June 2009

  • The Hunting Dog Rescue

    By becksta on 6/30/09 12:25am
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    German Short-haired PointerGerman Short-haired PointerWhile camping recently, my friend and I were sent on a key mission to head to the Hand-Mart. We called it Operation Coors Light. Trucking down the road, ACDC's "Jailbreak" cranked up to 11 on the radio, we had to quickly slam on the brakes (not a good thing in an old Chevy S-10) at the sight of a small-scale traffic jam of 3-4 cars and one confused dog in the middle of the road.

    People were either swerving somewhat erratically, stopping, or quickly passing the cars who were stopped. The dog, who had a huge cone-shaped hunting tracking gizmo device, remained almost exactly on the yellow line, slowly turning in circles as horns blared around her. While we were stopped, my friend asked the driver of the next truck over what she wanted to do. Showing that she was destined to receive the "Honorary Citizen of the Year Award" for the greater Lake area, she gave us an ugly face and sped off rapidly.

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  • The Growing Problem of "Growing Dogs"

    By becksta on 6/29/09 10:53pm
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    Too Many Treats?Too Many Treats?Everyone knows it-Americans are getting fatter and fatter every year. Obesity is hitting us hard health wise. The rather unfortunate fact of the matter is that Fido and Muffy are getting fat right along with us.  

     I was at my sister's place yesterday and noticed (I tried not to, really) that her dog had gained a few pounds. "She's big-boned," my sister said in defense of her chubby dog. After making a few comments that I shouldn't have made, I realized that she was serious- the vet was concerned about the dog's weight and had encouraged her to get the dog on a diet. Like any good parent, my sister got a little protective of her furry friend. What was she doing wrong?

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  • Cat Intelligence Called into Question

    By becksta on 6/16/09 6:16pm
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    Cute CatCute CatDo cats have a learning disability that dogs don't have? One researcher won't put it in so many words, but her research into the friendly felines has demonstrated that "cats do not understand cause and effect connections between objects".  Her experiment was not high-tech at all- she basically baited a string with tasty treats (fish and a biscuit), and placed them out of reach  to see "if the cats could work out that pulling on the string would pull the treat closer."

    She used three strings: "a single baited string, two parallel strings where only one was baited, and two crossed strings where only one was baited."


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  • Tillman the Skateboarding Dog!

    By macallister on 6/15/09 11:00pm
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    This is Tillman. He rides a skateboard more skillfully than about half the kids that go down the alley behind my building on a daily basis.

    And he's both cleaner and better-looking than most of those guys, too.

  • German Shepherd Rescue Suffers From Fire

    By sarajean on 6/7/09 5:55pm
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    A refuge for mistreated and abandoned German Shepherd dogs suffered a severe loss following a fire on April 25. The modular home of the rescue’s owner, Grace Konosky, 67, was completely destroyed, and her four personal dogs were injured. One dog, 12-year-old Bailey, died from her injuries in late May.

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  • Chihuahua Mix Saves Owner From Fire

    By sarajean on 6/7/09 3:34pm
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    Spaz, a Chihuahua-daschund from Groveland, west of Orlando, Florida, is the latest in a number of heroic dogs who have gone above and beyond the duty of the normal dog.

    Lillian Miller, 58 and Spaz’s owner, had taken her hearing aid out before retiring for the evening on Saturday, June 6. Though her smoke alarm went off, she did not hear it. Lucky for her, Spaz did.

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