If Cesar Milan could speak his mind

Cesar Milan has America by the choke collar. He is giving millions of pet owners valuable ways to communicate with their pets. The new American family model includes at least one dog and often cats and even equines for the wealthy among us. Having watched his show: "exercise, discipline, and affection" in that order", it strikes me that he is offering a great service. On the show and frankly in your neighborhood, come one, you find neurotic owners obsessed and afraid of their supposed pets. These folks having given over their lives to these creatures, spend hours of time and endless resources trying to improve their animal to super animal connections. Cesar steps in and puts everyone in their places: owners take charge, pets loll out their tongues and submit.
What is also apparent from his interviews on talk shows is that Cesar Milan is sincere and earnest about wanting to bring about change in our world. He sits forward on his chair listening carefully to the words that Tavis Smiley is saying. OK, he has a shiney probably $2K suit on, but hey, he earned it! He wants his clients to be happy in their lives and he is not afraid to set them straight.
If a client is overwrought with concern for a dog that seems depressed, Cesar quickly reminds us : species, breed, animal... I think that's the order. I love that he reminds us that these lovely creatures, although fabulous companions, have the limitation of species. OK, I know about the rainbow bridge and all, but come on, you can say it. My dog is not human...

As we spend more money on and time with our pets, hopefully we will learn more about what it means to be human under all conditions. Like say when we're in human relationships. The kindness, the gentleness, the sincere affection are definitely things we could all use in the general environment of society. The sweet greeting the lady offered my dog today was definitely a pleasant addition to the common moment we shared. Now if she had looked up and smiled back at me when I said hi, it might have gone further to cement the positive results. So let's see what Cesar would say.
Now, this is probably what Cesar would really like to say to Americans obsessed with their pets:
OK gang, get a life!! Do you really care if your dog slept well last night? What about your human family? Is your teenage son off doing drugs because you are taking obedience classes with the dog? Could you please show some generosity to your neighbors while you're busy monitoring canine waste patterns? (OK it is good citizenship to pick up after your pooch, don't get me wrong)
OK, before you get upset, I am not saying we shouldn't care about the well being of our animals. Absolutely! In fact, they do require more attention to detail since they can't verbalize their needs. Although if you haven't seen the talking dog on Utube, you may have an argument there.

Anyway, Cesar, the highest professionals in the animal training world are singing your praises. We love your methods and appreciate your comprehensive council.
Hopefully a bit of your creature love techniques will help us develop skills that can be translated to our interpersonal, species to species liasions.
In the meantime, thanks for befriending all those of us who are really after all just seeking to become better people.

Dalai Lama in DC

The Big D joined us here in DC this week and wrote a spectacular piece for the Outlook section of the Post. One of his lines was "on message": suggesting that reverence for the "oneness of humanity" is the key to peaceful solutions to a number of current ills. I was interested that he spent some of his time here at the Humane Society bowing to dogs and wowing the rest of us.
I find it comforting that one, it finally rained here after 35 odd days of eerily clear days of draught and two, that the US common citizen is drawn to a figure as gentle as the Dalai Lama. So many of the US brand of celebs grab our attention for the wrong reasons: sex appeal, money, blatantly immoral behavior. YOu know the list.
So we are all basking the showers of missed inches of much needed rain water and the gracious radiance of such a significant man as the Dalai Lama. Maybe he should stop in on our folks in San Diego.

Fat and shiney

For four years now, I've worried over this mass of animal flesh: currying until the sweat runs down the middle of my back and brushing in the rhythm that generates the best muscle stimulus. Salves, ointments, inhalers and injections along with supplements, sprays and tonics are part of the investments that go into producing a fine show horse. Of course you have to start with good genetic material. This one comes from a thoroughbred dam and a warm blood daddy.

Abraham

The cry pulled me out of my bed at 5:30 on my first morning in Central America. The haunted and forceful sound made me hide behind the pillars of the house as I searched the trees to identify the source.

The large black bear like object sat still upon the delicate limb of the canopy tree. The sun rising behind it illuminated the hairs on its back revealing brown tips to the 4 inch length of lustrous coat. It had taken just 10 minutes to locate; I was breathless with excitement and gratitude. When it looked my way it gave a large yawn revealing two rows of canine teeth. It's apelike face was bejewelled with onyx eyes the size of golf balls. When it lept to stretch out on the limb and walk, I was convinced that it was a different animal: the body then thick and still, now lythe and supported by a massive prehensile tail. "The missing link! A new world monkey" I squealed at my sleeping friends, rousing them from their beds to behold this thrilling discovery. We called him Abraham. He returned later in the afternoon to our calls that we perfected over the course of the day. Joining him were 5 other adults and a charming infant monkey, who came to the nearest tree to us and lept and climbed over our heads sending out the now familiar call. The call would reverberate from tree top to tree top across the valley down to the Pacific Ocean. The sensation was primal.