shelter dogs

Announcing…the GIMME SHELTER CAMPAIGN

/ Louis Spirito / Leave a comment

Tanner, Eugenie and I are thrilled to announce the start of the Gimme Shelter Campaign to help rescue animals. We had already committed 10% of the book’s profits to animal rescue causes when our friend and fellow writer, Dan Cohen, suggested we offer interested organizations discount codes so that their members could save on the book and earn donations for their groups. It took a few weeks to work out the tech kinks but now it’s a reality. By pointing their members and supporters to our online store, www.buygimmeshelter.com, and using the unique codes that we supply, they earn $1.00 for every book sold through their groups. In the coming weeks, we’ll be announcing some of our ‘partners’. Right now, if you know any organizations that could use a helping hand, have them get in touch with us to learn how they can join the Gimme Shelter Campaign.
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Now that Genesis Awards are behind us, we’d like to thank the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) for letting us contribute to the cause by offering e-copies of GIMME SHELTER to the celebrity presenters. Hope they enjoy the book as much as we appreciate all the hard work the HSUS does raising awareness of animal issues. For a look at photos of the star-studded gala, check them out on Facebook.
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Lastly, my sister and mad dog lover Honey pinned me a photo of the most decorated war dog in the history of the United States. Wanna guess the breed? That’s right, a Pit Bull named Stubby.


OSCAR NIGHT – ‘BEST PERFORMANCE BY A DOG’ (and some humble pie)

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It was a tough night for Tanner and Eugenie; they failed to predict the key awards, and had to listen to me crow about Argo‘s Best Picture win. We were all glad to see Life of Pi pick up some gold, especially Tanner who loves all movies featuring 4-legged creatures.


In keeping with the Awards, check out this video on ‘Skidboot’, a cattle dog who takes the ‘BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEADING DOG’ hands down. Tanner was quick to point out that he’s much cuter and that he could learn all those commands and tricks, but being a terrier (American Staffordshire) he simply doesn’t want to. Hmm.


TANNER PICKS THE OSCARS

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Last year Tanner proved to be a wiz at handicapping the Oscars; albeit his method was sketchy, he tabbed the Best Picture and Best Supporting Actor nods, along with a slew of other winners. Given his track record, Eugenie and I decided to let him offer his thoughts on this year’s races.

Tanner & Lou on State Street, Santa Barbara, 2/18/13

In the Best Picture category, we didn’t see three of the nominees – Beasts of The Southern Wild, Django Unchained and Life of Pi (Lou’s fault since Eugenie and I were bugging him to get the screeners).  Of the other six, Les Miz was overly long with uneven singing and a plot that jumps from a riveting ‘A’ story (Jean Valjean v Javert) to sappy, with the love at first sight between Marius (a rich frat boy slumming as a revolutionary) and Cosette. It’s a bit of a downer, but nothing compared to Amour, which made me want to run into traffic (Remember, I’m a dog and seppuku isn’t an option). We all found it sheer torture and it left us wondering how in the heck these two snooze fests get nominated when the bubbly, brilliant Intouchables came away with bubkes. But I digress. 


Lincoln was well done, with great acting boosting what is basically a lengthy documentary. Our friend, Joe Simone, rightly said it should have ended 15 minutes earlier, before the assassination, while David P, a director pal, said it l was shot with all those profiles so we would marvel at Daniel Day Lewis’s resemblance to Abe. Zero Dark Thirty (much like Hurt Locker, the 2009 winner) features a documentary story with a frosty protagonist that’s hard to warm up to. Her growth during the picture is nil. That leaves us with Silver Linings Playbook and Argo. Mom loved the former, second only to Intouchables in her year’s best. Dad said the first 30 minutes were a bit muddled but, after that, it was quite good. We all agree that Jennifer Lawrence is amazing, perhaps a new Meryl Streep in the making, and that she will take Best Actress. Eugenie liked Argo while dad liked it much better; then again, he’s a political type. It’s a tough call but I’m rolling with mom on this one. 

In the acting categories, it’s Daniel Day Lewis for Lincoln, Jennifer Lawrence in Silver Linings, Philip Seymour Hoffman for The Master (no, I didn’t see that one either and probably never will because, with the exception of Boogie Nights, Lou doesn’t care for the director’s work). Finally, the under-rated David O. Russell upsets Steven Spielberg for Best Director. Overall, last year’s movies were far superior, not coincidentally, because they featured canine stars.
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Porter update: Although he’s still fighting an infection and some post-op soreness, the tough little puppy is doing much better.

