In which I get into dog politics

As I mentioned yesterday, one of my friends just bred her dog. She asked me if I thought she was a bad person for breeding her (far from show quality) boxer, and I didn't know what to say.

I have strong but mixed feelings on dog breeding.

Both Bailey and my childhood dog Kahn were adopted from our local (kill) animal shelter. I intentionally chose to adopt mixed breed dogs both times (yes, even as a seven-year-old). For one thing, purebred dogs are more likely to be plucked out of kill shelters by rescue groups and I wanted to save a dog from euthanasia; for another, Bailey and Kahn were exceptionally cute. I also felt that mixed breed dogs had some advantages over purebred dogs.

I will be the first to admit that my anecdotal evidence is not valid scientific evidence. However, I will say that Kahn was exceptionally healthy for a large dog: he was 16 when he got arthritis and had to be put to sleep. Aside from a bee sting (which cleared on its own before we could get him to the vet), he never had a single health problem before the arthritis. Bailey just turned 8; although he has a nervous stomach and some allergies, he is an otherwise very healthy large dog with great joints and teeth, and is routinely mistaken for a 1- or 2-year-old puppy. I believe both dogs benefited from hybrid vigor.

On the other hand, both Kahn and Bailey grew much larger than predicted by the animal shelter. Both times, we thought we were getting 30-40 pound dogs, not 65 pound miniature ponies. We had no idea what to expect of their temperaments, coats, or exercise requirements. (Since both dogs were what my old vet Dr. Hot referred to as "a mix of every type of dog you'd expect to jump a fence in [a questionable Austin neighborhood]", we should have probably expected the following: strong prey drives, athleticism, and exceptional guard dog abilities.) Both dogs grew double coats that were not ideal for the allergy sufferers in my family. There were times when unexpected problems (Bailey's worship at the altar of non-stop barking, unexpected small animal aggression issues in both dogs, questions about whether mixed breed dogs by their very nature violate homeowners insurance rules against pit bulls) made us question whether or not we ever should have gotten dogs in the first place.

My experiences owning Bailey as an adult and helping raise Kahn as a child led me to my current position on dog breeding and adoption:

• The ideal first dog is an older dog from a shelter or rescue group. You won't have to worry about its personality changing or it suddenly growing a double coat. Frequently, older dogs have had some (or lots of) training. Older dogs are (generally) a lot less work, and a lot easier for beginners. (Yes, they love you just as much. OMG. Seriously.)
  
• Since just about everyone will ignore that advice (because OMG puppiez!!)(I am also guilty), I think there are two other good options:

1. Research dog breeds that suit your lifestyle (think 10 years from now, not just 10 minutes) and buy a puppy from a reputable breeder.
   
2. If you are a bit more flexible in terms of your requirements, adopt a puppy from your local animal shelter.
   

• Please don't get a purebred dog from a breeder on the side of the road. Please don't get a puppy from a friend-of-a-coworker who "forgot" to get her dog spayed. While I'm sure both are probably perfectly nice people, they are contributing to the problem of unwanted dogs in shelters. Please, please don't buy a dog from a pet store.
  
• Unless you know what you are doing and have an exceptionally healthy, high-quality, purebred dog, your dog needs to be spayed or neutered. The dog will be healthier and you will be saner. Bob Barker would thank you. Don't breed your purebred dog unless you have prearranged, well-screened homes for the puppies.
  

All of this is a long-winded way of asking you, Internets, how I should tell my friend I think she's made a terrible decision? How to I (gently) advise her against breeding her dog again?

"Millie" has always been a fairly responsible dog owner (aside from not spaying her dog). She loves her dog the way we should all love our dogs, and takes excellent care of her. I have no doubt that the puppies and mama dog will get proper veterinary care, and that Millie will do her best to try to find good homes for the pups. On the other hand, Millie's giving one of the puppies to her brother, who is notorious for keeping dogs until they are no longer puppies and then losing them or giving them away. She's also not entirely sure that she has homes for the other puppies.

I am not allowing myself to meet the puppies, because I'm afraid that with our new big backyard and Abe's love of boxers, we'll end up with one. I am not immune to puppy kisses.

Sigh.

Movie Poster Christmas Gift

I was supposed to post pictures of the Secret Santa gift I made for my friend Lo last week, but things have been kind of nuts in the Distractible household lately. We've been working on the house every day after work and all day on weekends. Time passes quickly when you measure it in coats of paint and patches of drywall.

Anyhoo, enough excuses. On to the gift.

This is Lo.

She loves old movies, cocktail parties, and being fabulous. She hates also loves being Rickrolled.

These are my friends who took part in the gift exchange.

photo by Melanie Dodds

At some point a year or so ago, we realized that we could use the first letters of our last names to spell out "BABAAM!" (With the exception of me, no one is particularly nerdy, but we all appreciated the Batman onomatopoeia.)

When it was time to open gifts, I handed Lo a gift bag. Inside was this shirt:


source

(I know no one is Rickrolling people anymore except me, but it never gets old.)

After I finished laughing, I gave Lo her real gift to unwrap.

The gift was originally supposed to be entirely movie-themed (there was a snafu due to my inability to read - don't ask), so I made the gift box look like a clapperboard. I forgot to take pictures, but it looked something like this:

The clapperboard clapper thingy actually worked! (Take that random coworker who said it would be too complicated and I should just put the gift in a popcorn bucket!)

Inside were a couple of small pug-related gifts inside to replace the movie gifts that didn't work out, and a couple of gifts from her wishlist.

I also gave her three framed pictures of drawings I made:



The third picture was Lo and her two sisters on a "How To Marry a Millionaire" poster. (I forgot to upload it.)

Since I had the frames, paper, and mats on hand, I was able to buy from her wishlist and give Lo a personalized gift without going over the spending limit.

Overall, I think the gift was a hit.

Painting, drawing, musing

We spent the weekend painting the living room and making repairs at my grandma's house. Abe's parents helped us. (I still get a little nervous around Abe's parents, even though they are probably the nicest in-laws I could have asked for. Social awkwardness FTW!) I should have probably taken before/during/after pictures, but I'm a little lazy and forgetful about that sort of thing. There's still a lot of work that needs to be done, so there will be plenty of opportunities for pictures of the rest of the house.

***

Tonight my friends and I are getting together for our annual gift exchange. I had a really awesome gift planned for the friend whose name I drew, but the entire gift creation/shopping process was a comedy of errors, and almost nothing worked out the way I originally planned. I'll post pictures of the part of the gift I made tonight (just in case she secretly reads this blog). The gift turned out OK, but not as perfectly as I had originally planned. C'est la vie.

***

I have been a little frustrated by the semi-anonymity of my blog lately. Mostly only friends and family know about my blog (and I'm a pretty open book as far as they're concerned), but nagging doubts in the back of my head that a stray boss or frenemy might secretly be reading sometimes keep me from being completely open.

I guess I should just remember this:


via

...and continue to keep my secrets to myself until they are ready to be shared with the world.

Sigh.

On my doorstep this morning...

Pink peonies, tulips, and Gerbera daisies... I really do have awesome friends.

(Abe was the one who found the flowers. He said he was tempted to throw away the card and say they were from him. I'm pretty sure he knows these are my three favorite flowers, but finding them out of season in my favorite color? I think I would have figured out that my friend Lyndee had something to do with it.)

It's time for me to start looking on the bright side again, Internets. Here's to the next three decades!