Tales of the Kennedy dogs

More stories are coming out about the late Sen. Ted Kennedy's love for his dogs.

This blog post from USA Today talks about Kennedy's dogs trying to protect him from then-Sen. Joe Biden's oratory.

And Politico has a story about how Kennedy would bring his dogs to Capitol Hill and how much they — along with the senator — will be missed.

Kennedy’s Senate office always had water bowls and tennis balls on hand. Major legislation was hammered out as White House officials patted fuzzy heads and threw balls during meetings. The dogs were known to snooze under committee room tables.

“It’s like the end of an era,” said Kennedy’s former judiciary committee general council David Sutphen. “I find it hard to believe you’ll have another senator with a dog who comes to meetings all over the Capitol. It’s kind of the closing of a chapter.”

Unfortunately, the dogs did not have access to the Senate floor. No doubt they could have had a positive effect on legislation had they been there.

Kennedy as dog lover

The White House's The Briefing Room blog posted this picture of Sen. Ted Kennedy and his wife Vicki greeting Bo in the Outer Oval Office of the White House April 21. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza.)

Tributes are pouring in for the late senator, some having to do with his love of dogs.

He had two Portuguese water dogs — Sunny and Splash — and was instrumental in the Obamas getting Bo.

Here's a story from the Los Angeles Times's L.A. Unleashed blog about Kennedy.

Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States, wrote today that Kennedy was "a stalwart ally over the years on a wide range of legislation to protect companion animals, farm animals, animals in research and wildlife," adding that the senator from Massachusetts was instrumental in the passage of animal welfare legislation including laws that cracked down on dogfighting and cockfighting, protected horses and other farm animals, and sent chimpanzees once used in medical research to sanctuaries.

Say what you will about the man, he was a force to be reckoned with.

Dogs at the fair

RHINEBECK — I was at the Dutchess County Fair yesterday doing a story on the canine tent. The fair is open through Sunday. The canine tent closes at 9 p.m.

Read my article from the Poughkeepsie Journal here.

This is the ninth year for the canine tent. It's a tribute to the popularity of companion animals that they have a place alongside cows and sheeps and horses, oh my.

The picture above is of Karen Tindal performing with one of her Dazzle Dogs, a dancing/agility troupe of Corgis and an Australian shepherd.


DockDogs.com set up a diving pool for competitions again this year. For the middle of the day and the middle of the week, there were quite a few people taking advantage of the practice time. Competitions in distance, speed retrieval and height jumping are in the afternoons. Finals are Sunday.

It's always fun to stand near the ramp where the dogs exit the jumping area for the "shake down."


Meet Abraham Lincoln, a rescued pit bull, and now a certified therapy dog, now living at the Animal Farm Foundation in Standfordville.

With the dog is Ashley Reum, his handler.

AFF was one of several rescue groups represented in the canine tent, including the Dutchess County SPCA and the Mid-Hudson Kennel Association.

The tent is organized by Dale Mountain, who operates Rhinebeck's Russell Refuge, Inc.

So take a few minutes after you down a 4H milkshake and some fried dough and see what the dogs can do.

Photos by Michael Woyton/Poughkeepsie Journal.

How does that make you feel?

Ever wonder how and why cats react to catnip?

Take a look at this video via the magic of the YouTubes.

New Paltz police dog remembered

My colleague Rasheed Oluwa covered the memorial service Monday for New Paltz police dog Zeus, who was killed July 31 when vehicles driven by his partner Officer Robert Knoth and Officer Joseph Judge collided.

They were responding to a residential burglary alarm.

Read Oluwa's story here.

Zeus, 7, was a German shepherd and Belgian Malinois mix from the Czech Republic.

"He was basically an 85-pound lapdog when he was with me," Knoth, Zeus' handler, said Monday. "He was the best partner you could ask for. He was always happy to come to work. He had no fear. He was always the first one to walk through the door."

Photo by Jen Kiaba/For the Poughkeepsie Journal

Vacation mode for Bo

On vacation with his family, Bo the Portuguese water dog was the inspiration for a dog parade on Martha's Vineyard.

See pictures of the presidential pooch from the Los Angeles Times.

Poor Bo. Absolutely no privacy when he was walked over to a grassy spot by his handler.

