LIVE Laporte Hearing Update

Two days ago, on April 8, Marc Andre Laporte, convicted abuser of over 100 wire fox terriers, had his day in court. I turn my blog over to Bingo, survivor of Laporte's House of Horrors, who attended the hearing, and renders this report:

Greetings from Quebec - my name is Bingo Mayer, and I am coming to you LIVE from the courthouse in Saint Jerome, where my former owner and abuser, Mr. Laporte, today faced Judge Sirois. Today the learned Judge, stated on several occasions, that he WILL NOT under any circumstances remit any of the remaining Fox Terriers that survived the kennel of M. A. Laporte. This INCLUDES any of the “red collar” dogs that were picked out from the bunch by Mr. Laporte back in November 2005 at the time of his arrest to be returned to him for breeding purposes. The judge expressed his disappointment that Mr. Laporte has not recanted his claim to those dogs.

The prosecution today requested a fine, 4 or 5 years probation during which time he would not be allowed to keep ANY animals, community service, and a substantial donation. At least that is what I understood. [Of course, if a Wire like me was sitting in judgement, we would sentence him to life in prison, to a cell with no toilet and little food and water. We believe he deserves to be treated as we were treated by him!]

However, friends, remember the judge MUST sentence according to CANADIAN LAW…(not moral law). Canadian law states that animals are considered PROPERTY - therefore, the defense requested that Mr. Laporte have his “property” returned to him AFTER he has served his time. The prosecution, in turn stated that, since the “property” that was confiscated by police was used in the commission of a crime (animal cruelty, of which Mr. Laporte has been found guilty), then he is not entitled to that property, any more than a convicted felon would not be entitled to reclaim his or her cocaine or gun confiscated from a crime scene.

The final outcome was that the judge wishes to investigate the jurisprudence on this point of law before making his final decision on May 6 so that it CANNOT BE OVERTURNED on appeal. All things considered, the outcome was positive, given Canada ’s antiquated laws (dating back to 1892).

This is Bingo Mayer, signing off and reminding you all to be good to yourselves, and to be good to your animals. I was unlucky to endure time with Mr. Laporte, but I now live very happily in a loving and wonderful family. I am truly blessed. Goodbye.

Thank you Bingo for that illuminating report. We will check in with you again on May 6, when we hope Judge Sirois will have found some legal precedent for making sure Laporte cannot reclaim the red collar dogs EVER.

AGC

What the heck is that?

Mom asked me to thank you all for your warm wishes of sympathy on the sad occasion of Aunty Jo's death. Mom is still sad, but the whole thing is still so unreal as she couldn't go to the funeral or be with her family in South Africa during the shiva. She told me that maybe it will hit her when she goes home in October and Aunty Jo is not at the airport to welcome her. Aunty Jo was ALWAYS at the airport to meet every family member whether in transit or visiting for a while.

If Jo's sudden loss wasn't traumatic enough for Mom, 4 days later, her vision went haywire (heh heh, good word...hay + wire) in her left eye! She saw colors and flashes, and she said I looked I was ringed in silver lights when she looked at me. After seeing many doctors, they told her she had had a retina bleed but as yet, they cannot find the cause. Since the bleed, Mom's vision in her left eye is somewhat blurred.

When all this happened, I got scared too, as I thought I might be forcibly enrolled in "Seeing Eye Dog School" so that I could help Mom navigate the world. I have the utmost respect for those seeing eye dogs - but let's be honest, Wires are not very well suited to this work. I would likely lead Mom, accidently of course, into a tree!

Anyway, thank God Mom can see well enough to drive and work and walk me about - the doctors hope it will heal in time, but they aren't sure what the future holds. Mom could use your prayers please.

Last week we visited Dad's parents. I have to admit, I never noticed a big glass box in their living room before. I was just minding my own business, sitting on top of the couch, when I heard a shuffling sound to my left!! I immediately jumped up and looked into the glass box....and there my friends, was the oddest looking creature I've ever seen. So odd in fact, that I let loose a high pitched barking fit so as to warn everyone in the neighborhood, that we'd been invaded by a scaly looking 4-legged creature with something akin to a hard pigs ear on his back which he kept on ducking into!

