Confusing breeds, stafishing, therapy dog with cancer, altruistic plants

I'll preface this by saying it is unfair of me to expect a 9-yr-old boy to be all that accurate after being allegedly attacked by five adult men in the middle of the night.

That said: "one of the men had a dog, which may have been a pitbull or German shepherd." There isn't any reason to link to the article, because it's a paragraph long and is pretty boring.

Now, it is true that Celeste is not actually a German Shepherd (she's 45 lbs, has blue eyes, and I'm sure GSD enthusiasts could point out other differences) but people confuse her for a GSD enough that this picture is appropriate. Mina is, of coure, an American Pit Bull Terrier. I cannot see the physical similarities between the two.

In other news, News8 has decided to take on pit bulls.

"A pit bull can be a combination of the American bull terrier, a stafishord terrier, a bull terrier or even a bulldog."

Um. Not really. A pit bull is an American Pit Bull Terrier or an American Staffordshire Terrier. I do not subscribe to the notion that because anti-dog zealots like to clump five different breeds under an arbitrary label that therefore I must do the same. (Of course I asked myself what an American bull terrier or stafishord terrier is).

"An obedient, well trained, well socialized dog is less likely to bite or be injured in an accident."

I can agree on that. It's a bit like saying deploying your parachute reduces your risk of smashing into the ground dead. Sort of a no-duh statement but as evidenced by the ineptitude many dog guardians/owners exhibit, I suppose it can't be said enough.

Six-year-old Ruby, a rescued therapy dog, is struggling with the aftermath of bone cancer. An anonymous donor paid for the treatment and post-operative care. Ruby won second place in the milk-bone biscuit contest and will appear on the biscuit maker's boxes nationwide.


Plants recognize kin and may exhibit altruistic behavior. I'm going to see if the daughter spider plant I got from my mom recognizes her mother. Road trip!