Good dog; good cat

Here is an extremely clever commercial for dog and cat food.

Kate could do this, I am sure. As long as there's not a working can opener around.

Nothin' but Trouble

$12 million dollars bequeathed to a dog.

That's what Leona Helmsley, "The Queen of Mean," left her dog Trouble, a white Maltese.

However, according to a Reuters report, she left two of her four grandchildren out of her will, "for reasons which are known to them."

The age of Trouble was not released. Life expectancy of Maltese dogs is 15 to 18 years.

"That's a lot of biscuits" jokes aside, think of what that money — or even a portion of it — could have done for financially strapped animal shelters.

(9/2/07) NOTE: The New York Times reports that Trouble is 8 years old. Here's to a long, happy life.

Paws in the Park is coming

On Sept. 8 — a Saturday — bring your pooch to Bowdoin Park in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., for the Lucky 13th annual Dutchess County SPCA Paws in the Park Petwalk.

Kate and I will be there, taking in the fun, food, music and games.

You can collect pledges and raise money for the Hyde Park shelter. Registration and pledge forms are available on the DCSPCA website as well as most vet offices and animal feed stores.

Here's a video from PoughkeepsieJournal.com of last year's event, filmed by my editor Maria Burnham and (now former) reporter Kathianne Boniello.



Paws in the Park begins at 11 a.m. and runs until 3 p.m.

Here's a link for directions to Bowdoin Park.

Kate's kandid kamera

I happened to have my cell phone handy the other day when Kate was sleeping. She started yipping in her sleep.

This amuses me to no end, and I captured it on video.



I am hoping to get some video of Kate wagging her tail while she's sleeping. That really makes me smile.

BTW, Blogger now allows us to upload videos directly into the blog, thereby avoiding having to send them to YouTube or some other service first.

Pretty neat.

Kitten vs. husky

Who wins?

We do, because this video is so cute.

Are you more dog or cat?

It's an age-old question (well, not really) and my result is below.

I would have thought I'd be much more dog than cat — ask anyone, I am needy! — but that's how I answered the questions.

You Are: 60% Dog, 40% Cat

You are a nice blend of cat and dog. You're playful but not too needy. And you're friendly but careful. And while you have your moody moments, you're too happy to stay upset for long.

Are You More Cat or Dog?

Try it and see what you are.

Day at the fair

Yesterday, I got to do a story that was published today about the canine tent at the Dutchess County Fair. There were diving dogs, flying disk-catching dogs and dogs running agility courses.

It's the seventh year in a row that the fair has had an exhibition devoted to companion animals — the only exhibit at the fair. The rest are cows, horse, goats, chickens and such — domesticated animals, sure, but not considered pets.

The canine tent goes from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day of the fair, through Sunday.

Here's a video clip (Note to Gannett Corporate: I took the video with my cell phone camera) of Erich Steffensen of Millbrook, N.Y., working with his dog Java, a 3-year-old female border collie.



The dock diving demonstration was fun as well. The fair put a 45-foot-long pool next to the canine tent and twice a day dogs leaped into the water after their favorite toys.

And, of course, you had to watch out for the inevitable consequence of a dog in water.
Our finest

Also at the fair, everyday except Sunday, will be police K-9 demonstrations. Besides a program at 1:30 in the canine tent, the K-9 officers will have a demonstration tonight and Friday between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. and at noon Saturday at Livestock Hill.

I spoke with Lt. Charles Hicks of the Dutchess County Sheriff's Office. His partner, Timber, is an accelerant detection canine.

These demonstrations show a little bit of what the patrol dogs can do, he said. They will be showing obedience and agility training, apprehending a suspect and a car stop like on the street.

Hicks said they will also be doing a little bit of audience participation, where they bring a kid up to help out.

"It helps them realize that these dogs can be petted," he said.

At the fair Wednesday were K-9 teams from the sheriff's office, the towns of Newburgh and Poughkeepsie and Mt. Vernon.

