Victoria Stilwell is a bully.

Posted on 2013/05/07 by Wyatt Fuller

This past Saturday I posted a video to YouTube of Luna and Little Wyatt playing. When I woke up Sunday I was shocked to discover hundreds of vile, hateful comments on the video directed at my child and myself. I had no idea what was going on and where everyone was coming from. Luckily a fellow mastiff owner informed me that television host/dog trainer Victoria Stilwell had posted the video to her Facebook page with these comments:
“I am sure that these parents or caregivers love their child and their dog but this is exactly why more education is needed to teach parents what they should and should not allow their child to do around dogs, even ones they know well. The person taking the video has no idea that their dog is displaying all kinds of stress signals as the toddler interacts with it and in fact some of the comments on YT are saying how cute the video is. I have just shown it to few lawyer friends of mine. Their reaction? This is child endangerment pure and simple. The dog is showing amazing restraint and inhibition. Post your comments on the video so that the poster learns how stupid they’ve been. I will be checking the video throughout the day to see what people have said, but this is where we can help educate and save children from getting mauled or killed by dogs because of adult stupidity.”
This is a link to that post along with a screenshot I took in case the post is removed.

I went to her page and posted:
“I’d like to thank you for posting the video of my child and English Mastiff playing earlier today. Due to this I have been called a child abuser, a pet abuser, & an unfit parent. I have been told to have myself and my wife sterilized, that I should just go ahead and kill myself and my child, that I am a “stupid cunt”, that my child is a “little fucker”, “a little shit”, “a twat”, “a troll” and that I am having Child Protective Services called on me. This was just from the first 60 or so messages left on my youtube account out of 300 before I killed the comments. Why did I kill the comments? Because your followers crossed a line when they started talking about my two year old son. Couple things you should know about the video. The lip licking? That may have something to do with the massive amounts of peanut butter Luna had licked off his face and hands prior to recording. Wyatt didn’t eat his lunch so much as he smeared it on his face. This is why Wyatt kept getting in her face trying to get her to keep licking. Luna actively searches out Wyatt while he is playing on the floor and instigates this type of play. When she has had enough of the 2 year old she gets up and leaves. English Mastiffs are the most patient and gentle of any dog breed, you as a trainer should know that. I worry more about their tails knocking him down than I do them biting him. So thanks again for the heaps of abuse you sent my way. Next time email the owner of the video before you post and talk to them before sending in your followers to call them stupid. Thanks. Feel free to keep posting here what an idiot I am. Leave my kid out of it.”

During all of this her followers found my email, websites, address, and threatened to call child services on me. Many people came to my defense posting that what she did was wrong. That’s about the time I got the half-assed apology from her:
“Lots of comments, opinion and controversy about the now-removed video of a baby ‘playing’ with an incredibly restrained and amazingly docile Mastiff. First of all, it is really sad that so many people crossed the line in their comments to the owner, and I apologize for my role in not encouraging enough restraint amongst those who mobilized to spread the word about the dangers of not fully understanding or being able to read canine body language – especially when kids are around. 

My intent was to try to shine a bright light on what I feel are incredibly dangerous choices made by dog-owning parents all over the world countless times each day, but unfortunately it devolved into something that included truly nasty online bullying, and for that I’m sorry.

The concerning thing demonstrated by a lot of those who were sidetracked by the personal attacks, however, is that there is such a worryingly widespread misunderstanding and level of ignorance about dog behavior, body language, calming and appease signals, deference behavior and more. Such ignorance is understandable, because I’ve dedicated my life and countless years to being able to study and better understand it and I can tell you it can be difficult, especially for those just beginning to understand the depth of that which they don’t truly understand. A lot of people commented saying that they saw nothing concerning or dangerous about the video, and that is a devastating reminder that there is still so much work to be done to educate the public about dog behavior and safe dog handling practices. Seemingly simple-to-understand things like tail wagging, licking peanut butter off faces, and rolling over to show tummies (to name just a few) sometimes mean something completely different, and tragically it’s usually too late once someone learns this info the hard way.

As a dog trainer who has dedicated my life to understanding and reading dog behavior and language as well as increasing education and awareness to reduce dog bites, I always caution that I prefer not to pronounce judgment on a case until I’ve had a chance to visit the environment, learn the history and meet the dog in person. But that doesn’t mean that I have to be somewhere to know that certain behaviors are unsafe in any environment, no matter how restrained and amazing a given dog may be. 

