Beat This Caption

I am sure it is a very cute picture. Now open the freaking door because we are soaking wet out here. 

Monday Question

Where is your favorite place to be scratched?

Pocket:  My ears, by where they meet my head.

River Song:  My belly, all day long.  I don't even roll over.  People just reach down and scratch

Four Hero Dogs Are Our July 29, 2018 Pups of the Week

Finally, I had a week when I did not have to greet any friends at the Bridge.  We angels have been working hard trying to keep several of our friends and their parents healthy.  We don’t mind. Any week we don’t greet a friend is a victory, and it has been a long time between wins.

So it is time for me to recognize four outstanding pups, all of whom are heroes in their own right.

The first is Lucifer, or, as his family lovingly calls him, Lucy.  Lucifer’s daddy was in his Hutchinson Kansas home with his feet up on his recliner sleeping when Lucy jumped on his lap interrupting a well-deserved nap.  Waking a parent is usually the wrong thing for a pup to do but Lucy had her reason.

Larry’s house had caught on fire, and his smoke alarms failed.  Lucy saved his life by waking him up, and Larry was able to save Lucy’s two siblings just before the house became engulfed.

While Moore lost his house and many of his possessions he said all he cared about was that he, Lucy, and the other two dogs survived, thanks to his heroic little dog.

Sometimes hero dogs don’t have names.  Forty-year-old Marion Ion of Romania found that out the hard way.  He was riding his bike in a wooded area of Mount Semenic at night and crashed.  When Ion tried to move, he found he couldn’t. He was totally alone in the dark and injured.

Mr. Ion heard the sound of paws coming towards him.  Who knew what predatory animal was waiting for dinner?  The animal came near and then lay up against him. It was a stray dog, who, instead of taking advantage of the accident, did what all dogs dog, he took care of an injured human.

When the ambulance arrived the paramedics, put a blanket around Mr. Ion, and the dog stayed nearby to keep him warm.  When Mr. Ion was loaded into the vehicle, the dog got in the ambulance with him. The police removed the dog. When the ambulance left the dog ran down the street after it.

Mr. Ion recovered in the hospital from a dislocated hip and mild hypothermia.  Meanwhile, the hero dog now has a name, Max, and a home, with the vice-president of Caras-Severin county council Ionut Mihai Popovic
.
European dogs are not the only way who can save missing humans.  An 11-year-old boy went for a walk in the woods behind his house and got lost as it became dark and torrential rain started.

Enter Leo, a nine-year-old German Shepherd and a veteran K9 for the Trempealeau County Sheriff's Office who, among his many duties, is a scent tracker.  Leo was given a pair of pajamas the boy had worn the day before. The dog sniffed them, remembered the scent and headed into the woods with his handler.

It was difficult because of the torrential rain.  Leo kept losing the scent. Still, it only took him 15 minutes to find the boy huddled under a tree a half mile from home. The boy was brought to his worried parents and has fully recovered from the incident.

That may have been Leo’s last save.  He is scheduled to retire at age ten for a well-deserved rest.

Our final dog is named Baloo.  He did not save a sleeping dad, a bike rider or a child.  But he did show ingenuity beyond that of the common dog. What do you do when you are hot and want to cool off but don’t want to go outside?  This was Baloo’s answer.

He grabbed the hose, brought the working sprinkler into the house and cooled off in the living room.  Thankfully his mom, Cora Wohr, took a picture of her fun-loving little man before she turned off the water  In his defense at least he did not ask to go to the pool.


I hope to tell you the tales of more hero dogs next week because that means that no friends crossed the Bridge.  Those weeks are coming further apart.

Foley Reports on the FDA's Warning About Grain Free Dog Food

I do feel bad for our parents.  There are so many decisions they have to make regarding our health.  Just when they think they have made the right decision the information changes.

After years of eating the same food, two months ago, my parents decided to switch my sisters to grain free food.  River Song had several feet, and ear infections and Pocket often has a bad tummy. Since they made the switch River hasn’t had any allergies and Pocket’s belly has been better.

Success!

Then the stories started.  Grain free food, long promoted as the gold standard of the pet food industry was the common thread in some dogs who were suffering from DCM or dilated cardiomyopathy which makes the heart weaken and become enlarged causing some dogs to suddenly go into heart failure.

