Mutts

Top 10 costliest canines

Mon, 12 May 2008 11:50:00 -0500

A British insurance company has put together a list of what breeds people spend the most money on, and the biggest bucks, it turns out, go to the smallest dog.

Chihuahuas -- the breed favored by Paris Hilton and Britney Spears (who reportedly once treated her dog Bitbit to a $180 steak at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas) -- cost their owners about $44,000 each, much of that presumably in clothing, jewelry and other luxuries.

The labrador, by comparison, has about $15,000 spent on it in the course of its life.

The study surveyed 3,000 dog owners in Great Britain and looked at the amount spent for vets, food, grooming, kennels and insurance, spread over the breed's average life expectancy.

On average, the study said, a dog owner spends about $15,000 during its lifetime.

"Today's household pets are treated more like members of the family and this attitude is reflected in the amount owners spend on their pets' lifestyle," said Mike Pickard, head of pet insurance at esure, which conducted the study.

The research found that vets' fees are the biggest expense of owning a dog, followed by food and kennels. Nearly 40 percent of dog owners had no idea how much their pet was costing them, according to a story about the study in the UK Daily Record.

Here are the top 10: 1. Chihuahua 2. Greyhound 3. Mastiff 4. Boxer 5. English setter 6. Doberman pinscher 7. Golden retriever 8. Poodle 9. Dalmatian 10. Great Dane

(AP Photo)

Hair of the dog? It's healthy

Mon, 12 May 2008 06:50:02 -0500

Having a dog in the house reduces the risk that young children will develop allergies later in life, German researchers say.

The finding, based on a six-year study of 9,000 children, lends weight to the theory that growing up with a pet conditions the immune system and makes it less sensitive to potential triggers for allergies like asthma, eczema and hay fever.

“Our results show clearly that the presence of a dog in the home during subjects’ infancy is associated with a significantly low level of sensitisation to pollens and inhaled allergens,” said Joachim Heinrich of the National Research Center for Environmental Health in Munich.

To read more about the report, click here.

Cat people - dog people

Sun, 11 May 2008 08:00:00 -0500

There are dog people and there are cat people, or so the stereotyping goes.

Cat people (like cats) are a little more mysterious, self-centered and independent, sometimes bordering on aloof; they are capable of entertaining themselves for hours on end, more tricky, more circuitous, more manipulative.

Dog people (like dogs) are more prone to dominance and co-dependence, crave constant attention and are more open, outgoing, social and likely to drool.

But a new study from Ball State University says that those stereotypes -- when it comes to the animals and the people -- are, well, stereotypes. And it suggests people should choose their companion animals not on the basis of species, but on how their individual (human and pet) personalities match up.

Rent-a-dog gets chilly London reception

Sun, 11 May 2008 07:45:10 -0500

Flexpetz, an American company that rents dogs in Los Angeles, San Diego and New York, is now setting up in London, and the initial reception is chilly, at least from animal welfare advocates.

We introduced you to FlexPetz back in December. By March criticism of the concept was surfacing around this country.

So far, only one dog is ready to rent in London, an 18-month old Pomeranian named Gucci, according to an article in London's Sunday Times Online. But more dogs are being recruited, said Pippa Woollard, the Flexpetz facilitator there.

Five people will be able to share Gucci, renting him once a week for £279 a month, a higher rate than the company is charging in the U.S. “It is just much more expensive in Britain to own a dog. We have to ensure the correct veterinary treatments and checks are made and pet food is also dear,” she said.

Woollard said Gucci is well cared for and lived with a family that had other dogs on the outskirts of London. She would not disclose whether the family was paid, but said that all the dogs to rent were owned by Flexpetz.

The company plans to open another branch in Glasgow later this year.

“There will almost certainly be an emotional impact for the dogs as they are moved from owner to owner and from home to home," said David McDowell, a veterinary adviser at the RSPCA. "Most dogs need the security of a proper routine with one owner and without this they could become stressed and unhappy.”

Sarah Carlin, a spokeswoman for the Dogs Trust, said: “Who does this service really benefit? Dogs need a stable routine and a constant owner to bond with and whilst the various ‘owners’ may provide treats and affection, the charity is concerned about the emotional impact on the dogs involved.”

Grounded eagle cleared for takeoff

Sat, 10 May 2008 08:12:00 -0500

Three months after she was apparently struck by an airplane at Orlando International Airport, this eagle was recently released back into the wild in Florida.

She was the 346th rehabilitated eagle released by The Audubon Center for Birds of Prey in Maitland, Florida.

A wildlife management agent at the airport discovered the eagle with multiple fractures to her wing and bruises all over her body. Volunteers suspect she was clipped by a plane and then tumbled on the ground, said Lynda White, EagleWatch Coordinator for the center.

