So we’ve been on the road now for a while and Chena is slowly getting used to it. I’m surprised by how long it is taking her to adapt to driving in a house. Things move around while we drive, making noise the whole time and she will not sleep and often insists on sitting right next to me in the front. Her diabetes has been ok, though we’ve had different issues in every state.

I don’t know any diabetic people, so I don’t know if it’s normal to need a prescription for syringes and insulin but I know it shouldn’t be. In Argentina and Portland, the 2 places I have lived since Chena was diagnosed with diabetes, no one has ever mentioned to me that you need a piece of paper to get life saving medicine or the syringes to inject it, but every other state so far seems to think this it’s something you need permission from a doctor to get. To me that means “hey, I’m just following orders. I’m going to sit here and watch you die till you have a piece of paper for me”.

When you have a diabetic dog, this also means that Diabetic dog food needs a piece of paper as well (in every other state but Oregon so far). That is just INSANE as far as I’m concerned. I don’t see diabetic food in the grocery store needing any permission slips. What I’ve decided is that canine diabetes, and probably human diabetes, is yet another racket for someone to make money off of – mainly vets and doctors, insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies and all the other red tape dispensers out there. I have allot of respect for vets and at least one friend who is a vet but I don’t have much respect for rules that affect the quality of life of others. I spent most of my life torn between being a vet or an artist (one was less 9 to 5 than the other) but I will admit that even if they have good intentions for the greatest beings on the planet, they are not above being money grubbing bureaucrats.

I first encountered problems in Spokane actually. I ran out of dog food about half way through my stay there and went to the local strip mall Vet’s office. When I went in and walked straight to the prescription pet food in the corner, I was jumped on like an injured deer by wolves, questions gnashed at me from drooling jaws (big exaggeration) as to my needs in their establishment. I didn’t see what I wanted anyway so I said, ” I need a case of Canine WD cans”. The woman looked baffled and disappointed, I apparently hadn’t followed protocol and presented her with a prescription for dog food, food that is in no way toxic or unhealthy for anyone or any dog to consume who is not diabetic. She proceeded to ask me if i was a patient, “no”, “who is your doctor” – “they’re in oregon”, “do you have their number or what is their name” – “gahh I cant remember!”,  – but then I did remember and she gave them a call. She was able to get permission over the phone, still leaving me without a prescription in writing but I hoped for the best – that Washington would be the only anal retentive state (HA!).

Since then, I encountered the same problem in Yucca Valley, California. I called them first to make sure I could get the food there in a conversation which they promptly informed me I needed a prescription as well. It was nearly 6, the hour they closed at, so I called my vet and begged for an expedited fax to the California Vet in question. My vet’s secretary started to argue that she wasn’t sure I was really allowed to get WD either because I had never bought it at their office. “Of course I didn’t buy it at your office, I take the max (the train, and yes with Chena), the Vet there, I don’t remember her name, a woman that I’ve only seen once – she must be kind of new, told me to start her on WD and get a blood testing kit, neither of which I bought from you”. She seemed unmoved and said she would have to wait for the vet to return from lunch. I had very little time, so I was (as I usually do in a Chena moment) panicking a little. While we were waiting a block away from the vets we went into Pet Smart to check the fiber levels on every dog food they carry since a bag of WD can be up to $60 for a 40lb bag. We ended up finding a bag of Science Diet that hat 17% fiber, comparably sufficient and much cheaper than WD, but still something I would have to transition her to. We called the vet at 20 minutes till 6 and they had gotten the fax. When we got there they only had 40lb bags and 10lb bags, one was too big and too expensive and the other was too small and per pound was even more expensive. I decided to try out the Science Diet from Pet Smart and bought 10 cans of WD from the Vet. Unfortunately even that was $30 – not a price I was happy about at $10 more than Oregon but it had to be done. What I wanted even more so than a big stock of prescription dog food was a copy of that prescription, luckily they were completely willing and we now have some sort of scribbled on piece of paper that says I can buy dog food without harassment (how completely silly).

