Letters to the Editor
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Responding to Cynthia
Cynthia,
You're completely wrong: It's not silly to describe either a man's or a woman's appearance in a story, because doing so makes the story more interesting. That's why you'll see magazine reporters doing so all the time. Have you ever read, say, "In Cold Blood"? Or maybe anything by Tom Wolfe? Or anything in The New Yorker? Or Rolling Stone, or Vanity Fair, or Salon? Journalists in these publications describe their subjects, both men and women, because such details are important. Another way of putting it is: Any profile of Einstein would be worthless if it didn't mention his hair.
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Research anyone?
Dogs are living longer than ever and the vast majority eat kibble of various qualities. Until someone does a scientific study comparing the two I don't know how anyone can claim the high ground on this issue.
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They're just dogs people.
It's OK to "love" a dog or cat but please, let's get a grip. My opinion? Someone who cares about a pet as much as most people on this board apparently do (whether buying raw food or some overpriced kibble) is probably emotionally damaged. Sorry if that sounds harsh.
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cruel and unusual punishment
No, not what we do to our pets...but what I'm doing by goading Jeffrey into typing another missive. That last one was even funnier than all the others put together, Jeffrey. Thanks for making my day as entertaining as Ayalet Waldman's last column. You could write masthead articles for Salon, really!
Have a nice day.
P.S.--Word, Jeffrey...when you win the gold at the Special Olympics just remember at the end of the day you're still a..... ;)
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Really Farjad
How could you so grossly misunderstand Cynthia's very simple point. Her concern is with the disproportion - with the fact that women are typically described -- while men aren't. I have a feeling that she might be right -- and while I would like to see some research into this question, I also think it entirely fair to ask why this might be the case.
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Mintosh, right...
...Cynthia's concerned with the disproportion, and as I tried to say, I don't see such disproportion. One particular article may describe more women than men, and another may describe more men than women. Others may describe everyone. (Whether a journalist chooses to describe a subject depends on a great deal of factors, including the tone of the piece and, of course, whether or not the reporter has met the person or just spoken to him on the phone.) Overall, across all journalism, I don't get the impression that reporters tend to describe women more often than they do men.
Cynthia said it would be "silly" to see descriptions of men. I'm saying that it's not silly, and it's not unusual either.
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Emotional Rescue
Hey, "No Name Given,"
And you felt compelled to insult people on this board because...?
C'est damage!
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As a Pet Slaver...
my three elderly cats, who reside in a 16th floor apartment have yet to complain about much...except maybe who gets the most attention. I also spayed or neutered them at an early age. All are descendents of feral cats...and were adopted out of miserable circumstances.
Rather than slavery, I have never seen one of them do an honest days work. They parade around the house all day....lording it over me. I think I am the slave in this relationship...what with daily emptying of the cat box...and efforting to find them treats which appeal to them.
One has a vet who makes house calls. He had a quick and alarming drop in weight...and we thought he might have thyroid problems, but alas...after gaining weight at a pound of month...the problem might have been he was off his feed.
My cats wouldn't dream of eating raw food...except for one who used to catch and eat whole birds. (her feral mom taught her good) She now prefers yoplait yogurt and dry cat food. I have switched them from cheapo kibble to Purina one.
Seriously, a cat who is kept in the house will live longer, avoid injury, and can enjoy nature from a window. Cats have domesticated for thousands of years...and I have it on good authority, their love of nature is trumped by a nice warm place.....and plenty to eat.
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Raw feeding a good idea? Not if you have a BC.
Up until a couple of decades ago, the typical food for a Border Collie was raw food and scraps. The typical reason that BCs retired from work was that they had gone blind from CPRA.
It was believed that CPRA was a genetic problem. However, as the normal feeding in various regions switched to prepared foods, (i.e. things like kibble), CPRA all but dissapeared in perfect lockstep.
While the exact cause of CPRA in Border Collies is not known, the link to diet is quite clear.
Things like this are why more research is needed, both in general to find out what feeding is best for what breeds, and by owners to find out what things are known about their breed and if there is a reason why following the latest feeding fad is a good thing or not.
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my two cents
As someone who feeds her pet raw food because I believe it's the best food for him, I find the back-and-forth over this article rather surprising. My boyfriend and I adopted our black lab, Briar, from a shelter - he might be a purebred, he might not be - we adopted him because he's a wonderful dog, not because of his breeding.
We started him on Science Diet, then (over the course of a few months) switched to a higher-quality dry food, then to a ridiculously expensive, ultra-high-quality, granular food, all in an attempt to deal with his sensitive stomach. Finally, we tried Companion raw food, a pre-made all-natural raw food. We don't have the patience or the time to prepare a from-scratch raw diet, so this seemed like a good alternative.
Within weeks, we noticed a difference. (The author seems to make fun of it in the article, but when you pick up after your dog several times a day, "harder and smaller" doggy poop is a nice-to-have.) Briar loves the food, is incredibly healthy and active, and has a silky, shiny black coat that people always comment on.
We have a holistic vet, who is a proponent of the raw food diet, so his diet has never been an issue. We don't tell other people how to feed their dogs; in fact, we never discuss his food unless someone asks. The raw diet works for our dog and it makes him happy and healthy, so that's enough for us.