For those who say, ‘No kill? No way!’ — read and learn

Springfield, Ill., and Lynchburg, Va.,  are almost 600 miles from each other. One is a state capital, the other a sleepy rural college town. Yet the two communities share an important characteristic — they are both stunning examples of No Kill successes. Brent Toellner, the tireless creator of KC Dog Blog, recounts the drop in kill numbers, and notes the formula rarely deviates.

What is amazing about all of these success stories is that they are amazingly the same … and they all begin with the leadership at the shelter making the decision to quit killing.

Then, the solutions become obvious. They include providing low cost spay/neuter options. Doing aggressive marketing of the animals that need homes. They include building up a volunteer base and foster homes and doing off-site adoption events. It includes proactive efforts to reunite lost pets with owners and reaching out to the public to ask for their help and support and embracing the community (instead of blaming them for your problems).

It isn’t about the shelter, the region of the country, or what kind of pets we’re talking about. It’s about a community that wants to think differently.

Funeral dirge on Beale: Meanwhile, Memphis is still broken. You won’t be surprised to learn they’re not a No Kill community. (thanks to alert reader John Robinson)

Mice still playing across the pond: So they hire a new cat to patrol the premises at 10 Downing Street. Larry is in charge of mouse control at one of the world’s most famous addresses and…he’s doing a terrible job. MSNBC is on top of the story.

Barely had the 4-year-old tabby lapped up his first saucer of milk on the job, when a whiskering campaign began against him. He was, some said, simply not up to the job.

“He has shown no interest in the many mice in Downing Street,” said one of Larry’s anonymous accusers (cattily) from inside Number Ten. And, unusually for that place: “There is a distinct lack of the killer instinct.”

The problem is that he spends too much of his time, well, sleeping.

You can insert your own joke here.

Feline CSI: Now for some good kitteh news – your cat can help solve crimes (even if she’s asleep). As Discovery News explains, the fur shed by cats can have sufficient genetic material to be used as evidence.

Fur from a fluffy, white house cat has already been used in a murder trial. The accused, Douglas Beamish of Canada, had cat fur stuck to one of his pockets in a discarded jacket. The fur was genetically linked to victim Shirley Duguay’s cat, Snowball. The evidence helped to convict Beamish of second-degree murder, leaving him with a 15-year prison sentence.

So if some dastardly crime befalls 10 Downing, Larry can do something helpful.

A hero among us: Rob McMillian is a Facebook friend of mine. I have to admit that until I read this Culver City News piece about Rob and his wife Helen, I had no idea this man has done something so remarkable. Love, training and unswerving patience can accomplish wonders. Bravo, Rob.

Cami, get me a beer: I’m old enough to admit my all-time favorite Saturday Night Live commercial was for Shimmer. Today, there’s Bark4Beer. I make no judgments on the product. I am merely passing along the information.

Farewell, Bri: Wayne Mates is a dear friend and fellow Syracuse alum (Go Orange!). His website is devoted to tips and tricks for small business entrepreneurs, but he took time out to compose a tribute to his late dog Bri that choked me up until I couldn’t speak. Thank you for sharing this post with us, Wayne.

Finally, a chuckle: Once you’ve recovered from that, you can cheer up by watching Simon’s Cat cope with sticky tape.

I always like to hear from readers, especially if you have tips, and links for interesting stories.  Give me a shout in the comments, or better yet, send me an e-mail.

Photo credits: Happy dog, flickr creative commons (wsimmons). Bri, waynemates.com

View the original article here

Oh those teenage months: Sisko is there!

Sisko, at eight months of age, has hit adolescence. And boy has he!

He’s challenging and pushy, loving and affectionate, bold and brassy, and fearful and cautious. He’s long-legged and gangly, and his adult coat is just coming in so he looks slightly moth-eaten. If he weren’t so tragic I’d laugh at him.