There are dogs who are prone to DCM like Doberman pinschers, Irish wolfhounds, boxers and Great Danes.  But recently veterinarians have seen DCM in golden retrievers, doodle mixes, Labrador retrievers and Shih Tzus.  The common factor in many of these cases has been grain free diets, and, in a few cases, a raw diet.
It is not the absence of grains but what is substituted.  Peas, lentils, chickpeas, and potatoes, which replace the grains in grain free food is being looked like the possible culprit.  Some researchers believe that the carbohydrates are blocking the body’s ability to either make taurine or absorb taurine. Many of the most popular grain free brands, including Blue Buffalo, which my sisters eat, contains taurine, an amino acid used to break down fat, which is good, unless the carbohydrates are blocking the taurine, which is bad. Right now researchers don’t know.  Many of the dogs with DCM have low taurine levels, but some have normal levels, deepening the mystery.

No researcher has named a specific brand of food.  They have mentioned the term “boutique brands” meaning those that are made in small batches and not sold in major retail stores.  They also have said exotic proteins like buffalo, kangaroo, and alligator Poultry and beef does contain taurine which helps keep taurine levels up if taurine is the problem.  

Dog food companies have been trying to outdo each other by raising protein levels for years.  Many consumers think protein equals meat, but often protein equals peas or potatoes. Many dog food companies, will split the carbohydrates up and list a few different types of peas or potatoes under ingredients.  This could mean the main source of protein in your dog's food comes from carbs and not meat.

There are millions of dogs who eat grain free food and below one percent are showing symptoms of DCM.    The vets are still not certain if it is a problem for all dogs or for certain ones who have rare biological issues causing the body to react poorly to peas and potatoes.  The research is in the early stages. But the FDA was concerned enough about grain free food that they issued a warning to consumers.

My parents haven’t decided if they should switch back to food with grains.  The vet tech they talked to said she feeds grain free food and sees no reason to stop.  My parents are weighing the possible benefits of grain free for Pocket’s tummy problems and River’s allergies.  They are going to monitor the research and make a decision when it is time to buy the next bag.




Being a dog parent is hard, and with this new controversy about grain free food, it has got harder.

River Talks with the Resurrected Butterfly Bush

I am happy to report after a perilous spring the butterfly bush is blooming and attracting lots of butterfly angels who fill our lives with beauty and love.

It took a lot of tender loving care from my mom, a good trim, and some of my special puppy growth urine for the bush to thrive.

When I was peeing the bush back to its former glory, I sparked a friendship with my green friend.  Last week, after he had begun to bud again, I heard a voice in my head, much sweeter than the usual voices that reside there.  “Hello River,” it said.

I looked around.  “Hello?” I barked.

“Don’t bark out loud,” the voice said.  “No one can hear me and dogs who bark to themselves have to attend special classes.  I just wanted to thank you for your efforts to return me to proper health.”

I looked up at the bush.  “Is that you?” I barked.

“Yes,” it said impatiently.  “Now, stop barking out loud, just think what you want to say to me.”
“You mean you can read my mind?” I thought.

“Yes, you dirty little dog.  But you are not as weird as that strangelYorkie you pal around with.  Now listen, I thought I was a goner during the winter. I was cold, alone, buried in snow.  I could feel myself bending further and further to the ground. Some of my branches broke off; it was a grim existence.”

I didn’t know what to think, and I was trying to keep my mind clear from thoughts I did not want to share.  I gave the bush a lick of kindness.

“When the snow melted, and I was all bent, hanging over the driveway, I was sure your parents were going to cut me down to nothing.  I heard you thinking that I should be given a chance, and I could read your parents seeing the thoughts in your eyes and agreeing to give me a chance.”

“Can you read my parents thoughts?” I asked.

“Oh sister, you don’t even want to go there.  That is one dark, scary place. Just think of them as the kind, loving people they are and don’t wonder what goes on behind the curtain.  But luckily, in the midst of all their twisty thoughts, they decided to cut me back, water me regularly, and give me lots of love. When the sun got high, and the days warmer, I could feel myself become stronger and then one day I felt bursts of energy running down my branches and viola, I had buds.”

I told the bush that I was very happy it recovered and brought pretty butterfly angels to the yard. 

 Butterfly angels are good luck, and we can always use that. Then I asked how much my special pee helped him recover.

“Oh, about that,” the bush said.  “I would appreciate it if you would stop pissing on me.  It doesn’t help and tastes terrible. But outside of that, I thank you very much, and if you ever need shelter from the rain, you just stand under me.  Just make sure you don’t tell anyone, people think dogs who communicate with bushes are barking crazy.”


But I had to share the story of the saved butterfly bushes with all of you and give you the message to never give up even when they think you are barking crazy

Wordless Wednesday

Beat This Caption

As I stand in front of my puppy training graduates today I want to remind you that while we are obedient we are not subservient, while we may come when they call we still do so by own our free will.  We don't chew the shoes, or pull on the leash, or bark at every noise because that is what we choose.  We may be good dogs but we still reserve the right to chase a squirrel or poop in your slippers.