For the last 20 years, I have always tried to have emergency supplies on hand. First it was because of the ‘millennium bug’ which threatened to shut down utilities and other essential services. Then it was the warnings of New Zealand officials about being ready for earthquakes. I accessed and used many of my supplies during our 2010 and 2011 earthquakes and was pleased to have been prepared.
Since then, I have reviewed my supplies and attempted to keep them re-stocked. A busy life means that I haven’t always been as diligent as I should in doing this (my water purifying tablets expired 3 years ago, for example).
Earlier this year, regions of our North Island were hit by Cyclone Gabrielle and severe flooding. Many people lost their homes. Over the last 10 days, though, I have watched the events in Lahaina, Maui unfold. Climate change has me worried; everyone on this planet is at risk of severe weather events and that includes our pets.
As I write this, there are suggestions that upwards of 3,000 pets on Maui are missing or injured. Many will never be found, which seems to be likely for many human victims, too, because of the heat and destruction of the fires.
The time to prepare is today. Don’t wait.
I have re-vamped my grab bag with an updated pair of glasses, masks, clothes for both Sox and I, a harness (because in the hurry to get him into the car, I may not have time to saddle him up as I usually do), pain medication, an asthma inhaler, a charging cord for my mobile phone, heavy work gloves, and other items.
The bag will be the first thing taken if we have to evacuate in a hurry. The box contains dog treats, batteries, an emergency torch, toilet paper, liquid soap and other hygiene items. I keep a bag of dog food nearby, too, to grab on the way out.
From what has been reported, it seems that many in Lahaina had no idea that they were under threat and that evacuation orders were haphazard. There will be lessons learned from this disaster.
In Canterbury, we get very dry in summer with strong winds. Climate change is supposed to exacerbate this. We live with the ever-present threat of earthquakes. Storms will be more severe in the years to come. Please give some thought to the hazards where you live and plan accordingly.
It’s my hope that I never need these supplies, but it gives me comfort to know that I have them on hand and ready to go if we have to leave our home quickly. I plan to do better at reviewing the supplies; much like the batteries in smoke alarms, they should be reviewed each year when we change clocks to/from daylight savings time.
Kathleen Crisley, Fear-Free certified professional and specialist in dog massage, rehabilitation and canine fitness, The Balanced Dog, Christchurch, New Zealand
“Where we live and who we interact with has a really strong effect on our health and well-being,” said Noah Snyder-Mackler, who is lead author of the study and an associate professor at Arizona State University’s school of life sciences and its center for evolution and medicine. “This link between our social environments and our health extends to many social animals. Animals with stronger social relationships live longer, healthier lives.”
Social companionship helps with healthy aging for dogs, a study says. (Katherine Frey/The Washington Post)
The research, published in Evolution, Medicine & Public Health, surveyed the human parents of more than 21,000 dogs and found that social companionship — with both people and other animals — had the largest influence on healthier aging among dogs. The effect was five times greater than anything else they looked at, such as family finances, household children or the pet parent’s age.
Improving dog and human health
The study is part of the Dog Aging Project, a large community-science research effort started in 2018 and funded by the National Institute on Aging and private donations. It’s led by the University of Washington and Texas A&M schools of medicine and includes more than a dozen institutions, including Arizona State University.
Its goal is to learn how genes, lifestyle and the environment influence aging and disease among dogs. Researchers also hope the insights can help human health.
“Dogs are often considered our closest animal companions and share many aspects of our daily lives,” said Brianah McCoy, an ASU doctoral student and a co-author of the paper. “By studying how the social environment affects dog health, we can gain insights that may also be relevant to human health.”
More than 45,000 dogs overall are enrolled in the aging project. A subset, about 1,000 dogs, are part of a more focused cohort from whom Snyder-Mackler and his collaborators are collecting blood and other biological samples over many years to uncover additional clues.
Having furry friends is linked to better health
The researchers used statistical tools to analyze factors in the dogs’ social environments obtained from surveys completed by dog parents. The questionnaires asked about, among other things, physical activity, environment, dog behavior, diet, medications and preventive medications, health status and owner demographics.
