About dogs on CBC Radio 1

Today, October 16th, 1 p.m. EST. The program's called Living Out Loud and is hosted by Robin Brown.

It's always good to hear a special program on dogs. This one, titled the Dog Show, is interesting because it's about some of the less attractive aspects of dogs. Creeps in the dog park, the perils of doggie doodoo, "reluctant" dog owners, dog therapists, service dogs ...

One segment, Memo to Oreo by the long suffering Dave Martin... is about the Dad who was outvoted 2 to 1, but ends up doing most of the dog walking, a very common scenario. Paid $1700 for the privilege, ouch! And that's just the beginning. Vet bills, plumbing bills (you have to listen to find out what that was about), it's not cheap to own a dog.

I'm sympathetic. About three months after getting our Oreo (yes, every second black and white dog is named Oreo, and every owner thinks they are being original) I found myself saying to myself, "I can't do this. I just can't." In time tho', my routines and the dog's routines melded and it came to pass that I turned into the dog person I always suspected I was.

Unfortunately Living Out Loud doesn't have a dedicated site yet, or podcasts, at least I couldn't find them on the CBC site. ... Oops, actually the Dave Martin segment is a rebroadcast from the program Outfront in 2007 and you can listen to it here.