Today's visit with the greyhounds

[PlacentiaSoccerMom]

The girls and I helped with greyhounds today. I had a long day yesterday, dealing with cancer stuff, so it was very therapeutic to cuddle with dogs.

Xamine is not being adopted, the people who were going to adopt him backed out, so he was there and I got to snuggle with him.

We did our usual bit of walking and playing and Maddie helped to clean the dog runs. Her supervisor said that she was really smart, learns quickly and is very reliable, so she is going to be given more responsibility when she comes to volunteer each week.

There were many people coming in to look at dogs to adopt. It made me happy. They don't usually have new shipments of dogs in the summer because of the heat, so if more dogs get adopted now, then they will have more room for new dogs in the fall.

One of my favorite dogs Ocean had a frayed brown collar that did nothing to enhance his good looks. I asked if I could bring him a collar. They had extra collars so the girls picked out a lovely teal green collar for him and he looks like a new dog. He is gorgeous and fawn colored, but is not cat safe.

Emma decided that she wanted to snuggle with new dogs today (By new I mean dogs that we usually don't deal with in the adoptions area.) Some of the dogs do not know how to climb the stairs to the cuddle room, so we would try to help them and if that didn't work, we would pet them and walk them and put them back.

One of the new dogs was named Art. He probably weights over 100 pounds. He had no problems climbing up to the cuddle room and when I sat down on the cushions next to him, he plopped himself into my lap. I have snuggled with greyhounds, but Art is the first lap greyhound that I have ever encounted and he is heavy. After he was done sitting in my lap, he gently put his head in Emma's lap and slept on her for a while. He is a sweatheart, but Emma asked, he is not cat safe.

[silvercamaro]

IIRC, you were sad when it appeared that Xamine would not be returning, and you said he was cat-safe. Have you asked if he could be tested to find out if he might be rabbit-safe, too?

It's definitely possible. Rusty has seen bunnies in the yard, but showed no inclination to chase them. People think about greyhounds running after rabbits, but their race training does not use real rabbits. Smart dogs don't confuse the artificial lure with the genuine small animal.

[mellytu74]

I love reading your posts about visiting the greyhounds.

I just found out that our neighbors down the street are into greyhound rescue. I may hav the chance to make some visits myself.

Teal and fawn color is a FINE color combo.

[PlacentiaSoccerMom]

IIRC, you were sad when it appeared that Xamine would not be returning, and you said he was cat-safe. Have you asked if he could be tested to find out if he might be rabbit-safe, too?

It's definitely possible. Rusty has seen bunnies in the yard, but showed no inclination to chase them. People think about greyhounds running after rabbits, but their race training does not use real rabbits. Smart dogs don't confuse the artificial lure with the genuine small animal.

They think that he is probably rabbit safe because he is so mellow. The girls love him too, but Jeff hasn't said that it's ok to get a dog yet. It was suggested that we have him as a "foster" (everyone knows how much I like him) before we commit to adopting him to see how he would work out with the cats and rabbit.

[silvercamaro]

They think that he is probably rabbit safe because he is so mellow. The girls love him too, but Jeff hasn't said that it's ok to get a dog yet.

Hey, Jeff! Go and meet this boy. He's a love, I guarantee it.

Here's a bonus. Perhaps you could start mentioning to the female relatives of an older generation that your family might soon have a new pet with big teeth. It might cut down on the visiting.

[mellytu74]

They think that he is probably rabbit safe because he is so mellow. The girls love him too, but Jeff hasn't said that it's ok to get a dog yet.

Hey, Jeff! Go and meet this boy. He's a love, I guarantee it.

Here's a bonus. Perhaps you could start mentioning to the female relatives of an older generation that your family had a new pet with big teeth. It might cut down on the visiting.

I just snorted my ice tea all over my ice pack!!

[PlacentiaSoccerMom]

I think that when the girls go back to school next week, I am going to drag Jeff down there to meet some dogs.

