Michele
10-19-2010, 01:40 PM
Pit bulls get way too much attention.
Every time a pit bull does anything wrong it gets headlines — sometimes nationally.
Pit bulls have killed people, and a percentage of their owners (but not all) are unsavory people you wouldn’t want to live next to.
Still, I would take a loose pit bull on my block if it meant I could give all those little ankle biters to Michael Vick.
Last week I think I became the first person in history to call the dog catcher on a dog that could fit in my wife’s purse. I didn’t make the call, of course, until I realized I wasn’t going to be able to catch the “dog” to punt it back into its yard.
On Wednesday I walked two bikes to the Kennedy School so I could ride my first grader home from school.
As we rode by a big fenced yard on Missoula Avenue, a little “dog” slipped through the pickets of a vinyl fence and tore after my daughter, barking and snapping. The “dog” knocked my daughter off the bike and scared her half to death.
Jeff Gibson, the former long-time opinion editor at the Standard, once said that owners of dogs should be charged with the crimes their dogs commit.
I took that to mean if a dog barks all night, the owner should get charged as if he had been standing in his back yard at 3 a.m. screaming “hey, hey, hey” at the top of his lungs.
Likewise, I think the owners of that little ankle biter should be charged as if he — or, more likely, she — ran out of the house and pushed my little girl off her bike.
So, I angrily called the animal control, and ranted and raved on the voicemail.
Charlie Dick called me back, did his due diligence and handled the situation accordingly.
The next day we rode by the same house, and the dog wasn’t there to scare any little girls, which was bittersweet because I kind of wanted another chance to punt that “dog.”
That’s how much Butte’s dog problem has improved in the last few months.
No longer do I have to call about the pit bulls, rottweilers and occasional rabid lab or shepherd on the loose.
Instead I am left to worry about the real nuisance animals — the ones with original little-dog syndrome — and the dog catchers seem to have the time to deal with them.
Like most men, I never like to admit when I’m wrong.
When I poked fun at the lack of results by the dog catchers a few months ago, however, it appears I spoke too soon.
Since then I’ve really noticed that our local animal control, led by Ed Randall, have really started making progress in solving the dog problem.
So, kudos are in order.
In the end, though, I’m thankful for that little rodent scaring my daughter.
It made her realize that she doesn’t really want a little dog anymore.
No Jackass
I don’t handle losses well.
When the Bears lost to the Colts in the Super Bowl a few years ago, I needed a Family Guy marathon to talk me off the ledge.
When my team wins, I watch ESPN, the MLB Network or the NFL Network all night to see the highlights as many times as I can. After a loss, I don’t watch any highlights.
Sunday night I wasn’t handling the Bears latest debacle very well, so I figured “Jackass 3D” was just was just what the doctor ordered.
With the wife and kids in bed, I dragged P.R. with me to the Plaza to watch a bunch of grown men do some really stupid things.
I was horribly disappointed.
When we got there, I realized that I didn’t crack the code of the movie theater’s phone line that says there are no “late shows” on Sunday night.
I didn’t realize that means 9:50 p.m. shows are still a go, while
10 p.m. ones are not.
I didn’t realize that a business so shrewd that it gets people to actually pay $7.50 for a medium popcorn would only show the No. 1 movie in American once a night.
I wasn’t the only one fooled by the phone recording.
Instead of “Jackass 3D,” we watched the movie “Red” with a crowd of 25. I’m guessing 23 of those were there to watch “Jackass 3D.”
Luckily, “Red” saved the night, and the Bears’ latest version of Lovieball was long forgotten. The flick is awesome.
Of course, that’s not surprising because every Bruce Willis movie is awesome in my book.
There’s something entertaining about Bruce, even though he pretty much plays the same character in every movie he’s ever been in.
He plays the type of guy who would never call the dog catcher on a chihuahua.
— Sportswriter Bill Foley, who doesn’t consider an animal a dog unless it weighs at least 60 pounds, writes a column that runs Tuesday’s in the Standard. Check out his NFL picks every Friday.
http://www.mtstandard.com/sports/article_97c78ff4-db41-11df-8462-001cc4c03286.html
Every time a pit bull does anything wrong it gets headlines — sometimes nationally.
