Arclite REALLY adopts a Dog

“I really did adopt a dog. He looks like my last buddy. He's a black chow named Simba. The pet rescue place had already named him. My old guy (who died last year) was named Cymba. My girlfriend had named him. Kinda spooky.

I got Simba from Pet Rescue in Miami. What they were doing with a beautiful, full-blood, super-smart chow, I'll never know. But it is my good fortune.

Dog-Story:
We go running through the neighborhood almost every night. I have a specific pair of running shoes that I wear to go running with him. I have lots of shoes and three pairs of running shoes. Last night, after dinner, I didn't feel like running. He went to the door, looked at me, looked at the door, looked at me; I tried to ignore him. He tried to attract my attention for a few minutes then gave up and walked into the back of the house. I figured I had escaped our nightly run. He came out to the living room, about a minute later, with my running shoe in his mouth. Out of all the shoes in my closet, he came out with the running shoe that I always use for our runs. He dropped it at my feet. Message received, we went running.”

“Simba?
I think that was part of Tarzan's limited vocabulary.”

“They call me Tarzan when I play golf. 'Cause I'm always swingin' through the trees.

Groooooan.”

“Congrats, arclite.

Dogs can be pretty persuasive, eh?”

“That's cool, Arclite. Once I have a residence more condusive to owning a dog, I'm going to the pound or pet rescue also.”

“Note to self: One more reason not to like dogs. They make you jog.”

“

‘ANIMAL HOUSE’ OF HORRORS

April 7, 2002 -- A Florida architect has been charged with animal cruelty after the sickening discovery of more than 100 ailing, emaciated and feces-covered pets stuffed into crates and cages in his squalid "house of horrors," police said.

The self-proclaimed ‘basketball god’ was arrested Friday night at his home. Dogs, cats, birds, horses, goats and pigs were found locked in cramped cages inside the residence, as well as in stalls throughout the two-acre property.

The corpse of a cat and the skull of another, as well as dead tarantulas, were found in the basement, said Roy Gross of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, who searched the property.

"It was a house of horrors," said Gross. "It's the worst case of animal abuse I've ever seen.

"These animals were in such horrible condition," he added. "They were covered in fleas, feces and urine. Many of them were just skin and bones, and some couldn't even stand."

An empty coffin was found in the garage, and witch dolls, ornamental skulls and gargoyles adorned many of the cages, Gross added.

Officials said the man bought many of his 22 dogs from puppy mills across the country.

The abused animals, including emus, ducks, turkeys and chickens, were discovered when firefighters responded to reports of an oil-burner fire at the ramshackle ranch-style home.

Firefighters were overcome by the sickening stench of a massive amount of animal waste within the house.

A police search revealed dozens of canines covered in their own excrement and crowded into makeshift cages in the living room and den.”

“Yeah, that just screems VIOLIN! LOL! I knew a guy that went to court for taking a 2 x 4 to his husky after it shat in the house. The guy that went before him was there for a second domestic abuse charge. He got $50. My buddy got $75 for hitting his dog once. Go figure!”

“That sounds like a lot of sch!t!”

“Nigal, that's EXACTLY who comes to my mind.

Let's string up that Florida, self-proclaimed "basketball god" by his thumbs. People who abuse animals (everyone but bacpac. I can forgive him anything) piss me off to the extreme. A slow death is too good for that type of creature.

Not only did this lowlife abuse animals but he had the audacity to claim false godhood. Everyone here knows, I am the one true "basketball god".”

“Sounds like I need a "training" partner like yours! Who can say no to puppy eyes?”

“Congratulations, Arc. Gotta love a running partner like that.”

“Rescue dogs are the best. They have seen BAD and know when they have it good.”

“I really adopted a dog too, well temporarily. I got home from work and this really thirsty looking guy comes up to my car. I made the mistake of opening the door and he jumped in! well, no way I am convincing a 120 lb rotweiler to get out of my car.

I called 1-888-PETS-911. I hope the owner shows up. I need my car to go to work tomorrow”

“Ok, I wrassled him into the backyard. It was a lot of work and my dog Rosco is going nutz!

Oh my gosh, he drank about 10 gallons of water!

No tags. I can't believe people just drop their dogs in the park. I hope this isn't one of those cases...”

“Arclite, I went inline skating with my sis' dog last nite....that way I can go further and faster...gives him a better workout. Been taking him xc skiing the last 5 weekends.