I have to admit, Bashir and Archer spoiled me. Bashir never really had an adolescence; I think he sprang from his mother’s womb mentally an adult. All he had to do was grow up physically. And Archer had an adolescence but he hit it a little later –  he was slow to mature –  and so it was short and not at all a problem. Riker, who is going on twelve, was our last dog who had a challenging teenage stage. So it has been a few years.

But that’s not to say I don’t deal with canine adolescence. I talk to dog owners about it on a daily basis. So many people have a wonderful puppy who’s doing so well and then the puppy hits 8, 9, or 10 months of age and changes! They call me or come to class and wonder what on earth happened to their sweet puppy. But when I explain, “Well, think about yourself at 14, 15 or 16 years of age … “  they understand.

I always remind them that when a puppy hits adolescence his behavior hasn’t changed just to torment them; it’s a natural part of the growing up process. Dogs, horses, people –  we all go through this. But now that my puppy has hit this stage, it is hard to remember that he isn’t doing this to me. When I ask him to sit and he stands, or lays down, or turns away; or when he carries twenty rocks into the house; or chases the cat who already wants to kill him; I have to tell myself, “His brain is growing and changing; it’s not his fault.”

I will admit, though, that watching Sisko with the other dogs has been interesting. It’s a constant lesson in this stage of life, as well as body language, canine communication, and canine social order.

Bashir and Sisko play often. They run, chase toys, chase the wild rabbits at the training yard, and even wrestle. They’re good friends and Bashir is a good role model. When they’re napping, Sisko is usually close to Bashir, if not touching him.

At the same time, though, Bashir doesn’t let Sisko get away with anything. Bashir knows deep in his soul how dogs are supposed to behave with and around each other and he doesn’t tolerate rudeness. He’s patient, calm, and steady as a rock. But, don’t body-slam him unless he’s playing, and don’t try to take his toy or bone. He makes an ugly face and if Sisko doesn’t back down, there’s a growl, a quick lunge and Sisko is on his back. Where he generally stays for a few seconds, and if he could I’m sure he’d ask if anyone saw the truck that hit him.

Archer was sick for two months of Sisko’s puppyhood and I have to admit, Sisko was awesome with him. He was gentle and didn’t pick on Archer, or push him. But apparently now that Archer is all better now the gloves are off. These two are closest in age and Sisko apparently thinks Archer would make a great playmate. Archer’s getting back to normal and the two are playing more. However, when Archer — who is very patient — loses his patience, he’ll tell Sisko off with an impressive growl. Since Archer rarely ever growls, everyone — including me! — pays attention.

The biggest change has been in Riker. When Sisko joined our family Riker made it plain he’d already raised Bashir and Archer and he hadn’t asked for another puppy. He wasn’t rude to the puppy; instead, he ignored him. Even at five and six months of age, Sisko had figured out he could pick on the old man and Riker would just turn his head away. I don’t allow any bullies in the house so I stepped in and interfered; Sisko was not to bully Riker.

However, in the last month or so Riker must have realized that Sisko was turning into a teenager because he’s started letting Sisko know that he won’t allow rude behavior either. The other day when Riker was chewing on a bully stick, Sisko had finished his and went over to Riker and stood over him. And I mean, stood over him with his nose an inch from Riker’s ear. In the past, Riker has just gotten up and walked away, leaving his bully stick behind so Sisko can have it.

But this time apparently Riker had enough. I heard this deep growl that must have originated in Riker’s belly. I think Sisko was as surprised as I was because he didn’t look at Riker, he looked around the room, “Who was that?” But then looked down at Riker again. This time Riker pinned his bully stick down with a front paw and stood up, growling again. Keeping his paw on his bully stick, he looked the puppy in the eyes and growled a third time. Sisko backed up as fast as he could, tripping over his back feet as he did.

I couldn’t help it, I laughed. As Sisko pouted on the other side of the room, Riker laid down to finish his bully stick. I don’t think Sisko moved for twenty minutes. I think I giggled for that entire twenty minutes.

View the original article here