I ran to Dad and he explained that the creature was known as a turtle, her name is Mister Turtle (yeah, don't ask me to explain that...) and she was rescued from the side of a road when Dad was just a wee boy. So she is about 25 years old and lives in that box under a light and mostly eats worms and salad. Yuch!

Mr. Turtle was quite fascinating to watch creeping about, but after a while everyone tired of my barking and carrying on and they forcibly evicted me from the couch!

AGC

A Very Sad Day

Mom received very sad news this morning from South Africa. Her beloved Aunty Jo passed away suddenly after undergoing surgery on Wednesday. Aunty Jo is my Granny's younger sister, she was only 66. Granny is the oldest of three sisters and they are all very very close. Mom spent a lot of her day crying and thinking about the wonderful memories she has of her special Aunt. Mostly she missed being at home with her parents and family so she could share in the grieving process. It is very hard to be so far away on dreadful days like today.

I did what I could to comfort Mom. Whereever she sat, I sat next to her or on her lap. I knew something was wrong. I kept watch all day and barely barked 'cos I sensed it wasn't the right thing to do. Dad called me a sensitive fellow, Mom agreed and told me that she was grateful for my love. She also told me stories about Aunty Jo. I did have the honor of meeting this fine woman when she shlepped to Mom and Dad's wedding almost 2 years ago. That picture was taken after the wedding when the family went to NY for the day. That is granny (left), Jo (right), 3rd sister Flo is in the back behind the bald guy at right (Uncle Dave, Flo's hubby) and cousin Neil (Flo's son). Looking back, Mom sure is glad she got to do NY with her beloved family.

Mom told me that Aunty Jo was the most giving, kind person ever. She never forgot a birthday or anniversary, she was always there for her friends and family and just gave, gave, gave all the time. This made me remember that she gave me a gift when she met me, so I guess this is all true. Mom told me that Aunty Jo was so creative - she wrote poems and songs, and when she had family over for dinner, she spent hours making special nicknacks to decorate the tables - flowers out of special paper and pipe cleaners for example. [That picture at right is of one of her table settings last September. The photo is lousy, but you can get an idea of her talents - Mom got teary looking at the fried sole on the plates...nothing quite like Aunty Jo's fried fish.]

She was also full of fun - loved to tell jokes, and always joked about putting off the housework, especially defrosting the freezer. Mom and Aunty Jo kept in touch often via email and in their last email Monday, looked forward to being in touch when she got home from the hospital. But it wasn't to be...

Rest in peace darling Aunty Jo. You will forever be remembered and missed.


AGC and My Sad Mommy

Transformation

Hi Friends,
Sorry I've been away from my blog awhile - guess I've been hibernating in the cold weather.
This morning, I woke up and Mom took my picture. She said Ax, this is the "before" photo. I didn't know what she was talking about:

Then she invited me to go for a ride in the car - I love the car - so I jumped right in. It was pouring rain so I was hoping we were going to doggy day care. But alas, we pulled up at Pooches Choice - the place I go sometimes to get groomed! I was bummed out!

I spent almost 7 hours there, and at the end of it all - I was exhausted. I curled up on the couch and Mom took my photo again. Ax, she said, this is the "after" photo. Now I understood what she was talking about:

Boy, I look like a different species! $101 later...and I look slimmer and more like a wire fox than a sheep. Hee hee.

AGC

Fave Auntie

This morning at 7am the phone rang twice and stopped. I woke up and listened and knew immediately that it was the signal from my favorite auntie Lynne that she was leaving her house to come and get me and take me for a magical hike! That's Auntie Lynne pictured here - she is always so much fun. We went for a nice long walk with some other friends in what was left of the snow, and then came home to Mom and Dad for breakfast. Every Sunday after our walk, Mom makes us all breakfast. I got a fried egg - yummy. But it gave me the poos later. But it was worth it I suppose, all that yellow runny stuff...

After the hike I was tired and yawned

and had a lovely long nap.



AGC

Stymied...for now

Yesterday was supposed to be Laporte's hearing and sentencing, but the defense lawyer asked for a postponement and got it! We are all very disappointed as we were so ready to champion our cause. Our friends in Montreal were armed with binders of our petitions and CDs that Mom, Christine and Elizabeth worked so hard to compile; the media were all coming and many others including foster parents; people who helped in the rescue of the wires and even my pal Bingo!

