I opened the back door this morning to let the dogs out only to discover that, overnight, Vancouver had been transformed into a winter wonderland. The yard, garage, and surrounding trees were adorned with a thick white dusting. And Mother Nature wasn’t done yet. I looked on, amazed, as it continued to flurry, big fat flakes drifting down to perfect the ideal White Christmas tableau. My dogs, on the other hand, weren’t quite as impressed. They eyed the transformation, sniffed the air and exchanged what looked suspiciously like WTF? looks before trotting back inside and going back to sleep.
Alas, no going back to sleep for me. I was up and had errands to run. Gifts to drop off. Comic books to pick up. Girlfriends to drop off at their various English classes!
The road conditions were tricky but manageable, paricularly for a seasoned Montreal driver like yours truly who drives a big-ass SUV and had the foresight to switch out his summer wheels for winter tires. Unfortunately for yours truly, it appears that a significant number of Vancouver drivers: 1. Evidently forgot they lived in Canada and 2. Failed to get winter or all-season tires AND 3. Have evidently never driven in inclement weather before. The streets were a disaster. Cars stuck, spinning their wheels in frustration, or advancing at a cautious snail’s pace, commanding both lanes of the two-lane street. I spent half my day in traffic.
When I returned home, I was finally able to coax the dogs out. But only partway. Whereas the lawn is prime pooping real estate in the spring, summer, and fall, all bets are off come winter. Apparently, now, anywhere it has snowed is fair territory. My french bulldog, Lulu, two three steps, decided the end of the porch was good enough, did her business and scampered back inside.
Today, I’d like to bring to your attention a pet-related cause.
First up, there’s this very sad story about a family dog (a pitbull named Chino) who was shot by a police officer in Charlotte, N.C.:
“That’s when Chino and Ivy rushed outside for some love.
They weren’t barking, they weren’t growling. They were running around me,” Janneth Sanchez said.
Sanchez says she bent over and held Chino by the hips. At the same time Officer D. Bryant yelled at her to grab Chino, and officer Bryant shot and killed Chino by the time he finished his sentence.”
By the way, Janneth Sanchez, Chino’s owner, was eight pregnant at the time. Outrageous.
You can sign a petition demanding that the Police Officer responsible, D.Bryan, Badge # 4450, be held accountable for his actions: TAKE ACTION! Demand Justice for Chino and Ivywww.causes.comChino was shot and killed in Charlotte, NC on private property by a police officer D BRYAN on December 16, 2012. Ivy was also shot but only injured in the incident. Neither dogs were attacking the officer or showing any sign of aggression. Let’s help to get justice for this family. BACKGROUND IN…
Or lend the family some support by visiting here: Justice For Chino and Ivy
It’s just rain, rain and more rain here in the UK. The forecast is for rain until at least Sunday. There hasn’t been a White Christmas in the 4 years I’ve been here. Although my first time driving in the snow 4 years ago was quite . . . um . . . exciting. Don’t blame the slow drivers, Joe. I would be one of them.
My cat Bella is the same come Winter. A couple of steps out the cat flap, squat, strain, dash back inside. Even though she has a litter tray inside sometimes you just gotta go outside . . . just not too far outside!
I feel sorry for the owners of Chino but police officers have to contend with very vicious dogs on a daily basis and I’m sure the officer wouldn’t have done what he did unless he felt he was in danger.
News of note:
Everyone relax. The maple syrup crisis is averted with the arrest of maple syrup theist gang: http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/18/world/americas/maple-syrup-heist/index.html
A really interesting dissection of The Avengers movie: http://www.toddalcott.com/the-avengers-part-1.html
Looks like the same kind of day that we had here in southern New Brunswick. It was supposed to be heavy rainfall, but it turns out the temp was a little too cold for that. Instead we got 15-20cm of heavy, wet snow that caused traffic problems and quite a few minor accidents. I didn’t have any trouble though since even though I have a Jeep, I drive it like it’s a 2WD car with bald tires on ice. In this case, the ice part was true, since that wet snow packs down instantly into solid ice. The day was topped off by a 2 hour power failure in my neighbourhood because of fallen lines.