The next problem I ran into with Chena’s diabetes was syringes. I left Portland with a little under 2 full boxes, about 200 syringes. I use 2 a day and always throw them away straight after (sue me for not having a sharps box, I want junkies to find her syringes rather than use ones from their friends arm and get HepC). When we arrived in Van Horn I came to the realization that I was on my last syringe. This is never a problem, usually. We just go to Walmart and get another box, no questions asked. Sometimes I buy insulin at the same time and sometimes not. It was going to be 18 degrees the night we arrived in Van Horn and we were pretty much out of propane for heat so we got a room at the Motel 6. There was a fridge so I took in her insulin and last syringe for her morning shot. When we woke up it was past checkout time and in a flurry of hauling our things to the RV, I must have left the syringe… I didn’t notice yet, assuming it would be in the insulin bag, and attempted to feed Chena like normal, luckily she was in one of her moods and wasn’t going to eat – so when I realized it was gone, she wasn’t too bad off (not supposed to give insulin to a dog who hasn’t eaten). Later that night after she did finally eat is when I noticed unfortunately.. then it was potentially bad. After me and Ross tore apart the RV looking for any syringe that might have possibly been left in a purse, bag, jacket, couch cushion, box, art box, book or drawer, we found nothing. I decided to wait a little while and give her a blood test. She tested at 250, which doesnt mean much to you or me for that matter – because documentation on blood test results for dogs is more or less useless – but I knew it wasnt bad. It wasnt low, under 100 I have assumed from what I have read, and it wasnt high – like 600, where she was last time she had a little diabetic fit. We decided to wait till the morning, a Sunday unfortunately.

I called every Pharmacy in town, all closed, then the Hospital, who said they could not and would not give me needles without a prescription. I of course went off in a rant about letting someone die because they don’t have a prescription and they basically agreed, yes, they would and will. I waited till the last minute to say it was for my dog, a fact that I don’t think should matter, and she recommended a vet. Annoyed and feeling like like any attempts at getting syringes would be hopeless in this town, I called the vet and expected an answering machine with an emergency contact number in its message. Instead a man answered, he had been called in on a completely separate emergency case and just happened to be in the office. I explained to him my situation and how I came to be completely out of syringes in a state far away from my own vet, and he told me he would have to examine Chena and I would have to pay an extra fee for a weekend emergency visit. I was getting pretty pissed at this point and told him I have all the paperwork (most in spanish unfortunately) and asked why my vets diagnosis and proof that she was diabetic wouldn’t be enough to just get some syringes so basically.. she doesn’t die. I think the “so she doesn’t die” thing worked because he agreed that if we brought in the paperwork he would look it over and give us some syringes. A short drive into town and we were equipped with 20 gargantuan, cattle injection sized needles – but needles none the less. He however could not give us a prescription for future syringe needs, because that would involve him having to examine her, something that is not cheap (at the time I had about $7).

The moral of the story is this. Will someone please change state laws so that people dont have to jump through hoops or spend $200 for blood tests every state to keep their pets from dying? PLEEEZE!!!

I still have the honor of finding out how hard it will be to get insulin soon. I have about a week or so left.

p.s. I found a bag of regular insulin needles yesterday and just about jumped off the roof of the RV.

So I bought an RV though not the one in the blog below. That one was just too big and needed allot of work, plus it gets about 6 miles to the gallon. I ended up getting a 73 Dodge Brougham with 80k miles.

It’s a bit ugly inside but It’ll be great once I fix it up. My roommate of the last 2 years might be coming too. I think it would be ready at least by fall, I cant take another winter in Oregon.

Im also going to Mexico for 2 weeks starting Sunday! (14th,june). Its going to be intersting. Ill be staying with a family and hopefully traveling around Mexico City and the surrounding area. Fun! Wish me not robbed by the police!

For my argument class we had to pick a topic and write less than 275 words about it as a letter to the editor of some publication. I choose the local bias newspaper and of course, BSL alternatives. Everyone in the class seemed to like the argument and agreed that my suggestions seemed to make more sense. I hope I at least convinced a couple classmates to see a different light if no one else.

“I am writing in response to the regular position of some of your writers in support of Breed Specific Legislation. When people say that pit bulls are dangerous, they are making a generalization, just as insurance companies use generalizations when they charge young men more for car insurance. Generalizing what “pit bulls” are capable of, or any other breed, is profiling, a practice frowned upon in the human world and no fairer for canines. Contrary to these generalizations, there are a lot of pit bulls who are licensed therapy dogs and in a drill by the American Temperament Test Society to test temperament, “pit bull’s” rated 85% positive ahead of “family dogs” such as Airedales and Beagles. Also, some governments are finding out that BSL laws just don’t work. Holland and Italy have after many years of seeing no positive change, lifted their breed specific bans and instead implemented stricter owner regulations.
Many more productive solutions can be implemented domestically as well that will appease supporters and non supporters of the legislation. Programs to regulate breeding, educate the public on pet ownership, stricter screening at adoption agencies, mandatory maximum penalty for negligent pet owners and aggressive campaigning for spay/neutering are just some of the programs that could do much more than banning specific breeds. The overly simplified solution of BSL cannot replace the effects of action and education. Ultimately, finding alternatives to BSL laws would show an active interest in pleasing both pro BSL and anti-BSL supporters, both of whom deserve their rights considered in an issue so controversial.”

