Celeste falls off the bed

Mina does not fall off beds. Ever. She doesn't even slide off of them. She does not roll off of sofas or slip off of chairs. Mina is a pretty grounded dog.

Celeste is unaware of everything when she is playing with you. The center of her universe is you, all else is unimportant rubbish.

Like beds, for example. See this photo? This is what Celeste was doing. I was sitting next to her, skritching her belly, while she bitey-faced the air and rubbed her back into the blanket. She was so happy, full of puppy vim and vigor.

And then I got up to do something. Celeste's body followed me right off of the bed. She flopped three feet to the ground and was quite surprised by the whole ordeal. I'm pretty certain Mina laughed at her. I did too, but only after I checked to make sure her doghood was intact. Thus ends the story of how Celeste fell off the bed.

Tom Skeldon resigns!!

Oh, happy days!

The Great News: Tom "Dog Killer" Skeldon of "We kill 77% of incoming shelter dogs" Lucas County is resigning December 31, 2009!! I had wondered why he hadn't made any public comments since the Toledo Blade started their campaign against him. It's apparently because he needed a few weeks to draft a letter of resignation. Yes! You can read more at KC Dog Blog.

The Bad News: Pit bulls, regardless of temperament, will still be killed. This may still occur under new leadership. As I write this, no doubt several dogs and puppies have been killed by Lucas County officials. Pit bulls comprise the majority of dead dogs at the shelter, so even if they adopt out every single non pit bull dog who enters their shelter, more than 50% of incoming dogs will exit in body bags. I will be cautiously optimistic that whoever replaces Skeldon will stop the murder of puppies, regardless of breed, and consider placing pit bulls with rescue agencies.

The Annoying News: If you read the comments over at KC Dog Blog's entry, you'll notice an editorial that was originally published in the Toledo Blade by a PeTA representative. It is not surprising, PeTA has a vendetta against dogs who look like pit bulls. They too have a high kill-rate. Objectively, though, Skeldon has not done his job - he has not improved public safety, has not eliminated pit bulls, has not significantly reduced the euthanasia rate, and has not even done the minimum work to reunite owners with their dogs.

A small portion of the letter:
We thank Lucas County Dog Warden Tom Skeldon and his staff for putting animals' best interests first by not haphazardly adopting out dogs just to make the pound's euthanasia statistics look better.

Jennifer Brown
Animal Sheltering Adviser
People for the Ethical
Treatment of Animals
Norfolk, Va.

There's more to the letter, but I have no interest in republishing all of the tripe it includes.

Dog Tag program helping soldiers, another Lucas County update

The Washington Humane Society has an awesome partnership with the Walter Reed Medical Center - soldiers recovering at the medical center can hook up with the shelter and help train the dogs. It's a win-win situation, really. Their Dog Tags program invites soldiers into the shelter where they learn about dog-behavior, training and then work one-on-one for six months with a dog. The benefits are obvious - better trained and more adoptable dog, calmer and happier healing soldiers. THere is also a mention of one of the participatns taking his dog, a pit bull, to the Metropolitan Police Department and teaching cadets about dog behavior and, oh yeah, pit bulls don't generally want to eat your face. (Correct me if I'm wrong - pit bulls no longer allowed at military bases, right?)

The Toledo Blade has another article about Lucas County Tom "Dog Killer" Skeldon. The article covers the death of 10 puppies killed the day after they arrived. The person who dropped off the puppies had rescued their mother, along with two other stray dogs. She gave birth while with him and he could not feasibly care for them all. He kept one puppy and found a home for another, then dropped the other 10 off at the shelter, in the hopes they would be adopted. They were about eight weeks old. All were killed. There is also another log of dogs killed and adopted - 15 killed, one adopted.

Happy Eleven Years, Mina!!

Eleven years ago, Mina was born into this world. I have no idea who her mother or father were. There is no birth certificate, no pedigree, no loving puppy photos of her on someone's mantle. I imagine her cuteness a lot, though. That perfect patch, the pink precious nose, the little socked feet, all so perfect. Oh! How adorable she must have been as a puppy!

She was bred, I do not know how many times. Somewhere out there are her descendants, pink-nosed, probably sassy, hopefully happy. My best guess is she lived indoors, possibly a garage for her early years. She had a perfect white chest when I first met her, twenty minutes in the sun added freckles. That is why I suppose she lived out of the sunlight. I don't know if she was mistreated or loved. When the animal control officer saw her running loose, ribs sticking out, a 4-foot-long, three-inch thick canvas belt looped tightly around her neck, she came up to him.