The scientists narrowed their analysis to five key factors — neighborhood stability, total household income, social time with children, social time with animals and owner age — that together might explain how the social environment could affect a dog’s well-being.
They found poorer health among dogs who lived in households with financial difficulties and other stressors, and better health among dogs who experienced more social companionship, such as living with other dogs.
The researchers, however, did not quantify life span, although they plan to do so in the future. “While we can’t say ‘having another dog in the house adds X years to your dog’s life,’ we were able to compare the strengths of the effect of different environmental factors on health,” Snyder-Mackler said.
The researchers cautioned that the results don’t mean that pet parents need to add more dogs to the family or rush their pets to dog parks or doggy day-care.
“We don’t know if the environmental factors we measured caused the health outcomes, so we don’t want to make any strong statements about what owners should or shouldn’t do,” Snyder-Mackler said. “The study just looked at whether you had other animal companions in the house. But it does suggest that having more furry friends is linked to better health outcomes.”
Some dogs may not benefit from social interactions
Scientists not involved in the study pointed out that not all dogs respond similarly.
“Some dogs may find social interactions stressful,” said Clara Wilson, a postdoctoral researcher in the Penn Vet Working Dog Center at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, “and it may not be in the dog’s best interests to force these interactions.”
Courtney Sexton, postdoctoral researcher at Virginia-Maryland College of Vet Med — and who contributes other research to the Dog Aging Project — said her dog would rather play with a ball than with other dogs, and it’s the pet parents’ “job to pay attention to the signals dogs give us.”
Surprising findings
Several findings were surprising, the study authors said.
Having children in the household had a negative impact on a dog’s health.
Dogs in wealthier households were diagnosed with more diseases than those in less affluent homes.
Dogs seemed to be healthier when they lived with older humans, and this effect was stronger in younger dogs.
Children may be detrimental to the health of dogs because of resource allocation, the researchers suggested. “It’s not that kids hurt the dogs or directly affect their health,” said Layla Brassington, a doctoral student at Vanderbilt University, who worked on the study as a master’s student at Arizona State University. “The more children or time that owners dedicate to their children likely leads to less time and effort they can dedicate to their furry children.”
The authors theorize that wealthier households have better access to medical care, and pet parents might seek veterinary services more frequently, which leads to identifying more diseases.
The ages of the dogs also affected the findings, with younger dogs seeming to be “more tuned into the age of their owner and how it impacts their well-being,” McCoy said.
Could dogs benefit from a cat companion?
The researchers did not specifically look at the effect of breeds — they did not have enough detail on individual breeds — or exercise, Snyder-Mackler said. (The Dog Aging Project recently released a study that found physical activity is associated with a better cognitive outcome in dogs.) “What we did see was that the strength of the relationship between the environment and health was similar when we looked separately at mixed-breed versus purebred dogs,” he said.
They also acknowledged one study limitation — the sample consisted of mostly high-income dog parents. A more diverse set could help “unravel the true magnitude of certain variables’ influence on canine well-being,” McCoy said. “It is possible that the effects we found in this study would be even stronger if we had a more varied and inclusive population.”
Most of the pets in the multi-animal households were dogs, and the scientists said there was insufficient data to distinguish between the effects of having additional dogs vs. other species.
“It could be that having other pets — even cats — provides health benefits through companionship,” Snyder-Mackler said.
Earlier this week, the liquidators were called in to oversee the final days of Pet Central, a South Island-based pet retail chain.
I hate to hear when retail staff lose their jobs; they don’t get paid much as it is and they work longer hours at the times of year when most of us wouldn’t (think pre- and post-Christmas). In the pet care business, staff are also predominantly female and so a loss like this one is also an issue for women.
New Zealand’s economy isn’t that great right now and businesses are failing. The good news is that good staff are hard to find and so I wish the best for the retail workers, the groomers and those who staffed the day care. I hope they find work quickly.
