Sophie is 8!

For her birthday tomorrow, the only present Sophie would like is for the Quebec government to impose animal cruelty laws.

This province has very few animal cruelty laws and does not regulate breeders. Consequently, there are puppy mills all over the province. On the flip side, Beagles in Quebec are raised in clean environments as healthy puppies and then shipped en masse to Europe for lab testing.
None of these practices are illegal in Quebec.

For years, the Montreal SPCA has been appealing to the government to impose animal cruelty laws and has been lobbying for the power to inspect kennels to ensure that the laws are being met. Thus far, the government has not acted.

I'm not sure if the Quebec government will care about what people from far and wide think of this issue when they don't seem to care what their own citizens think, but you never know. If you have a little gumption and would like to circulate a petition and mail it in or write a letter, please do.

No more puppy mills in Quebec!






Warning: Heartbreaking photo below.

PET INSURANCE IS A SCAM
or at the very least,
NOT WORTH IT!

(with no apologies to anyone working in the pet insurance industry)

Sophie has been insured through Pet Plan for about two and a half years and in that time, I have paid $1,350 in premiums (approximately $50/month). I do this, because I love my dog. I signed her up for a fancy policy that covers 80% of her vet bills should she need medication, surgery, cancer treatment, etc., etc., etc.

80% ... remember that number. It's going to come up again.

Originally, her premiums for the 80% coverage were $45 per month. Not cheap, but a flash in the pan when you think your dog might have cancer. They are now $53 per month. Quite a hike, considering it's only be two years.

When she tore the ligament in her knee, I was relieved to have insurance because her surgery cost $3200, not including the diagnosing examinations and x-rays. All tolled, her knee cost about $4000, and Pet Plan covered $3000 of it .... on the surface.
When you factor in the 22 months of premiums I paid prior to this claim (approximately $1100) and the deductible ($200), I still paid $2200 for this surgery. Nonetheless, I was happy to have the coverage.

THEN...

I got a letter from Pet Plan informing me that because of her surgery, Sophie's coverage was being reduced from 80% to 50%.

I was spitting mad!

They also informed me that Sophie's deductible was being raised to $400.

-----
Apparently, they are managing their risk.

Now having owned and paid for car and house insurance for years, and having developed an intense, intimate relationship with one of these companies after my house fell down (literally), I am feeling fairly well versed in how insurance companies manage risk. In my experience, with Canadian companies at least, premiums may go up astronomically, but the basic plan doesn't change. With Pet Plan, my premiums have increased almost 20%, my deductible has increased 50%, and my coverage has decreased 40%.

This really pisses me off.

I was paying for a specific service that Pet Plan decided they could arbitrarily not offer.

Is this not operating in bad faith?


With the premiums and deductible:

*I will be paying over $1000 per year, before 50% of her vet bills will be covered.

Unless this dog has major surgery every year
for the rest of her life,
how does this make sense?

And were that the case, you can be assured they would cancel the policy.




-------

Note: Yes, I know that that is what insurance is all about ... paying in, just in case. I don't actually mind paying in, just in case, but I'm not stupid. As soon as a company starts to severely alter the service they have agreed to provide, I'm out.

Eight Things You Didn't Know About Sophie Brador

1. I drank rum when I was a puppy.
2. I once caught a squirrel.
3. I love people who work for the post-office, but dislike the junk mail people .... and I can tell the difference.
4. I will kill another dog if it is standing next to me while my dinner is being served.
5. I have a giant cauliflower-like mole thing on my neck and it is really gross, according to my humans.
   
6. I am indifferent to horses in the country, but freak out when I see them in the city.
   
7. I once met Chris Noth, The Flaming Lips, and some guy who was on the Osbournes.
8. I refuse to eat bananas because the humans sometimes hide pills in them.
9. I tend to get carried away.
10. I have dysplasia in my shoulders.
    
