(Something feels funny this morning. What could it be? Oh, normal weather! How peculiar it feels! The ice melted away yesterday! This web site no longer has to be on a snow schedule...but I am still running on a snow schedule. I have received an advance reader's copy of a well researched book about the early life of Martin Luther King. It was not easy to put down and distracted me from most of the other things I had to do yesterday, except for going out to enjoy the thaw with all three cats for an hour or two. You'll want to read it in May when it's expected to be in the stores.)
The prestigious Westminster dog show, staged in New York's Madison Square Gardens, is open to Canadian dog trainers as well as US ones. So wouldn't you just know, some Canadian came in and won Best of Show...with a Doberman Pinscher.
In the mid-twentieth century Dobermans were popular as house pets They are good-sized dogs with an alert look, slim build, short coat, usually stubby tail, an attractive black-and-tan color pattern, and a willingness to be...unlike the hounds who may prefer just to bark and howl and help humans chase down the prey, the pointers who prefer to stand still and point it out, or the retrievers who like to dive in cold muddy water and carry prey out to humans...the dog who actually bites and kills the prey. They are smart, brave dogs who can be trained to do lots of different things. People who live with Dobermans say they're great pets if handled properly.
They are, however, easy to ruin, and big enough to be dangerous if not handled properly. They are sometimes said to be the breed most willing to detain a burglar, if you want to see the police haul him away, or if you're one of those people whose policy toward burglars is "I don't call the police until they beg." Some people like to have a bit of sadistic fun with a burglar and, for that purpose, they say Dobermans are a great help. They like having an excuse to be aggressive. So, sometimes Dobermans decide to be aggressive toward their own humans, too. When they were popular pets they were the breed most often mentioned in cases where people went to hospitals for treatment for bites inflicted by their own family pets.
Most of the pet Dobermans kept in the mid-twentieth century never even threatened to bite their humans but enough of them did that the breed became very unpopular as a house pet, very fast. Liability insurance for Doberman families became expensive. Landlords banned them. Neighbors looked askance at Doberman families. Suddenly pet stores didn't offer Doberman puppies for sale any more...
Actually, where I live, competition from the evil HSUS stopped pet stores offering any puppies for sale, a few years after they stopped offering Dobermans. As long as pet stores actually sold cats and dogs, you could rescue an animal from being euthanized for, usually, ten dollars. When the pet stores had been bullied and undersold, in combination, long enough to remove the kennel space (and, for a lot of kids I knew, the fun of visiting the pet stores), then suddenly the shelter operators discovered that low "adoption fees" attracted people who weren't really offering animals loving homes, so the only humane thing to do was raise prices so that people wouldn't use shelter pets in medical experiments.
Fun fact: people still do use shelter animals in medical experiments. They still buy batches of unwanted dogs and cats from shelters that euthanize them. They can even custom-mix orders from different shelters to get a few hundred animals of the same type, all at once, like Fauci and his beagles. But not before the shelters have spent a few months telling people that they're so concerned about the animals' well-being that they just can't part with some unwanted mixed-breed dog for anything less than the full market value of a pedigreed specimen of the breed the dog most resembles...
This web site does, of course, recommend that people rescue shelter animals rather than encouraging commercial breeders to think they can make more money by pushing more animals to breed faster, which was typical Waste Age thinking and very hard on the animals. However, if shelter operators are genuinely concerned about the animals' fate, they'll eliminate salaried employees and keep the cost of a shelter pet down to...oh, adjusted for inflation, say twenty-five dollars.
Anyway. Should you adopt a Doberman Pinscher? They can certainly be clever, handsome, and even affectionate pets. If you've had successful experiences with other large, energetic, intelligent, and sometimes aggressive types of dogs, e.g. police dogs...Dobermans are among the smaller breeds used in police work.
If you've not, you might want to begin with a more easy-going kind of large, energetic, intelligent, and usually peaceable type of dog, like an Australian Shepherd, collie, or retriever. They'll bite, too, if treated badly enough--even a canary will do that--but they're more likely to run away, first.
