April 22, 2005
i heart showdog moms & dads
Depending on how you feel about reality shows and whether you show dogs or not, Bravo's new reality show Showdog Moms & Dads is either the best thing ever or the worst thing ever. I love reality tv and I don't show dogs (though I know people that do), so I'm barking mad about Showdog Moms & Dads.
The first episode was hilarious, the third episode just okay, but I think the second episode featured one of the most amazing moments in reality tv history -- and it didn't even involve one of the dogs or parents being followed for the show! No, it was a dog who attacked a man at a park that one of the showdogs was at. I transcribed his mom's tearful semi-hysterical monologue, because I love you:
"For many days I didn't bring him here because I suffer when he bites me. He bite me in my vagina! When I'm walking, he sees other dogs he right away he jump on my vagina because he get so crazy! He doesn't know who I am, he forgets everything. He bites the labrador on his penis. I don't want him to bite my labrador on the penis, my labrador is a baby, he's beautiful."
...
"In my vagina two times he bite me. but his teeths are very small and they don't damage very much. Just, they pinch!"
After all of that, the best part was when we found out what the vagina-biting dog is named.
"What's his name, the dog?" "Happy."
Can't make that shit up, ladies and gents. As my friend Alaina said, "happy the dog's mom is the BEST MOMENT IN REALITY TEEVEE. EVAR!!!111!!!!"
P.S. The production company behind the show, Worlds of Wonder, has a blog where they document their various projects, including Showdog Moms & Dads. Lots of interesting things on there, from news of the participants to miscellaneous dog news. Well worth a visit.
P.P.S. If you like Showdog Moms & Dads, you might also enjoy Christopher Guest's brilliant mockumentary Best In Show, starring Catherine O'Hara, Eugene Levy and Parker Posey among others.
posted by lia at 05:18 PM
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February 22, 2005
san francisco dog court
I love dogs and I love Law & Order, so I really loved Luke O'Brien's recent piece for SF Weekly about San Francisco Dog Court, written L&O-style with the responsibilities of law (Police Officer John Denny and Capt Vicky Guldbech of Animal Care and Control, who enforce the regulations) and order (Sgt Bill Herndon, who presides over Dog Court and decides what to do with the animals and their owners) clearly delineated and explained. Here's an explanation of what Dog Court is all about:
Yeah, it can get wacky in here, and at first glance, that's what Dog Court looks like -- a wacky legal outgrowth on the far liberal end of the political spectrum, where San Francisco's natural absurdities congregate. But the court is decidedly prosaic in its purpose: to safeguard the community and to protect a person from the seizure of property -- a dog -- without due process. Over the last decade, the laws of Dog Court have been tweaked, but only to give the hearing officer more flexibility in his rulings. The court remains an institution that aims to safeguard individual rights and dispense individual blame. Herndon's idea of justice coincides with this aim. Whenever possible, he hammers home the point that the court is less about dogs than people. "It's about re-educating the person," he says. "It's about individual responsibility."
But Dog Court is also, of course, about the animals, and it reflects a fundamental ideological shift in how San Franciscans, in general, have come to look at their pets. Under the law, San Franciscans who keep dogs are no longer just dog owners. They're guardians. San Franciscans no longer take a bad dog behind the woodshed and shoot him. They listen to his story and then shoot him. Or not, depending. (...)
At one time, it came down to a choice between destroying an animal and letting it live. Now, there are other possibilities, from a number of levels of obedience classes to restrictions that require a dog to be, for example, muzzled, or kept on a leash, with violations of the restrictions constituting misdemeanor crimes punishable by six months in jail or a $1,000 fine. A new ordinance passed last month allows Herndon to prohibit a person from owning dogs for up to three years. This is a big step forward for Dog Court. In the past, Herndon would seize someone's dog on a Monday and see the same guy with a new dog on Tuesday. "Now we can put a leash on the person," Herndon says.
Excellent! I've always felt strongly that more people should have dogs but also just as strongly that some people shouldn't have them at all. Dog Court is a big step in the right direction, and I can only hope more cities follow San Francisco's lead.
You can see Capt Guldbech and Lt Michael Scott of Animal Care and Control on the Animal Planet show Animal Cops: San Francisco.
Thanks to Derek Powazek for sending in the link to this story! Photo above is by Nicki Ishmael.
posted by lia at 12:23 PM
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February 16, 2005
german shorthaired pointer takes best in show
Congratulations to Carlee, a.k.a Ch. Kan-Point's VJK Autumn Roses, for being named Best in Show yesterday at the Westminster Kennel Club's 129th Annual Dog Show! Carlee is only the second German Shorthaired Pointer to ever win at Westminster and is a direct descendant of the dog that took Best in Show in 1974.