I’ve just spent several days personally assessing and dealing with the aftermath of yet another child who has been mauled to death by a family dog, and when I see the potential for similar disaster mislabeled as ‘precious’ and ‘cute’, I just about go crazy. My primary goal in situations like this is to prevent horrible things from happening to kids exactly like the child in this video. I know this poster feels like he knows his dog’s limits, but he would just be the latest in a long line of people who said ‘but I never believed my dog could’ve done that.’ Trust me, dogs are still animals, and they all have the ability to do things we could never imagine. 

Again, I’m sorry for the abuse dished out from those who read my post – that’s never acceptable. But no matter where you land on how this issue rolled out today, I beg you to reconsider the extent and depth of what you think you may know about your dog and canine behavior in general so that you don’t become another tragic statistic.”
Here is a link to the post.

Nowhere in her post does she apologize for her words. I decide to reply to her.
“The problem I have with you right now is the delivery of your message. You posted that you contacted lawyers who said I was guilty of child endangerment and that your followers should go and tell me how stupid I am. How did you think they were going to react? There are still people commenting on your post about a video that they have NOT seen due to me pulling it. Every day you hear about how children shouldn’t be bullied but you have done exactly that to me. I now have to worry about child protective services coming into my home and taking away my dogs and son. If you were so upset about my video you should have emailed me directly. I’m not that hard to find as your followers who have discovered where I live, my websites, and my email address can attest. I would like for you to think before you post something and cause this to happen to another person. Also how did you even find this video? It was set on link only/ not searchable as it was for just for my family and friends. I did post it to an English Mastiff forum, is that how? Would you like me to forward some of the comments I received today? Would you like to see words spoken about my son? If you are sincere in your apology to me then prove it. Remove your post.”

She did remove the post but as you can see from my earlier link it’s not really deleted. She banned me from her Facebook page and deleted all of my posts. I went to twitter and sent her a message. This is that exchange.

Her only response to my request for an apology about the words she used in her post was “Already did. But still haven’t heard you take responsibility for a misguided & dangerous (not cute) situation with dog & baby. 
Sorry people went too far in comments, but you displayed poor judgment with your dog/baby in your home & by broadcasting it on YT.”

And just like on Facebook she has blocked me from posting to her Twitter account.

Notice that in all of her responses to me she says nothing about how the language she used instigated the entire ordeal.

I’m a 40 year old man and I can handle all the hate mail but what would have happened if it was an older brother or sister that uploaded the video? Can you imagine the damage that would have been done to them emotionally?

Finally I won’t be posting a copy of the video here as I see no need. The video isn’t the problem. The problem is that people don’t think about the fact there is another human on the other side of the screen when they make a comment on the internet.

Posted in Random | 13 Comments

Star Wars Burger King Glasses

Posted on 2013/05/03 by Wyatt Fuller

I finally have them all

Star Wars Glasses

Star Wars Glasses

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100 Reasons Why Having Crohn’s is The Best