And now I put my business hat on. Here’s why I am not particularly surprised at Pet Central’s demise:
It seemed to be growing too fast. Since launching the Pet Central brand, the business decided to compete with other large retail chains – namely Animates and Petstock. From what I could see, though, it had few points of difference. It spent a lot on advertising with bus wraps and billboards. It seemed to want to market strongly on being NZ-owned and then, when it opened its Papanui flagship store in 2020, it included a day care and cafe. The cafe didn’t make it and was closed for quite a while before undergoing a ‘relaunch.’ If a cafe failed the first time around, it was unlikely to suddenly thrive particularly when the Papanui store is located literally across the road from the Northlands Mall food court and hospitality precinct. Hospitality is a mean business.
In big retail, I’m not convinced being NZ owned and operated means that much. A good example is Mitre 10 (NZ owned) vs Bunnings (Australian owned). If you want your big retail hardware fix, most people have a preference but seems to be based on prices, products and location rather than country of ownership. Countdown is Australian owned, Pak N Save is Kiwi owned. Do supermarket shoppers really care that much when time and convenience are at stake?
Pet Central was easily the highest priced chain of all the big pet retail chains. Kiwi consumers are a price-driven lot. We are widely known as a low wage economy. When times are good, people are willing to pay more. With a cost of living crisis, they become more discerning.
Combine this with the fact that there are only two major wholesalers in the pet industry in this country which means all the stores buy from the same place for a large range of products. You can’t mark up a product significantly from your competitors and retain loyalty amongst a large portion of customers; smaller retailers excel at growing customer loyalty and providing service which enables them to survive.
Pet Central was sold about a year ago to a new owner. What has already been reported to the media is that under the new owner, staff were seeing signs of mismanagement. When I spoke to the liquidator earlier this week, he said that suppliers were in the shops re-possessing stock for which they had not been paid. Whatever remains (and it didn’t sound like much) will be sold.
This is not the first pet business that has gone bust in recent years – and that’s just in Christchurch. In 2021, there was Kuri which closed leaving debts of almost $1 million when it collapsed. This business remains trading at only one location in Christchurch, with different ownership. In 2022, there was The Barkery which opened in April and was closed by October. Promoted as a social enterprise, it was still a business that needed to make money before it could return profits to its nominated charities. Now, in 2023, it is Pet Central.
It takes a lot of resource and time to run a successful retail business and that is before you consider the resources you need to expand. Commercial leases are expensive and the more staff you employ, the higher your wage bill and associated costs like Kiwisaver contributions and ACC levies. Cash flow needs to be carefully managed and suppliers must be paid.
But here is the good news, pet owners probably won’t miss Pet Central for long because you can find products elsewhere. As I said, every pet store has to buy from the same distributors in New Zealand for a lot of the product lines. It’s one reason why customers who reported no stock at Pet Central in recent weeks could easily go and find what they needed somewhere else.
For services like grooming and day care, there are other businesses where these services are core business and not an add-on to retail.
And here’s the gem: there are a lot of niche and great products that you can buy from smaller retailers and online. Christchurch and Canterbury are well-served, for example, for raw pet food suppliers. Take the time to research and you will find what you need.
A lot of very good products are not sold to large retailers because they want unrealistically low wholesale prices which they can mark up. A niche product/producer can’t survive at the margins that big retail expects. Smaller businesses are often more agile at sourcing new products for consumers, too.
If you want to support Made in New Zealand, get shopping online and find the many products available to you. You don’t need big retail for this.
There will always be a place in a modern economy for big retailers; you’ve still got choice. In another year, Pet Central will be a distant memory for many, a fond memory for some, and a sour one for those who have not been paid.
Kathleen Crisley, Fear-Free certified professional and specialist in dog massage, rehabilitation and canine fitness, The Balanced Dog, Christchurch, New Zealand
Families come in all shapes and sizes. And for a majority of Americans, family includes their pets.
Most Americans (62%) own a pet, including about a third (35%) who have more than one. And nearly all U.S. pet owners (97%) say their pets are part of their family, according to a new Pew Research Center survey.
About half of pet owners (51%) not only consider their pets to be a part of their family but say they are as much a part of their family as a human member. Groups that are more likely to say this include:
Women: 57% of women pet owners say their pets are just as much a part of their family as a human member, compared with 43% of men who own pets.
