Being Chased by Columbo was like being Nibbled to Death by a Duck!
When we lost the gentle “Basset-Hound-friendly” Peter Falk we lost one more special friend to animals. The late actor is said to have had ten dogs. I am sure they are now curled up on his rumpled trench coat dreaming of the day when they will be reunited. DOG, his famous Basset Hound, even appeared with him from time to time in Columbo episodes. And his wife Shera was filmed in a Barbara Walters interview on the VIEW feeding fish food to Lucchia, one of their dogs. Falk was once bitten by a dog when he was searching at a shelter for a another companion. The facial bite almost injured his left eye. Falk’s response was to try to adopt the dog. “He will be a perfect guard dog”, he is reported to have said.
SPEAKING OF DOG BITES—DON’T THROW OUT MY BROWN STRAW BROOM! I don’t know how many people, both family and friends, have taken my brown raggedy straw broom out to the curb. I, of course, drag it back into the house to rest where it awaits any crisis of aggression. After all, it has a firm pole and the stitching still holds. The bristles are dangerously sharp if uneven. Only behaviorist Gary Wilkes appreciates this treasure and its usefulness in a dog fight.
Wilkes writes (and I quote since I am not a behaviorist or even one of the many untitled presumed behaviorists–and there are many, too many!), “Make sure you do not use a broom that has sharp, plastic corners. When the fight erupts, stick the straw part of the broom between the combatants and try to firmly separate them. Do not whack or strike them with the broom so that the straw becomes the vertical barrier between them. Keep the barrier between the dogs so the most they can do is bite the straw. Pretend you are playing a form of pup-hockey and try to scoot them away from each other. They can’t remain aroused forever and within a few seconds should return to semi-normal.” So far in this house, bites –broom 3, me 0.
LYME DISEASE AND LYMPH NODES. The latest research on Lyme disease notes that swollen lymph nodes are the main symptom. It seems that B.burgdorferi hinders the immune system from protecting the body. The search for medications to prevent Lyme is ongoing. Consult your veterinarian.
The cost of caring for and keeping your dog safe is often hard to budget. Dr. Nancy Kay offers her clients multiple medical options. She says that “many choose the less expensive route of EMPIRICAL THERAPY (providing treatment without certainty of what the underlying medical issue is) rather than performing diagnostic testing.” dr.key@speakingforspot.com
800 PET ADOPTATHON IN JOPLIN. The Pennsylvania PSART teams have been invited to participate in the adoptathon in Joplin, Missouri. For those of you who want to help animals in disasters both home and across the country the path lies through membership in the local volunteer animal response teams open to the public. Locally you will have the opportunity to join with others in training and exercises. For the Joplin effort travel expenses, meals and lodging were arranged and paid for by the ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals). The Joplin effort combines the efforts of PetSmart Charities and Mars Petcare with the ASPCA–all three are members of the National Animal Rescue and Sheltering Coalition. The rescued animals have been decontaminated, vaccinated, dewormed and treated with flea medication.
Jun 27, 2011 | | Uncategorized