– “Inspired by The Queen’s longstanding love of Corgis and the hugely popular ‘BorrowMyDoggy’ trend, Three UK is launching a new canine experience this week to mark the return of The Crown on Netflix. ‘Borrow My Corgi’ gives fans a truly immersive way to enjoy the show – by binge-watching it in the company of their very own regal four-legged companion.” –

Yes. That’s the opening line in the press release.

Dogs as commodities. Dogs as marketing components to promote TV shows. Dogs as the ultimate in fashion accessories.

It goes on…

“..Launching this Friday (8th December) to coincide with the launch of season two of The Crown on Netflix, Three is inviting super-fans to ‘Borrow My Corgi’ to apply to spend time with one of the specially-selected pooches during the weekend and enrich their viewing experience of the new series.

The lucky winners can then expect to have their four-legged friend chaperoned to their front-door by one of the ‘BMC Royal Butlers’. They will then be free to enjoy the majestic company of the pooch while bingeing on the new season of The Crown – no matter whether it’s at home, while going for a walk, or on the way to work.

‘Borrow My Corgi’ celebrates Three’s Go Binge service, which launched earlier in the year and allows customers to stream freely from selected services, including Netflix, without it coming out of their monthly data allowance.

Go Binge arrived in the wake of comprehensive research from Three into the bingeing habits of the nation, which found that an alarming two-thirds (67%) of Brits admit to having devoured an entire TV series in a single-sitting, with one in five (21%) saying that bingeing is now the only way to watch our favourite shows*.

Shadi Halliwell, Chief Marketing Officer at Three, said: “Along with the rest of the nation, we have been swept up in The Crown mania. ‘Borrow My Corgi’ is a fully-immersive experience, complete with the perfect canine companion, to binge-watch the next phase in this historical saga in majestic style. It is the ultimate way to stream The Crown – whether at home, in the park or on the move.”

Three’s ‘Borrow My Corgi’ experience will run from Friday 8th to Sunday 10th December 2017, across London. People wishing to spend time with one of the Corgis can do so by emailing…” (yeah, we’re not going to include the email address here).

Why on earth do companies never learn?

Using dogs as accessories to promote toilet roll or paint, cars, beer – yes, we get that. But borrowing dogs just to promote a TV programme? Real dogs? Having dogs delivered to your house just as a PR exercise for a TV show.

Nah.

Nope.

What do you reckon?

Some of the reasons people provide when they surrender a dog to a shelter are truly heartbreaking, genuine, understandable and come after all other efforts to keep the dog have been exhausted. Other reasons are, frankly, shocking and soul destroying – particularly for the many thousands of people who work in the UK’s over-stretched animal welfare system.

Back in 2008 The Dogs Trust reported these reasons/excuses as to why owners were unable to continue looking after their dogs:

1. “My dog doesn’t match the sofa.”
2. “The dog looks evil and has different coloured eyes, just like David Bowie.”
3. “My black dog doesn’t match new white carpet, can we swap him for a white dog?”
4. “My current dog is too old, can we swap for a puppy or younger model?”
5. “My dog ate the Christmas turkey cooling on the worktop.”
6. “My pet guinea pig got worried with a dog in the house.”
7. “The dog opened all the presents on Christmas Eve.”
8. The owner accidentally knelt in dog wee while cleaning it up so brought the dog in the very next day.
9. The puppy was bought as a present for elderly couple with dementia.
10. The owner was paranoid about recent bad press on Staffordshire Bull Terriers, and the dog was given up through no fault of its own.

Owning a dog is no big deal, it would seem. Because if circumstances change even slightly there are some people who have absolutely no hesitation in palming their dog off on to someone else to take over their responsibilities.

Clarissa Baldwin, former Dogs Trust Chief Executive and the person who came up with the slogan ‘a dog is for life not just for Christmas, was understandably angry.

“Some of the reasons we hear for dogs being abandoned are truly outrageous and saddening. Having a dog is a long-term commitment and our anniversary offers the perfect opportunity to remind people that dogs are not fashion accessories or disposable items that can be upgraded or discarded after just a few months.”

But here’s the problem.

We DO live in a disposable society nowadays. People do change their dogs – or their responsibilities to their dogs – as if they were getting a new mobile phone.

