This Just In ...

The Barking Lot (10/22/11)

Posted by Kevin Fischer on Oct. 22, 2011

The Barking Lot

The Barking Lot is a regular weekly feature of this just in…Written by my lovely wife, Jennifer and me.  It opens with the weekend dog walking forecast followed by the main blog from dog lover, Jennifer. Then it’s DOGS IN THE NEWS and our close. Enjoy!


THE WEEKEND DOG-WALKING FORECAST: We grade the weather outlook for taking your pet outdoors. 

TODAY:  You'll wake up to frost on the pumpkin. Then sunny. High of 62.  "B"

SUNDAY:  Sunny. High of 63. "B"


Here’s my lovely wife, Jennifer with this week’s main blog:


Bones, or a bowl of milk?  Bark, or meow?  Patch of grass/tree/fire hydrant or litter box?

So which are you…?  A dog person or a cat person?  Or do you consider yourself to be both?  For years I considered myself to be “both” because I grew up owning and loving dogs AND cats.  If it had four legs, a tail, and whiskers, I loved it; I didn’t care if it barked or meowed.  Now I consider myself a TOTAL dog person, no question!

Kevin does not hold in how he feels about cats:  The best place for them, he says, is in the middle of Lake Michigan.  Along with lawyers, I guess.  (However, Mr. Softie helped me bring a cat in to our home a couple years ago.  She looked lost and afraid but had a collar and tag and I wanted to do my civic duty.  He was as concerned as I was.  I called the owner who was extremely laid back about the whole thing and simply commented that “she wanders off often.”  Whatever, I tried.)

In my single days, my apartment allowed cats but not dogs.  While that is common, it never made much sense to me.  I always felt a cat could cause just as much damage as a dog, just in slightly different ways.  Occasionally I would consider getting a cat or two but I never did.  Knowing how I felt about Kevin (more serious about him than cat ownership) and knowing we would get married “some day” I couldn’t imagine growing fond of my cat and then giving it up for adoption.

My best friend Michele has liked only two cats, ever:  my sweet and obese Tommy from my childhood and her grandma’s Beaumont, another portly feline.  She considers cats to be slinky, sneaky, and unfriendly.  She is 100% a dog person.

A team of researchers at the University of Texas would find Michele’s pet preference far more interesting than mine or Kevin’s.  Why?  Michele is a warm-hearted, kind, gentle soul.  But she is quiet, does not like attention drawn to her at any time, and pretty much stays in the background.  She will tell you herself that she does not have a creative bone in her body.  It seems she does not quite fit the entire personality profile of a dog lover.

Part of the study at U of T included a questionnaire to measure personality inclinations, and matched those traits with pet preference.  I think studies like this are interesting but can’t help mutter “duh” at the basic generalization and conclusion that dog people are more outgoing and cat people are more neurotic.

While the above article does not mention it, I’m sure they also researched if dog people socialize with dog people, and cat people with cat people?  I would find those results quite interesting as well.  I can be, and AM, friends with both dog people AND cat people… just like I am friends with both Republicans and Democrats.  But I couldn’t marry a Democrat any more than I could marry a cat person!
---Jennifer Fischer


Thanks, Jennifer. Now I’ll be getting hate mail from cat lovers.

Time now for DOGS IN THE NEWS, canines that made headlines the past week.


Are packs of wild dogs roaming St. Louis?


SCUM: Disabled woman's dog held for ransom.


Japanese snap up dog raincoats to protect their pooches.


Scottish dog owners blasted for making their pets obese.


Dog severely burned by heating pad during surgery.


Blue is gone, missing. There's more drama.


Just who is that dog?


Dog's stay at pet resort ends in lawsuit.


Many of the dopy ideas begin on the West Coast.


Black dog syndrome: Is it for real?


800 dogs kept off the menu in China.


Salmon for dogs? No.


Dog Training Therapy Act advances in Congress. MORE.


Meet Sky, a pet that's all ears.


How having a dog prepared me for my baby.


Yet ANOTHER story about how costly it is to own a pet.


Here's a story we never get tired of telling.


My dog-English dictionary.


Halloween dog safety tips...here are 10 of them.  MORE.


What do you do if your dog doesn't like his/her Halloween costume?


THAT’S IT FOR DOGS IN THE NEWS.

OUR DOG PHOTO OF THE WEEK…

A police dog called 'Obi' is pictured with his handler, PC Phil Wells, during a photocall in central London, on October 18, 2011. Obi was awarded a special animal bravery award Tuesday from the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) after suffering a fracture to his skull from missiles thrown by rioters during the London riots last August. Following treatment Obi has been cleared to return to full duties as a police dog. Photo: Getty Images


Thanks for checking in. Please tell a fellow dog lover about us.

We close as we always do with our closing video, and we have two this week.

Dogs take class to avoid rattlesnakes...

And our final video comes from Wausau, WI.
 

UPDATE FROM THE TODAY SHOW: