Japanese Patch Measures Pet Stress
April 29th, 2007
by Associated Press
TOKYO — Wondering if your dog or cat is stressed? Just stick a special patch on the bottom of its paw and you’ll be able to tell, according to a Japanese company.
The patch, developed by Japanese company Medical Life Care Giken, purports to measure the stress level of dogs and cats by detecting excessive sweat secretion — believed to be a sign of stress — the Nikkei Weekly reported Sunday.
Dog run idea gets a boost
April 15th, 2007
BY RICK BRAND
April 12, 2007
Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy yesterday put on the dog - or more precisely, more than two dozen pups of all shapes and sizes - to show support for a plan to more than double the number of public dog runs in county parks.The proposal, filed yesterday by Legis. Steve Stern (D-Huntington) and Jon Cooper (D-Lloyd Harbor), would create a committee to identify five new sites - adding to two dog runs at West Hills Park and two others planned at Coindre Hall and Blydenburgh County Park.
In defense of dog
February 25th, 2007
BY CARL MACGOWAN
February 23, 2007
With his service dog, Simba, lying quietly at his feet, a deaf Westbury teenager spoke in federal court yesterday of his anger at East Meadow school officials for barring the dog from school and the damage he sees to the animal’s training.
The 2-year-old yellow Labrador retriever is supposed to learn to respond to sounds, John Cave Jr. told U.S. District Court Judge Arthur Spatt. But Simba’s education is suffering because he can’t go to school.
Destined to serve the blind, some pooches enjoy college life
January 7th, 2007
By CHRIS NEWMARKER
Associated Press Writer
January 1, 2007, 8:55 AM EST
GLASSBORO, N.J. — The youngest students at one university in southern New Jersey get to enjoy all the aspects of college life _ classes, dorm rooms, even courtside seats at the hoops games _ and no bothersome term papers, either.
But these residents at Rowan University are still destined for lives of service, despite each having four legs and a tail.
For a third year, Rowan University students are raising puppies destined to become seeing-eye dogs. About 21 students are in charge of raising six dogs on the public university’s campus, 18 miles south of Philadelphia. Read the rest of this entry »
The matter of staging and caging
December 31st, 2006
Love your pets but be practical, they can kill a deal if buyers are afraid or allergic. Here are some do’s and don’ts
BY AIMEE FITZPATRICK MARTIN
Special to Newsday
December 29, 2006
Many homeowners consider their pets to be more than just animals - they are beloved members of the family. When it comes to renting or selling a house, however, homeowners often don’t realize their furry, feathered or scaly friends may leave some potential buyers feeling they’re barking up the wrong tree.
Dog dancing allows canines and their owners to shine
December 17th, 2006
By CAROLYN MOREAU
The Hartford Courant
December 14, 2006
MANCHESTER, Conn. — Laurie Sullivan is wearing a skintight bodysuit made from crushed velvet fabric that she bought in New York City and shipped to Kansas to be stitched.
Matching fingerless gloves cover her thin arms from wrists to shoulders, which are bare. With one hand, she fidgets with a pair of gray wolf ears attached to a headband. Her long brown hair is pulled back in a ponytail. As she waits her turn to compete in an annual dog dancing competition, she’s worrying that the ears might be a problem.
Bowie, her 2-year-old golden retriever, has never seen Sullivan, of Stamford, wearing wolf ears. Yet, in a few moments, he’s supposed to perform a choreographed routine with Sullivan to “Hungry Like the Wolf” by Duran Duran.
When a companion animal dies
November 26th, 2006
By Denise Flaim
November 20, 2006
Forget sex, no matter what the flavor.
The biggest, baddest taboo in our society is death, says JoAnn Tuzeo-Jarolmen, a psychotherapist from Ridgewood, N.J. Her new book, “When a Family Pet Dies” (Jessica Kingsley Publishers, $14.95), brings the discussion down to hamsters in shoebox coffins and goldfish interred during those somewhat undignified burials at sea.
Read the rest of this entry »
Training the Sharp of Smell for the Whiff of Terrorism
October 23rd, 2006
Hard-bitten soldiers may love the smell of napalm in the morning, but for a frontline sleuth like Quan, nothing quite beats a deep whiff of TATP.TATP is triacetone triperoxide, one of the more common liquid peroxide explosives, the kind used in last year’s London transit system bombings and found hidden in the sneakers of the would-be shoe bomber, Richard C. Reid. Experts say peroxides have become terrorists’ explosives of choice, and government agencies are trying to detect them before they are carried onto buses, trains and airplanes.
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Scooping dog poop turns into million-dollar business
October 15th, 2006
By MATTHEW BARAKAT
AP Business Writer
October 4, 2006, 3:36 PM EDT
FAIRFAX, Va. — Doug Barnhart was so repulsed by the notion of picking up dog poop that he hired a service to do it.But he is gradually overcoming his revulsion now that he’s planning to open his own scoop shop later this year in Virginia Beach, Va.
“I’ve been going into my neighbors’ yards and practicing, steeling myself,” Barnhart said.Barnhart is starting a franchise of Palmyra, Va.-based Doody Calls, part of a small but rapidly growing niche in the pet-care industry focused on pet-waste pickup.
Dog teaches local students fire safety
October 6th, 2006
LONGMONT — The class of second-graders at Fall River Elementary School sat on the carpet, legs crossed, waiting for a special visitor. Their heads perked up as the door began to open, and whispers of anticipation circulated through the room.
“Shadow,” one of the children called as the yellow Lab with a red leash came into the room with his tail wagging.