What’s the Big D?

I turned my blog copy in the other day to Erich. He inserts the copy into the page and properly formats it into the column. Erich called Jet (my foster mom) to say that I had not labeled the photos I wanted to use with information about their source. My response?

What’s the big D? (- As in what’s the big deal?)

Holy macaroni! Jet had a conniption (word of the day).

She made it ABUNDANTLY clear that I should write and say what I’m implying. In other words, I should say, “What’s the big deal?” Why, I asked is this so important?

She said shortcuts like ‘D’ instead of deal breed all sorts of problems. (Breeds? Now who is confusing my readers? Isn’t breeding about dogs having more dogs?)

Anywhooo, Jet provided some specific examples about what happens in a situation when there is a lack of clarity:
• it confuses humans
If I mean to ask what is the big deal but just use a ‘d’ then I’m less likely to make my point if the reader doesn’t know what I really mean.
• it opens the door for misinterpretation
Different people from different cultures and countries may think the ‘d’ means different things
• it sends an impression that you’re lazy or dumb
Too many abbreviations and slang might make a person just sound too lazy (or dumb). If you want to live like a bum in a box you’re whole
life then who cares but if you aspire to greater stuff (like being a
famous dog columnist) then making an effort to be clear is important.

So, here’s my lesson of the day… It’s okay to chum around with your closest friends (sometimes) by way of an inside language that isn’t well understood by others. However, too much of this behavior can create all sorts of communication problems and that is a big deal.

Okay, here’s the question of the day from Shrimp who asked: I scooped up a tiny little white candy the other day and my dad had a cow and made me spit it out. As you would say Parker, what’s the big ‘D’?

Shrimp:

As Jet would say, ask what you really mean. What’s the big deal? I’ll tell you. The little candy you licked up was called medicine. People take it to get rid of pain. It’s very dangerous to dogs and cats so don’t assume that just because it looks like a white M&M candy that it is a candy. One regular strength ibuprofen (200 mg) could cause stomach ulcers in a ten-pound dog.



To send in your pet's question, photos and videos, click here.