People with lower family incomes: 64% of pet owners in this group consider their pets to be as much a part of their family as a human member, compared with 46% of those with middle incomes and 43% of those with higher incomes.
People living in urban areas: 61% of pet owners in urban areas say their pets are as much a part of their family as a human member, compared with 50% of those in rural areas and 47% of those in the suburbs.
The share of pet owners who think of their pets as part of their family as much as a human member doesn’t vary notably by age, race or ethnicity.
Pet owners’ family situation is also related to how they think about their pets. Unmarried pet owners and those who do not have children younger than 18 at home are the most likely to consider their pets to be as much a part of their family as a human member.
What about dog owners versus cat owners? The difference is narrow, but those who only have dogs (53%) are more likely than those who only have cats (48%) to think of their pets in the same way they think of a human family member.
Who is most likely to own pets?
Most Americans own pets, but some groups stand out as being more likely to do so:
White and Hispanic adults: 68% of White and 66% of Hispanic adults own a pet. By comparison, just 37% of Asian and 34% of Black adults are pet owners.
Rural Americans: 71% of adults living in rural areas have a pet – much higher than the shares in suburban and urban areas. Rural Americans also stand out as the most likely to have multiple pets: 47% of adults in rural areas have more than one pet, compared with 32% in the suburbs and 26% in urban areas.
People who are living with a partner or married: 77% of partnered and 65% of married adults have pets. That share drops much lower to 55% among people who are divorced, separated or widowed and to 49% among those who have never been married.
To a lesser extent, women and people in middle-income families are also more likely than others to own pets. People younger than 65 are the age group most likely to have pets.
Dog versus cat ownership
Dog ownership is more common than cat ownership in the United States.
Among all pet owners:
49% say they have dogs only
23% have cats only
24% have both dogs and cats
4% have neither cats nor dogs
Most pet owners with only one pet say that pet is a dog (69%). Among those with multiple pets:
34% say all their pets are dogs
20% say all their pets are cats
42% say they have both dogs and cats
How Americans think pets are treated
We asked Americans how they think pets are treated compared with people in the U.S.
Some 26% of Americans say there is not enough emphasis on the well-being of pets, and an equal share say there is too much. Roughly half (48%) say there’s about the right amount of emphasis on the well-being of pets.
Pet owners are twice as likely as non-pet owners to say there is not enough emphasis on pets’ well-being. Non-pet owners are about twice as likely as pet owners to say there is too much emphasis.
Among pet owners, 51% of those who say their pet is as much a part of their family as a human member say there isn’t enough emphasis on the well-being of pets. Just 13% of those who say their pet is a part of their family but not as much as a human member say the same.
In turn, 32% of those who say their pets are part of their family but not as much as a human member say there’s too much emphasis on pets’ well-being. Just 6% of those who see their pets the same as a human member of their family say this.
We treat dog walks as a chance to accomplish two (or three) things at once, leading our pooches around the neighborhood while gazing at our phones, chatting with a friend, listening to a podcast or pushing a stroller.
A dog walker checks his phone while guiding dogs on February 21, 2023, at Washington Park in Denver. Photo by: David Zalubowski/AP
The more ambitious among us even incorporate dogs into our exercise regimens, jogging or biking while our pets trot alongside.
It’s understandable. In today’s overscheduled world, this kind of multitasking can feel extra productive. And walking a dog twice a day around the same streets can get boring.
But animal behaviorists say that at best, dog walkers who aren’t paying full attention can confuse or frustrate dogs by giving them conflicting signals. And at worst, they can endanger the dog’s safety — and their own as well.
“It’s kind of like the dog-walking equivalent of distracted driving,” says Leslie Sinn, a board-certified veterinary behaviorist in Ashburn, Virginia. “You’re not paying attention to the signs that your dog is uncomfortable … and if you’re missing all those clues because your head is elsewhere, that’s a problem.”
Dogs can gobble something harmful when you’re not looking
Matt Semrad is an avid reader and devours audiobooks from the library — about one a week. He also spends several hours each day walking his two black doodles, Sirius and Sonny.
