I still can’t get to my blog without going through a proxy server. I’ve lost my patience and I’m officially an unhappy camper.

What does one do when they’ve just paid for a year’s worth of service, they aren’t getting 100% of that service, and the hosting company is unresponsive? Seriously?

I’m a good customer. I don’t bother them unless I have a problem. I’ve been happy up until this point. What’s a girl to do?

Ha! I LOVE THIS!

YESTERDAY AT MY PARENTS HOUSE:

Amie: There are SO MANY bugs in my room!

My Dad: How did SO MANY bugs get in your room?

Amie: Through the screen.

Me: How? There aren’t any holes in your screen?

Amie: Mom? All screens have holes.

ON THE ROAD:

We are driving next to a boxy Scion decorated with a Long and Foster sales office ad. It shows a bunch of different agents and on the back it says “Tom and Cindy and Associates”. There is a man driving and a woman passenger, clearly an agent showng a prospective buyer around.

Amber: Who are Tom and Cindy?

Me: They are the main agents of that office.

Amie: Actually, Mother (she calls me “mother” in this goofy tone of voice) since there is a man driving and a woman riding…one could infer that THEY are Tom and Cindy…

TODAY WHILE WALKING DOGS:

Amber: Did you hear that lady? She should stay away from dogs. She’s been bitten so many times…it’s OBVIOUS they don’t like her…

Me: Well, I’ve been bitten kind of a lot of times too…

Amie: Yeah, but you kept getting bitten by THE SAME dog…she seems to get bitten by every dog she meets!

Sometimes I’m speechless for a moment before I burst into fits of giggles. I have no idea where they get it from.

Today the girls and I slept late, went to church, went to walk dogs, and then we were going to go to the pool…but I forgot to pick up our permanent pool passes from the club house…so we couldn’t. Oops.

Instead we spent the afternoon cleaning animals, making dinner, and now we’re watching Camp Rock for the third night in a row.

I’ve been having problems with my blog. I can’t view my own blog…or post on it…without going through an anonymous proxy site. And the reason is because Peer1, which does something I don’t understand but Rich and Chris Wilson both said that’s where the problem is, is wreaking havok on my connection.

Blogs About moved me to another server today and everything was fine when I checked it earlier…but when I just tried to log in to post about something else…I couldn’t get there.

I am tired of this. I don’t blame my hosting company, they’ve been very responsive, but my frustration level is still up there.

Grrr.

Ugh. There’s been a wave of breed bans over the past couple of weeks. I’m almost in shock over the number of announcements I’ve read from different states…different countries.

I’m a member of Pitbull-L. It’s a mailing list of Pit Bull owners who correspond throughout the day. We share pictures of our dogs and share stories about the cute and funny things our dogs do. We educate new members and worry over reports of dog attacks. And…we fight breed specific legislation.

I’ve written a couple of letters here and there because there is volume in numbers. The more emails, snail mails, and faxes that land in the hands of the lawmakers the more likely they are to reconsider banning our dogs.

Today it came to our attention that New Zeland has banned Pit Bulls. I wouldn’t have written a letter to a lawmaker in NZ under normal circumstances but this man’s abrasive, one line responses to some of the members of the L got under my skin.

“You don’t live here: I’m not interested in your opinion. No sane person owns a pit bull.”

“Your letter clearly identifies you as fitting every description of a pit
bull owner.
Your pique is pathetic, and don’t bother troubling my inbox again.
I feel genuinely sorry for you.”

So I wrote him an email. And boy, did he respond fast.

My letter:

Kristie to Michael.Laws
show details 6:56 PM (1 hour ago) Reply

Dear Sir,

I became aware of your recent ban on Pit Bulls today and I have a few things to say.

Any dog can bite. Any dog can cause serious harm. All dogs have the potential to kill people. There are two ways you can keep your public safe.

1. Ban all animals with teeth. OR
2. Hold pet owners accountable for the actions of their animals.

Though I am not a resident of your country I’m certain there are already laws in place that, if enforced, would ensure harmony between people and the animals in their care. What is the reason enforcement of these laws is not the first step in gaining control of the number of dog bites that occur? I guarantee that if you confiscate dogs from individuals who allow them to roam, who abuse and neglect them, and/or use them for negative purposes your statistics would drastically decrease. Add stiff monetary penalties and community service sentences to that confiscation and you not only get on the right path to discouraging the type of pet ownership that allows dog attacks to occur, you also gain funds to pay for the manpower to enforce the laws and free labor for any number of unpleasant tasks most people wouldn’t choose to do even if they were paid.