But, I Axel G Chocholoza am the eternal optimist. This setback is not going to make me depressed. Instead, I see this as an opportunity to add to our petition binder print outs and get many more signatures! We are now at 13,766 - I am sure we can get to 20,000 by the next hearing date scheduled for April 8. And I am very proud to tell you, we have signatures from 64 different countries, WOW!

Besides, word on the ground in Montreal is that the press are still interested in the story and were very impressed with our petition. They interviewed Elizabeth and Bingo - I hope to get that link on the blog soon so we can all watch it.

Mr Laporte, enjoy your freedom for 2 more months, you will get your just desserts yet!

In local news, we got 3.2" snow yesterday. I've been having lots of fun hopping about. Photos soon, me promises.

AGC

Snax for everyone!

Dear Friends,

Many of you have written and asked where you can buy your own Snax toys - those fun, round, squeaky rubber toys from Petco - you can see me at right with my Snax collection. Some of you went to Petco and asked for Snax - that made us laugh a lot around here cos Snax is our pet name for the product, not the official one! Some of you tried describing them to the salespeople, but could not find them. They are also NOT on the Petco website.

So, Mom wrote to Petco for more information - and we are happy to say we got a great note back (Mom sent a link to my blog photos of me and Snax - and note that he said I was "a beautiful dog!" ). The Petco rep even referred to them as Snax too - I thought that was lovely. Here is the letter:

Dear Daniella,
Thank you for contacting PETCO. I am excited to hear that Axel has enjoyed having Snax around. Axel is a beautiful dog.
The product you described is the 2 inch Puppy Sweetie Latex dog toy SKU 938424. Regrettably, this product is not available on PETCO.com but can be found in various PETCO stores. I have notified our E-Commerce and Merchandising teams of your suggestion to have this product available online. I would advise your readers to contact their local PETCO store and provide the SKU 938424. They will be ble to verify if the physical product is available in their location.
For assistance with finding store locations, please visit www.petco.com/storelocator
Thank you for your continued patronage. We greatly appreciate your kind comments and we will continue to serve you as best we can.
Sincerely,
Manny B.Customer Relations Floor Supervisor

Mom was impressed with Manny B's lovely note and appreciation for my good looks. So go out and find your Snax people - just take the SKU number along. Let me know if you enjoy them as much as I do!

And in other breaking news: Our petition JUMPED up another 500+ signatures. Mom can't believe it and nor can Dean-O's mom - many jigs continue...

AGC

WE DID IT!!!!

I was fast asleep on the couch when I heard mom SCREAM. I got a big ugly fright. Then I saw mom grinning from ear to ear. A smile wider than any I'd ever seen before lit up her narrow face.

"Axie Pax, We did it!!" she yelled.

The crazy woman tried to lift me in her arms (fat chance mom!) and do a jig, gave up and did a private jig by herself around the coffee table.

"We exceeded our goal of 10,000 signatures Axie Pax, can you believe that??!! 10,000 people said No More Dogs for Marc Andre Laporte!"

Then I understood her joy. I felt this feeling of intense joy creep from the tip of my tail all the way to my little black nose. It was a wonderful feeling folks! I thought of Bingo and of Honeybee and all the survivors of Laporte's hell, and of all the wonderful people who cared for those wounded dogs and all the special people who answered our call to sign the petition, and of our relentless partner in this campaign Christine and Dean-O in Montreal. And it was a very special moment indeed.

We will be printing out the petition and our dear friend Elizabeth will be presenting it to Judge Sirois at Laporte's hearing on February 22.

Stay tuned...we will of course update you as to the outcome.

A great big thank you to everyone out there who helped us attain this awesome accomplishment.

AGC and one happy Mom

What I've been up to...

Yeah yeah I know. I've been on blogging sabbatical. Sorry fans. Mom has been hogging the computer building websites and working a lot. I've been busy myself:

First, I've been busy playing with my favorite toys - we call them Snax and Little Snax. You remember Balloon Man, right? He is now renamed Snax and you can now get Little Snaxes at Petco. I love them. Ok, I'm obsessed! I can't get enough of them. I now have one Snax and 4 Little Snax. I love them all. I take a Little Snax with me on my walk practically ever day. Mom pockets them if we are around big dogs cos she is afraid they'll swallow them. They squeak until I kill them, but even without their squeak they are such fun to play with and I amuse myself for hours throwing them up in the air!

