My Friendly Pets

Orrin Tilevitz is an avid bird watcher. However, he has other uses of his binoculars and video cameras. He films unleased dogs that are running loose in parks in New York City, primarily Prospect Park and posts videos of the dogs on his anti-dog blog. What would make someone so “anti-dog” that they would spend the time, effort and energy to tape the dogs and their owners and post them online?

I love dogs and truly believe in their freedom to run. However, dog owners have to realize that not all people feel as we do. In areas of great population, such as major cities, letting dogs run unleashed can be dangerous to others as well as the dog. Having a leash on the dog gives the owner control to keep the dog out of bad situations.

The war between the bird watches and dog owners is well known in New York City and has become even more heated in recent times due to a new ordinance that says that limits the times that a dog can be unleashed in Prospect Park to before 9:00 am and after 9:00 pm. Tilevits is insuring that dog owners adhere to those times and strongly supports the efforts of the city who added two patrol officers to “hound” city residents who don’t pick up the poop of their pooch or leaves them unleashed. This doggie blitz has been going on since March and to date there have been 860 violations.

Tilevitz vows to go on with his quest. As he is armed with his video camera, binoculars and pepper spray, beware; and put your dog on a leash!!!

I know you have not heard nearly enough about the Bo, the First Dog!! You know who I am talking about….the Portuguese Water Dog that has been recently received by the Presidential family as a gift from Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts.

We’ve talked about Bo, his transition to the White House, his training and even his brother Solo!!! There has been a children’s book written about him and questions about Bo are consistently asked when the First Lady goes out to speak!!!

So what more could there be about Bo for the public? Well, the Ty Inc, has now developed and manufactured a Ty Beanie Baby named Bo that looks very close to the real dog!!! The beanie dog was released April 16th. It is slowly being sent out to various stores and is extremely well received. Learning Express, an educational toy store received fewer than a dozen of the stuffed dogs and they sold out very quickly!!!

According to Ty Warner, chief executive officer of Ty Inc, “We are very proud of the First Family and wanted to join in celebrating their choice of a family pet.” The stuffed replica is selling for the bargain price of $4.99 in most stores. However, on E-Bay the Bo Beanie Baby was auctioned off for anywhere between $5.00 and $139.95 yesterday. Warner said that a portion of the profits that result from the sale of “Bo” will be donated to local animal shelters. That would be a great benefit that could result from the ultimate example of commercialism!!! Not that I think it is bad. In fact, in this economy, having something that is affordable and sells quickly is probably just what the country needs!!!

I had done an entry on canines and cancer a while back. I wanted to followup that entry with information about a vaccine developed by researchers at both Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and the Animal Medical Center of New York City. This vaccine has shown tremendous progress and results in treating canine melanoma, a common yet deadly form of cancer in dogs. The more I read about the treatment, the more information there seemed to be about the Animal Medical Center, so I decided to look at this facility a bit closer.

The Animal Medical Center in New York City is a nonprofit veterinary center that has been a national leader in animal care since 1910. As an academic veterinary hospital, The AMC promotes the health and well-being of companion animals through advanced treatment, research and education. The staff of this facility has over 90 veterinarians and and is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The Center is a teaching hospital and utilizes this opportunity to train veterinarian leaders of the future. The Center works closely with many other hospitals in their research for treatments that could work both on animals and humans.

In fact, the vaccine for melanoma that is now being used in dogs with a very good success rate could someday be used to treat humans with the same condition. When originally tested, about 40% of the dogs showed a positive outcomes as a result of the vaccine. About 12.5% of the dogs had their cancerous tumors disappear totally!!!

On one of the main pages on the website for the Animal Medical Center, they are strong in saying the following about their work and research, “The Animal Medical Center does not induce disease for research and does not maintain any laboratory animals for research.”

It is clear to see that this is a facility that truly cares about the animals that are treated there and the health and well being of all animals!!! Job well done!!!

Its Mother’s Day, so the best thing to talk about today are mom dogs and their pups. There are many interesting facts about pregnant dogs of which I was not aware.

