Comments on: Any questions? Hm? Stop looking at me like that!

Any questions? Hm? Stop looking at me like that!

Pretty_Generic — Fri, 28 Mar 2003 10:46:39 -0800

By: willnot

willnot — Fri, 28 Mar 2003 10:54:36 -0800

Oh, that's spectacular. It almost reads like a parody, but I'm almost sure that it's real. Oh, God, I hope that it's real.

By: woil

woil — Fri, 28 Mar 2003 10:59:47 -0800

For what its worth, I checked the WHOIS database on the domain name, and if it is a hoax, then they at least went to the trouble of doing this: The Dog Island P.O. Box 7768 Tallahasse, Florida 32311 UM Domain Name: THEDOGISLAND.COM Administrative Contact - Han Fei - HanFei@TheDogIsland.com The Dog Island P.O. Box 7768 Tallahassee, Florida 32311 UM Phone - 888-233-3890 Fax - 801-751-2475 Technical Contact - Han Fei - HanFei@TheDogIsland.com The Dog Island P.O. Box 7768 Tallahassee, Florida 32311 UM Phone - 888-233-3890 Fax - 801-751-2475

By: rschram

rschram — Fri, 28 Mar 2003 10:59:57 -0800

Check the FAQ. "Dogs LOVE hurricanes!"

By: mr_roboto

mr_roboto — Fri, 28 Mar 2003 11:02:56 -0800

Sorry guys. Snopes.

By: PinkStainlessTail

PinkStainlessTail — Fri, 28 Mar 2003 11:04:37 -0800

My dog is small but still attacks bigger dogs. Will it be safe? Yes. Dog Island is actually a small complexes of islands. There is one island reserved for the miniatures like Chihuahas and tiny poodles. If your dog falls into the tiny dog category it will find itself wonderfully happy on the tiny dog island I wish this wasn't a hoax. "The Tiny Dog Island" should be a real place.

By: willnot

willnot — Fri, 28 Mar 2003 11:07:23 -0800

mr_roboto - how dare you try to spoil that magic that is Dog Island. It's real. Real I say! I'm not listenting to you. Tra-la-la-la-la!!! Not listening. Real.

By: soyjoy

soyjoy — Fri, 28 Mar 2003 11:08:28 -0800

From the FAQ: For years human beings have owned other human beings. This was called slavery. During times of slavery, slave owners talked about the difference between treating their slaves in a "good" way and in a "bad" way. The issue was never, should we or should we not own slaves. For a more detailed discussion of this notion, see Valerie Martin's book Property. They think they're being satirical. But this is in fact the point of Gary Francione's Animals, Property and the Law. Wonder what he would think of Dog Island... P.S. willnot, you weren't really serious, were you? Did you read the part about whether one's dog might get killed and eaten? Priceless.

By: LinusMines

LinusMines — Fri, 28 Mar 2003 11:08:31 -0800

"Life here is a bitch. Her name's Punkin." -- Ch. Clytemnestra's Brown 'N' Serve

By: xmutex

xmutex — Fri, 28 Mar 2003 11:10:32 -0800

mr_roboto you've ruined my day.

By: VulcanMike

VulcanMike — Fri, 28 Mar 2003 11:11:23 -0800

my favorite FAQ moment... Every now and then some dogs gang up and kill and then eat another dog, but this is just natural, and it's okay for it to happen now and then, but normally this is not the case.

By: nramsey

nramsey — Fri, 28 Mar 2003 11:18:50 -0800

Joke or not, this is priceless. We apologize to not offer this to poor people but it takes an enormous amount of money to afford this type of beauty.

By: darainwa

darainwa — Fri, 28 Mar 2003 11:25:31 -0800

another golden nugget from the FAQ... Dogs should live free, should live lives unfettered by humiliation due to forced public defecation and having to walk on a leash.

By: jeff-o-matic

jeff-o-matic — Fri, 28 Mar 2003 11:26:32 -0800

How can anyone think this is for real? It's very funny though. I'm not a dog person, so I guess I smelled B.S. (D.S.?) right away. I mean, imagine an island with a couple hundred mixed breed dogs running wild. They'd be tearing each other apart, mostly starved and eventually resorting to cannibalism. Not to mention the smell. Funniest thing I've seen all week.

