Dogged Blog

Up in Smoke

My dear friend Ginger, who I can't link to because she's not a blogger (although her extremely cool daughter is), had a terrible house fire last night. The dogs, cats, and people are all safe, but they are out of their home for 2-3 months, and have lost many beloved personal items to fire, smoke, and water damage.

I'm not asking you to do anything, there's really nothing to do, but they love their old Victorian house, and they are the only Democrats in their small Kansas town, so please send them good thoughts.

Too. Darn. Small.

Just a little bit of whining from me, about discrimination against giant breed dogs, over on Pet Connection:

(M)ost of the really cute dog beds? The designer-fabric, custom-look-upholstery, brocade and tapestry and ultra-chic piped-edge beds? The wonderful little donuts and faux-sofas and just about every fabulous and gorgeous dog bed in the world?

Too. Darn. Small.

The whole incredibly important, earth-shattering thing is here. Join the movement now.

What ' s a really big dog gotta do to get a bed around here?

Since moving five weeks ago, I've been on a quest for new dog beds for my giant breed dogs.



I used to use Drs. Foster and Smith's orthopedic beds, and was always happy with them, despite the fact that I pretty much had to take out a second mortgage to afford the largest size. Truth is, they lasted forever and held their shape perfectly, so they were worth the massive price tag.



I am, I guess, in the minority among dog owners, in that I actually care what my dogs' beds look like, and want them not merely to blend in with my decor, but actually complement it.



In other words, I want them to be pretty as well as functional.



Sadly, Foster and Smith has discontinued many of their fabric choices, and the few they still offer just don't work in my new house. So my poor dogs are huddling on piles of quilts laid over old, semi-stinky, seen-better-days, really-belong-at-the-landfill beds.



Okay, scratch the "poor dogs" thing, because they don't care. They consider the odor and soil a welcome patina. It's poor Christie, because I've always been pretty house proud and at the moment that's not easy. Because beds for giant breed dogs take up a lot of floorspace and make a definite statement in the room.



I put out a call on the Deerhound list, asking where people bought their dog beds. I got a lot of links to sites that make beds for giant breed dogs. Apparently, everyone who owns giant breed dogs lives in a log cabin, because plaid and denim are pretty much my only fabric choices.



A few other people sent me instructions on how to make my own dog beds. I found this quite charming. The only problem with this suggestion is that when I lose a button off a shirt, I stop wearing it. Me and sewing, not so much. Make that, not at all.



And most of the really cute dog beds? The designer-fabric, custom-look-upholstery, brocade and tapestry and ultra-chic piped-edge beds? The wonderful little donuts and faux-sofas and just about every fabulous and gorgeous dog bed in the world?



Too. Darn. Small.



Yes, I need a bed not much smaller than a twin bed. Beds whose dimensions are given in feet, not inches. Four feet by five feet is good. Something a dog who, when standing on his rear legs, could play professional basketball would like to stretch out on.



And did I mention pretty?

Note to owners of small dogs: Please think, kthnx

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

This is really just an excuse to bring some pretty by posting this photo of my darling Rebel, taken last winter by the wondrous Gina - and so you can read about our morning walk over on the Pet Connection blog.

(A)s someone who has had dozens of giant dogs and a few large ones, I have a word of advice for small dog owners: Admire your little tough guy’s attitude all you want, but please don’t let him run up to two leashed giant breed dogs and jump up and bark in their faces.

More here.

Little dogs, big dogs and people with no common sense

This morning, in deference to the fact that I'll most likely have time only for a fast potty walk for the dogs at dinnertime, I took my Scottish Deerhound, Rebel, and my Borzoi, Kyrie, for a long walk.



I live on the edge of a large urban park. It's a beautiful day, cool and sunny and crisp, exactly the day you'd order for Thanksgiving.



We saw one other dog, a beautifully groomed little white bichon frise who thought Rebel and Kyrie were about to become his new best friends. He apparently had no idea he was the size of their heads. Gotta love small dogs.