First of all, there are different gestation periods for dogs based upon their breed. However puppies are usually delivered in 58-64 days after conception. Unlike humans, there is no blood or urine test that can detect pregnancy in your dog. The true test is taking your dog to the vet to actually determine if the dog is pregnant.

In fact, there are few physical changes in the dog until the last weeks of pregnancy. Prior to that point, there may appear to be little weight gain and development or enlargement of the breasts may not take place until 2-3 weeks prior to delivery.

However, there are behavioral changes during pregnancy that should be noted. Your dog may seem anxious and restless and may also seek to be alone at times. This is just her way of dealing with the physical and hormonal changes in her body. Because of the irritability, your dog may not be good around young children.

In addition to insuring your dog is being cared for during this delicate time, it is important to note good nutrition for your dog. Your dog should have a well-balanced and nutritious diet during this period. Include lots of high protein supplements like eggs, meat and liver in all the meals. Many people feed their dog only once or twice a day. However, when the dog is pregnant it is better to feed the dog several small meals. Also, the intake of fluid should be increased!!!

More about dogs who are “moms to be” in the future…until then…enjoy Mother’s Day!!!

I saw information about this story and I kept trying to avoid it because it is sad and disturbing, but I guess only when we tell about the disturbing facts can we try and hope that it doesn’t continue to happen.

In a fishing village in Malaysia, there were many stray dogs that ran wild. Because the dogs would defecate in the streets and bite small childrent, the villagers realized that the stray dogs were more than justg a nusance. People in the village rounded up the dogs and took them to an uninhabited island, believing that the dogs could live there and feed off the vegitation and wild animals that roamed the small island. However, this obviously was not the case. As people from the SPCA went to the island to check on the dogs, what they found was horrible. They saw several dogs standing over the half eaten carcass of another dog, trying to eat as much as they can. In the distance the whimpering of another dog could be heard as several dogs began to bite and attack the weak canine. Most of the dogs looked emaciated and were probably desperate for any type of food they could get, even if it meant eating another dog.

Some of the dogs, it is believed, tried to swim back to the island from were they came, but no one quite knows how many were actually successful. SPCA believe that there are about 200 dogs left, which they are trying to rescue. They have requested that the villagers no longer dump these dogs and that they will try and assist in relocating the dogs and providing sterilization procedures so that they dogs don’t keep reproducing. A very sad story indeed.

Humans share a great deal of their genetic makeup with chimpanzees. That would lead most people to beleive that studying chimps would be best for understanding human behavior. However, recent studies indicate that a clearer picture of human behavior can be found when studying the behavior of dogs. The social behavior we share with dogs include, but are not limited to the following: cooperation, attachment to people, understanding human verbal and nonverbal communication as well as the ability to imitate.

Very often people will speak of their dogs understanding their emotions and it is probably true. When you’re sad or perhaps crying and your dog comes to you and puts his head on your lap or shoulder or tries to lick your hand, it is probably not a coincidence. They sense the sadness we feel and are trying to show comfort which is a learned behavior. Scientists believe that since dogs and humans have cohabitated together for the past 10000 to 20000 years, many of their behaviors have become shared.

A recent paper written in part by scientist, Jozsef Topal told Discovery News the following: “that shared environment has led to the emergence of functionally shared behavioral features in dogs and humans and, in some cases, analogous underlying cognitive skills.” These cognitive skills were demonstrated through an experiment where Topal and his colleagues taught both a 16-month-old human child and mature dogs to repeat multiple actions. Some of these actions included turning around in circles, vocalizing, jumping up, jumping over a horizontal rod, putting an object into a container, carrying an object to the owner or the parent and pushing a rod to the floor. This is remarkable, and yet, not so because the dogs that we love are truly so much like our family members that we actually do behave alike!!!!

