Oak Island, NC
iris
Mark Buehrle and his dog
Here’s hoping the new Blue Jays pitcher can raise awareness about Ontario’s pit bull ban and maybe ultimately the law will change. I’d love for Oliver and Iris to be able to visit us sometime!
…And as [Buehrle] makes his debut as a Blue Jay, he will live alone in Toronto, leaving his family and their beloved dogs behind in St. Louis.
The reason: Ontario has banned pit bulls, one of which — a Staffordshire terrier-bulldog mix named Slater — is a treasured member of the Buehrle family…
“Being a responsible pet owner, you can’t just dump your dog on somebody else or take a chance of breaking a law and taking him up there [to Ontario],” Buehrle said…
The Buehrles adopted Slater from a shelter where he was scheduled for euthanasia two years ago. [Buehrles’ wife] Jamie has an uncommon love for dogs, but when she told her husband about finding Slater, he had never heard her wax so enthusiastic about any animal before. Bring him home, he said.
Slater is the antithesis of the pit-bull stereotype, Buehrle insisted…
Full article in the National Post:
Blue Jays’ Mark Buehrle knows many won’t understand why he’ll leave his family behind ‘over a dog’
November trip to North Carolina
We dropped the dogs off at my parents the day that Hurricane Sandy was hitting the East Coast. By the time we got back to Guelph to pack for our trip, our flight had been cancelled. We rescheduled it for 6:30AM and got our stuff together by midnight, which meant three short hours of sleep before driving to the airport.
Getting through security at Pearson was actually funny so early in the morning: first the officers advised us to spread the cream cheese onto the bagels we’d brought as we wouldn’t be able to bring in the container. Fine– we used the “liquids and gels” desk to do that. Then sleepy Eric was encouraged to “be more active” and get his shoes and jacket into the bins a little quicker, not that there was anyone behind him. “It’s 4AM, this is as active as I get” he replied. They did not strip-search him or anything for being so mouthy.
After a transfer in Atlanta, we got to Asheville by lunchtime and met our baby niece at the airport. I cannot believe how small she is! She’s super cute and cuddly, but prefers to be held on her belly and my schnauzers had never had my practice that before (I will practice before next time, I promise Baby J). At six weeks old, her favourite hobbies seem to be riding in her car seat, lying on her play mat, and watching the ceiling fan. Next time we meet her she’ll probably be moving about of her own accord and maybe even saying her first words. Hopefully she’ll be learning to Skype soon.
Baby J suggested we go out to restaurants a lot so she could get a car ride, so we did. We ate out at:
- Sunny Point Cafe
- Jack of Hearts Pub
- Early Girl Eatery
- Boca Restaurant
- El Kimchi
- Blue Mountain Pizza
- and of course D & D Restaurant
But aside from spending time with family eating super delicious meals and treats (vegetarian biscuits and gravy, spicy grits, organic cocoa smoothie, vegan mushroom burger, local porter, vanilla stout, bibimbab, tofu bacon biscuit sandwich…), I also got to taste some apple cinnamon moonshine, watch an archery demo, look at hand guns, wander around Asheville, visit artists’ studios in the River Arts District, and play with the big pups. Time went by too fast.
Here’s proof that not all we did was eat:
Winter in Weaverville
I got to North Carolina on the 16th and the next day spent some birthday dollars on Indian food for lunch. On Wednesday we picked L. & N. up off the trail and celebrated an early Christmas. Then winter really hit!
Britt & Nate’s wedding