Founded in 1979, the Audubon Center for Birds of Prey has treated over 12,000 injured or orphaned raptors,more than 40% of which have been returned into the wild.

The center handles the largest volume of eagles, owls, falcons, hawks, and kites east of the Mississippi River, provides environmental education programming, fights to save endangered and threatened birds of prey and operates an "Eagle Cam," which you can view here.

To see an award winning PBS special on the organization click here.

(Photo by Red Huber/Orlando Sentinel)

Your dog could be Miss September

Sat, 10 May 2008 08:07:00 -0500

Only a month remains to submit a photo of your pet for inclusion in the Maryland SPCA's 2009 Pet Calendar.

The 9- by 12- inch wall calendar features pictures of area dogs, cats and other animals submitted by animal lovers.

For $35, your pet will appear in the calendar, you will receive a calendar, and -- while all entries get pictured -- your pet's photo will be entered in a contest and could be chosen for the calendar cover or each month's pet-of-the-month spread.

Photos must contain only animals, no people, and must be color prints, 4 by 6 inches or larger, or high-resolution (300 dpi) digital photos. Entries must be submitted by June 2, 2008, and are not returned.

For more details and an entry form, visit the SPCA's calendar webpage or call Carrie Price at 410-235-8826, ext. 133.

Coming to CBS: The Greatest American Dog

Fri, 09 May 2008 12:50:00 -0500

Yet another dog "reality" show is in the works -- this one tentatively titled Greatest American Dog -- in which 12 owners and their dogs will live together and compete in games that test their ability to train their dogs.

Part of the new CBS summer line-up, the show will offer a top prize of $250,000 and will be hosted by Jarod Miller, the co-host of PetFinder on Animal Planet and former executive director of the Binghamton Zoo in New York. It premieres July 10.

You can find the CBS press release here.

Animal Planet's Groomer Has It, in which dog groomers compete and live together, premiered earlier this year.

City to skeeved mom: Poop happens

Fri, 09 May 2008 10:55:00 -0500

If you thought the guy suing the family of the dog he killed with his car was mind-boggling, check out this one: A New York woman who took her family to visit the Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk, Conn., has filed a $100 claim against the city because her 1-year old son stepped in dog feces outside the Maritime Garage.

The incident, says mom, ruined her child’s shoes and the entire outing.

The city's official response: “Poop happens.”

If anybody should be able to understand that, you'd think it would be the mother of a 1-year-old.

Norwalk officials will deny the claim, city attorney M. Jeffry Spahr said.

Mahopac, N.Y., resident, Kelly DeBrocky filed the claim with the city clerk on April 7. It came across Spahr's desk this week, according to this scoop in the Stamford Advocate.

"I was just really skeeved, I thought the whole thing was disgusting," DeBrocky told the newspaper. DeBrocky wanted the city to reimburse her for $54 she spent at Stride Rite replacing her toddler's ruined shoes, and the wasted $50-plus in expenses she spent for parking and aquarium admission on April 5.

Spahr said the city doesn't dispute that the incident took place -- that said 1-year-old's foot did land in said pile of poop -- but he doesn't see why it had to ruin said shoes or said day.

“I don't know why the shoes are ruined. I've mowed the lawn a lot of times, we have a dog, and the same things happens to me, I just squirt them off. I don't understand why she couldn't run the shoes under water."

Opening the lid on canned hunts

Fri, 09 May 2008 07:49:38 -0500

Here's a video from the Humane Society of the United States that exposes "canned" hunting for what it is -- unfair, wimpy and, in the words of HSUS president Wayne Pacelle, "an open-air slaughterhouse." The animals are often fenced in, meaning there is no escape. They are often brought in from the outside, meaning they are partially domesticated, and therefore might be unafraid of the intrepid humans who fancy they are bravely stalking wild prey. Most of it takes place on private ranches -- from Texas to South Africa, HSUS says -- where hunters pay a fee and are guaranteed a kill. As if the canned hunt weren't one-sided enough, the HSUS reports that some hunters have taken to using donuts to lure their prey and GPS-equipped hounds to track them down. If all that weren't despicable enough, these hunters -- so as not to damage their trophies -- will often let the animals die slow deaths. For more information, visit the HSUS web site.

Driver sues family of dog he hit

Thu, 08 May 2008 10:20:00 -0500

Not long after Fester, a brain-damaged miniature pinscher, was hit by a car and killed in Minnesota, a lawsuit was filed. By the driver. Jeffery Ely is asking for $1,100 in damages, which includes the cost of repairs to his 1997 Honda Civic, the time he had to take off from work to get his car fixed and court fees. Pieces of his bumper were propelled into the radiator when he struck the 13-pound dog, Ely said, necessitating a replacement. According to a story by the Duluth News Tribune, the case will be heard in St. Louis County Court tomorrow. Fester's owner, Nikki Munthe, said Fester squeezed out the door of her home near Cloquet in January and ran into the street, where he was struck by Ely’s car and killed instantly. Fester, she said, had suffered seizures as a reaction to vaccines as a pup, causing brain damage. The family named him Fester after the character from the Addams Family because “he really was not that bright,” she said. Ely said he feels sorry for the family’s loss but feels they should be held responsible for their pets’ actions. He spent more than $600 putting a fence in his backyard to keep his own dogs contained. “I have complete compassion for them,” Ely said. “I know how it feels. I love dogs. But once you get them, they are your responsibility.” The Munthes have filed a countersuit.

Lap dogs and driving don't mix

Thu, 08 May 2008 06:35:00 -0500

Driving with a pet on your lap may soon become illegal in California. The state Assembly on Monday, saying pets can distract drivers no matter how well-behaved they are (the pets, that is), approved a bill to ban people from driving as they hold dogs, cats or any live animal. The bill, which calls for fines of $35, now moves on to the Senate. "You have a potential major risk of an auto accident when you have a live pet that can be around in your face, in the steering wheel, down on the floor under your feet," said Assemblyman Bill Maze, R-Visalia. The San Jose Mercury News reported that opponents of the bill include Assemblyman Martin Garrick, R-Carlsbad, whose spokesman said Garrick's "dogs are like his kids. He knows best how to handle them.They're very well-trained and well-behaved. ... If he wants to have his dogs riding in the front seat with him, then that should be the case." Talking on a cell phone while driving -- without a hands-free device -- has also been outlawed in California under a bill that takes effect in July.

Feline Cuisine, with your host ...

Wed, 07 May 2008 12:34:00 -0500

I'd bet big money it's only a matter of time before there's a TV series about cooking for your pet -- the only question is who will get to it first, the Food Network or Animal Planet.

Then it will be only another matter of time before there's a show in which 12 pet-food cookers will live together (with their pets and their pet food ingredients) in the same house, competing for the title of best pet food cooker.

I probably won't watch either, but I did watch Sun reporter Jill Rosen's excellent video (with videographer Monica Lopossay) about attempting to become personal chef to her handsome cat, Leo.

Jill's story, along with some dog and cat food recipes, appears in the Taste section of today's Sun (and underneath the video if you visit this link).

If you are a TV executive and you are interested in Jill hosting a pet cooking show (better make that cooking for your pet show) -- as opposed to, say, Rachel Ray, Martha Stewart, or some other overexposed host -- contact me, as I am her agent.

If you are interested in casting Leo Sesame in a starring role, preferably in a major motion picture, contact Jill, as she is Leo's agent.

Mandatory dog houses: Yes or no?

Wed, 07 May 2008 07:30:00 -0500

In Anne Arundel County, a controversy continues to fester over a county law that requires all dog owners to supply a dog house if their pet spends time outside. The County Council, as a Sun article today points out, is reviewing the law, and considering revoking it, in light of an Edgewater environmentalist's complaint about animal control officers threatening to take her dog and cite her because her collie lacks a dog house. Officers gave Anne Pearson a warning in March and attempted to cite her, but she refused to sign and took her complaints about the law to a council member, who has introduced a bill to withdraw, or at least alter it. The council discussed the matter at a meeting Monday. Specifically the law requires that "for each dog confined or tied outdoors, an owner shall provide a shelter to protect the dog from the wind, snow, rain, cold and sunlight." It goes on to specify that the shelter have a floor, roof, four walls and a doorway, a resting board or bedding, and be big enough to allow a dog to stand up, lie down and turn around without touching the sides or top. To me, the law is a case of good intentions run amok. Yes, dogs who live outside -- or even just spend the day outside -- should have shelters, and water, and they should not be chained. But requiring doghouses, built to specifications, for any dog that spends any time outside, is going overboard. If a dog owner has left a dog outside in harsh weather conditions, he should be prosecuted for abusing or neglecting his dog -- for cruelty to animals, not for not having a four-walled doghouse. And having animal control officers spend their time looking for dogs without dog houses -- they've issued nearly 175 warnings and handed out more than 50 citations since 2005 -- is probably not the wisest use of their time. Last August, on a day that reached 98 degrees, a Rottweiler named Bogus was found dead of heat exhaustion in his front yard in Brooklyn Park. His owner had put him outside at 8:30 a.m. and fallen asleep. Bogus' owner eventually was convicted of animal cruelty. That he also broke a little-known county law mandating doghouses is not all that relevant. Anne Arundel County Animal Control officers and the Humane Society say Bogus's fate is an example of why the law is needed. To me, it seems more like evidence that it's not. The law didn't save Bogus. His owner got prosecuted. What are your thoughts? Should dog houses be mandatory? Or should the Anne Arundel law -- violation of which can carry a $50 to $500 fine -- be dumped?

