Archive for the ‘Random Dog Musings’ Category

Enjoy Them While You Hav’em

Friday, March 5th, 2010

Life can be a bitch sometimes no doubt about it, and just when you think that you’re having a bad day you hear of somebody else whose day seems just that little bit worse.

I recently had to let go of my own Luther and just the other day, heard that a friend of my brothers’ had to make the same tough decision I recently made.

If you can believe it, this is the second time that this woman has had to make the decision to end the life of an active service dog, and making this situation even more weird is the fact that both dogs were of a similar age.

Her dog just lost to her, developed lymphoma at the age of 7 and despite opting for chemotherapy, his health deteriorated very quickly.

He was still in full service to her, a fact that differs from my own situation a little bit.

Luther was retired, and I had already retrained with my current guide Lars, a beautiful svelt black lab.

Oh what to do?

One is Never Enough

Monday, January 18th, 2010

A friend of mine just purchased a new boxer puppy to go along with the 9-year-old lad he already owns.

Tie is a brindle male, and can be seen in this YouTube Clip.

Enter Newman into the fray, born December 29 2009.

Newman was 1 of 4 puppies from the litter, comprised of 2 boys and 2 ladies.

Ron gets to take him home in March, stay tuned for some interesting videos of Tie boxing the little guy.

Coyote Runs Off With Jessica Simpson’s Dog

Tuesday, September 15th, 2009

Unfortunately Jessica Simpson’s beloved puppy has been snatched by a coyote.

I read the news today on a web site in Google News, and by all accounts Simpson is torn up about the theft of her 5 year old Daisy.

She says that she actually saw the coyote grab her pup and dash off with it, pretty scary stuff.

She is launching a massive Twitter appeal, reaching out to people asking for their help in tracking down her dog.

On her Twitter.com page she writes, “My heart is broken because a coyote took my precious Daisy right in front of our eyes.

“HORROR! We are searching. Hoping. Please help!”

Hopefully there is a good ending to this story.

Luther, Not a Fan of Fasting

Thursday, August 20th, 2009

So Luther, my retired guide is a little under the weather today, fitting as it has been a rather gloomy day weather wise.

He goes through a phase every so often where he’ll find something outside to munch on, only to spend the next day or so “losing weight” on my lawn, lol poor lubu.

Anyway, now that I’ve grossed you all out, back to my reason for posting - when Luther is having belly issues, he does not eat, a rule that is by no means favorable with him.

Now before, this was not an issue as I would simply not feed him, but with Lars now in the mix, Luther has to watch Lars eat, a fact that makes me oh so glad I can not see Luther’s puppy eyes begging me for salvation, lol.

I should not laugh at this sinario because I’m sure if Luther knew I was, he’d take a bite out of me to satisfy his rumbling tummy!

Dogs Are Smarter Than We Think

Sunday, August 9th, 2009

New research indicates that dogs maybe smarter than we give them credit for.

New research from the US by a leading canine researcher actually indicates that dogs can actually perform basic math.

Dogs are very intelligent animals, and are a huge part of our society, playing roles from house pet to bomb sniffer.

Researcher Stanley Coren spoke yesterday at the American Psychological Association’s convention in Toronto, where he shedd light on the research he has been doing to lead him to his conclusion.

“There are a whole lot of people who think of dogs as being just people in fur coats and others who think they are biological robots with no consciousness at all,” he said.

He says that dogs are very smart, more in fact than we think and that they have the ability to learn up to 165 different words if trained properly.

How many words does your dog know?

FDA Approves Drug For Dog Cancer

Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009

Hi again, and sorry for the long delay between posts, things have been pretty busy around here.

Great news to report from the health world as far as our beloved 4-legged friends are concerned!

The FDA have just given approval to a drug developed by a division of Pfizer Health Sciences to treat dogs with a type of skin cancer.

The drug is called Palladia and is the first ever drug specifically designed to treat dogs with cancer.

Previous to the approval of this drug, all drugs given to dogs to treat their cancers were initially developed to treat humans with the disease.

Is this cool or what?

