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Issue 10: Volume 6

Cover photo by Kim Hartz Photography

contents

EVENT CALENDAR 6November 2012

THE SCOOP 7Canine News and Happenings

HUMANE 9A Look at Animal Hoarding: How Many istoo Many?

SPECIAL FEATURE 12The Art of the Ninja Erasers

BODY & SOUL 16Helping Geriatric Dogs with Reiki

BEHAVIOR 20Understanding & Managing Your Senior Dog

ADOPTION 24Italian Greyhound Club of America - Houston

PublisherJennifer Kitchens-Street(281) [email protected]

Advertising(281) [email protected]

Contributing WritersJan DavidsonBob Williams

Staff PhotographerJamie Fincherwww.pawprintsbyjamie.com

Contributing PhotographerKim Hartz

Urban Paws MagazinePO Box 1556Spring, TX 77383www.urbanpawsmagazine.com

Web:www.urbanpawsmagazine.com

© Copyright 2012. No part of thispublication may be reprinted orotherwise reproduced without thepublisher’s written permission.Urban Paws magazine assumes noresponsibility for unsolicited manu-scripts, feature and idea submis-sions, or photographs, and suchmaterial will not be returned. UrbanPaws magazine assumes no liabilityfor the contents herein and has theright to refuse advertising for anyreason. Urban Paws magazine doesnot endorse any specific product orservice contained herein; we doencourage you to support ouradvertisers whenever possible.

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COMING INDECEMBER:Holiday Gift Guide 2012

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Veterinary Profiles2013

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6 www.urbanpawsmagazine.com

November 2012 Events For a full listing of events, visit:www.urbanpawsmagazine.com/events

NOVEMBER 3Rescue RallyYou are invited to meet animal rescue groupsfrom all over Houston and learn why rescueworks. The Ginger Man, 5607 Morningside.1:00 - 5:00 p.m. For more info, visitwww.rescuerally.homestead.com.

NOVEMBER 3Pugs at Blanco’sSponsored by Fielder Electric Supply benefit-ing Pug Hearts. 3406 West Alabama. 6:00 p.m.For more information, visitwww.pughearts.com.

NOVEMBER 4Painting with a TwistTake a day to relax with other beagle lovers,have some wine and paint a beautiful picture.Painting with a Twist, 10001 Westheimer Rd.2:00 - 5:00 p.m. $45 per person. Spaces are lim-ited. To register, visitwww.paintingwithatwist.com/houston

NOVEMBER 66th Annual Wine & Beer TastingFundraiserTaste a variety of wines and beer, sample gour-met appetizers, enjoy live music and supportAbandoned Animal Rescue (AAR). The ArborGate, 15635 FM 2920 in Tomball. 6:30 - 8:00p.m. Tickets are $40 and include wine, beer,food, live music and door prizes. For tickets,visit www.aartomball.org.

NOVEMBER 82nd Annual Paws, Park & PlayTreat yourself and your pooch to an evening offun! Relax while your dog plays in the park and

you enjoy a beverage. Fundraiser benefitsHomeless Pet Placement League (HPPL).Boneyard Drinkery & Dog Park, 8150Washington Ave. 5:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. Ticketscan be purchased online at www.hppl.org.

NOVEMBER 10Pet Adventure DayElla and Friends Dog Park, 500 W. 13th Streetin Deer Park. 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. Rescuegroups, Hot Rod Hounds Flyball, demonstra-tions, pet photography, vendors and more!Admission and parking is free. For more infor-mation, visit www.deerparktx.gov.

NOVEMBER 11Tiny Paws Rescue Meet & GreetJoin Tiny Paws at Barker Street GourmetBakery in The Woodlands for their first YappyHour event. 1:00 - 4:00 p.m. Raffle tickets arejust $1 and you do not have to be present towin. Visit www.tinypawsrescue.com for moreinformation.

