Oh Cruella

~ MaryG

What villain actually had a good point?

I’m definitely going to lose some followers with this answer, but I think Americans are a bit too obsessed with their dogs. I’m not saying that Dalmatian puppies should be skinned and made into nice, soft fur coats like Cruella wanted, but…a coat like that would be real cute. You must admit!

With the red lining, this would be perfect for Christmas Eve. 😉

I feel positively villainous in dog-obsessed America, when I think these thoughts:

I don’t want your small, unleashed dog jumping on me and getting muddy paw prints on my white pants while you yell “Cupcake, stop.”

I don’t want your large, leashed dog—that you can just barely control—to cross the street to say “hello” to me because “Bodie loves people.” I’m good!

And I certainly don’t want your enormous Great Dane anywhere near me while I’m eating an ice cream cone!

Cruella De Vil in the original 1961 version of Disney’s 101 Dalmatians

17 thoughts on “Oh Cruella”

  1. I have four dogs but I do get where you’re coming from. Dogs aren’t accessories, and they shouldn’t be carried around hanging off their owner’s body 24/7. They deserve the chance to walk, explore, and just be dogs in dog-suitable-environments.

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    1. Four! Wow. I have a neighbor who literally hangs his dog off his body. He puts her in a baby carrier strapped to his front and takes her for a “walk.” The dog’s feet never touch ground outside. “She’s an indoor dog.” 🤦‍♀️

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      1. Back when I was a tiny college kid, a friend’s huge Labrador jumped on me, and I was terrified. This was long before my fur mom era. The funny thing is, that Labrador was an indoor dog and completely harmless, but I didn’t know that at the time.

        I grew up in the Philippines, where there used to be a lot of stray dogs, and rabies was a real concern. Because of that, I was always afraid of dogs. It’s only in more recent years that there’s been a much stronger effort toward animal control and responsible pet ownership.

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      2. An indoor LAB? How do you keep a big dog like that inside its whole life? The “indoor dog” in my neighborhood is like a chihuahua or something like that.

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  2. We have loved all our pets to distraction and they have all been spoiled beyond reason. That being said, I don’t want to be jumped and slobbered on either. Misbehaving pets have bad owners. Dogs want to please, it’s up to us to channel that energy in a good way.

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    1. We’re pretty far gone on this, I fear. My church’s Music Director was recently bitten by her neighbor’s German Shepherd (when she accidentally broke a glass in a hallway of their building) and the dog lives on. He had bitten before. And I’m sure will bite again. It’s ridiculous what is tolerated.

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  4. I try to be mindful of this when i’m out walking my dog, that not everyone is a dog person and in fact, some people are actually really scared of especially larger dogs. I tighten up the slack on the leash and even move off into the grass just to be out of the way.

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  5. I’m dog obsessed, of course, but aware enough to know my dog’s also a (lovable to me) monster and therefore am super considerate of others. Lately people in the area take their dogs out off-leash and though I can tell they are well-trained, I often end up taking shorter walks with George because of it. Everything needs etiquette and awareness!

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  6. Of all the Disney villains, Cruella is the worst. Thought that as a child and still think that now. 😉

    Also keep in mind who wrote the original story: Dodie Smith, an English woman who, as many do in England, loved dogs, especially dalmatians. This is from Wikipedia: Smith … loved dogs and kept Dalmatians as pets; at one point …had nine of them. The first was named Pongo, which became the name Smith used for the canine protagonist of her The Hundred and One Dalmatians novel. Smith had the idea for the novel when one of her friends observed a group of her Dalmatians and said “Those dogs would make a lovely fur coat”.[12]

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    1. Oh interesting! NINE dogs. I never read the book, but I remember “Pongo” from the movie. So funny that her friend’s comment about a Dalmatian coat sparked the whole thing. I loved Cruella’s theme song in the movie. “She’s like a spider waitin’ for the KILL…look out for…Cruella…de VIL” 😉

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      1. Yes, yes! And apparently Smith was very much against using animal skins for fashion. On a non-dog topic…have you ever read Smith’s I Capture the Castle? So good.

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