The question we must ask ourselves is what are we going to do about it?

There is an over supply of dogs in the UK. Too many dogs produced and not enough responsible homes to care for them all. It surely must be time for us to consider whether the problem of dog abandonment is going to get better or worse if we carry on with the same system we have now, where anyone can breed dogs. Where puppy farms thrive. Where people, seemingly, have absolutely zero shame when passing their dog on to an already stretched dog rehoming service.

Christmas is coming. Mark my words, we’ll be seeing more of this in 2018.

You may or may not know this but despite all the science and stuff that we have at our disposal, carbon dating and all that malarkey, experts still don’t actually know what, when or how wolves became dogs.

They just know that they did. DNA studies have shown that what we’ve always suspected is true, dogs were once wolves but then something happened and they became dogs.

We do, of course, know how dogs became breeds. We did that. For better or worse. That was all on us.

Now an interesting theory has cropped up and it goes a little something like this:

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away (not really, it was definitely our galaxy), some cocky wolves started to hang out in little gangs around human settlements in much the same way that teenagers hang about outside of shops once its gone dark.

However, instead of trying to get older people to buy them booze, what these wolves were up to make much more sense. They were looking for food. Rather than eating humans, they were thinking it might be a good idea to eat what the humans were eating.

Now geneticists think what could have happened is that one of the key differences between our dogs and their wolfy ancestors is their ability to digest and properly process carbohydrates.

Ever seen a dog eat crisps? Well, you won’t see many wolves diving into a bag of Walkers any time soon (even if our interest in taking a dog’s diet back to basics is on the rise – raw dog food pros and cons debate anyone?).

This is the researcher’s thesis:

“The domestication of dogs was an important episode in the development of human civilization. The precise timing and location of this event is debated and little is known about the genetic changes that accompanied the transformation of ancient wolves into domestic dogs.

“Here we conduct whole-genome resequencing of dogs and wolves to identify 3.8 million genetic variants used to identify 36 genomic regions that probably represent targets for selection during dog domestication. Nineteen of these regions contain genes important in brain function, eight of which belong to nervous system development pathways and potentially underlie behavioural changes central to dog domestication.

“Ten genes with key roles in starch digestion and fat metabolism also show signals of selection. We identify candidate mutations in key genes and provide functional support for increased starch digestion in dogs relative to wolves. Our results indicate that novel adaptations allowing the early ancestors of modern dogs to thrive on a diet rich in starch, relative to the carnivorous diet of wolves, constituted a crucial step in the early domestication of dogs.”

So let’s add two and two together and see if we can make four, or a dog.

Wolves that were prone to eat human food were also the ones who were more willing to encroach on human territory. Far from being adversaries, the wolves learned that humans could be a useful source of food, even if it wasn’t the sort of food they were used to.

When those human-tolerant, or who knows, maybe even human-friendly wolves learned to stay around humans, they settled there, had their own families, sent their cubs off to good schools in the area and generally started to get along great with people.

After a while, the new wolves being produced in this environment had different digestive systems and even started their lives understanding that humans were a natural companion rather than a meal or competition for meals. Then….voila. Domesticated wolves eventually turn in to dogs.

What do you reckon? We think it’s certainly possible.

Back in 2002, a year after we launched K9 Magazine I read a piece of writing that made me cry. Damn it, it made me actually cry and I’m not a crier. Reading words on a page, within a few minutes I had to try and compose myself.  I contacted the author of those words that had affected me so much and asked if he’d be kind enough to give us permission to re-publish his work as it is a message that needs to go far and wide. Jim Willis was that author and he, more than most, knew the message needed to be seen and heard, that’s why he wrote; How Could You?

Today, in 2016 the message still needs to be heard, if not more so – with the rise of online classifieds websites, the ever increasing plague of the puppy farmer and the growth of the throw-away society that has lead to over 100,000 dogs currently spending their days without a home to call their own. Jim’s piece is important. Please read it and spread its message wherever you can.

How Could You?
by Jim Willis

When I was a puppy I entertained you with my antics and made you laugh. You called me your child and despite a number of chewed shoes and a couple of murdered throw pillows, I became your best friend. Whenever I was “bad,” you’d shake your finger at me and ask, “How could you?” – but then you’d relent and roll me over for a bellyrub.

