Happy SpayDay USA!

That’s not exactly what he used to say, but to Bob, every day should’ve been Spay Day.  What is Spay Day, you ask (if you’re not involved with a rescue, shelter, or vet clinic sponsoring a program today)?  It’s a collaboration of the Doris Day Animal Foundation and the Humane Society of the United States to promote spaying and neutering to stop animal overpopulation.

There are a lot of homeless pets in this country.  Preventing unwanted litters can go a long way to save lives - your pet will likely have a longer, healthier life; adult dogs in shelters will have a chance at getting a home and keeping their home if they are perceived as less disposable; and, contrary to popular belief, not every puppy gets adopted.

Even “wanted” litters need to be reconsidered.  To put it plainly, there are way too many dogs who need homes to breed just because you think your dog is cute or special or you think you’ll make money off of it.  There will likely always be breeders out there, but unless you are truly an expert on your breed and committed to perfecting it, and you help rescue the less-than-fortunate members of your breed, you really have no business even considering letting  your dog go on a date.

Pit Bull Rescue Central offers low-cost spay/neuter options for pit bulls every day at: http://www.pbrc.net/speuter.html.  That link also has some good info on why you should speuter your pet, including bits of wisdom such as “Accidents happen! Dogs don’t wear condoms.” (If that one is new information to you, please contact me…we need to talk…).

 What can we humans do to celebrate SpayDay? 

If your pet is not already spayed or neutered, make an appointment!  If your pet is already spayed or neutered, give yourself a pat on the back and consider making a donation to your local shelter and/or group providing low-cost spay/neuter programs.  You can find out more about today’s activities at www.spaydayusa.org.  Beyond that, I’m open to ideas on how to celebrate…

I’ve introduced myself and my fictional dog. Here are my real dogs and cats, who have done their part to inspire critter characters in my stories and generally keep life interesting.

It’s almost like one of those Animal Planet’s Most Extreme match-ups: America’s most feared vs. its most beloved. Now, if we were going to compare the two breeds using something standardized - like, say, the American Temperament Testing Society’s uniform temperament test that they use to test thousands of dogs every year - how would they match up?

In the 2006 round of tests (with results similar to the preceding years), the three breeds that are commonly lumped into the “pit bull” group (American Pit Bull Terriers, American Staffordshire Terrier, and Staffordshire Bull Terrier) had a passing score of 84.1%.

Golden Retrievers passed at a rate of 83.8%.

So what are people afraid of?  That extra .3% of licking power? Granted, I’ve had some pit bull encounters where I wish I had a snorkel, but I don’t think that’s cause for the hysteria surrounding the dogs.

There were lots of breeds that scored significantly lower than pit bulls, but I won’t name names because this isn’t about villainizing any other breed (including Golden Retrievers). This is just another example about how the things we should be considering when rationalizing fears and passing laws are completely ignored. Instead, people turn to hearsay and the media, which, more often than not these days, is basically just  hearsay with a production budget.

You can check out the test results yourself www.atts.org.  You can find more info on pit bulls on my links page.

Oscar, the pit bull main character of my novel, is on Dogster (just click the link in the sidebar, on my links page, or on my blog intro page).

A big thanks to my dog model and his owner!

Welcome to My Blog!

Hi.  It’s likely that you already know who I am because you got here from my website and read my bio, or at least a few words of the homepage.  Or maybe you just thought my dogs were cute and accidentally clicked the blog link (Note: This is the human blog.  You can find the dog blog on Dogster)…or you’re here because you’re a loyal friend.

By this point, you might be thinking “What does she have to say that’s blogworthy?”

Well, there will be two main themes to my blog: writing (the process, my progress, tips and info) and dogs (rescue issues, particularly with pit bulls because they are the most misunderstood, but other dogs, dog behavior and training will make an appearance).  I’m sure my cats will also have supporting roles, as well as whatever else I’m in the mood to share on any given day.  Don’t be afraid…I’m not the type who uses internet anonymity to overshare awkward personal information.

I won’t pretend like this will never be a ranting kind of blog since both writing and dog rescue are often frustrating, but my intention is to provide interesting information and updates rather than self-indulgently using this as a substitute for binge drinking or banging my head against the wall.

I hope you find my entries interesting, even entertaining.  Have something you’d like to learn more about?  Okay, that’s a little too open-ended – I don’t really have anything to tell you about the mysteries of quantum physics or making soufflés.  To narrow it down, if you want to know what I know about writing, the publishing process, pit bulls, dog rescue, dog training/behavior, cat behavior, or similar issues, feel free to drop me an email and I’ll try my best to post an answer.

Happy reading, writing, and dog walking!