Posted on 2013/04/02 by Wyatt Fuller

100 Reasons Why Having Crohn’s is The Best
Stolen from/r/CrohnsDisease

  1. Free cut-sies to the front of any bathroom line.
  2. In case of a fire, you are aware of all exits…and restrooms.
  3. You own an assortment of medical chocolates, creams, and pills. Almost like a candy store.
  4. You sound like a gourmet chef when you tell people you make your own yogurt from scratch.
  5. Small bruises that take a while to disappear just make you look like a badass.
  6. Stress isn’t a word that exists in your vocabulary. And you can giggle at the angry bus driver or disgruntled customer ahead of you in line.
  7. Two hours of relaxation and reading time are required during a Remicade. Go ahead, take off work for the day.
  8. Too cool for blood drives.
  9. During Passover, all of your Jewish friends will happily partake in your gluten-free, wheat-free lasagna and desserts! You can even throw a Passover party.
  10. If someone around you is hungry, you are able to bust out a healthy snack in seconds flat. Like a boss.
  11. Once you’ve had Barium shakes, then real shakes taste like magical heaven and you appreciate them fully!
  12. You can make bets with other IBD friends about how weird your poops will be that day.
  13. If you’re lucky enough to be awake during your flexible sigmoidoscopy, you can see your insides in live, real time! It’s like a TV Show. Of you.
  14. Too cool for fast food.
  15. If “hemorrhoids” is your bad day, then a regular-type bad day is a breeze.
  16. In California and many other states, you can smoke marijuana legally and for free.
  17. Oh, and studies have shown that negative symptoms of your disease are improved by use of said marijuana.
  18. Seminars that should be boring instead consist of discussions about yoga, meditation, cooking, and fun life things.
  19. You look like the healthy one at the table when you order “just fresh fruit” for dessert.
  20. You can leave in the middle of an immensely boring conversation and have a completely legit excuse. “Nature called, urgently.”
  21. You have the knowledge that your disease is named after a dude named Burrill B. And you get to imagine bumble bee with a monocle when you say it.
  22. When you have a flare-up, you never look demon-like or sick. People might even say you be lookin’ fine.
  23. Blood tests are a great excuse to visit your hospital friends/possibly the cast of Scrubs every few months.
  24. Your daily drug probably sounds like it is from the future. Pentasa? Mercaptopurine? Asacol?
  25. You can bond with sisters of sister diseases.
  26. Even when you are having a breakdown and crying, you are likely talking about farts.
  27. You save tons of money by not purchasing processed food and pizza. About 100 dollars a month. Which is the equivalent of a hockey ticket. So having this disease just bought you a free monthly hockey ticket.
  28. You have a greater appreciation for a perfect bumhole, clean tummy pipes, and a perfect poop.
  29. “Flare-ups” sounds like the name of a rock band.
  30. You have enough knowledge of stomach bacteria to write an entire comic book series about Good Bacteria vs. Evil Bacteria.
  31. You have something in common with Mike McCready, the lead guitarist of Pearl Jam.
  32. You have something in common with David Garrard of the Jacksonville Jaguars.
  33. You have something in common with Miss America 1959.
  34. If you’ve had a fear of needles, it has dissipated to the wind.
  35. More reason not to smoke cigarettes!
  36. You can impress your biology friends with vocab like ileum, jejunum, and duodenum.
  37. Once you’ve had a colonoscopy, most other things don’t seem too terrible.
  38. More reason to exercise, walk, sleep normal hours, and take care of yourself!
  39. You can freak out your doctor with stomach X-Rays. Not many things can freak out a doctor.
  40. More reason to meditate and practice yoga!
  41. Be part of the few that can legit live-tweet a Remicade infusion.
  42. You are like a superhero because you have the power to improve your symptoms!
  43. When you start dating someone new, you’ll say you have something important to reveal. They will be relieved to learn that the big thing is a pooping problem, and not that you like to dress as a street ninja and fight crime by night. Although, both would be fun reveals.
  44. You get free reign to leave in the middle of class without a bathroom pass.
  45. You get free reign to continue sitting at times when everyone else stands up.
  46. You’re a cheap date, and likely will not order the twenty dollar beer or the five foot margarita.
  47. When you find someone else with IBD, it’s like finding a fellow Lost Boy from Hook! Hug it out.
  48. You can get out of jury duty by citing, “POOP PROBLEMS” in all caps.
  49. Prednisone attracts all the guys who dig girls with puffy cheeks. Which we all know are the adorable guys who write poetry and play guitar.
  50. There are good odds you have an extra pair of underpants. Which can come in handy for surprise sleepovers, your friend who forgot his/her underpants, or just the knowledge that you carry fun underpants on your person.
  51. You look youthful and spritely, but you have some of the intestinal qualities of an old person. It’s like parts of you can time jump forward and time jump back.
  52. Access to secret employee bathrooms at places like Dollar Tree, where you learn all of the employee secrets. Specifically that their products do not come from trees, only cardboard boxes.
  53. Too cool for pizza parties. You’ll make your own instead. Out of almonds.
  54. The UCB Scholarship program awards scholarships to people with Crohn’s Disease “who demonstrate remarkable academic ambition and a passion to reach beyond the boundaries of their condition.”