‘GET WELL’ PORTER

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Tanner asked me to send ‘get well’ wishes to his friend and running buddy (literally) Porter. Robby & John Mazza adopted Porter, whose first home was the South L.A. County Shelter. The poor pup had suffered a broken leg, which his first foster owner had repaired. At that time, they used a metal plate and screws to help it heal. It left him with a slight limp but he was still really active. Lately, though, when the leg began giving him problems, Robby and John turned to the Malibu Coast Animal Hospital for help.  After inspecting the big boy, they put him under and removed the plate. Porter made it through with flying colors and is now resting at home, sporting a very cool Rambo camp bandage. He’s on restricted duty for a while but should be back to his super self very soon.

Porter, aka Rambo-dog


PUPPY BOWL (RUNNING WITH THE BIG DOGS)

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Lou was busy shouting and eating with his pals and so we had to catch the Puppy Bowl after the Super Bowl, which wasn’t all that super until the last quarter. If you ask me (and my doggie friends) watching all those wiggly puppies crashing about was a zillion times better. Anyway, if you missed it, just hit the link above and check it out.

Speaking of adorable pups, you know that expression, “If you can’t run with the Big Dogs, stay on the porch”? Well, here’s a short video of a stout-hearted baby Pit Bull out to show that he belongs with the big boys.  Enjoy.

Book Update: We’ve finished all the corrections on the paperback edition of GIMME SHELTER which should be available on Amazon within the week. Be sure to get one.

ANOTHER SMALL STEP

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Those of you familiar with Tanner’s story will remember that, when he first left the shelter, he was one very skittish pup.  A scuffed shoe or a dropped plate would send him flying.  Thanks to Eugenie’s constant affection (she never took her hands off him) and my concerted efforts to reform my foul temper, he finally began to relax.  First, we were able to coax him up onto the sofa for TV cuddles.  Then, he learned to stretch out on our bed when invited.  Of course, he stayed in the middle, close enough to let us touch him but far enough away to avoid us when he chose.  Just recently, though, that’s begun to change.  When we’re watching movies in bed (been enjoying Ric Burns epic documentary New York) he been allowing Eugenie to drape her legs across his body.  And the other night, he curled up in my lap!  I’d been busy working at probation and doing a hurry-up rewrite on my play so we think it was his way of saying that he missed me.  Regardless, it was awesome to see him acting like the beloved family dog that he is. 

We’ll see how he handles the fireworks and firecrackers this week.  Even if he freaks, we’ll be there to buck him up. 

note:  Since I penned the ‘June Gloom’ headline, we’ve had most blue, sunny skies.  Maybe my public kvetching moved the weather gods.  Either that or we’ve been lucky for a change.  

RESCUE DOG…RESCUE KIDS

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Tanner and I apologize from the recent inactivity but I’ve been busy with a different kind of ‘rescue’ program.  

Back around the time Tanner came to stay with us, I started thinking that I might want to combine my two very different skill sets, writing and martial arts, to help ‘at risk’ kids.  I wasn’t sure if I still had the patience and energy required so I decided to take a trial run, substitute teaching at the L.A. County Juvenile Probation schools here in Malibu.  It took several months to get my certification and paperwork in order (back in the last century, I taught English before leaving to become an actor).  There were tests to take, forms to complete, interviews, orientations, fingerprinting – you would have thought I was applying for CIA clearance.  

After all the hoopla, I started in March, right around the time we started looking for a rescue dog three years earlier. The first couple days were interesting.  The ‘kids’ – all juvie offenders who’ve committed assorted crimes, some serious, some minor – felt they had to test me, just like we did with high school subs.  Nothing personal.  They were high energy and noisy but I never felt threatened.  Now that they’ve gotten to know me, and I them, I’m enjoying our time together.  Just like shelter dogs (I love dogs so this is a compliment), many of them are desperate for genuine affection and interest, and any special perks, like candy or magazines, they think they can wheedle out of you.

I’m not sure I’m up for a full-time job (45 kids of varying abilities and backgrounds, working on 6-7 subjects!) but I’m thinking of proposing an after school Tai Chi program.  I’ve also spoken to our good friend and superb dog trainer Tony Rollins, about starting a program where they can help train shelter dogs for adoption.  

In the middle of all this, I was busy reworking GIMME Shelter for submission to agents.  Now that the manuscript is done (for the moment), I’ll be back blogging and devoting myself to Tanner, who just celebrated his 3rd ‘anniversary’ with us.  He recently had a systemic bacterial infection that was causing skin rashes and lethargy but Dr. Lisa gave us a prescription and some ointment and now the big guy’s fine and friskier than ever.

Tanner on the Colony Beach