Writer Shaming

The concept of dog shaming, or the act of photographing your dog after she has done something terrible with a sign around her neck explaining what she did, is now the current 15 minutes of fame deal on the Internet.  Not only does this result in hilarious dog photos, but it's also something we can all relate to - if we don't have a dog that's done something similar, chances are we know someone who does. Here are some of my favorite examples:

However, it occurred to me that us writers have some dirty little secrets we ought to fess up to as well.  So, here's to Writer Shaming.  I've started with a few of my own.  Please feel free to submit your public shaming as well :)

Pet Owner's Bingo

Yesterday, I came across this Huffington Post Books blurb about Reading Bingo for 2013.  Originally from Random House Canada, this nifty little Bingo board is a little something different - I've never seen such a thing before.  Here it is, for your printing and Bingo-playing pleasure:

Now, after seeing this, I thought surely us pet owners should join in the fun, too.  So, while sitting in traffic yesterday, I've made you all a lovely Pet Owners Bingo board:

So, have fun, kids! Have a great weekend!

The Yellow Dog Project

A few weeks ago, I visited my parents in Connecticut.  My parents share their home with an 11 year old yellow Lab named Phoenix.  As a Labrador, Phoenix has a heart of gold.  As a geriatric Lab, Phoenix has a plethora of health problems: extensive osteoarthritis, some suspect degenerative neuropathy, lipomas, a locally invasive connective tissue sarcoma, and laryngeal paralysis.  This last issue resulted in a permanent tracheostomy just before Christmas (we lovingly call it her "blow hole"). 

Phoenix before her permanent tracheostomy

Phoenix after

I accompanied Mom to one of Phoenix's re-check appointments during my visit.  While standing in line waiting to pay the bill, an ad on the bulletin board near the checkout desk caught my attention: The Yellow Dog Project. 

Checking out their website when we got home, I came upon a brilliant grassroots movement amongst knowledgeable, compassionate, and proactive dog owners.  This project tackles the challenge of owning a, as the website puts it, "dog who needs some space".  This relatively broad category is somewhat vague for a reason: it encompasses many different types of dog situations and personalities. 

"Dogs who need some space" can include dogs recovering from a medical procedure, handicapped dogs, dogs undergoing rehabilitation or training, and dogs that just, you know, don't really want strangers all up in their business.  Owners of such dogs know exactly what I'm talking about.  My dog Shadow falls into this last category.

My girl Shadow

Shadow, a 10 year old black Lab mix is from a whole different personality universe than Phoenix.  Whereas the Pheener Beaner has a smile to share with the world, Shadow can be fear-aggressive.  When we walk in the woods and her unleashed canine counterparts bound down the trail to greet us, well, Shadow doesn't want to especially say "hi" and join in the fun.  A common conversation that then follows goes something like this:

Other dog owner: "Don't worry, she's friendly!"
Me: "Well, mine's not!"

This usually results in the other dog owner scrambling to gather his/her companion on the leash and out of our way and, I will note, occasionally give us a dirty look.

Enter the Yellow Dog Project.  The idea is simple: if you have a dog like Shadow, or a dog that fits into the broad category of "dog who needs some space", tie a yellow ribbon (NOT around the ol' oak tree) around the dog's leash in plain sight, giving a visual clue to other dog owners that your dog doesn't want to or can't play or otherwise interact with strangers.  Pretty neat, right?

Not quite what I'm talking about here. Unless this tree "needs some space".

The only problem here is this project requires a two-way street.  If I tie a ribbon on Shadow's leash but no one knows what this ribbon means, then it's a pointless exercise.  Hence, today's blog.  I'm here to shout from the rooftops about this awesome idea and strongly encourage everyone to pass it along.  The website has tear sheets to download and print off at your convenience - please do so and hang them up in your vet clinics, at the groomers, at the kennel, at dog shows, at your stable, even on your refrigerator.  I wish they made bumper stickers for this. 

My only question is: if I start also wearing a yellow ribbon myself, will people get the same message?

For the Love of Cat Videos

Just a quick late-week pop in here to share something I encountered in my swim through the internet ether the other day.  Am I the only one in the world who wasn't aware of the first annual Internet Cat Video Film Festival held last August!?

This contest, hosted by the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, MN, encouraged people to submit their goofy, funny, zany cat videos for a shot at coveted internet immortality.  The winner was a haut black and white ditty titled, "Henri: Paw de Deux".  Very sophisticated indeed.  I can see how it beat the plethora of videos of kittens riding on top of Roombas.

I'll be sure to mark my calendar for the 2013 deadline.  I have actually directed and produced a little cat video myself a few years back.  This summer, it just may be time to retrieve it from the depths of YouTube home video sludge, dust it off, and bring it out for the world to see.  But perhaps I'll give you guys a sneak preview.

Some background: the star of the video is my cat Scabs.  She's about a million years old with a chronic but maintainable and non-painful skin condition of unknown origin (which is a nice way of saying she's half bald).  One tip: if you abhor the Pussycat Dolls, this may not be the video for you.

Scabs: The Lost Pussycat Doll

2012 in Review - Vets and Writers

Happy 2013!!! I'd like to take a reflective step back today and visit some of the juicy stuff the animal and literary niches showed the world in 2012.

Noteworthy Vet Stuff 2012:

• Summer 2012 Olympics: Every four years the world is exposed to the beauty, athleticism, and partnership of three equestrian sports: jumping, dressage, and three-day eventing.  Germany and Great Britain dominated the majority of the three sports in both individual and team competition. 

• Winner of the 2012 Westminster Dog Show: "Malachy" the Pekingese.

• Uggie, a handsome Jack Russell terrier won multitudes of adoring fans with his performance in the movie "The Artist".

• Tardar Sauce AKA the Grumpy Cat meme becomes an Internet sensation:

• HBO ends the filming of its new series "Luck" after three horses die. 

• A prominent Tennessee Walking Horse trainer was convicted of animal cruelty after video evidence showed various acts of soring and other methods of abuse at his barn, drawing national attention.

• The US's fourth case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) AKA Mad Cow disease found in a cull dairy cow in California.

• FDA issued a draft guidance on the voluntary withdrawal of antibiotics for production purposes in food animals.

• The once-mysterious cause of the lethal white nose syndrome in bats was found to be fungal.

Noteworthy Literary Stuff of 2012:

• The Encyclopedia Britannica goes all-digital and stops printing bound volumes.

• The Pulitzer Prize board decided not to award a prize for fiction.

• A Navy SEAL involved in the raid that killed Osama bin Laden publishes a personal account.
• J.K. Rowling publishes an adult novel, "The Casual Vacancy".

• Chinese novelist Mo Yan wins the Nobel Prize for Literature.
• Hilary Mantel is the first woman to win the Man Booker Prize twice, with her novel "Bring Up the Bodies".

• Publishing house giants Random House and Penguin merge.

Did I miss anything?  Let me know!