Litmus test
A few weeks ago I posted a photo of Chuck sitting by the side of our house in the snow. Never before has something on this website caused such concern, and since then I have received hundreds of email demanding that I turn his collar right-side-up and then post a picture of it so that the balance of the Universe could be restored. One person even sent me an email day after day to check up on my progress, had I corrected it yet? Is it fixed now? How about now? PLEASE, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, FIX IT NOW BECAUSE MY RIGHT EYE WON'T STOP TWITCHING.
Others were concerned that the other dogs in the neighborhood would scorn Chuck, would make fun of him for wearing his collar upside down because that is the canine equivalent of wearing white tube socks rolled into doughnuts around your ankles. If Chuck wore his collar around his butt the other dogs in the neighborhood might notice it, but they don't even notice that Chuck has a head, it's so far away from the focus of their research.
Turns out you are all as OCD as I am, but I know my meds are working because I can look at this without feeling the uncontrollable urge to scratch imaginary sores:
GIRD YOUR LOINS, IT'S A CLOSE-UP:
Despite the upside down collar Chuck remains a functioning pet and this morning proved such by trying to eat the sprinklers:
He even tried to tackle the sprinkler head located directly beneath the car:
Promptly afterward I turned his collar so that it was facing the right direction. OR MAYBE? MAYBE I LEFT IT JUST LIKE THAT.
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FM Living
the niffer said:
Nice ass Chuck!
05.16.06 - 07:29 AM / 1Molicious said:
Hehe, just goes to show that dogs are stupid. So are people.
05.16.06 - 07:29 AM / 2Kristine said:
mean ass. you're just mad at everyone for siding with Jon.
I'm the person who doesn't have toilet paper 'over'.
I do it to freak out my 2 OCD friends who come over. Everytime they leave it's flipped 'over'. It makes me laugh.
05.16.06 - 07:33 AM / 3Erica America said:
I like the collar like that - it shows spunk and uniqueness! Now go get 'em Senator!
05.16.06 - 07:33 AM / 4Shelli said:
heh - it's SO TOTALLY right side up when he's drinking....
My tic goes away when I look at it that way.
05.16.06 - 07:34 AM / 5Anopoli said:
I didn't notice that the first time you posted his picture...now I'm going nuts!
05.16.06 - 07:35 AM / 6ktjane said:
"Promptly afterward I turned his collar so that it was facing the right direction. OR MAYBE? MAYBE I LEFT IT JUST LIKE THAT."
dun-dun-DUNNNNN
i can't wait to see how this one turns out! :)
05.16.06 - 07:35 AM / 7betsy said:
In order to handle looking at the collar, I just assume its a fox head with rectangular ears...then i can sigh with relief that the world is not upside down. I want a chuck too. :-(
05.16.06 - 07:36 AM / 8happy said:
Chuck proved that he is as good at action photos as he is at fashion shots.
And I have to say your nature shots in your daily photos are amazing. You should offer prints for sale. Seriously.
05.16.06 - 07:39 AM / 9Jezzie said:
Dear Chuck,
The greater a philospher one is, the less he can abide the questions of the common man. (quote from a forgotten source)
Your faithful disciple,
Jessica
05.16.06 - 07:40 AM / 10suze said:
proof that I pay absolutely no attention to detail, I had no idea Chuck's collar was upside down. I don't know if I should be ashamed of that fact or relieved that the OCD seems to be under control ;)
05.16.06 - 07:41 AM / 11Madame M. said:
It could also be a collar of downward-facing arrows. How's that?
05.16.06 - 07:42 AM / 12Jon Z. said:
While I a.) can't claim to have noticed when you originally posted the picture, and b.) am quite certain I'd never email someone to vent about their dog's collar being upside down, I will admit that I am OCD enough to where I would notice if I had put the collar on upside down, and would feel compelled to correct it for fear that not doing so would result in my world collapsing around me.
So, I guess what I'm saying is that I'm sick, but not in an invasive, boundary-encroaching way.
05.16.06 - 07:43 AM / 13divinemissk said:
oh my gosh- i love that he is trying to eat the sprinklers! we're installing an irrigation system at the end of june and i can't wait till our two little ones try to defeat the evil sprinkler heads!
05.16.06 - 07:43 AM / 14Kit said:
Chuck kind of looks like a deer in the first picture. And that's pretty cute.
05.16.06 - 07:43 AM / 15agnieszka said:
The former congressman can do whatever he wants, including making a bold fashion statement and sticking his ass up in the air for all to admire. That's how he rolls.
