Squirming Porter Series

Squirming Porter Series

James Franco Spotting

I saw James Franco on the street. He was walking with his friend and a small dog who wanted to say hi to Porter and Sadie. So, I tried to act cool and stopped for a second or two to let the dogs sniff each other. Then, of course, Porter started barking for attention and I said "oh, don't worry, he's all bark." And James laughed so sincerely (well, he is of course an actor). I still blush when I think about it. I think I was too embarrassed to say anything else and kind of ran off.

A Loose German Shepherd

On a recent walk with Porter and Sadie, we encountered a huge German Shepherd loose in a park. He was beautiful. Exactly what a German Shepherd should look like. Gorgeous conformation and a pleasant expression. But he was loose. And the park was tiny and just feet away from the West Side Highway that runs the length of Manhattan and known for motorists who don't slow down for pedestrians or bicyclists let alone dogs running free.

Instead of walking through the park, we went around it because I didn't want Porter and Sadie's presence to excite the dog and cause a horrible accident. My plan was thwarted, though, when the dog spotted them anyway and trotted out onto the sidewalk to say hi. It would have actually been safer if I'd walked through the park, because now here we were, on a street corner.

Sadie immediately went into a play bow and the German Shepherd got so excited that he jumped out into the street. Luckily, traffic was stopped at a red light and he didn't get hit. Without even removing his earphones, the dog's owner came running out and was able to call the dog back to safety. What a jerk.

Sadie, Lounging

Porter Pees on Himself

I bought Porter a cute sweatshirt to wear during our last snow storm. It's gray and makes him look like he just finished an especially grueling workout.

Most dog clothes aren't made to correctly fit both the billowing chest of pit bulls as well as their tiny wastes and this was no exception. Manufacturers make garments assuming that if a dog has a huge chest they must also have a huge belly. Not the case in my household.

I decided to test drive the sweatshirt on a particularly cold and blustery day. We walked down to the river and Porter lifted his leg but I didn't see anything come out. Strange considering he hadn't peed at all yet. Then I realized the horror of the situation. Porter had peed alright, just up into the billowing sweatshirt and subsequently all over his own belly and chest.

He was mortified. If dogs could cry he would have been bawling. I felt horrible and immediately undressed him and carried the soiled sweatshirt all the way home.

After washing it, I sewed a dart into the underside and so now Porter can wear it (and pee outside) with pride.

Crazy Woman at Dog Run

This happened months ago but I have not been inspired to blog about it until now. I'm not sure why. Probably because work is very slow and I have the time.

I stepped into the dog run to give a client a short break from his lesson. A woman with an older, very large German Shepherd was already inside. Her dog did something she didn't like, which was so insignificant and obvious dog behavior that I don't remember what the "infraction" even was. That's what makes this story even more depressing.

The woman ran over to her dog and started hitting him on the nose. She hit him hard and in front of a handful of other dog owners. She was obviously out of her mind and a fixture in the run. The other owners turned their backs and rolled their eyes. I, however, couldn't help myself from running over and actually putting my hand out to make her stop. I said something about how that was not the way to train a dog and that hitting him was, in fact, going to do the opposite of what she wanted the punishment to do.

Sharing my thoughts prompted her to turn to her aggression toward me (I was happy she stopped hitting the dog!) and she started yelling things like "why don't you write a paper on why it's bad to hit a dog and once it's published bring it back to me so I can read it." I had to turn away to stifle my laughter. She was deranged and I thought she might start hitting me in the nose.

To think that in current times she has not idea about the depth of research that has been done - and published, none-the-less - about how detrimental it is to hit a dog was beyond me.

I still feel sorry for that beautiful German Shepherd getting hit in the nose that day. No matter what that woman thought, he had no idea why she was doing that to him.

Sadie and Sophie Play Tug

My Beautiful Dogs

Pant Leg Nibbling

While Porter and Sadie are doing much better around strangers in the apartment, I have to remember to only invite people over for the first time when I'm sober. At least the other night I had enough sense to not let Sadie out of the bedroom when my friends Tony and Susan came up to the apartment to use the bathroom quickly after dropping us off, and before driving home to New Jersey.

Porter had met Susan before and he didn't make a peep when she came into the living room. Tony didn't enter with her, though, because he ran to the bathroom as quickly as he could. When he entered the living room, Ben, Susan and I were already relaxed and I think Porter was caught off guard by someone entirely new entering the space.

He ran to Tony and greeted him with a robust bark. Not an alarmed, 'why are here] Sadie-like bark, but a 'welcome to my home, friend' Porter shout. He is our special little guy after all. Tony is a dog person and has had two pits in his life so he wasn't scared, but he didn't help dismiss the behavior either.

Before I knew it, Tony was hugging and kissing Porter, which only fueled the fire. Now, thinking he had a special bond with Tony, Porter wouldn't leave him alone, and even nipped his pant leg when he got up to leave -- an older Porter trick that dates back to the first time I met him.

I was not pleased and embarrassed the next day. Porter is so good yet oh so bad. He's my long term project.

Porter's Little Friend

Porter made a new little friend while at the dog park a few days ago. He wasn't a large playful dog to run around with or a pretty mild mannered pooch to chase the ball alongside. The dog who befriended Porter was tiny, fluffy and attached himself to Porter's front left leg. He wouldn't let go and stayed attached even as Porter moved around and jumped for the ball. Once moving fast enough, the force shook the little guy free, but he consistently came back for more. Porter didn't know what to do. He looked up at me with a sorry, pathetic look on his face as if pleading with me to get the parasite. Eventually, Porter's silent treatment got through the little one.