Dogs of Our Lives: Locust Point

Wed, 07 May 2008 06:55:00 -0500

Something tells me that Baltimore's next official dog park -- only the city's second -- is going to be in Locust Point's Latrobe Park.

And no, it's not a Ouija Board (which, by the way, were last manufactured in Baltimore just a block up the road from the Fort Avenue park).

Nor have I gotten word, animal communicator style, from the many dogs to whom the park is already a home away from home -- Dixie, Rocky, Sandy, Turkey, Bogart, Payton, and of course, Natty and Boh among them.

Instead it's the commitment of a spirited group of volunteers who already have received most of the necessary permits and permissions and are more than halfway to raising the amount initially needed to get work underway.

While a dog park may not mean much to Zeus and Apollo (pictured above) -- the two Rottweilers of John And Debbie Kleinsmith stay on their leashes while outside -- to dozens of other dogs and their owners, it means enough to make some sacrifices and spend a lot of time making it happen.

"Dog parks provide a safe and clean place for dogs to interact," said Barbara Wilson, a Locust Point resident who’s helping lead the effort, "and they lead to happier and more obedient dogs, which in a neighborhood as tight as this one is important. It's a stress-free place for them to play."

The group's web site is locustpointdogpark.org.

Volunteers in the group meet the first Saturday of every month to clean the 14-acre park, as a show of good faith.

And they've held a series of benefits at South Baltimore bars to help raise money to build it. The next one is May 15 from 6 p.m. to 9 pm. at Little Havana.

In another fund-raising event, back in December, they sponsored a have-your-dogs-picture-taken-with-Santa event on the waterfront in Locust Point.

(Santa photo courtesy locustpointdogpark.org)

Dogs of Our Lives: Federal Hill

Tue, 06 May 2008 06:15:00 -0500

Sniff around Federal Hill Park long enough, and you're bound to find something interesting.

For those of you with dogs that regularly do just that, this is your, uh, spot.

What -- to a dog and its owner -- is good about Federal Hill Park? (Obviously, the view, for one thing.) What's bad about it? (Not a lot of room to run, it seems to me.) What dramas, large and small, are unfolding there?

If Federal Hill is where you routinely walk your dog -- Ace and I only hit it once in a while -- send us the scoop, the gossip, the dirt (and feel free to do so anonymously) via the comment button below.

My impression is, as city parks go, Federal Hill is, for dogs and dog people, a little snootier, a little less welcoming, a little more clique-ish than most -- maybe because of its upscale location.

Even when I lived halfway between Federal Hill and Riverside Parks, I'd generally choose Riverside -- mainly because (though it's illegal in both, and subject to periodic raids by police and animal control) I felt less guilty about letting Ace off his leash there.

Federal Hill Park just seems a more refined place -- one more suited to strolling than romping, though plenty of that goes on as well.

Because it's smaller, and much of the land is made up of the steep hills, it's not the kind of place a dog can run his heart out. Still, there are a good number that gather there nightly to frolic off leash.

As a rule, one runs into more purebreds at Federal Hill, and more "designer mixes," The little dog Ace is checking out above, Deuce (no kidding), for example, is a Shih-Tzu-poodle mix, or, according to her owner, a Shih-poo.

They were enjoying some contemplative bench time the other day, gazing at the city's every expanding skyline, when we interrupted.

Federal Hill Park is also where you will most commonly see Sally Ann Jennings, of Recycled Love, and her crew -- four rescued pooches, the eldest of which she has taken to sometimes pushing in a stroller. (Sally Ann and Federal Hill Park were both featured in my Ace movie, Hey, Mister, What Kind of Dog is That?)

There's probably no better park to sit on a bench and people-watch. It offers a commanding view of the Inner Harbor, and of the rampant condo construction to the east that is gobbling up the sky.

While Federal Hill seems to be a little better maintained than most city parks, it's still riddled with broken glass, especially after outdoor movie nights and assorted festivals take place. While it's quieter than most, it does have its loud moments, like when boisterous high-schoolers pass through after school.

Federal Hill was given its name in 1789 after a celebration honoring the ratification of the Constitution. After the Baltimore riot of 1861, the hill was occupied by Union troops who erected a small fort, with a cannon pointing towards the central business district to ensure Baltimore's and Maryland's allegiance to the federal government.

Today it serves as a seemingly peaceful place to parade one's pooch. Then again, if you take your dog there regularly, you know better than me.

So feel free to get this dialogue going with your thoughts -- lofty or petty (we accept them all) -- by clicking the comment button and writing the next episode of Dogs of Our Lives - Federal Hill.

(Tomorrow: Dogs of Our Lives - Locust Point)