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Blagojevic gone, but Illinois governor’s race still a dog fight
By David S. Greene
March 1, 2010
Pet killing debate now high profile issue in Illinois: This November, Illinois voters will be going to the polls to select a new governor. You remember the whole Rod Blagojevic mess? Well, he was replaced by Lt. Governor Pat Quinn. Quinn (a Democrat) is now running for election in his own right, and last week came out with a statement about who his prospective running mate might be:
“I think it’s important for our lieutenant governor to be someone who loves dogs,” Quinn said.
That might sound a little odd for a governor’s race, but The Huffington Post tells us the remark has its roots in an ongoing debate over the use of the carbon monoxide gas chamber to kill shelter pets in multiples.
In 2009, the Illinois legislature passed a bill banning the use of carbon monoxide gas chambers for the mass [killing] of dogs. At the time, Sen. [Bill] Brady voted against the bill. And recently, just days after the Feb. 2 primary [for the GOP nomination] he introduced a new bill to re-legalize the practice.
Brady took considerable flak over the proposed legislation from the Humane Society [of the United States] and the story garnered a good deal of media coverage.
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Brady was pretty quick to back off this porcupine:
Brady gutted the legislation Wednesday and turned it over to another sponsor after the Humane Society of the United States condemned the measure and characterized the procedure as cruel.
“A constituent asked me to do it, and I have an obligation to represent my constituents,” Brady said.
“I was never for it, but I thought it was a subject that deserved discussion. But the politics surrounding me being the nominee created an environment that’s more attack mode than discussion mode, so we shelled the bill.”
The Sun-Times reports the “constituent” was an animal-control facility in Brady’s district, apparently one with management that believes killing pets in a cruel and terrifying way is preferable to, you know, just plain old killing them. Someone, please, get those people information on building a no-kill community. Or better yet, replace them with people who at least live in this century.
Oly the Olympic puppy: You may have seen something about a bunch of winter sports taking place in and near Vancouver over the last couple weeks. Jordan Malone is an American short-track skater. He didn’t have a great Olympics, but he did have a best friend who got him through it all.
Uncanny canine carousel carvings: You may know Tim Racer as one of the co-founders of BADRAP. However, you might not know about Tim’s phenomenal talent in creating drop-dead gorgeous canine carousel sculptures. Tim takes up to 700 hours getting these works of art exactly right, and has been known to fly across the country to meet his models, using the opportunity to take precise measurements with calipers. Thanks to Susan and Gina for tipping me off to this SFGate article.
So what does “Cami Missy Diva Piglet Punky Girl” mean? I’m a sucker for psychological discussions that try to analyze tidbits about me and use those little factoids to draw broad-brush conclusions. This one from Forbes Magazine is perfect, then. What you name your pet gives clues as to your personality.
Your dog’s name says a lot about who you are. “The name of a dog reflects the personality and sense of humor of the owner,” says Lisa Peterson, spokeswoman for the American Kennel Club. “For example if you name your toy poodle ‘Brutus,’ that shows a sense of irony.”
Ok, so maybe I won’t learn as much as I hoped, but you should still check it out.
Funny things that veterinary clients say: PetConnection BFF Dr. Patty Khuly has a funny piece on Dolittler about great stuff uttered by her clients. The comments yield even more, so be sure to read them too.
I always like to hear from readers, especially if you have tips, and links for interesting stories. Give me a shout in the comments, or better yet, send me an email.
Image: Ruff weekend on the campaign for state Sen. Bill Brady (HuffPo image).
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Pet naming:
McKenzie = Named by a middle-aged woman whose baby clock has run out, so she subconsciously chose the kind of oh-so-precious name favored by affluent families who get their daughters into the “right” preschool.
:)
I didn’t name Woody or Drew, they came “pre-named” as did the late, great Heather. Faith named herself — or rather, my veterinarian did when he told me to “have Faith” that she’d be born alive. The cats have Italian names because they’re beautiful and so are Italian names.
The birds … hmmm, haven’t worked that one out yet.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — March 1, 2010 @ 9:12 am
Bella, pre-named. Twyla, named after choreographer/dancer for her habit of twirling on her hind legs. Harper, any number of reasons, from just liked it to homage to Harper Lee to see McKenzie above.
Comment by Kim Thornton — March 1, 2010 @ 9:49 am
And Larry Bird? :)
Comment by Gina Spadafori — March 1, 2010 @ 10:00 am
Addy’s full name is [Kennel Name]Talk About the Attitude. Both her breeder and her previous owner (who returned her to the breeder after failing to socialize and train her) called her Atty. Having been a law librarian for too many years, I couldn’t bear to look at that, but didn’t want to really change her name.
