Bark Blog

The Canine Lifestyle

I just returned from spending a few days at a convention called "SuperZoo", purportedly the world's largest tradeshow for pet retailers. Over one-thousand vendors were on hand to display products for a variety of companion animals, but the most-popular pet, by far, was the dog. While snake enthusiasts may have had one or two booths of related products to visit, dog aficionados had to rush to hit the hundreds and hundreds of displays solely devoted to canine happiness. Despite the crowds and the noise, one statement from the pet industry came through clearly: Your dog needs clothes, jewelry, and enough furniture to fill a studio apartment.

This was the third year in a row that I've attended SuperZoo, and this was the first year that a large section of the floor was set aside just for canine fashion. A sign hanging above the area read, "Rodeo Drive". All the vendors here were selling clothing for dogs, shoes for dogs, and jewelry. Not just fancy collars adorned with rhinestones, either; retailers feel your dog would look good in a gemstone tiara and sterling silver hairclip. Some of the clothing was just the usual "cute t-shirt with funny saying", but you could also find leather jackets, tulle skirts, and just about every other frou-frou accoutrement the brain could imagine. Matching outfits were common, so you and your dog can wear the same shirt and look just like parent and furry child. Not surprisingly, the clothing and jewelry retailers feel small dogs are their market, so if your dog weighs more than fifteen pounds, it may have to go naked.

The other newly-emerging trend in dog products is furniture. Gone are the days of the plywood doghouse or the old pillow as a dog bed. I saw displays of dog beds built into nightstands, dog beds styled like the cylindrical cone chair from the 1960s, and beds which heat up and give your pet a vibrating treatment of "magic fingers" (no quarter needed). Some dog beds had been designed by chiropractors to ensure support for older dogs or dogs with back problems. The styles and colors seem practically endless, and the prices of some beds approach the price of a cheap used car. Keeping your dog in “the lifestyle” is going to set you back thousands of dollars.

Sociologists have been quoted as saying that dogs have become pseudo-children for many families, and it's hard to deny that when you see a large floor display with two dozen strollers and half a dozen dog "playpens". These sorts of products didn't exist even a year ago, yet now you can not only buy a playpen for your puppy, you have choices about which one to purchase.  A person walking into SuperZoo could have been easily convinced that they'd stumbled across a baby retailers' convention and not a display of pet products.

While I found the jewelry and dog clothing a bit disconcerting, I was happy to see signs of other, very positive trends.  There were more and more vendors of raw food, and more and more treats made from a single ingredient, like salmon or beef.  Wheat and flour had left the building.  Signs of high-quality were everywhere, not just in the strollers and playpens.  There's also increased attention being paid to dog healthcare and safety, with a number of products available to help your elderly or disabled pet remain comfortable.  Maybe the pet industry as a whole had a bit of a fright earlier this year with the pet food recall, and decided to start taking pet care more seriously.  They certainly seem willing to treat dogs like little people, and it will be interesting to see if this trend continues twelve months from now.

Leigh-Ann Gerow

Treat Happens

On my walk through a quiet, residential neighborhood in North Seattle yesterday, I stumbled onto a “Doggie Oasis.” At least, that’s what was carved into a little wooden sign above two full water bowls (which looked clean and fresh) and a plastic jug of dog treats. This help-yourself canine pit stop also included a whiteboard and markers for people to “woof” messages of appreciation, which they did. The random acts of kindness that dogs inspire never cease to amaze me.

Lisa Wogan

It’s a Dog’s Life in Iraq

Listen to Sgt. Dan Stober’s tale of “adopting” a stray and tending to her puppies while stationed in Iraq on NPR’s Day to Day.

Lisa Wogan

Ken Foster's Pit Bull Party!

Best-selling author and pit bull lover Ken Foster kicks off a series of bully-themed events in New Orleans to celebrate his latest book, "Dogs I Have Met and The People They Found." Foster's handsome brindle pit bull, Brando, is featured on the cover.

Oct. 3: Join the Hot 8 Brass Band at Sound Cafe (2700 Chartres St., New Orleans; 504-947-4477) from 7-9pm to celebrate the pit bulls of New Orleans and Foster's new book. Special bully guests include Dag, the inspiration for Belladonna owner Kim Dudek's latest venture, Dag's House; Trap Jack, a former desk-duty dog from the Louisiana SPCA; Lola, special assistant to Gloria Dauphin of the Louisiana SPCA; and Animal Rescue New Orleans's director Robyn Beaulieu's beautiful blue pit bull.

