Heart Like a Dog

The Good, the Bad, and the Oh My God of living with dogs!

Crisis Averted

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This morning when I dropped Sampson and Delilah off at daycare The Mellow Mutt was getting a shipment of food.  There was a large pallet, loaded and shrink wrapped sitting outside the door.

Our normal routine is to get out of the car and have a good sniff,  take a couple of piddles and then head inside.

But the pallet really had the dogs unsettled.  They were both looking at it and growling at it and cowering, like they do when they are afraid of something.   We started towards the grass, then they turned and looked back at the pallet and then they looked at me, so I thought well let’s bring them over and let them see what it is, then they won’t be afraid, right?

WRONG!

Delilah was on leash but Sampson was not.  We approached the pallet and they were both sniffing at it and then I’m pretty sure it was Delilah who jumped, which startled Sampson, but either way there was a bark or a growl and they both jumped away from the pallet!

Sampson started to run across the parking lot towards the grass, which borders the road and as I looked up a car was turning in.  Thankfully it was Paxton and his mom and his mom saw the whole thing, so she stopped.  As this was happening I shouted for Sampson and luckily for both of us he came right to me, but I’m very well aware that we could have had a far different outcome.

I immediately took the dogs inside and dropped Delilah off with Sue, by this time the delivery man had removed the hand cart and dropped the pallet.

I called Sampson to me and together we walked outside while he investigated the pallet with no adverse reaction.

Lesson learned, the next time there is something that I can see is frightening them, they both go on leash and we confront it individually with the other dog in a safe and secure place.

Book update: My book has 9,603 words.

I'm Sorry If I Offended You McDonalds

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By now you must have seen this ad.

I got this ad from Seattle Dog Spot

McDonald’s, one of (if not) the biggest fast food chains in the world blatantly and irresponsibly disrespecting the pit bull.

Of course I called the number, and it was automated, and when I pressed the button regarding their ad, I got a recorded apology.

Yes this McDonald’s, the one with revenues of (I believe it says) 27 million dollars.  Had a recorded message apologizing for inadvertently offending some of their customers.

“In our effort to spread the word about our new Chicken McBites, one of our local markets ran an ad that inadvertently offended some of our customers. The ad was insensitive in its mention of pit bulls. We apologize. We are pulling the ad, and will review our creative screening process. It’s never our intent to offend anyone with how we communicate news about McDonald’s.” 

When I was in college I took a Public Relations class, I know who would have ever thought ME, of all people would be interested in Public Relations. 🙂

Part of the class was to look at two PR campaigns. One was successful, the other one wasn’t.

I won’t name the companies because I cannot remember the specifics of each case but they were both big name companies and both companies had to recall their products for health reasons.

The company that failed in their campaign recalled the product and then there was nothing further from the company until they had gotten to the source of the problem and resolved the issue.

The company that succeeded, recalled their product and then kept updating the public frequently as to where they were at in their investigation and how they were handling the issue to be certain it didn’t happen again.

Not surprisingly one company lost public confidence in their product and revenues fell, while the other one weathered the storm, with very little loss of revenues or confidence.

From a public relations point of view, (IMO) McDonald’s has handled this debacle all wrong.  Yes, they did pull the ad and yes they did issue an apology, but it should have been BIGGER.

McDonald’s has a platform to make a difference and they could make a difference by making a LARGE contribution to Pit bull rescue and educating the public about the proper treatment and care for animals.

But then they might have to look into their own backyards and see how the animals they use for food are treated.

How childhood obesity is running unchecked today and how many of those kids eat at McDonald’s.

Surprisingly enough when you go to McDonald’s website and ask what’s in a chicken mcnugget  they tell you chicken, tempura batter and fried in Canola oil.  Wikipedia tells a little different story.

Frankly McDonald’s, I think the pit bull is safer and I’d rather pet one of them, then eat one of your chicken mcnuggets.

I’m sorry if I’ve inadvertently offended you McDonalds.

Call me, I’ll answer my phone personally.

Book Update: It’s like a Bob Seger song, “Still The Same.”

Why Didn't I Think Of That?

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Thursday night is traditionally our obedience class at The Mellow Mutt.  This past Thursday Hubby was planning on working late, so we decided instead of rushing about trying to get ready, we would skip class and give the dogs a quick walk around the block.

Except the dogs didn’t know this, so when I got home Delilah was revved up and ready to go.  She brought me her toy and while I knew there were things I should be doing I felt bad, so I grabbed the toy and let her tug.  Once I’d won the toy from her I tossed it down the hall and she ran to fetch.

Sampson lay on the floor watching.  After the second toss, Delilah brought the toy back and we tugged again.  Then Sampson got up and as I won the toy and tossed it, Sampson ran down the hall and fetched it.  Then he and Delilah began their own tug of war which turned into some wrestling which resulted in about  15 minutes of play time.

Sitting on the floor watching them play brought a smile to my face and I thought, now why couldn’t they have figured this out on their own? 🙂

Book Update:  The book is the same.

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