By: th3ph17

th3ph17 — Fri, 28 Mar 2003 11:35:30 -0800

heh. they say they have socio-dogologists. Care Networks James Laclara, one of our socio-dogologists, has been observing the village effect on all of the Dog Islands. They have identified key members in the community. One Irish setter has a tremendous antibiotic in her lick and has become the medical attention go-to dog. She has been given a privileged cave position and is often honored by the dogs in a circle. They are also aware of who to go to in disputes. A rather elegant great dane is always consulted before any disputes are taken too far (unless they happen in the far off hills). very funny, nicely done.

By: kaibutsu

kaibutsu — Fri, 28 Mar 2003 11:37:23 -0800

Something to tell the kids, maybe? "No, no dear... Rex isn't dead; we just sent him off to the Dog Island where he can be happy forever and ever."

By: willnot

willnot — Fri, 28 Mar 2003 11:40:53 -0800

mostly starved and eventually resorting to cannibalism Sure, in rare instances that happens, but they stocked the islands with a bunch of rabbits, and rabbits breed very quickly. Plus they seperate the dogs into Huge Dog Island, Normal Dog Island and Tiny Dog island. And, new arrivals are given an opportunity to "pack-up", so they can protect themselves and form social structures. Do you think these people are idiots? The've thought this through.

By: Windopaene

Windopaene — Fri, 28 Mar 2003 11:52:30 -0800

Hate to burst the fantasy but... Check out the what's new

By: BobFrapples

BobFrapples — Fri, 28 Mar 2003 12:00:54 -0800

I'm starting work on a screenplay right now... "Shipwrecked on Dog Island". It'll be like Lord of the Flies... but with dogs.

By: stbalbach

stbalbach — Fri, 28 Mar 2003 12:23:25 -0800

The most interesting things have happened!! They are beginning to create sub socities in the trees. That was what tipped it for me.

By: mathowie

mathowie — Fri, 28 Mar 2003 12:24:18 -0800

I know people that own sheephearding dogs in the city that rent out sheep (I shit you not) once a month, on a farm outside the city, just to let their dog run free with the sheep and feel happy with his hearding instincts. People pay real money for this. The first time I saw Dog Island a couple weeks back, it didn't come off as a total joke right off, but as I read the copy I realized it. It's closer to reality than you think.

By: Fat Elvis

Fat Elvis — Fri, 28 Mar 2003 12:35:47 -0800

The phone number works, and matches the site - it even works from Canada. 1-888-233-3890 "Hello. Thank-you for calling Dog Island where all dogs are free forever. Sorry we were unable to take your call but we would love to speak to you - so at the tone please leave your name, your dog's name, your phone number and your email address. Have a wonderful day... bye-bye!"

By: normy

normy — Fri, 28 Mar 2003 12:55:58 -0800

mathowie: Sorry, but you've lost me there. What's so bizarre (I shit you not) about paying to take part in an activity that's fun, interesting, takes skill to learn and do well and is harmless?

By: pjgulliver

pjgulliver — Fri, 28 Mar 2003 13:15:54 -0800

Does anyone remember the link to or name of the wealthy dog that supposedly has his own mansion in Florida, complete with attractive 20 somethings to wait on him? There was a thread about it a while ago, but I can't seem to find it.

By: simcd

simcd — Fri, 28 Mar 2003 13:35:17 -0800

I'm starting work on a screenplay right now... "Shipwrecked on Dog Island". It'll be like Lord of the Flies... but with dogs. forget the screenplay - this could be Dog Big Brother. With the right funders we can make it happen why is this thread here? it has nothing to do with the war...

By: i_am_joe's_spleen

i_am_joe's_spleen — Fri, 28 Mar 2003 13:51:09 -0800

I giggled hysterically at: But what do the rabbits eat? A crew of 15 vegetation restoration engineers are constantly planting large patches of wild carrot.