Check them out if you haven't seen them in action. These guys and their canine partners are fantastic.

Rescue dogs

The booths in the canine tent were staffed by a few of commercial outfits, like Ledgewood Kennels who have taken such good care of Kate in the past, and some nonprofit rescue groups.

Canine tent organizer Dale Mountain said the nonprofits are not charged for space at the fair. They are provided a place to give information to the public about the plight of dog overpopulation.

I spoke with Campbell Muir of Saugerties, N.Y., who runs the Labrador Retriever Rescue of the Hudson Valley.

He said they are at the fair to do some fund raising and to make the public aware of lab rescues.

"A lot of people don't realize that labs are abandoned," Muir said. "Kids go back to school and the mother and father will get rid of the dog. Or they will get a dog for the kids for the summer and then get rid of it."

Incredible.

Ready for adoption

Here is the Dutchess County SPCA Pet of the Week. Ready for adoption. What are you waiting for?

This week's featured pet:
Charcoal — Domestic shorthair
"Where there's smoke, there's fire, and one look in this all-black female's gold eyes, and you know there is something cooking inside. Despite her size, this girl is pretty active, so plenty of toys and open space are strongly recommended."

The Dutchess County SPCA is located at 636 Violet Avenue, Hyde Park, NY 12538. The shelter is open Sunday, Monday, Friday and Saturday 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Tuesday and Thursday 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Closed Wednesdays. Call 845-452-SPCA (7722).

Shelter pets rule.

More Vick

Atlanta Journal Constitution editorial cartoonist Mike Luckovich has a good cartoon about Vick, who recently said he would plead guilty to dog-fighting charges.

You can see it here. Make sure you choose Aug. 21 on the calendar if it's not already selected.

And others are piling on to Vick's self-created woes.

Want your dog — and by extension, you — to get a chance to get even with Vick? How about a Michael Vick chew toy?

Need some new T-shirts? Bumper stickers? Coffee mugs? Try this link. Some images may not be safe for work.

Vick fesses up

Michael Vick, the quarterback of the Atlanta Falcons, will apparently plead guilty to charges that he ran a dog-fighting ring. The New York Times has the story.

Vick's co-defendants were ready to testify against him, saying that he killed eight underperforming dogs by hanging and drowning them.

I believe that how someone treats those weaker than they are speaks volumes about the type of human being he or she is.

An attorney for Vick said that the NFL star wanted to apologize to "everyone who has been hurt by this matter."

Yeah. Right.

Is that you, Paris?

Here's a real cute dog, all dolled up for the 13th annual Artists' Soap Box Derby in Kingston today.

The Chihuahua is named Missy and she is 3 years and 5 months. (The 5 months is very important at that age.) She is being held by her owner, Frank Morgan of Ft. Pierce, Fla., a former Kingston resident who frequently visits his old stomping grounds.

Morgan said Missy is a therapy dog. But obviously she has a second income to afford clothes like that.

My colleague Kathy McLaughlin snapped the picture.

A couple of success stories

Grizzly (top), a male Akita/Shepherd mix, and Flame, a female Shepherd mix, are two pups who have new homes. I recently got an e-mail from the Dutchess County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals that these two dogs, who had been featured on this blog's Ready for Adoption Thursday, had been adopted.

Congratulations to their new companions. And thanks for picking shelter dogs.

The Dutchess County SPCA is located at 636 Violet Avenue, Hyde Park, NY 12538. The shelter is open Sunday, Monday, Friday and Saturday 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Tuesday and Thursday 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Closed Wednesday. Call 845-452-SPCA (7722).

Shelter pets rule.

Ready for adoption

Here is the Dutchess County SPCA Pet of the Week. Ready for adoption. What are you waiting for?

This week's featured pet:
Quasi —Shepherd Mix
"Quasimodo ... rough around the edges with a big heart. What a perfect description for our Quasi! This good-natured, neutered male adult is waiting for his chance to share that big heart with his new family."