My housetraining took a little longer than expected, because you were terribly busy, but we worked on that together. I remember those nights of nuzzling you in bed, listening to your confidences and secret dreams, and I believed that life could not be any more perfect. We went for long walks and runs in the park, car rides, stops for ice cream (I only got the cone because “ice cream is bad for dogs,” you said), and I took long naps in the sun waiting for you to come home at the end of the day.

Gradually, you began spending more time at work and on your career, and more time searching for a human mate. I waited for you patiently, comforted you through heartbreaks and disappointments, never chided you about bad decisions, and romped with glee at your homecomings, and when you fell in love.

She, now your wife, is not a “dog person” – still I welcomed her into our home, tried to show her affection, and obeyed her. I was happy because you were happy. Then the human babies came along and I shared your excitement. I was fascinated by their pinkness, how they smelled, and I wanted to mother them, too. Only she and you worried that I might hurt them, and I spent most of my time banished to another room, or to a dog crate. Oh, how I wanted to love them, but I became a “prisoner of love.”

As they began to grow, I became their friend. They clung to my fur and pulled themselves up on wobbly legs, poked fingers in my eyes, investigated my ears and gave me kisses on my nose. I loved everything about them and their touch – because your touch was now so infrequent – and I would have defended them with my life if need be.

I would sneak into their beds and listen to their worries and secret dreams. Together we waited for the sound of your car in the driveway. There had been a time, when others asked you if you had a dog, that you produced a photo of me from your wallet and told them stories about me. These past few years, you just answered “yes” and changed the subject. I had gone from being “your dog” to “just a dog,” and you resented every expenditure on my behalf.

Now you have a new carer opportunity in another city, and you and they will be moving to an apartment that does not allow pets. You’ve made the right decision for your “family,” but there was a time when I was your only family.

I was excited about the car ride until we arrived at the animal shelter. It smelled of dogs and cats, of fear, of hopelessness. You filled out the paperwork and said, “I know you will find a good home for her.” They shrugged and gave you a pained look. They understand the realities facing a middle-aged dog or cat, even one with “papers.” You had to pry your son’s fingers loose from my collar, as he screamed “No, Daddy Please don’t let them take my dog!” And I worried for him, and what lessons you had just taught him about friendship and loyalty, about love and responsibility, and about respect for all life. You gave me a goodbye pat on the head, avoided my eyes, and politely refused to take my collar and leash with you. You had a deadline to meet and now I have one, too.

After you left, the two nice ladies said you probably knew about your upcoming move months ago and made no attempt to find me another good home. They shook their heads and asked, “How could you?”

They are as attentive to us here in the shelter as their busy schedules allow. They feed us, of course, but I lost my appetite days ago. At first, whenever anyone passed my pen, I rushed to the front, hoping it was you – that you had changed your mind – that this was all a bad dream…or I hoped it would at least be someone who cared, anyone who might save me. When I realized I could not compete with the frolicking for attention of happy puppies, oblivious to their own fate, I retreated to a far corner and waited.

I heard her footsteps as she came for me at the end of the day and I padded along the aisle after her to a separate room. A blissfully quiet room. She placed me on the table, rubbed my ears and told me not to worry. My heart pounded in anticipation of what was to come, but there was also a sense of relief. The prisoner of love had run out of days. As is my nature, I was more concerned about her. The burden, which she bears, weighs heavily on her and I know that, the same way I knew your every mood.

She gently placed a tourniquet around my foreleg as a tear ran down her cheek. I licked her hand in the same way I used to comfort you so many years ago. She expertly slid the hypodermic needle into my vein. As I felt the sting and the cool liquid coursing through my body, I lay down sleepily, looked into her kind eyes and murmured, “How could you?”

Perhaps because she understood my dogspeak, she said, “I’m so sorry.” She hugged me and hurriedly explained it was her job to make sure I went to a better place, where I wouldn’t be ignored or abused or abandoned, or have to fend for myself – a place of love and light so very different from this earthly place. With my last bit of energy, I tried to convey to her with a thump of my tail that my “How could you?” was not meant for her. It was you, My Beloved Master, I was thinking of. I will think of you and wait for you forever.

May everyone in your life continue to show you so much loyalty.

