Too Busy for This Blog

Not much time available to post on my own blog right now because I've got three little foster pit bull puppies living in our home, and they are proving to be a 24/7 responsibility!

I am however blogging about them everyday, so please visit our Buster Foundation Pit Bull Rescue Puppy Blog in the meantime to view updates, new pics, and the live puppy web cam!

Summing it Up: Teaching Turnover

Yep, I'd say this hits the nail on the head with the current state of the teaching profession and my generation's dashed hopes of really "making a difference" in the classroom.

"Schools Need Teachers Like Me. I Just Can't Stay."

The big takeaway, which the author quite effectively states, is the following:

"A teacher with experience is not always a good teacher, but a good teacher is always better after a few years of experience."

The public really needs to understand that the "token few years" that some bright-eyed, bushy-tailed Teach For America college grad with great SAT scores puts in in "the urban classroom" just ain't gonna cut it. Because, despite what everyone who's never done it firmly believes, teaching really is a profession. . . . not a stepping stone for outgoing, smart folks who've seen Stand and Deliver and Dangerous Minds too many times.

Cape Hatteras Lighthouse Climb: Check!

Well, I can't say I was too impressed with the Outer Banks, or "OBX", after spending this past week in mosquito-infested Nag's Head. However, at least I can say I climbed the tallest lighthouse in the United States now!

Word to the wise: Pop some Dramamine for the climb back down the stairs. 240+ narrow spiral stairs ain't much goin' up, but it's a vertigo extravaganza going down!

The Name Game

I found this story on Best Friends Animal Society's approach to animal naming--"BeBop von Pookiehead"--rather timely given the number of conversations I've had lately regarding pet-naming.

One has to wonder how some animals ever survive multiple homes, rescues, shelters, etc. with their sanity in tact, given that most humans tend to name and rename their animals with wild abandon. When my husband and I first got our cat, he was given the name "Drake" by one of our theatrically-inclined friends. After toying with a handful of different options, we finally settled on the ever-so-clever "Kitty" thanks to some inspiration from a South Park episode.

Similarly, when we adopted our first rescue puppy, his foster mom had given him the name "Richie" which we both agreed should be banned as a name for the four- and two-legged alike for all eternity. Huge fans of the Dave Chappelle Show at the time, we settled on the name Charlie Murphy, inspired by the show's series of True Hollywood stories episodes. (Yes, we do watch a lot of tv.) Of course, shortly there after, Charlie assumed yet another name, Coco, inspired by his sweet gorilla eyes. He now responds to either name, while his brother, Hudson, also understands his name to be Hudson, Hudson Budson, Budson Bear or The Buds.

Of course, I think the naming process involved when shelters and rescue groups get new animals is far more interesting, given that they have to routinely come up with multiple names, and need to avoid too many repeats. A friend of mine is currently navigating the adoption process for a puppy mill rescue dog named Nacho. Apparently he is part of a small clan dubbed the "Taco Bell dogs" that includes his comrades, Chalupa and Gordita.

The little bully pups rescued in Detroit by the Buster Foundation were named using a variety of methods, most notably, the imagination of small children. "Brawny" got his name based on the number of paper towels used to clean up after him. "Artie" was named by Buster's founder, inspired by his rescue from his house on Artesia Blvd. Then there are Snickers, Trinket, Baxter, Jasper, and Neveah . . . that last one is "heaven" spelled backwards!

However, my all time favorite pet name would be the neighborhood cat that my brother and his roommates adopted in college. Clearly some learned gentlemen looking to give their new feline friend a touch of class, they named him . . . Grumpus von Fluffybottom. Luckily I don't think they ever tried to fit all that on a name tag.

Rescued: Detroit Pittie Pups

This past week, the Buster Foundation in Belleville, Michigan rescued a litter of pit bull puppies abandoned in an empty house in Detroit after the their mother was hit by a car.

I had the pleasure of meeting the little booboos today. My hat goes off to Joanie Wazney, Buster's founder, and the amazing group of people who have been literally working around the clock to nurse them back to health.


The "Bareman's" milk container in the picture above is full of warm water and serving as a surrogate mother right now. :)