Introducing Lane Batot, who often comments, especially on dogs and domestication. I hope we will be seeing him here again!
"With a diverse(some would say eccentric)interest and experiences with canines and the outdoors(usually combining the two in some fashion), and as a big fan of this blog, I have been invited to "guest-write"(not to be confused with "ghost-write") occasionally about some of my many misadventures and perspectives, which may be of interest to other readers.
"First off, it was suggested I relate why I have so many dogs(13 at present), the advantages(?) of keeping such a large pack, and the very real danger of losing this privelege with the increasingly restrictive laws cropping up limiting one's canine acquisitions.(para.) My own reasons for ending up with so many dogs are as much accidental as planned---over half my pack are rescues. Dogs that, had I not taken them in, would not be alive today. This is something dog restriction laws will inevitably do, doom even more dogs to euthanasia or abandonment. People that now will take the time to rescue and rehome a stray or two, will be discouraged from such humanitarian actions by these laws.(para.) I also have so many dogs because, well, there are just SO MANY interesting dog breeds and types out there! My own personal motto is, "so many dogs, so little time"! I have experienced a lot of dogs in my near half-century of living(especially with my tendency to experience them in multiples), and yet there are so many more I hope to experience and share my life with before I cash it in! So dog limits imposed on citizens are also personally restrictive to my chosen lifestyle. Doesn't this violate my basic constitutional rights? Yes, it does.
"As I have yet to breed a litter of any sort(way too dangerous a prospect for a sentimental chap like myself!), so I do not fall in the category of someone breeding to maintain a line of working dogs, be they for herding, hunting, sled work, guard and police work, handicap-assistance dogs, and others. Breeders not allowed by law to keep multiple animals are going to have a hard time providing these types of real working dogs to those in need.
"One thing I do do that involves the use of more than the pet or two these laws restrict us to, is train sled dogs. Mine is purely recreational, but this is a whole genera of dogs that will no longer be able to fulfill their roles with such limitations. It's kinda hard to have a team with just a pet or two.(p.) Of course radical, unreasonable, "humaniac" Animal Right's Activists could care less about the many contributions such dogs make to society, or the joy they have in fulfilling these roles(in the proper hands), since they wish to eliminate(or so it seems) any human/animal interactions at all. Legislators who go along with the passing of these laws are often just ignorant that any other legitimate perspective exists, so we dog-people do need to do all we can to educate them. It would be great if we could get these law-makers out of their offices and let them see the real deal in the field--they'd probably enjoy that too, for a change! Action does speak louder than words! Hopefully I will be relating some of these experiences with my own dogs in future posts."
6 comments:
Welcome "L.B."!
I’m really looking forward to future posts Lane.
Question?
My wife and I are Catherine and Peter Marshall fans; any connection with the Christy (CBS) series here?
Gregg
Lane - was thinking of you the other day - hadn't seen anything from you in a while. Hey. presto! and here you are.
Glad to be participating! Any of you guys with past experience with my pecking on the internet, know that it doesn't take much encouragement to get me to rambling about dogs! Next up, I will take the subject of my trailhounds; why I have them, etc. And yes, Gregg Barrow, I am the same Lane Batot that worked on the Christy series--quite the experience! There's even a couple of funny dog stories related to that T.V. series.....Do you know about "Christyfest"?, where fans of the long canceled series(and anything else to do with the character and Appalachian life) gather every year in the little town where it was filmed? Sort of like trekkies, only nicer, and not as weird! I call them(affectionetely) "Crispies"! I usually participate(they feed me great!)--last year I even did a lecture on Appalachian hunting dogs. This year, in conjunction with the nearby Smoky Mountains National Park anniversary(75th), I'll be doing a lecture on wildlife in the area. They have a great website--you should check it out. My nom-de-plume on the message board is "Delusional Figment"(I played the part of a ghost in one episode seen by an exhausted, stressed, and obviously delusional kid). Yeah, this could be future Querencia fodder, too!....L.B.
Hi Lane,
We own the series and specials (we live on DVD’s here, haven’t had cable since 89).and the Chrsityfest web site is where I first saw your name.
I’ve always enjoyed Catherine Marshall’s books and I use to have friends in Jefferson, NC, so we coon hunted much of the area between there and Kingsport, TN.
I just fell in love with the area, and I guess the appreciation for the series grew out of this.
And, I’ve secretly lusted after the whole Dr MacNeill lifestyle :-)
Phonograph playing on the porch of a rustic cabin, casting a line in your own mountain stream, full creel on the bank. Throw in a black and tan and it’s my idea of heaven.
Looking forward to the insider info :-)
Gregg
Yeah, Gregg, I never could understand why they didn't let Doc McNeil have a canine sidekick! Had the series continued, perhaps I could have influenced that! Then again, my futile attempts at accurate dog portrayals in actual episodes were not very successful! Although I would not mind repeating those stories about my experiences with dogs used on a T.V. series, for anyone not wanting to wait, they are told in detail on the "Christyfest" website. Just click on the message board, then on the Christy T. V. series section, and scroll down till you find, first, the Pilot Episode, and then the episode entitled "The Hunt", and have a good laugh at Hollywood's efforts to portray hunting dogs in the Appalachians!....L.B.
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