Why We Educate

That's Meredith in the picture teaching a first grade class how to be safe around all dogs, not just their own. We have beautiful presentation boards based on pictures of our own dogs (that's Lily and my husband as the "Safe Dog - grown-up owner, leash and collar" board in the background) and two life-size (and very life-life) puppets that lend a hand as well. It's a standard Dog Safety presentation that is done in most communities these days.

What does Dog Safety mean?
It means we teach the kids they need to see all three things before it is safe to go up to a dog and pet it. But first, they must ask the owners permission. If the owner says yes, they have to say hello to the dog by letting it sniff their hand. Then it is safe to pet them on the chest, the shoulder or the back.

If a stray dog approaches them, they are to stand like a tree. Kids have two legs. Dogs have four. It is unlikely that a child will ever outrun a dog. Staying frozen and being as boring as possible helps keep them safe.

We also teach safety around their own dogs. Don't touch your dog when she is with her babies. Don't pet her while she is sleeping. Don't ever pet her while she is eating. Don't take things out of their mouth.

Why is this an important lesson?
In April, we had a particularly bad week with a few children receiving bites that were preventable. One got bit when she sat on her dog while it was sleeping. The dog, startled, turned and bit her. Another child got bit running up to his mom dog while she was nursing her puppies. A third child was severely bitten when he got too close to his own dog's food bowl. These are all situations we teach children NOT to touch for this exact reason. By educating children, who in turn can educate their parents with our take home handouts, we are preventing bites like this. We empower children and we save dogs because a dog that bites is usually a dog that ends up euthanized.

More and more communities are coming on board with Dog Safety. The CDC, the AKC and the AVMA recommend starting programs in your area because the majority of dog bites are preventable. Even if you don't have one in your area, you can go over these basics with your children to help keep them safe. Here is a link to the CDC web page to get you started. Or you can book us for your school, here.

The Luckiest Dog

That's Bubba to the left of Lily (your left, not hers). He's a GREAT dog. And a very, very lucky one. You see, Bubba has two strikes against him - his coat is black and he's shy.

Black Dog Syndrome - Black dogs, especially large breed dogs, don't fare well in the shelter system. They're euthanized at a much higher rate than their light coated counterparts. Different reasons have been given when adopters are polled - some people are superstitious, black dogs tend to get overlooked in dimly lit kennel runs, they're harder to photograph, they look "meaner". Coming in, Bubba already had a huge strike against him.

The second strike was not his fault either. His first owner had failed him. Bubba grew up in a backyard with little to no human interaction. His interaction with men seems to have been particularly negative. When he was brought to the shelter, the man claimed he had found Bubba running the streets. The staff scanned him and Bubba had a microchip. When they dialed the number on the microchip, the man's cell phone rang. Caught.

Bubba was left at the shelter by the only owner he had ever known and loved despite the poor treatment that he received. He didn't show well. He ran from potential adopters or barked in his kennel run. He was scared. He had never been outside of his backyard, had never been around people. He didn't like this new world. It was big and full of things that frightened him. That's not something most adopters look for in a dog. No one wants a project.

Mel saw past all of this. She loved his black coat. She didn't care that he was scared. She adored this dog. As a volunteer, she showed up to walk him day after day. Her heart broke for him as his kennel mates and friends got adopted or were euthanized. When Mel bought a condo, she came for Bubba.

He's the luckiest dog in the world. If not for her, he would be dead. He has the best life now. He gets several walks a day, fun trips to Santa Barbara, hikes, the dog beach. She has opened up his world. He still finds it scary at times, but he's made huge strides in the past two years. It takes him a few visits to warm up to you, but once he does - his love knows no bounds. He's been a great friend for Lily. They've enjoyed playdates and hikes and trips to the beach together.

He's the luckiest dog in the world. But Mel is pretty lucky too.

FUN Friday

YAY for Friday!

Let's start the day off with some laughs, shall we?

We looooove this video done by the staff at the Nevada Humane Society to celebrate two of their dogs going home.


Isn't it adorable the way kittens can fall asleep ANYwhere?


And for our dog video, you know how much we love to watch Wallace do his thing. In this video, he's joined by a few friends. How beautiful are these dogs in motion?


We hope you have a FABULOUS weekend!

City Wildlife

This little guy showed up in our yard a few nights ago. We had the windows wide open and one of the cats started going crazy. Shining a light into the yard to see what was up, we discovered this little one ambling around.

Living only a few blocks from the hills, we have frequent wildlife visitors. One morning, we had a coyote in our yard. We spot them late at night on our street every so often. Because of this, we tend to keep a closer eye on stray cats, or little guys like this one.

We debated whether he was too young to be on his own. Deciding that he was, we spent some time searching for a nest or the mom. We turned the flashlight off and sat in different parts of the yard straining our ears for the little sneezing type noises that the opossums use to locate each other. Nothing.

We're not big on interfering when it comes to wildlife. If an animal is obviously sick or injured, we would step in. We know we are out of our element so we always contact wildlife rehabs/rescues for advice and if we need to take them there, we donate. Even $20 is a big help to these non-profit organizations that dedicate services to helping out sick, injured and orphaned critters.

