3:00 snapshot #719

[urbpan]

Two toy skunks watch over the zoo library.

Alexis is amazing. She was up at 6 and out the door while I was still in bed, off to take care of two big unfriendly geriatric dogs and their cat. Her boss was sure that one or both of the dogs would bite her. As it turns out, one is usually delighted to see her, the other is peacefully indifferent. She's like the Dog Whisperer, except she knows what she's doing and doesn't bully the dogs or kick them in the groin!

Now Alexis is sanding some boards she is turning into shelves. She has already sanded them, stained them, sanded them again, stained them again, and now she is sanding them again in preparation to stain them again and then rub them with steel wool. She has turned into a furniture refinishing monster, I've lost count of how many things shes created and/or resurrected. For my part, I started that stereo console, screwed up the process several times and have become discouraged. I'll get some more pointers from her and give it another go, but I suspect she'll have to rescue the project.

Comments

[bill_sheehan.livejournal.com]

I'd never seen the Dog Whisperer before, though a friend recently enthused over it.

There's a blacksmith in Terry Pratchett's books who's a horse-whisperer, knowing the secret "horseman's word." You'll have to provide the Geordie accent:

"I gets 'old of 'un and smacks 'un between the eyes with the hammer before'un knows what's happening, and then I whispers in his ear, I sez, 'Cross me, you bugger, and I'll have thy goolies on t'anvil, thou knows I can'".

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

That's pretty much it. The show appeals to those who still cling to the belief that training is essentially about dominating the animal. As I said to someone who was curious of such methods "We train tigers at the zoo. Do you think we dominate them?"

National Geographic should be ashamed.

[bill_sheehan.livejournal.com]

On this channel, we've got the Dog Kicker. On that channel, we've got Steve Irwin.

I sure hope the next generation of zookeepers didn't grow up watching TV!

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

As long as people are inspired by the love of the animals, and forget the tackling and groin-kicking.

The good thing about Steve Irwin's show was they showed the consequences of his fool-hardiness. If he got bit, we saw it. Millan's show uses careful editing to make him look successful.