By: elwoodwiles

elwoodwiles — Fri, 28 Mar 2003 14:20:34 -0800

pjgulliver: Your thinking of Gunther. Check out this metafilter thread, it's priceless.

By: linux

linux — Fri, 28 Mar 2003 15:21:13 -0800

On preparing your dog: Certain things you can do is to start finding rodents and squirrels for the terriers to kill. This is his natural instinct and without that outlet, he will look towards other dogs and even sometimes babies. We can't have that happening. The toll-free number is ridiculously good.

By: hama7

hama7 — Fri, 28 Mar 2003 21:11:27 -0800

I don't understand how this is makes any sense as a commentary, or parody or whatever of the practice of eating dogs in China, as mentioned by Snopes. Now all they need is cat island for the cats eaten in China, and a chicken isla.. I'm getting tired. By the way, who is Snopes, mister-know-it-all?

By: Pretty_Generic

Pretty_Generic — Fri, 28 Mar 2003 21:36:20 -0800

I guess the idea was that this would get accepted as real, and someone somewhere would make the connection with the Chinese Chow Dog industry names and locations, and there would be public uproar that the dogs were really going into cans. Very cool idea. Damn Snopes.

By: eperker

eperker — Fri, 28 Mar 2003 23:07:52 -0800

I knew it was a joke from the get go. As a dog owner who has visited many healthy dog sites espousing the benefits of raw food for dogs - dogs don't cook, so raw is what they are supposed to eat - this played as a pitch-perfect parody. What a letdown to discover it has something to do with eating dogs. What, I have no idea.

By: LimePi

LimePi — Fri, 28 Mar 2003 23:10:33 -0800

I think this makes somewhat of a point. Although I can't find a direct reference, does anyone remember the Onion article that went something like "Family dog scolded for acting like dog?" And it's true. People yell at their dogs to stop barking, stop sniffing the new guests' crotch, not to dig a hole in the back yard, hump things, etc. Anyone who knows a bit about canine behavior (or has read Desmond Morris's Dogwatching) knows that all the above "problem behaviors" come naturally to our canine friends. And so, perhaps all pet owners should try to make little dog islands in their souls, where pooches are free to be the way evolution has guided them.

By: SweetJesus

SweetJesus — Sat, 29 Mar 2003 00:34:25 -0800

It really would be cool if 75 dog translators were really going to Dog Island... Imagine all the information we'd be able to glean!

By: davidmsc

davidmsc — Sat, 29 Mar 2003 08:44:44 -0800

Better idea: how about a "war-protester island" where we could send all of those opposed to Operation Iraqi Freedom, where they could live a "natural" life without working themselves into a lather over the anxieties of modern living. Heh.

By: muckster

muckster — Sat, 29 Mar 2003 11:05:50 -0800

Operation Iraqi Freedom. That's funny.

By: bshort

bshort — Sun, 30 Mar 2003 13:06:05 -0800

...how about a "war-protester island"... Considering how outnumbered the war mongers are by those who are pleading for peace, it seems that it shouldn't be the war protesters who are exiled from the rest of society....

By: muckster

muckster — Sun, 30 Mar 2003 15:33:10 -0800

"war-protester island" We already have that. It's called Manhattan.

By: biscotti

biscotti — Sun, 30 Mar 2003 16:10:01 -0800

I know people that own sheephearding dogs in the city that rent out sheep (I shit you not) once a month, on a farm outside the city, just to let their dog run free with the sheep and feel happy with his hearding instincts I love that people do this, I don't see anything weird about it at all. It's fun for the dogs and gives them a lot of exercise (a tired dog is a happy dog). I'm happy to see things like this, it's activity that people can do with their dogs and the dogs love it. It's also letting the dog do what he was bred for, which is very beneficial to the dog's state of mind (herding breeds will often herd anything and everything, which can be annoying if what they herd is you or children, providing the dog with an outlet for those instincts can often help you learn to control when and how the dog exhibits the behaviour). You can also compete in American Kennel Club-sanctioned herding events with your (purebred) herding breed dog, and you have to practice somehow if you don't live on a farm with access to herdable animals. Dog Island is hilarious. It's a bit disturbing that anyone at all might think it was a good idea, though.