Oct. 4: Foster reads from and signs copies of "Dogs I Have Met" at Octavia Books (513 Octavia St., New Orleans; 504-899-READ) at 6pm.

Oct. 6-7: Pit bulls are eligible for free vaccinations and spay/neuter services at clinics throughout New Orleans. Enjoy panels of historic images of the pit bull compliments of Animal Farm Foundation.

For more info about any of these special events, call 504-613-7370.

Julia Kamysz Lane

Let's Play

Revisit the amazing photos of a sled dog at play with a polar bear, taken by Norbert Rosing, at American Public Media’s Speaking of Faith website (link to the SoundSeen slideshow “Animals at Play”). It’s part of a presentation by Stuart Brown, director of the National Institute of Play, which promotes pleasurable, purposeless play for it’s own sake. Brown and others at the institute believe that play, like nutrition and sleep, is a central element in determining your health, well-being, creativity and intelligence. Since living with a dog is an open invitation to play, it’s just one more way they make our lives better.

Thanks to Active Canines blog for this tip.

Lisa Wogan

Devoted Dogs Guard Deceased Owner

Concerned neighbors contacted police when they hadn't seen 66-year-old Sandra Cherichella of West Paterson, New Jersey, for two weeks. Sadly, the elderly woman was discovered dead, most likely of natural causes, in her home. Her two beloved Border Collie mixes, Shaggy and Kathy, were guarding her decayed body. The house was filthy and filled with feces. The grieving dogs were dirty and suffering from mange, plus there was no food or fresh water. Police believe Cherichella could've been dead for nearly two weeks.

Lysa DeLaurentis, the animal control officer on the scene, couldn't bring herself to take the 10-year-old dogs to the shelter, where she was sure they would be euthanized. Instead, she brought them home to buy them some time and help them get healthy in hopes of finding a new home. If you'd like to help with Shaggy and Kathy's medical treatment, donations may be sent to:

All Humane Animal Control
781 Ringwood Ave
Wanaque NJ 07465

Or for more info, please call (973) 616-8569.

Julia Kamysz Lane

Bravo Recalls Poultry Products

Commercial raw diet company Bravo is recalling three of its poultry products over concerns that they might be contaminated with Salmonella and/or Listeria monocytogenes. The specific varieties and batches are:

1) Bravo Original Formula Chicken Blend frozen raw food
Product Numbers: 21-102, 21-105, 21-110
Batch ID code (on hang tag): 236

2) Bravo Original Formula Turkey Blend frozen raw food
Product Numbers: 31-102, 31-105, 31-110
Batch ID code (on hang tag): 236

3) Bravo Basic Formula Finely Ground Chicken frozen raw food
Product Number: 21-212
Size: 2 pound tube
Batch ID Code (on hang tag): 226

This is a voluntary recall as no pets or people have been reported ill due to any of these products. Pet owners may return unopened tubes of food to the place of purchase for a full refund. If the package is already opened, safely dispose of the food, wash the label and return it to the store for a full refund. For more info, go to Bravo Recall.

Julia Kamysz Lane

More tales of "Rex and the City" - The Boys of Summer

The Summer of Love
What Do You Do When Your Dog’s Boyfriend Cheats On Her?

My dog Chloe (a Spaniel/Border collie mix) has been in a serious relationship for two years now. Her boyfriend is a handsome English Setter named Rainbow, and they are very well-matched. Both weigh about sixty pounds, and both are not-very-birdie bird dogs. Both love to play tug and keepaway; both love to swim in our nearby creek and hunt for fish (Chloe actually sticking her snout into the water and trying to catch them; Rainbow barking at the fish from a safe place on the shore). In terms of hierarchy, Chloe is definitely the boss, which suits them both fine. Chloe always passes through doorways first, always wins the rope during games of tug-of-war, and will always try to steal Rainbow’s food. And because he will so willingly let her steal his food, we tried to feed them separately, for Rainbow is always on the verge of being too thin and Chloe is always on the verge of being too fat.

“Chubs,” is what Rainbow’s guardian, Greg, calls Chloe behind my back. I know this because Greg’s seven-year old son, Clayton, tells me everything. We are neighbors in idyllic Woodstock, New York.

