Three doors away from us there lives a pretty little black and white cat,
very neat, sleek and dainty, quite ladylike in fact. I have just discovered
that its people do their best to keep it indoors, because it never loses an
opportunity to chase dogs. We get quite a lot of macho dogs along our
street, but this little moggy has them on the run -- and she looks as if
butter wouldn't melt in her mouth.
best joanna
----- Original Message -----
From: "Mark Weiss" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, May 12, 2005 5:44 PM
Subject: Re: LIES, DAMN LIES, AND ANIMAL ADOPTIONS (was Re: 5 snaps)
> This once rare breed has become a potent symbol that crosses the class
> divide. It's alive and well in the minds of the machos or would-be machos
> in my neighborhood, which is why one sees so many of them in the park.
> Good for the owner's image, even when both dog and owner are pussycats.
> Otherwise, why choose a breed that carries an onus and anyway tends to be
> aggressive towards other dogs? There are lots of other effective breeds
> for
> guard dogs that don't come with these problems.
>
> I thought I was tempering an overly-pastoral impulse by including another
> part of the reality of my overwhelmingly friendly multi-everything
> neighborhood.
>
> Mark
>
> At 08:50 AM 5/12/2005, you wrote:
>>Mark Weiss wrote:
>>
>>>THREE IN THE PARK
>>>
>>>Trained to test
>>>the heft of the ball
>>>before tossing.
>>>
>>>Spring. This, he points, is
>>>George Washington, he tells
>>>the African.
>>>
>>>One is tempted
>>>not to notice
>>>the pit bulls.
>>
>>LIES, DAMN LIES, AND ANIMAL ADOPTIONS
>>
>>At the SPCA the directive is out:
>>when we show a dog to an adopter,
>>there is no such dog as a "pit bull."
>>
>>It is a Staffordshire Terrier Mix
>>a poodle with an attitude,
>>an outsized killer Pomeranian.
>>
>>Maybe we can pawn one off
>>as a nastier-than-usual cat because
>>we have too many cats as it is.
>>
>>Public relations: we are afraid
>>people will be afraid if we
>>call the dog by its rightful name.
>>
>>Bad associations: white suburbanites
>>who employ The Colored as nannies
>>and illegal Mexicansas gardeners
>>
>>see in the name "pit bull" some guy
>>in a yellow suit and porkpie hat
>>beating the shit out of a dog
>>
>>to make it vicious. The fact
>>that he succeeds says lots about
>>imagery. Ours, his, but not the dog's.
>>
>>When the dogs are seized by the cops
>>some of them are put down
>>because some of them have killed.
>>
>>The others don't like other dogs but cleave to humans
>>with absolute trust, not because they're stupid but
>>because maybe love really is stronger than death.
>>
>>But it's not stronger than the lies we tell.
>>
>>KTW/5-12-04
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