Mina showed her sensitive side at the shelter. Curled up in a ball, she laid listlessly in the back corner of her kennel. Only after repeated visits did she consider me worthy enough of a hand lick and wagging tail. On the day before her last hold day, she was attacked by one of the other dogs in the kennel. Not too serious, but several puncture wounds along her front leg. She did not fight back. I fell for her. Her eyes crossed in a ridiculously adorable manner. She looked and acted pathetically. Her gentle kisses and thumping tail broke my heart. I eagerly awaited her "temp-test", hoping she'd be placed in the adoption ward. She failed her temp test. I should rephrase - the temp test failed her. I refused to be yet another failure in her life.

I have never, ever, ever, ever regretted the decision to bring Mina home. I never will.

She is sassy. She is dog-tolerant, though socially awkward. She is a follower, prone to engaging in stupid behaviors if another dog leads the way. She loves sitting in your lap, gazing into your eyes, making you feel like the only wonderful person in the world. She loves children but in a different way than how she loves cats. The former she gives kisses to, tolerates tail tugs and ear pokes, the latter she would love to chase and maybe nibble on a bit. She feels pigs are her people, cattle and horse butts are too high to sniff, chickens should probably be chased and maybe de-feathered, ground squirrels are fun to leisurely trot after, and geese should be avoided at all costs.

She is shy, sometimes afraid of her own shadow. Dark places give her the shivers. New places must be thoroughly inspected. Going into stores is only enjoyable if she gets butt scratches and maybe a chance to head-butt another dog. My mom's raised-bed garden is about the best outdoor bed a dog could ask for. The fireplace would be even more enjoyable if the wood didn't crackle and sparks didn't fly. Mina loves curling up under the covers in the winter and stretching herself out above the covers in the summer. She respects bees, loves to eat grass and throw it back up, and finds snakes to be inordinately fascinating.

Celeste, she tolerates with grace. Bitey-face on the bed with Celeste is one of her favorite past-times. Playing in my parents yard is her third favorite, her first and second being some form of snoozing out in the sun. She has slowed down, her joints giving her some pain, her maneuverability diminished - sometimes she tries to make tight turns and bottoms out. Her shoulder gives her trouble. She is missing one of her canines, the result of a raw marrow bone getting stuck around her jaw, damaging the tooth. There is a yellow-patch of fur on her head, the result of a vicious attack on her doghood by another canine. She has a scar on her chest from her friendly neighborhood carcinoma.

She tolerates being dressed up, picked up, hugged, squished, tugged on, and squished some more. She tolerates it even more if cookies are involved. She loves tofu. Preferably fried in some olive oil. Also broccoli and hummus. Sometimes carrots, rarely apples.

She is leash-reactive. Sassy. Spitfire. In her younger days, she would flip herself over and over when she saw another dog. Embarrassing does not being to define those moments. Training. She thought this was great, another opportunity to whine, yell, generally act a fool around other leashed dogs. One class, a dog got loose and plowed into Mina. What? This is not how things are done. Appalled, she flipped over on her back, exposed. Mina is my mixed-message dog.

Mina has kept me sane. Made me insane. Kept me active, made me want to hide indoors to avoid her unruly leash behavior. She is stoic and strong, sweet and gentle. There are not appropriate words to describe the magnitude of love and fierce protection I feel for her. I want her to live forever. Selfish.

Mina is the best dog I have ever had the pleasure to welcome into my life.

On this arbitrary day, she turns eleven. I expect many years from her. It has been hard watching her slow down, but I will bask in her moments of zen-like meditation, her desire to slow it down a bit, to sniff longer and sun-bathe more.

Happy Birthday, Mina. You are an incredible, frustrating, amazingly wonderful dog. I expect you to live a kajillion more years.

Stunning chicken-chasing dogs, frantic car rescue, shelter takes in pit bulls

You know, I have been told there is no media conspiracy when it comes to pit bulls. I agree, really. Journalists have enough things on their plate than to concoct a mass-media negativity campaign against pit bulls. But I have decided it is true that if it might be a pit bull, news agencies will run the story.

For example, big news out of Tampa: A police officer chased a dog who was chasing a chicken and then stunned the dog to save the chicken. Which is fine (saving the chicken, I like chickens). Perhaps this is such a novel occurrence for residents of Tampa that it should make the news?

