HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Another overcast day in Made in China

Chinese officials warned the United States not to honor the Dalai Lama, saying a planned award ceremony for the Tibetan spiritual leader would have “an extremely serious impact” on relations between the countries. I mean come on look how happy he is and how deserving it was for an exiled man to get a nobel peace prize.

I am glad to see Tenzin Gyatzo will receive the congressional medal of honor on Wednesday from our fearless leader lil' Bush. It's been only 300 yrs since China originally invaded Tibet... let it go China.

Discussion at the morning dog park meeting included possibly a new winter location, less muddy field and school funding. Both topics will be picked up tomorrow morning.

Happy Columbus Day

Of course, it is not quite accurate to say that the indigenous population gave of themselves and their land for that noble purpose. Rather, they were slaughtered, decimated, and dispersed in the course of one of the greatest exercises in genocide in human history... which we celebrate each October when we honour Columbus — a notable mass murderer himself — on Columbus Day. The Know

On the lighter side of things. At the Mississippi Dog Association meeting this morning. "Lucy, Frida and Cooper were labeled as 2 pitbulls and a wolf roaming about in the park.", said an anonymous person to the owner of Chester, the friendly faced Labradoodle...

Year of the Dog

Check out Molly Shannon in "The Year of the Dog" available on DVD. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll probably give your dog a hug. The website is pretty cool. You have to answer dog trivia to enter it. It is also a really good movie. John C. Reilly and Lara Dern are also in it.

Unthank Park

Dr. DeNorval Unthank (1899-1977), Speaking during Albina Neighborhood Unrest 1967, was a dedicated doctor and ally of minority groups in Portland. He is often remembered as a civil rights pioneer who broke down racial barriers. Unthank said, "A Negro may have a few more doors closed to him and he may find them a little harder to open, but he can open them. He must keep trying.”
Unthank was born on December 14, 1899 in Allentown, Pennsylvania. His mother died when he was nine, leaving eight children. Unthank’s father, a cook, unable to support him, sent him to live with his aunt and uncle in Kansas City. After completing high school, Unthank attended the University of Michigan where he received his BA. He received his medical degree in 1926 from Howard University in Washington, DC. Unthank returned to Kansas City to complete advanced medical training before moving to Portland in 1929 to start his own practice.
When Unthank moved to Portland, he was confronted with a strong racist reaction. Oregon did not welcome African Americans. The state constitution originally banned African Americans from living in Oregon and in the early 1920s both the governor and the speaker of the State House of Representatives were associated with the Ku Klux Klan. Against this backdrop, Unthank chose to move his family to the entirely white neighborhood of Westmoreland. Neighborhood representatives tried to convince Unthank to move elsewhere and even offered him from $700-1500 to move away from Westmoreland. Unthank refused and moved into the neighborhood to a reception of broken windows, harassment, threatening phone calls, and general hostility. Unthank and his family had to move four times before they were able to settle down peacefully. Nevertheless, Unthank continued to build up his private practice and eventually retired in 1970. He then worked as a medical consultant for the state workmen’s compensation board until 1976 just prior to his death.
Unthank’s achievements are numerous. He won several awards for his work against racial discrimination as well as for his public service work. In 1958, the Oregon Medical Society named him Doctor of the Year. For his role in bringing down racial barriers, the city of Portland named DeNorval Unthank Park in North Portland in his honor in 1969. Unthank was the recipient of several citizenship awards including the distinguished citizenship award from the University of Oregon in 1971 and the citizenship award from Concordia College in 1975. Unthank was the first African American member of the Portland City Club. He was president of the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and cofounder of the Portland Urban League. Unthank sat on Oregon’s Committee for Equal Rights and the Council of Social Agencies.
Dr. Unthank died on September 20, 1977. An important figure in the early civil rights movement in Portland, Unthank opened many doors and opportunities for other minorities.

Soy yo Lucy

Hi Coop! Thanks for inviting me to join the dog association and thanks for being my BFF. Can't wait to meet you at Unthank this week for a good butt smelling, run, and hump. Missed you at Forest Park this morning. I ran the trails with a playful husky/shepard mix named Quincy. We played a few rounds of chase-the-stick-in-my-mouth and went our seperate ways. By the end of the run, I had mud caked on my paws and legs and rain drops rolling down my coat. I didn't mind though, my mom dried me off and took me home to a filling breakfast and a juicy buffalo bone. Now, I'm hanging on the couch with my mom watching a Ralph Nader documentary. I really like that Ralph guy. If your listening Ralph, thanks for keeping me and my mom safe on our fun Sunday car rides.

Wags and licks,

Lucy (a.k.a Devil)

Buddy

Buddy would love to come lick. Do you think Cooper will try to tear his head off? We'd like to walk around and check out your new digs. Nice blog. Cooper must think you're the best dog dad ever.

Neighborhood Dogs

Lucy(aka Devil)
Rupert
Bandit
Ollie
Urso(spelling?)
Lola
Angel
Frida
Chester
JuJo
Vera
Lucy(2, Rebecca owner)
Shiva
Please add to the list

Rainy Sunday

6:30am talk, blah, peesh, blah, blah, blah... I'm familiar with that sound coming out of that electronic box called an alarm clock tuned into NPR. I didn't even think about waking up out of a warm mummy like cacoon for another 15min at best. 6:50 blah, blah... aweright I'm up. Cooper is patiently standing above me now eager to poop in a lawn somewhere.

Running gear on and off to Irving park in drizzly, shizzly rain.... oh well you don't even think about it after 5 min. Of course we are the only one's out this am but low and behold another dedicated dog owner with his Scotty type dog. A few growls and sniffs and total disinterest on both their parts. On with the slow jaunt to the soccer fields until I see two soccer balls waiting to meet my right foot at medium high speed... No Lucy around Charlie Brown was going to have his free kick. Cooper thinks it's a game and is running sideways and backwards until foot meets ball then he doesn't know what to do.... I kick it around for a few by myself much as Chuck does with Snoopy then off through Irvington neighborhood through a cool little alley way on the return trip home.

Unthank park is the next stop. I've got to research that name. A few more bits of playing and who comes along Lola and her owner. By the way Coop met Lisa and (Urso) yesterday.

Sat Morning

Cooper and myself were on our usual AM walk from about 650 to 745 this morning and ran into "Angel", a shelty mix according to the owner. They sniffed as per usual dog greeting and romped around a bit. Angel had it in her heart to play but being 11 might be a little too daunting to keep up with a 4 yr old husky.

See you next time Angel