11. I have a photo of David Lee Roth in a towel being arrested by the police on a pin that I could wear on my lapel, if I wasn't a nudist.
    
12. I drink and eat out of handmade crockery.
    
13. I won't jump on the bed or into the car by myself, but wait to have my bum lifted up for me. Why do for yourself what others can do for you?
14. My dad moved to Estonia.
    
15. Cat poop is the most delicate treat on earth.
    
16. What the hell is a ferret?!
    
17. I tend to get carried away.
    
18. I only play bitey-head with Cha Cha.
    
19. My mom wrote a song for me called Sophalina-lina-lina-lina-lina-lina-lu, Sophalina-lu.
20. I have traveled across the country three times.
    
21. I hate the car and have no idea what it's like to sit, stand or hang my head out the window because I lay down and won't move.
    
22. I don't like guide dogs for the blind or people in wheelchairs, but have no problem with either when paired up together. If only those sight-challenged people would get wheelchairs, I could relax.
    
23. I like shopping and immediately plop my butt down at the counter of every store and stare at the sales clerk.
    
24. I can't believe some stores don't give out cookies.
    
25. I love my box and if I cannot be in my box with the door closed when my humans are gone, I freak out.
    
26. I am in my box right now, even though my humans are home.
27. We moved in next door to a monastery and I am thinking of converting to Catholicism.
    
28. I can't count.
    
29. I tend to get carried away.
    

VERY EXCITING NEWS


Cha Cha's human has to go to Paris and Rome for a whole month this summer. We feel really badly for her. Who on earth would want to go to Paris and Rome? Ick!

BUT.....
the very exciting news is that
Cha Cha is going to stay here for a whole month!!!!!
For most of it anyway.


WOO HOO
CHA CHA

HA!

I bet you think this is Sophie .....



but it's not.

____

I can hardly believe it!
It's like looking in a mirror.
Well, it's like Sophie looking in a mirror,
except that Sophie won't actually look in a mirror,
but if she would, this is what it would be like.




This is Willow. Check out her blog.
It gets even weirder. Her sister Stella looks exactly the same.

I have always suspected the truth, and now I have proof.

Sophie is a cylon!

A toaster!

Frak!

Sophie ain't no girlie dog!



But tell that to the aunts next door.

___

The other day, she was innocently
lounging about on the terrace with the boys,
when she was blatantly assaulted by one of the aunts.



Oh my god!


At least it's not candy apple red,
but purple sparkles are bad enough.




She just looked at me and wondered
how I could let this happen to her ...



... and there was nothing I could say except, the horror!

Looks like...




Uma

__


Emulates....



Kim Deal

...but without the heroin addiction part, because it would not be good for her fur.

Everything's Better with Butter

Sophie is a naughty girl and if left unattended, she will lick the butter every time.

This is what she did first thing this morning when she popped over to say hello to her aunties and their two dogs Charlot and Tricky, as pictured below.

This is Cha Cha.

Cha Cha is Sophie's best friend.

_______

This is Cha Cha
too....

... when she was but a wee baby.

As good as it gets .....





.....while still respecting the dignity of the beast.

A HA!




As it turns out, Sophie was just practicing her sullen, disengaged look in anticipation of the new Joe Strummer documentary.

http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000484586

I have noticed that she's been hoarding safety pins lately, and then I caught her with a flashlight and my Subcultures Reader in her box the other night. I should have guessed. She has always been a huge Clash fan.

Woosh! What a relief! It's only her middle-aged angst ... she will be 8 on May 31st.

DOES SOPHIE NEED A SHRINK?




Yes, we are still completely disorganized and yes, there are still boxes everywhere, but that's a big ass frozen marrow bone sitting in front of the beastie girl, and she's having none of it. I'm afraid she needs therapy.

P.S. we also got caught in the rain, which is just about her least favourite thing on earth after the vet and the bath tub.

We are still unpacking. This is Sophie's fault.



