In her book “Good Dog…Stay” Pulitzer prize-winning columnist and consummate
novelist Anna Quindlen writes “The life of a good
dog is like the life of a good person, only shorter and more compressed” as she shares with trademark wit and wisdom
the experience of growing older with her beloved black Lab, Beau. A must read
for any dog-lover or anyone who’s ever wondered how much easier life could be
if we could all just raise our noses to the air from time to time and holler “I
smell bacon”!
In the truly
heart-warming Japanese production of Quill; the life of a Guide dog, a yellow lab plays the
starring role and delivers his best throughout the entire film based on a true story
of his early trainers, Quill’s journey, and how they meet up again much later.
Artfully interspersed, subtle humor blends well with bittersweet moments that
resonate in this documentary-type validation of service animals and the
real-life roles they play in society.
Quixall
Crosset deserves
honorable mention for being the all-time champion losing racehorse in Britain’s history that, despite showing best
countless times, had over 100 starts without a win. In 1998, having surpassed the record of 74
continuous losses he earned the nickname “Sultan of Slow” yet remained in the,
ah, running another four years (he
was then 17 years old!) before his owner was expressly requested to desist his
racing career. And while Quixall Crosset
won’t be bringing up the rear at the tracks anymore he can still claim one
victory, and that is over America’s Zippy
Chippy, whose career was slightly less dreadful. Who said winners have to
finish first?
Good News: Quills from our friend the porcupine have inspired a
team at Harvard to design needles that deliver less-painful injections.
Happy Wednesday!
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| Cowboy etiquette |
A losing racehorse, and they kept racing him! That's gotta be inspiring. Maui Jungalow
ReplyDeleteHello Courtney!
DeleteYep, they did. He had to have had at least a following for the underdog;-)
Thanks for coming by!
I can imagine someone leaving the horse in the race because he would have such increadible odd, it would attract people to bet on him. And there are people who like to bet on long-shots.
ReplyDeleteHi Jeffrey!
DeleteYou do have a point, and that's exactly why they kept racing him. He wasn't a total loss, he just couldn't win;-)
Good to see you!
Hi, dear Diedre!
ReplyDeleteGreat Q stories here, dear friend! As much as I love dogs, I tend to shy away from books and films about them because, inspiring as they might be, they put my emotions through the wringer. When a dog dies in fact or fiction it always hits me hard. Burned into my memory is the image of my big brother, tears streaming down his face, carrying the lifeless carcass of our dog Fuzzy back to the house after Fuzzy ran under the tires of the school bus one morning and was killed. I was only three at the time but that terrible day has stayed with me. I was eight when the ending of the Disney movie Old Yeller hit me very hard. You get the picture.
It doesn't surprise me that the quill of the porcupine has inspired a better design for injection needles. Nature's handiwork is a great source of inspiration for the design of many man-made goods.
Thank you, dear friend Diedre!
Mornin' Shady!
DeleteYour story of Fuzzy brought tears to my eyes. No, you don't forget a scene like that. Ever. Gads, I hadn't thought of Old Yeller in years. I had a drastically different emotion for that one than I did while watching Cujo.
I'm all for less-painful needles, having suffered many stinging stabs as they tried to regulate epilepsy medications. I learned to think of ice cream and look away as they did it. I recently saw a commercial about nurses where the nurse and young patient recited a 'bo-fana' jingle during the process - what a fantastic idea!
Have a happy day, my friend:-)
That's a nice collection of books you got here!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Cynthia! Wait, do you mean the two I mentioned, or the books pictured in my header? Either way, I'd recommend them all;-)
DeleteI want to read that first one SO badly! I'm going to have to work it in somehow.
ReplyDeleteMe too, Stephanie:-) My TBR list is getting so long I've taken to reading a few at a time!
DeleteAnna Quindlen's book looks familiar, but I don't think I've read it. Does it have a death scene? Those are hard for me to handle and bring back memories of my Dalmatian's passing in particular and all the other dogs before her, in general. Fun story about the losing race horse! He sure had a long, illustrious career despite that. ☺ Interesting news about the porcupine quills. Less painful injections would be a relief.
ReplyDeleteHi there, Debbie!
DeleteYeah, I think Ms. Quindlen's dog does pass away. But it's a heartwarming look at the pleasure they had growing older together.
Sometimes it helps to remember the smiles to dry your tears. Cyber-hug to you, my friend.
I was very glad to learn about less painful needles! Naturally, they don't have draw from me much anymore, but still;-)
Have a peaceful evening:-)