Posts Tagged ‘Dogs’

Do Dogs Hold the Key to a Cancer Cure?

Friday, April 30th, 2010

Scientists at the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) and the Van Andel Research Institute (VARI) hope so.  They’ve created the Canine Hereditary Cancer Consortium, a program designed to study naturally occurring cancers in dogs to better understand why both pets and people get sick.  Using saliva, blood and tumor samples, they want to track canine cancers and figure out how cancers work in humans. According to ScienceDaily.com, “No dogs will be harmed and many should be helped. Nearly half of all dogs 10 years and older die from cancer. Dogs will be treated as patients at veterinary clinics nationwide. The research is endorsed by the American Kennel Club and by the Morris Animal Foundation. Samples will be gathered with the consent of owners and veterinarians.”  The group also wants to study hearing loss and other debilitating disorders.

Your tax dollars are at work for this.  Partial funding comes from a $4.5 million federal stimulus grant.  PetSmart and Hills Nutrition are also putting up money for the study.

Why dogs? It turns out that many rare human cancers are commonly found in dogs.  Who knew?

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Dogs in the Garden of Eden?

Monday, March 22nd, 2010

It stands to reason that if human civilization began the Fertile Crescent of the Middle East, then dogs should be of Middle Eastern origin, too. They are, after all, one of our first domesticated animals.

We’ve traced dog DNA back to wolves, so taking it one step further and finding out exactly which wolves dogs descended from would seem to be the next step. Still, Robert Wayne of the University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA), has expressed surprise at the results of a study he led.  The study analyzed the DNA from more than 900 dogs and 85 breeds.  Not just a few strands of DNA, but all 2.4 billion letters that make up dog DNA. Then they look at the DNA from 200 wild gray wolves from Europe, the Middle East, East Asia and China. Lo and behold, most of the dogs’ DNA matched that of the Middle Eastern wolf. The results were reported in the March 2010 issue of Nature.

That dogs were of Middle Eastern origin was not big news to Israeli zoologist Tamar Dayan at Tel Aviv University. He noted that 12.000-13,000-year-old dog skeletons have been found buried with human remains in northern Israel.

If the Middle East is the Cradle of Civilization, then it should also be the cradle of wolf domestication, too.

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Toenail Clippings

Wednesday, March 17th, 2010

One of the area pet stores had a feline toenail clipping event last weekend.  I’ve never cut the toenails of a cat, and I don’t think I want to.  We had a cat who was raised outdoors on a farm. When Midnight came to live us, he used the lilac bush in the backyard to keep his claws in trim.  Shredded the bark on a regular basis, but Mom never had to worry about the furniture. I can’t imagine holding a squirming cat long enough to nip the pointy little ends off its claws.

I had a Labrador that would allow me to do just about anything, including clipping her toenails. Although she whined and acted worried, she never withheld her paw. The dog who followed her wouldn’t allow anyone to touch her feet, even when she got balls of ice between her toes on a winter hike. The vet had to trim her toenails when he knocked her out to clean her teeth.

The Current Dog doesn’t seem to have any qualms about people messing with her feet, or her teeth, for that matter. But holding still is another matter. It’s worth the extra money at the groomer’s to get the job done without hassle.

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OMG, the Dog’s on Twitter!

Thursday, January 28th, 2010

When will the insanity stop? Now Mattel, the toymaker who brought you Barbie and Ken, has come up with a device so your DOG can Twitter!  According to money.cnn.com, “Puppy Tweets is a plastic tag with a sound and motion sensor that you attach to your pet’s dog collar and connect its USB receiver to your computer. Then you create a Twitter account for your dog and enjoy updates all day.” You can receive the pre-recorded “updates”,  on your computer or your smart phone. The updates are supposedly cued to the dog’s activity, so if he’s running around at doggy day care, it may send you a Tweet that lets you know he’s active.  Mattel previewed Puppy Tweet to the media ahead of the annual Toy Fair in New York in February.

