Martha Stewart, Betty White, Arlene Klein, . . . and Sadie
By now most of you know about the head butt Martha Stewart suffered when she said good bye to Francesca, one of her French Bulldogs. Stewart obviously forgot the adage–”let sleeping dogs lie”–even in the kitchen! As Stewart bent over Francesca to give her a kiss, the dog sprung up and their heads collided. The bloody result–stitches in Stewart’s split lip and a slight whiplash.
Gerontologists want seniors to stay in their homes as they age but this involves the danger of falls and inevitably dogs enter the discussion as a danger. A house is only a structure without a resident companion dog and so it is past time we factor them in as safety issues. As Stewart proved–a small dog can be dangerous without a fall! Further, do we really know how many falls are caused by dogs? Or for that matter has anyone done a study on what breed can predict a Super Bowl victory or an early spring? (I’m only half kidding!)
Unfortunately, small breeds do not know they are small and they have all the behavior problems of larger dogs. Since the naughtiness is often indulged, the behavior almost necessitates a trainer who understands the small dog psyche. Terriers and toy dogs don’t think like Great Danes. Perhaps the Agencies on Aging need to include a dog trainer as a resource?
I NEVER WANTED TO SAY GOOD-BYE. The title of this book sums up all the feelings of any dog owner who has had to feel the grief of losing their beloved pet. Originally published in the 1990s it has been re-printed with a foreward by Betty White. White probably has thousands of products and books presented to her hoping for an endorsement. That she has chosen this book of poems is indeed high praise–and as the owner of a first edition I agree with White. The author is Arlene Klein. She writes about her sadness and loss, gently touching upon emotions we all can share. The dogs described in the book are Yorkshire Terriers that not only watched life from matching bean bag chairs but from trips around town. Today the love of her life is Scout, a retired champion. (Speaking of champions, here we should mention that Sadie, the Scottie that went Best in Show at Westminster last year, will be absent from ringside due to motherhood.) Klein’s dogs are immortalized in a videotape on the Canine Good Citizen, a program White also endorsed when it was first produced by the Latham Foundation. A portion of the proceeds is donated to the Morris Animal Foundation for Canine Health Studies. $9.95 Publisher Designing Poet www.amazon.com
RECENT STUDIES WITH SURPRISE QUESTIONS. Recent study results are indicating that a commercially available point-of-care relaxin test kit designed for use with dogs can be be used to reliably detect pregnancy in cats. (This is the first time I was aware there was a pregnancy test for dogs. How about you? Usually ultra-sound and x-rays are used to determine pregnancy.)
A recent study found that canine influenza virus can spread easily among dogs and can cause lung damage.
A commentary published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association discussed the decapitation of rodents as humane euthanasia.
The commentary cites newer research challenging this conclusion. Why this newer research–are we still decapitating animals in our research laboratories?
Feb 13, 2011 | | Uncategorized