When I get tired of Snax and Little Snax, I wrestle with Ike, my stuffed Wire Fox. Mom puts him on her lap and pretends to cuddle him. This gets me very riled up and jealous so I attack Ike and shake him about. Then we throw him all over the house and I retrieve him. Poor Ike is now blind, I took out his eyes and there is not much left of his nose. Oh, and he's missing some stuffing too.

Which brings me to Duck. Duck was a challenge. He was a gift from Miss Amelia for Hanukkah. He made (notice past tense friends) this amazing honking noise. I tried for weeks to kill him, but he would not die. However, after days and nights of persistence I got that bugger. Duck is now honkless and missing most of his body fat too. Heh heh!

Now that its cold, I have not been groomed for a while. My coat is thick and rather shabby, but it keeps me nice and toasty. Mom doesn't have much body fur, so she relies on hot baths ever night to warm her up. I always accompany her into the bathroom as I'm sure she gets bored lying there sighing or reading her book. I like to hop about and put my front paws up on the bathtub rim. The bath is a clawfoot tub and rather high, so its not easy for me to jump in. Which I do so like to do. But at least once a week, I succeed and SPLASH, Watch out Mom...you got company!!! At which point, Mom jumps out just as fast as I jump in. She's no fun. I then take to drinking all the warm bath water and wading about... When I finally jump out, I always run like the dickens down the stairs and out the back door for a very long pee-pee!

So as you can tell, I have not been just sitting about doing nothing (or watching 14 episodes of Dexter in a row MOTHER!) while you were all left to wonder why I haven't blogged!

AGC

P.S. Snax also make neat hats!

Meet My New Cousins...

Mommy's brother B who lives in South Africa has acquired some furkids. Unfortunately for me, they are not doggies but kitties. Also unfortunately, I am not very likely to ever meet them as I can't imagine flying 24 hours on a plane to South Africa. In any event, I wanted to introduce my new cousins on my blog as they are very cute, even if they are cats! They are Bengal cats, when they are babies they are referred to as cubs and not kittens cos they are descendants of some wild cat, maybe a leopard as their coats are similar. Tosca the girl and Jupiter the boy are bro and sis. Their ears look a lot like Foxie ears don't you think? Heh heh.

Mommy got an email about a missing Smooth girl in Oklahoma. Her name is Foxy and she is 6 years old. She has been missing for a week. Her mommy is very upset of course, so I said I would help to publicize the story in the hope that someone in OK will find her and call her Mommy - night or day at (405) 826-2012 or (713) 562-5968. She looks like a very spunky gal - in the picture she is standing on a billiards table!!

Not much else to report...it's been very cold here but still no snow. Mom is wishing she was back in South Africa this weekend because it is summer and because her cousin Mike is getting married and all the family is together...We take this opportunity to wish Mike and Tessa a very happy marriage forever!

AGC

Congrats to Grandpa and Grandma

I call on all my wirey pals to join me in drinking a grand ol' toast to my Mom's parents, Grandpa Abe and Grandma Reeve who live in South Africa! Today, January 14, they are celebrating their 46th wedding anniversary! Can you imagine living with the same person for that long? That's 322 dog years!!

Below is a picture of the happy couple taken in South Africa when Mom and Dad were visiting in September last year. I don't know who the wooden man is...he has an awfully big head!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!! WE WISH YOU MANY MORE HAPPY AND HEALTHY YEARS TOGETHER!! Come and visit us soon - we miss you. I have met my Grandma twice and Grandpa once when he came for Mom and Dad's wedding. He calls me his "Michel" dog. Don't ask me what that means, I don't question him as he is the man responsible for bring wires into the family and for my name Axel (Grandpa owns a truck-axel manufacturing company in Johannesburg called Go Axels! I am named in his honor).

AGC

Of Visitors and Snoozings

Hello friends. Sorry I have been away for almost 2 weeks. The year has not been off to a great start - we had some disappointing news last week and none of us felt much like blogging. But terriers that we are, we are BACK now and feeling ready to push forward!

Over new years, we hosted a little visitor named Sheina, a chihuahua mix. She lives in New York but has cousins in Philly who have a wee human, and the family didn't want Sheina around, so she ended up at our house for a few days. At 10 years old, she was an old grumpy bitch, uninterested in playing with me so I can't say I enjoyed having her around very much. She also tried to eat all my food and steal my Daddy's affections, so I was quite pleased when her humans came to take her home! Look, if you are going to come and stay at my house, you better make an effort to be nice, especially to ME!