The End
———————————-
How Could You, Copyright Jim Willis 2001

“How Could You?” is included in a book of collected writings of Jim Willis entitled, “Pieces of My Heart – Writings Inspired by My Life with Animals,” published March 2002 in both the UK and USA.

It was written by Jim as his attempt to change some minds among the general public and their perception of animals as disposable items.

“How Could You” has been translated and published in twenty foreign languages.

A real dog, a dog with a happy ending though, inspired it. Although Jim has been frustrated for three decades by the mass dumping of animals and how often they are regarded, it was a nine-year-old Basset Hound called “Holly Golightly” that inspired Jim to write it. Jim rescued Holly on her last day from a “shelter”. Her last day in the shelter was also going to be her last day alive.

Jim Willis: 20 Questions With K9 Magazine (Published 2002)

1) Hello Jim, many thanks for taking the time out to talk to us…Right from the off, tell us what you are currently up to and what you’ve got coming up that we should all be looking forward to. Here’s your chance to plug whatever you’ve got going on right now before we get stuck into the questions.

Beside caring for and placing rescued animals, I continue writing and may eventually have enough pieces for a second book, and I continue my animal advocacy efforts, especially for a federal humane euthanasia of animals law.

2) Tell us about your pets. Names, breeds and ages.

Currently 13 dogs of various breeds or mixed breeds, although several of those are foster dogs, and three cats, and my horse. The number changes literally weekly. As far as breeds of dogs, I’ve usually had a predominance of Basset Hounds and Dalmatians.

3) When did your interest in pets/animals begin and how long have you been a pet owner?

I was interested in animals since I was a small boy and started volunteering with an animal shelter when I was 14, although I didn’t acquire my first cats until 16 and then my first dog when I was 18.

4) Your are well known for writing a piece entitled ‘How Could You?’, may I ask what gave you the inspiration and motivation to write such a thought provoking piece?

As I explain in the intro to the essay, downloadable from: www.crean.com/jimwillis –

The story was inspired by an elderly Basset Hound who I adopted on her last day at a kill shelter and named “Holly Golightly.” She was with me for three years. I couldn’t understand how anyone could part with such a loyal, loving dog. “Her” story has now been translated into 32 foreign languages.

5) Your piece has inspired so many people; can you tell me of any stories that you have heard that came about from ‘How Could You’?

Of course it has the reputation of making people cry, so when it was broadcast by several radio stations across the US and Canada, it actually stopped traffic. Of the messages I’ve received about HCY?, my most favourite have been a couple who said it changed their minds about giving up an animal, and some others who said the essay inspired them to go to an animal shelter and adopt an animal.

6) There’s an old adage, never work with animals or children. Can you recall any times when you wished you’d taken heed of this advice?

Never! I love children, too, but I can’t imagine anything more pleasurable than working with animals.

7) If you could be an animal or breed, what would it be and why?

It would be a difficult choice between being a horse or being a wolf, because I’m enthralled by both of them. However, it would be much safer from a longevity perspective to be a horse in most instances.

8) Describe your average day at home with your pets

I’m not sure I ever have an average day, but it starts early, about 6 a.m. The dogs have their first romp in the yards, then breakfast, then usually a nap. That’s a good time for me to deal with all the mail or any writing projects I’m working on. Then there’s usually another animal-care break in my schedule and somebody always needs groomed, or a bath. I’m very strict about their feeding schedule because they depend on the routine, and since I make my own homemade diet with real meat for them, dinner preps usually start about 4 and dinner is at 5. I alternate the dogs I take to the stable in the evening and then we usually have a long walk. I live far out in the country with a large fenced property, so they are never without the opportunity to exercise (also, I’ve always only ever home-raised and would never kennel a dog), but they enjoy their walks and car-rides, too. The day usually ends around midnight; although most of them are usually asleep by the time I make it to bed.

9) Word association game – match the following people’s personality to a breed of dog
George Bush – A “hot dog”
Eminem – An American Pit Bull Terrier
Steve Irwin (the crocodile hunter) – A Golden Retriever
Ronald Reagan – An Airedale Terrier
Ozzy Osbourne – A Bloodhound
Jim Willis – A Weimeraner

10) Which do you prefer and why?