You’ll have to wait awhile to get your dog on the social network–the Puppy Tweet won’t be in stores until fall. Be prepared to shell out $29.95.

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Dogs and Cars: a funny mix

Wednesday, November 4th, 2009

There’s nothing like a car ride to bring out a dog’s personality. Some dogs dissolve into a mass of quivering canine jello, while others look like they’re having the time of their lives.

Our first true family dog was of the jello variety. When we brought her home from the Animal Humane Society, she got sick all over the family van. That sweet yellow Lab never did learn to enjoy riding in the car.  We even tried tranquilizers. Trouble was, they didn’t take effect until we reached our destination, and then the poor dog staggered drunkenly in the snow. So we stopped giving her tranquilizers and didn’t feed her until we got where we had to go. She whined and drooled the entire ride, every ride.  Meanwhile, my brother’s dog rode around town with her head poking out of the sunroof.

Our next dog had no hesitations about riding. She’d hop into the backseat and curl up for a nap on long trips, or gaze out the rear window during a short joy ride.

The newest canine addition to our family also likes the car, but she sees it more as a platform to bark at passing cars. She rarely sleeps. She also thinks she should ride in the front seat. Move over, girl. We’ve got a long way to go.

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Stone Mountain In Twin Cities Business Magazine

Monday, March 23rd, 2009

Look for the June 2009 issue of Twin Cities Business Magazine. Stone Mountain Pet Lodge owner Dave Larson will be featured in a business spotlight article. Although the article will most likely focus on his other business, Larson Systems Inc., (we don’t get a sneak peak before publication), it’s sure to mention Stone Mountain. Photographer Sara Jorde came out to take photos of Dave, his dogs, Zeus and Apollo, and a Larson Systems spring tester in front of the SMPL fireplace. Zeus was a perfect model, and Apollo showed great promise. Future candidates for America’s Next Top Model? At least the dogs didn’t fight! (By the way, if you want to see some beautiful photography, visit Sara’s website, www.jorde.com!

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Top Dog & Cat Names of 2008

Thursday, January 8th, 2009

MSNBC Today recently posted an article about the top dog and cat names of 2008.  The source of the list is Veterinary Pet Insurance, whose employees also voted on the top 10 most unusual pet names of 2008.  I think it’s interesting that a few of the top choices for cats and dogs are the same and there are some really creative names for both dogs and cats in the top most unusual.  Check it out!

-Triton

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Posted in Cats, Dogs | 2 Comments »

B-b-b-baby, it’s cold outside!

Monday, December 15th, 2008

Br-r-r-r-r-r-r-r! Eight below zero!  Good thing there’s an indoor play area at Stone Mountain! I wish my dog wasn’t so old and anti-social. Maybe if this had been around when she was younger, she could have benefited from play with other dogs. I guess I’ll really never know how her ear was torn, maybe her youthful play time was too rough.

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Taking the Tour

Wednesday, November 12th, 2008

I’ve toured Stone Mountain Pet Lodge three times now with different radio station reps. Each time the tour was the same, yet different.  You open the door to the Chalet suites and the dogs immediately set up a ruckus. Loudest, of course, is Apollo.  He’s a Rottweiler, all boy. You’re not going to get by his temporary abode without him knowing it. Other dogs are mellow, especially the yellow Labs.  They’re the Zen dogs, just going with the flow until Mom and Dad come to take them home.  Pebbles and BamBam are in the small-dog suites. Their folks must be on vacation. They’re quite vociferous, compared to the basset hounds a couple of doors down.  

The last rep has cat allergies, so we didn’t visit the cattery. I wanted to see the tiny Bengal cat again. She’s so cute, like a tiger cub, only not as hefty. She’s the poor little rich kitty, hanging out in her cat penthouse, leaping from branch to pillow, hiding under the chair, and perching near the window to watch the chickadees at the outdoor feeder. In my next life, I want to be a cat.

–Cindy

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