Shaken & Stirred: Dear Other People

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April 15, 2007

Dear Other People

at the Dog Park: Control your dogs! Do not let them gang up on a less-than-20-pound tiny dog so that he practically climbs up onto Christopher's shoulder after the two of us attempt to intercede on his behalf with your gigantor dogs.

We went to the other side of the dog park. All was well. We glared. (Seriously, these people were USELESS.)

Anyway, we finally signed Puck's official papers this afternoon. He's ours. As you can tell by the Professor H.P. Lovecraft Miskatonic University nametag he's trying to shake off his head in photo one. (Long story, but Emma tried so hard, all her photos are blurry.)

Posted at 06:36 PM in Cat and Dog Theater | Permalink

Comments

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Oooooh the cute I can't stand it can't stand it.

And also: you can never depend on other people to control their dogs in the dog park, or anywhere else, for that matter.

I cannot tell you the number of people who have let their teeny tiny dog go running straight into Frodo's face after I screamed: "DON'T LET HER NEAR HIM. HE WILL BITE YOUR DOG. I AM NOT KIDDING."

Maddening.

Posted by:Haddayr Copley-Woods | April 15, 2007 at 07:31 PM

I know! I actually think in general that people with small dogs let them get away with too much because of the cute. (This will not be the case with Puck.)

We're hyper-aware of what our dogs are doing at the dog park, because Emma can occasionally be ... cranky with other dogs if they get in her face before she's comfortable. And we have known all along that is our responsibility to control. The dogs parks around here seem to attract mostly really great dog owners, mixed with a small but noticeable contingent of people whose dogs never get any other exercise and who just stand around while their dogs go all over the place and do whatever they want.

I will never understand these people -- the really crappy thing in this case, is that the ringleader dog was one of a matched set of gorgeous, big young dogs (possibly even older puppies). The guy with them was so not in control of them, he didn't even realize there was a problem. Drives me crazy. Especially since Puck is generally great with other dogs. He was more bewildered by it than anything.

Posted by:Gwenda | April 15, 2007 at 09:15 PM

Congratulations on signing the official papers! Puck is adorable.

And oh, I feel your dog park pain... it makes me crazy when other dog owners are so irresponsible, because it's what leads to restrictions for everybody - right now in England a lot of city councils are considering new laws to force dog owners to keep their dogs on the leash in *all* public places, no matter how safe (and there aren't any dog parks here, so public fields and parks are the only places we can safely let dogs off the leash), just because there have been a few owners who've been so massively irresponsible about the whole thing. It's maddening.

Posted by:Steph Burgis | April 16, 2007 at 05:35 AM

I took my good dog and my obnoxious dog to the dog park while we were selling our house. The samll obnoxious dog was...obnoxious. I figured this was my problem, so while we were there she had to sit on my lap.

I wished the guy with the oversized basenji mix that his wife wouldn't neuter because they wanted the breed the damn thing would make the dog stop humping my 12 year old Golden Retriever's face. Besides feeling that this was bad behavior on the dog's part, I kept thinking we didn't need to breed a dog so stupid that he couldn't figure out which end to have sex with.

Posted by:Maureen McQ | April 16, 2007 at 08:24 PM

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Read Read

E. Lockhart: Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, The
You might think the world doesn't need any more boarding school novels, but if you haven't read this one then you're wrong, wrong, wrong. E. Lockhart has surpassed herself with this fable of a girl coming into her own and challenging the boy's club at her prep school -- while falling in love with its members at the same time. Lockhart never simplifies or skirts gender issues and power dynamics, and lets Frankie be realistic instead of a treatise disguised as a character. The sly omniscient narrator tells the story perfectly, and leaves hope that maybe one girl can change the world. More novels as funny and true and perfect as this one, please.
Kathi Appelt: The Underneath
Appelt's first novel is a beautiful, magical fantasy for younger readers that will instantly become a classic. Seriously. I can imagine this book being in classrooms right alongside Charlotte's Web in a hundred years. The writing is poetic in the good way, and there's a lamia. Children are going to absolutely fall in love with Appelt's equally kind and brutal universe, where love conquers most, and it can take millenia to come to your senses.
Jincy Willett: The Writing Class
With her second novel, Willett matches the perfect pitch and execution of her brilliant short stories. Every writer will want to read this novel--very little wincing is involved, but expect a great deal of laughter. C and I found ourselves reading pieces aloud, after howling provoked the "what's so funny?" question. As with any good writing workshop or class, the characters become more appealing as you get to know them, and ultimately what she has pulled off is a satisfying mystery, and a satisfying exploration of humanity. Amy Gallup is a character to remember.
Karen Joy Fowler: Wit's End
A new novel by Karen Fowler really is something to be excited about, unlike many of the writers for whom such praise gets bandied about. (If you're smirking because you think you know something about her work from the title--not the book--The Jane Austen Book Club, please go sit in the corner and read any of her novels. You're welcome.) This is an unmystery-like mystery, concerned not so much with dead bodies--though there are plenty--as with the mysteries of healing and the heart, politics and people. How is it that a writer gets a lens on the present that's as revealing as the one she employs in historical fiction? Now that's a mystery. Highly recommended.
Steve Erickson: Zeroville
Steve Erickson novels are often like dreams, or revelations, or discovered artifacts, or written just for you. Zeroville's no different, although it is perhaps the most readily graspable example of his work to date. The Rosetta Stone is there; the secret decoder ring is a film projector. The dizzying Hollywood confidential stylings will make your inner film geek happy, but the uncovering of a truly mythic cinematic story--since cinema has existed forever--of sacrifice and redemption is even more memorable. See also: this review.
Ursula Dubosarsky: The Red Shoe (Neal Porter Books)
Set in Sydney during WWII, this wonderful novel travels between the view from inside each of three sisters. Dubosarsky perfectly captures the differences that come from being the younger, older, or middle child. Perfectly conjuring the period, and yet creating a completely accessible story, the narrative contrasts chapters focusing on the family with interstitials from the Sydney newspapers of the time, stories of polio, the H-bomb, and a defecting Russian spy (who happens to be in hiding next door). Nothing here is heavy-handed. Everything is perfectly balanced. It's a beautiful, beautiful novel. See my full take here.