[Catfish]

They think that he is probably rabbit safe because he is so mellow. The girls love him too, but Jeff hasn't said that it's ok to get a dog yet. It was suggested that we have him as a "foster" (everyone knows how much I like him) before we commit to adopting him to see how he would work out with the cats and rabbit.

Uh-oh. About a year after we adopted our greyhound Joy (brindle, green collar, RIP early 2007) our rescue group asked us to foster Apache (fawn, burgundy collar, still around at almost 14 yo). He was in the house less than an hour when I was on the honker telling them to take him off the adoption list because I wasn't giving him back. Don't let them in your house unless you plan to keep them; they're addictive.

The hundreds of rabbits in our yard sit there and mock Apache when he comes out. If they were metallic, he might chase them, but he doesn't know what a real rabbit is. Ditto squirrels, the population of which has decreased now that the rabbits have taken over.

[AnnieCamaro]

Ditto squirrels, the population of which has decreased now that the rabbits have taken over.

Wait. You mean that if I invited some more rabbits to live here, some of the squirrels might move away?

Here, bunnybunnybunny....

/:P\

[AnnieCamaro]

Dear Mr. Dr. Jeff:

Please forgive me if I sound immodest, but I hope you've noticed how smart greyhounds can be.

Love,
Annie
Graduate, Home School High School; future alumna, Yale

[hermillion]

Start getting that XamineSuchard avatar ready!

[secondchance]

So how do you pronounce Xamine's name? Is it "Examine," "ZAM-in," or "Zam-EEN?" Just wondrin'...

Post a picture!

[PlacentiaSoccerMom]

So how do you pronounce Xamine's name? Is it "Examine," "ZAM-in," or "Zam-EEN?" Just wondrin'...

Post a picture!

You say it like you would say the word "examine."

[Catfish]

Ditto squirrels, the population of which has decreased now that the rabbits have taken over.

Wait. You mean that if I invited some more rabbits to live here, some of the squirrels might move away?

Here, bunnybunnybunny....

/:P\

I believe so. I don't know about Sooner bunnies, but Hoosier bunnies seem to have great power over squirrels.

[MarleysGh0st]

So how do you pronounce Xamine's name? Is it "Examine," "ZAM-in," or "Zam-EEN?" Just wondrin'...

Post a picture!

You say it like you would say the word "examine."

Huh. I was thinking it was Za-meen. I can't pronounce any of your family names right!




Hey, Jeff, "Examine" sounds like a great name for a doctor's dog!

Hint, hint.

[TheConfessor]

Do you read to the dogs? Apparently that's what volunteers do for the cats at the Austin animal shelter.

Gather 'round, kitties, for a tale from Uncle John

By John Kelso
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STATESMAN
Friday, August 29, 2008

So why does the Austin Humane Society pet adoption center at 124 W. Anderson Lane have a program where children read to the cats?

For cryin' out loud. The only thing a cat reacts to is a bucket of water or a 40-pound pit bull. Do these silly people really think the cats pay attention when you read them a book? Have you ever tried to whistle up a cat? They sure didn't seem real interested when I read to them Tuesday. They just kept lounging around, playing with cat toys.

Maybe if I had picked "Old Yeller" as my reading selection, these couch muffins would have been more attentive, since the dog gets it in the end.

"It's just a fun, positive experience for the kids and great socialization for the cats," said Lisa Starr, the Austin Humane Society's director of marketing. She says Austin has the only reading-to-cats program there is (where else could be goofy enough?).

So how do the cats like being read to by kids?

"Some of them just look at 'em," Lisa said. "Some of them run away. Certainly each cat is going to have a different reaction. But the goal for the cat is that they'll have increased exposure to children. It's to help them to be more social and for them to be more adoptable."

When I was out there, Matt Leighty, 9, was reading a book called "So What's It Like to Be a Cat?" to a group of cats. So how'd that go, son? "They started fighting each other," Matt said. "Big tails and hissing. They don't appear to be doing it right now. I think they like this book better: 'Monkey for Sale.' "

Hey, at least they didn't yak up a hairball in the boy's lap.