Biz, a similar thing happened at our place of business...a full grown Rottweiler walked into our loading area (backdoor), he had no tags but had a collar with those 1" spikes..didn't growl or bark...but kept watching us with those eyes...everybody was spooked...we gave him something to drink and eat. Finally someone decided to take him home. It was very friendly. 3 weeks later, that person had to give the dog away because her landlord didn't like dogs in her building. He now lives with a family that has a farm...a lot of place to run. :o)”

“I knew a guy that had 2 chows, a blue and fawn colored I think they're called. They would run at his 6' chain link fence in the backyard, hit it half way up, and before you know it they were over and scappering on down the block. I didn't know the dogs to well, they were kinda spookey and they knew it. If I was to go get a beer, they would follow, take a pee, they would be sitting just outside the bathroom to follow me back. They never showed aggressive behavior towards me and I'm thankful for that. Those two were some smart dogs.”

“Chows seem to be VERY smart in my experience. This little guy is extremely friendly too. He made friends with all the girls down at the vet’s office. They are a very loyal dog to their family but they can be wary of strangers. People sometimes don't react well to their aloof attitude. Any dog can be aggressive, it all depends on how you socialize them. This little guy seems to have got some lovin' early on. The family just couldn't take care of him for some reason. I didn't ask too many questions. We got a membership to the local dogpark. This is a place that has about five, grassy fenced acres, two swimming holes, and lots of trees to pee on. Everyone has to clean up after his dog. It's doggie heaven. I've never seen so many happy dogs just running, playing, chasing, and swimming. We got a year membership so we'll be going quite a bit. Actually, Simba is the member. They took his photo I.D. They couldn't care less who brings him. Cool place for dogs.

I think you're right, pepperdog. He seems to be grateful just to have a place to call his own. He spent a year in puppy prison. A good home, with lots of attention, makes all the difference.

Chows can climb, Briar. We nicknamed my last chow, Harry Houdini. He was a real escape artist. He used to scale a 6' fence too. Luckily he was smart enough to avoid cars, but he gave me a few scares.

There is a place in the country, not too far from here, that has a rep for being a place where people dump unwanted pets. I can't even begin to fathom that mentality. This is a member of your family. There are a few things in this world that get me VERY angry. Dumping unwanted family members is one.”

“that is so great, arcie! Chows are almost catlike in their personality, in my experience. Many times, very owner-oriented and can't be bothered with most others.

They are very cute. Like big teddy bears...ya just wanna squeeze 'em! >:D

Good for you to adopt too. Congrats!”

“We went through the Golden Retriever Rescue here, nice people on a ,ission to save nice dogs. I've got two Goldens, one rescued. Sweetest dog you'd ever meet. Was locked in a kennel his first 7 months , totally unsocialized and kind of messed up but very loving and great with the kids. Like you say they appreciate it. Scared of his own shadow though, hence his name selection--Shadow (that and he follows you room to room, about under your feet)”

“I'm thinking of adopting Bacpac. Do you think he's been socialized? What about house-training?
I have lived in the country for much of my life. You get unwanted dogs and cats all the time.”

“Congrats Arclite! Rescue dogs are the best!”

“Dunadan- Do you think you could trust him not to drink out of the porcelain bowl?”

“Thanks, mtnman, I didn't think of that one.”

“Well, just as long as he closes the lid.”

“Then there's the lure of the trash can... litter box cookies.. dirty underwear in the hamper”

“I like pigs. Dogs look up to me. Cats look down on me. Pigs treat me as equals.”

“If bacpac isn't housebroken, I'll bet you could use the NY Times to paper train him.”

“My brother and sister in law tried to rescue a golden retriever this past weekend. They live in a fairly rural area and came upon a car stopped on the side of the road next to a golden retriever They thought maybe the dog had been hit or something so they pulled over. Another car behind them stopped too.

The guy in the first car jumped in his car and pulled away. The dog wobbled a little, obviously hurt, so my brother took a note of the license plate as the guy pulled away. The dog seemed nice enough and both my brother and the people in the car behind him wanted to take her home. Since my brother was there first, they decided he should take it.

A short way down the road, the dog vomited. Not long after that, it started having seizures and lost control of its bowels. By the time they got home, they were afraid he was dead, but were able to detect a pulse. They tried frantically to find a vet that was open on a Saturday afternoon and finally took the dog to an animal hospital. They said they would keep her while they tried to figure out the problem, but thought she may have been dumped because she was epileptic.

Later that evening, the vet called and said they could come get her. The vet wasn’t sure if she would make it through the night. The next day, they called their trainer who didn’t think it sounded like epilepsy and put them in contact with some animal rescue people. They suspected poisoning and collected samples from my brother’s truck for testing.

She died later Sunday. The SPCA is picking up the vet’s bills and are planning to charge the dumper with abandonment at least. If she was poisoned, it will be worse.

Newspapers and even the local television channel have contacted them.

Some people really suck.”

