Canine Mascots -- This Must End

I’d like to discuss a very important topic today, one that’s been on the minds of a lot of dogs for a long time. My daddy likes to watch sports on TV and that’s OK, it gives me time to catch a few extra zzzzz. Sometimes I even watch a little bit, and that’s when my fur can somteimes get ruffled. Sports has a thing for canine names and mascots. More than 900 high school, college or pro teams use Canine-American-related images to pump up players, fire up crowds and sell T-shirts. Teams say the images convey courage and spirit, and their use honors the dogs they represent.

But dogs like me say such images are prejudiced and insulting. Furthermore, activists say use of dogs as team mascots is an anti-canine slur that violates a federal law against offensive trademarks. Since 1969, pressure from canine activists and athletic associations has persuaded 600 teams to shed the connection.

The most egregious offender is the University of Georgia and their offensive Uga the Bulldog mascot. What dog actually looks like this? The depiction of Uga as a clownish, viscious, spiked-collar animal is offensive to many dogs and demeaning to the entire canine community. The NCAA recently ruled that the “Bulldogs” could keep its name, but that the dog had to be depicted with dignity and class. The college appealed, lost, and and is in the process of designing a new mascot.



Then there are the professional teams – with millions of dollars tied up in marketing and merchandise – who have been harder to budge. We have here the case of the Cleveland Browns and their offensive ‘Dog Pound.’  Fans actually come to the games dressed in dogface. Who can look at this picture and not think something is seriously wrong with our society?

I will continue to work tirelessly to see that this custom ends and that depictions of dogs are not exploited in this way.  Please consider helping and donating money to the cause if you can.