If you already live with animals, and you're starting to avoid these Petfinder posts because you can't adopt the animals shown here...another option is sponsoring the animal for someone else to adopt. You can choose whether to trust the shelter on this, or sponsor the animal's adoption by some specific person you know. Petfinder's site revisions include making the "sponsor this animal" button easy to find. It found a home for Kevin McAllister Cat; perhaps it will find a home for one of the winners of this week's photo contest.
I think today's post really ought to offer three categories: cats, Dobermans, and Medium-to-Large Dogs That Are More Insurable Than Dobermans.
Zipcode 10101: Tom Kitten
He's just a typical frisky kitten who plays, eats, and sleeps. He needs a playmate and, if you don't have kittens, they recommend you adopt his "equally adorable" sisters, Miss Moppet and Miss Mittens. Well, one of them, anyway, though two would be even more fun as far as tge kittens are concerned.
Carmilla from Texas via NYC
(No, that's not a misspelling of the Queen Consort's name. "Carmilla" is a separate name with its own history, though it's not been much used by humans since the early nineteenth century, when it was the name given to a fictional vampire.)
Found as a stray near the airport, Carmilla has been living in the country. They don't know how well she gets along with cats but do know she behaves well around horses and chickens. She has a Doberman look and a cheerful resilient temperament. She has run up a vet bill; the transportation bill depends partly on you. She can be transported by drivers heading for the upper Midwest or Pacific Northwest as well as the East Coast.
Rezzie from South Carolina via NYC
Nobody really knows which breeds went into this adorable short-legged street mutt. They think she might be more Australian Shepherd than anything else, going by her pretty face and bouncy energy. She can join a weekly car pool going up the East Coast; if you're not on the coast, you may need to go to South Carolina to meet her.
Zipcode 20202: Reese from DC
She had kittens while living on the street. All the kittens have been adopted by now and, as so often happens, the mother cat's still languishing in the shelter, spayed and no doubt feeling that her life is as empty and useless as her body. If you can show her that life has more to offer than the life-and-death drama of dodging cars to search for food, she is probably an excellent cat for you.
Commander from Silver Spring
This is a unique mix of dog breeds. They know he's part Doberman, part Black and Tan Coon Hound, and part something bigger--possibly unicorn. He weighs 75 pounds. He's a young, exuberant, affectionate dog who's not had a lot of formal education. He likes to hug people; he likes children but may accidentally knock them down. He is not very nice to cats. He has a full-sized tail and they warn that, although he might do well in an apartment, he'd be likely to destroy bric-a-brac. They say he's just a big goofy bundle of fun.
Maple and/or Mixy from Alexandria
Mixy is the one with the mix of three colors. The sisters have much in common. Friendly, clever, fun to live with, they have lots of energy and need mental stimulation to behave well. They will love running and playing with you. Actually, they might be good pets for a family with two energetic middle school children. Like all Australian Shepherds they need a big yard, frequent walks, and some sort of job to occupy their active minds.
Zipcode 30303: The Three Bears from Alto
This social cat family was probably found in Massachusetts but they've been in a foster home in Georgia this winter. We know they're social cats because the parents were still together even when the kitten was big enough to be on her own. Papa Bear, the tabby in the middle of the photo, is said to be the snugglebunny in the family. Mama Bear seems to be a bit older, doesn't like to be picked up but likes a friendly scritch now and then. Baby Bear is still a kitten who likes to play.
Twix from Douglasville
Twix has a problem. Though otherwise a nice dog who loves to play and be petted and has learned several commands, she wants to eat just about anything she sees, might even fight over food someone else is eating, and has nearly died from eating things that weren't food. Her life depends on her being restrained from eating any more inappropriate objects at all times. This might be seen as negating the point of living with a Doberman. What kind of burglar is going to be scared off by a muzzled watchdog? If you believe that animals shouldn't have to do anything for their humans beyond just keeping us company, Twix might appeal to you. She should not be around young children.
Luna from Cumming
Luna travels with Sunny. The puppies were born a month apart; neither is a full year old yet. She's an Australian Shepherd; he's a Golden Retriever. Both breeds are stereotypically lovable, goofy, fun-loving dogs for people who like lots of brisk walks and can think of something for the more intelligent Aussie to do with her equally energetic mind. (Retrievers seem to get by without any responsibilities.) They're used to living outdoors and have enough fur to survive frosty nights outdoors, but they will need a big yard with a high fence.
