Not once in all this activity did she try to run away. She came when called. Well, almost. She’d keep going up the driveway but would turn back when she realized we weren’t following. She’s come a long way from the desperate runaway we adopted last October. It takes a lot of patience to rehabilitate a dog. Sometimes more than you have at the moment.

It’s so nice to be able to trust a dog. We’ll keep working on it.

All this, and she hasn’t been with us for a year. By the time we hit that anniversary, we should have the house fairly well dog-proofed.

Fannie is a case in point. When we adopted her last October, she knew no rules. After being on the run for God knows how long, she had her own ideas about how to behave.  Obedience training at Stone Mountain Pet Lodge was just the start of a long program of behaviour modification.

Exercise has been the biggest help in getting her under control.  When she’s worn off some of her energy, she’s much more responsive to discipline and training. She’s calmer, less inclined to run to the window and bark at everything that moves.  But draining the energy from an Airedale isn’t easy. Her legs are like springs and she’s a tough little dog. It takes a lot to make her tired. A 20-minute walk barely makes a dent in her energy level.

Discipline–consistent rules, not corporal punishment–is also a big factor.  She knows she has to sit politely in order to get her dish of kibbles.  She knows she must wait until we’re done eating before she’ll get fed. (She’s not the leader of the pack!)

Yes, Fannie has come a long way. She can walk in heavy traffic areas and not get mad at trucks and buses. She no longer find threats in people carrying backpacks. She can (kind of) ignore other dogs that we see along our walks, but only if they’re on the other side of the street. She still goes nuts when the mail carrier drops mail in the slot, has gone through the window screen to get a squirrel, and barks at people and dogs walking along the sidewalk.

Cesar might think we give her too much affection. But it’s hard to resist petting a dog.

The strength  and quality of our products really becomes evident when kennel owners–people who really know dogs–tour “The Lodge.” They work the latches, lift the guillotine panels, and inspect the floor. They say, “Wow, you’ve really thought about this, haven’t you?” Or, in the case of the doggy daycare room dividers, “You guys have thought of everything.”

Maybe not everything, but we keep making improvements. The agility A-frame is a good example. It’s a big, lumbering triangle that many Stone Mountain staffers found difficult to move. So owner Dave Larson put wheels on them.  What’s really neat is that the casters fold up when you’re using the frame in competition.  It’s not a big thing, but it makes life so much easier if you’re doing agility.

Another example is the little “spar” on the bottom of the doggy daycare panels. It fills a gap that little dogs could sneak out of, yet it doesn’t hinder the panel’s ability to fold for storage. Something you’d never think of if you weren’t in the doggy daycare business.

Of course, there’s always gonna be a dog that can find its way around the system somehow. They keep us on our toes!

Dr. Melinda Merck, senior director of veterinary forensic sciences with the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, is leading the charge. Last year, Merck teamed up with officials at the ASPCA, The Humane Society of Missouri and researchers at the Veterinary Lab at University of California, Davis, to create the Canine CODIS system. It’s a library of canine DNA samples from 400 confiscated fighting dogs. The team created a searchable database that they say will them establish connections between trainers, breeders and operators.

It must be hard to be a self-respecting cat these days. Give me a mouse-catching barn cat any day

Raised up from the streets of Singapore, one of the newest recognized cat breeds is also the world’s smallest. The Singapura is a short-haired cat with wide-spaced eyes and large, radar-dish ears. Tommy Meadow, a cat breeder who specializes in Burmese and Abyssinian cats, brought three “drain cats” to the U.S. in 1975. Since then, he’s “perfected” and standardized the breed. The Cat Fanciers Association recognized Singapuras as a breed in 1982. Males weight just 6-8 lbs., and females 5-6 lbs. People who like “cute” are sure to go for these brown cats with skinny little tails.

Let’s hope they don’t suffer the same fate as the thousands of chihuahuas that ended up at animal shelters when the craze for a portable pooch died a natural (and deserved) death.

Lord knows when they’ll getting around to addressing cleaning up the mess on the surface. In the meantime, Matter of Trust is putting videos on YouTube showing how well dog hair works to soak up oil–better, in fact, than conventional booms. Matter of Trust has warehouses full of hair waiting to go to the Gulf, collected from pet spas, groomers and human hair stylists all over he country.

I could probably send a bushel of dog hair myself. If only the dog would shed into the box!

When Beauty needed to take a trip outside, she’d come up to you. give you a barely perceptible nudge with her nose, then walk away. If you didn’t respond right away, she’d nudge you again and walk away.  When Fannie needs to head out for a bathroom break, she paces until you notice, then heads eagerly for the door.  This  behavior is far different than what she exhibits when it’s time for her morning walk.  That’s when you’ll be treated to an unceasing string of single short, puppy-voiced barks that end only when you attach the leash.

When Lady wanted your attention, she’d place her head in your lap, or a paw on your arm. It was a gentle touch.  When Fannie wants your attention, it’s a vigorous swipe with the paw and an attempt to climb into your lap–a demand.

When Fannie’s thwarted from barking at things that go by the window (a favorite pastime of terriers, I’m told), she changes the scolding, “get out of my territory” tone of her bark to more of a complaint aimed at the person who shooed her from the window–a kind of “how dare you interrupt my fun?”

Lady would meet you at the door with a wiggly back end and an honest-to-God smile on her face. Until she became too decrepit for such activities, Beauty would issue a joyful bark and jump to look out the window. Once she sees it’s only you at the door, Fannie barely acknowledges your return.

If Lady and Beauty, both Lab mixes, didn’t want to be touched or played with, they kept their dignity and got up and walked away. Fannie growls and lets you know in no uncertain terms when her “intimsphare” has been violated.

It’s a good thing BP has deep pockets, because its deep-sea oil well is pumping  an estimated 5,000 barrels a day into the Gulf of Mexico, according to the U.S. National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA). In the meantime, NatGeo reports that more than 140,000 gallons of dispersants have already been used.    BP is deploying a containment dome to stop the leak. Drilling for a relief well has also begun; it’s expected to take two-three months to get it operational. It’s going to cost BP well over $1 billion to clean up its mess, which it says it will do.  (I bet there’ll be some government fines thrown in for good measure.)

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries has closed shrimp and oyster harvesting. It has also established a site for people who want to donate money to help with the cleanup. Go here. You’ll find a space to donate at the bottom of the page.