This week, my good friend Sophie also dropped by to visit. She lives around the corner with her Daddy Vince. Sophie is also an old girl, but unlike Sheina, she has a kind spirit and enjoys my company. We are good pals. Mom had just got a new CD in the mail and she wanted to share it with Vince, so we all sat on the sofa and listened. It was some French lady called Piaf singing her lungs out. It hurt my ears, and I wish Mom would realize that she can't sing!!! If I hear her "sing", "Non, je ne regrette rien" once more, I am going to have to dive out the window.

Otherwise, not much to report...I've mainly been hanging on my couch and snoozing a lot. Winter makes me lazy...



AGC

A New Year Beckons

Here I sit, on my favorite spot in the whole world, on top of the couch's arm, contemplating life and the year that has passed.

I had a jolly good year! I went to the ocean on holiday in Cape May, NJ; I visited Gracie in Maine. I spent an interesting 2.5 weeks with the Daschund/Beagle brood while Mom and Dad went to Africa. I made many friends in the dog park and ran and ran. I enjoyed the daily services of my dogwalker. I spent many afternoons at Daycare which I love. I went on many many walks with Mom and Dad. I destroyed many toys and removed many squeakers. I partook of many treats and chews. I swam in many fountains all through Summer despite being warned that I was not allowed to. I connected with many amazing dog bloggers and cyber dog friends. I launched a heartfelt campaign to stop Marc Andre Laporte from abusing any more of my Canadian brothers and sisters...

BOY, 2007 WAS A GOOD YEAR! (Well, except for the itchies over summer)

Here's to another happy, healthy year in 2008!
Happy New Year Everyone!! (Hope there won't be any fireworks!)

AGC

Merry Christmas to my Non-Jewish Friends

Enjoy your holiday, hope you find yummy treats in your stocking and many gaily wrapped gifts under the tree. Hopefully your parents won't follow's Doug's lead and hide your gifts IN the tree:



Special holiday cheer to our wiry friends in Montreal. The signatures continue to rise on our petition...don't forget to sign!! We're at 8,374!

Cheers!
AGC

Laporte Crusade Hits YouTube

Thanks to our friend Nancy for creating this moving YouTube show to highlight our all important campaign against Mr. Laporte:



Please spread it around, everyone should see it!

I end with this petition entry which made Mom laugh out loud...

# 7792: Dec 18, 2007, Claire leone Domney, United Kingdom
Lock him up i his own filth with a dead convict for dinner the ba**ard

We are 3 entries away from 7,800 signatures!!

AGC

A Message from BingoLaporte Survivor

Who would believe by looking at that beautiful photo at right of smiling, happy Bingo and his Mom Helene, that Bingo survived the Laporte House of Horror? In two years, they have travelled a very hard road together, Helene helping Bingo overcome his traumatic past. When Mom and I look at Bingo and his Mom, we can't help smiling and feeling warm all over. To think of what Bingo survived shows just how resilient and special our breed is!

Bingo was very happy to see himself on my blog with his pal Honeybee that he wrote me an email:
I diid see mee an honeebee!!!. Wee wur so happi to bee onyur paige dat we juzt leeped inde aire wit joy! Wood uue tell awl de peepol onyur blog how happi wee R?
Woof …oops I forgawt…I don’t bark anymor.

Well Bingo, you just told everyone yourself. Well done buddy!
Bingo sent other wonderful photos of himself which I'd like to share with you here at left. Mom says he reminds her of me!

By the way, unbelievably, the petition has now accumulated 6,548 signatures! Even the Russians have found us and the Christmas Island people - what do you think they call themselves? Christians? LOL!
I liked the post today from Mary "Mare" Moore #6,539 from Canada - she wrote:

"I am simply appalled at what this man (and others like him) has done to those poor dogs. I'm even MORE appalled at the thought that the judge just might allow him to get some of his dogs back!!!! Only a LIFE-TIME BAN on owning ANY animal is what this guy needs! He doesn't deserve to own a lowly slug let alone anything higher up on the food chain!!!! There is absolutely NO excuse in the world to justify either what he did, nor being allowed to ever own another animal for eternity! "

We couldn't have said it any better Mare. We just hope Judge Sirois feels the same way.