But then there is this story out of England that reads like a bad horror movie. A dog and a child were left alone in a vehicle together. According to the article, members of the public were frantically trying to save the child. Who was, you know, sitting in a car with a dog. SEND IN THE RIOT POLICE. Which they did, of course. They sent in the Met's Territorial Support Group which polices riots and drug busts to save the child from the dog who, interestingly enough, does not appear to have done anything but sit there during the whole affair. Don't get me wrong here, please to not be leaving children and dogs alone in a locked vehicle together. But please to not make it sound like this dog, a suspected pit bull terrier was ready to off the kid at a moment's notice. (Arguably, I feel there must be more to this story).

In happier news, the Butte Humane Society up in Chico, California is taking in eleven of the 500 dogs confiscated from the largest fight bust in history. Which is just my way of encouraging you to help out your local shelter as much as you can - monetary donations, in-kind donations, volunteering your time, etc. Every little bit counts. Even a letter of thanks can lift up the spirits of shelter workers, especially at hi-kill, government run shelters.

Maningrida dogs kill man, what should be done?

Today, I read about a 22-yr-old man mauled to death by a pack of dogs in Maningrida, Northern Territory, Australia.  In the article, it mentioned "dog dreaming" as being an integral part of the culture in Maningrida and that residents are averse to the idea of putting down a dog, even if s/he exhibits aggression towards people.

Maningrida is an indigenous outpost in the northern territory of Australia. The closest "large" (120,000 people) town is Darwin, around 300 miles west of Maningrida. Dozens of languages are spoken with a population of around 2,600 people. The settlement was established after WWII as trade outpost, then a few years later converted into a Department of Native Welfare settlement* (please read link below for more information). Now it is a self-governed, permanent settlement, although most of the funding is provided by the government.

The town is relatively self-sufficient in terms of energy, sewage treatment and water resources. They operate a diesel powered generator for electricity and subsist off of relatively-clean, safe drinking water. Solar-hot-water systems are employed as well. They are connected to broadband internet, although less than half of the residents actually make use of it. While it may sound like "they have it made", employed residents, on average, make $150-399 a week (the upper end puts them at less than $20,000 a year). The unemployment ranges from 8-13%, demographic depending, which is far higher than comparable cities.

Like with many rural, poor regions with insufficient infrastructure for humans, let alone animals, there are many stray or "loosely" owned intact dogs. Here's a picture of one such dog. And like with so many of these communities (no matter the culture), there is a reticence from residents to accept the assistance of "outsiders". There are reasons for concern, of course - one traditional method "outsiders" use to reduce the population is through massive culling efforts, often without consent from owners. Obviously a feeling of resentment can build from such endeavors.


There is also a misconception that individuals in rural, poor or non-suburban settings care very little about their dogs. Much of this arguably stems from what I can only assume is racist thinking (subconscious or otherwise) or the rather elitist notion that only dogs safely ensconced in a home are happy. This report found that indigenous people in Australia miss their dogs when they have to leave them (94%), feel animal welfare is important (85%) and most felt dogs were an important/welcome aspect to their community (75%). My experience working with extremely poor residents in the state of Chihuahua, Mexico lead me to the same conclusion.

In Maningrida and probably elsewhere in aboriginal regions of Australia, there are customs surrounding dreaming, many that specifically involve dogs. There is even a special ceremony for dogs, and the belief that we must not interfere in a dog's death unless we can understand that the dog wants to die (and, in the link, giving a "sleeping injection" is acceptable). So knowing that residents of Maningrida feel this way about dogs, that they tend to take a more hands-off approach to medical care and the like, it makes little sense to approach the canine population problem with an aggressive approach (which is invariably true of many things, yes?)

This report details how best to approach the issue of animal welfare from the perspective of indigenous people. What may seem obvious is not so obviously employed. Treat people with respect. Use the language that the people living in the area can understand - in one example, a poster up near a settlement detailed the animal welfare laws in the area. In English. The sign became a joke but points to knowing your audience (which I have issues with at times). Don't kill dogs. The people of Maningrida do not want their dogs killed - many are cherished companions, working dogs, protectors or symbols of a cultural way of life. Don't suggest culling as a method of reducing the dog population. It doesn't work, anyways (unless every single intact dog is eliminated and NO intact animals enter the settlement, pre-cull populations will be re-established in a short period of time). And be realistic. A veterinarian is not likely to set up shop in Maningrida when it is unlikely anyone can afford the going rates. Here is an example of what has worked in Maningrida.Obviously, it is an uphill battle - there are not enough resources to maintain such a program and it is, by necessity, limited to outside veterinarians coming in. Even with a system of inside participation, a program that consistently relies on the aid of an outside person is, in this particular case, not going to eliminate the problem.

