Congratulations! You have just passed Serpent Level XII

Last evening we had a rattlesnake encounter.   When I say “we” I mean me and 4 bitches.  Every night I go out and change sprinklers, do some hand watering, enjoy the garden and I bring my girls with me.   I went out a bit later than usual so it was more like dusk, you know the time when it starts getting darker fast.   So I was in a casual hurry. 

I was at the back of the house and getting ready to go over a wall and turn off some sprinklers when I heard the ominous sound of a rattle. It did not register as an actual snake just a weird noise. I turned around and all 4 bitches were in a surround face off with a rattlesnake from a cautiously curious distance. I could see the snake’s blurry outline in the dark on the lawn. The rattle was surprisingly loud. To be honest it is the first time I have actually ever heard a real one in person.  The dogs were in a cartoon like stare down mode.   It flashed thru my mind how do I get all 4 dogs away from this terribly interesting development. It was just a quick flash because I did not have time to contemplate or make a plan but I was torn between calling the dogs to me or getting Yanni out to help.   I opted for a little of both.   I called all the dogs to me in a very OH MY GOD GET OVER HERE CAUSE YOU ARE GOING TO DIE IF YOU DONT voice.  To my surprise all 4 dogs came to me and went right in the house with little to no argument.    In a breathless panicked voice I shouted to Yanni about the snake.  It took me some time to be coherent and get all the words out properly.  He jumped and went to get the snake wrangling tools.   By then it was pretty dark.    I went back outside to keep an eye on the snake but as I got close the rattling started back up and so I backed away.  I never saw him, I just heard him. This was one mad snake.   If the loudness of the rattle counts for anything, it was also a big one.

Yanni finally arrived with tools but the flashlight was not strong enough.   Funny thing we always have flashlights locked and loaded EXCEPT last night.   It took forever for my nervous hands to get batteries into a flashlight that actually worked.   By this time the snake was gone.  Yanni searched for it for a while but to no avail.   

I was no longer shaking but the images and feeling of doom were hard to shake.   I slept restless and it was still on my mind when I woke.   There are images from life that seer themselves into your brain and this is one of them.    If I were a painter I would be painting it now.   Three Staffords and a Bull Terrier of different ages and experience surrounding a snake rearing up in the lawn and the light very low is without a doubt a once in a lifetime sight to behold.    The expression on each dog was different but all were cautious except Scarlet who was mildly more interested in jumping up to get a fig out of an overhanging branch.  Looking back now, I think if the snake had struck it would have been game on.   The other three would have torn it up.  As it was they were waiting for it to move.  As long as the snake was still I had time.   I probably only had seconds because it was just a matter of time before one of them decided to make the snake move.  I really did not want to take a dog to emergency and pay $2,000 and deal with the after care. 

I have lived in rattlesnake country for over 30 years.  We have had numerous encounters.   Our experience here is real.  It does not come from book or videos.  I have had one dog bitten.   It was in the back of a hind leg so I figure she stepped on it.   There was one encounter between Madison and a big one at my old house that turned out well but this one is by far the most dramatic.   Being dark definitely added a new twist on it.     I love it here.   This is my home.   This is my crazy ass dog’s home too.    This is also the home of numerous creatures that carry all sorts of different degrees of difficulty.   I guess it is like a video game and we just reached a new level.  

 

Resting Guilt Face

Resting Guilt Face

You have all heard of Resting Bitch Face?    Well I would like to introduce you to Resting Guilt Face.   

I have always had resting bitch face.  I remember as a child being in a perfectly good mood and walking by stranger and they would tell me to smile.   I was smiling, I thought.  The reality is, it was an indirect criticism and totally unnecessary.    After it is drilled into me my entire life by well-meaning strangers who think I am mad or sad I started to become a bit frustrated and cranky, and a slightly self-conscious adult.    Now today I don’t care.   My brother on the other hand had resting guilt face.  He was not guilty.   He was a good happy kid.   He was also very much an introvert.   He was the 1970s version of a modern day hoody wearing moody teen but yet he was neither moody nor guilty.    He had resting guilt face and was an introvert.    America is not a great place for an introverted boy to grow into a man.   Many introverts do find their groove but mostly men are expected to be extroverted heroes.  

