Is something happening?

Normally in my belly dance classes we have between 8-10 people who sign up, a couple drop off and some drop in from time to time. Imagine the surprise last night to see 24 people! That's almost three times the usual attendance!

Chatting with the instructor she had no idea why, and says she doesn't take it personally which I suppose is good  thinking, especially for the times when no one shows up; and chatting with some of the other 'regulars' they had no idea why either - no articles in the local paper that they knew of. Is it a Halloween thing? Did something happen on "So You Think You Can Dance?" I may never know the reason unless I go up to each of the women and ask.

What's your theory for the sudden interest?

Canine Profiling

Tonight's news told a story of a 6 month old puppy that had to be put down after a pit bull attack in a park. The puppy was on a leash and being trained by his owner. He asked the pit bull owner if the dog was safe to play with and that owner said it was. Sadly it wasn't and it critically mauled the puppy. "Men couldn't pry the pit bull's mouth open after it locked onto the puppy."

A blue tick coonhound puppy was so badly injured in a prolonged attack by a pit bull terrier that it had to be put down.

Three men used a baseball bat in an attempt to pry six-month-old Jet from the jaws of his attacker, but the pit bull only gave up when bear spray was blasted in its face.

By then, Jet was bleeding from the mouth, "had a tear in its back leg, a bad gash down the front and its left shoulder broken in two places and torn open," said Jim Scott, father of Jamie, the puppy's owner.

Police are investigating Thursday evening's attack, which happened after Jamie took Jet, his first dog, to Rudd Park in Saanich. He was holding the puppy on a 10-metre rope to practise basic commands.

Jamie noticed another man throwing a ball for a pit bull.

"I asked him is yours safe to play and he said 'yes'," Jamie, 27, said Friday.

The two dogs sniffed. The other man threw the ball and the pit bull retrieved it and brought it back. But when Jet picked up the ball, the pit bull lunged on him.

"He was submissive because he doesn't know how to fight," Jamie said.

"The other dog grabbed onto his chest and was pulling his chest off. There was a five-inch by four-inch gaping wound on his chest."

The owner of the pit bull laid on his dog trying to unlock its jaws but to no avail.

Jamie tried kicking the dog, then a neighbour brought a baseball bat.

Jamie called Jim, who lives close by, while others called police and the pound.

Jamie got Jet away from the other dog, but because the pit bull was not wearing a collar, it slipped out of its owner's grasp and attacked again.

"It grabbed my dog's front leg and broke it, then went for its face and neck," Jamie said.

A motorist stopped to help, taking the baseball bat.

"But the jaw was so shut, there was no way to get the bat inside [to pry it open]," Jamie said.

"There were three grown men trying to get a pit bull to break its grip and it just wouldn't."

Jim arrived with bear spray, which he blasted into the pit bull's mouth and nose.

"It let go of my dog and my dog started walking away on a broken leg but he didn't get far — he collapsed in front of the pit bull owner's van," Jamie said.

The pit bull was muzzled and taken away by staff from Saanich pound.

Jamie took Jet to a veterinarian but the dog's injuries were extensive and he was put down.

"He's really playful and was never away from me," Jamie said. "He was starting getting into his role as a dog, turning into a really loyal, good dog."

The pit bull was put down late Friday afternoon with the owner's permission, Jaimie said after receiving word from pound officers.

The same dog was involved in a previous attack earlier this year in Victoria, said Sgt. Dean Jantzen of Saanich police.

Read more: http://www.timescolonist.com/life/Puppy+euthanized+after+attack+Saanich+park+bull/3678892/story.html#ixzz12V5KmZUT

This story saddens and horrifies me. And I think if something so horrendous happened to me, I'd probably need sedation for a couple of weeks. But let me tell you that I have long been cautious of where I take my dogs and that times that I'm out with them. After 20+ years of dog ownership and daily walks, I have have seen a lot and have plenty of stories about being ambushed by loose dogs during daylight hours and often while the owners are present. As well, many owners feel no need to even apologize for the inconvenience and trauma they have put me or my dogs through. And like Kim Rossmo or Gavin de Becker, who have developed criteria for criminal profiling, I have developed my own rules for canine profiling. For example, the other day as Eco and I we were walking I saw a lady with a husky wearing a halti (or gentle leader). Now in my experience, the huskies I have met have been very nippy dogs and at first I wasn't sure if it was a muzzle or a halti, so Eco and I pulled off to the side of the path, and let them past. The owner assured me her dog was safe, but there were enough little signs to cause me to be cautious. Maybe her dog was safe, but I am going to do everything I can to keep my dog for as long as I can and without unnecessary wounding.

Fellow dog lovers, I hope that a situation like the one above never happens to you, and I hope that it never happens again. I am not going to ban the breed, as it were, but I will continue to maintain that bad people have bad dogs and I hope that one day people can become more responsible pet owners.

And maybe one day things like Stephen Colbert's March to Restore Sanity will really do just that.

My Lesson for the Week

In yoga philosophy we are to practise "ahimsa" which means nonviolence. Not only physically but in regard to the body, speech and mind. Usually I don't have an issue with this, but earlier this week I had an eye exam where my Optometrist put some drops in my eyes. The drops were painful and I was surprised that my first reaction was anger. I wanted to punch him in the head. Really! I even told him that I no longer liked him and he replied that he would not take that personally.

After my exam was over with the Optometrist I was sent to a technician who was to take a photo of my eyes. This was after the pupil enlarging drops which made me very light sensitive. Kaboom!  A large flash of light in my right eye and instantly I wanted to curse and punch her in the head. Kaboom! Flash of light in my left eye and same reaction. I never noticed before, probably because I'm not frequently in these situations, that when someone else hurts me, how I react. I was a bit surprised with how quickly this emotion came up and what I wanted to do to that person. I can understand how a person can be 'driven' to react when they or a loved one is hurt or being hurt.

So not only do I need to practice nonharming in my own mind, but I will also need to practice refraining from harmful thoughts about others. Thankfully, I don't think I'll have to be in too many situations where others inflict pain on me and for that I am grateful.

Have you had a similar situation? What was your first reaction?

Money - a touchy subject

I know that people have very specific feelings about money and varying definitions of rich and poor. But I'm going to write about money anyway.  For example, when I'm broke, I don't spend money on anything other than the necessities, as in food and shelter. But other people have a very different definition of broke.

For example, one friend of mine complained about being short of money and having to drive an old car. It's only 7 years old (mine is 30 years old - not that we're in a competition or anything, but still). Second she still had a bottle of wine every night and a pack of smokes everyday - which must be around a  $20/day habit. And she seemed to always be shopping for new clothes. I guess finding bargains at Cotton Ginny is very different from shopping at Holt Renfrew but when I'm short on cash, the first thing I stop buying is clothes and alcohol.

And then there's a guy I know who's got 5 kids, including a 5-year old they adopted who has some issues they are dealing with - with is very admirable I agree. He was complaining about being short on cash and having to move to a neighbouring community due to their financial situation and I was thinking about 'angeling' his family at Christmas time with an anonymous gift of groceries or something - until I ran into him in STARBUCKS where he told me he his whole family just returned from a vacation in Las Vegas!

Ok! I'm done. Oh I know what you're thinking - who asked me to help in the first place? who asked me to feel sorry about them? Well, actually they did by complaining to me about being so broke. Why did they tell me about their woes unless they wanted me to commiserate, right?

So tell me, am I completely way off base on this one?