The Reason Danes are Great

Every once in a while I have the pleasure to be in the company of a great dog. Today it was a Great Dane, named Bridgette. She and her owner are part of my Dogs and Their Women project, that will benefit shelter and rescue dogs.

When I pulled up to her house, Bridgette came over to greet me, just as I opened my car door. Normally, when seated in the car, I'd bend over and start petting the dog. Not with Bridgette. She's right at nose level, and by that, I mean MY nose! She very calmly started using that great olfactory sense that she possesses and she exuded nothing but confidence with me. She surely got a whiff of my two dogs, as their hair is a permanent part of my car's interior!

Off we went to a nearby county park. Bridgette lopped along with the greatest of ease, reminding me of my good friend's Rhodesian Ridgeback. It's the same style of running I saw when coaching my high school sprint athletes. That graceful lope is a coverup for the speed that lies under the hood! Sure enough, she showed me what she had, causing me to rethink how to focus on such a fast, moving dog!

We finished inside, catching her on the couch as she struggled to stay awake after her extra morning romp. I began to think that I could easily own this breed - athletic, playful and loyal - great characteristics in a giant, dog breed. But the icing on the cake was she was such a regal dog and that I'd never have to bend down to pet a Great Dane! I'll bet her owner agrees.

The Power of Images

This is the first blog post I have ever written without a photo. That is because the visual part of this blog is found at The Oriental movie theatre through Thursday, October 15, 2009.

I have just viewed the movie, "The Cove." Having seen the trailer and knowing it would be difficult to see, I felt I had to bear witness to the work of a skilled, covert team who risked their lives and freedom to extract the short footage of the inhuman slaughter of up to 23,000 bottled-nose dolphins every September - March, in Taji, Japan. If you're already thinking that you could never see this film, please reconsider. It begs you to take action, as the dolphins cannot talk or even swim their way out of this daily entrapment.

The power of this film begins with Ric O'Barry - the man that trained Flipper. Ric admits that his work with Flipper has lead to the exploitation of dolphins for the purposes of dolphin/porpoise water shows, 'swim with the dolphins' parks and lastly, human consumption. He now works to end this exploitation. I think the film does a superb job of explaining the science behind dolphin behavior and communication, and why containment of this cetacean is counter to their lives in the wild.

The actual footage of a series of International Whaling Commission meetings exposes the Japanese government's attempts to continue with their 'whaling' practices by the monetary manipulation of poorer countries, who can swing their IWC vote in the favor of the Japanese.

The film also exposes the Japanese governmental coverup of the Taji, Japan operations, that even go so far as to sell dolphin meat, labeled as whale meat. Even the Japanese people do not know that they are eating mercury ladened dolphin meat with up to 2000 ppm (part per million) of mercury, when the allowable rate is 4 ppm. In Taji, Japan, the school lunch program was built around the compulsory consumption of dolphin meat. That practice has ended, thankfully, due to the actions of two councilmen that wanted to protect their children from the ravaging effects of mercury toxicity.

http://www.apple.com/trailers/independent/thecove