Read the whole story! And then buy a bunch of copies!This is just... so... [screams "YES!!!"] the best Christmas present ever. Sports Illustrated steps up to the plate and hits a grand by God slam. The big year-end issue! Sweet Jasmine on the cover! A most excellent article by Jim Gorant inside! And photos...! Now with Mexican-American goodness, yay Hernandez family! (Quoth PETA: "We must consider that nice families rarely come to a shelter to adopt pit bulls; almost without exception, those who want pit bulls are attracted to the 'macho' image of the breed as a living weapon" yadda yadda. Spanked by two girls and a baby, you PETA bigots):
"Zip's posse (clockwise from left): Vanessa, Berenice, Jesse, Francisco, Eliana." All photos by Deanne Fitzmaurice for Sports Illustrated. Can't imagine why SI used "posse" instead of, I dunno, "family," or "adopters," but that's just me. Brown little me. Anyhow: best family photo ever.Jim Gorant's article is so good that I can't start using excerpts or I'll wind up posting all four [online] pages. And one of the best things of all: after recounting how PETA and HSUS wanted the Vick dogs killed [and PETA still wishes them dead], the article concludes with a footnote:
To support animal-care groups cited in this article, go to their respective websites: www.aspca.org, www.badrap.org, www.bestfriends.org and www.recycledlove.org.Because we cited PETA and HSUS, but they've made it pretty clear that they're so NOT animal-care groups. I heart SI. Repeat: I HEART Sports Illustrated!!
Huge congrats and a ton of thanks to all involved, with special, virtual hugs to the dog-lovin', dog-savin', hard-workin' souls at Bad Rap. You folks are awesome, awesome, awesome. There is a God -- and a doG -- and stereotypes are indeed so 1950s, and SI is this week's change we've been waiting for. Happy, Happy New Year.
22 comments:
"Can't imagine why SI used "posse" instead of, I dunno, "family," or "adopters," but that's just me."
Maybe they were having an ironic little shot at the "'macho' image of the breed as a living weapon"?
I know, it's great news - for a change. That family is lovely - so are all the other people.
I'll be buying Sports Illustrated for the first time in my life tomorrow.
The first time in your life?! Impossible.
Have I ever mentioned that I'm in the 1988 World Series Highlights video? That I have actually flown to faraway cities for football games? That my sister's ex-boyfriend once met Kareem Abdul-Jabbar? That I went to university with John Wooden's goddaughter? I could go on.
I used to subscribe to SI way back when, during the Niners' glory days. SI had some of the best journalists in the business back then [and apparently they still do].
My secret is out. I'm not a sports fan.
How bad is it? I don't know who those two guys you mentioned are.
...!!! [thud]
And actually, you have heard of John Wooden -- he's God. Seriously, it's the same guy.
I did not read the story...If that guy got one of Mike Vicks dogs and he has a little baby in the house...I would say that he is not that responsible as a father and a little selfish as a person....but what is the point he is trying to prove with risking the well being of his family.
I am sure that he could have gotten another pit bull puppy, one who was not subjected to that kind of abuse...but to put your family at risk in that kind of way is just unheard of....they are called animals for a reason...and to introduce any animal let alone a pit bull yanked from a dog fighting operation is not good....what kind of press do you think you are going to get if one of Mike Vicks dogs attacks and kills....after all the money was spent to make sure that they are safe....its going to put back your cause 20 years....or you can just explain it away as a result of chaining.
Well, this is a big change. Wasn't it SI that, years back, did the 'killer Pit Bull' cover? Or am I thinking of the wrong magazine?
Either way, what wonderful coverage. I couldn't get through it without crying. Also, way to verbally spank PeTA. Let's hope this has left those dog murdering &*()holes with their faces covered in egg. Now, if only we could get the general public (and all those idiot celebrities) to realize that the only dogs PeTA likes are DEAD dogs.