So to maximize his reading time, the suburban Atlanta resident listens to books on his dog walks.
“I would be bored just walking the dogs,” he says.
Semrad says he doesn’t worry much about his dogs’ well-being on walks because they’re well-behaved and he watches them closely when they pass other dogs on the street.
Other dog walkers may not be as vigilant. CNN spoke to a handful of animal behaviorists who say they routinely see people walking dogs in their neighborhoods who are on their phones or pushing strollers and appear to be largely ignoring their pets.
This can pose a safety problem for several reasons, dog experts say. Research has shown that only a small percentage of people can multitask effectively. Distracted dog walkers may not notice potential threats: bicyclists, joggers, cars or unleashed dogs, experts say. By the time a person looks up from their phone, their pet could be in an altercation with another dog — or worse.
“You need to be alert at all times,” says Jacob Hollier, founder of Crate Escape, a dog-walking and pet-sitting service based in Atlanta. “If there’s a car out of control or a scooter coming on the sidewalk … at any given moment, it could be dangerous and possibly be fatal.”
Hollier says he requires his employees to stay off their phones while walking dogs — except to snap photos of the dogs to send to their owners.
“I work with an 180-pound Great Dane, and I have to be watching him at all times,” he says. “He’s bigger than me.”
It’s not just the dogs that are at risk. Experts say they have seen distracted dog walkers injure themselves tripping over sidewalks or even their own dogs. One study found that humans’ injuries while dog walking increased more than fourfold from 2001 to 2020.
Also, dogs are notorious for eating stuff that’s bad for them, experts say.
“If you aren’t paying attention, dogs can pick up and eat things QUICKLY — chicken bones, cigarette butts, dead/poisoned rats, etc.,” says Amy L. Pike, a board-certified veterinary behaviorist in Fairfax, Virginia.
“If you didn’t see it, you won’t know to take them into the vet. Or if you do take them in because they are sick, you won’t know what they ingested, which helps your vet treat them.”
Distracted dog walkers can affect pets’ mental health, too
Physical safety is the most urgent concern, but distracted dog walking also can be detrimental to a dog’s behavioral training and even mental health, experts say.
A multitasking dog owner may be missing an opportunity to reinforce basic training — sit, come, stay and other commands — in a practical setting, says animal behaviorist Mary R. Burch, director of the American Kennel Club’s Family Dog program.
Someone buried in their phone also may not notice when their dog becomes agitated or shows signs of fatigue or an injury.
“Your dog ‘speaks’ primarily with their non-verbal body language,” Pike says. “If you aren’t paying enough attention to what they are ‘saying,’ you won’t know how your dog feels.”
Walks are about more than physical exercise for dogs — they offer mental benefits as well, says Valli Parthasarathy, a board-certified veterinary behaviorist at Synergy Veterinary Behavior in Portland, Oregon. Parthasarathy says dogs like structure and consistency on their walks.
If their owner is just marching forward or not paying full attention, the dog could become confused by conflicting signals — for example, being allowed to sniff one bush but jerked away from sniffing another.
Dogs experience much of the world through their nose, and can become frustrated if they’re not allowed some latitude to explore, Parthasarathy says.
“My ideal walk for a dog is one where they have a lot of time to sniff and take in their environment,” she says. “They have their own doggy priorities. Using the nose is their enrichment … it’s like they’re reading the news.”
Parthasarathy says she’s even seen oblivious dog owners yank on the leash while their dog was in the middle of peeing.
A distracted walker also may be missing an opportunity to bond with their dog, says Burch of the American Kennel Club. “Interacting and having fun together forms a bond that can last a lifetime,” she says.
Some dog owners try to multitask during walks without sacrificing their animal’s wellbeing. Teddy Thomas of suburban Atlanta likes to listen to music or audiobooks on his walks with Stella, a tan-colored rescue mix.
“I don’t feel like I look at my phone all that much while I’m walking her,” he says. “I’d say she has most of my attention — maybe not 100% of it, but enough to keep us both safe.”
