Category: Rants

DST PSA

~ Tails Around the Ranch ~ 26 Comments

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You know the adage ~ “Spring Forward…Fall Back.” Sam here…it’s that time of year again (at least in the US) when we have to alter change the clocks but this time it’s one hour forward. Yippee…all us poor starvin’ Marvin pups and kitties get fed at a decent hour instead of wasting away until the so-called designated feeding time. Maybe now I can put a couple pounds back on my waistline. On the other hand, I’m losing a valuable hour of beauty sleep. 🙁

What does Daylight Savings Time mean to us 4-legged fur-iends? It means just like our human counterparts, our circadian rhythms are all whacked out again. Sigh. Can someone please remind me why we continue to torture ourselves do this silly time change business twice a year? Uh, huh…just as I thought.

This is our face on DSTRemember lose an hour of sleep to set your clocks one hour ahead this Saturday evening.

 

 

 

 

 

Live, love, bark! <3

 

Somebody Flipped the Switch

~ Tails Around the Ranch ~ 34 Comments

Full disclosure, this post is gonna be a rant-because I’m steamed, literally and figuratively. If you’re looking for unicorns, butterflies or glitter, you won’t find it here today.

Somebody flipped the switch. That switch going from lovely springtime temperatures to fiery hell at Mach speed. It was just 3 weeks ago that my furnace was still running for crying out loud! Fast forwarded to now and it’s Dante’s Inferno. WTH happened? Why couldn’t Mother Nature gradually e.a.s.e. into blissful Summer instead of going from a cool Spring (you may recall those of us in the 303 had a snow storm on Mother’s Day) to full on blazing heat shimmers? I realize folks in the South have blistering heat AND oppressive humidity (something that thankfully we get little of-ours is always joked as ‘…but it’s a dry heat’ as if when it’s hot as hell it matters). Yes, I also realize the Southwest is broiling with temperatures well above 100. Frankly, I don’t know how you guys do it. I’d evaporate away but not before I bitched like crazy about it. And try to walk a dog on black asphalt in temps like that and well, let me just say, I won’t walk barefooted out there so I definitely don’t expect Sam to either.

IMG_1914So I was waiting for the bus in the shade of a lamp pole a minuscule spot barely wide enough for a pigeon to take shelter from the blazing sun. I thought I’d have to fight a couple of them off for that prime real estate but luckily they acquiesced with no feathers shed. Naturally, the bus was late and in downtown Denver, a late bus is best described as ‘the pits.’ It usually means there was some accident along the route and traffic backs up. Between the concrete jungle and asphalt radiating intense heat right through your shoes and your head feeling like boiling oil was being poured on top of it as if you were in an episode from Game of Thrones, you almost can’t breathe it’s so stifling. It’s like walking into a 500 degree pizza oven without the yummy  mozzarella. This oppressive heat also makes for very cranky drivers sitting in their overheated cars in near gridlock. It took 3 light cycles for the bus to move less than 40 ft. to the bus stop. And whenever there is a baseball game downtown, well ‘fugetaboutit.’ In fact, sometimes I’ve been on a bus so long that I had forgotten where I was going in my sun-addled state.

I’m not the only one complaining about the heat. It seems to be THE topic of discussion on the elevator. On Tuesday the HVAC went out in our building and let me tell you, if you really want to cheese off lawyers, make them evacuate a building for a fire drill AND have the AC go out in the same day. 🙂 When the temps soared above 80 in their offices, many of them came out complaining and wondering why can’t the building can’t just ‘flip a switch’ to cool things off? Ex-actly!! Law degrees can be very powerful tools when fighting injustice but when it comes to the elements, they have no influence whatsoever and those degree holders are just like the rest of us schmoes…helpless and hot.

Hope wherever you are, you can flip the switch, stay cool and civilized. You’ll find Sam and me sitting beneath the AC vent cooling our jets till the monsoons arrive. 🙂

Live, love, bark! <3

[Post script to this post that was prescheduled for publication. After being in the 90s again, I left work Wednesday at 5 with 40+ mph driving rain/hail, downed trees, tornado and flash flood warnings. In the 3 blocks it took to dash to the bus stop, I become as soaked from head to toe as I have ever been in any storm (yeah, no umbrella with me today 🙁 though I’m not sure it would have helped since the wind was turning them inside out). Was going to post a selfie showing me sopping wet but it was just too pitiful to share. Think drowned rat but this is a good alternative.  372909038_0ec8203144_z  My clothes, shoes, backpack, and I will be drying out and getting ready for the next opportunity to flip the switch. <3

Disneyland or Disaster?

