Smart pooch

When I saw the tout to this video from the Arizona Republic, I was a bit skeptical. But, Sandy proved me wrong.
In addition to putting mail in the mailbox and letting the postman know it's there, she can do math.
Watch Sandy the dog add numbers.
My dog, Ace, isn't that advanced, but he does understand the command, "turnaround" and "lets go downstairs."
How smart is your dog?

Update to Petsmart firing story

See an update to the story of the Petsmart employee who was fired for bringing his dog to the stor while he was working an overnight shift when no one else was there.

A new day for guide dogs and their owners

From our sister paper down in Westchester comes an article about a graduation ceremony.

Noreen O'Donnell of the Journal News wrote about Guiding Eyes for the Blind in Yorktown Heights ceremony Saturday that had 11 people receiving new guide dogs.

They came from across the United States and as far as Sao Paulo, Brazil, to which Rodrigo Galvao, a 32-year-old lawyer, will return with one of only 60 guide dogs in that country. He has already had several canes broken in the bustle of Sao Paulo, he said.

Like other graduations, this one featured well-wishers and speeches and whoops and cheers. But these graduates came paired with their dogs, whose noses stuck out from under the seats. And in the audience were the volunteers who had raised and trained the dogs as puppies, couples such as Mike and Raina Napolitano of West Warwick, R.I.

The Napolitanos took in a dog named Orion who was going to Oakland, Calif., lawyer Michael Moore.

Moore aptly described the difference between using a cane and having a guide dog.

"It's the difference between riding a bike and flying," he said. "The cane is like a bicycle. You feel every bump. And with a dog you don't feel that. I also tell people with a cane, you have to find the obstacle, figure out what it is. And with a dog, you just avoid the obstacle entirely."

Congratulations to the new recipients of the guide dogs, and thanks to volunteers who cared for them.

Stupid decision rescinded

From NPR comes the story of Eric Favetta, a New Jersey Petsmart worker who was required to work a double overnight shift.

He brought his pooch to the store, not wanting him to be alone all that time, and put him in the store's doggie daycare.

You guessed it, Favetta was fired for "theft of services."

He was eventually offered his job back, but come on. It's not as if he put the dog in daycare when he wasn't on the job.

The transcript makes the point that the daycare is a very popular offering at that store.

Well, daycare isn't overnight. Favetta was looking out for the welfare of his dog.

One would think a store whose clientele are pet lovers would be a little more understanding about their employees who have pets.

UPDATE: Favetta got a much better job while he was unemployed. Read the whole story here. Good for him, and bad for Petsmart for treating him that way.

Maybe we all CAN get along

You have to admit, this is pretty interesting.

A basset hound allowed kittens to nurse.

See the video here.

Her name is Jezebelle, and when her owner rescued a litter of kittens, she took matters into her own paws.

She certainly seems pretty OK about it, doesn't she?

Science geek alert — cat related

Now, just because I can be a bit of a space geek, I bring you a Science Daily link to a stunning photograph of the Cat's Paw Nebula (NGC 6334) released by the European Organization for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere.

It was created from images taken by the telescope at the La Silla Paranal Observatory in Chile.

The whole tooth

According to the Animal Friends Insurance Web site, a new pet health-care product could help protect pets' teeth.

Inventor Dr. Frank Driscoll was working on something meant for the military who can't always brush their teeth with fresh water.

The product he created could remove bacteria and plaque that lead to tooth decay and gum disease.

The Web site said the pet-teeth dental gel is going to be introduced in the U.S. in April by Petrodex.

Love and care at the end in Denver

USA Today had an extremely moving article by Sharon L. Peters about a hospice program for pets.

Located in Denver, MaxFund, a no-kill shelter fosters out pets who are at the end of their lives.

Cooper, a lab/shepherd mix, went home with Tami Tanoue and Roger McKenzie. The pooch had inoperable prostate cancer.

And for two sunny months he lived the life he deserved. He settled in with the couple's other pets, adapting quickly to the various rhythms and routines of the household. His big tail was a constant-motion metronome, thrubbing against the wall whenever a human approached, flinging everything at big-dog height to the nether reaches of the room (his nickname became Slappy because of all that tail action). He took long walks around the neighborhood and snacked on grilled steak.

And then Copper died.

Tanoue and McKenzie's home is one of about 15 foster homes the shelter uses for terminally ill animals abandoned by their owners.

Copper got a final summer of happiness. He took long walks, ate boiled chicken and lay on Tanoue's feet every night while the rest of the pets clustered around. When he died it was at the place he'd known as home, with the people who loved him holding his head and telling him so.

Here's my thanks, as inconsequential as it is, to Tanoue and McKenzie and all the others in Denver.

Do any of you know of other programs like this around the country?

Russians dogs loose in Moscow

There are an estimated 84 stray dogs per square mile in Moscow.

That adds up to about 35,000 dogs roaming the streets and the subway.

An article in the Financial Times by Susanne Sternthal tells the whole story.