But anyway, it makes me happy to see Chloe and Rainbow together. It makes me happy to witness dog love: the joyous, raucous way they greet one another; the impish, playful ways in which they bite each other’s ankles; and, at the end of the day, the adorable way they nap together, sometimes facing each other with their legs entwined, other times spooning like an old married couple. Always, their bodies are touching, and I love to see the content, tired look on Chloe’s face when she sleeps with her head draped across Rainbow’s neck. That look speaks of companionship, and ownership, and true love. It always makes me want two dogs, but that second dog would have to be Rainbow, and he’s not on the market. So, as with most relationships from which we want more, we take what we can get. I call Rainbow my half-dog.

This summer, however, Chloe and I went on an extended book tour, which meant that for seven weeks we had to leave Rainbow behind. That’s seven weeks without anyone biting your ankles, or pinning you to the ground so that he can bite your neck, or trying to take away your saliva-soaked stuffed bunny rabbit, or cuddling with you on a big stinky dog bed. By “you” I mean Chloe of course. Every night, before we went to sleep, I promised Chloe that soon we’d see Rainbow again--September 15^th to be exact. She always smiled at me and thumped her tail.

Then, in August, I heard the news: “Rainbow has a new girlfriend,” my friend Greg told me. Greg, of course, is Chloe’s godfather.

  “Who is she?” I said, in the same exact voice I used, oh, twenty years ago when my shit-ass boyfriend, who was also the Love of My Life, told me he was in love with someone else.

“Her name is _____,” Greg said. “She lives next door.”

“What kind of dog is she?” I said, again in that voice. If I had had long red fingernails, i would have been clicking them menacingly on the counter.

“A black lab.”

My heart stopped. You see, Chloe hates black labs. I can’t explain this hatred; it seemed to come out of nowhere twelve months prior. One day Chloe was a friendly, open, I’ll-play-with-anyone kind of dog; the next day I had to pull her off a female black lab who had had the audacity to come say hello to Chloe at the dog park. Since then, any time we see a black lab, Chloe makes a strange rumbling noise—not quite a growl, more like the revving of an engine—and strains determinedly on her leash. It’s the sound of hatred, I guess, of exacting some sort of revenge. But for what? I thought dogs were colorblind.... Maybe Chloe, all this time, had been psychic. She knew the love of her life was going to cheat on her with a female black lab.

“Rainbow really loves her,” Greg was saying on the phone. “They play all day long. She’s a really fast dog.”

Chloe, being on the verge of being fat, was not as fast a runner as Rainbow. But that was part of her charm.

“But what about Chloe?” I said to Greg in a whiny voice.

“Chloe’s in Massachusetts. So are you. He has to play with someone.”

So basically it was out of sight, out of mind. Spoken like a true man.

After Greg and I got off the phone, I sat down on the floor next to Chloe. I smoothed out the sun-bleached fur on her ear flaps, I stroked her heart-shaped little brown nose, I told her she was a pretty, pretty girl. I can’t explain how heartbroken I was at even the thought Rainbow loved another dog more than he loved Chloe. That Chloe had been replaced. Just like that. We turn our backs for ten minutes and look what happens! I actually started to cry.

And maybe I was reading too much into this. Now is probably the time to admit that I myself do not have a boyfriend. I am not the love of anyone’s life. No one nips at my neck or my earlobes. So of course it would give me pleasure that at least my dog was getting love! Someone in this equation has to get the guy! I mean, in order to believe in love you have to see it, every day, in action. That’s why so many women read romance novels and see sappy movies. You have to keep that hope alive. Otherwise you become the pathetic single woman who lives alone in Woodstock and apparently lives vicariously through her dog! Geesh!

I did not tell Chloe about Rainbow and his black lab mistress. I simply told her another truth: that we would see Rainbow on September 15^th. Meanwhile, there we were on Cape Cod. Which is not a bad place to be Without Love. We spent our mornings at the shore of a tiny freshwater pond in Brewster, watching the mist rise off the water in the post-dawn light, and revealing the lily pads underneath. Chloe swam around hunting for fish while I meditated and read Harry Potter. In the afternoons we went to the beach, where Chloe hunted for more fish—a smorgasbord at low tide—and I just watched the horizon, never growing tired at how vast and mysterious and promising the world could seem, if you just kept your eyes there rather than on your computer screen. By “you” I mean me. I never leave this computer. Which is probably why I have no love.

