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The 4 Quadrants of The Human•Dog Relationship

Rachel Friedman | Wed, 12/31/2008 - 10:11

Quadrant 1: I Love My Dog
Usually cooed when the dog is sleeping peacefully and being "oh so adorable" because, well, frankly, because it isn't doing anything you think is "bad" like peeing on your rug or jumping on your visitor or eating your pillow or running off or....._____.

Vick's Dogs

Laurie C Willia... | Tue, 12/30/2008 - 01:12

Let me start out by saying that I'm truly happy about what's happened for the dogs of Bad Newz Kennels, infamously dubbed Vick's Dogs. Not many dogs have been featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated. But these famous dogs with the famous name are the cover story in the Dec. 29 issue of Sports Illustrated. However, as happy as I am for their outcome, I can't help but wonder what the future holds for the Rive/Sledge dogs, seized during a dog fighting ring bust in Enfield, North Carolina a couple of months ago. I wonder if they've all been euthanized like the article in the Rocky Mount Telegram said they likely would be?

Farewell, Fergus

Laurel Scarioni | Mon, 12/29/2008 - 12:19

I never thought I'd be writing a eulogy for my youngest dog first. I have 2 geriatric dogs, and my 2 year old is the one I lose!

Romance and Real Life

Cindy Bruckart | Sun, 12/28/2008 - 09:57

I will never forget a conversation I had with a woman years ago when I was a young, single parent. I was expressing my exhaustion, feelings of being overwhelmed and sense of loneliness at not having a partner to depend on for parenting help. I was speechless when she replied with, “But, you do love your kids, don’t you?”

I was completely taken aback! I felt a surge of guilt and quickly said, “Oh yes of course! As hard as it is, I LOVE every minute of it!” That was an absolute lie.

Some years later, when my kids were nearly grown, I watched an episode of Oprah where mothers were talking about the reality of parenting, sans the romance. I actually cried. It was so nice to hear moms admitting such forbidden things as feeling resentment and even temporary hatred for their children. It was comforting to know that I wasn’t evil because I occasionally fantasized about just getting in the car, driving away and never looking back.

Cold Nights, Warm Hearts

Kelly Gorman Dunbar | Fri, 12/26/2008 - 09:21

Years ago, back when I lived in Chicago, I worked for a kind woman who watched the winter weather like a hawk and sprung into action on the city’s coldest (cruelest) nights. Chicago can get pretty cold (gross understatement) and there are lots of watchdogs on various lots with little-to-no attention and minimal-but-standard-meeting housing.

During these cold spells she’d gather blankets and prepare a warm gruel and attend to these forgotten canine servants under cover of the winter darkness. She wasn’t being sneaky, she was always one for honesty and education and also took time to befriend the dogs “owners” with the hope of coaxing them to take better care of their furry work crews and chose to lead by example and also provide the necessary tools for making life more comfortable for the dogs herself. She may have also brought chew-bones now and again, I don’t really remember, but providing warmth and basic care was her main goal.

Happy Holidays!

Rachel Friedman | Thu, 12/25/2008 - 21:49

Go Here To See what you can achieve when you have enough time, an obviously super duper vacuum, editing equipment and capabilities, and mostly, TALENT FROM HUNGARY!!!!! Hats off to www.katysulu.

Happy Holidays!!!

Dominance Position Statement from AVSAB should win Gutsiest Veterinary Document of the year!

Dr. Jennifer Messer | Wed, 12/24/2008 - 07:18

That’s my vote! This is the latest in a series of long overdue, spectacularly well written and sure to be influential position statements from AVSAB (The American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior).

Snow!!

Marie Finnegan | Mon, 12/22/2008 - 00:19

The first real snowstorm of the year has hit Maine and we are still digging out. The girls are not impressed even though it warmed up to 18 degrees from the frigid 3 degrees it had been. One of the downsides of having smaller dogs is the fact that they do not appreciate peeing in the snow. Think about it. The snow is 18 inches deep in some places with drifts considerably deeper where the wind has blown. You are only 12 to 18 inches tall yourself. I can only imagine that it would be pretty darn cold on those naked belly areas. Forget about squatting.

Even when the snow is only 6 inches deep, when a small dog squats to go like my girls, they are going to get a cold shock. So that means shoveling paths. Potty paths. Even with those in place once their business is done it is nose up to the gate waiting for me to open it so they can race to the house door and back onto their spots on the warm couch.

VP Elect Biden to get second puppy

Laurie C Willia... | Sun, 12/21/2008 - 20:45

This morning on "This Week with George Stephanopoulos," VP-elect Biden revealed he will be getting a second dog from the pound, preferably a Golden Retriever.

http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=6499158

The "movie" dog effect

Marie Finnegan | Fri, 12/19/2008 - 02:23

There is a new movie coming out soon with Richard Gere that is a remake of the story of Hachi Ko. For those that are unfamiliar, Hachi-Ko was an akita in Japan that faithfully went to the train station every morning to see his master off, and every afternoon was there to meet the train when he came home. Unfortunantly his master passed away while at work one day and never came home again. For the next 10 years Hachi Ko went to the station looking for his master until he passed away there himself. They have even erected a statue at the station to memorialize his faithfulness. The photo I have included is of the dog star in the movie, an akita named Forrest, giving pawprint autographs to raise money for akita rescue at an event.