Big dogs or little dogs
– I was always a big dog person until a couple of little dogs also stole my heart.
Pedigree dogs or x breeds
– For me, a dog is a dog; it’s all about the personality and temperament and not about the look.
Days off or days at work
– I haven’t had a day off in years, I wouldn’t know what one felt like.
The quickest route or the scenic route
– The scenic route.
Lead and collar or dog running free
– That depends on the circumstances. I love to let dogs run free when it’s completely safe out here in the country, but certainly in public they should be on a lead.

11) What is the best thing about being a pet owner over not being one?

The unconditional love and the companionship they give us.

12) Time to be controversial. If an establishment, say a hotel, had a blanket ban on pets do you?
a) refuse to give them your custom with the theory of ‘if you don’t want my pet then you don’t want me’
b) drop the ‘do you know who I am’ bomb and see if they will make an exception
c) accept the decision but make a note to find a more pet friendly hotel in the future

I always try to reason with and educate people. I’m sure I’d end up finding a different hotel to stay in with my pet, while still hoping the first hotel would change their policy.

13) Describe the last time you…
Had to shout at your pet
– I might give a stern oral reprimand on occasion, but I don’t shout.
Had to go to the vet
– Especially with some senior and special needs animals, and all the rescued foster animals, that’s usually a weekly occurrence.
Didn’t get t e job you wanted
– I’ve been self-employed for several years now, so I guess it must have been the last US Presidential election.
Thought about getting another animal (besides what you have already).
– Each time I lose one to old age or illness, I usually end up adopting one of the harder to place foster animals.
Trained your pet to do something new.
– I think I most try to train them to not do anything “new,” especially any new destructive habit!

14) Losing a dog is one of the hardest things that I have ever gone through, have you ever had to cope and how did you cope if you have lost any of your pets?

I’ve been through it far too many times and have several pieces in my book on that topic – probably the best known has become a popular memorial piece for pet-loss, “I Loved You Best,” which I also have on the book’s website.

15) Going back to ‘How Could You’, did you ever think that it would be read by so many people and touch the hearts of millions of people?

The thought never crossed my mind. I distributed it by e-mail to my personal address book the day after I wrote it and by the next week had already received a couple thousand e-mails.

16) On a scale of 1 to 10 – How do you rate yourself with a Poop Scoop?

Since I am the Number 1 Poop Scooper around here, I’m not sure what that indicates.

17) Have you ever been to the Crufts dog show?

No, I haven’t, but I have seen it on television.

18) What is the most extravagant item that you have bought for your dog(s)?

I once had a shallow swimming pool constructed for the dogs. If I could afford it, I would create an entire playground for them.

19) If your dog(s) had the ability to answer one question and one question only, what would you ask them and what do you think that they would say?

I suppose I would ask them what I’ve done right and what I’ve done wrong where they are concerned. To the first, I suspect they’d tell me that my great love for them has always been evident. To the second, they’d probably tell me that I’m still not quite a dog in their eyes, but I’ve made progress over the years.

20) And finally … would you be interested in giving a framed and signed copy of ‘How Could You?’ to one of our lucky readers?

I’d be happy to do something (although my computer printer is broken, but I can have a friend print out something for me), but “HCY?” is actually too long to fit on one page. Perhaps something like “The Animals’ Saviour” would be a better alternative.

Many Thanks Jim.

What do burglars really feel about taking on a home where they know a dog lives?

For an answer to this, let’s see what former career burglar Jack Black said in his book ‘You Can’t Win’

“Dogs, young or old, are the bane of the burglar’s life.”

Source

Let me now recount a personal (attempted) burglary story.

It was early morning, New Year’s day in 2011. The sound of a smashed window is enough to wake any homer owner from their slumber in quick time.

As I rushed downstairs to be confronted by the unmistakable tell-tale signs of an attempted break in, window broken, latch half way up, glass on the inside of the living room floor, the only thing missing from the scene was….a burglar.

Our would-be home invader had run off before he’d made it inside. Now, you don’t have to be Columbo to figure out I live in a home with dogs. And you probably don’t have to be a CSI to deduce that this particular criminal got away sharpish because the noise of a broken window is something that most dogs will respond to with a very impressive display of natural territorial protection.