Pit bulls have killed people, and a percentage of their owners (but not all) are unsavory people you wouldn’t want to live next to.
Still, I would take a loose pit bull on my block if it meant I could give all those little ankle biters to Michael Vick.
Last week I think I became the first person in history to call the dog catcher on a dog that could fit in my wife’s purse. I didn’t make the call, of course, until I realized I wasn’t going to be able to catch the “dog” to punt it back into its yard.
On Wednesday I walked two bikes to the Kennedy School so I could ride my first grader home from school.
As we rode by a big fenced yard on Missoula Avenue, a little “dog” slipped through the pickets of a vinyl fence and tore after my daughter, barking and snapping. The “dog” knocked my daughter off the bike and scared her half to death.
Jeff Gibson, the former long-time opinion editor at the Standard, once said that owners of dogs should be charged with the crimes their dogs commit.
I took that to mean if a dog barks all night, the owner should get charged as if he had been standing in his back yard at 3 a.m. screaming “hey, hey, hey” at the top of his lungs.
Likewise, I think the owners of that little ankle biter should be charged as if he — or, more likely, she — ran out of the house and pushed my little girl off her bike.
So, I angrily called the animal control, and ranted and raved on the voicemail.
Charlie Dick called me back, did his due diligence and handled the situation accordingly.
The next day we rode by the same house, and the dog wasn’t there to scare any little girls, which was bittersweet because I kind of wanted another chance to punt that “dog.”
That’s how much Butte’s dog problem has improved in the last few months.
No longer do I have to call about the pit bulls, rottweilers and occasional rabid lab or shepherd on the loose.
Instead I am left to worry about the real nuisance animals — the ones with original little-dog syndrome — and the dog catchers seem to have the time to deal with them.
Like most men, I never like to admit when I’m wrong.
When I poked fun at the lack of results by the dog catchers a few months ago, however, it appears I spoke too soon.
Since then I’ve really noticed that our local animal control, led by Ed Randall, have really started making progress in solving the dog problem.
So, kudos are in order.
In the end, though, I’m thankful for that little rodent scaring my daughter.
It made her realize that she doesn’t really want a little dog anymore.
No Jackass
I don’t handle losses well.
When the Bears lost to the Colts in the Super Bowl a few years ago, I needed a Family Guy marathon to talk me off the ledge.
When my team wins, I watch ESPN, the MLB Network or the NFL Network all night to see the highlights as many times as I can. After a loss, I don’t watch any highlights.
Sunday night I wasn’t handling the Bears latest debacle very well, so I figured “Jackass 3D” was just was just what the doctor ordered.
With the wife and kids in bed, I dragged P.R. with me to the Plaza to watch a bunch of grown men do some really stupid things.
I was horribly disappointed.
When we got there, I realized that I didn’t crack the code of the movie theater’s phone line that says there are no “late shows” on Sunday night.
I didn’t realize that means 9:50 p.m. shows are still a go, while
10 p.m. ones are not.
I didn’t realize that a business so shrewd that it gets people to actually pay $7.50 for a medium popcorn would only show the No. 1 movie in American once a night.
I wasn’t the only one fooled by the phone recording.
Instead of “Jackass 3D,” we watched the movie “Red” with a crowd of 25. I’m guessing 23 of those were there to watch “Jackass 3D.”
Luckily, “Red” saved the night, and the Bears’ latest version of Lovieball was long forgotten. The flick is awesome.
Of course, that’s not surprising because every Bruce Willis movie is awesome in my book.
There’s something entertaining about Bruce, even though he pretty much plays the same character in every movie he’s ever been in.
He plays the type of guy who would never call the dog catcher on a chihuahua.
— Sportswriter Bill Foley, who doesn’t consider an animal a dog unless it weighs at least 60 pounds, writes a column that runs Tuesday’s in the Standard. Check out his NFL picks every Friday.
http://www.mtstandard.com/sports/article_97c78ff4-db41-11df-8462-001cc4c03286.html