But Chloe! She found love.

It happened at the Brewster Book Store, in Brewster Massachusetts. I had gone in to sign some copies of my paperback, and to introduce Chloe to the store owner (Nancy, a real dog lover who has rescued several dogs herself).Nancy had set up a wonderful display of dog-themed books on a small antique table, and had placed, at the table’s base, a large stuffed animal—a black and white husky, with one of those benign Husky smiles on its face. He (I assumed it was a he) was about the size of a Springer spaniel, which is perhaps why Chloe fell so hopelessly in love with him.

You should have seen it! First she stood in front of him and touched her nose to his. (This is what she does to me when she wants my attention—she pokes me with her snout.) Then she went down into a play bow, with her tail swishing madly. Then, because the Husky still had not responded, she barked at him—just a playful, flirtatious little yip. Still, the Husky remained mute, stiff, and guarded.  By this time I had 1) decided that the dog’s name was Skipper, because he looked like a Skipper (all he needed was a red and blue nautical print bandanna and he’d be all set): 2) decided that maybe Chloe wasn’t as smart as I’d always made her out to be.

Chloe poked Skipper with her snout again, and then threw herself at his feet, rolling onto her back and displaying her pink spotted belly. Nothing. She shimmed a little and barked and flailed her legs in the air dramatically. Nothing. Still Skipper remained impassive. Then she finally nipped him on the ankles—a sweet, playful gesture that always worked with Rainbow.

Meanwhile, Nancy and I watched, along with a number of very amused customers. We laughed. We made comments about “men.” How aloof they can be, how non-responsive, how no female can resist the strong and silent type.

I’ve always loved to witness cross-species friendships: the tiny kitten that snuggles with a Pit Bull, the horse who nuzzles a pig, that famous Ridgeback in South Africa who foster-mothered a baby lion. This says to me that love knows no boundaries; that love is simply Love. So even though—standing there watching my dog Chloe flirt with an inanimate object—I worried that she was less intelligent than her other Border Collie brethren, I also told myself that didn’t matter. Who ever said love had anything to do with intelligence anyway?

Finally, fed up with all that ankle-biting, Skipper finally toppled on top of Chloe and then just lay there, on his side. Chloe in response sprung onto all fours--in that remarkably quick ways dogs have—and proceeded to bite Skipper on the throat – another one of her favorite moves with Rainbow. But Skipper just lay there. “I used to date a man just like that,” one of the store customers said. And we nearly died laughing.

About a year ago, I developed a disturbing and all-consuming celebrity crush. I’m really not the celebrity type—I don’t watch TV or read magazines or even see all that many movies. And I certainly have never followed celebrity gossip. But in this case, I happened to meet the man in person, locked eyes with him (eyes as blue as the sea!) and experienced, well, a form of zap that stayed in my system for months. I won’t bore you with the web-trolling, image down-loading, fan-site drooling details....but I will share with you the conversation I had with one of my friends, a lesbian who’d had a similar obsession with Stevie Nicks. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of,” I remember her telling me. “This crush has awakened something in you. Since your divorce you’ve been kind of shut down toward men. You should be thankful that this person has brought back in you your capacity to love.”

“And lust,” I said.

“Oh yes, that too.”

Anyway, seeing Chloe flirt happily and unabashedly with her fake-dog boyfriend made me think fondly of that long-gone celebrity, and of all the happy times we had together (in my head). It made me realize that it can just be so much fun to love someone. It doesn’t matter if he/she does not love you back.

 And what does this have to do with Rainbow? Nothing really. This is a blog, not an essay.

When we got back to Woodstock, the first thing Chloe and I did was visit Rainbow. Their reunion was riotous. Leaping, chasing, biting, throwing themselves at one another. Rainbow brought Chloe one of his latest toys—a little rubber Giuliani—and Chloe immediately stole it from him and then flaunted her triumph, tossing the toy in the air, and refusing to let Rainbow have it. They chased each other around the pool, across the tennis court, in and around a grove of pine trees that bordered the land. They took turns tearing mock-savagely at one another’s scruffs; they bit each others’ rumps and ankles. They played until they were exhausted, and too weak to stand up anymore. And even then, lying together on the rug at the hearth, they played, mouthing each other silently, and clacking teeth.

As I watched them, I found myself filling with happiness again. And relief. It was clear that Chloe was still Rainbow’s favorite girlfriend. She had not been replaced. At least not at this instant. Plus, the thing about Dog Love is, there’s always plenty to go around.