Chanel is 21 years old today and that is not in dog years!!! Yes, that’s right!!! Today Chanel is celebrating her 147 dog years by being the guest of honor at a party in Manhattan with some of her canine buddies. This is a rare outing for Chanel, who actually resides in Port Jefferson station on Long Island. The Guinness Book of Records lists Chanel as the world’s oldest dog.

Denice Shaughnessy, Chanel’s owner, says the dog is still quite independent and will definitely people know if she is not happy about something. I guess age has its benefits. Chanel, a dachshund, lost her reddish coat long ago and it has been replaced by a coat of white. She suffers many of the same ailments as her elder counterparts. Her eyes aren’t waht they used to be and now has to wear protective lenses to because of her cataracts. Also, like many older people, Chanel feels the cold in her bones but doesn’t necessarily have the means to make it down to Florida for the winters. Yes, the old girl has really slowed down. She used to run three miles a day with Shaughnessy, who adopted Chanel from a shelter in Virginia when the dog was only six weeks old.

Now if Chanel goes out for a walk, she is usually carried. However, she does enjoy some tasty meals. Whole wheat pasta with some cooked chicken is a usual meal for this wonderful dog. There are also some soft treats in store for pup as her teeth are a bit weak for chewing at this point in her life…what do you thinik…..could Chanel be around long enough to use a new set of dentures?

I spoke a couple of entries back about the mental health benefits of having a dog. It is truly amazing what a dog can do to help the psyche of their human owners.

However, dog ownership can also help their owners physically. Statistics prove that the survival rate of people who have had a heart attack is significantly increased if they own a dog. If someone who doesn’t have a dog has a heart attack, their survival rate is 1 in 15. However, dog ownership increases those chances of survival to 1 in 87. Those are pretty great odds. Also, simply having a dog lowers the risk of heart attacks occurring at all.

People who own pets generally have better health than those who don’t because having a dog means the dog has to be exercised and cared for. In doing so, the physical benefits of that exercise is carried over to the owner as well as the dog.

Having dogs in our lives can positively affect our blood pressure. It has been shown that women who are undergoing stress is lowered more by having dogs around them than friends. Perhaps that is because don’t disagree with us like friends might. Children undergoing a physical examination had lower blood pressure, decreased heart rate and less behavioral distress when there a dog was present during the exam.

In nursing homes where they have pet companion therapy programs, patients seemed to have a lower need for perscription medication and fewer minor health problems. Lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels were found in people who had dogs as opposed to those who did not.

So mentally and physically, dogs do improve our lives!!!

If you have a dog and know the sibling of that dog, does that mean that your dog will display the same behavior at its sibling? For most of us, the answer doesn’t even matter. However, when the dog is Bo, the “First Dog”, everything about him matters, even his brother, Solo. Yes, Bo has a brother and his name is Solo. Karen Douglas, who lives in Washington, DC, says her 14 month old puppy is a handful and has a chewing desire.

Bo and Solo were not from the same litter. In fact, Solo was just that, the only product of Bo’s mom and dad from their first litter. He even has the personality of an only child, always trying to get attention. According to Douglas, there is almost nothing Solo won’t try to chew on. These items include including shoes, purses, books, toilet paper, paper towels, toys that make noises and an empty two-liter soda bottle.

Solo is not a small dog, so it is entirely possible that Bo will grow bigger than his oringinal estimate of a medium sized dog. Due to his rambunctious nature, Solo has been through a great deal of training focusing on education in clicker training, obedience and agility, and is beginning to take on a retrieval sport unique to Portuguese Water Dogs known as Water Work. Perhaps Bo will need some educational training as well and without a doubt will receive all the training he needs.

Douglas said that there was something special about Solo. She commented that , “I saw a certain gleam in his eyes that said, ‘I just want to please, but no one seems to know how to talk to me.’”

i think whatever personality and crazy characteristics Bo might have in common with Solo, he will be just as loved and you can’t do better by any dog than that.

I have written quite a few entries regarding dog cloning and it is truly an amazing occurence. However, another unique cloning event has taken place the result has resulted in dogs that can glow in the dark. Yes, dogs that glow in the dark!!