Im going to live in a motor home! There are many reasons why I want a mobile home. I like to travel and take photos, I can work from anywhere I get internet, and It is nearly impossible for me to find an apartment with a “pitbull”. Most places won’t rent to you at all, even if they take dogs. Their insurance companies wont cover attacks by certain breeds so they dont take the risk. The same goes for people with houses and rooms for rent. More time than not, I bring my dog to an interview and they are afraid or mention with a condecending whine “ohh sorry, I cant rent to someone with a pitbull, Its not worth the risk” or, they just suddenly dont take dogs. Even if they do take “pitbulls”, (which hasent been the case in years), a pet deposit is often a $350 non refundable one. Maybe a little cheaper sometimes but its hard enough to pay all the deposits to move in let alone ones you wont get back, even if your dog is older, well behaved and clean. So here is the motor home im looking at for the second time tomorrow.

Its really cool inside, very classic. Im going to completely redo it and make it fully awesome over the next few months. I will also be starting a website for donations by the way.

Dont think of me getting a motor home as me giving into the BSL conspiracy. I know there are options for us somewhere (in a small town in a trashy methy neighbourhood), I do have many more reasons than Chena for getting one. It’s just funny that I realise that it is also an advantage. I will have my own customizable traveling home, assuming I can get it running to par, and I can have the mostly” Walden like” existence I want. It is fully independent, generator and all. I think Chena will be pretty happy with the idea, though she will miss the cats. We can go to the beach, new parks all the time or just walk in the desert (till her wimpy feet get tired). Today she got to lay in the sun as this is the first sunny warm week in Oregon this year. Shes the best.The gate in the back of the photo is the neighbours pitbulls area. Hes not very socialized and its sad, plus hes not neutered so hes just a hyper socially repressed brat who barks at my dog constantly. It’s not hard to raise your dogs right people, seriously. Start by cutting of their balls and taking them to a dog park or something…. yes cutting off their balls seems cruel. I agree. but what is crueler to a domesticated animal is to not cut them off and let them be a total product of their hormones. They dont live in packs and hunt and reproduce anymore. We have contained them from eachother and there isnt a dog-archy of dominant or submissive breeding stock girls and constantly humping males. With their hormones rampant they are ready to breed, hyper intense at times and othertimes agressive. This goes for females too, especially those prone to being the dominate dog over other dogs. It’s not fair to leave them as if they live in a normal natural environment when they dont get to act natural. cut them !

I didnt start it but here it is! It’s pretty great. The only thing I have to wonder is why are so many pitbull videos or Anti BSL videos so completely terrible!? With bad music and sappy everything! Get some balls (metaphorically of course) people, stop relying on the sympathy of others to change things. It doesnt work for animal rights groups and it wont work for us.We have to use facts and proof to win fights just like everyone else. No more SAP!

Check it out!

http://aspcacommunity.ning.com/group/stopbreeddiscrimination

Oliver’s Story- from the Oregon Human Society Website

Oliver

If you have ever felt lost or alone in this world or that no one cared, you might be able to relate to how Oliver felt. If you can remember the first time you ever felt completely loved and cared for, you might be able to understand how Oliver feels now. Oliver’s life has changed dramatically over the past several weeks.  He once was a lost, lonely soul on the streets of Portland until concerned citizens flooded our Humane Investigators with telephone calls. When our Investigators responded, they found Oliver, a six-year-old American Pit Bull mix, wandering alone and almost completely blind in both eyes that had ruptured long ago from glaucoma.

Frightened as Oliver must have been, he quickly responded to the kindness of our officers. Oliver was brought to the safety of the shelter where he was put under the care of our Medical Team. We can only imagine the relief Oliver must of have felt. To be in a place that offered hope, refuge and a second chance. To be surrounded by caring hands, tender voices, full food bowls and a warm bed. He no longer lived to merely survive another day, but was able to wake up and feel a sense of security.

Due to the damage the glaucoma had caused, our staff veterinarians surgically removed both of his eyes. Glaucoma is an extremely painful condition in which fluid accumulates inside the eye which often causes pressure and blindness. Throughout all of his exams and procedures, and the obvious pain and discomfort he was in, Oliver has been amazing. He is so gentle and loving and stoically endures all of his treatments. He has a wonderfully patient nature and tolerant temperament.