“I've raised two dogs and three cats that have been abandoned near my property. I truly believe that people don't understand that animals can be a big responsiblity. When they start selling robot animals, look for the dog and cat population to decrease.”

“Snowball – cat who came with house – she didn’t want to move.
Albert – Airedale who found us after being dumped
Max – German Shepherd who was too much for his first family
Wheezer – Cat who showed up in our garage in the middle of winter with respiratory infection (name came from Little Rascals – “time to grease Wheezer”)
Sheba – Great Dane who was eating her family out of house and home (best dog ever)”

“Our neighbor had a Great Dane who was a real sweet dog. He and I became fast friends, but he was pure terror around other male dogs. And could he pinch a loaf!”

“The inhumanity of humans, and their ability to justify cruel behavior, has never ceased to amaze me violin. That story is beyond sad.”

“Sheba was sweet but for some reason almost every other dog felt that they had to fight her. Kinda like the big guy in the bar.

If she only pinched one loaf, it would have been fine.”

“Violin-
Who needs kids?


Happy Birthday to you
You live in a ZOO!”

“Ha!

No - they are all just fond memories now.”

“Violin:
I currently have two goldens and have lost two others over time to disease and age. They are trulely man's best friend and to hear of someone treating one like that makes me sick.
This from one of the mean old Republicans from the tax thread.”

“Congrats Arclite and to that lucky dog who got rescued.”

“Thanks Ped. One regret in my life is that I never had kids. Practicing unconditional love feels fantastic!”

“arclite- I got my dog (and his brother who I gave to a friend) from the pound. It was one of the hardest things I have ever done-walking out of there with only 2 puppies! I wanted to adopt all those dogs! I can't imagine what it's like for people who adopt children from orphanages.

Violin- Cool that you adopted all those dogs!

I would keep this big guy, but I'm moving.”

“Kids can be a hassle Arc, take mine... please!

(Jess kidding... although I was not pleased to hear about High School classes my older son cut... we had to have one of those talks tonight. My dog, does everything I ask of her.)

Anyhow... lol on the unconditional love. (I am glad it feels fantastic, that way there is something in it for you.)”

“Biz, you moving to Gainesville, Florida? Let me give you my phone number so we can have coffee some time. But that's all. I promise. Really. Trust me.

Good lord, pedxing, between chili giving me his ex-wife and you giving me your kids, all the work's been done for me. Talk about getting something for nothing.”

“Now we know why Arc sticks with having a dog.”

“Oh man, Dun. You didn't really go THERE did you?”

“

Dog Eats Masters Head

5/15/02 - A Florida man had not been seen by any of his acquaintances for a period of four days. The police broke into the locked house and found the headless body of the man lying in front of the fireplace. The body was fully clothed. A chow chow dog was also in the room, and the attitude which it assumed was one of marked hostility. For this reason it was shot immediately.

Examination of the body showed that death had been due to natural causes, namely coronary disease, and that the dog had been responsible for the decapitation. The head had been severed close to the level of the upper borders of the sternum and clavicles, in front, and the line of severance had been continued to the back, at a fairly uniform level. The wound of severance, which showed serrations, was of lacerated type. The cervical vertebrae, with the exception of the seventh, which showed irregular damage to structure, were missing. The arch of the aorta, part of the trachea, most of the oesophagus, and the upper lobe of the left lung had been removed. The condition of the body was consistent with death having occurred some four or five days prior to examination, and the nature of the injuries were consistent with having been caused by the teeth of a dog of the type found in the house. All the injuries had been made after death.

A post-mortem examination of the dog showed that the stomach, which was full, contained portions of the following structures, namely, skin, under-tissue, muscle, bone, lung, brain, trachea, and aorta. A piece of scalp tissue, with greyish-brown hair attached, and three bundles of greyish-brown hair, were also found. In all, twenty-seven pieces of bone were recovered. Vomited matter, found on the floor of the room, was found to contain fourteen pieces of lung tissue, the largest of which measured 5 by 3 inches.

At the house and on the floor, the greater part of the denuded vault of the skull was found. The lower half of the occipital bone, together with the entire base of the skull, and the bones of the face, excepting the lower mandible, were missing. Pericranial tissue was irregularly present over the vault, to which numerous whitish-grey hairs were adherent. The major part of the lower mandible was found near the dog. The edges of the skull were markedly irregular and showed a gnawed appearance. In the absence of both food and water, the dog had been driven to desperation by hunger and thirst, and for this reason had attacked the exposed part of the body of its dead master.”

“What, no comments from the talent?”

“Well, we are all part of the chain. If i died in my house i'd gladly feed my iguanas!”

“sooo, what's for breakfast?”

“I think I'm in love with piranhagirl (see the deserted island post).”

“I knew there was a reason why I don't like dogs...”