Education can go a long way towards avoiding tragedies like the ones you hope to eradicate with your breed ban. It doesn’t have to cost a lot of money to offer it. There are tons of Internet sites dedicated to the proper treatment of animals. There are volunteer organizations who would jump at the chance to hold seminars if space and advertisement were provided for them. If you can teach people the right way to own a dog you will not only keep the Pit Bulls from biting people…you’ll help dogs who are currently not getting the care they need realize a happy, healthy life.

Examples:

Allow dogs to live indoors with the family. Ban chaining/penning dogs outside.
Encourage proper nutrition and medical care for animals. Enforce animal cruelty laws regarding starvation and neglect.

I’m already aware of your opinion of Pit Bull owners. I am the proud owner of an amazing American Pit Bull Terrier. She would give up her life to save mine or the lives of my children. She has been treated humanely, she knows her place in the family, and because she is of sound temperament, she would never THINK to so much as snap at a person. You see, though Pit Bulls were bred to fight other dogs and savage other animals they were also bred to NEVER bite a human. Generations of fighting dogs were raised and trained under the strict code that no man biter would live. Unfortunately the Pit Bulls of today are being bred as protection and fighting dogs. It’s people who are creating the unstable dogs that attack humans.

Which ties us back to enforcing the laws. Get the dogs out of the hands of those who foster the human aggression while allowing the responsible Pit Bull owners to live in peace with their dogs.

Respectfully,

Kristie (my last name)

His reply to me was also a one liner…but was not a stinging, insulting remark.

“Sorry but we won’t be reversing the menacing dog classification anytime soon.”

Maybe he’ stired of answering emails. I do give him credit for responding, he could ignore every email that lands in his box. Or maybe the bite of his answers is disappearing because the public, even if they’re not his constituants, is giving him information that’s starting to sink in a little.

I can only hope that my letter made at least a little bit of a difference. If not…well…at least I lent my voice to the cause.

Mom saw a story online about one of the Vick fighting dogs. His name is Leo and he went from being a fighting dog ::shiver:: to a therapy dog! I’m sure he likes his new gig MUCH better than the old one.

Us Pibbles don’t really like to fight, contrary to what people think. It’s true that many of us can’t tolerate being around other dogs, myself included for the most part, but it’s not because we LIKE it.

Have you ever been so scared of something that you felt a strong urge to get away from it? Maybe you’re afraid of small spaces or heights or spiders (I’m personally freaked out by toads). Or, maybe you don’t feel good, the pressure in your head makes you almost panic, and you have a strong urge to lay down, you feel like you MUST lay down or you will fall over…

That feelling is the same feeling we get when we see another dog. Instead of running away from another dog we feel like we MUST get to that dog and we must fight until one of us can’t fight any more.

I know this isn’t a good way to be. I’m glad my mom understands this and doesn’t put me in a position to hurt another dog or get hurt by another dog. I wish all dog moms and dads understood this. But what I really wish is that those dog parents who DO understand this and MAKE us fight would stop.

Pibbles, by nature, are very people oriented. There isn’t anything I won’t do to make my mom smile. I try to always behave the way I know she wants me to. Sometimes, though, Pibbles behave in a bad way because that’s how their people want them to act. They menace kids because big people have been mean to them but they know they can keep little people from being mean. Sometimes it’s a matter of self preservation. Or they growl at people they don’t know because their mom and dad “taught” them to be guard dogs.

PIBBLES ARE NOT GUARD DOG MATERIAL! I can’t tell you how many time’s I’ve hid my head under the bed during a storm or under the shelves at Petsmart because the sounds and the smells there are just too darn scary! My mom makes me feel safe. When I’m scared I look into her eyes and then I feel better beause I know she won’t let anything happen to me. Not every pibble is lucky enough to have a mom like mine.

I wish Pibbles weren’t expected to be bad. I wish everyone knew what good dogs we are when we are bred well and socialized properly. I wish there were more good Pibble stories in the papers and on TV than bad ones. And I wish that every dog attack wasn’t reported to be by a Pit Bull…especially when it was some other kind of dog who really did it.

Most of all I wish we could just be dogs…just like every other kind of dog out there. It probably won’t happen in my lifetime but I have hope for Pibbles of the future.

I love our new house.

I can go in the back yard without a leash.

I can lay on the cool floor when it’s hot.

I can lay on the carpet when it’s not.

I can go downstairs any time I want…even at night when everyone is sleeping!

I can spend part of the night on Amber’s bed and the other part in Amie’s. I can’t spend any of it on Mom’s bed because Jezebel won’t let me.

I’m glad we got a new house.