I never told Greg or Rainbow about the stuffed dog. Primarily because they would have made fun of me, and I didn’t want anyone to think of my dog as unintelligent. Plus, I figured what Rainbow didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him. Chloe’s brief affair was like any summer fling....fleeting, insignificant, all style no substance. Rainbow was both Chloe’s Mr. Right and her Mr. Right Now.

Lee Harrington

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Lee Harrington’s best-selling memoir REX AND THE CITY: A WOMAN, A MAN, AND A DYSFUNCTIONAL DOG, came out in paperback this year (Villard 2007). Her award-winning series “Rex and the City” has been appearing in The Bark magazine since 2000.

So Long Otis

On a road trip with my dog, I learned the news belatedly: Otis, the constant companion to Ruff Wear founder Patrick Kruse, passed away at the end of August. The nearly 13-year-old Australian Cattle Dog was put down after complications from bladder cancer became debilitating.

In an email to friends, Patrick described Otis’s full life as sidekick to a dog-gear designer. He swam in the Pacific Ocean, ran and kayaked rivers in California, Oregon, Washington and Colorado. He’d been eye to eye with spy-hopping Orcas in the San Juan Islands, plucked oysters from Westcott Bay, run amok at Crissy Field under the Golden Gate Bridge and on and on.

I had the pleasure of meeting Otis and Patrick at Ruff Wear in Bend, Oregon, last year. (Otis is one of a couple dozen adventuresome pups in my upcoming book, Unleashed: Climbing Canines, Hiking Hounds, Fishing Fidos, and Other Daring Dogs.) That day, while Patrick and I talked, Otis ripped, chewed, and tore at Ruff Wear samples like a puppy—just one of his many duties as a product tester. In younger days, his responsibilities included putting boots through their paces on mountain bike rides, demo-ing dog packs, and test-driving the K-9 Float Coat in mountain rivers.

According to Patrick, Otis was inspirational and instrumental in the development and improvement of many products—the benefits of which extend far beyond all of us who use the products for play. Ruff Wear gear has assisted human-dog teams at Ground Zero, after Hurricane Katrina, and during the war in Iraq, as well as enhancing the lives of individuals who depend on service and guide dogs.

On my tour of the West, I have a Ruff Wear collapsible bowl and dog boots among my supplies. Next hike, we’ll be remembering Otis.

Lisa Wogan

O, Say It Ain’t So

Less than a month after Leona Helmsley’s will left $12 million to a Maltese named Trouble, Women’s Day revealed that Oprah has set aside $30 million for pampering her pets, including five dogs, should they outlive her. I’m glad Oprah loves her dogs, but do you think they’d care if they were forced to survive on say a mere $1 million? Every time I read these stories I think of all the animals—and the people for that matter—who could benefit from this bounty. It’s just so out of whack.

Lisa Wogan

Doggie Da Vincis

Necessity IS the mother of invention! When Mary Stadelbacher of Salisbury, Md., needed to raise money fast to keep her service-dog training business afloat, she got creative ... or rather, her dog did. She figured that if her Foxhound mix, Sammy, could learn to open doors and pick up objects for disabled people, he could learn to pick up a brush and paint. Two years later, paintings by Sammy and fellow "Doggie Da Vincis," are popular for fundraisers as original works and notecards. As far as Stadelbacher knows, her dogs are the only dogs that hold paintbrushes in their mouths to paint at an easel. To see videos of the dogs painting or purchase their work, go to Shore Service Dogs.

Julia Kamysz Lane

Police Dog Dies in Hot Car

During warm weather, most people use common sense and do not leave their dogs in the car. So how do you explain the tragic death of Bandit, a K9 officer whose partner, Sgt. Tom Lovejoy, forgot him in the hot patrol car this past August? The five-year-old Belgian Malinois was in the vehicle for 12 hours before Lovejoy found him dead. Temperatures in Arizona that day had reached 115 degrees. After a two-week investigation by the county sheriff, Lovejoy was arrested and charged with animal cruelty. The investigation determined that Bandit was in the car from about 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. on August 11. During that time, Lovejoy ran errands, napped and went out to eat with his wife. What's worse, Lovejoy is a 15-year police veteran and head of the K9 unit.