Our kennel staff has been working lovingly and diligently with Oliver helping him adjust to having no eyes and shelter life. He is extremely intelligent and has quickly learned the basic commands of  “Easy,” which alerts him he is about to walk into something,  and “Step Up” and “Step Down,” to go in and out of kennels and maneuver stairs. He has also learned that when staff tap gently on his sides, it tells him what direction they want him to go (tap his left side to turn left, right side to turn right).

Oliver has a quiet grace about himself. For all he has been through he seems to realize that something very good is happening to him. A life of real joy and peace is within his reach. Oliver may be blind but now he sees people truly have the capacity to be good and kind. Oliver is no longer lost. The next step in Oliver’s incredible journey is to find the perfect forever home. If you or someone you know is interested in adopting Oliver, you can find out more about him on his profile.

-Denise and Kelly, Foster Care Coordinators

Please consider making a donation to help support OHS, and make more stories like this possible.

Chena and me had another argument with some guy. He was just afraid of dogs but instead of being reasonable about it he was a total asshole, so I told him he didn’t have to be rude about it. Old men dont like being told when their being rude, they think theyve earned the right to be I guess.
So here’s Chena playing with bubble wrap.

• More than 70 percent of all dog bite cases involve unneutered male dogs.
• An unneutered male dog is 2.6 times more likely to bite than is a neutered dog.
• A chained or tethered dog is 2.8 times more likely to bite than a dog who is not chained or tethered.
• 97 percent of dogs involved in fatal dog attacks in 2006 were not spayed/neutered:
• 78 percent were maintained not as pets, but rather for guarding, image enhancement, fighting or breeding.
• 84 percent were maintained by reckless owners—these dogs were abused or neglected, not humanely controlled or contained, or allowed to interact with children unsupervised.

Taken from the ASPCA website

Why cant law makers just listen to these statisctics instead of ruining lives?

What’s Wrong with Breed-Specific Laws?

BSL carries a host of negative and wholly unintended consequences:

• Dogs go into hiding
  Rather than give up their beloved pets, owners of highly regulated or banned breeds often attempt to avoid detection of their “outlaw” dogs by restricting outdoor exercise and socialization and forgoing licensing, microchipping and proper veterinary care, including spay/neuter surgery and essential vaccinations. Such actions have implications both for public safety and the health of these dogs.
• Good owners and dogs are punished
  BSL also causes hardship to responsible owners of entirely friendly, properly supervised and well-socialized dogs who happen to fall within the regulated breed. Although these dog owners have done nothing to endanger the public, they are required to comply with local breed bans and regulations unless they are able to mount successful (and often costly) legal challenges.
• They impart a false sense of security
  Breed-specific laws have a tendency to compromise rather than enhance public safety. When limited animal control resources are used to regulate or ban a certain breed of dog, without regard to behavior, the focus is shifted away from routine, effective enforcement of laws that have the best chance of making our communities safer: dog license laws, leash laws, animal fighting laws, anti-tethering laws, laws facilitating spaying and neutering and laws that require all owners to control their dogs, regardless of breed.

SPAY OR NEUTER YOU DOG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and please STOP BREEDING THEM! There’s enough pets that need homes without your puppies.

Recently I had some girl harass me and in her desperate attempts to win and insult me, brought up my dog.  I don’t know her and she doesn’t know me, apart from my renting a room from her in her tourist scamming apartment in Buenos Aires, over 2 years ago and for 2 weeks. It might have been longer but before I arrived, even with photos, videos, offered references and promises that Chena is the most amazing, calm, perfect dog in the world, she was still worried about her being in her house. When she met Chena finally, she liked her and said she wished she had believed me and let me keep the room longer but now there a German girl booked to take it, and I would have to move. I didn’t want roommates anyway so it worked out.

We hung out at first, went to a show, took the bus to a place or 2 before I got really sick. I couldn’t drink or eat, or even swallow my own spit. Something was horribly wrong with my throat. I laid in bed and waited for it to pass but it only seemed to get worse. She tried to tell me where the hospital was, but knew I would have trouble getting in soon, so she walked me there and talked to the first nurse. The nurse decided I was near death and that I could see someone (its free health care so first come first serve and they don’t care if you’re seen or not). The girl left me there and I waited my turn. Other than that, she never helped me with anything out of the ordinary.

