I've been proofing the typeset pages of my memoir this week, which includes several sections about my Lassie, and her death six years ago. As I read through the pages, trying so very hard to concentrate on spelling and grammar, I had to stop, overwhelmed as I was for the deep sense of loss I still feel when I think about Lassie. Six years she's been gone, and I still miss her. Deeply. Perhaps because she is the last dog of mine to die in my arms. Perhaps because she was one of those special dogs whose life was so pure she seemed almost otherworldly. I don't know. I just know that as much as I love Willie, Maggie and Tootsie--and I love them more than I will ever be able to express--I still miss my Lassie girl. In honor of her, and of all the dogs we love so much it hurts, here Read More
Archives for August 2016
Guilty Pleasures: Animal Shows that are So Bad They’re Great
Woe is me. Jim and I missed one of our favorite television shows last week because our recording schedule got knocked out by a storm. The show is Zoo, shown on CBS in the states. The program's premise is that a chemical company created a mutation that has caused animals to be 1) more intelligent and 2) viciously aggressive toward people. Not said is the fact that it has apparently made people much LESS intelligent. The characters on the show make one foolish, okay. . . stupid decision after another, and the fact that they are still alive would have Darwin rolling in his grave. The show is just flat awful, but so awful that Jim and I have begun to look forward to hooting on the couch when it comes on. The ridiculousness of the show is never ending. Example: An evil military man has come Read More
Conditioning a Dog to a Muzzle
Awhile ago I saw a small dog hit by a car, whose occupant drove away as if nothing had happened. The little white dog lay on his side, stunned and bleeding. It was clear when I got close that the dog's leg was broken and he needed to get to a veterinary clinic right away. When I moved my hand toward him he panicked and tried to bite me; a reasonable reaction given how painful being moved must have been. I had anticipated that might happen, so I had reached out him cautiously. At the first sign of an active set of teeth, I ran back to the car for something that would allow me to transport him safely. I had a leash and towel in the car, and so I attached the leash to his collar, and used the length of the leash to bind his mouth. We were in the middle of a busy street, so I moved him as Read More
The Human-Animal Bond Includes Wasps
What do you think of when you hear the phrase "human-animal bond"? I suspect, for most of us, our first thought is our relationship with our dogs. Which makes sense, given the depth of our connection with the animals that we have taken into our home and hearts like no other. However, Philip Tedeschi, Director of the Institute for Human-Animal Connection, and MSSW, reminded us in a speech yesterday that our connection with "other" animals goes beyond that of our companion animals. Philip co-authored a chapter in Ignoring Nature No More, The Case for Compassionate Conservation, edited by Mark Bekoff, titled "Conservation Social Work: The Interconnectedness of Biodiversity Health and Human Resilience". Yesterday, in a speech directed toward social workers in Madison, WI, he eloquently Read More
What is a Dog? & Dawn of the Dog: Book Reviews
Raymond and Lorna Coppinger's new book, What is a Dog? makes a compelling case for the "village dog" or "street dog" as THE dog, not a random collection of mongrels and strays. "We will argue that they [street dogs] are the real dogs, the ancestral type of our modern breeds. They are unique and beautifully designed by evolution.... part of a continuous worldwide and ancient population of dogs. They are much more ancient than any "ancient breed." The authors support this contention, which I would agree has a great deal of merit, with general principles of behavioral ecology and their own experiences with "street, village and dump" dogs around the world. The perspective that they have gained from their travels and research around the world provides them a unique perspective, and this Read More