Bo Obama’s trainer dead at 52

January 15, 2011

Dawn Sylvia-Stasiewicz, who was the trainer for First Dog Bo Obama, as well as Splash, Sunny and Cappy Kennedy, passed away at Fauquier Hospital in Warrenton, Virginia. She was 52. Ms. Sylvia-Stasiewicz was the co-author of “The Love That Dog Training Program.”
From today’s Washington Post:

She was leading dog training classes days before her death. After being admitted to the hospital, she went into a coma and died of respiratory distress, her friends said.

Ms. Sylvia-Stasiewicz started training Bo, the Obama family Portuguese water dog, at the suggestion of Vicki Kennedy, the wife of the late Massachusetts Democratic senator. The Kennedy family had sent its three dogs, Splash, Sunny and Cappy, to be trained by her and had been pleased with the results.

“She had a wonderful presence,” Vicki Kennedy said Friday in an interview. “They would instantly look up to her.”

Ms. Sylvia-Stasiewicz worked with the Obama family dog for months before she found out who its intended owners were. Kennedy had only requested that Ms. Sylvia-Stasiewicz observe whether the dog would be suitable for a very busy family with two young daughters.

“I trained and lived with him as he were one of my own,” she told the Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star in 2009. “He’s sweet and cuddly, and he pays attention to you.”

Bo was an attentive student who never disappointed Ms. Sylvia-Stasiewicz by messing up the carpet.

“I had not one accident ever,” Ms. Sylvia-Stasiewicz said of Bo and Cappy. “It’s been years since I had one like that – a bladder you would kill for.”

Ms. Sylvia-Stasiewicz’s survivors include a son, Blaise, and a daughter, Paige. We extend our deepest condolences to her entire family.

Photo credit: Evan Sklar, Workman Publications.

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BAD RAP: Let’s send the Obamas this book

If, like me, your head nearly exploded when reports came out that President Obama had thanked Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeff Lurie for giving Michael Vick a second chance, Donna Reynolds over on the BAD RAP blog has a suggestion.

She made it after reading my column about the issue and about Jim Gorant’s book “The Lost Dogs: Michael Vick’s Dogs and Their Tale of Rescue and Redemption” on SFGate.com today. In it, I wrote:

The Philadelphia Eagles must be happy they took the chance on signing convicted dog fighter Michael Vick. Protests and boycotts by animal lovers never gained much traction. Just last week, President Obama personally thanked team owner Jeff Lurie for giving Vick a second chance.When Vick told an Atlanta newspaper that he wanted to get a dog, the head of the country’s largest animal welfare organization said he thought that might be a good idea.

And, of course, he’s doing a great job on the field, which I guess is what a lot of people mean when they say he’s redeemed himself for his past crimes. I don’t know, because I don’t care about Michael Vick’s second chance, no matter how many football games he wins. And here’s why:

“As that dog lay on the ground, fighting for air, Quanis Phillips grabbed its front legs and Michael Vick grabbed its back legs. They swung the dog over their head like a jump rope then slammed it to the ground. The first impact didn’t kill it. So, Phillips and Vick slammed it again. The two men kept at it, alternating back and forth, pounding the creature against the ground until, at last, the little red dog was dead.”

Those words were written by Sports Illustrated editor Jim Gorant in “The Lost Dogs: Michael Vick’s Dogs and Their Tale of Rescue and Redemption,” the best and most important book about animals written in 2010.

[....]

I’m neither a sports fan nor a social worker, and I freely admit that that I care more about his victims than I do about Michael Vick.

But unlike many dog advocates, I don’t want to see him put back in prison, denied his right to vote, kicked out of the NFL, beaten, kicked or bashed in the head. I certainly don’t think he should be executed, as right wing pundit Tucker Carlson suggested on Fox News recently.

I just think his defenders should read this book before deciding what they think about Michael Vick’s big comeback.

Which gave Donna an idea: Why don’t we all send a copy of Gorant’s incredible book to the Obamas?

Sure, it might be better if we sent the fifteen bucks to a pit bull rescue group. But consider this: Not only will Gorant make some money (a nice way to support his many efforts to keep the focus not on Vick and his magical football-playing ways, but on his victims), but, if you use this link, so will BAD RAP, which was responsible for evaluating and rehabbing many of the surviving Vick dogs.

And if we all get out there and spread the word, and enough people hear about this, and enough books pile up, and my colleagues in the media pick up on it… maybe, just maybe, the President might make a little statement thanking all the hardworking rescuers out there for giving Vick’s dogs a second chance, too.

Hey, a girl can dream, right?

Here’s the link to buy the book and give a portion of the proceeds to BAD RAP: The Lost Dogs

Here’s the address and phone number for gifts to the Obamas:

Mr. President and First Lady Obama
THE WHITE HOUSE
1600 PENNSYLVANIA AVE NW
WASHINGTON, DC 20500-0004
United States
202-456-1414

Amazon’s system wants the “DC” in the box for “state or province.” Just FYI.

So go buy a book, then drop by the BAD RAP blog and let them know you did.

Tell your friends. And, you know… everyone else, too.

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