She was handled by Michelle Ostermiller, who was also the handler of last year's big winner, Josh the Newfoundland. Josh is now retired from show dog life, although he works both as a stud and a certified therapy dog helping children and seniors. From USA Today's interview with his owner Dave Helming:
How's Josh?
He's doing very well. He's happily retired, lounging in the living room and enjoying a good life.
What's a typical day for him now?
He lives in our house with two other Newfoundlands and a couple of Portuguese Water Dogs. He gets two square meals a day, a lot of exercise in our front field and a lot of attention from whoever comes in the house, so he's in seventh heaven.
A good life for a good dog! We should all be so lucky.
The New York Times has a fantastic multimedia slideshow of Westminster highlights, as well as this great roundup by Richard Sandomir. Sandomir points out that "if the two-day coverage on USA was not enough, NBC will carry a one-hour highlights show on Sunday at 5 p.m."
Photo above by Frank Franklin II/AP of Carlee during competition.
posted by lia at 02:26 PM
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February 14, 2005
the 2005 westminster dog show, day one
Valentine's, shmalentine's -- today is the first day of The Westminster Kennel Club's 129th Annual Dog Show at New York's own Madison Square Garden. There are 2,500 dogs competing, 165 breeds and varieties competing in seven different groups, all of them aiming for the ultimate prize: being named Best In Show. Three breeds are in the show for the very first time, the Glen of Imaal Terrier, the Black Russian Terrier, and the Neapolitan Mastiff!
You can catch USA Network's Westminster coverage tonight and tomorrow night from 8 to 11 p.m. ET. Group and Best in Show competitions only, but if your internet access is fast and you're dedicated enough you might want to consider watching
Breed competition highlights online, via the miracle of streaming video.
If you're in New York and don't have cable, or you'd rather watch Best in Show in the company of other dog lovers, head on down to the LES tomorrow night for Dog Show Party 2005, "a fast-paced multi-media and performance event that runs concurrently with the last night of judging at the Westminster Dog Show. As the actual dog show takes place at Madison Square Garden, a live telecast is projected onto a huge screen at Tonic. DSP performers add to the electric energy of the night with expert commentary, live music, dance performances, games and contests. All party attendees need to bring is their love of K-9's and the absurd."
update: Gothamist has a nice post about the dog show, New York City Goes to the Dogs!.
The photo above is by Mary Altaffer/AP of I Believe I Can Fly the Long-haired Chihuahua during judging. IBICF looks resigned to being manhandled, doesn't he?
posted by lia at 06:23 PM
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triumph not triumphant
Okay, so Triumph the Insult Comic Dog's comedy album Come Poop With Me lost the Grammy yesterday to Jon Stewart and his Daily Show gang (for America (The Book) on cd), but how many Rottweiler puppets do you know who get interviewed in the New York Times? From Funny Bones by Deborah Solomon:
Many people know you from Conan O'Brien's show, and I trust you enjoy your frequent guest appearances.
It's O.K. I get to insult all sorts of talented people, and also John Tesh.
Are you referring to Tesh the man or Tesh the New Age musician?
Yes.
posted by lia at 03:17 PM
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February 09, 2005
dog show party 2005
The 2005 Westminster Dog Show is next week, February 14 and 15 here in New York. Tickets to the show are more than a little expensive so I've never even thought of going. I've gotten used to watching the finals on tv at home on my couch, but this year I think I might just head down to the Lower East Side for Dog Show Party:
From their website: "Dog Show Party is a fast-paced multi-media and performance event that runs concurrently with the last night of judging at the Westminster Dog Show. As the actual dog show takes place at Madison Square Garden, a live telecast is projected onto a huge screen at Tonic. DSP performers add to the electric energy of the night with expert commentary, live music, dance performances, games and contests. All party attendees need to bring is their love of K-9's and the absurd."
Dog Show Party
Tuesday, Feb 15
7:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.
Tonic, 107 Norfolk (between Delancey & Rivington)
$10.00
posted by lia at 07:07 PM
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February 08, 2005
animal planet's puppy bowl
As always, I spent this past Super Bowl Sunday at a friend's apartment, clearly there for the free food and socializing and not for the football. Would that I'd known about Animal Planet's stroke of genius counterprogramming, The Puppy Bowl:
Three hours of cute puppies (are there any other kind?) playing with toys in a little stadium, set to soft music! And with the noble goal of getting viewers to adopt animals from shelters, even.
I hope Animal Planet does Puppy Bowl II next year, but if you can't wait that long you can preorder The Puppy Bowl on DVD from their online store for $9.95, it ships March 15th.
posted by lia at 07:01 PM
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