Princess Petra.

Our wonderful new addition to our family, courtesy of American Brittany Rescue. Don't you dare try to take her duck away!

Cody, Our Beloved Brittany Spaniel, 1999-2009.

(shown here with Grandpa, Thanksgiving 2009)

"The one absolutely unselfish friend that man can have in this selfish world, the one that never deserts him, the one that never proves ungrateful or treacherous is his dog. A man's dog stands by him in prosperity and in poverty, in health and in sickness. He will sleep on the cold ground, where the wintry winds blow and the snow drives fiercely, if only he may be near his master's side. He will kiss the hand that has no food to offer. He will lick the wounds and sores that come in encounters with the roughness of the world. He guards the sleep of his pauper master as if he were a prince. When all other friends desert, he remains. When riches take wings, and reputation falls to pieces, he is as constant in his love as the sun in its journey through the heavens.

"If fortune drives the master forth, an outcast in the world, friendless and homeless, the faithful dog asks no higher privilege than that of accompanying him, to guard him against danger, to fight against his enemies. And when the last scene of all comes, and death takes his master in its embrace and his body is laid away in the cold ground, no matter if all other friends pursue their way, there by the graveside will the noble dog be found, his head between his paws, his eyes sad, but open in alert watchfulness, faithful and true even in death".

George Graham Vest - c. 1855

Dawgrights.

The has been quite a ruckus recently in the Ann Arbor News concerning unleashed dogs in local parks. Some have characterized such canines as the Packhounds of the Apocalypse, or as the direct descendants of the rabid hounddog from To Kill a Mockingbird. Part of this fear is based on experience with dogs with slob owners. If your dog is aggressive, you can't have him off a leash, period. You should clean up after your dog, although the claim that a few dozen dogvistors will choke the local park watershed with poop is far fetched (if not, we had better also round up and cage the permanent park residents like squirrels, raccoons, birds, and the feral cats).

But it's cruel to keep a dog penned, housebound, or leashed for the entire lives. Dogs need to sniff, explore, woof, point, chase things and dig stuff up - much like guys. Unfortunately it is possible in early 21st century OprahAmerica to deny these things to dogs by the compulsive "I must have complete access and total control over my environment on my terms and at my whim" types, assisted by hyperlitigous bottom feeders and spineless bureaucrats. Therefore, we need some natural areas that are off limits to such control freaks but are reserved for dogs and their human companions to explore their universe.