Huh, I never knew that about bloodhounds, bonny.

I guess I conflate them with coon hounds -- all my neighbors growing up had coon hounds, but they were hunting dogs, kenneled at night, living in small packs and worth their weight in gold to our farmer neighbors.

A good coon hound, people saved up money for and they were serious, serious business -- not breeding-wise, per se, but as a matter of practicality and status.

Your hounds, your horse, your shotgun and your ability to drink beer were signifiers of your manliness. And of course, we were City Folk (from the booming metropolis of St. Joe, MO) and therefore pansified.

My dad had to break up a dogfight bewteen a Dobie and Rottie with his bare hands, kill, field dress and freeze a couple of deer and train an Appaloosa from a foal to gentle obedience with a hackamore to get any cred.

And some folks still thought he was a pussy for using a hackamore, being nice to my mom and reading so damn much.

You ever see Winter's Bone? Yeah, that was pretty much my hood for the first nine years.

Huh. Hadn't thought about that for a while.

Your dad sounds pretty badass to me!

Yeah, it turns out that Bloodhounds are in a class by themselves. Seriously.

I can't quite figure out why they are so different from other hunting breeds, given that the breed isn't some new fangled thang...but they really, truly are virtually untrainable.

Borzois, Bassets and Bulldogs are challenging. Bloodhounds are noses (and salivary glands) on legs. No more, no less. They are weirdly other-dog aggressive, which doesn't make sense.

The only other Bloodhounds I've met around here were a pair that got kicked out of the elite dog park for harming other dogs. Their people were crushed because you can't let them off leash in anything but an iron-clad fence and they can't get enough exercise on a leash.

Also, one breeder mentioned that their slobber (which is the one thing I can't abide) dries like diamonds. If you don't catch it right way, it's there forever. I would perish.

No bloodhounds. Check.

Erin, odd what relative standards people have. (massive obvious understatement)

brenda, you tease. You know I'm dying to hear the story now, right?

Hm, in light of the event I just planned and executed, along with knowledge of organizations in existence like New Orleans Musician Assistance Foundation I am wondering if I can parlay this fundraiser (which was to help cover medical bills for a specific chef) into a similar foundation but to help the culinary community. Like, start a non-profit. Hmm.

Nora, that could be super cool.

So, I had sent J this message:

1) You can't map an old person onto a pet

2) Is [odd username] your cellar door?

And he just responded: Were we both drugged today? I've been loopy all evening and this message makes as much sense as I do right now.

I think I just might not respond. Makes total sense to me, dude.

brenda, you tease. You know I'm dying to hear the story now, right?

Heh. You do know brenda has more than just one bar fight story, right?

Bonny, is there any possibility at all the family could be talked into donating the dog to a local police department or search and rescue organization? She would be handled by a pro, kenneled adequately, and given a *job* that she's good at, which is what she needs more than the love of a family she really isn't mentally or emotionally equipped to care about.

He really doesn't have a clue about the evolution dogs and their relationship with humans!

Not even one.

I mean, you can argue cats as pets*. But, man, dogs domesticated us nearly as much as we domesticated them.

*Not with me, I am a cat person. But then I'm not as much a people person.

Also, one breeder mentioned that their slobber (which is the one thing I can't abide) dries like diamonds. If you don't catch it right way, it's there forever. I would perish.

My stepmom really, for a while, wanted a Newfoundland. But finally, I hope, decided that the drool was too much. She would be way too neurotic. Cute dogs but drool machines.

Had a nummy dinner with Pix, ND, erin-obscura and a not!buffista tonight. I really need to explore more local places because Portland has amazing food.

Nora, sure you could!

Check out Society for Non-Profit Orgs: [link]

and [link]

smonster, it was the early 70's and since I was a kid, it was blissful We had 11 acres of mushroom hunting, tree house building, waterfalls and streams and crawdads.

We did make friends among our neighbors, but we were always looked askance, as dad worked as a telephone lineman, and the neighbor men cobbled together a living: quarter horses, having an App stud, chickens and eggs to sell, smallcropping, breeding and selling coon hounds (NOT puppy mills) They'd work out at Purina or at the hot dog plant sometimes.

The women in the house would run a beauty shop in their home. A couple of brave souls were waitresses. But mostly the were SAHM. Country farm women, they worked hard.

smonster, sorry your date wasn't fireworks and sparkles. But at least you had a nice afternoon?

I have been reading! Books! Oh, novels, I've missed you. I haven't read a book in a week -- I think I was going into anaphylactic shock.

Your dad sounds pretty badass to me!

Like, Atticus badass.