This is Bits. He is a hybrid wolfdog. Or maybe some coyote, no one knows. He is drop-dead gorgeous and is flat out terrified of strangers. He has been living with Jayne and Mike Belskey at the Grey Wolf Central Wisconsin Rescue for two years now, having been rescued by them as a panicked, huddled, terrified mess from a shelter. It made me happier than I can say that after two hours after I arrived in the house he relaxed enough to lie down only a few feet away from me, albeit with a table between us. Maybe it was because I did lots of look aways, yawned a lot, avoided eye contact and kept my voice down. Maybe not, but I hereby admit to being thrilled to be in the same room with him, and was absolutely overwhelmed by his beauty. And heartbroken, because wolfdogs should break Read More
The Plot Thickens: Spay Neuter Effects & the Health of Our Dogs
Many years ago, in the 1980's, I was in Scotland being introduced to a cocktail party full of veterinarians. Imagine my surprise when one of them cornered me, waving his drink and spluttering his words, and began berating American veterinarians for promoting spay/neuters of pet dogs. Several others joined in, and before I knew it I began waving my own drink and spluttering my own words, in defense of my dog's vet, as well as many colleagues and friends. For all I know I threw apple pie in there somewhere. Their point was that it is not good medicine to remove vital organs, which have many functions beyond reproduction, in order to prevent something that may or may not happen (mammary cancer, pyometra for example). That was my first introduction, a long, long time ago, to the fact that Read More
Summer Books: What are You Reading?
Question: Is there ever enough time to read? Answer: No. I read every night and every morning at a minimum, and if I ever had a genie rise out of a bottle and ask me for one wish, I'd ask for another hour or two of reading time in every day. (And long, pretty legs instead of stumpy ones. And world peace.) Here are some of the books I've been savoring, in hopes of beginning a conversation about other great books just waiting for me to turn the page: The Possibility Dogs. I wrote about it last week, but couldn't skip mentioning it again. Here's the quote I sent to the publisher after reading the review copy: "What an amazing book. Combine love, knowledge and real-life drama with pitch-perfect writing, and you'll end up with The Possibility Dogs. Simply brilliant!" I like it so much Read More
Possibility Dogs: Review and Q & A with Susannah Charleson
Susannah Charleson, author of Scent of the Missing, has done it again: Given us a page turner that is exquisitely written, and rich with both emotion and information related to working dogs. However, this time the dogs aren't search and rescue dogs; although in some ways you could suggest that's exactly what they do. The Possibility Dogs, just released a few days ago, directly relates to last week's post about Psychiatric Service Dogs, because that's what it is about: dogs who help people function, and in some cases, heal. Some of these dogs seem able to search out people in need as if following a scent trail, and "rescue" them by their insightful awareness of what a damaged person needs. As in Scent of the Missing, The Possibility Dogs entwines incidents from her own life, insights into Read More
Psychiatric Service Dogs
Here's one of world's greatest descriptions of a dog: "[Gander looks like] ... the canine version of a forgetful old literature professor in a corduroy jacket with patches at the elbows." I've never met Gander, but the photos of him remind me of a grown-up, bachelor party version of Little Orphan Annie's dog, Sandy. With muscle and gravitas. Sort of a "Sandy joined the Marine Corps but still plays with marbles" kind of dog. And Sandy is a hero, there's no doubt about it. Gander is the dog that Freedom Service Dogs placed with a man named Lonnie, who suffered from PTSD and autoimmune issues that can make mobility almost impossible some days. Lonnie sums it up simply: "Gander saved my life." Before he got Gander, Lonnie rarely slept and had paralyzing panic attacks several times a day. Read More
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