Right now, 30 6- to 12-year-olds are signed up for the reading-to-cats program. "They come in, and they have to attend a brief orientation that we hold every Saturday at 3 o'clock," Lisa said. "Then they sign up for 30-minute time slots every Tuesday. They either bring books or (read) ASPCA-approved books about dogs, cats, horses, snakes and all kinds of animals." On hand for the cats at the shelter are titles such as "Let's Get a Pup," "My First Guinea Pig and Other Small Pets," and a book called "The Goat Lady," with a cover photo of some bag lady-lookin' old frau on the cover with a goat.

I'm thinking the cats would pre-fur — I mean prefer — such titles as "I'm Gonna Eat Me Some Songbird," "Bad Dog!" and "Howzabout Some Catnip?"

"We had the Olympet Games over here Sunday, and we gave all the cats catnip and had them play with pingpong balls; it was very fun," Lisa said.

For my session, I had thought about reading the cats a little something out of Julia Quinn's romance novel, "The Lost Duke of Wyndham," but it seemed somehow inappropriate and not of particular interest to cats. "She knew she should gasp, or even spit forth a protest, but the highwayman's voice was so smooth, like the fine brandy she was occasionally offered at Belgrave."

This would not be of concern to a Siamese. So, for a gaggle of cats named Xenia, Emma, Natalie, Jo-Jo and Sassafrass, I sat in a community cat room and read instead a passage from Gene Fowler's "Mavericks: A Gallery of Texas Characters." The chapter I selected told the story of a young Englishman named Lawrence P. Arnold, who looked like Popeye the Sailorman.

"After Arnold had all of his teeth pulled around 1930 — the year in which Popeye became a national figure — a co-worker told him he resembled the cartoon mariner," I read to the cats. "Flattered, the Englishman began to mimic the spinach-eating seaman and to call his wife Olive Oyl."

One of the cats bit me.

John Kelso's column appears on Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays. Contact him at 445-3606 or jkelso@statesman.com

[silvercamaro]

Do you read to the dogs? Apparently that's what volunteers do for the cats at the Austin animal shelter.

Gather 'round, kitties, for a tale from Uncle John

By John Kelso
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STATESMAN
Friday, August 29, 2008

So why does the Austin Humane Society pet adoption center at 124 W. Anderson Lane have a program where children read to the cats?

For cryin' out loud. The only thing a cat reacts to is a bucket of water or a 40-pound pit bull. Do these silly people really think the cats pay attention when you read them a book? Have you ever tried to whistle up a cat? They sure didn't seem real interested when I read to them Tuesday. They just kept lounging around, playing with cat toys.

Maybe if I had picked "Old Yeller" as my reading selection, these couch muffins would have been more attentive, since the dog gets it in the end.

"It's just a fun, positive experience for the kids and great socialization for the cats," said Lisa Starr, the Austin Humane Society's director of marketing. She says Austin has the only reading-to-cats program there is (where else could be goofy enough?).

So how do the cats like being read to by kids?

"Some of them just look at 'em," Lisa said. "Some of them run away. Certainly each cat is going to have a different reaction. But the goal for the cat is that they'll have increased exposure to children. It's to help them to be more social and for them to be more adoptable."

There probably is some value in simply getting the cats acclimated to the higher-pitched sounds of children's voices. There may also be another purpose for some participants of which the columnist isn't aware. Back when I was hooked up to the therapy dog community through my dalmatian Tigger, I became aware of several small programs in which the dogs would go into the classroom. One of the activities was to let the children read to the dogs. The idea was that insecure readers and very shy children would be less inhibited about reading aloud to an animal that paid attention and didn't exhibit any disapproval if the reader stumbled over big words or mispronounced something. In the meantime, the teacher was listening and could get a better understanding of the kinds of things that were tripping up the less accomplished readers. One such program in a special education class was widely praised for its positive results in the student's improvement in reading skills and focus.

I'm not saying the program in the animal shelter is exactly parallel, but it does sound like one that could be positive for both the young readers and the cats.

[PlacentiaSoccerMom]

I would rather read to a dog than a cat.

Cats are so judgemental.