She was a fine little worker, diligently helping ..... until she found the box with her tennis balls.






Then she just quit.
Rotten, good for nothing beast.

****
Ahem.
Moving along, let me introduce you to Sophie's two newest companions, the boys next door.


Tricky, the performer.
Tricky is an 8 year old standard poodle and he talks a lot! Sophie finds him amusing.
He finds her amazing and if he is ever invited to a drag party, he will go as Ms. Sophina La Brador, foreign film star.




Sir Charlot
This is Charlot and his hippo.
Not that he needs the hippo. He just loves the hippo.
He is 10 years old and has the biggest, most gigantic bark ever. But it kind of matches his big, gigantic self.
Charlot is definitely the intellectual of these two boys.



You will be probably be seeing a lot of these fellas.

*****

And now for a little housekeeping.
Wimsey, the dashing hound on the Upper West Side, has requested a photo of Sophie showing off her belly. That's a pretty rare occurence, which will require an elaborate array of motion activated cameras loaded with day for night film. Sophie only ever rolls on her back in the middle of the night, and only if she is super relaxed and comfy comfy cozy. It might take a few more days in the new place for that to happen. In the meantime, she has requested that I share the following with you, since it is a view that doggies so rarely see (not that you want to).





Note: This creature looks almost identical to one who lives down the block, who has taken to stalking Sophie when she is out on her walks. Word on the street is, he's an attack cat. Sophie is considering foregoing her vow of nudity and donning armour when we stroll around the hood.

My People, My Beasts, I have returned!
-Sophina La Brador, May 8, 2007

Yes, that is correct. Sophie is back, and she has requested that I catch everyone up on what the hell is going on and why we have been away for so long.

We moved and vacationed in one fell swoop, but we are almost back to some sort of proper schedule. We are still living amongst cardboard and drywall dust, but Sophie will be back to blogging on a much more regular basis.


There is much catching up to do with Sophie's blog. Cha Cha's life story remains to be told. She has not yet paid us a visit in our new digs, but hopefully will before the week is out.


Sophie is also dying to tell all about her big boy neighbours -- une Caniche Royale, a wee bit taller than Mademoiselle Brador, and a Bouvier, taller than even Tundra! These are strictly platonic relationships. Tricky is gay and only wishes to discuss Sophie's fur-dos and admire her sexy walk. Charlot finds Sophie far too young and petite for his tastes, but they have had many intellectual debates on the meaning of cat poop.


There are sure to be lots of photos to follow of these handsome gentlemen, with whom Ms Brador has taken to while away her days.

Just for Wally

Everyone else ... cover your eyes!

Now Wally,
It might be a bit hard to actually find Tundra's bum in this shot, because of the masses of hair, but it's there. She's got the wiggliest tush around. I've also included some forward going shots for you, just in case you wanted to see what the beast looks like from the front end.











P.S. That other dog is Mocha. Sophie tried to beat her up once so now she won't come anywhere near her. When we walk with her mom, we have to stay about 5 feet apart. Silly dog. Sophie didn't mean it. Yeesh! Talk about holding a grudge.

Complaints from the Beast

So here we are in Lake Placid and guess who forgot the damn camera! No photos of me dipping my paws in the water, no pics of me hiking to the fall, no nothing.
She can't even download photos of Newfie anatomy she's be promising willy nilly around the blogosphere. People are so dumb sometimes. She says it's because we moved and it must have gotten into the wrong bag. I say this is the last time she comes on vacation with me. Next time, I'm sending her to NYC again.

xo
Sophie Brador


P.S. To our American pals: She saw Frosty Paws in the grocery store. I hope she buys me some! We don't seem to have them in Canada.

Sophie is going on a vacation

Unlike the last time,
when I was forced to go to New York City for ten days
while she lounged at the spa,
Sophie is allowing me to join her
on a relaxing trek to the Adirondacks.
Pictures to follow.