  55. Okay. “Gastroenterologist” is a really fun word to say.
  56. Ladies: If you get weird bumps on your legs (Erythema Nodosum), more reason to go shopping for sweet leggings, patterned tights, and colored jeans!
  57. Fissures, fistulas, and abscesses are only dime sized. At least they are not manhole sized.
  58. The word “crony” in the dictionary means “pal, buddy, close companion, chum.”
  59. Since it’s something you deal with daily, you can make up a fun name for your disease, much like a car! Suggestions: Arthur, Old Ronald, or Fanny (appropriately).
  60. You finally have something to talk to Great Uncle George about at family reunions: ulcers.
  61. When you are in search of a gluten free, dairy free treat, you get to go to the special refrigerator or aisle that sits by itself like the Castle in the Air. (Phantom Tollbooth reference, anyone?)
  62. You get to speak in “fire-words” like inflammatory and flare-up.
  63. You have pretty good odds using your disease as a sexy conversation starter at a party. It affects over one million people currently. I repeat, pretty good odds.
  64. You finally have something to talk to your Grandpa Joe about: remembering to take your pills every day.
  65. If you have received Remicade treatment, you can tell people that you have a small part of mouse in you. And you wouldn’t be lying.
  66. Sometimes you can get paid to take a survey or participate in a study.
  67. There are athletic events that exist as part of Team Challenge, designed to help raise money for your disease. People run, cycle, and sprint to help find a cure for all this jazz. How cool!
  68. Not every disease gets its own summer camp. Camp Oasis is just that.
  69. Your disease has its own magazine, Crohn’s Advocate Magazine. And it’s free.
  70. More reason to listen to podcasts!
  71. Whenever you feel like not putting up a fight, you can think of George “The Animal” Steele who was a professional wrestler with Crohn’s Disease, now in the WWE Hall of Fame.
  72. During a CT Scan, you can pretend that you are in 2001: A Space Odyssey. Bonus points if you listen to the theme music on headphones during the procedure.
  73. Hospital time or stuck-in-bed time is just more time to catch up on Game of Thrones. Boom!
  74. Coconut/non dairy ice cream tastes better than regular ice cream anyways.
  75. And soy milkshakes done well are God’s gift to mankind.
  76. Since many details about the cause of Crohn’s Disease are mysterious, you could say Crohn’s is just like Darkwing Duck or a Scooby Doo villain.
  77. You have something in common with an Olympian Carrie Johnson, who won the Kayaking World Cup and placed fifth in the world championships. She was the first US kayaker to qualify for the 2008 Olympics, and the only one to compete in the K1 500 meter race.
  78. If you go for a blood test and nothing goes into the tube, you get plus 10 vampire points.
  79. There is a Crohn’s Disease rap that exists online, to the tune of the Fresh Prince of Bel Air theme song.
  80. You have the only disease that individuals claim to have cured with tree bark and worms. Which is pretty rad.
  81. Crohn’s Disease helps you to say yes to the spontaneity of life.
  82. You have something in common with a Beverly Hills: 90210 actress.
  83. You have something in common with Dwight D. Eisenhower.
  84. Crohn’s Disease helps you to become comfortable being uncomfortable.
  85. More reason to simplify your life.
  86. The bathroom scene in Dumb and Dumber is even funnier to you now.
  87. If you ever have bags on you, they’re not because your arms or legs are enormous. They’re removable ones.
  88. You are forced to listen to your body every moment of the day.
  89. There are annual BBQ’s and events that exist just for you!
  90. More appreciation for the small, sweet things in life.
  91. You learn how to tailor your lifestyle around disease, rather than the other way around.
  92. More reason to drink that glass of red wine after work. Antioxidants, baby.
  93. You have no choice but to say no to the restaurant bread basket.
  94. More motivation to make your own soups, stews, stir fry’s, and adventurous meals.
  95. You learn that what at first seems life ruining can be a positive life-changing blessing.
  96. You can have educated conversations with the Whole Foods cashier about the Paleo Diet.
  97. You will likely receive unique gifts at holidays such as Tai Chi class, toilet paper with dollar bill print, and Poo-Pourri bathroom spray.
  98. You automatically have a fun fact at new job introductions.
  99. You have your own subreddit at Reddit.com/crohnsdisease. Fun memes all day. My favorite is in the middle of this page and is Muppet related: http://www.squidoo.com/crohns-disease-humor-helps
  100. When someone asks you, “What exactly is Crohn’s Disease?” the first words that want to say with a straight face are, “Well…it’s a poop disease.”
Posted in Crohn's Disease, Makes Me Laugh | Leave a comment

A week is too long to be separated

Posted on 2013/01/23 by Wyatt Fuller

Went on vacation for a week, leaving the girls with a friend. This went on for about 30 minutes after we all got home

They missed each other

They missed each other

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Wilson Family Reunion

Posted on 2012/11/03 by Wyatt Fuller

I’m sitting in my Aunt Bobbies kitchen watching her make breakfast, my wife helping clean, my mom chasing my child, and my child chase the dog. In a few hours we will be meeting up with the Wilson side of my family for our annual reunion.
This will be the first one that Little Wyatt will be able to run around and enjoy. So far he has been having a fantastic time playing with everyone. Life is good.

image

Posted in Family, Fatherhood, My Son | Leave a comment