~ Tails Around the Ranch ~ 34 Comments

Dog parks–are they a Disneyland or a disaster waiting to happen? People tend to have strong feelings on this topic. Personally I’ve only taken Sam to our neighborhood dog park once and he stayed right next to me the entire time. Ok, truth be told there were those few minutes he went sniffing around and found someone who he must have thought was me and began to lean against them, but other than that, he really didn’t seem interested in everyone running hither and yon chasing after balls, Frisbees and other dogs racing by. Sam’s not the brightest bulb in the chandelier, he doesn’t do ball chasing and doesn’t seem to get it at all. His reaction suggests he doesn’t understand why you threw that thing in the first place and maybe wonders if you threw it, maybe YOU should go get it, not him.

Not sure if it’s the dog park’s frenetic energy or if it’s more like that 2009 movie He’s just Not Into You, because he’s just not into dog parks. Don’t get me wrong, Sam loves dogs, but he loves people so much more and he’d just rather lean stand next to someone who was willing to pet him. I recall a rally near the house a couple of years ago and we were getting ready to cross the street along with 50 or so other people and he leaned against the guy standing next to me while we were waiting to cross. The guy looked down at Sam, smiled, then said “Guess he kind of likes me.” Eek, talk about embarrassing!  This guy was a complete stranger; we had never seen him before that day and my dog was leaning like he had a major crush on him. I mean, what the hey dog…?!

The dog park in my neighborhood is your classic urban dog park-large enough for dogs to run themselves silly around on a few acres and just uncomfortable enough for the humans standing on the periphery near the gate chatting up neighbors waiting for the dog to “be finished.” It’s mostly flat at the far edge of a decent public park and bordered by a busy major street (read noisy). There’s no grass, only pea gravel and dirt, a couple of benches and one small awning. There might be maybe 3 trees in the entire area but they are small ones at that providing almost no shade. There is no running water tap so you need to bring your own H2O. Lots of people arrive after work so the place gets super crowded and there are more than a few aggressive dogs that show up. Hel-lo, stupid owners…don’t bring big, bad Brutus to the dog park. Instead get your sorry tush out and walk him on a leash and don’t let him terrorize that 6 pound Yorkie that is freaking out seeing your 90 lb. fur-gorilla come racing toward it. And even if you say “he’s friendly,” that gigantic ox is scaring the be-Jesus out of little Muffy. Course a fair number of purse sized dogs are terrorizing big dogs as well. Just saying.

No matter which side of the coin you’re on, here are some issues that come to mind where dog parks are concerned.