NOVEMBER 11iWalk for AnimalsThe Houston SPCA invites animal loversaround the world to the second annual “walkwhere you are” event in support of animals ofall kinds. Walk in your neighborhood, park, andanywhere else and raise funds to help theHouston SPCA give orphaned, abused andneglected animals a second chance at life. Toregister, visit www.hspca.org.

event calendar

the scoop

S.A.V.E. RESCUE COALITION TO OFFERMOBILE ADOPTION TRAILER

S.A.V.E. Rescue Coalition will hold a ribboncutting ceremony on November 17th in OldTown Spring to unveil their new 26 footmobile adoption trailer, in conjunction withtheir holiday shopping kick off. The Christmasadoption campaign will be titled "A Home forthe Holidays" and the mobile trailer will betraveling to locations around the city during theholidays, showcasing adoptable animals fromvarious rescue groups including Pup Squad,Buster's Friends, and Forgotten Pet Advocates .The 26' trailer is completely self contained

with air and heat, generator, bathroom, fridge,kennels for up to 20 animals, a separate 5x8"meet & greet" area with a door so thatprospective adopters can visit with the animalwithout so much noise. There will be threelarge Lexan windows so that the animals canbe viewed from outside the trailer and a flatscreen monitor so that other animals for adop-tion can be played in a slideshow on the moni-tor. The cost is projected to be between$35000 and $40000.00 and the trailer is beingfitted by Sunset Custom Coaches, of Conroe,Texas. By having this trailer, S.A.V.E. hopes to bring

the adoptable animals to places the public fre-quents and raise awareness of the plight of

Urban Paws Magazine 7

homeless pets in Houston.

DOG TREATS RECALLED DUE TO SAL-MONELLA CONCERNSNature's Recipe has issued a voluntary recall onsome of its dog treats because of the potentialfor salmonella contamination. The concern isthat both dogs and the owners who handledthe treats could become sick.The company is recalling it's "Nature's

Recipe Oven Baked Biscuits with RealChicken." The dog treats come in a resalablepouch and are made in the United States.Pets with Salmonella infections may be

lethargic and have diarrhea or bloody diarrhea,fever, and vomiting. Some pets will have onlydecreased appetite, fever and abdominal pain.Infected, but otherwise healthy pets can be car-riers and infect other animals or humans. Ifyour pet has consumed the recalled productand has these symptoms, please contact yourveterinarian.Both Nature's Recipe and the FDA stated

they have not received reports of the affectedanimals or owners. The company said the recallwas ordered as a precautionary measure.The treats affected were sold in 19-ounce

stand-up pouches and have "Best If Used By"dates of 10/11/13 and 10/12/13. Customerswho bought the affected treats should stopfeeding the product and discard immediately.For further information about the recall and

for instructions on obtaining replacementproduct, consumers can call the ConsumerHotline at 800-237-3856.


ou love your dog, but you want anotherone to keep him company while you’reat work. So, you adopt another dog. You

then find a stray on your way home from workand you take her home. Your friend calls andsays that an adorable dog has been dumped nearher house and needs a place to stay and natural-ly, you say yes and he then becomes part of yourpack. You love all dogs and it’s hard for you tosay no when people occasionally dump a dog onyou.

Your canine clan continues to grow. Your homeis a little crowded, but you take good care ofthem. You’re aware of the fact that you havemore dogs than most people, but you can han-dle it, and the dogs need you. At some point,you may get strange looks people when you tellthem how many dogs you have. Then someonerefers to you as a hoarder.

humane

“Excuse me? I am certainly not a hoarder,” yousay. You love them all and it’s not like you havehundreds, or even dozens or dogs like thehoarders in the news. Still, people may look atyou as if to say, "There’s that crazy lady with allthe dogs!" You may even start to wonder wherethe line is drawn between having more dogsthan most and hoarding. Is there a specific crite-ria that defines one as a hoarder? A certainnumber of dogs?

There’s no simple answer and it’s more than justabout the numbers. There are theories as towhat drives a person to become an animalhoarder, but no defined number of pets thatthey own. How does the law differentiatebetween someone who has 25 dogs that are keptin less than ideal conditions versus a person withone dog in the same situation?

I began to ponder this question after I read

Y

A Look at Animal Hoarding:How Many is Too Many?