Julia Kamysz Lane   

Puppy Buyer Discovers Gruesome Conditions

Last week, a potential puppy buyer drove to Pickett's Pride American Bulldogs, a breeder in north Houston, and discovered dozens of dead dogs and nearly 70 more emaciated animals in need of food, water and clean living conditions. Pickett's Pride owner Kathy Drobina has since been arrested on cruelty charges.

The Houston SPCA was awarded custody of 47 American Bulldogs and 10 cats. Animal Cruelty Investigator Howard Goldman sent an email to dog rescues around the country, asking for their help. He wrote, "We need to find good homes fast to avoid having to euthanize. Please contact me if you know any established rescue that could help the Houston SPCA help these dogs." Goldman can be reached at hgoldman@hspca.org or (713) 869-7722, Ext. 171. The shelter is located at 900 Portway Drive, Houston, TX 77024.

Julia Kamysz Lane

Canine Rabies Going, Going, Gone?

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the canine rabies virus no longer exists in the United States. But don't throw out your dog's rabies tags just yet. While a dog cannot transmit rabies to another dog, the deadly, untreatable virus can still be found among raccoons, skunks and bats, who in turn can infect dogs with rabies.

Sound confusing? I'll say. I was hoping this news meant we'd no longer have to vaccinate our dogs for rabies period. There has been a lot of discussion about the possible harm of overvaccinating our pets. Some of my friends choose to blood titer to determine if their dogs have enough of the protective vaccine in their system rather than automatically get the annual (or in some cases, three-year) rabies shot. Titering is more expensive, but why add more chemicals to my dog's bloodstream if he doesn't need them? For more info on overvaccinating and an important future rabies study headed by Jean Dodds, D.V.M., check out Rabies Challenge Fund.   

Julia Kamysz Lane 

Trail Dogs

Fresh from hiking with my dog in Montana’s Tobacco Root Mountains and South Dakota’s Black Hills, I’m disappointed to run into a news brief in New Scientist. In response to a perceived lack of evidence in the debate over dogs in natural areas, researchers in Sydney set out to quantify their impact. They found that people walking a dog on a leash in national parks frightened away 41 percent of the birds in a 50-meter area. (People alone, even two people, frightened away about half as many). The complete study is available for a $30-download fee from Biology Letters.

I’m all for keeping dogs (as well as miners, loggers, road builders, ATVs, etc.) out of sensitive conservation areas, but I hope these results won’t be used to constrict even further areas where well-behaved, trail-savvy dogs are permitted. During research for a recent book project, I interviewed several folks who hike regularly with their dogs, including members of the excellent Yahoo.com Traildog group. I heard story after story of how dogs enhanced wildlife sightings by quietly signaling the presence of owls, moose, bear, grouse and so on.

For me, and many others, getting my dog OUT is the impetus to hike in the first place. I believe almost anything that deepens our connection to and appreciation for the backcountry is good, because it inspires us to protect it.

Lisa Wogan

p.s. Of course, it goes without saying that trail dogs should be under control at all times and that hikers should apply leave-no-trace practices to their canine trail buddies, including burying or packing out dog waste. Just like everywhere else in our lives with dogs, people who don’t hike smart make it a lot tougher for the rest of us to win acceptance for dogs.

Learning Opportunities

It's September, and one's thoughts naturally turn to...school? Well, yes. Now that summer's frivolity is officially behind us, we might be interested in expanding our horizons, deepening our knowledge base, satisfying our curiosity. If so, here are two possibilities.

Portland, Oregon's Lewis & Clark Law School, home of the National Center for Animal Law, is hosting the 15th Annual Animal Law Conference (September 28 to September 30). The topic this year is "Building Bridges: Strengthening the Animal Advocacy Movement," and the focus is on improving relationships among activist groups for the mutual benefit of animals, humans, and the environment. Among the topics covered are the real issues behind "dangerous dogs" and the debate over civil damages for companion animals. You don't have to be an attorney or even a formal activist to attend! Everyone's welcome, according to conference organizers.

Then, October 19 to October 21, in Valley Cottage, NY, the first-ever camp devoted to Animal Assisted Therapy will be held. It's a weekend of workshops, presentations, and special events for dogs and handlers. The goal is to improve the therapy dog/handler bond and make every aspect of pet therapy safer, more effective and more rewarding. The registration deadline is September 15, and there are a few spaces left, so if you're interested, rush on over to the website and find out more.
Susan Tasaki