ASPCA Guide To A Pet-Friendly Valentine’s Day

I want to share with you this helpful article from the ASPCA on how to have a pet-friendly Valentine's Day.

http://www.aspca.org/site/PageServer?pagename=pets_valentine

Multi-Tasking in the Animal Kingdom

This morning, while my humans were eating, I heard one of them make an odd comment........ He said, "Look how only one of Ginny's ears turned toward you when you went into the kitchen, while the other one stayed turned toward the television." What did he expect?--There was a 2-hour special interview with Eddie Murphy on Bravo--You know, Dr. Doolittle?! (A dog hero, if I ever met one!). Of course I'm going to keep listening. Even so, that wasn't what he was surprised about. He seemed surprised that I could listen to two things at once. That's like being surprised that a human can use his hands and his feet when driving a car. I have two ears--It seems mighty obvious to me that I could use them for two different things. This, my friend, is just simple multi-tasking. Not that I want to sound negative, but humans are always thinking that they are the only species with any real talent. Well, let me give you a few more examples: (1) Dogs can separate out individual odors, when they are mixed, whereas humans smell only one conglomerate; (2) Crabs use their large claws for both tools and weapons; (3) Elephants use their trunks not only for smelling (obviously), but also for scratching, bathing, drinking, moving objects, and play-wrestling; and (4) (This one's my favorite!) Dolphins and whales sleep with one-half of their brain at a time!--Take a look at this web page to read about this: http://science.howstuffworks.com/question643.htm


"On land, human beings and other mammals breathe involuntarily: If we don't make a decision to breathe or not to breathe, our body will take in air automatically. Because of their undersea environment, whales and dolphins must be conscious breathers: They have to actively decide when to breathe. Consequently, in order to breathe, they have to be conscious. This presents a problem, since mammalian brains need to enter an unconscious state from time to time in order to function correctly (see How Sleep Works to find out why this might be).


"There's plenty of time for a dolphin to catch a catnap between trips to the ocean surface, of course, but this isn't a viable option. When you're a conscious breather, it's just not feasible to be completely unconscious -- what if you don't wake up in time? The solution for whales and dolphins is to let one half of the brain sleep at a time. In this way, the animal is never completely unconscious, but it still gets the rest it needs.


"Scientists have studied this phenomenon in dolphins, using electroencephalography. In this process, electrodes hooked up to the head measure electricity levels in the brain. The resulting electroencephalograms (EEGs) of dolphin brains demonstrate that in the sleep cycle, half of the dolphin's brain does indeed "shut down" while the other half is still active. Researchers have observed that dolphins are in this state for approximately eight hours a day."

Now There's a GPS Locator for Dogs

I heard of an interesting new product to help owners find lost dogs. It's a GPS tracking collar for dogs. I've heard about wild animals getting radio collars so that researchers can track their movements, but imagine a dog wearing a collar like that. I guess it's not quite like the ones the wild animals wear, because this one is not a real radio. Even so, it makes it so that a dog like me can be found if we get loose and go off some where to have a good time. I heard a crazy story about my sister Dixie getting lost in a blizzard last year. She was lost for 3 days and was found 10 miles away from home, frantic and exhausted. She was located because her owner had put a story about her on the radio and a man called saying that he saw this German shepherd running back and forth at the other end of his snow-covered field, but he couldn't get near it, because it was so scared. He called the number given on the radio and, sure enough, it was my sister. I heard that when Dixie heard her owner calling her name, she went barreling toward her and leaped into her arms.

Anyway, I'm off the subject of these new collars. They are made by Zoombak and their web site information is at http://www.zoombak.com/products/pet/. I have a microchip implanted under my skin, which has an advantage of not being removable, but it still has to be scanned and called into the proper place for me to be located. I like the idea that I can be located directly. I think my person is going to find out a little more about it. One thing I do know is that the Zoombak collars cost $200. (Well, really $199.99, but that's an awful lot like $200 in my book.)