Which is why this quote from the article shows a clear inability to understand the problem: "However, whenever you do go up to the families who own these animals and ask for them to be voluntarily destroyed, they do decline that option"

Well, of course they do. Their culture is different, their perspective is of a different slant. The program of castration and vaccination employed by AMRRIC takes that into consideration more so than the quote from the politician.

These quotes bother me. The idea that we have to destroy dogs living in poor areas bothers me. And the idea that these people are too stupid or too disinterested in the problem bothers me. Celeste is from Mexico. She is one of thousands of strays and neighborhood dogs who live what I admittedly consider a sub-par life, as it pertains to medical care. In other ways, many dogs seem happier there - they follow their people, get enough exercise and engage in entirely normal, species-appropriate behavior (one of which, mating, obviously exacerbates the problem). They also get hit by cars on a ridiculously frequent basis, die of starvation, are abused, and have more health problems than their urban counterparts. Pros and cons. The spay camp I helped on castrated 300 dogs in four days. People lined up for hours to get their animals neutered. They learned about proper care of dogs in a language they understand. They were not chastised or berated. Their children were given clothes and toys and other freebies. What I'm getting at here is that this program treats everyone well, humans and dogs alike. And I think that type of program is far more considerate, kind and appropriate than culling or openly chastising Maningrida residents for not wanting to kill their own dogs.



I have not watched it, but there is a movie about dog dreaming, or the myth/creation story of two ancestral beings creating the dreaming lands.


*You can read a bit about the history of aboriginal people, specifically the issue of child welfare in Australia here (it isn't pretty).

New Layout

As you can see, the layout has changed. I really like it.


*ahem* Embarrassingly, I neglected to make sure my blog list remained intact. I could re-upload my old template, but that isn't all that appealing right now.

So! Please post a link to your blog, so I can add it back to my blog list.

The Truth About Tom "Dog Killer" Skeldon

The truth about Lucas County, OH Dog Warden Tom "Dog Killer" Skeldon is this: He does not care about you. He does not care about dogs. He cares about himself.
That's the truth.

I went through the archives of the Toledo Blade who finally has started blasting Skeldon for his ineptitude and dog murdering ways. The archives go back to 1996, which means there's still nearly ten years of Skeldon we're missing out on. There were about 260 articles mentioning Skeldon. A normal person would not be impressed.

Tom "Dog Killer" Skeldon through the years

1987: Skeldon named dog warden after his uncle, a former county commissionter, rec'd him for the job.
1993: 50 pit bulls confiscated and killed by Skeldon.
1994: 70 pit bulls confiscated and killed by Skeldon.
1995: 144 pit bulls confiscated and killed by Skeldon.
1996: Skeldon and company pick up and kill more than 200 dogs who look like pit bulls. Claims there is a serious gang problem.
1997: 276 pit bulls confiscated and killed by Skeldon. Violent gang activity has decreased while dogfighting has increased. 5,520 dogs are taken in by the dog warden. Approximately 80% were killed**. Pit bull type dogs make up 5% of the shelter population.
1998:
August - Skeldon finds two confiscated pit bulls who have been devocalized. Decides de-barking pit bulls should be felonious, proposes his idea to the legislature - the penalty for having a de-barked pit bull? A 4th degree felony. Classic Skeldon quote: "`I've said it again and again, but it will happen. These things will kill somebody here one day"*
December - 359 pit bull type dogs confiscated and killed, 6.5% shelter pop. Nearly 6,000 dogs taken in, approximately 80% killed.**
1999:
January: Dog fighting is on the rise in Lucas County, as it has been since 1995 when pit bull confiscations increased dramatically. Tom "Dog Killer" Skeldon, champion of public safety and protector of dogs, has been unable to stem the incoming tide of pit bull type dogs or reduce dogfighting. Oh wait, he did introduce a law to ban devocalized pit bulls. The dog fighters are quaking in their boots.