However, as someone who has had dozens of giant dogs and a few large ones, I have a word of advice for small dog owners: Admire your little tough guy's attitude all you want, but please don't let him run up to two leashed giant breed dogs and jump up and bark in their faces.



Fortunately Rebel and Kyrie just stood there, and the bichon may have had a moment of sanity, because when I pulled my dogs back, he didn't follow.



His owner thought it was cute.



It wasn't.



Happy Thanksgiving from Rebel, Kyrie, and me!

Great Moments in Lesbian Television

So, basically it was just an excuse to get paid for mentioning Xena: Warrior Princess, but I had fun writing an article about great lesbian moments in television sweeps history for AfterEllen.com. They tacked on a somewhat academic-sounding intro paragraph (I prefer to to go all tabloidy and breathless, personally), and I think they rearranged my top ten, but they kept in the important Xena parts, so I'm happy.

Lesbians get blamed for a lot of things, from the destruction of the nuclear family to the death of traditional values, but no one can deny lesbians are good for one thing, at least: boosting TV ratings during the critical “sweeps” periods of the year (November, February and May), when audience size, later used to set advertising rates, is measured.

Of course you want to read the rest.

Things That Cannot Be Real for a Hundred, Alex

Okay, I was browsing around the Internets looking for information on games and toys about horses, and I followed this link and found this toy, which isn't available anymore, I can't imagine why. Go read the product description and then tell me this isn't the weirdest thing you've ever read.

Butterscotch Interactive Plush Pony

Friday iPod Challenge, Ask Me About the Internet Edition

I'm running out the door to talk about "The Internet" to the Dog and Cat Writers Associations of America at their annual joint conference... I think a little chat about blogging, a little chat about interactivity, a few sage words about Googleability, then I thought I might sing.

The Friday iPod Challenge is a little thing I stole from Roxanne at Rox Populi, one of the best blogs ever (and she has morphed it into a YouTube video version that's so very cool), and that was subsequently stolen by JeffB, who gives iPods away to people who post on his blog, so you know, post here then run quick over there and post on his and you might win one.

It works thusly: You set iTunes or whatever program you use to manage your music to randomly shuffle the songs on your player. You list the first ten that appear without any editing or creative interpretation of "the first ten." You suffer if you must, and let us know that you listen to Michael Bolton.

Hey, I have Abba's "Dancing Queen" on my iPod. I'm hard to shock.

Here's my completely random ten from today:

1. Can't Get Used to Losing You - The English Beat
2. Never Stop - Echo And The Bunnymen
3. I Should Tell You - Original Broadway Cast of "Rent"
4. You Can Sleep While I Drive - Melissa Etheridge
5. When Will I Be Loved - Linda Ronstadt
6. Need It - Johnny Marr & The Healers
7. Life During Wartime - Talking Heads
8. It's Only Time - The Magnetic Fields
9. Head Over Heels - Tears for Fears
10. Bird On A Wire - k.d. lang

Your turn!

The write stuff, doggy style (and kitties, too)

I'm heading out the door to speak to the dog and cat writers associations at their annual joint convention here in the San Francisco Bay Area, held in conjunction with the Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA) International Cat Show -- the Westminster of cat shows.



My topic will be "The Internet," and I plan on discussing, among other things, blogging. Here's a little photo of Gina and me at last year's conference, although she wasn't able to join me this year.



If you're a member, I hope I saw you there! If not, or if you didn't make it, I'll have a report when I get back.

The "Outing" of Ken Mehlman

I interviewed John Aravosis from AMERICAblog day before yesterday - we bonded over being sci fi geeks and our mutual love of Lucy Lawless in Battlestar Galactica, but that's not what the interview was about.

Censorship, outing, powerful closeted gay Republicans, legal threats, CNN, YouTube and blogging — not your average night on Larry King Live. But on Nov. 9, political comedian Bill Maher took pretty much everyone by surprise, possibly even himself, when the name “Ken Mehlman” — the current chairman of the Republican National Committee — popped out of his mouth in response to a question about closeted gay members of the Bush administration.

Full story at afterelton.com.