Piggy: The Inverted Cone Head

Piggy had soosool yesterday. No, not plastic surgery. She just got spayed. The vet gave her a cone to wear, but Piggy didn't really need to wear it since she hasn't been licking the stitches. I just made her wear it because it cracks me up. I know. I'm so cruel.

The doctor also gave Piggy yak in powder form. I know that Koreans prefer to take their medicine in powder form, but I didn't know that they expected their dogs to as well. Cyndi cleverly encased the powdered medicine in a slice of turkey deli meat. (That's right. I found turkey meat in Seoul!)

Speaking of spaying dogs... last week I saw the Oprah episode about puppy mills in America (I think it originally aired in the Homeland ages ago). I had naively thought that most of the puppies sold in American puppy stories were provided by professional breeders, and had even been quite judgmental about the puppy vendors in Seoul. Boy, do I still have a lot to learn.

According to the representative from the Human Society, it is estimated that almost 99% of puppies sold in American pet stores come from a puppy mill. At these mills, breeding dogs are holed up in filthy little crates and forced to produce puppies after each heat cycle. Most of these dogs' paws never even touch the ground. It's heartbreaking. I was literally bawling throughout the whole episode. You don't have to be a dog lover to feel horrified by the grossly inhumane treatment of dogs. I don't think that I could ever buy a dog from a pet store ever again. I would either adopt a dog from the pound or search for an AFC certified breeder.

You can read more about the puppy mill investigation at oprah.com or check out clips on youtube:


This episode of Oprah, dedicated to her late dog Sophie, also profiled a woman who saves dogs that are about to be put down. Through her charitable organization, the Lange Foundation, she is able to save the dogs that most people would not think to adopt -- the blind ones, the old ones, the ones with missing limbs.

The other guests on the show, a Humane Society representative and vet also emphasized that the overcrowding of animal shelters, and consequently, the large number of animals put to sleep DAILY, could be significantly reduced if people would just spay or neuter their cats and dogs. Spay or neuter your dogs, people!