We decided we would wait a few nights. He's big enough that he wasn't in any immediate danger (about 5 inches nose to rump). Last night, he came all the way up on the porch to our grey cat. He was going to rub her, she was going to eat him. At that point, we decided he'd either fallen out of his tree or off of mom so we needed to do something until Monday when I could call an expert.

After consulting an online resource, we left him water and some cat food mixed with water (to soften it). He drank all the water from the cat food container, but couldn't eat the kibble. I put out a little wet food and he ate that (please don't be mad, Dad - I did listen to your 'let nature take its course' lectures growing up). After about an hour or so, our cat started racing from window to window. Shining a light in the yard, we saw...an adult Opossum.

We turned off the lights in the house so we could watch the happy reunion. We listened to the little sneezing type noises. The baby came tentatively up to the mom and then...rubbed her. She cleaned him. We watched as he climbed onto her back and she waddled off with him. If it wasn't his mom before, it was now.

An hour later, the bold little thing was back in the yard again. We look forward to watching them again tonight, but there won't be any food out. It was a one night event and not something we want them to get used to. There are plenty of natural food sources for them in our area - crickets, snails, fruit (from all the fruit trees). They don't need to become dependent on cat food, which isn't nutritionally suffient for them.

What about you - do you have wildlife in your area?

FUN Friday

TGIF! Let's have some FUN!!

What's more fun (and more adorable) than a kitten? A kitten in a box! With siblings!



How about a baby and a kitty? This cat is so sweet with the baby!



Not to be outdone - we have a dog with a baby!



For our Ferret Fans - we don't cater to you enough!



Have a WONDERFUL weekend!

Knowing What You Want Part Two

One of our volunteers, Ronnie, was telling us about the list she made for a dog. Had to be a year and a half old, no barking, good with kids, good with cats, housebroken, trained...she found one in the paper that seemed to fit her list. A family camping in Lake Arrowhead had come across the dog. As it was approaching winter, they didn't want to leave the dog to die so they brought him back to L.A. with them (after having no luck finding the owner). He seemed perfect! Ronnie and her family brought him home...

This dog dug holes in the backyard until he broke his paw. At the vet, they were informed that he was only 9 months old. He barked at everything. He was far from housebroken.

Did they take the dog back?

No. Ronnie worked on housebreaking him. The boys ran around the backyard with him to get his energy out. When he hit two or three yeas old, he settled down and the family had him for SEVENTEEN YEARS. This dog that fit the list, but didn't. He was loved for all those years despite his workable behavior. Rather than giving up on him, they saw the potential and worked through it. They loved him so much that Ronnie sought out his breed again once he passed - Brittney Spaniel.

Having a list is great. There are many ways to find exactly what you are looking for - in the shelter system, through Pet Finder, through private rescue groups. The more detailed you are, the better the match will be.

Don't be married to the list. You might be surprised what comes along that fits just as well. Perhaps, you were looking for a younger dog (two or three) and the rescue group has a six year old that fits you better - if you're looking at a small breed dog, six is YOUNG. Small breed dogs can live 18-20 years so you're still looking at 14 years with that dog. If it fits the rest of the list, why not?

Erik and I were set on having a dog that was past the puppy stages - we did not want to housebreak, or go through the chewing and mouthing stages. But Lily came in the door and she had everything else on our list. So were open to making her a member of our family.

Just as Ronnie and her family lucked out, so did we. We were very glad that we brought Lily home. She's turned out to be a wonderful dog. While we've taken her to training classes and put in our time with her, she also came with a wonderful disposition. That's not something you can train into a dog.

What about you - have you ever wavered from what you originally wanted?

Knowing What You Want

I am a woman of lists. At the moment, I have no less than four lists going - a To Do List (for home), a To Do List (for work), a Grocery List, a Card List. Before I met my husband, I had a List. There were 14 things on it - everything I wanted in a man and I wasn't going to settle. I got all but one (vegan), which wasn't a deal breaker. But I find that lists and knowing what I want are very helpful.

Naturally, when we were ready for our first dog together, we had a list. Here it is:

1) At least two years old.
2) Good with cats.
3) Good with kids.
4) Food motivated (which meant highly trainable)
5) Energetic (had to be able to keep up with us on hikes)
6) American Pit Bull Terrier, American Staffie or Staffie Bull mix

We took a lot of grief from one rescue because we didn't want their mostly blind Staffie Bull. I got a nasty little email accusing us of looking for the "perfect dog". I wrote back stating that we didn't want a perfect dog, we simply wanted a dog that was a good match for us. After all, if we're not making good matches, the pet is less likely to stay in the home for it's lifetime. This dog would not have made a good therapy dog because of the eye sight. I couldn't have taken her into the classroom with me like I do with Lily. She did not have the stamina to keep up on hikes. We wanted a dog that would go everywhere with us.

What did we get on our list? All but number one. We ended up with a puppy. She looked like an APBT as a puppy, but has grown into an 80 pound mix that seems to have more mastiff in her. She's great with kids, cats and dogs. She loves when I bring to the classroom with me - especially working with teenage boys. She can't get enough.

It is good to know what you want!

What about you - are you a list person even when it comes to pets?