We were becoming friends so helping me wasn’t unheard of, and since I was paying a ridiculous price fo ra room with only a really crappy bed in it, and she didnt have a job aside from ripping off tourists (believe me, that was the only option at the time, most rooms will try to rip you off there). She also brags to have helped me from the airport but, even though it wasn’t my fault that my flight was changed (and i did email her warning her) she had a driver show up both days,  I should have only had to pay for one, but it wasn’t his fault she cant read english very well (she claimed she didnt understand “ill be in town Friday instead of Thursday”). I would have saved money getting a taxi.

Long story short, after my being sick in bed for days, her turning out to be a constant complainer about Buenos Aires (everything bad about the place is not what i needed to hear when i just moved across the world to be there), my culture shock and her deleting emails on my computer while I was away looking at apartments. This ones fun, so… she didn’t like some french girl so she deleted my emails from a french girl.. not even the same girl. The stay ended with her yelling at me about not smiling at her or being talkative every time I walked from the bedroom to the kitchen to get something to drink (this after she got into my computer)… or something like that. Then she yelled at me about when im moving (this was 2 days before i was paid till) because she needs a day to clean an empty room with a bed in it.. which i told her I would clean. Cleaning to a spoiled rotten brazilian girl is apparently a really big deal. After I moved she sent me a few emails about how many favors she did for me, apparently forgetting she has free will, I said thanks, and I was after all paying her allot to stay in her crappy place. I eventually just had to ignore her till she went away.

A week ago, she started again, 2+years later.. How could I have made SUCH a big impression on her, with all the stupid tourists she probably housed for way too much rent, why would I stand out? Well it really started before that because she left comments on this very blog saying negative things about pitbulls and that I  “lie to landlords”. I don’t consider calling my dog a terrier mix (since she is.. why does a pitbull mixed with a lab have to be a pitbull mix and not a lab mix?!), sending PHOTOS and videos of her and offering references, lying. in any way. In the most recent emails, she called me a loser (she knows no facts about me or my life at all), said that I was poor American trash (shes super racist.. in a way only brazilians can be.. shes afraid of pitbulls and black people, so sad) and when I responded with things like “you don’t know me and I don’t know you, what exactly is you’re reasons for emailing me”, she replied with “why dont you get a real dog, that pitbulls site is really pathetic”. That pissed me off so I replied by telling her that “fear = ignorance and she never had any problems with my dog, and knows nothing about me or my dog so again, what is the problem?” and also that “I don’t really respect the opinion of racist people who act like children so, you cant really offend me anyway”. I then created a filter in gmail so that her emails would be deleted, not even in the trash bin, just gone. I told her that I did that and “there’s no point in emailing me anymore”. What did she do next?! She CALLED ME FROM BRAZIL at 7 in the morning! I don’t think she knew i would answer so she stuttered and stammered “STOP.. EMAILING ME!…. BIEEETCH!”. I laughed and she hung up. I had stop emailing her, in fact, I was making an attempt to stop her as well. She then emailed me from my website contact form, again throwing insults at my dog?! Seriously! I’m not comparing my dog to furniture AT ALL, but insulting someones pet is like insulting someone chair or second cousin they’ve never met, its the most nonsensical useless level to sink to. She doesn’t know anything about Chena or me. She also said something to the effect of “I’m as white as you are! but I’m not trash like you!” .. that made me laugh and realize that although she calls herself a translator, she must be the worst in South America because she misread everything I wrote from the beginning, only getting out of it what she wanted to and running like hell with it.

Its just so funny how having a dog like a pitbull makes some really stupid people feel they know things about you, or your dog. Like there are FACTS associated with pitbull owners or even pitbulls. Anyone who knows anything about anything knows that no two people and no two dogs are the same,. We are all products of our upbringing and personal choice and development. My dog came from a pound as a slinking, abused, sad little dog and now she is the smartest most amazing dog ever. We practically have our own language and can communicate anything a 4 year old kid can to each other. It makes me sad that some people choose to be ignorant of the possibilities life can have by being afraid and judging other people and animals. Its really really really sad and I feel sorry for them.

p.s. – This is no joke, this is what the girl looks like, thought it the moment i met her. She also squats like this all the time while she talks to people. Since I didnt have a photo just imagine Gollum with big poofy hair.

Check out our new items and new and improved layout at the Anti BSL Shop: Go to the Anti BSL Shop

Love Thy Pitbull Shirt

“Love Thy Pitbull” on the front and “Save the Pitbulls, End Breed Specific Legislation” on the back.

Im more afraid of your ignorance than you are of my dog, Save the Pitbulls!

Mens Shirts!

We also have Kids Shirts, Wall Calenders and much more! Check it out!

Go to the Anti BSL Shop