Seals Are Just Dog Mermaids: Therefore Dogs Should Be Allowed on Summer Beaches!

***above photo is courtesy of MICHAEL BAGLEY PHOTOGRAPHY… the most PAWSOME pet photography studio in ALL THE LAND!!!

It is nearly summertime at the Jersey Shore. That’s not the best thing if you’re a dog, because the townships impose a “no dog” rule for the beaches during active summer tourist season.  The beach is my favorite place IN THE WHOLE ENTIRE UNIVERSE!!! I am the KING OF MY JETTIES (I have two, one south and one north – and yes, they are MINE!… I mark them regularly!)

It’s not fair that summer brings with it beach evictions for canines. I pick up my dookie, so that’s not the problem (ok, The Human picks it up, but same-same). I want to enjoy the beach when the temperatures are truly ideal for an ocean swim! Do you know how cold the Atlantic is pre-Summer? Brrr!!! I mean, I’ve got fur but eeek!

I recently posted the following graphic about seals on The Lanther’s Facebook and The Lanther’s Twitter pages, and now I post it here to further my argument in favor of a movement I call, “Paws on the Sand.”

Seals ARE just dog mermaids. So let’s follow the logic.

If seals are just dog mermaids, then dogs are land seals. Seals are allowed on the beach anytime they want. In fact, they are given the right of way by marine life officials – humans must yield and stay away.  So therefore, if seals are allowed on the beach all year-long, and seals are just dog mermaids… dogs should be allowed on the beach all year-long, right? I mean, ARE YA PICKING UP WHAT I’M PUTTING DOWN? (Yes, my Human, I know you pick up what I put down, I mentioned that earlier if you paid attention).

Write a letter to your government leaders supporting “Paws on the Sand” today! And try not to drool on or eat the letter prior to mailing!

THIS MESSAGE IS APPROVED BY THE LANTHER AND HIS BAND OF MERRY DOG RIGHTS ACTIVISTS

(most of which are 4-legged, panting and furry).

WOOF!!!

The Lanther’s Winter Ballet

It troubles me to see how long of a hiatus I have taken from blogging! It is, OF COURSE, The Human’s fault. If I listed the ways that she has been lazy around here, I’d have writer’s paw and the outline to a future novel! But I digress… onto more important things than the lethargy of The Human.

It has been quite a Fall/Winter this year. I have immensely enjoyed my time at the shore, being able to run amok on barren beaches, few people in sight. The Human was a trooper in the face of the bitter cold and cutting winds of Mistress Winter. She had me out and running several times a day, nearly every day. She often braved the chilly temperatures dressed embarrassingly like a mismatched bag lady, but what really matters is that she got out there with me. One of her favorite style choices came to be a bright red ski suit, meant for snow, but used on the sandy beach (sigh), FASHION POLICE!!! Embarrassment aside… for her extreme dedication to my exercise needs, I love her… (for her continued exposure of my young mind to senseless, over-dramatic reality TV,  I DO NOT – but that’s another story).

In honor of a winter that was so amazing, I present to you, my audience…

THE LANTHER’S WINTER BALLET:

A brilliant display of vivid images capturing the skilled choreography of my red ski-suited Human and I.

We were honored to have the great and talented Michael Bagley of Michael Bagley Photography document our performance photographically (Thanks, you’re awesome Dude!). Goodbye sweet peaceful winter that we enjoyed so much!

The Lanther and The Human

From the wreckage… WE RISE!!!

Greetings fair Citizens!

The last month has brought with it much destruction and chaos due to the wiles of an evil villainess known to all as Hurricane Sandy. She ravaged the landscape of our NJ coastline, home to the Human and I.

We walked the grounds belonging to our family and friends, as well as our own. We encountered wreckage everywhere. Our Granny’s former home was flooded with 3 feet of water… friends’ homes and properties were annihilated… boats were tossed about like dice in Atlantic City… mountains of debris and sopping wet house guts were piled up to be discarded… industrial dumpsters were strategically placed on every street with monster trucks arriving in convoy to haul it away… National Guardsmen and Police were trooping the storm “war zone.” Quite a sight.

Sandy did her worst and blew out of town leaving behind her destruction and her lowly band of goons, THE LOOTERS, to wreak more havoc. They crossed into THE ZONE by land and water, attempting to circumvent the authorities and steal valuables from unattended, storm-damaged homes.

CITIZENS! WE WILL PREVAIL!!!

For I know of a pair of superheros bound and determined to bring Sandy’s band of thugs to justice!!!

THEY ARE…

BAT-LANTHER AND HIS TRUSTY SIDEKICK CANINIA SLAVE!!!

REST EASY CITIZENS! YOUR STREETS WILL BE SAFE AGAIN!!!

AWOOOOOOOOO!!!

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***Bat-Lanther and Caninia Slave photos courtesy of Michael Bagley Photography (www.michaelbagleyphoto.com) – Thanks, we love your work and love of animals!

