Tuesday, March 11, 2008

It's worse than I thought.

Apparently I talk about dogs alot. Maybe abit to much according to my family. They don't walk around saying, "Hey you're talking about dogs to much". No that would be nice, (blunt but nice) instead they bust on me by saying "And there she goes bringing it back to the dogs" if I happen to mention dogs during a conversation about another topic. Hey sometimes it IS related! Besides, I can't help it if I know lot of dog related stories or tidbits.
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OK maybe they have a point. It happens. Frequently. Not everyone is as enamored by dogs as me. I get that. I didn't realize quite how bad it was until this weekend when there was a function at my grandmothers house. (She is 86 and Fabulous!!!) While seated at the kids table, (a great way to feed denial about my true age) I was the brunt of some jokes regarding my doggy "speech impediment". We all laughed alot and it was fun. It did however make me realize just how often it happens. I guess I need to try harder to stay on topic when dogs aren't the actual subject of the conversation. Yeah, you better wish me luck with that.
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Of course this is a dog blog where I CAN talk all I want about dogs and not get made fun of. Thank goodness for the small things. :-)
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If it is possible to be in love with a book, this is my new love.


Dog Man by Martha Sherrill. It is a story about a man that helped save the akita breed when it was in danger of extinction during WWII. Now I admit I was prepared to like the book for the topic alone. I have had akitas for 16 years so far and I am a fan. (ALERT: Not every breed is appropriate for every home so research BEFORE you buy the cute puppy or beautiful dog you see. PLEASE!!!) I have to say however that my expectations of the book were far exceeded. It is beautifully written with fantastic photos and is about more than the history of a breed. The life lived by Morie and his convictions are astounding. Not to say he was perfect either. Some of his decisions weren't always in the best interests of his family life. It was also interesting to read about another person who loved to talk "dogs". The observations about this from his family were also a bit of a wake up to my own tunnel vision at times regarding the subject. I highly recommend the book to other bibliophiles or dog lovers with an interest in history. It is well worth the time.

*Another book I found that I love is this one put out by Phaidon. http://www.phaidon.com/ Simply titled "dogs" it is antique photos of dogs sprinkled with a few fitting quotes through out. Again another good book for dog and history buffs.


Happy reading!

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I saw that Dog Man book at Borders last weekend and promptly put it on my Paperbackswap wish list. I want.

I have probably 25 dog-related books here that I haven't read yet. Why I need more is beyond me.... but I do!

Anonymous said...

whats wrong with talking dog?
i was with a group of friends recently, all sharing our 'favorite' movies...when it came my turn to fess up, someone asked if its 101 Dalmations! :) ha ha ha maybe if it were 101 Akitas! :) THAT'S how much i talk about dogs...my license plate reveals my breed, my walls are covered with dogs, my calendars = dogs, 90% of my friends have dogs: need i say more?! DOGS
M

Anonymous said...

Guilty. My topic is worse though, because it's all civil rights, breed bans and political issues relating to dogs. 'Pit bulls'. Dog bites. Statistics. Irrational government behaviour. Democracy.

I made a conscious effort not to bring it up among my long-suffering friends about a year ago unless they asked about the Ontario case or other matters around our 'little problem'. It really wasn't that hard.

Being a political junkie, a person with a kid's sense of fairness that never went away and a lifelong dog lover makes it tough to avoid my favourite subject but I can always fall back on subject number 2: horticulture/gardening.

Hey, it's more interesting than talking about the latest pop starlet or clothing or the weather - isn't it?

Anonymous said...

Caveat,

Yes it is better than other topics for sure.

One would say the first step in treatment is admiting you have a problem. LOL

P.S. I've tried to comment on your blog with no success. Not sure why it doesn't like me. Love your blog!!!!

Anonymous said...

Marie,

Thanks for the compliment and back atcha!

I'm not sure what the commenting problem is. Some people have problems for a few tries, then they don't, then they might.

Overall, it shouldn't be a problem. I don't bother moderating (used to, way too much work with little payoff). I just delete comments (it's happened about twice) that incite violence, that kind of thing.

Make sure that when you are putting in your name, you use the lower form, not the login form. Also, backspace over all entered text, including leading blanks if you are making a correction.

Please try again and if it persists, email me at caveatnewsdesk AT hotmail DOT com and I can try to sort it out.