In the late 70s and early 80s my brother started to be harassed by the cops.   They would stop him often.   I assume today, because he had resting guilt face.    He also drove a motorcycle.  He really liked dirt bikes.   He could do a wheelie in 3^rd gear in an empty parking lot.    He was very proud of that.    My mom was outraged every time the cops pulled him over.     She felt they were picking on him.   My father started to believe the police.  They were making him more introverted and actually turning him moody and he was even starting to actually feel guilty when out and about.    I have been pulled over by a cop perhaps 5 times for traffic issues in my entire life.   My brother had been pulled over that many times or more before he was 20.    He had been arrested and taken in more than once before he was 20.
   
My brother and I grew up in the same white middle class family.  Our parents were educated, we had home cooked food on the table every night when dad came home.    My family traveled and had a lot of fun.   We grew up expecting to go to college.  We were all smart.   We had a text book upbringing.    While all of this was going on with my teen age brother I watched from the sidelines as a disinterested older sister would do.   I knew what was going on but even I figured he must have done something wrong.    One thing I could not deny, a happy dirt bike riding kid grew angry and started to sneak around to avoid being pulled over, but even that added to his guilty persona.   As I grew older my mom would remind me of all of this from time to time literally saying the cops harassed your brother, she would tell me the same numerous stories over and over.   Even to this day 40 years later she is still annoyed.     

Today my brother is angry at law enforcement.   He even still gets pulled over regularly.   He is smart (and white, but does that matter?) and today he knows he did nothing wrong.   He has even gone to court and won more than once.  He still has resting guilt face and today, he is rather sullen about it.   He has two lovely sons who have both graduated from college and are doing quite well.  He is alienated from his family, me included.   We did not help and support him as a family should.   I actually get it.   

There is no such thing as the look of a liar, or guilt, or a bitch.   Even tho judges, cops, John Q and parents use it all the time to make assumptions about a person.    There have been numerous scientific studies done on this topic yet still we put the most credibility on the least effective way to make a judgement.

How would my angry sullen brother be today if he had not been harassed by cops in his teens?     
     

Enough Breeders?

Staffords remain popular as an ultimate companion and foremost all-purpose dog.   However breeding in the U.S. is decreasing.    I would say many in the UK are breeding less or getting out of it except in your case the breeders who are on the outside of the clubs and codes of ethics are breeding more.  

In the U.S. there are more people than ever who want a pup.   Specifically right now because they are home and have the time to devote to a new companion.   Most pet buyers do not understand that we do not have litters and puppies standing buy.   If they want a pup now, they want it now.   Once they find a breeder any breeder who is remotely willing to talk or take their money they immediately put on their puppy goggles.   Health testing, mentoring, quality breeding stock concerns all go out the window.  All of these breeders are experienced in saying all the right feel good things to make this transaction.   We so called responsible health testing breeders do not have the pups.
 

Nothing is going to force us to breed more, or breed for pet homes, or place our good pups in homes that might move forward and become breeders too.    It would however be good for us to acknowledge that the breed is getting more and more popular all over the world while we are not bringing in more breeders and many of the existing breeders only breed when they want a pup.   I have a litter right now.   A large one, 8 pups.  I posted a litter announcement on my Facebook page.    In 24 hours I had 30 applications and the phone was ringing off the hook.    I took the announcement down.    I really like the fact the Stafford is low numbers in this country.    However based on current demand I would expect the commercial breeders to sit up and take notice so this won’t last.   Hopefully being on dangerous dog lists will keep them from entering puppy mill farming.

I don’t think the Stafford will die out here due to lack of breeders but I do think we need more good people breeding.   We need to rethink what makes a good breeder and stop bashing people who breed good health tested dogs to place with others.    You don’t have to keep a pup from every litter you breed to make you a good breeder.    I mark a good breeder on how they keep the health and welfare of their breeding stock, rear their pups, and qualify their new owners and a breeder gets bonus points if they bring new people in to the fancy.