Tag Archives: Dog

The case of the missing dog statue

Posted on March 15, 2013 | Leave a comment

Have you seen this statue?

The statue in 1937. Photo by Oakes Plimpton in the book ”Robbins Farm Park, Arlington, Massachusetts: A Local History"

The statue in 1937. Photo by Oakes Plimpton in the book ”Robbins Farm Park, Arlington, Massachusetts: A Local History”

Robbins Farm Park in Arlington, Massachusetts is interested in having its dog statue returned.  It was last seen in about 1950, when the old family farmhouse on the land was demolished.

The group Friends of Robbins Park is putting out an APB (all points bulletin) on the statue, which may have been adopted by someone who was part of the demolition crew.  It could be lingering in a junk yard, buried under years of debris.  No one  is sure.

The statue was formerly installed on a hill at Robbins Farm Park, which offers a great view of the Boston skyline. Children were often photographed on the statue, such as this photo from 1937.

If you can help solve the case of the missing statue, contact the Friends of Robbins Farm Park at 781-646-7786.

Source:  The Boston Globe

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Doggy shot glasses for the hot summer

Posted on February 4, 2013 | Leave a comment

It’s been a really hot summer here in Christchurch and, as Daisy is a senior dog, I want her to be as comfortable as possible.

In the spring, the folks at Jose Cuervo tequila gave me some molds for freezing water into shot glasses when I bought a bottle of their tequila.  Well, I use them, but I fill the insides with beef stock and then re-freeze…

The result?  Doggy shot glasses filled with frozen stock!  It probably won’t be much of a marketing tool for Jose Cuervo, but Daisy loves them.

These shot glasses of ice are re-frozen after I fill them with beef stock

These shot glasses of ice are re-frozen after I fill them with beef stock

Daisy loves her specially made ice blocks

Daisy loves her specially made ice blocks

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Anatomy 101 – what’s a pastern?

Posted on October 11, 2012 | Leave a comment

As I work with clients, I try hard to use terms and definitions that they will understand.  Every now and again, I get caught out and slip into the use of anatomy terms that many dog owners just don’t know about.

This week, it was the pastern.

The pastern is the area of the leg that is below the wrist (or carpus) on the front legs but above the foot.  On the hind legs, the pastern is the area of leg below the heel (hock) but above the foot.

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Doggy quote of the month for September

Posted on August 30, 2012 | Leave a comment

No one appreciates the very special genius of your conversation as the dog does.

– Christopher Morley

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Doggy quote of the month for August

Posted on July 31, 2012 | Leave a comment

“Money will buy you a fine dog, but only love can make it wag its tail.”

– Richard Friedman

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Community, officials at odds over free-roaming dog

Posted on May 31, 2012 | 1 comment

Blue the dog doesn’t have a home. And he apparently doesn’t want one. But the blue-eyed Australian cattle dog has $1,800 in savings, a Facebook page and an air-conditioned dog house.

He also has a lawyer, who is working to get him an exemption from local leash laws so he can continue his free-wheeling lifestyle in southern New Mexico’s lakeside community of Elephant Butte, where he was abandoned as a puppy a decade ago.

Read the full story in The Daily Times.

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Heroic dogs in the face of house fires

Posted on April 21, 2012 | Leave a comment

Our local newspaper ran a story recently about a little dog that woke her owners when their garage caught fire.  Luckily, the damage was fairly minor and all (including the dog) escaped harm.

It was that story that got me thinking about all of the stories we hear, year in and year out, about dogs that act instinctively to warn their owners of danger or to get help.  Here’s just a few dog hero stories that I’d like to share about dogs who have saved their owners or alerted others about fires.

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Brutus alerts sleeping family to burning garage (February 2012)

Dog alerts sleeping family to house fire (December 2011)

Dogs saves owner during house fire – Clyde the Great Dane! (November 2011)

Dog warns Daytona man of fire in house (November 2011)

Dog warns man of house fire (October 2010)

And one last video, taken from the camera on board the vehicle of an Alaskan State Trooper – showing the family dog Buddy leading the officer to the family’s home which was on fire…

Kathleen Crisley, specialist in dog massage, rehabilitation and nutrition/food therapy, The Balanced Dog, Christchurch, New Zealand

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When your comrade is your dog

Posted on March 29, 2012 | Leave a comment

News broke this week that Megan Leavey, a former corporal with the US Marines, has won her fight to be reunited with her ex-partner Rex.  Rex, her comrade-in-arms in Iraq, is a bomb-sniffing dog who is retiring at the age of 11.

Leavey originally asked to adopt Rex five years ago and was refused.

Both Megan and Rex were injured in 2006 when a bomb exploded in Ramadi.  Corporal Leavey was awarded a Purple Heart and subsequently discharged in 2007.   After her request to adopt Rex was declined, she followed the dog and his progress from afar.  When it became clear that Rex was to be retired from duty and likely to be put down, Leavey lobbied again for her chance to take care of Rex.

These photos, courtesy of Megan Leavey, show the pair together.

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Top 5 detection jobs for dogs

Posted on November 27, 2011 | Leave a comment

The American Kennel Club has marked the importance of working dogs by naming the top 5 detection jobs which are performed by dogs.  These jobs are:

  1. Bed bug sniffing  (best performed by breeds such as Beagles, Labrador Retrievers and Belgian Malinois)
  2. Search and rescue  – tracking missing persons, disaster rescue, etc.  (many mixed breeds perform well in this category – just ask the NZ USAR team!)  Also performed by Bloodhounds, Labrador and Golden Retrievers and German Shepherds
  3. Explosives detection (the AKC says that Belgian Malinois, German Shepherds and Vizsla do well in this category)
  4. Cancer detection (Labrador Retrievers – again!)
  5. Allergy alert dogs (Poodles, Portuguese Water Dog and Golden Retrievers seem suited to this work)

Wouldn’t it be nice to see more of these working dogs in use in New Zealand?  (See my previous article on Deak Helton’s research – September 2011)

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James Mackenzie and his dog

Posted on October 30, 2011 | Leave a comment

If you are passing through Fairlie in New Zealand’s South Island,  stop by this statue and read about the legend of James Mackenzie – the namesake for the Mackenzie Country, Mackenzie Basin and Mackenzie Pass.

The statue of James Mackenzie and his sheep dog, in Fairlie, New Zealand

Mackenzie was a Scottish immigrant to Australia before he came to New Zealand.  In March 1855, he was caught stealing 1,000 sheep from a sheep station north of Timaru in an area now known as the Mackenzie Pass.

After escaping , he walked 160 kilometres to Lyttelton where he was captured. He was sentenced to five years of hard labour for his crime.

He escaped from prison on at least two occasions, and failed on a third attempt.  In September 1855, Mackenzie’s case was re-investigated and serious flaws were found in the police approach to the case and the trial. Mackenzie was given a pardon on 11 January 1856 after spending only nine months in prison.

The legend of James MacKenzie, accompanied by his faithful dog, grew over time, one reason for the area being known as the Mackenzie Country.

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