Comments on: Ceramic Bulldog

By: Rick Minervini

Rick Minervini — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 20:35:23 +0000

Yo, Erik,

Bummer about the dog and Nora’s finger, but I am happy for the cockles of your blog. Thanks for the reply.

By: Erik R.

Erik R. — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 00:26:34 +0000

Oh you've got to be kidding me! [throws hands in the air] That's very touching, and I applaud your sense of humor and detective work. Unfortunately, exactly one month ago, this bulldog had an altercation with my one-year-old daughter, was slightly broken, and then disposed of on the way to the emergency room. It's comments like yours that really warm the cockles of this blog. Thank you.

By: Rick Minervini

Rick Minervini — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 00:19:07 +0000

Hey Erik,
Every year my friends and I have a White Elephant gift exchange which we have come to call The Goofy Gift Party. Ugly ceramic items have always been a great source of amusement &/or moaning and groaning when unwrapped. This year, a friend downloaded the picture of your bulldog and emailed it to everyone with the threat that it might appear at this year’s party. Being the resourceful wiezenheimer that I am, I tracked it (& you) down, thinking it would certainly crack us up if, in fact, your lovable little doggie really did rear it’s proverbial ugly head at our get-together.

This, you see, answers your question: Why would anyone buy one of these? So, now, my question to you is: Do you wanna sell it, for how much and can you get it to me in California by Dec 17th?

I look forward to hearing back from you. Thanks! Rick

By: Paul

Paul — Sun, 07 Nov 2010 20:26:55 +0000

Stupid bulldog.

By: Erik R.

Erik R. — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 05:15:44 +0000

Yes, actually. The previous occupant is a professional footballer. Nice try, though, BB.

By: Bilingual Blogger

Bilingual Blogger — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 05:11:42 +0000

Erik,
Do you know anything at all about the previous residents of your house? Perhaps the previous owners of your ceramic canine were University of Georgia alumni? Go, Bulldogs!

By: Betsy

Betsy — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 19:47:16 +0000

As a verb it refers to giving birth but as a noun it can be a young whippershapper or rascal or brat. That seems like an odd dual use of a word.

By: Mother Theresa

Mother Theresa — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 16:56:38 +0000

I just love your “ugly dog”, not that I want one, or anything like that. When we lived in rented flats, we used to spend the first few days stashing away the “jujus”, as my husband calls them. It’s amazing how people actually buy such horrid items.

By: Erik R.

Erik R. — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 16:18:12 +0000

I knew that about bulldog births, probably from you. It is an interesting tidbit, and I’ve often wondered how true it is. The Wikipedia page, full of funny underbite photos, says it’s only somewhat true:

Because of the large heads in proportion to body size, puppies are frequently delivered by Caesarean section as they can get stuck in the birth canal during natural birth. However, it is not uncommon for a bulldog to whelp naturally and successfully.

My guess is that pregnant bulldogs with caring wealthy owners probably all have caesarian births because of the perceived risk and the others aren’t well documented, so it’s impossible really know how much birth canal blockage risk there really is.

Also, isn’t whelp a cool word?

By: Betsy

Betsy — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 16:03:31 +0000

Here’s an interesting factoid about bulldogs: their heads and shoulders are so big compared to their hips that they can’t give birth normally. They have to have caesarians. If natural selection were allowed to prevail, they’d be gone.