December: Pit Bulls are third in confiscated dogs with Rottweilers and Chow Chows the number 1 and 2 breeds most confiscated and killed by Skeldon and company. About 375 pit bulls confiscated and killed, 7.8% of shelter pop. Approximately 4,800 intake of whom approximately 3,700 were killed.
2000: Dog bites have tripled since the previous year. Classic Skeldon quote: "I'm so busy running around putting out these fires, that I haven't had a lot of time to consider it ." "It" referring to the dramatic increase in dog bites. Meanwhile, Governor Taft signs into law the de-barking bill which bans the devocalization of vicious dogs (all pit bulls) and the penalty is a 4th degree felony. You would face a less harsh penalty if you were a spectator at a dog fight. About 500 pit bulls confiscated and killed, 9.6% dog shelter pop.
2001: For the first time in Lucas County dog warden history, the Lucas County Board of Commissioners voted to require Lucas County to send adoptable dogs to the Toledo Humane Society. In six weeks, 77 dogs were sent to the humane society. About 500 pit bulls confiscated and killed, 10% of shelter population.
2002: A judge agrees with Skeldon and co. that a Presa Canario had enough physical characteristics to be classified as a "pit bull" and the dog is killed. Meanwhile, 553 pit bull type dogs have been confiscated and killed, 13% of dog shelter pop. Approximately 4,200 animals have come into the shelter. More than 70% won't make it out alive. Even though the shelter has a high kill rate, Lucas County dog warden Tom "Dog Killer" Skeldon refuses to join other cities in purchasing a microchip scanner and scanning every incoming dog.
2003: More than 600 pit bull type dogs confiscated and killed, 15% of dog shelter population. Approximately 4,000 incoming dogs of whom approximately 3,100 are killed.**
2004: 857 pit bull type dogs confiscated and killed, 21% of dog shelter population. Approximately 4,000 incoming dogs of whom approximately 3,100 are killed.**
2005: 900 pit bull type dogs confiscated and killed, 24% of dog shelter population. Approximately 3,600 incoming dogs, of whom approximately 2,700 are killed.**
2006: Skeldon is asked to testify in Ontario in support of a province-wide ban on pit bull type dogs. Even though the intake rate of pit bulls has dramatically increased and dog bites have not decreased, Skeldon is considered an expert on pit bulls (who he admits one cannot easily recognize, page 11) and breed specific legislation. 950 pit bulls seized and killed, 26.7% of dog shelter population. 3,500 incoming dogs, of whom approximately 2,800 were killed (including the 950 pit bull type dogs).
2007: Skeldon starts going door to door and rounding up dogs who resemble pit bulls. Board of Commissioners asks that Skeldon start scanning incoming dogs for microchips, something Skeldon has not done and has been resistant to.
Pit bulls comprise 34% of the dog shelter population with 1,354 killed. Another 1,210 dogs killed. 400 adopted. Total incoming of 3248 dogs. That's a 13% adoption rate and 78% kill rate.
327 people bitten by dogs.
2008: Classic Skeldon quote: "A lot of rescue groups ... don't have a long record of standing,. They almost tend to be cults of personality around a few activists" 
Skeldon claims he will increase adoptions by 10% in one whole year. Also claims he's reduced kill rates by 11% in 30 years! Pit bulls comprise 33% of the shelter population and a large percentage of dead dogs. A total of 2,483 dogs were killed, making for a 77% kill rate. 78 were puppies under the age of 3-mos.
403 people bitten by dogs, an increase from the previous year.

While Skeldon claims he will increase adoption rates, he helps kill a bill that would overhaul the current Ohio dog warden system. It would have encouraged a name change from "dog warden" to "animal control officer" and required the wardens to keep animals two-weeks before killing them and it would have required scanning all incoming dogs. It received a massive pushback from breeder groups who balked at the increase in kennel registration fees. It failed.
2009
Classic Skeldon Quote: "We are a success story. We are to be emulated." Skeldon fails to increase adoption rates by 10% - they remain at 10-12% of total incoming dogs.
As part of their rec'd, the newly formed Dog Warden Advisory Committee suggests Lucas County  photograph every dog and place them up on the internet to facilitate owner-recovery and adoption. This is the first time ever that Lucas County has used petfinder or the internet to promote adoption. Currently, they only have six dogs up on their website. In addition, the committee suggested an immediate halt on the killing of puppies as well as the vaccination of incoming animals. The Toledo Blade publishes several scathing articles demanding the firing of Skeldon. One Board of Commissioner member tries to oust Skeldon but his defeated when Skeldon's first cousin and the remaining commissioner votes against the proposal. In addition, the Blade is publishing a daily log of the dogs killed and adopted at the shelter. Nov 13 - 17 dogs killed, including a pit bull with "pink toe-nail polish" and a 3-yr-old Pomeranian mix who is good with kids and likes to ride in cars. 6 dogs were adopted. Nov 14: 16 dogs killed, including a 6-mos old Rottweiler who's owner couldn't afford him and Lab mix who is good with kids. Four dogs were adopted.