By: Jennifer Kitchens-Street

about two brothers in Pennsylvania who plead-ed guilty in a massive dog hoarding case. thatinvolved nearly 200 dogs. Like most animalhoarders, they loved the dogs and thought thatthey were doing what was best for them.According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, it wasdifficult for the brothers to enter the guilty plea.They said they “treated the dogs like our boysand girls.”

Unlike many hoarding cases, most of the dogswere in decent shape. In fact, the veterinarianswho checked the Chihuahuas – found no seri-ous health issues, only minor eye, teeth and skinproblems, and officials say they apparently camefrom a loving home.

Authorities also found the bodies of 30 corpsesin the freezer, but the dogs had apparently diedof natural causes. As with many animal hoard-ers, the inability to part with the deceased pets ischaracteristic.

This situation is a classic hoarding case, (less thedecent physical conditions of the dogs). But onehas to ask, when did they stop becoming nor-mal, caring dog lovers to taking in too many

dogs and becoming hoarders? I realize that ani-mal hoarding is quite a complex psychologicalissue.

Why do people hoard?It’s not fully understood why people hoard ani-mals. Mental health professionals say that it’squite common for hoarders to report dysfunc-tional childhoods, characterized by inconsistentand unstable parenting, during which animalswere the only stable fixtures.

A dysfunctional childhood is correlated with adisordered attachment style. This can result in acontrolling pattern of relationships, such ascompulsive care giving, as an adult. In thisbehavior pattern, a person selects someone witha sad or difficult life, and provides obsessivecare, regardless of whether the care is wanted orneeded. This kind of care giving style is oftentypical behavior for animal hoarders.

Other forms of control in hoarding includerefusal to adopt, rejection of expert opinionabout proper animal care, and sometimes thesaving of dead bodies. Animals are unable tojudge, criticize, or give advice; and can’t disagree

with a person’s inter-pretation of how theyfeel or what theyneed. This makesthem ideally suited asvictims to control fora person’s own rea-sons.

Although they claimto be helping, animalhoarders accumulatelarge numbers of ani-mals to their detri-



ment. All too often, they are unable to provideminimal standards of care and lack the insightto understand that their actions often result insevere neglect, suffering and death. This behav-ior can be devastating to families, put the elder-ly and children at risk, and incur significant costto communities for cleanup or demolition.

How can I tell if someone is a hoarder? It’s not always easy to tell. Animal hoardingcrosses all socioeconomic boundaries. Hoardersrange in age, and can be men or women of anyrace or ethnic group. Elderly people tend to bemore at risk due to their own deterioratinghealth and isolation from community and socialgroups. One commonality between all hoardersis a failure to grasp the severity of their situa-tion. Hoarders sometimes masquerade as legiti-mate animal sheltering, sanctuary, or rescuegroups. It is important to distinguish them fromthese legitimate and commendable efforts,which put the needs of animals first.

It's important to note that not everyone who hasmultiple animals is an animal hoarder. A personmay have a dozen dogs, all spayed and neuteredand provided with regular veterinary care in asanitary environment. This person would not beconsidered an animal hoarder. Even rescuerswho occasionally become overwhelmed are notconsidered hoarders if they are actively trying torectify the situation.

Most of the hoarding cases that we hear aboutin the news are clear-cut. But where do you drawthe line between hoarding and not hoarding?

SIGNS OF ANIMAL HOARDING

• They have numerous animals and may not know the total number of animals in their care.

• Their home is deteriorated (i.e., dirty windows, broken furniture, holes in wall and floor, extreme clutter).

• There is a strong smell of ammonia, and floors may be covered with dried feces, urine, vomit, etc.

• Animals are emaciated, lethargic and not well socialized. Fleas and vermin are pres-ent.

• Individual is isolated from community and appears to be in neglect himself.

• Individual insists all animals are happy and healthy—even when there are clear signs of distress and illness.

HOW TO HELP

• Call your local humane law enforcement department, police department, animal shelter, animal welfare group or veterinari-an to initiate the process.

• Contact social service groups and ask them to get involved. Animal hoarding is not just about the animals. Adult protective services, health departments and other mental health agencies may be able to provide services or links to services.