The “glow in the dark” dogs were engineered in South Korea, the country that has been at the forefront of the cloning discoveries. These dogs would be the first where
transgenic dogs are carrying fluorescent genes causing their mysterious glow. In the U.S., Japan and Europe, fluorescent mice and pigs have been cloned, but this is the first time dogs have been cloned with this remarkable trait from modified genes.

At Seoul National University, professor Lee Byeong-chun, head of the research team had his team take skin cells from a beagle, inserted fluorescent genes into them and put them into eggs before implanted them into the womb of a surrogate mother, a local mixed breed. Six female beagles were born in December 2007 through a cloning with a gene that produces a red fluorescent protein that make them glow, he said. Two died, but the four others survived.

This is not simply an attempt to do something ghoulish or freaky. The cloning of these dogs through gene modification could have some great implications for finding new treatments for genetic diseases such as Parkinson’s and others.

While a glowing dog may not be what you would think you want…think of the benefits. When the dog has to go out to do its business in the middle of the night, you wouldn’t have to turn lights on outside to see the dog, as you would be able to watch their travels as they glow!!!

A recent discovery may show how truly attached an Eygptian man was to his puppy and how it was probalby planned that he spend eternity with the dog that he loved. So what was this discovery? A small bumdle was recently found at the feet of an ancient Egyptian mummy. The man’s tome was inscribed with the words Hapi-man and when examined the bundle was the remains of a young dog. This discovery, made by staff at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, is rather rare because early Eygptians often mummified cats and birds, but rarely did so with dogs. It has been determined that Hapi-Puppy is about 2300 years old and was quite young when mummified with his supposed master.

so much has been learned about the mummified remains of this dog and his owner through the use of a modern ct scan machine. The machine used at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania clearly showed the man and his beloved pet. According to Janet Monge, acting curator of the museum’s Physical “You could see its Jack Russell terrier-type legs, long head and individual toes”. This truly must have been an exciting find.

Jennifer Wegner, a senior research scientist in the museum’s Egyptian section, explained that dogs during the early Eygptian times were often depicted in drawings with dogs on a leash or sitting under chairs indicating that dogs were a very important part of the lives of the Eygtian people.

The cat scans indicated that the man who died was around 40 years old and the dog was probably killed upon his master’s death, so that they could spend eternity together mummified in that tomb. Perhaps not what would be done today, but part of the acceptable culture of Eygpt over 2000 years ago!!!

It hasn’t taken long for the “First dog” to become a star. In fact, as we speak a children’s book about the presidential dog was released last Thursday, 4/23. The name of the book, is “Bo, Commander in Leash” and it is written by Naren Aryal. Aryal is the owner of Mascot Books. Mascot Books is a small publisher out of Herndon, Virgina that specializes in producing titles based on university and school mascots. Another employee of the company, Danny Moore served as the illustrator of the book.

The book, according to Aryal has been in the works for several months, soon after the then president-elect Obama, promised his two daughters a puppy. However, the final dog - Bo, was not put into print until a final decision was made regarding just what type of dog was going to share the White House with the Obamas!!

The book is 32 pages long with colorful illustrations. Children are given a a White House tour in the book through the eyes of Bo and many of the long standing White House traditions are featured. The Easter Egg Roll, 4th of July fireworks and time spent at the Camp David Retreat are all highlighted in this enjoyable adventure. However, we know that having small children in the White House will bring new traditions that Bo will want to share, such as playing on the front lawn all together and perhaps assisting in the planting of the vegetable garden that First Lady Michele Obama started several weeks ago.

This is an excellent way to introduce the new dog and first family to young children!!! Head out and buy a copy!!! Bo will be happy you did!!!

Well, day two of this April heat wave and I am probably one of the few who isn’t enjoying this heat!!! For most it has been a welcomed relief for what was a very cold and long winter.

That being said, there are many things to consider when keeping your dog safe and secure in the hot weather!!