***Thanks also to Harness Lead www.harnesslead.com for being a useful canine tool before, during and after the storm. The Human and I stayed with 2 other humans and 4 other dogs, and we all used our Harness Leads.

Coming Soon…

I lack in posting since Hurricane Sandy kicked the crap out of my home seashore. Stay tuned, my return is imminent!

Nor’Easter Following Sandy

Ruh-Roh Raggy!!!

Now a Nor’easter Targets Our Coast right after Hurricane Sandy!

Bark! Bark! Bark!

http://www.foxnews.com/weather/2012/11/06/noreaster-has-sandy-ravaged-region-in-its-crosshairs/

Very brief status update POST HURRICANE SANDY

Alas… internet access! Communications and utilities have been zero to weak due to Hurricane Sandy… which hit directly HERE, in our generally sleepy little vicinity!

I and the Human are SAFE, but displaced. Our area and community got punked HARD by the storm!

Lots to tell… but not in this post.

More to follow…

The Calm Before the Storm

The Human and I are preparing for the arrival of the “Perfect Storm” aka HURRICANE SANDY.  We live right on the coast of NJ.

We have had a lot to do, but we managed to get in a photo session with Harness Lead and Mike Bagley Photography today.  Thanks to both!

We think you will enjoy this shot of the Human and I, which we have dubbed, THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM

Home is Where the Heart Is…

The last few weeks have been really crazy and confusing and weird and up and down, etc. The Human and I are getting ready to move in the near future. We lived with Granny, and now her home is going to belong to someone new. It was our HOME, but it is not our HOUSE. The moving process has begun to happen in phases with different folks coming and going with all of their boxes and movers. I even gave a hand to my Gramps in tying down a tarp on the trailer one day.

The Human says there is a possibility for us to go just about anywhere next… someone else told us that “the world is your oyster now.” What the heck does that mean? Is the world a gooey gob of a creature that lives in a shell in the ocean, who occasionally hacks up a pearl?

My dog park injury is doing great. My wounds are closed and in the last stages of healing, my fur is starting to regrow. No more gauze pads or medical tape. No more cones. I have even gotten back to my bay beach a couple of times. It was so nice to run like a free wild stallion again!

But mostly our days at the house are precious and few, so the Human and I spend a lot of time at home, and on the backyard swing… thinking of Granny and how much we are going to miss her and her house… SHE and this place, were what we called HOME (it really is WHERE THE HEART IS…).

SURVIVOR: “Coney” Island

PREVIOUSLY  on SURVIVOR: “Coney” Island…

I, The Lanther,  had a situation which led me to  have to don the dreaded “Cone of Shame” (against my will, of course)

Here are my progress notes:

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SEPTEMBER 24TH:  

I’m being oppressed. Kept licking my stitches on my chest. First the Tshirt, now the alien cone.

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LATER ON SEPTEMBER 24TH:

 OK Human, inflatable rig more comfy than Cone, but I look like I’m fleeing Titanic. “I will never let go!”

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SEPTEMBER 26TH:

“In the event of a water landing, life vests are located beneath your seats. Place the vest over your head…”

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SEPTEMBER 27TH: 

Plane went down in the Everglades. Trusty life vest thwarted gator ambush. Terminated with extreme prejudice.

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TODAY – SEPTEMBER 30TH:

Made it to shore… taking a break from my trusty life vest.

Dog Park / Toy Guarding Lesson Learned

Hello Peeps,

I had an unfortunate situation with a fellow canine at my dog park last night. I needed to get stitches when it was all barked and done. Boo!

My Human feels extra bad because the situation seemed to be escalated by my big red ball. Seems the other doggy really wanted to have it for himself. Usually no other dogs give a poop about my big red ball.  But this dog in particular WAS interested. He chased and took my ball a few times, and I just let him have it… whatever… that’s cool. A few times the other dog growled and chased me when I chased my ball, and my Human noticed, but thought the other dog was only being vocal, as did the other dog’s Humans. That was true on a few runs of it… where he WAS just doing vocal stuff.

The last time I chased the ball, the other dog ran, turned and went after me instead of the ball. Things got hairy. I received some wounds that required the vet and some stitches. The other dog’s Humans came to the vet to meet us and covered my entire vet bill. They’ve also been periodically calling my Human to ask how I’m doing.

The Human feels terrible that she misread the body language and signs coming from the other dog.  They turned out to be more intense than she assessed them to be in her mind. She thought it was only vocality and did not anticipate it would escalate to the point that it did. When she recalls the events leading up to the mishap, she feels she should have taken the ball out of play as a precaution.

Mostly I’m writing to tell you:

1) what happened to me

2) that I am going to be OK and

3) to watch out for signs at the dog park (or any group dog setting), that dogs may be too competitive over the same toy… remove that toy to be safe

Perhaps even if it is just vocal signs of competition, it is better to be safe and remove the toy in question.

Play on my dogs!

Love,

The Lanther

PHOTO OF ME AND MY HUMAN THIS MORNING IN THE BACK YARD – SHE’S KISSING MY HEAD