• Volunteer your time. Removal of so many animals from a hoarding situation can bur-den local shelters. Volunteer your time to help clean cages, socialize animals, walk dogs and perform other necessary duties.


THE ART OF THE

Ninja ErasersBy: Jennifer Kitchens-Street

Artwork: Caitlin McCollum

hild artist, CaitlinMcCollum was just sixyears old when shebegan drawing and creat-

ed the Ninja Erasers™ when shewas in third grade. She is now 10years old and her artwork can befound in two galleries in theHouston area. We asked Caitlinabout her work, inspirations andwhat advice she would give to otheraspiring child artists.

C


UPM: When did you first discover your cre-ative talents?CMC: Well, the summer after kindergarten,

my mom took me to the Artist Within art studiofor some lessons because she knew I liked art.There, I discovered some tricks about art andlearned I was pretty good.

UPM: At what age did you begin painting?CMC: Six.

UPM: Can you tell us about some of yourwork?CMC: I draw and paint a series of comic char-acters called the “Ninja Erasers.” Some of thecharacters include a super hero named SuperEraser as well as the evil villains known as thePencil Warriors. In addition, I have drawn andpainted many animals. My favorite piece is the"Super Eraser Erase Cancer" one because itbrings out the message that Super Eraser is ahero, and he will erase cancer out of everyone'slives.

UPM: What medium is used in your artwork?CMC: I use tempera paint, watercolors, col-

ored pencils, pastels and oil pastels.

UPM: Where can your artwork be found?CMC: You can find my work on display andfor sale at The Purple Elephant Art Gallery(12802 McSwain Cypress, TX 77429) and theArtist Within (12754 Grant Rd. Cypress, TX77429). I also sell my art at booths on the week-ends. You can find out my next booth locationon my website under the "News and Events"section. It's also for sale directly on my websiteat www.NinjaErasers.com for online shoppers.

UPM: Who, if any, are your art influences?CMC: Thomas Cleveland, Master Artist and

owner of Artist Within. Mr. Tom has helped meand mentored me through my art journey. Hewas the one that taught me to paint so well. Ialso like to look at magazines and pictures ofanimals because I like looking at the details intheir fur. I met Michael White, an author andillustrator, in kindergarten, and he taught mehow to draw cartoon facial expressions. Then, abook that helped me a lot was called Adventuresin Cartooning: How to Turn Your Doodles IntoComics by James Sturm & Andrew Arnold. Ittaught me a lot about comics. Although Ihaven't tried any of his methods, I also reallylike the work of Leroy Brown, the creator of thecomic book called Icecubes.

UPM: What are your favorite subjects topaint?CMC: I like painting pictures of animals,

Ninjas, super heroes such as Super Eraser, andof course, any kind of erasers. I like drawingerasers attacking pencils. Ninjas are always inblack suits, spying on people, hiding, and theyhave hand-to-hand combat skills. Sometimes Idraw them as people, and sometimes I drawthem as erasers. I also like drawing mermaids.

UPM: How do you hope other people will feelwhen they see your artwork?CMC: I hope people will laugh when they seemy comic character artwork because I want asmuch humor in it as possible. I hope they getthat soft, cuddly feeling when they see my paint-ings of animals because everybody likes animals.I hope they will get a feeling of hope when theysee my "Super Eraser Erase Cancer" art becauseSuper Eraser can "Erase Cancer" out of every-body's lives. Finally, I hope they will get a warmfeeling because I do art to bring glory to Godand happiness to people.

UPM: What inspires you?CMC: Well, sometimes I see something thatlooks really unique. I have to draw it down onpaper so later I can paint it. It's fun to see mycreation at the end of my painting. I also lookup to Mr. Tom because he's a really good artist.