I moved to Moscow with my family last year and was startled to see so many stray dogs. Watching them over time, I realised that, despite some variation in colour – some were black, others yellowish white or russet – they all shared a certain look. They were medium-sized with thick fur, wedge-shaped heads and almond eyes. Their tails were long and their ears erect.

They also acted differently. Every so often, you would see one waiting on a metro platform. When the train pulled up, the dog would step in, scramble up to lie on a seat or sit on the floor if the carriage was crowded, and then exit a few stops later. There is even a website dedicated to the metro stray (www.metrodog.ru) on which passengers post photos and video clips taken with their mobile phones, documenting the ­savviest of the pack using the public transport system like any other Muscovite.

Click on the link in the above paragraph. Even though the page is in Cyrillic characters, the pictures really speak for themselves.

While 500 of the strays make their homes in the underground transportation system, only about 20 have learned how to use the trains to move around.

Some good news from Haiti

Bill Monahan and his border collie Hunter located three girls trapped in the rubble of Tuesday's devastating earthquake in Haiti.

Read the whole story here from PR Newswire.

Monahan and Hunter, who were trained by the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation, were searching the remains of a four-story building in a neighborhood near the Presidential Palace.

After criss-crossing the area, Hunter pin-pointed the survivors' scent under 4 feet of broken concrete and did a sustained "bark alert" to let Bill know where the victims were. Bill spoke with the survivors, then passed them bottles of water tied to the end of a stick. As they reached for the water one of the girls said, "Thank you." Highly trained rescue crews from California Task Force 2 pulled the girls from the wreckage and provided first aid.

In his report this morning from Haiti, SDF Handler Bill Monahan stated, "It would have been a reward to find one person alive. Finding multiple survivors is a huge victory for everyone on the Task Force. It's a giant team effort. From the canines, to the logistics team, to communications, everyone is working at full capacity, using everything we've been trained to do to find survivors. It's an honor to be here."

The National Disaster Search Dog Foundation is located in Ojai, Calif. Its mission is to produce highly trained canine-firefighter disaster search teams.

Here is their Web site.

Update on Kate

Let's just say I wasn't exactly satisfied with my veterinarian's prognosis for Kate back in October.

After having told me that Kate had kidney failure, the vet said there was nothing that could be done and I could feed her anything.

That didn't jive with what I'd read and heard, especially with the availability of restricted protein diets used in renal failure.

So I went to another vet who was recommended by a friend, and he did blood tests, along with a urinalysis, something the previous vet did not do.

The results came back as mild-to-moderate renal failure. But there was no protein in the urine (a good sign). Other indicators were not as dire as I was previously told.

He gave me a homemade diet recipe, which, with the exception of adding calcium carbonate, I had pretty much been doing already.

The key is to keep Kate eating, and maybe put some weight back on her.

So far, so good.

Happy birthday, Betty White

The legendary actress and animal activist was born on this day. She is 88 today.

Here is a clip from last year when she was honored with the 2009 Jane Goodall Institute Global Leadership Award for Lifetime Achievement.

Dog saves man's life

The video is from KARE-11 in Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minn.

A loss is a loss

They're not called companion animals for no reason.

The BBC News Magazine has an article by Finlo Rohrer that looks at the mourning process when a pet dies.

Rohrer writes about Labor leader Roy Hattersley losing his dog Buster, who had lived with him for 15 years.

"I sat in the first floor room in which I work, watching my neighbours go about their lives, amazed and furious that they were behaving as if it was a normal day," wrote Hattersley. "Stop all the clocks. Buster was dead."

Margot Clarke, manager of the Pet Bereavement Support Service, said many people who contact her are surprised and disappointed at the reactions of others to their loss.

"They often trivialise that loss and don't recognise it as being special and unique," says Ms Clarke. "A lot of people say 'just get another pet'. But the time has to be right."

And then there's the issue of euthanasia, with the accompanying guilt that brings when making a really tough decision.

I have lately been thinking about what to do if Kate's renal failure gets worse. Thank goodness, she seems to still be OK, but there will likely come a time when that choice will have to be made.

A jury of your peers?

If you live in Boston, Sal Esposito may be in charge of your fate.

The domestic shorthair neutered feline was summoned for jury duty.

Watch the video from WHDH-TV.

Wanna share?

Who doesn't like Hagen Daz?

Like this cat.

Calling Sargent Sausage

From the Culpepper (Va.) Star Exponent (great name for a newspaper, don't you think?), comes the most popular pet names for 2009.

The list was prepared by Veterinary Pet Insurance.

Topping the dog names is Bella, with Max in second place. For cats, Max is tops, but Bella is at third place.

I love some of the unusual names. But I can't ever imagine going to a dog park and having to call for Bam-Bam Noodle Butt to stop whatever he is doing.

In Jan. 2008, I did a story about popular dog names in the mid-Hudson Valley. The database, while a little out of date, is still accessible and fun to try. Find it here.

And the name in the title isn't a typo. I'm assuming the person named his dog after John Singer Sargent (the famous painter) and his favorite meal.