It looks like a Winter Wonderland here too now, but no worries – we’re supposed to get more rain by the weekend. Of course, THIS was supposed to be rain, so who knows?
I take it you didn’t get a chance to cross the Port Mann bridge yesterday? 😉
My 17 year old gal does her business on the back porch even when the weather is perfect. I figure she’s 17 and can’t see the grass. 😉
She doesn’t always make it outside either.
But I’ll gladly pick up her messes (and occasionally step in them during the night), just to have her around for a little while longer.
As for the Chino incident, I also feel bad for the owners of Chino, but Pit Bulls have a bad reputation (in some cases probably not justified, but even my sister’s Pit Bull is put outside when the kids come visit because that dog has a bad attitude no matter how they try to train him).
Those police were responding to a domestic dispute, so there was already a lot of tension in the air. Pit Bulls don’t always bark or growl before they attack, and that police officer had no way of knowing the temperament of that dog. All he knew was that this 80 pound dog escaped the house when there was high levels of conflict within the family, and was not retrained or under the control of it’s owner. I totally understand how that police officer could feel in imminent danger.
Absolutely horrible story. That man has no business being a police officer. I understand the situation. Three of my closest friends are officers. BOTH of my parents were officers. But this guy overreacted, plain and simple. I can’t say what I would have done if that happened to my Brandi…but it would not be good for anyone involved.
And I WANT SNOW!
We’re expecting our own snowmageddon tomorrow in Ontario. I don’t mind, because I, too, have a kick-ass SUV with all-wheel drive and excellent snow tires, However, like you, I have to contend with the other drivers out there who don’t have snow tires, have little to no winter driving experience, or are just poor drivers at anytime of the year. Otherwise, I’m happy to see some snow for Christmas.
I’m really surprised that you bother to put on snow tires in Vancouver. You don’t usually get much snow there, do you? Even in Toronto, a lot of people don’t use snow tires, since snow often doesn’t accumulate, and if it does, it melts within a couple of days.
Joey, depressing doggie stories are NOT what I need right now. 😛 How’s about something light and fluffy next time, k? (Sorry, the school shooting is still all over the news and I’m having trouble with downer stories at the moment.)
das
I hope the cop gets fired, fined, sued, whatever it takes. I could go on and on, but you’ve all heard it before. “Bully dog” lists (which include your Frenchie and my Boxers, Joe), breed-specific legislation and ignorant people are the real problem. I’m calling bullshit on this one, because if what the woman in the story says is true, there’s no excuse for what the cop did. To discharge a firearm anywhere near a pregnant woman is insane, but is anybody actually looking at that? I’m pissed off and saddened that this keeps happening. Rest in peace, Chino, you poor boy. 🙁
No baby yet! AAAACCCCKKK!
@Joe:
Our dog Lucy (an Alaskan Husky) has the polar opposite reaction to snow (pun somewhat intended); she loves it. When she gets out on the deck, she starts digging in the snow, shoveling her nose through it, rolling in it and generally frolicking around. Then she starts barking a “happy bark” trying to get us to come out and play with her. A half hour later, she still won’t come in. We usually have to bribe her with a treat, and then the next time she goes out, it starts all over again.
We should be getting our 3-6″ (7.5cm to 15cm) of snow later tonight. It’s the worst kind, rain turning into snow, meaning that we’ll have snow-covered ice just about everywhere. I’m hoping the road crews get out and salt early, but based on past experience, that’ll be unlikely.
I loved your story this morning! You described your snowy morning so well, I could see it like a movie reel in my head. We may be getting your storm but it turned into rain when it arrived here. Plus, we’ve got some heavy duty wind gusts (60 mile per hr). I heard that Mobile, Alabama may have gotten a tornado but I haven’t followed up on that story yet.
You have more than ONE girlfriend? Girlfriends to drop off at their various English classes!
At the humane society those dogs won’t go out in the rain. I have to trick them (throw a ball outside) but it only works once or twice. They get wise quickly to that trick and I’m sure your dogs are too smart for it.