UPM: Lastly, do you have any words of advicefor other aspiring child artists?CMC: I don't want to say, "just keep drawing!"because that is what everybody else said to me.I would say, "always work hard to reach yourgoals. Don't let anyone bring you down. Don'tlet anyone stop you from doing what you love.Someday you might turn out to be a really goodartist and end up in a magazine too!" I wishedthe artists I had asked for advice would havetold me how to get a booth. I would have likedlearning some tips about art like how to do anart technique that was challenging to them.When they said "keep drawing," I wanted to say,"I am drawing. What's the next step?" Theanswer was to get a booth and start makingmoney. My mom signed me up for a comic con-vention, and I had prints of my paintings forsale. That's how I got started.



body & soul

ne of the most difficult parts of beingowned by a dog is that their lifespan is

much shorter than ours and we have to eventu-ally face that inevitable decision.

Born in May of 2002, Mollie was the runt of alitter of 13 chocolate labs. She almost didn’t sur-vive long enough for me to bring her home.Thankfully, she did. She was diagnosed with hipdysplasia early in her life and has had intermit-tent joint pain and stiffness in her front legs aswell.

Unable to tolerate prescription anti-inflammato-ry medications, I began treating her holistically.Bromelain (a pineapple enzyme) was the mosteffective at managing her pain and stiffness—until early this year when she had to go on pre-scription pain meds. At first it was two, twice aday; soon it became six a day. If she didn’t havethem, she couldn’t get off the floor. That dread-ed decision was getting close…but I just wasn’tready.

A friend of mine and I had just started practic-ing Reiki (energy healing) and one night, withnothing to lose, I tried it on her. After two ses-sions a day for a week she became more active.I started weaning her off the pain meds andcontinued Reiki on a less frequent basis. Aftertwo and a half weeks, she was off her pain medscompletely. It has now been a month since herlast pain pill and she moves and acts like apuppy. About once a week she still comes upand, in her own way, asks for me to lay hands onher.

Eventually, decision time will come—for now, itis great to see her acting like a pup again. Reikipractitioners act as conduits for the universalenergy that runs through all of life. It is a safecomplement to traditional medical care.

Jan Davidson is a reiki master and partner of Elegant Hippy.Services include reiki, clinical aromatherapy and holistic livingconsultations. For more information, or to schedule anappointment, visit www.eleganthippy.com.

Helping Geriatric Dogs with Reiki By: Jan Davidson, Elegant Hippy

O

FACT:The spiritual practice of Reiki (pronouncedray-key) was developed in 1922. It is a methodof natural healing that transfers universal ener-gy in the form of qi, through the palms to cre-ate self-healing and a state of equilibrium.

behavior

ur dogs give us so much throughouttheir lives, including love, companion-

ship, loyalty and protection. As dogs age (in gen-eral, dogs aged seven years or more are consid-ered senior), they rely on us to provide a littleextra patience, attention and care to accommo-date their changing needs.

By letting your senior dog set his own limits, hewill help you understand his new needs for care.Avoid pampering him, and allow him to main-tain his independence and dignity wherever hecan.

Have your veterinarian examine your dog to ruleout any age-related underlying health problems.Ask your vet about what to expect with youraging dog and how you can help your dog con-tinue to feel relaxed and comfortable; for exam-ple, canine massage, aromatherapy or a speciallytailored training program.

Here are some tips for understanding and man-aging the changing needs of your senior com-panion.

O


understanding&Managing YourSenior DogBy Bob Williams, Bark Busters


his shoulder or place your hand by his nose tolet your scent gently rouse him.

Stiff joints• Allow your dog a little extra time in the morn-ing or after a nap to stretch his legs and workout the stiffness in his joints.• Avoid fawning over your dog or coaxing himwith treats to get up. He’ll get up to go outsideas best as he is able.

Inability to copewith stress orchanges to hisroutine• All dogs, butespecially olderdogs, thrive onstructure androutine. Keepyour senior dog’sroutine in placeas much as possi-

ble to keep himstress free.• Separation anxiety, aggression, noise phobias,and increased vocalization can develop or wors-en in older dogs.

Increased sensitivity to temperature• Because he may feel the heat or cold moreintensely, your dog may change his usual sleep-ing locations.• Place thick, soft beds in his crate and aroundthe house so he can nap more comfortably.