I guess if we respectfully disagree with you,,, you will not post a comment...thats your choice...enjoy reading your 7 comments
Regarding the comment by Anonymous...If you had read the story, you may have found out that most of the dogs they screened were not aggressive. You also would have found out that many of them will live in sanctuaries for the rest of their lives and will not be adopted out. How can you comment on something you didn't even read? You must be an animal behavior expert, or perhaps a psychic...
As for your comment that understanding the causes that lead up to an attack, i.e., chaining, or whether the dog is socialized, is somehow explaining it away, couldn't be further from the truth. Investigating the factors in a dog attack leads us closer to figuring out how to prevent them. Knowing these facts tells us more than simply knowing breed ever will; that tells us nothing. It is not "explaining away" or "making excused" to gain insight into why something happened; it's called "learning." But I guess if you're already an expert in the complexities of human / animal interaction, you don't need to "learn" anything, huh?
In regards to the story, I think it was very good. Although, I don't think they "verbally spanked" PETA enough...I think they should actually kick it up a notch to "verbal assault," or "verbal annhialation" when it comes to PETA...
Thank you Luisa. Berenice's beautiful "brown family" did such a good job just being themselves with this reporter and this little dog. Nothing we could've ever said in a thousand interviews could've matched what Gorant experienced when he was sitting in the Hernandez home, watching the girls bounce all over and around the most normal most enthusiastic Miss Zippy. I'm so friggin' proud of the people that said Yes to these dogs I could cry. again.
I'm crying a lot these days!
Awesomeness: Mr. Gorant understood, as he watched the kids with Zippy, that the "most normal" pit bull temperament is simply the best there is. How totally, incredibly cool that SI is helping to get the word out. Love ya, mean it [sends Donna and the crew virtual hugs],
L
Dear Brown People,
I am white. Horribly, irrevocably Northern Europoean, but I really, really want a posse. Can we work something out?
What, an entourage isn't enough for you?
Seriously, dude, if you can share some tips for surviving in cold climates [ it was a scary 33F last night, unreal - hope you're OK back there] you will totally be my homeboy, and I will go straight to work on the posse thing. Fist bumps,
L
Snork.
Tee hee.
Scary.
Um. Okay. When it's 33 degrees at night, we might start to think about putting the quilt on the bed. Maybe wear a long-sleeved shirt.
Seriously. We wouldn't shut the bedroom window until it was in the low 20s, and even then we'd probably crack it a bit until it was in the single digits.
The best advice I can offer you is this: layers. As many of wool as possible. During our last cold snap (which wasn't really that bad: only one sub-zero morning) I was wearing my new wool longjohns, two pairs of smartwool socks, wool overalls over my cotton jeans and wool shirt. Add a wool hat to complete the ensemble.
I do feel your pain, though. Since I've been on blood thinners, I have started to feel the cold a little more, and when it's damp and cold I really feel it. Sometimes I find myself donning long britches when it's still above freezing.
And speaking of the link between sports coaches and the Devine, you've probably heard the one about the Alabama alumnus who dies and goes to heaven, where he sees a large man with a clipboard and a whistle around his neck sporting an Alabama football cap. He asks St. Peter, "Is that who I think it is?"
Peter replies, "No, that's God. He only thinks he's Bear Bryant."
Note to self: buy more wool.
I get the down comforters out the first night it dips below 60.
Actually, that big man in heaven should have been wearing a houndstooth hat and carrying a rolled up playlist instead of what I said. Sort of shows how not a sports fan I am.
You want to know what kind of cold gets us scared? Check out Clayton Lake, Maine, yesterday: -47F. Now that just hurts thinking about it. We had our coldest weather in a couple of years with our piddly -18F, and that was bad enough.
Dude, my teeth start chattering at 47F above zero. Seriously.
I read someplace that you can destroy your lungs just by taking a deep breath at temps like -47F. Maybe just by inhaling. Another reason to stay put in CA, if you ask me... our craptastic economy notwithstanding.
I don't think you can acclimate to -47F, but you can survive it. Now, I would trade one day of +90 for five days of -10 anytime -- I hate heat.
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