It’s 4th of July weekend, and that means it’s time for a public service announcement:
Do not bring your dog to fireworks displays. Do not leave your dog out in the yard this weekend, especially at night.
Your dog doesn’t need to come with you to stand on hot pavement and watch chaotic parades or be terrified by noisy pyrotechnics. As far as the average dog is concerned, America’s independence is a terrifying affair.
This weekend, animal shelters across the country will be filled with dogs who ran off during 4th of July celebrations. Don’t let one of them be yours. It’s just not worth it.
If you really want to include your dog, bring him a doggie bag from the cookout, but leave him home, safely tucked away indoors.
One more thing … With summer here, I feel the need to add the obligatory hot car warning.
This is seriously the most preventable cause of death in dogs: Don’t leave your dog in the car. Not even “for a few minutes.” This time of year, your car is an oven on wheels, and I’ve already started to see way too many articles about dogs dying in cars. And if you see a dog roasting in a parking lot, don’t hesitate to alert the store management and/or the police.
It’s been awhile since I’ve done a bizarre animal news link roundup. Believe me, it’s not for lack of material, just lack of time.
Sometimes, when I read my news feed, I have to double-check to make sure I didn’t accidentally click over to Publisher’s Marketplace; that I’m reading actual headlines and not loglines for upcoming novels. Because really, humanity? Are we serious?
A monkey that wandered into a settlement west of Johannesburg was pelted with stones, shot at by police and then set on fire while people chanted “kill that witch!” Apparently the witchcraft accusations grew from claims that the monkey could talk … too bad he wasn’t given a chance to speak up in his own defense. Nor did the mob listen to the voice of reason (and compassion) from their fellow humans who tried to stop the witchhunt. Read the rest of this entry »
Stacey Champion went to the post office to mail a birthday present. The package said: “This is for your 11th birthday. It’s what you wanted.” She warned the postal worker that it was delicate. Oh, and they shouldn’t worry if they heard strange noises coming from the package … it’s, um, a toy robot. Yeah, that’s it.
But then the “robot” started moving. And panting. Turns out it was a 4-month-old puppy.
First of all, if the puppy didn’t chew his way out of the package, he would have arrived dead. And covered in his own waste. I’m guessing that’s not what this 11-year-old wanted. Read the rest of this entry »
November 1st was National Mutt Day, a day to celebrate the mixed breed dog.
November 2nd is Election Day.
What do these two things have to do with one another? A lot.
You know those laws that say what type of dog you’re allowed to own, or that create special rules if your dog looks a certain pit-bull-ish way? Or those city councils who refuse to fund animal shelters, to give them the resources they need to save lives? Or the toothless legal codes that allow animal abusers to get away with barely a slap on the wrist?
Guess who creates those policies — and has the power to undo them? The people who are put in office on Election Day.
It goes far beyond your mixed breed dog, too. From your local government to the state and national legislatures, laws are created that stop animal cruelty, protect wildlife, give animals a voice over special interests … or not. Tomorrow is your chance to not only cast your ballot, but vote on behalf of your dog, cat, and all the other non-humans who aren’t allowed in the voting booth. They need you.
So, among all the other great reasons to vote on Tuesday, go give animals a voice.
Want to know where your federal officials stand, or what some of those ballot measures mean for animal welfare? Check out the Humane Society Legislative Fund.
Last month, a Pennsylvania woman took Max, her 11-year-old chocolate lab, with her to run an errand. She says he’s like a member of the family. When she returned home that day, she forget her family member in the car. I have personally never met a labrador retriever who you could just forget was in the car with you, but Max’s owner went inside and started cleaning.
About an hour later, she heard a car horn. She went outside, looked around and didn’t see anyone. So, she went back to her chores. The honking started up again and this time she noticed Max sitting in the driver’s seat of her car.
She rescued her panting dog from the car, brought him inside and tried to cool him down with water and cold, wet rags. I wonder if Max told her to do that, too. The vet who ended up seeing him said, “Max saved his own life by honking the horn to get himself out of a very, very overheated car.” Read the rest of this entry »
You may be thinking (or hoping) that this is a random “What If…” kind of post. But no. Sergei Gorbunov of Russia loves scuba diving and he loves his dog. So, he figures, why not bring his two passions together?
Well, I can think of several reasons why not:
1) You don’t have to do everything together. A little separation is a good thing. Not every human activity is compatible for canines, and vice versa. Do you roll in dead things just because your dog does? (If you answered “yes,” I’m not sure you should read further. We may not have much to talk about.)
2) Looking the part isn’t enough. That’s great that the dog has all the gear — his little suit and helmet that he looks perfectly miserable in — but that doesn’t mean he’s ready to be a diver. Hint: When there’s an activity where you have to bring along your own oxygen supply, it’s not a natural behavior. That fine if you want to make the choice to B.Y.O.O. (bring your own oxygen), but don’t force your dog to do it, too.
3) This isn’t The Little Mermaid. Your dog isn’t singing along with flounders and crabs under the sea. He has no idea what’s going on in that world. He doesn’t understand why he “feels a little discomfort from the pressure.” He can’t even use any of his normal senses to assess what he’s encountering in this strange new environment. Vision has nothing on a dog’s sense of hearing and smell, but with his head is trapped in a bubble, he can’t use any of those senses; he has no idea what’s going around him, what’s safe and what’s not.
4) This really isn’t The Little Mermaid. Remember how to Ariel and her sea creature pals weren’t really very afraid of the prince’s dog in the Disney movie? That’s not real life. (Yeah, I’m the type to break the bad news that life isn’t a Disney movie. Also, there’s no Santa). Any other creatures you encounter on your human-canine scuba excursions will be freaked out. They’re not fooled into thinking that’s a dogfish. How many species need to partake in the panic of your hobby? And, depending on where you take your pup, his flailing dog paddle could even injure animals or their habitats.
5) A dog wetsuit. Really? How miserable does that dog look? Most dogs are humiliated enough in light sweaters and jackets; no dog wants to don a suit that requires a technique somewhere between shaking a pillow into a pillow case and shimmying into leather pants. And all that rolling on the ground at the end of the video clip? That’s the sign of a dog trying to shake it off.
The dog is not “comfortable” just because his suit keeps him dry and he’s not “calm” because his helmet is see-through. He’d be a lot more comfy and calm at home on the couch, just call him when it’s lunchtime.
I wasn’t always sure that I believed in chemotherapy for pets.
In humans, chemotherapy conjures thoughts of months of suffering through nausea, hair loss, and other side effects. People can choose to bear this treatment because they know they’re aiming for a light at the end of the tunnel. But your pet wouldn’t understand why she was feeling so sick, which would cause serious quality of life problems. And, with any treatment, it might be all for nothing.
Except for most animals – about 95 percent of them – there are little to no side effects. In terms of advances in veterinary medicine, chemotherapy is no joke. I mean, they’ve figured out how to blast cancer cells in multiple species. And when it works, it really works.
Not every animal can, or should, be treated. Specialty vet medicine really needs to be considered on a case by case basis. When Sierra was diagnosed with lymphoma, her abdomen was so full of fluid (which is caused by a number of things, all bad) that her digestive system was being pushed almost against her spine. Her liver was enlarged, as were the lymph nodes near her chest.
Lymphoma can’t be cured, but it’s known for responding pretty well to chemotherapy. “They” say the usual response is 9-12 months, qualified by “not all dogs respond” and “some dogs live a lot longer” and “sometimes it can be treated more than once.” There was some concern with her liver already involved, since that can get in the way of properly processing the drugs. Sierra is only about 8 1/2 years old and, other than a loss of appetite most likely due to the pressure on her internal organs, she didn’t really have any symptoms. She was maybe a little lethargic and looked a little skinny, but in between her bloodwork appointment and her ultrasound, she went to the park and trotted around like nothing was wrong.
That’s just how she is, and that’s why there was no question that I was going to try to treat her. Read the rest of this entry »
The man set down his gun to retrieve some duck decoys a few yards away. That’s when the dog stepped on the shotgun, disengaged the safety, and fired at her companion a la Dick Cheney.
One headline on this story read: Hunting dog triggers shotgun, hits master. I wonder how they think “master” is defined…
A man and his dog happen upon a wild animal, the wild animal defends itself. This scenario is neither unusual nor inexplicable. But check out the description from this encounter earlier this week:
Rickard said he was walking his blue heeler, Rocky, on Sunday morning when they surprised a sleeping kangaroo in Arthur’s Creek northeast of Melbourne. The dog chased the animal into a pond, when the kangaroo turned and pinned the pet underwater.
When Rickard tried to pull his dog free, the kangaroo turned on him, attacking with its hind legs and tearing a deep gash into his abdomen and across his face.
Rickard said he ended the attack by elbowing the kangaroo in the throat, adding Rocky was “half-drowned” when he pulled him from the water.
Maybe those cartoon kangaroos with boxing-gloves need to be updated with more of an ultimate fighting look.
Never doubt why it’s a good idea to keep your dog on leash when hiking, especially if you’re in the outback.
Today I progressed from notes and random passages for my next novel revision to actually writing a new first chapter. I’m getting excited to see how this revision shapes up because there are some bigger, bolder things going into it. Definitely some influence from Donald Maass’ book to keep pushing the envelope, upping the stakes. Some of the changes are things that, deep down, I knew were weak links. This will be a drastically different novel in a lot of ways, but the core remains the same. Hopefully this revision will be The One – not only The One to get picked up, but also the book that this story was always meant to be.
The dog pictures are in! I’m slowly narrowing them down to the ones I want to order to frame for my house. I’m priced out of ordering all of my final 27 (out of 124…that’s not a bad start!), so there’s still work to do.
One day, I will have a privacy fence. The boards are being dog-eared and prepped for installation. Someone asked me the other day if it was for me, the neighbors, or the dogs. I don’t know the answer to that question. I think we’ll all be grateful for it once it’s up (except, perhaps, for my farmer neighbor, who is afraid it will shade his garden. was my fence plan the reason that he gave the tree in his yard a crew cut this summer?).
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Last week, a hunter in California was 