Visitors and household activity• Elderly dogs may not enjoy the extra hustleand bustle around the holidays or if workmencome to your home. • If your aging dog is cranky around visitors,

Loss of hearing• Age-related deafness in dogs is relatively com-mon and is often one of the first changes own-ers often recognize in their senior dog.• Tune in to his other senses, like sight andsmell, to communicate with him. Introducehand signals to convey simple commands. Besure they are always consistent, obviously differ-ent from other signals, and visible from a dis-tance.• Try to get yourdog’s attentionwith a high-pitched whistleor a handclap.• If your dog istotally deaf, tryusing light tocommunicatewith him, suchflicking a lampon/off orusing a flash-light.

Loss of sight• As dogs age they can develop sight-relatedissues, such as cataracts.• Dogs with poor or no vision can learn toadjust quickly if they continue living in familiarsurroundings. Avoid rearranging your furnitureso your dog can continue to navigate in yourhome.• Use your voice to guide your dog to you.

Sleeping habits• Realize that your senior dog will likely sleeplonger and more deeply.• A senior dog may startle more easily if hishearing and sight aren’t what they used to be.• To awaken a heavily sleeping dog, gently stroke


Barriers for safety and protection• A secured baby gate will prevent your unsteadyolder dog from risking a fall on stairways andwill protect areas of your home from toiletingaccidents.

Keep his mind, body and spirit sharp• Take time to work with your dog on basic obe-dience a few times a week to help keep him inshape both physically and mentally.• Take him on shorter walks and outings to keephim active and encourage his sense of fun.• Never push your dog to exert himself morethan he is able. Watch his body language andbreathing patterns for signs that he may be get-ting tired.

Many people think that bringing a puppy intothe home will help make your older dog feelyoung again. While this may be true in somecases, remember that your senior dog may notbe able to handle stress or new situations verywell, and a puppy brings new levels of activityand changes to routine that affect everyone.

However, if your senior dog still enjoys relative-ly good health and is sound in mind and spirit, apuppy may brighten his days. In fact, some dogsare happy to step up to the task of teaching anew pup the rules and routines of your house-hold.

Your aging dog deserves your unflagging affec-tion, understanding and love. As you continue tocare for him, remember that you are giving backto him as much as he has been giving you.

lead him to a quiet place in your home where hewon’t be bothered and can feel secure. Be surehe has a soft bed to lie on.

Children• Remind children to be respectful of your olderdog. Because of their achy joints and loss ofhearing or sight, older dogs are sometimes morewary of children and their high-energy activities.• Always provide supervision when dogs (of anyage) and kids are together.

Avoid discipline for aging-related behaviors• Your aging dog can’t help himself if he acci-dentally soils in the house or is crabby aroundchildren.• If he makes a mistake, just tend to the situa-tion—i.e., take him outside to toilet more fre-quently or guide him to his quiet place in thehouse—and take steps to avoid such occur-rences in the future.

Increased dryness of his coat and skin• Brush your dog’s coat more often to help stim-ulate the production of natural oils in his skin,and use a shampoo specially formulated for dryskin.• Ask your veterinarian about dietary supple-ments (such as fish oil) to help his skin and coat.

Changing dietary needs• As his body ages, your dog will need differentamounts of proteins and other nutrients. Talkto your vet about feeding your dog a “senior”formula or one which can meet your dog’schanging nutritional needs.• Avoid letting your dog gain weight. Excessweight can put strain on joints and internalorgans. Keeping him trim will keep him healthyand comfortable in the years ahead.

Join us in helping our four-legged friends find loving homes. Adopt a dog today!

Italian Greyhound Club of America - Houstonwww.ighoustononline.com

The Italian Greyhound Club of America is the national parent club for the breed. One of the club’smissions is rescue and it has a nationwide organization of rescue representatives, foster homesand other volunteers. IGHouston is not a rescue organization, but strongly supports the volunteerorganizations that help all dogs in need of new forever homes. The particular interest of theorganization is in helping Texas’ Italian Greyhounds. IGHouston hopes to help iggy orphans in thegreater Houston area find the loving new homes they deserve.