The Dutchess County SPCA is located at 636 Violet Avenue, Hyde Park, NY 12538. The shelter is open Sunday, Monday, Friday and Saturday 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Tuesday and Thursday 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Closed Wednesdays. Call 845-452-SPCA (7722).

Shelter pets rule.

Persian homecoming king?

While it's not exactly like Barbara Walter's famous "What kind of tree would you be?" question, this personality quiz tells you what kind of cat you are most like.

I'm a Persian and the results say that I was either the homecoming king or queen.

How did you fair?

Didn't catch anything

Except some mosquito bites. They grow 'em big in Texas.

Got back from vacation late Friday night. Kate actually came to the door when I unlocked it. She seemed pretty happy to see me, but 15 minutes later, she was nowhere to be found.

Kate went upstairs to sleep. So much for the big homecoming.

I'm not complaining, mind you. Kate has always been a low-key dog — really low maintenance. I guess after I showed up, having been gone for a week, she was satisfied that things were back to normal.

And it's off to bed.

We are used to each other's ways, I think.

We are ... family.

An article in Self magazine and reprinted on MSNBC.com brought out some interesting comments about whether pets are members of the family.

No, lady, they are NOT. They cannot get your groceries for you on cold days when you are sick, go to the mailbox for you, cover for you with a friend, or give you a blood transfusion if you're in some car wreck.

Agreed, pets can't do the laundry list of tasks the person says. But I don't ask Kate to do those things.

She gives me a wag of the tail, a lick of the hand and the feeling that no matter how bad things have been during the day, I'm home now and that's OK.

Not bad, really, if you stop and think about it.

Gone fishin'

Well, not really.

But I am taking a much-needed (just ask the reporters who sit near me) vacation.

I'll be back in the office Aug. 12.

Kate is being taken care of by my friend and fellow blogger Alice. No kennel for Kate this time! And I even bought some spray cheese to make that one pill go down smoothly.

I would tell you that while I am gone you should turn off your computers, go sit in the park and read a book, but my bosses frown on that sort of non-poughkeepsiejournal.com behavior.

So please check out, if you haven't already, the other blogs here at the paper.

See you soon.

Don't fence me in

Got an e-mail yesterday from Pete B. about "invisible fences."

He has a rescued Brittany named Annie who is about 6 or 7 years old. He just installed one of the underground dog fences — by DogWatch — so Annie could have some freedom in they yard.

Pete writes:

She has completely changed. Barely wants to pee, poop or play. Am told this is normal and that she will come around. Do you know of any others who have this system?

I don't know much about the invisible fences, except the basics on how they work. My first, uneducated, thought would be that the setting on the collar needs to be altered.

My concern about those fences is that you just know sometime there is going to be something so wonderful — out there — that the dog is just going to have to get it or chase it and won't care about the fence. Then the poor thing won't want to come back into the yard.

But fenced-in yards aren't available for everyone.

Does anyone have any thoughts for Pete?

Ready for adoption

Here is the Dutchess County SPCA Pet of the Week. Ready for adoption. What are you waiting for?

This week's featured pet:
Maggie —Black/white domestic shorthair
"With a face this sweet, it's hard to imagine that Maggie is still with us! This girl is looking for a family of her own to dazzle with her big green eyes and winning personality. She's patiently waiting for your visit."

The Dutchess County SPCA is located at 636 Violet Avenue, Hyde Park, NY 12538. The shelter is open Sunday, Monday, Friday and Saturday 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Tuesday and Thursday 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Closed Wednesdays. Call 845-452-SPCA (7722).

Shelter pets rule.

Wake up call

Kate and I were out for a walk this morning, and we passed by a house that has a beagle.

Outbound, there was no problem. On the way back, the beagle made its presence known when we were about a half block away.

And it kept howling.

It's pretty amazing that such a tiny dog can make such a racket.

I stumbled across this video of a Boston terrier named Ziggy that likes to sing. The bells, the bells! Make them stop!