05.16.06 - 07:44 AM / 16MissusB said:
Wow. Some people just have too much time on their hands. It doesn't matter which way the collar is, Chuck is still the shit.
05.16.06 - 07:48 AM / 17Wicked H said:
Embrace diversity. Former Congressman, I salute you!
05.16.06 - 07:48 AM / 18Dorkette said:
I don't imagine there would be this much fuss if Dubya had HIS collar upside down; that would be business as usual. I would even bet that Chuck has a better command of the English language. It's sad when the public expects more from pets than the president.
CHUCK FOR PRESIDENT!
05.16.06 - 07:49 AM / 19swankette said:
I just figured it was his way of rebelling against people who like to put stuff on his head.
05.16.06 - 07:50 AM / 20Erin Fritz said:
So I didn't notice that it was upside-down the first time. But now that you've pointed it out, it's DRIVING ME CRAZY!
Please. For the sake of my sanity, turn it right-side up!!
05.16.06 - 07:50 AM / 21amy Jacobs said:
Ok, what the hell are those things supposed to be anyway, even turned right side up? I noticed the collar...they looked like the spaceships from Space Invaders...seemed to suit you guys, or at least Jon, so I didn't think too much of it. I take it those are little doghouses or something? I say forget turning his collar around...just get him a new one that is not so ambiguous...how about with his name on it or some cool hippy type pattern. Geez people must get lives to worry about a dog collar...or try and kid you guys about it. Seriously, are those dog houses? Now I'm twitching cuz I can't tell what the "frick" they are either upside down or right side up. Yup, a nice new collar with his name in shiny golden leaders seems like the best idea. If you guys can't spring for one with all the cash spent on the sewer, I'll mail you one. You want it to say "Chuck" or "Mr. Senator" or "Just Stop Looking At Me"? Really, I think they are Space Invader alien ships now that I've studied it nonstop for the past 30 minutes...tick, tick, TOCK.
05.16.06 - 07:51 AM / 22Sheana said:
Chuck wins at life.
05.16.06 - 07:52 AM / 23Workman said:
Oh the humanity! An upside down collar! Please restore order to the universe immediately! If this keeps up, before you know it, you'll be posting pictures of your child wearing... INSIDE OUT SOCKS!
Change your course of action now before the Humane Society or Human Services get involved.
05.16.06 - 07:52 AM / 24Karilynn Kelley said:
You did fix it! In this particular photograph of Chuck, it is right-side up: http://www.dooce.com/archives/daily_photo/05_12_2006.html
I win!
05.16.06 - 07:53 AM / 25trublu76 said:
I turned my puppy's collar upside down in a show of unity.
All dogs unite in upside down fashion!
We don't have sprinklers, but my pup, Nayla, a Siberian Husky, gets extremely hot in these NC summers, so she has a kiddie pool (the blue hard plastic type) that we put a couple inches of water in. She will go 'round and 'round that thing biting at the water and then she will dive head first and just lay down. Then she'll get up and start digging, at the water, crazily, until most of it is in the lawn. Crazy animals!
05.16.06 - 07:55 AM / 26monkey said:
It's not upside down if it's supposed to be a box-y looking fox! Ooooh!
As OCD I am about most things, animal collars do not fall into that category. I let my cat run without one for a weeks until I finally cornered him this weekend to put the collar back on (I still haven't figured out which child took it off to begin with). It makes him so much easier to find...you know, when I lose him...in my tiny, tiny apartment. (Did I mention he's strictly an indoor cat?) I can't tell you how many times I've misplaced him. And once I accidently locked him out of the apartment. Man, he was mad at me for hours for the 5 minutes he was locked out. Maybe I should invest in a key finder and attach it to him.
05.16.06 - 07:56 AM / 27Ash said:
And here I was thinking that the character in the TV show "Monk" wasn't based on a real person. Obviously I was wrong, and he reads Dooce.com.
People, if a collar upside down in a picture causes you to repeatedly email someone for days, trust me: YOU NEED A THERAPIST!
That, or an exorcist....or better drugs...or maybe all of the above...
05.16.06 - 07:57 AM / 28Z said:
That's hilarious b/c I didn't realize it was upside down b/c I just assumed it was some sort of abstract design. Not a doghouse.
05.16.06 - 07:58 AM / 29Sumo said:
So... you have a sprinkler head in the middle of your driveway? So you can get that undercarriage wash?
By the way, I hope you left the collar the way it was!
05.16.06 - 07:59 AM / 30