Pit bulls deserve a break today

Dear McDonald's,

Wanna know what's risky? Offending pit bull owners across the country.

Social media was all a-Twitter today with the McDonald's radio ad for its new menu item. Several of the pit bull groups I follow via Facebook posted a notice as well. The radio spot says trying a new menu item at the fastfood chain isn't risky, and suggests somethings that are ... like petting a stray pit bull.

I wanted to embed the YouTube clip here, but guess what -- it's been pulled.

See, McDonald's underestimated the response not only of owners, but animal activists, rescue organizations and many others. It's pretty amazing that a company that big, didn't have one person who stood up to say "Hey, should we think about this for a minute? Getting breed-specific can be pretty touchy." We are hoping this doesn't affect the rescue efforts of the Animal Protection Center or other shelters.

The ad could have simply said, "You know what's risky? Petting a stray dog. That's risky."

Instead, they went the other way. I hope the fallout is huge and lasts a little longer than the usual outrage over stupid advertising mistakes. Responsible pit bull owners work too hard to change the image that media continues to perpetrate to have it blown with at 30-second commercial for an artery-clogging conglomerate.

Casey-Leigh Stock, an organizer with the New England Bully Breed Club, drafted a fabulous letter to the company, reminding anyone who reads it that this is an old and noble breed made up of war heroes and "nanny dogs."

There's a nagging little part of my brain that says McDonald's new what the fallout would be and was banking on the free media. In a way, I feel like I'm playing into their greasy corporate hands.

At the same time, I don't really care. My daughter has refused to eat a that place since seeing "Super Size Me," although I've tried to point out everything in that movie that was manipulated to make a point. Now, she has a real reason, as does the rest of my family.

The only reason I'll take them to McDonald's after today is so Hathaway can make his own little golden arch on the sign out front.

12 Days of Hathaway, Day 1

I was going through pictures recently to make the grandparents their annual kid calendar (oops, I hope I didn't ruin the surprise), and found a bunch of goofy Hathaway pictures that I thought would be fun to post in the days leading up to Christmas.

This one is from last Christmas. He liked to sit at the top of the stairs amongst my step-mom's Santa Bears. This is a pit bull version of "Where's Waldo?"

"There's nobody here but us bears ..." is also entered in a contest on the Bank of Easton Facebook page. It's a benefit for the Animal Protection Center of Southeastern Mass. (APCSM), which needs all the donations it can get right now. Hathaway has generously suggested that should he win the gift card prize, he will give it to the shelter as well.

So like the good folks in Chicago, vote early and often. Share the link with your friends.

The chronicles continue

Yes, I admit I made my dog his own page on Dogbook, the goofy Facebook application for dog lovers. I don't think I'll be updating Hathaway's status as often as I update mine, of course, but some would argue his status is probably more interesting.

I did want to share his profile picture though, because he just looks cool. Now, I am totally against those (mostly) crazy people who dress up their dogs on a regular basis. (Cough * Paris Hilton * Cough) My boy has his winter sweater, which matches his collar, because he has very thin fur and not an ounce of fat to keep him warm. That is the extent of his wardrobe, despite the best efforts of the kids. They never played with dolls but they want to dress up the dog. The Santa hat. A T-shirt. They have browsed other outerwear. No, no and no. Is it any wonder he wants to hide behind the dark glasses when they're around?

He's a pit bull for goodness sake. Let the dog have his dignity.