Winter safety tips

With the subfreezing temps we've been having lately, you are taking care of your pets, right?

This kind of weather is pretty dangerous for pets who are outdoors.

An article by Tony Lascari from the Midland Daily News in Michigan — where it's been colder than longer than around here — points out some ways to make things better for your dogs and cats.

Outside dogs should be kept in shelters, preferably with a flap over the door and straw spread across the floor, said Sue Johnson, a veterinarian at Midland Animal Clinic.

Dan Allen, Midland County Animal Control's kennel officer, said the straw acts as insulation.

"If you put a carpet square in for a dog, when they go in the kennel they have snow on their legs and the snow melts from the body heat," he said. It then soaks into the carpet and can freeze, causing it to be even colder.

"The straw doesn't do that," Allen said. "The water goes through and it maintains its insulation value."

The article also talks about how indoor dogs are more susceptible to frostbite and shouldn't be outside for more than 10 minutes if the windchill is severe.

One thing I do before I take Kate out is have damp paper towels ready for when we come back in. In my apartment complex, they put down so much salt that the soles of my shoes never touch concrete during the winter. And we know what salt does to dog paws.

Five extraordinary animals

How about some interesting cool-looking animals that aren't — or shouldn't be — pets.

The fennec fox, with those huge ears, can probably hear your neighbors three buildings over and two flights up.

And what about the greater Egyptian jerboa? Freaky.

But remember, with the exception of the chinchilla, they aren't suitable as pets. And the chinchilla comes with caveats.

Easy treats to make

I tried another recipe from the Three Dog Bakery Cookbook, and it couldn't be simpler.

Besides, I happened to have all the ingredients and didn't need to go to the store to pick anything up.

Called "Corn Dogs," the recipe as written makes 12 3-inch-long patties, but I decided to use my cookie scoop and ended up with a couple shy of four dozen bite-size treats.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, combine 2 cups cornmeal (white or yellow), 1/2 cup cooked rice, 3 tablespoons oil and 1 minced garlic clove.

Add 1-1/2 cups boiling water to the cornmeal mixture and stir well.

(The original recipe says to form the mixture into 3-inch patties with your hands. If you do that, they need to be baked for 30 minutes.)

Using a 12-teaspoon cookie scoop, place the treats on a lightly oiled rimmed cookie sheet.

Bake for 20 minutes. Turn off the oven and let the treats sit inside for an additional 15 minutes.

Let them cool completely before serving, and store in the refrigerator in a sealed container.

(You can flatten them with your thumb or the back of a greased spoon, but you will need two large cookie sheets. I was lazy. I didn't flatten them.)

Kate enjoyed them, but don't give them to your dog in a carpeted area. They are pretty crumbly.

Cats, too, need an iPhone

In case you were upset I blogged about iPhone apps for dogs, or think I'm playing favorites, I hasten to bring you mashable.com's 9 essential iPhone apps for cats.

Which leads me to believe they couldn't find 10.

Up top is Twitkitteh: Twitter for Cats. At 99 cents, it allows your cat access to the world 14o characters at a time.

Also available are apps for cat training and first aid, as well as Catbook, Facebook for cats, in case they find Twitkitteh stoopid.

There is even a game for your cat, which simulates the red laser dot on different surfaces.


At least it's free, so you won't complain when kitty scratches your screen.

Happy New Year, New Decade, Birthday

I sure am glad to see 2009 go. To say there was turmoil in the newspaper business would be an understatement.

We can hope for better times in 2010.

I want to wish everyone a Happy New Year.

I got Kate from the shelter on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in May 1995.

They estimated her age at 4-5 months, so I randomly picked Jan. 1 as Kate's birthday.

Happy 15th Birthday to the best dog in the whole world.

Here's what I said in my first blog entry March 19, 2007. Three changes: Kate is older (so am I), I've had her for over 14-1/2 years and I now cover southern Dutchess County.

I have a dog. Dogs are the superior pet. I’m sure others might take issue with that statement. But it’s a fact.

At least to me it is.

That said, this blog is here for you and me to talk about all kinds of pets: cats, ferrets, rabbits, fish, turtles, gerbils, you name it. Even dogs.

Let’s get the formalities out of the way. I’m a reporter for the Poughkeepsie Journal. My beat is covering the eastern part of Dutchess County. But enough about me. Let’s get to what’s important – and what brings us here.

My dog is named Kate. After Kate Hepburn. It’s the cheekbones. Kate is a (best guess) 12-year-old (even more of a guess) boxer/shepherd mix, who is (absolute certainty!) a sweetheart and the best dog in the whole wide world.

I know people have had pets as a part of their lives probably since the first time a caveman dropped a bit of roast mastodon on the ground and a wild four-footed furry creature snapped it up and wagged its tail in thanks.

But even after over 11 years of coexistence under a number of different roofs, I still look at my dog and marvel at the fact that I’m sharing my home with another species.

And another species that is entirely dependent on me. Some have said it’s like having a 2-year-old child who never grows up. I say it’s more like having a 2-year-old who never stops shedding.