I wonder if the good judge would appreciate an artistic interpretation of the Laporte legacy? Bingo's Mom Helene goes to Honeybee's Mom for art lessons and painted "a series of little dogs coming out of the darkness" to represent Bingo's journey. We think that the painting speaks volumes! I am sure Asta's Mommy who is a great artist, will agree that this is a pawsome picture!

Keep up the good fight! Tell your friends to sign the petition!
Oooh, and before I forget - HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY DEAR CANADIAN PAL DEAN-O! WHO IS 7 TODAY! He and his fabulous Mommy Christine have been working flat out at promoting our petition! Wishing you many more happy and healthy years pal!

AGC

Happy News on the 8th Night of Hanukkah

Mom has gotten me hooked on refreshing the No Dogs for Laporte petition website every 5 minutes! We have been doing jigs around the room all day because the numbers keep jumping upwards! First we aimed for 1,000, then 2,000 and then so many came in today, that Mom kept yelling, "Ax - we need to up the goal dude!! What do you think?" I give a wag for every 1,000, so to date, I told Mom to go with 4,000, but I might have to wake her in the middle of the night with 5 wags if the petition continues to rise. I will be on refresh duty tonight!

Boy the jigs and refreshing is getting tiring, I haven't even had time to eat my Dingo which you can see I left on my keyboard...helping other wires is more fun and gratifying than eating a million Dingoes. That much I can tell you!

So in between the refreshing and the jigging - we did still make time tonight to light our menorah. Tonight alas, is the last night of Hanukkah, so as you can see, we lit 8 candles and the chief candle in the middle known as the shamash. We didn't get to play dreidel again - but when we were doing our petition jigs, we made sure to jig in many circles so we became canine/human dreidels instead!

We also found time to snack as we need our sustenance to keep on fighting for the Blainville wires! Dad worked late tonight and came home with some KFC chicken - I LOVE chicken - eventhough Mom had coincidently barbequed chicken for his dinner already (and I got half of that too!). I won't tell you which chicken I prefer - the Colonel's or Mom's 'cos, I live with Mom!

I'm sad to see the end of Hanukkah - but who can be sad when one only has to run upstairs and hit refresh on the computer. In the time it's taken me to write this blog post - the number has jumped from 3,782 to 3,865 (and I'm a fast blogger!!). Pawsome! And also, I still have one more Hanukkah gift - the postman left a slip in our mailbox to pick up a parcel - I suspect it is the package from Ricky Pepper and his family that "got lost" for a while! Woohoo!

AGC

Meet Laporte Survivors: Bingo and Honeybee

I'd like to introduce you to two very special friends, Bingo and Honeybee (that's Honeybee snuggling on top of Bingo in the photos, they love eachother very much). What makes them extra special is that they are survivors of Marc Andre Laporte's puppymill in Blainville. Forty other foxies who they lived with were not so lucky and did not survive the horror and neglect.

Yesterday these brave pups, met with a journalist from "Journal de Montreal" to tell their story in the hope that it will stop any of the ridiculous talk of Laporte getting his wires back! "Bing and Bee" as they are known, meet every week for "coffee" with their Moms Helene and Elizabeth G. It's a kind of therapy session for everyone. When the wires think of what they have suffered, they get very very sad. In fact they cannot bear to even think about going back to that life again. They are very grateful to all the humans campaigning against such a notion and appear on the blog today to beg you to sign the petition and write letters to Elizabeth Pierce on their behalf (119 16th Street, Roxboro, Québec Canada H8Y 1P1). And speaking of their friend and protector Elizabeth Pierce, here is a photo of her with Honeybee.

All the foster moms explained to the journalist how excruciatingly difficult it was caring for Bingo and Honeybee after they were rescued - they had so many scars from their life with Laporte, it took so much love, patience, medicine, training and effort to nurse them to health. One thing they pointed out to the journalist was that most of the rescued wires have/had conjunctivitis and some are blind because they had lived their little lives in the dark at Laporte's puppy mill.
Can you imagine? I, Axel G, am afraid of the dark, I do not like to go for walks when its dark out, so I shudder to think of what those wires endured living 24/7 in the darkness.

