Help Doc win a Paco Collar

OK, this is pretty shameless, but here it is:

The good folks over at Paco Collars in Berkeley, Calif. are holding a contest. Post your dog's photo on their Facebook page and tell them who your dog was most likely to be in his or her high school yearbook (biggest flirt, most likely to succeed, etc.) and get your friends, relatives and vague acquaintances to "like" your photo. He with the most "likes" wins. Isn't that what Facebook is all about?

Well, Doc's certainly not most likely to succeed, unfortunately, nor is he the A student or the best dressed.

He is, however, a good fit for class clown.

Here's the photo I entered of him:



And here's the link to go vote for Doc on Facebook.

See, Tucker already has a collar from Paco Collars. Doc does not. And he's very, very jealous, so he wants one of his own. And since I just spent the equivalent of a year's worth of dog food having a sock removed from Doc's innards, I'm not really eager to splurge on one for him right now. Maybe if Doc wins one, I'll invest in one for Button. I can't have anyone thinking I play favorites with my dogs. Even though everyone knows I love Tucker best. I mean Button. I mean Doc.

Saginaw, Mich: BSL would regulate 10 breeds

Breed-specific legislation: It's not just for pit bulls anymore.

Officials in Saginaw, Mich. are considering a proposal that would affect 10 breeds of dog:

Pit bulls, Rottweilers, German shepherds, huskies, Alaskan Malamutes, Doberman Pinschers, Chow Chows, Great Danes, St. Bernards, and Presa Canarios are all on the list.

According to Bless the Bullys, the Saginaw City Council will discuss the proposal at its Feb. 21 meeting.

Dog left to die in NYC snowstorm needs home

The story of this pit bull has been making the Facebook circuit today.

I don't usually post pleas for help on here, because I know that there are hundreds of them sent out every day for dogs in need of homes (especially pit bulls), but I highlight this one for two reasons:

1. This dog was left chained to the Williamsburg Bridge in the midst of a major snowstorm. I know people are cruel, but how cruel do you have to be to leave your poor dog chained to a bridge to die in the freezing cold? There's a special place in hell for a person like that.

2. The post is actually pretty realistic and informative. People don't seem to realize that there are so few places for stray pit bulls to go. There are no "farms" for them where they can live out their days frolicking in fields until a "forever" home comes along. Most no-kill shelters don't want them, because there are just so many of them looking for homes and they tend to sit and sit unadopted (and taking up kennel space) and they really do need to be more carefully placed than other dogs.

My friend brought the dog to his office and spent the entire day making calls, not realizing how hard it is to find a home for a pit bull. Something like 1 in 800 rescued pit bulls find homes, and as far as I can tell, no “no-kill” shelter will accept them. I offered to take the dog for the night, since I live closer to my buddy’s office than he does.

Once she's unable to stay with this good samaritan, this dog's going to the regular animal shelter ... the one that'll probably have to put her down after a few days as a stray hold, because they're already inundated with unwanted dogs.

Happy Thursday.

If you're in NYC and you think you can help, click the quotes or links above and you'll be directed to the blog where this dog is posted.

Teen who burned pit bull arrested for new crime

People who remember this story about Phoenix, the pit bull who was burned almost to death on a street corner in Baltimore in 2009, might be interested in learn that one of the boys charged with the crime was recently arrested again. This time for attempted murder.

The boys were supposed to go to trial for the Phoenix case this month.

It really can't hurt to make the connection again: Kids who abuse animals do tend to move up the food chain, so to speak, to abuse humans. This is an issue that really needs to be taken seriously.

You should never neglect a blog

Because they do have lives of their own, which continue in your absence, unless you kill them completely.

I signed on today, after a long hiatus (trying to, you know, get my new life together), and found that I have 45 new comments on old posts and a bunch of updates on things I could have (and should have) written about while I was tending to other stuff.

So, I'm back. And wondering if the title of this blog still makes sense, since we no longer live in Baltimore. I won't sweat it for now.

Quick updates:

Doc made a new friend down here:



But then Doc got sick, and we had to cancel his playdates. Turns out Doc ate a sock (whole) and we had to have it surgically removed from his innards.



He's still recovering.

In other news, the boys are still cute.



Button is still worried. And losing more teeth.



And Rob turned 38. I'm not too far behind him.



Now, let's see if I can get this thing rolling again. So much news, so many things to talk about. More on that later.