I woke up feeling “not great” but after some Aleve/imitrex, and some easy going laps at the YMCA pool…feeling pretty good now. We all went to the morning karate class and then to a Chinese restaurant. It seems odd but the Chinese place has a sushi table. I tried the crunchy shrimp sushi today and it was very good! Every time I eat sushi, I’m wondering if I’m going to be deathly ill tomorrow. I’ve been very lucky so far.
Going to make some Angelettis cookies today. My dad used to love them. http://www.marthastewart.com/326516/angelettis
On the North Carolina story, I’m not surprised they shot the dogs. It’s pretty common in Memphis. One big problem I see is that some of the cops understand know dog behavior. They see a big dog and they freak out. I AM surprised they shot the dog while the owner was holding onto it. Just a couple of weeks ago, a cop shot his PARTNER while trying to shoot a dog. http://secured.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2230234/Memphis-cop-pulls-gun-attacking-dog-shoots-PARTNER-instead.html
😳 Some of the cops DONT understand dog behavior.
JeffW: Cute story yesterday!
Funny…my kids would have the same reaction when I would shove them out the door to walk to school. We lived on a Utah mountain and when the valley received 3″ of snow…we would get 3 feet. I love unassembled ❄⛄snowmen⛄❄
I live in the Utah Red Dessert now. 😕
Yes, there was a tornado in Mobile: http://thealabamabaptist.wordpress.com/2012/12/20/breaking-news-damage-in-mobile-county-tornado-watches-continue/
Anyone here live near there? This is a tough Christmas for some 🙁 .
I promise Mr. M. this will be the last non-related, non-answering post today! A friend of mine updated her iPhone 5 and had to take it the Apple Geniuses to find out why the battery life was nil. They told her it was the update. Now this article says it’s not just iPhones affected but some of the iPads. Real bummer but I’m glad I didn’t update my ios yet! I think I’ll wait until they fix the bugs: http://news.yahoo.com/iphone-5-ipad-mini-users-report-ios-6-194116017.html
@Tam Dixon:
Thanks…the back of my head throbs in remembrance just thinking about it. 😉
And it’s snowing and blowing here in Chicagoland. Guess I better round up the gas for the snow-thrower.
Thank you for the great article and bringing awareness to Chino’s story. If anyone is interested in following Chino’s story and the family looking to get justice please come by and like the page…https://www.facebook.com/JusticeForChinoAndIvy
It’s been awhile since I lived in Vancouver, but I sure loved it when it snowed. We use to get up to our knees where my family lived (Joyce/Boundary Rd) but it was gone as fast as it came. Do enjoy it!
Revolting. Despicable. I really can’t think of words bad enough to describe that officer’s behavior. If that had happened to me, I probably would have reacted in a way that would have made him shoot me to.
I feel so bad for the family of chino. The officer should be charged or fired, personally i have meet many pitbulls and not once did they show aggression. As for the “bully dog” list i think it is bull, any dog can be agressive. My 3 year old border collie heeler cross shows alot of agression to strangers. Everyone i have talked to knows how heelers can be agressive and tempermental and i have trained her probably, never hit her or chained her up. I personally think they need to get rid of the “bully dog” list. Its ridicous why should certain breeds be hated and killed, they should start looking at the real problem which is humans. Everyday people get shot and die but we dont discrimanate and say that race should be hated just because one person decided to kill another or because one race of people were agressive to others. So why do we discrimanate against certain breeds of dogs? Just because 2 pitbulls, or boxers out of 1000s showed agression!
I had to share your links with a friend. She has kept and loves pit bulls. She was not a happy bunny
Very sad news. I am SOOO out of the loop. I just watched a pit bull for the last 7 days…one of the sweetest dogs I have ever met. He was abandoned by whoever kept him. He came with a work crew that was building new homes. My friend saw them leave and he stayed there all night waiting for them to come back. The next day they came back and he stayed with them, but they let again and left him and my friend knew that was their last day working. Moshe just could not bear to see him outside waiting for people who weren’t coming back. I am so glad they found each other. He is loved so much and has a wonderful life now.