Parthasarathy says she understands why some people multitask while walking their dogs. Some overworked parents can’t leave their kids behind during dog walks, so they bring the kids along. Other parents don’t have time for separate outings each day.
“Everyone’s trying the best that they can,” she says. “But going for a walk with your dog should be about building that relationship and focusing on what your dog needs. That may be the only time he gets out of the house that day.”
If you have reached the bottom of this article – congratulations and thank you. I had to share it because the reporter has done a good job of seeking commentary from a number of experts and in a range of contexts.
In my practice, I employ a standard intake questionnaire which includes behavioural questions and observations by owners. The more you observe, the better information we have to adjust your dog’s programme and to understand what is going on with your dog in the first place. I often ask owners to record their observations which helps us discern trends.
The dog trainers I work alongside often ask for recorded observations, too.
If you use a dog walker, you can ask them to observe your dog but remember that most walkers undertake group walks and have many dogs to look after. Please take the time to walk with your dog (without multitasking) to enhance your bond and to watch them!
Kathleen Crisley, Fear-Free certified professional and specialist in dog massage, rehabilitation and nutrition/food therapy, The Balanced Dog, Christchurch, New Zealand
Science has shown that violence among monkeys, rats, and mice increases when the weather is warm. Now it seems we can add dogs to the list.
New findings from researchers at Harvard Medical School and Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital show that the incidence of dog bites rises with the temperature. In an analysis of 69,525 cases in eight U.S. cities, the team found that dog bites increased 3 percent on days with high ozone pollution, 4 percent on days with higher temperatures, and 11 percent on days with elevated ultraviolet radiation, a marker of increased sunshine.
Clas Linnman, assistant professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Harvard Medical School and Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, was an author on the paper. We asked him about the team’s key findings in a conversation edited for clarity and length.
Q&A
Clas Linnman
GAZETTE: Does this work show that dogs are just like us in the summertime — cranky when the weather gets hot and uncomfortable?
LINNMAN: Probably, but one needs to keep in mind that the interaction between humans and dogs is crucial to reduce dog bites.
GAZETTE: Are the results limited to warm-weather months?
LINNMAN: No. In sensitivity analysis, we found that the effect is actually somewhat stronger in winter months.
GAZETTE: Doesn’t that negate the finding that bite risk rises on hot, sunny, smoggy days?
LINNMAN: No. We are looking at the relative risk on warmer versus cooler days, so, if you only look at winter months, the effect of temperature on risk is still there, and even somewhat stronger. This does not mean that the risk is higher on winter vs. summer days. It means that the effect is still present if you remove the hottest days from the analysis.
GAZETTE: You found that rising temps, ozone levels, and UV radiation are linked to a higher rate of dog bites. Is it just discomfort or are there biological reasons behind the phenomenon?
LINNMAN: We know from animal studies that the HPA axis — the brain’s hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis, important in responding to stress — is impacted by these factors, and there is some evidence suggesting a change in striatal dopamine turnover with exposure to ozone, but there is a lot of work needed to understand how these phenomena may work in dogs and humans.
GAZETTE: Dopamine is a hormone responsible for making you feel good — how might that affect aggressive behavior?
LINNMAN: Dopamine is involved in short-term rewarding behavior, or impulsivity, and while reward is typically associated with pleasant things, aggression is often impulsive and can also be short-term rewarding, so we think there may be a link here.
GAZETTE: So together, we know that temperature, ozone, and UV affect parts of the brain responsible for stress responses and perhaps lowers inhibition to aggression?
LINNMAN: We cannot really conclude that just yet, but we are looking into both behavioral and neuroimaging data to see if there are subtle effects of these factors.
GAZETTE: The study found an effect from one common summertime pollutant — ozone — but not another, the tiny damaging particles in PM 2.5. What accounts for the divergence?
LINNMAN: Great question. Short-term PM 2.5 has been linked to aggression in humans in multiple studies, so we were expecting to see it here as well. It is possible that anatomical differences between snouts and noses play a part here.
GAZETTE: You also saw increasing precipitation reducing aggression. Why might that be?