First and it can not be said enough. Do not leave your dog in a car ever, but especially not in hot weather. Leaving your dog in a parked car in the summer (even with the window left a few inches open), can cause heatstroke within minutes. Note: Leaving your dog in a car parked in the shade does not assure that your dog will not become seriously overheated. Shaded cars may still get very hot due to the the greenhouse effect, and the sun may also move enough to change shaded areas into sunny ones. Dogs left in parked cars also risk being harrassed or stolen.

Just because it is a great time to be outside, don’t over exercise or over run your dog. Dogs, as mentioned previously have a much harder time cooling off than you or I do. When you go for a walk or some exercise, always bring plenty of cool water for your dog.

Many people leave windows open in thier homes or apartments to create a cross breeze. It is essential to insure that your dog can’t jump or fall out of these windows. Many dogs every year are injured or die, due to falls because the window areas were not safe. Just as you would babyproof your home to avoid tragedy, the same should be done for your dog. They don’t understand that they could be hurt if they fell, so it is your job to insure they never have the opportunity to chance it!!!

Wow, it seems like it wasn’t that long ago when I was offering cold weather tips for your dog. Now, here it is, only the end of April and we are facing record temperatures in the northeast for the next 3-4 days. This presents a great opportunity to speak about the needs and care of dogs in the hot weather!!

Heatstroke is the most prevelant condition for dogs in hot weather. Heatstroke occurs when the normal way a body works cannot keep the body temperature in a normal range. Humans have the ability to sweat and that helps keep us cool and minimizes the incidents of heat stroke. However, animals, including dogs, do not have similar types of cooling systems and they can overheat very quickly. This can often turn into a dangerous and deadly situation for the dog.

Some of the signs that you might see if your dog is experiencing heatstroke include the following:
1) rapid panting
2) a bright red tongue
3) red or pale gums
4) Thick, sticky saliva
5) Depression
6) Weakness
7) Dizziness
Vomiting - sometimes with blood
9)Diarrhea
10)Shock
11)Coma

None of these signs should be ignored. You should plan on taking your dog to the vet, but first attempt to lower his body temperature gradually before going to the vet. This can be done by wetting the dog with cool water, but on small dogs, you should use lukewarm water. Do not use cold water, as a drastic reduction in the body temperature of the dog could create other serious medical conditions. Even if the dog improves rapidly, he/she should be taken to the vet for an examination and further treatment if necessary.

Take precautions so that this condition does not happen to your dog. It could be disasterous. There will be some other dog/hot weather tips to follow in future entries!!!

Through many of the entries in this blog, I have spoken about the dogs that serve, whether they are military dogs, police dogs, cadaver dogs, bomb sniffing dogs, drug sniffing dogs, etc.

I came across an interesting story which told of a dog named Rip. Rip was a stray dog that was found homeless and starving after a bad air raid in London during World War II. The dog was found and adopted by Air Raid Precaution Warden E. King and became an unofficial rescue dog that worked along side of King looking for survivors of the German bombings in England. In the Battle of London, Rip located more than 100 air raid victims. Because Rip was so successful at what he did, the military began training dogs to trace casualty victims towards the end of the war.

The Dickin Medal, Britain’s highest honor for animals, was awarded to Rip for his bravery and valour that he showed throughout the war. Rip was identified by the many who were saved by the never ending scratching they heard when he had identified someone beneath the rubble. The sound of that dog scratching brought many hope that they would be saved and they were. The remarkable thing about this dog is that he was never trained to be a search and rescue dog. He wasn’t bred for it either. He was a simple mongrel terrier who had the ability to perform miracles and for the many people he saved, he was just that….a miracle.

The medal that Rip was awarded was worn by the dog until he passed away in 1948. At a recent auction held in England, the medal was sold for 24,250 pounds or about $35,700 in American dollars. I think that medal means a whole lot more than just money, it represents what is good about all of the dogs we love. I hope the person who bought the medal appreciates what it truly meant about the dog who earned it and wore it.