or break a tooth.

To get any real cleaning done, I have to kick them all out of the room first.

The quality of this video isn't as good after uploading it to blogger, and I don't know why; the original on my HD is quite good, but after uploading it, I see square patches, not as good resolution as the original.
     

In Japan: The Puppy with a Heart

From a recent email I received:

PUPPY LOVEA PUPPY has been born in Japan with a large, clear, heart-shaped pattern in his coat.



The Chihuahua was born in May as one of a litter to a breeder. Shop owner Emiko Sakurada said it was the first time a puppy with the marks had been born out of a thousand she had bred.



She had no plans to sell the puppy, which has been named 'Heart-kun'.



The long-coated male Chihuahua puppy was born in Odate (northern Japan).

I checked the story out on Snopes.com, and it seems it's true.

There are also videos about the dog on Youtube: