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 »

Last week, a hunter in California was shot by his Labrador retriever.

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… 

Photo credit: Termin8er

 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?).