In our case we had two dogs ‘on duty’. Chloe, an elderly Labrador with restricted mobility and Mia, a young, fit and healthy Rottweiler.

Mia stayed in bed. Chloe did the business. Our burglar was apprehended breaking in to a chemist store a few hundred yards from our home. Chemist’s tend to have fairly high tech security systems, CCTV and alarms. Our man was in there helping himself to razor blades and whatever else he thought he could cram down his pants in time before the police showed up. What chemist’s don’t tend to have….is a dog with a bark.

Milo is our family dog. He’s not called Milo any more. He’s Danny.

Here is Milo’s story.

A Dog Destined to Die Within Hours: How Milo's Fortune Turned When He Became Danny

Could you give a dog like Milo a change in fortune? Click here.

Look no further than Horand von Grafrath. He is widely recognised as the first German Shepherd Dog and the genetic basis for modern German Shepherds. Oh, and he looks like this.

Not this

or this

Hands up everyone who thinks we’ve done a good job as caretakers of this truly magnificent dog breed?

Simple question: what have we done to the German Shepherd?

Old style German Shepherd Dog

Crufts 2016 best of breed winner.

What happened?

Have a read of this.

Max von Stephanitz, the creator of the German Shepherd wrote:

“The breeding of Shepherd dogs must be the breeding of working dogs, this must always be the aim or we shall cease to produce working dogs.

“In contradistinction to working and utility breeding is ‘sport’ breeding, which produces a temporary advance but is always followed by deterioration, for it is not done for the sake of the DOG, nor does it make him more useful, it is done for the vanity of the breeder and the subsequent purchaser.”

As with so many breeds, sport and fad breeding led to more severe evidence of natural traits, and therefore to bad breeding situations that had nothing more in common with working ability.

– he added –

“This may seem nice to the faddist, however, for the true lover of Nature, who doesn’t engage in matters based on eye appeal, it appears as a strange caricature.

“Over-sized, massiveness, height, racing ability, straight front or tucked up racing dog body would be for the shepherd an adverse perception leading to the death of the breed.”

5. At all times wear a whistle around your neck. Shopping. Weddings. Funerals. Always wear a whistle around your neck and have a leash hanging from your back pocket. If anyone is confused and asks you why you are wearing a personal safety alarm, tell them: “No. I’m a professional dog trainer. Now, sit!”

4. Never, ever, ever, EVER agree with another dog trainer about ANYTHING, EVER! If you’re committed to convincing people that you really are a pro dog trainer you will fail immediately if you agree with other dog trainers about a single, solitary thing. Particularly dog training methods, techniques and philosophies. You are a pro dog trainer. You, and only you, know what methods are the ‘best’. All other dog trainers are only there to be disagreed with. However, if you ever find yourself in the unfortunate position of being in a room where there are three professional dog trainers you must simply work with one of the other dog trainers to agree that the third dog trainer is wrong about everything. That’s the only time you can agree.

3. Seen a dog trainer on TV? Any dog trainer? Well, they’re wrong. About everything. Got it? They’re wrong and you should make absolutely sure everyone knows that YOU know they’re wrong.

2. Heard about someone else’s dog training qualifications? Discredit them. Immediately. Doesn’t matter where they got them, how hard they worked for them or who issued the qualifications, they’re no good. You have a choice of three responses – a) “That’s a bogus qualification from a discredited teaching establishment.”

b) “That qualification is outdated and anyone can pass an online course that takes just three minutes.”

c) “I don’t believe in qualifications. I’m a university of life professor. In fact, dog trainers that are qualified are probably dangerous and will definitely try and make your dog join some sort of cult.”.

1. There have been thousands of books written about dog training over the past hundred years. Millions and millions of words committed to print on the topic. Guess what? All wrong. Every last one of them. If you meet an ‘ordinary’ dog owner and they tell you what book(s) they’ve read, scoff. Scoff loudly. Doesn’t matter if you’ve heard of the book or its author, that book is wrong, its advice is dangerous, the author is (probably) a drunken fraud who has been discredited by the Internet. If anyone ask you what books you would recommend, the answer is obvious. Your own books. If you haven’t written a dog training book yet then get it done. Come on. You’ve been pretending to be a professional dog trainer since you started reading this article. That’s plenty of time to get a book written on the subject. Get on with it!