Something Called the Super Bowl

There were some strange goings-on at my house last night. It had something to do with a game humans play, using a football. Now, I have a football toy--in fact, I have two, although one is small and soft and yellow and squeeks a lot and the other is brown and kind of hard and used to have a rope through it until I chewed off the knots and my person-partner threw away the rope. For humans, though, a football is WAY more than just a toy.

I know that this game has been on their television before. Why everyone was in such a state about it last night was quite puzzling. I'd be nice and relaxed on my bed and then one of my humans would jump up and scream "Yes!" and other exclamations. Then, just as I was getting settled again, something else would happen--sometimes, good--sometimes, bad. All I know is, that when the game was over, I thought someone had died. In fact, I had to go sniff everyone, just to make sure they were all OK. Why can't humans be more like dogs? After all, a game is just a game, right?

Photo credits: Football--from: morethanderby.com; hobieWithFriends--3 dogs carrying football, from hobietails.com

Hedgehog Day-Dreams Continue

Well.... My daydream continued this afternoon. I was staring out the glass slider and listening to the wind and freezing rain hit the window. I started drifting toward sleep and remembering the story my mind had concocted the other day. The next thing I knew, the tree branches whipping around outside started to look like large, soaring birds, carrying objects in their talons. And so, another daydream was born.
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Piggy rolled up into his self-protective ball and kept his eyes closed. This time he didn't think he was about to die, but he was not about to look down at the ground! He could hear the other three hawks nearby, and then one more pair of wings, that flapped more slowly than the hawks, and he realized that Golda had taken off just after they did. In several minutes, they were in a quiet stand of stately, tall trees with huge, spreading branches. The bird that was carrying him settled onto a branch and held him gently until he unrolled himself, so that he wouldn't roll right off the branch and fall to the ground. When he was back to his normal shape and looked around, he saw that he and his hawk partner, whose name was Harmon, were lined up on one branch, along with each of the other 3 hedgehogs and their respective partners. Directly in front of them and on a slightly higher branch, was Golda the eagle.
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Golda cleared her throat and addressed the hedgehogs first. "Young men. We are asking you to participate in an endeavor that could be critical to maintaining the stability of the entire human race, perhaps even of this planet. However, I want you to know that you will completely free to go after I have explained the role we are asking you to play. We want no one to stay against his will. Should you choose not to participate, your partner will take you back to where you were picked up and you will not be approached again."
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The boys shifted excitedly, eager to learn what was going on. There perspective on the world had been quite limited until this point, so they were ready to begin a new adventure. Golda continued: "There are powers in the universe about which humans know very little. Some of them are very, very good and some are extremely evil. We have learned that some of the forces of evil are accumulating great strength in the far northern regions. We need to fight them before it is too late. Your mission will be dangerous, but it is vital to our success in the North. That is all I am permitted to tell you. If you choose to accept this mission, you will learn all the details, but you will be sworn to secrecy. It is imperative that humans not learn of the danger they are in, because they are totally unprepared to handle it, yet they would try. And, if they try, they will be destroyed. If you want to join with us, now is the time. Proceed toward the trunk of this tree, where we can talk more privately.
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Piggy did not know what to expect from the other three, but he himself felt in his heart that he was made for this moment. Immediately, he stood up and started moving toward the trunk. One at a time, two of the other three followed. Only one stayed behind. Without another word, the hawk who had been with him lifted him gently and flew off.
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After a sharp crack and a crash as a branch broke off and landed on the deck, I was suddenly fully awake. This time, I really looked forward to another day-dream. Maybe I'd find out what happened next.



Photo credits: (in order) Harris' Hawk in flight--from picasaweb.google.com--DSCN1039b, Hedgehog--rolled--from stedmundscollege.org, goldeneagle--from hampshirecam.co.uk, Young hedgehog--sarabel, from talltalesaudio.com, Harris' Hawk, from webshots--2107209600048216361mkSPgJ_fs, Hawk high in tree--from falcontryconcepts.com--IM000036