And Bo was a no-show at the parade, but it looks like everyone had a good time anyway.

Fair to feature dogs

Tomorrow the Dutchess County Fair opens its gates.

For the ninth year in a row, the canine tent will be a featured attraction.

See my story in today's Poughkeepsie Journal.

All week the Dutchess County Sheriff's Office canine units will be giving demonstrations. The picture above is from the recent Christmas in August school-supply giveaway where the deputies showed how a K-9 officer apprehends someone.

It's always fascinating to watch the officers work.

Also on tap this year at the fair will be a demonstration of border collies herding sheep and a Dock Dogs competition.

I will be on Bob Miller's Morning Mix show Wednesday talking about the canine tent and later that day I'll be going out to the fair to do a live story on the activities.

Hope to see you there.

Wappinger offers reduced price rabies shot Saturday

WAPPINGERS FALLS — A rabies clinic will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at the Wappinger town hall, 20 Middlebush Road.

The rain-or-shine event will give residents the opportunity to vaccinate their dogs and cats at a reduced cost.

Please make sure your animal is either on a leash or in a carrier.

The rabies shot is $10 per vaccination. Owners must provide a current rabies certificate. Otherwise, only a one-year immunization will be administered.

Town residents can also license their dogs at the clinic.

Microchipping will be available for $25.

Town Clerk Chris Masterson said owners will be able to get their dogs vaccinated for about one-quarter the local average cost and one-half the cost of the microchip.

Call 845-297-5571 to preregister or for information.

Latest on Sally

I got an e-mail from Paula Clausi-Van Steenburgh, the Highland woman, who adopted little Sally.

You will recall that Sally was abandoned in a clothing donation bin in September. She was rescued by the Dutchess County SPCA, and Clausi-Van Steenburgh adopted her in November.

Here are the blog entries I've done on the pooch.

Clausi-Van Steenburgh writes:

As you know, the DCSPCA Petwalk is coming up on September 12th. I got a mail from (Executive Director) Joyce Garrity this past Friday saying she was thinking of us. People have been asking about Sally a lot lately, so I thought I would send an update in case any of your readers are interested.

In a nutshell, Sally continues to do well. Since my last e-mail in January, Sally and Monica have completed obedience and beginning agility classes. They have continued with second level agility, but have taken a break for the summer due to our vacation schedule. We have set up a small agility course in our back yard for practice when Sally and her brother Pluto are not in classes. Monica works with Sally on the course every day! I have attached a video taken with our cell phone of Sally and Monica running the course. The quality isn’t so great, but you will get the idea.



Oh yeah, if you post it for your readers, make a note that we moved the tunnel and forgot to replace the stakes to keep it from rolling. You can see after she goes through, the tunnel rolls and she turns and looks at it like “what was THAT all about?”

Aside from agility, Sally loves chasing her Frisbee and butterflies. She has also discovered the joy of rolling in poop, much to our dismay. The smellier the better. She and the garden hose have become close friends. LOVES the water, but soap she despises. I can always tell when Monica has had to give Sally a bath when I am at work. When I come home, Pluto has tried to make himself small in an even smaller spot. He hates clean even more than Sally, but at least he doesn’t share her passion for odious piles of slime.

We have also found out that Sally hates thunderstorms. She is better than any weather forecaster around. She will plaster herself to our sides before the first rumble and will stick like glue until the storm passes.

Monica is Clausi-Van Steenburgh's daughter. They are planning on attending the Petwalk Sept. 12 at Bowdoin Park in the Town of Poughkeepsie. I'll have more on the Petwalk soon.

It's certainly good news that Sally has found a terrific home and a loving, supportive environment.

You go, girl! And leave those butterflies alone.

And it comes with the number of a good chiropractor

Even Kate will admit I've carried her for years. And gladly, I will add.

But a pet backpack is something that is really not practical unless you have one of those teensy, tiny dogs.

If you do, and you need to schlep your dog and your laptop, then you are in luck.

PetEgo has, for the price of $178, just what you are looking for: the Pet at Work Travel System.

It is a combination pet backpack, laptop carrier and collapsible pet crate.

The backpack is 15 inches wide by 16 inches high, with a depth of 9 inches, 13 inches or 16 inches, when fully expanded.

I'm thinking a regular, much less costly backback and a leash will work fine, too.