[secondchance]

Do you read to the dogs? Apparently that's what volunteers do for the cats at the Austin animal shelter.

Maybe they should try singing! Funny coincidence... just last nite I stopped in at the vet's during emergency hours on my way home to see if they had any advice about big, fluffy grey and white kitty who looks like she's been straining to pee, with not much coming out. As we've been going to them for so many years, with too many kitties, after I described the symptoms the night clerk just gave me a bottle of liquid antibiotic, sans the expensive visit (on the down-low), which i really appreciated.

So, as hubby is usually the medicine deliverer, cuz he just has a way with the strays and doesn't care much if he gets scratched, I'm not used to doing it. But as he's off hiking or climbing a mountain, or some such nonsense, it was up to me. Well, I tried to pick her up, but she was suspicious, as her personal relationship happens to be with him. So after slowly following her around the entire yard 3 or 4 times, making stupid kissing, whistling, and baby-talk noises, I decided to see if singing would soothe this savage beast. (Well, not so savage, but an outdoor stray who adopted us 14 years ago - this kitten just appeared one day and never left). My daughter named her Turnip, cause she decided to just "turn up." Anyway, the first song I thought of was "Row, Row, Row Your Boat," who knows why. Well this really seemed to calm her! (Of course, maybe by then I just wore her out) but she actually laid down long enough for me to pick her up, wrap her in a towel, bring her inside into a closed bathroom, and give her the medicine, singing all the while, as she sang along, with a plaintful yowl. What's so sweet, is that the in-and-out mini, jet-black kitty, Zoom, heard her yowling and stood on the other side of the door mewing and mewing till we let her in. That was so sweet of her to be so concerned for her friend! We usually never hear a peep out of either one. Anyway, it worked again this morning - and it's almost time for her 3rd dose... and I only have one small scratch on my wrist.

[PlacentiaSoccerMom]

When Lucy needed antibiotics, I gave her a tiny bowl of whipped cream as a treat for being good afterwards. She would put up with the antibiotics because she knew that she would be rewarded after she swallowed the medicine.

[Evil Squirrel]

Ditto squirrels, the population of which has decreased now that the rabbits have taken over.

Wait. You mean that if I invited some more rabbits to live here, some of the squirrels might move away?

Here, bunnybunnybunny....

/:P\

Bunnies!?!?!? Please!

You bring any of those mean, ferocious little bunny wabbits over, I'll call all my raccoon buddies over and we'll have ourselves some rabbit soup. Then we'll use the bones as our projectiles for the next few weeks....

[AnnieCamaro]

Speaking of projectiles, Evil Squirrel, I would like to thank you. Not only have you refrained from heaving apples, rocks, concrete blocks, knives, spears, anvils, or projectiles from AK-47s down upon us for the past two days, today you did something very nice.

You gave me and Lizbit a candy bar. We were touched.

I would have been moved to tears of joy if you hadn't eaten the candy bar before you threw down the wrapper, but still, it was a nice thought.

/:P\

[Evil Squirrel]

Speaking of projectiles, Evil Squirrel, I would like to thank you. Not only have you refrained from heaving apples, rocks, concrete blocks, knives, spears, anvils, or projectiles from AK-47s down upon us for the past two days, today you did something very nice.

You gave me and Lizbit a candy bar. We were touched.

I would have been moved to tears of joy if you hadn't eaten the candy bar before you threw down the wrapper, but still, it was a nice thought.

/:P\

Don't let it ever be said that I don't care about you. I know how bad chocolate is for dogs. But I figured it wouldn't hurt if you were able to sniff the wrapper....

And if I wouldn't have fallen asleep, it would have made the perfect decoy to keep you occupied while I brought out the heavy artillery....

[elwoodblues]

Bunnies!?!?!? Please!

You bring any of those mean, ferocious little bunny wabbits over, I'll call all my raccoon buddies over and we'll have ourselves some rabbit soup. Then we'll use the bones as our projectiles for the next few weeks....

But what if it is the rabbit from Monty Python and the Holy Grail?