Sadie "Plays" With Izzy

I boarded a Yorkie puppy named Izzy last weekend and she adored Sadie. Too bad Sadie's head is bigger than Izzy's entire body. Here they are enjoying each other's company. I'm sure Porter was snuggled up next to me when this picture was taken.

Dog Fighting Trial

Yesterday, I went to a courthouse in the Bronx to protest against dog fighting. There was a group of men on trial there and we wanted our voices heard--to tell the judge how despicable we thought they were. I went with my friend Belisa. It was really early and we'd barely had any coffee. We met a handful of other concerned citizens organized by a dog rescue group. Some of them had signs that had sayings like "Real Men Protect God's Creatures" and "Only Cowards Fight Dogs". One sign outed the ring leader by displaying his name. There was a girl too embarrassed to hold up her sign so Belisa and I did it for her.

When the ring leader passed we stared him down. He wouldn't look at us.The cops told us that however much they appreciated what we were doing--they had dogs too, you know--we couldn't do it on the steps of the courthouse. So, we went inside and sat in the audience watching as person after person (come to think of it there were NO women) appear in front of the judge awaiting whatever came next in the process of their arraignment. Some were fined, some were told to do community service, some were told to come back in a month. It was a poorly choreographed circus of criminals and harried lawyers in suits.

In the end, Belisa and I had to leave before any of the seven men we were there for appeared. We got word later on that the ring leader and another defendant were using the same attorney, which caused a conflict and therefore a delay. Out of the other 7 defendants, one was a no show...no excuse...warrant out for his arrest. Anther could not make it due "to car problems," two are now not going to be prosecuted due to "not enough evidence," although one of them is currently in a New Jersey jail on unrelated charges. Another plead not guilty.

I appreciate what the rescue group is doing, but I just can't help but believe it is an ineffective use of their time, especially since the courtroom is so frazzled and since signs aren't allowed, we look no different from those there to support their family members and friends. We could even be the ones awaiting an appearance.

I left the courthouse determined to come up with a plan on how I can work toward making a practical difference in my own community. Making my neighbors aware that dog fighting does happen in Chelsea, a more affluent part of the city than the Bronx, is the first step.

Exterminator

My entire building was exterminated the other day, which meant I had to find someplace for Porter and Sadie to hang out for a few hours lest they become high and risk death by fumigation. The easiest option was for Ben to walk them to my friend Kathryn's place in the West Village in the morning after which I would pick them up in the afternoon and hurry home in time to meet their dog walker.

They looked so confused when I arrived. It was hot (Ben forgot to put the air-conditioner on, though he did flip on NPR and set out a bowl of water). Porter had been there before, but Sadie hadn't and she was quietly barking at the commotion of the front door opening from her hiding spot in the bathroom. When Porter saw it was me he started jumping from piece of furniture to piece of furniture in excitement.

We ended up meeting their dog walker in the stairwell of my building. Hectic NYC day was a success.

Porter plays fort

My sick doggies

Both Porter and Sadie are sick. Not only do they have diarrhea, and accidents in the apartment overnight, but they're very lethargic. On our second walk of the day yesterday, Porter laid down on the sidewalk after only 15 minutes outside. It was muggy and hot but he's never done that so soon into a walk before. We fasted them for a whole day two days ago and the symptoms got better, but made the mistake of feeding them yesterday. Today they're going to eat a mixture of applesauce, chicken broth and pumpkin to try and get them back on track.

Porter sports a spit mustache

Sadie asks, "Who's There?" at the dog park earlier today

Quirky Family

I tend to forget how odd my dogs are until a stranger meets them for the first time. Tim, Sarah's new boyfriend, came with her to pick Sophie up after a sleep over last weekend. It was the first time any of us met Tim. He was great, and I especially appreciated his ability to appreciate both Sadie and Porter.

Sadie's last hurdle is excepting strangers into the apartment without incident. She is getting much better but I still take every opportunity to work with her on this problem of hers. When Sarah and Tim entered, I was standing in the living room next to Sadie telling her no every time she barked at him. Her barking has drastically decreased from what it once was in similar situations. Now it' s more of 'who the hell are you?" instead of "I WILL HURT YOU IFYOU DON'T GET OUT OF HERE NOW!" If you don't know her, however, combined with the small quarters of my apartment, the experience can be unsettling. Tim's response was to tell us over and over again (and quite sincerely) how beautiful she is. At least she has beauty going for her!

Porter, meanwhile, is still anxious about change. It is slowly getting better, but as soon as he saw a person he didn't know enter the apartment, he quickly said hi to him and then ran into the bedroom and started humping his bed. What a greeting.

Eventually, we all sat down in the living room. I was on my huge beanbag chair monitoring Sadie who was by this point chewing on a huge marrow bone, and every so often glaring at our guest. Tim sat on the couch farthest from us, Sarah sat in the middle and Ben closest to Sadie and me. Porter's humping spell finally broke and he came out to join the party. He immediately fixated on Tim, who let him jump on his lap and practically make out with him. I don't love it when Porter does this, but considering how many people are scared of him (because he's a pit bull with a huge head) it makes me feel good when people downright love his attention. I let Tim and Porter get to know each other until Porter got a little too assertive and actually did stick his tongue down his throat.

Next time we'll work on giving Porter some boundaries.

New Dog Walker

Joe is no longer Porter and Sadie's dog walker. He quit, or got fired, the story is unclear. The point is that I was extremely nervous for another walker to take Joe's route in fear that Sadie would be unkind to this person entering our apartment. Turns out that Jay, the new walker, used to work at the daycare that Sadie and Porter went to before it closed and so Sadie knows him. What a relief. She barks a little when he enters the apartment but is otherwise well behaved. Her world has gotten that much bigger and I couldn't be happier.