My Retired Dog Still Loves Dawning the Uniform

Tuesday, April 28th, 2009

So last August, I retired my guide dog Luther, and on November 1st, I set out for Portland where I trained for 2 weeks with a new dog.

Lars is his name, a little black lab with a lot of spunk and character, a good match for me I think.

Upon bringing him home, the next few months were spent introducing him to routes I take on a daily basis, and observing the interaction between Luther and Lars.

For a few months when I returned home with Lars, Luther was not as playful as he is these days, due to a sudden weight gain that occured thanks to the people who were looking after him when I was away getting Lars.

Anyway, the point of this post is to talk about my retired guide, and the fact that I do still work him now and again.

Luther loved his work, always willing to please and always attentive when on the job.

Even today when I bring his harness down from the wall where it hangs, he goes dog crazy, jumping around wagging his big tail and just being silly.

Somebody, who has remained, somebody because they do not have the nerve to confront me themselves, went to the trouble of calling the guide dog school where Luther and Lars are from, and reported me for working my retired guide.

The school then followed up with me, at which time I explained what I was doing and why I was doing it.

For those people who have working dogs, no matter what their job is, very rarely will that dog exhibit behavior that would indicate that they do not love what they do. Luther is no exception.

If my dog did not like working, would I actually make him do it? Honestly, I am not a slave driver.

The day Luther lacks excitement when I bring his harness off the wall, is the day he no longer “goes to work” but until that day, if it makes him happy, then it will continue to be a part of his life, and mine.

Do Dogs Fly The Planes Too?

Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009

Really interesting story today over on this dog site I am a fan of.

Apparently there is this new airline preparing to launch across the United States that only cators to 4-legged passengers. Check this out.

April 22 - A new airline will soon be taking off across the United States, one which will surely be a big hit for pet owners.

Pet Airways, will begin servicing various big American cities later this summer, and offer a novel approach to taking one’s pet along for the ride.

Traditionally if a family want to bring their pet on vacation, the poor dog or cat is stuffed into the cargo hold of the plane, alone with the luggage.

Now, Pet Airways plans to make transporting the beloved dog or cat a lot easier.

The airline will operate planes with the seats removed, making room for crates to house pets.

How does it work?

Before you fly out yourself, you take your pet to a select location, where they are pampered to the 9’s.

The pet is then loaded onto the plane where they are constantly supervised.

When the owner arrives at their destination, they go and pick up their pets from a nearby location. How cool is that?

Introductory cities that will be serviced by Pet Airways are; L.A., Denver, Chicago, New York and Washington, D.C.

Smell of Spring is Upon Me

Wednesday, April 8th, 2009

If there was any doubt that spring is here, let me put it to rest.

The undesirable smell of thawing dog @#$% is a sure indicator that colder temps are a thing of the past, at least for another year anyway.

If there is one thing I hate as a dog owner, and I’m sure I speak for non dog owners also, it is the “smell of spring.”

Dog owners apparently feel that leaving their dogs number 2s on the grass exactly where they were originally dropped is perfectly exceptable when it is winter.

I should not say grass, because in winter where I am from anyway, there is no grass, just frozen ground with layers of snow over top.

To often, dog owners take their dogs walking, and simply kick snow over their dog’s doodoo or leaving it for somebody to either step in, for it to freeze and eventually thaw when the weather warms up.

Anybody else find this really annoying?

Iditarod dogsled race Claims 5 Lives

Monday, March 23rd, 2009

Was reading an interesting story from Google News the other day about the Iditarod dogsled race that takes place each year in Alaska.

This year’s version of the Iditarod dogsled race has taken a toll on not just the mushers but on the dogs as well.

As many as 5 dogs have died this year, which as one might guess does not sit well with animal rights advocates.

The dogs that died, did so of what one can only presume to be the combination of cold and fatigue, as the race is more than 1700 km in length.

Last year 3 dogs died, and the same number died in 2007’s version of the popular race.

The first Iditarod race was held back in 1973 and since then more than 145 dogs have died while helping pull sleds.

Do you think that Iditarod dogs are being subjected to cruel treatment?