Maggie's Farm

Re: dogs. Try and neuter my dog, and I'll hurt you. How on earth will there be any good dogs left in the world if people cannot breed the smartest, best looking, kindest, hardest working ones possible? It reminds me of the way misguided overeducated people I knew in youth sanctimoniously vowed not to bring a child into an overpopuated world, although they had the emotional and material resources to raise a happy and healthy child who might make a real contribution.

It is linked to the PC cant about "How could you possibly buy a pedigreed dog when there are shelter dogs languishing?" Well, tell me why I should bring home a possibly vicious dog out of guilt when I could buy a good animal? I buy a dog that has at least some assurance of having qualities I want in a member of the family. My dogs have large fenced in yards and a huge place in the country to run free, have free run of the house, get loads of long walks and there is always somebody home to keep them company.

But, for example, having a kid in Special Ed, I have zero tolerance for snappishness, or a dog with PTSD or an unknown history. I have never understood the idiocy of people who will sentimentalize about saving the life of a vicious pit bull or other biting, unreliable canine from a shelter (abandonned by an abusive or exasperated owner), but who want to keep loving, stable, responsible owners from putting a good dog out to stud with the best possible mother, to produce good puppies...

My attitude towards dogs is watch them closely and determine if they are good enough to let them breed. As a dog owner, you have a responsibility (if you have a horribly disobedient or stupid or deformed animal) not to worsen the breed by letting it reproduce.

Obviously no pet store animals, puppy mills...

There are many wonderful mutts out there, but I am shamelessly drawn to beautiful dogs. I will tolerate stupid for the sake of some lovely spaniel ears and silky fur and nice proportions and a loving disposition (many men I know choose their women with a similar set of criteria) ...I like having some idea what I am getting in a dog, so like purebred. Just my quirk.

I have had several beloved pedigreed dogs (GASP! I believe in buying dogs from breeders recommended by other happy owners, but have also been given many puppies because our house is dog heaven) that were "pet grade" and therefore affordabe on my limited budget (of course the real expense is the Science Diet, the shots, the vet visit when they get into a porcupine, etc.). Healthy, happy, loving, reliable (more than could be said about some humanoids in the family) but with serious defects that might diminish the health of future generations. So we either had them fixed or just made sure the fence had no holes, etc. No unwanted pregnancies yet.

I also do not believe the propaganda from vets about how neutered pets are healthier. Yes, they are less likely to run away and risk accidents or fights, and yes it lessens embarassing episodes of doggie humping Great Aunt Ida's leg and little kiddies visiting asking "Why is he doing that?" but that's about it... In my experience, dogs and cats that are neutered often run to fat and can be sluggish (tho I know an adorable brown poodle that this is not true of). Certainly, our labradors so inclined towards blubber (such highy developed foraging and steaing skills, they live to eat!) that I would never get one fixed. Every single one of my parents' labradors that they had fixed died young of some form of cancer after getting fat and sluggish. Perhaps coincidence? But when they stopped getting them fixed, the subsequent dogs lived longer, happier, healthier lives.

All our cats have been fixed because it is impossible to keep them indoors (another politically correct indoctrination---my cats aren't happy unless they can roam the neighborhood, hunt, then curl up on our pillow smelling faintly of mouse) and because I don't want a tomcat peeing everywhere. But we keep our cats as working companions (rid the place of mice, etc.) and they are alley cats, so no great concern about their genetics.

The article on old age sex was great! I suspect uneasily that all of our kids already think it about all of us spry ever-23 year olds....

Re: Germany, like many Europeans, who are still consumed by envy of us, and who let us and our few brave and reliable allies sacrifice, and weasel out themselves, BECAUSE THEY CAN NOW. No consequences. Kinda reminds me of some strained relations between early Quakers in our young American colonies, who could not overcome their scruples and bear arms, even to protect against scalping savages (some of whose blood runs in my veins, so I can say what I like about them), but who were quite ready to be defended by gun toting Christian brutes....Ask a PC twit who is being mugged if he might like to see a rescuing squad car? He might not sneer so nastily any more about "pigs..."

Re: War and love. Good piece, and appealing analogy, but more accurate about Americans' ADHDishness and attitudes towards war than about love. I know that I've felt "in love" for longer than 12-18 months at a time. But perhaps I just belong to a romantic family?

My mom and dad went thru horrific trials and illness etc. together but stayed happily married over 50 years primarily because those feelings of being "in love" recurred often enough to make the struggle worthwhile. They were not otherwise especiallly dutiful or religious or committed to much else, but they mostly adored each other, and got twitchy whenever separated from each other. We children were tangential....

Both had the most disconcerting (to narcissistic children, that is) habit of apparently listening to one, then abrupty exclaiming "I wonder where your mother/father is, I have something important I just must tell them..." As annoying as a newly in love person is to friends they used to pay more attention to before the new inamorato!

As a snarky adolescent repulsed by middle aged lovey dovey parents, I couldn't see what they saw in each other. But they fell in love with each other repeatedly thru the years.

During the last few weeks of my dad's final illness, I remember particularly him doing as my mother asked and putting on his old Navy greatcoat and being pleased as punch that he could still fit into it, 50 years later, and holding her hands and waltzing to Strauss with her around the living room, her in her wheelchair. He reached over and kissed her whispering "My beautiful bride!" and you could tell that in his eyes she was still the only one. So I would say that romantic love doesn't always die. If it's true love, it may seem to be coolling down, but add a few logs, stir it up, and it flames up again...needs tending, but isn't necessarily doomed to go cold...

Thanks, Meta.