Bingo's Mom told me that when she first acquired Bingo (after one foster family gave up on him), he could not be taken outside! He yelped non stop and at first she had to carry him and put a blindfold on him. One day she lost patience and yelled at him to be quiet, and believe it or not, he responded. After that breakthrough, he made giant leaps of socialization.
"He is so happy now!" she tells me, "He likes old people and children the best. He has other dog friends. He still doesn’t understand toys and if a job is too difficult he easily gives up (eg. a Kong with a cookie that doesn’t come out, gets left there). "

Sometimes she says, he stresses and starts to “make circles”. And not surprisingly, he has nightmares! He sleeps in his Mom's room, in her bed, and when he starts crying and yelping she tells him it’s ok and he calms down.

"I think I have a harder time with his beginnings that Bingo does. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think about the hell he lived in. "

Well, friends, there is no doubt about it, Bingo is one lucky chap to have found such a great home and Mom. Can you just imagine Bingo having to leave this loving home and return to Laporte?! No we can't either and we won't allow it to happen!

Our story has now hit South Florida thanks to the valiant efforts of my Florida pals Jake and Just Harry. Ellie Brecher, general assignment reporter, best known as the Pet Lady for The Miami Herald, blogged about our Laporte campaign after being notified by the Barkalot Boyz and their Mum J1. You can see it here: http://miamiherald.typepad.com/crazy_for_critters/
Well done chums - hopefully all the Montrealers vacationing in Miami will see it!

AGC

"FERMEZ LAPORTE" Update and Don't I look dashing?

Mom and her friends continue the crusade against Marc-Andre Laporte - the convicted wire fox terrier abuser in Montreal, Canada who has the gaul to ask the court to return the very dogs he abused back to him on February 22, 2008. To all sane humans and dogs, this is clearly an INSANE proposal, so the petition, aptly called "No Dogs for Laporte" or "Fermez Laporte" continues. Signatures now stand at close to 1500! If you haven't signed yet or told all your friends to sign, please do now at:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/2/no-dogs-for-laporte

We also ask you to write a letter of protest and mail it to:
Elizabeth Pierce
119 16th Street
Roxboro, Québec
Canada
H8Y 1P1

We are hoping that both the petition and the letters will be presented to the Judge Sirois, and that as a result, Sirois will say, "No dogs for you Laporte, get your pathetic ass to jail!"

And now in other, more cheery news - I got a haircut Friday just in time for the holiday bash at Asta's place in NYC. As you recall, I had a horrible haircut courtesy of Pet Stupid a few months ago - they destroyed my coat by shaving it. Color and texture went out the window. But thanks to new groomers, Pooches Choice, I have been restored in two sessions over 3 months, to my former glory. This is what I looked like before my session on Friday:

I do look cute as can be in my scruffy mode and you can see that the colors were starting to return on my shoulders and back. But look how dashing I looked after my appointment:

Mom and Dad did a jig when they saw me, they keep oohing and ahing about how handsome I am, and who am I to protest their praises?

Hanukkah continues, sans latkes - my mother is very lazy indeed. Today is the family party at our cousins and I am NOT invited because they have a new Yorkie pup and I guess they're nervous I might mistake it for a hairy, yappy latke? Harumpf! So I get to stay home - at least Mom gave me a juicy marrow bone to enjoy to assuage her guilt.

Thank you to Bigfoot Fletch and Maxie for the cute Hanukkah gift that arrived on Thursday. It's a blue Hippo with his name "Zaftig" embroidered down the side. Mom explained that "zaftig" means "FAT" in Yiddish. Amazing that they're making Yiddish/Jewish Hanukkah gifts in China! Mom went holiday shopping yesterday for today's party and was dismayed to see that practically everything she picked up to buy is made in China! We are trying to boycott due to their terrible record in animal rights and environmental issues - but holy cow, it's difficult!

Now, don't forget to sign our petition!

AGC

On the First Night of Hanukkah...

Tonite is the magical 8-day festival of lights: Hanukkah! It celebrates the rededication of the Second Temple at the time of the Maccabee rebellion. The festival is observed by the kindling of lights on each night of the holiday: one on the first night, two on the second, and so on. Here in the USA it is also celebrated by the buying of copious amounts of gifts. But as Mom is not American and never experienced this as a child in South Africa - she doesn't "buy into that shit" to quote her direct. Sure, Dad got a gift (he basically pleaded with Mom to buy him a watch with a built in compass - Mom gave in thinking it would help Dad not get lost so much). So far, I have had one gift - a big furry rat toy from Dad (So far it is still in tact. I am giving myself 8 days to get the squeaker) and of course, the lovely gifts from Miss Amelia.