adoption

Gilmour is a long and lean miracle machine. If youare looking for a dog that personifies the moreserious, heart-tugging side of rescue, please readon. We were notified that there was an IG running

loose a little over a year ago and our search teamwent into gear. Determined to be free, the dogevaded capture for several weeks but fortunatelycentered his travels around a business whereemployees plied him with a steady supply of fastfood that kept him coming back for more. At last


a team member wasable to corner himand grab hold. Gilscreamed like a ban-shee – a moment thewhole group still talksabout. But even morememorable, the nextsecond, when the col-lar was slipped overhis head, he relaxed,started giving kissesand immediatelybecame the sweet,lovable, typical IG heis today. Gil’s feet were raw,

his back will never bewhat it should be andof course he was HW

positive. He was successfully treated,but not before the disease had affectedhis heart. And all those tacos took theirtoll – he has kidney disease, too, requir-ing a special diet kibble. All of these con-ditions are stable however, and he isfinally pronounced “ready” for hischance at adoption.

Gilmour


Foxy Lady

Lyric, a beautiful white pied, averagesized, seven-year-old female, is feel-ing safe and happy with her fosterfamily. After only a very short time,she has transformed into a relaxedand happy hound. She was probably abeloved pet at one time before shefell on hard times. She calmly lets hernails be trimmed without trying topull away. She plays with the squeakystuffies. And she has adapted to herfoster’s potty schedule. She is HWpositive, and will be available approx-imately near year’s end.

Seymore, a three-year-old male, isabsolutely beautiful red with whitecoloring. He is average size. He wasleft at a vet when his family broke upand is making up for all those losthugs and kisses by staying in his IGRescue foster mom's lap whenevershe will sit. He is HW positive and willbe ready for adoption after treat-ment.

Lyric

Foxy Lady is a lovely four-year-old,average-sized, seal and white female.She is sweet and beautiful. Sheknows how to sit and stay, and getsalong with other dog. Foxy Lady isvery social and friendly.

Seymore

Please note that thesedogs may have been

adopted by the time you visit them; however, there are many more wonderful dogs in needof forever homes.

tail end


Top 10 Smartest Dog Breeds

Just as people are smart in different ways (thinkbook-smart and street-smart), dog smarts alsodiffer. Dogs that learn commands more easilyand do them as they’re told, are consideredbook-smart. The Border Collie is at the top ofthe class, by this criteria, and definitely shouldbe considered one of the smartest dog breeds.

In his bestselling book, The Intelligence ofDogs, neuropsychologist Stanley Coren, PhD,focused on trainability as a marker of intelli-gence.

The University of British Columbia psychologyprofessor relied on the assessments of 110breeds by more than 200 professional dog obe-dience judges who scored breeds based onworking/obedience tests.

The top dogs absorbed commands in less thanfive repetitions and obeyed them 95% of thetime or better. Here's the list, along with a breeddescription by the American Kennel Club:

1. Border Collie: A workaholic, this breed is theworld's premier sheep herder, prized for itsintelligence, extraordinary instinct, and workingability.

2. Poodle: Exceptionally smart and active. Bredto retrieve things from the water. The miniaturevariety may have been used for truffle hunting.

3. German Shepherd: The world's leadingpolice, guard, and military dog -- and a lovingfamily companion and herder.

4. Golden Retriever: Intelligent and eager toplease. Bred as a hunting companion; ideal as aguide and as assistance with search-and-rescueoperations.

5. Doberman Pinscher: Known for its staminaand speed. Bred to be a guardian and in demandas a police and war dog.

6. Shetland Sheepdog: The "Sheltie" is essential-ly a miniature working Collie. A rough-coated,longhaired working breed that is keenly intelli-gent. Excels in herding.

7. Labrador Retriever: An ideal sporting andfamily dog. Gentle and intelligent.

8. Papillon: A happy, alert breed that isn't shy oraggressive. Known as Dwarf Spaniels in the16th and 17th centuries, they reach 8-11 incheshigh.

9. Rottweiler: Robust and powerful, the breed ishappiest with a job. Suitable as a police dog,herder, service dog, therapy dog, obediencecompetitor, and devoted companion.

10. Australian Cattle Dog: Happiest doing a joblike herding, obedience, or agility. Energetic andintelligent.

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