So she got a good, old-fashioned New England name, Addy. Which is still short for Attitude. :)
And, oh, yeah, another middle-age woman with no kids doting on her baby here. :)
Comment by Lis — March 1, 2010 @ 10:12 am
thanks for picking up the Brady story. I live in Mclean county and once again, the Chicago and national media has done a better job with this story than the local media.
Animal control is run by the county and has suffered cutbacks in funding for some time now. I assume someone thinks this is a time or money saver. But it seems awful quick and easy for Brady to do this for animal control. There has to be something more yet to this.
Comment by andrea o. — March 1, 2010 @ 10:28 am
Larry Bird was acquired during the ‘86 Lakers/Celtics playoffs and he is Celtics green, so his name was a given. I did try to teach him to say Go Lakers, but he never would do it.
Comment by Kim Thornton — March 1, 2010 @ 10:43 am
Also, I wanted a tea-related name for Harper so her registered name is Rambler Love and Scandal, because those are the best sweeteners of tea.
Comment by Kim Thornton — March 1, 2010 @ 10:45 am
Sydney La Paws. She’s an Aussie, so the city in Australia seemed to suit. (I know, the breed was developed here in the US.) I lived in La Paz once, so a play on words and a prayer that she’d be a peaceful girl. Didn’t work out that way.
I am a big fan of old carousels. Those carvings are beyond astounding. I’m now going to look for more pictures of this talented artist’s work.
Comment by C.L.H. — March 1, 2010 @ 11:16 am
Ahem, Kim. Larry Bird saying “go Lakers” would be wrong on so many levels (it pains me just to write it…)
-signed, with all due respect to His Airness, Larry Legend was the best I ever saw.
Comment by David S. Greene — March 1, 2010 @ 1:14 pm
Yeah, I know. Call me perverse. I won’t deny it.
Comment by Kim Thornton — March 1, 2010 @ 1:30 pm
Now you know—Larry Bird can’t be corrupted so easily. He has his values, and he lives by them.
Comment by Lis — March 1, 2010 @ 3:05 pm
Best comment I found:
“The point here is that Bill Brady is obviously not yet thinking like a statewide candidate,” the Capitol Fax Blog’s Rich Miller pointed out Monday. “For crying out loud, you can’t introduce a bill to help out your local puppy gas chamber when you’re trying to be governor. I mean, seriously, what kind of thought process concocts an idea like that?”
http://thecapitolfaxblog.com/2.....democrats/
Comment by Gina Spadafori — March 1, 2010 @ 3:13 pm
I don’t know what is revealed by my naming my black cats Sophia and Inca.
One looked Italian and got the name Sophia. I agree with Gina that Italian names are beautiful.
The other got the name Inca instead of Inky (being black). I was afraid that if I was angry at her, I might call her Inky Stinky.
Now I call her Inca Binca. Besides, the South American Incas sound like a romantic, wonderful culture.
Comment by Evelyn — March 1, 2010 @ 5:29 pm
Georgia…girl DSH black cat named after my first black cat George, who died last year. This was a mistake. Georgia is NOTHING like George. George was calm and cool. Georgia is a freakn’ crazy daring insatiable feline.
What’s the harm in renaming a cat? My kids said okay. I am trying to come up with something that has the same sound as Georgia so she doesn’t get confused.
Bah- she’s so lovingly nutzo it won’t matter if we call her Rover. She’d still ignore me and climb the curtains to then leap onto the turtle tank.
Comment by ericka — March 1, 2010 @ 7:54 pm
Well, its been a year and a half after adopting my Inca, and she still runs away when I go to feed her. Touching her at certain times is a no-no. She sleeps on the top of lounge chair when I sit in chair part to watch TV. Lo and behold, tonight I sat down to hard. You guessed it, I got a blow when she fell down—right on my cranium.
Maybe I should rename her and call her Disaster. Na, too long. I’ll stick with Inca.
Comment by Evelyn — March 1, 2010 @ 8:55 pm
“The Sun-Times reports the “constituent” was an animal-control facility in Brady’s district, apparently one with management that believes killing pets in a cruel and terrifying way is preferable to, you know, just plain old killing them. Someone, please, get those people information on building a no-kill community. Or better yet, replace them with people who at least live in this century.:
Agreed Totally,
There are many organizations one in Iowa Raccoon Valley, that has instituted a community program that has been extremely successful in allowing those wanting to relinquish their pets into keeping them. I believe the number is 68% of those wanting to relinquish to keeping their pets after the organization does their in home assessment and solution program. Fulfilling the animal with exercise, structured routine, obedience training in a fun atmosphere, taking responsibility for your animal should be promoted…not the gas chamber….
Comment by GWP Rescue — March 2, 2010 @ 7:19 am