Hanukkah is Mom's favorite Jewish holiday and I like it too. I especially like latkes. So before we go on, I am going to don my apron and teach you all how to make latkes - pieces of potato fried in oil and topped with either sugar/cinnamon (South Africa) or sour cream and apple sauce (USA). FYI - in Israel, where Mom spent 6.5 years of her life before meeting Dad and Me, they also eat lots and lots of donuts, known as sufganiyot during the holiday.

So with apologies to Rachel Ray...

Step 1: Peel the potatoes


Step 2: Grate the potatoes - you can use a food processor but doing it on a tiny grater has better effect says Mom...watch those fingers/paws everyone..



Step 3: Grate onion (try do it with your eyes closed as Mom started to weep half way through...)



Step 4: Beat 2 eggs and mix with some flour and baking powder



Step 5: In true Chanukah spirit, drench a pan in oil and add latke mixture.



Step 6: When browned, remove latkes and place on paper towel to absorb all the oil.



Step 7: Transfer latkes to a pretty plate and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar - that's how Mom likes it. Dad prefers the sour cream/apple sauce but Mom forgot to buy any!



Here is a picture of me from 2005 enjoying my very first latke. Boy I was thin in those heedy days:

I am really looking forward to going to Asta's holiday party on Dec. 6. Me and the Barkalot Boys Jake and Harry, being of the Jewish persuasion, will be bringing our latkes, donuts, dreidls (spinning tops) and Hanukkah music along to share our holiday spirit!

Dreidls (pictured right) are a big part of Hanukkah, and playing the Dreidl game is so much fun, it's even better than poker. Dreidl is a spinning top in Yiddish. They are known as a sivivon in Hebrew. Players use pennies, nuts, raisins, or chocolate coins (gelt) as tokens or chips. When us canines play, we will use pennies, Pupperoni, Milkbones, Wellness Wellbars, Natural Balance mini-logs and other delectable treats. Here is how it works:

Every dreidl has 4 symbols on it as it's a 4-sided top. These are letters of the Hebrew alphabet:

These letters mean "A Great Miracle Happened There". In Israel the dreidel is a bit different in that their letters mean " A Miracle Happened HERE!" The player spins the dreidel. When the dreidel stops, the letter that is facing up decides the fate.
NUN - nothing happens - next player spins the dreidel
GIMEL - player takes all tokens in the pot
HEY - player takes half of the pot
SHIN - player must put one token into the pot

See, its very easy. The challenge dear friends will be spinning the damn thing using our paws! Maybe we can just toss it in the air instead?
Or, we can do what George the Boxer does:

There are many wonderful songs associated with Hanukkah - I have two favorites, "Oh Hanukkah!" and "The Dreidl Song". The words of the first song capture the spirit of the holiday:

Chanuka, oh Chanuka

Chanuka, Oh Chanuka, come light the Menorah
Let's have a party, we'll all dance the hora
Gather round the table, we'll all have a treat
Sivivon to play with, and latkes to eat.
And while we are playing
The candles are burning bright
One for each night, they shed a sweet light
To remind us of days long ago.
One for each night, they shed a sweet light
To remind us of days long ago.

To hear the tune, you can watch this movie I found on Youtube of little kids giving it a go - sing along, it's good practice for our party on Friday.


And while we play the Dreidl game we will sing The Dreidl Song:

I Have a Little Dreidel
I have a little dreidel
I made it out of clay
And when it's dry and ready
Then dreidel I shall play!

(Chorus)Oh dreidel, dreidel, dreidel
I made it out of clay
And when it's dry and ready
Then dreidel I shall play!

It has a lovely body
With legs so short and thin
And when my dreidel's tired
It drops and then I win!

(Chorus)

My dreidel's always playful
It loves to dance and spin
A happy game of dreidel
Come play now, let's begin!
(Chorus)

Here you can see some cute kindergarten kids at their holiday concert singing the song. Sing along everyone!



HAPPY HANUKKAH EVERYONE!!!

AGC