So here we have a man who admits he doesn't know what a pit bull really is or how to identify one accurately. We have a man who has claimed to have the interest of public safety at heart, yet on his watch, dog bites have increased. This is a person who has a personal vendetta against dogs who look a certain way and admits behavior is not important when deciding whether to kill a dog or not. This man has testified in cases where the fate of thousands of dogs hang in the balance.


This is a man who has balked at the idea of scanning incoming dogs with microchips and who has refused to post pictures of incoming dogs on petfinder or the county's website.


This is a man who has been unable to significantly reduce the kill rate of his shelter while almost every single other nearby warden has.


This is not a man who should be protecting our safety or that of our dogs.


Are you tired of this?


Contact the Board of Commissioners:
One Government Center
Suite 800
Toledo, OH  43604
Ph: (419) 213-4500
Fx: (419) 213-4532

Pete Gerken, President
Tina Skeldon Wozniak, Commissioner
Ben Konop, Commissioner

Thank Commissioner Konop for trying to oust Skeldon. If he is up for re-election, re-elect him. Do not do the same for Skeldon Wozniak and Gerken, both of whom have shown little interest in truly rectifying the horror at the Lucas County dog warden facility. 


If you live in Lucas County or Toledo, find out who your representatives are in the state legislature and contact them, tell them that things must change.

And, keep sending letters to the Toledo Blade:
Send a letter to the editor at letters@theblade.com. With rare exceptions, e-mails (plain text, no attachment) must not exceed 300 words. Contributors are limited to one published letter a month. Preference is given to short, succinctly expressed e-mails. The Forum reserves the right to edit for accuracy, brevity, or clarity. Failure to supply a full home address and daytime telephone number will slow our verification process and delay publication.

*For certain, no pit bull type dog has killed someone in Lucas County in more than 30 years, possibly longer. And even if one did, that would not make a valid, rational argument in favor of Tom "Dog Killer" Skeldon's archaic perspective on animals.

**This is assuming a 77% kill rate. Lucas County has only reduced the kill rate 11% in 30 years, which would translate into a 0.33% reduction over each year during the 30 year period. Since Lucas County dog warden makes the most minimal of efforts in reuniting dogs with their owners, I have included relinquished dogs in the total number of dogs. If, in 2008, Lucas County killed 77% of incoming dogs, in 1998, they would have killed approximately 80%. These numbers are gross approximations and, if more accurate statistics are available, please provide them (I had to do the math, which I admittedly spent little time verifying).

Confusing breeds, stafishing, therapy dog with cancer, altruistic plants

I'll preface this by saying it is unfair of me to expect a 9-yr-old boy to be all that accurate after being allegedly attacked by five adult men in the middle of the night.

That said: "one of the men had a dog, which may have been a pitbull or German shepherd." There isn't any reason to link to the article, because it's a paragraph long and is pretty boring.

Now, it is true that Celeste is not actually a German Shepherd (she's 45 lbs, has blue eyes, and I'm sure GSD enthusiasts could point out other differences) but people confuse her for a GSD enough that this picture is appropriate. Mina is, of coure, an American Pit Bull Terrier. I cannot see the physical similarities between the two.

In other news, News8 has decided to take on pit bulls.

"A pit bull can be a combination of the American bull terrier, a stafishord terrier, a bull terrier or even a bulldog."

Um. Not really. A pit bull is an American Pit Bull Terrier or an American Staffordshire Terrier. I do not subscribe to the notion that because anti-dog zealots like to clump five different breeds under an arbitrary label that therefore I must do the same. (Of course I asked myself what an American bull terrier or stafishord terrier is).

"An obedient, well trained, well socialized dog is less likely to bite or be injured in an accident."

I can agree on that. It's a bit like saying deploying your parachute reduces your risk of smashing into the ground dead. Sort of a no-duh statement but as evidenced by the ineptitude many dog guardians/owners exhibit, I suppose it can't be said enough.

Six-year-old Ruby, a rescued therapy dog, is struggling with the aftermath of bone cancer. An anonymous donor paid for the treatment and post-operative care. Ruby won second place in the milk-bone biscuit contest and will appear on the biscuit maker's boxes nationwide.


Plants recognize kin and may exhibit altruistic behavior. I'm going to see if the daughter spider plant I got from my mom recognizes her mother. Road trip!

Wordless Wednesday: Nicholas tries to be friendly with newest bovine, Elsa