LINNMAN: Dogs love to run in the rain! It may be as simple as fewer interactions between humans and dogs on rainy days.
GAZETTE: How well does this agree with what’s been found in humans and other species?
LINNMAN: It fits quite well into the picture. People are also more aggressive with higher temperature and air pollution. There are even studies demonstrating higher rates of violent crime downwind of major highways, and this shifts when the wind shifts.
GAZETTE: There’s also an indication in the journal article that the effects may be related to the way humans interact with dogs on these hot days. How likely is that a factor rather than biological factors within the dogs themselves?
LINNMAN: We don’t have the type of data needed to assess the behavior of the victim in these reports. But dogs typically do not bite without some type of provocation, and they usually warn us first, so the behaviors of the human may be a factor.
GAZETTE: Have you ever been bitten by a dog?
LINNMAN: Yes, actually, once in an aggressive situation.
GAZETTE: What happened?
LINNMAN: I love dogs, I grew up with several family dogs, although I am currently not a dog owner. What happened was that I was parking my bicycle as my neighbor walked by with her dog, and perhaps it was the bike that triggered it to bite me. It was nothing serious, gave me a bruise and put a hole in my T-shirt. Maybe it was a hot, smoggy day. I do not recall.
GAZETTE: As we come into the summer months, any advice for dog owners or people visiting others with dogs?
LINNMAN: Keep your dogs happy, cool, and under control. And learn to read the behavior of dogs — that is probably the most protective thing one can do. Most bites occur with dogs we know.
In May, a smaller report from NZ’s Racing Integrity Board (RIB) was released.
The Supplementary Report (dated March 2023) was written at the request of the Minister of Racing. Whereas the December report talks at great lengths about all the things that would have to happen to reform the industry, the bulky report didn’t say much about options for closing down the industry.
The request of the RIB to report on options for closure was done with the express request to keep it confidential. That is, the Board could not talk with anyone working in animal welfare, or from within the industry, about how to manage closure. The report relies entirely on publicly available material from other countries with the understanding that a more detailed strategy and plan are needed.
The RIB is probably not the body that should be in charge of a closure plan, but they’ve come up with a long list of references. Had the Minister bothered to read submissions from previous reviews, he would have seen that people like me cautioned that a planned and phased closure are needed to preserve the rights and welfare of the hounds.
Such is the case, for example, with the State of Florida.
In 2018, 70% of Florida voters approved a ban on greyhound racing with an effective date of January 2021. The phase-out period was two years. The racing industry in Florida blacklisted adoption groups that had supported the industry’s closure; only adoption groups that were neutral or pro-racing were allowed to receive dogs for adoption. Nonetheless,‘it was reported that there are more willing adopters than dogs coming off the tracks.’
The Supplementary Report summarises the pros and cons of a shorter transition period vs a longer one for an industry closure. Those summaries are copied here:
Let’s face it, both options have their benefits and the risks will have to be managed. No one who truly cares about the dogs wants to see greyhounds over-raced and their welfare otherwise compromised. The RIB has already acknowledged in its longer report that progress towards animal welfare goals is only accomplished under strict supervision and watchful monitoring of the industry.
A closure of the industry will be no different.
This report is a start, but what NZ really needs is the leadership to make a decision on greyhound racing. If that leadership doesn’t eventuate, then a binding referendum will be needed and sooner rather than later.
Meanwhile, who looks after the dogs?
Kathleen Crisley, Fear-Free certified professional and specialist in dog massage, rehabilitation and nutrition/food therapy, The Balanced Dog, Christchurch, New Zealand
There are many creative thinkers in the pet industry. The latest is a prototype Roomba® vacuum cleaner that will dispense treats.
Dubbed the Tasty Reward Emission Apparatus Thingy (T.R.E.A.T for short), the company says that the product is an experimental prototype created for fun. Sadly, there are no plans to release it as a commercial product.
Kathleen Crisley, Fear-Free certified professional and specialist in dog massage, rehabilitation and nutrition/food therapy, The Balanced Dog, Christchurch, New Zealand
DoggyMom.com 