  • People think they don’t have to pick up after their dog. Unless you mother follows you around and is willing to pick up after you, YOU NEED TO PICK UP YOUR DOG’S POOP!  It’s bad enough when dogs aren’t vaccinated and go to dog parks, but there are all kinds of diseases and parasites living in dog poop. For dogs who suffer from Coprophagia (the polite code word for stool eating), this has all kinds of implications. ‘Nuff said there.
  • Pre-exercising your dog (which seems counter-intuitive, I know) helps keep any overstimulation under control. Dog parks should be a supplement to daily activity, not the only activity.
  • Dogs with socialization issues should not come to a dog park. Dogs need to introduce themselves appropriately and politely. Just like people, not every dog appreciates being charged by a loud, boorish critter who gets up close and personal into everyone’s face.
  • Leave the gangster collar in the low-rider. Pronged/spiked collars and harnesses should not make their way inside a dog park while they are playing. Rough-housing with them on can lead to broken teeth, jaws, paws and legs.
  • Keeping your dog leashed inside the off-leash area is…well just plain dumb. It’s too easy to trip or snap a leg that gets tangles while a dog is running close to the speed of sound after a tennis ball. Retractable leashes are an even worse idea. See this if you really want to know how I feel about that topic. 🙂 There’s no need to clothesline a dog or rip your dog’s head off once they reach the end of the cord at warp speed.
  • I can’t believe I even have to mention this one. DO NOT BRING YOUR FEMALE WHO IS EITHER IN HEAT OR PREGNANT!! Why isn’t there a law against this kind of stupidity-can anyone explain that to me?
  • Puppies less than 12 weeks old or dogs with incomplete vaccinations should not go to dog parks. Unvaccinated dogs could be dangerous to young puppies who haven’t had the opportunity to build up immunity for certain conditions like mature dogs have. Nasty stuff like Giardia or worms can play major havoc on those tiny bodies. Yes, they are adorable and EVERYONE loves seeing puppies play, but the dog park is not that place.
  • You need to be careful about having small dogs and big dogs in the same area. Some large dogs view little dogs more like squirrels than small dogs. That big galut is probably not vicious, just overstimulated yet the result can be the same.
  • Don’t pick up your little dog and carry it to “safety.” Some dogs view the pickup-ee as fleeing the scene which translates into “chase!” in some dog’s brains and which can trigger a treeing instinct. Picking up a small panicked dog could get you knocked over or possibly bitten.
  • Make sure your dog has recall skills. Being able to disengage a dog from escalating bad behavior is critical for everyone’s safety.
  • Dogs should not be allowed to bully other dogs. Bouncing all over a dog is not cute, it’s obnoxious and rude. Tag and run is cute, but non-stop nipping and pouncing with already overstimulated dogs…yeah, not so much.
  • Dogs shouldn’t ‘have to work it out’ at the dog park. First time introductions in a super stimulating environment probably isn’t the time for resolving potential canine drama.
  • Dogs that cannot share toys probably shouldn’t be at a dog park. That’s an invitation bound to go badly. No one needs to see varying levels of aggressiveness accelerate because of a resource guarding dog that can’t take cues to back off.
  • While it’s always nice to run into a neighbor or make new friends, owners need to stay engaged with their dogs at dog parks, not catching or hooking up. Dog parks are for dogs, coffee shops or bars are for chit-chatting.
  • Finally, just like chatting up people at the dog park is a no-no, people need to get off their smartphones and pay attention to their’s as well as other people’s dogs. If you’re texting or tweeting, you’re not supervising your dog. I don’t know what it is about millennials but they just can’t seem to put their phones down. I know, I’m starting to sound like the crabby old geezer who shakes their fist in the air and yells, “get off my lawn!” But it makes me crazy when these social cretins nearly walk into Sam and me when we’re out walking early in the morning because they are reading or texting something on their phone and then give me the stink eye like we did something wrong (true story, but that’s for another rant, er I mean, post). Sheesh, Sam has far better social skills and he’s a millennial, too. 😉

Sure I’m passionate about this topic but hopefully haven’t come across like a jerk. I realize it’s a thin line between the two and if I have, please accept my apology. So tell me, where do you weigh in on the issue of dog parks…Disneyland or disaster?

Live, love, bark! <3

Wake up call

~ Tails Around the Ranch ~ 26 Comments

image  You may recall that I recently complained about Sam NOT waking me up when we were transitioning into DST (sheesh, makes you wonder, are we humans EVER satisfied?) but when he wakes me up for this kind of stuff…well it makes for a less than cheerful upright.

During the work week, I normally rise at 5 AM to get in our morning walk, to shower, make coffee & lunch, and get any quick domestic chores out-of-the-way before leaving to catch the bus. I’ve done it for at least a hundred years so now it seems part of the my DNA. Dogs likewise tend to be early risers too, mostly because, well, it’s what dogs do especially given they have the rest of the day to sleep. Biology sort of dictates they need to empty their bladders first thing, and because I’m a morning person anyway, I’m good with that.

My house has mostly hardwood floors, so you definitely know when the dog walks across the room. Click, click, click. In the bedrooms there are large area rugs to warm the tootsies up on cold mornings and to soften that clicking sound. Normally this is a pretty effective strategy. This morning at around 4:30-ish I hear this faint click, click, click, stomp, stomp, stomp in the back of my head. I’m in the middle of a techno-color dream and the temperature of the bed is at cozy on an otherwise cool morning and that background sound is disruptive but I continue to dream for a few more seconds. Click, click, click, stomp, stomp, stomp. This means Sam has gotten up from his bed, walked around my bed to see my face with the hope that my eyes will open and the day will begin. I’m fully awake now but keep my eyes closed hoping he’ll get the hint to wait a half an hour but the stomping (on the rug) has become more insistent. Heavy stomp, heavy stomp, heavy stomp. I swear when Sam goes into this mode, he rivals Michael Flatley with his racket step-dancing. I look over, open my eyes and see Sam wagging his tail, all cheerful and everything and so happy to see me awake. I groan with, “Dude, it’s not time yet!” STOMP, STOMP, STOMP…the noise continues. Ugh. Most times when Sam wakes up early he just wants to get up on the bed with me and cuddle. I tap the pillow and up he pops in a flash. He circles like he’s about to get into the cuddle position but only lays down and stares at me then restlessly circles around the bed again and then quickly jumps down, an indication that suggests all is not well on the digestive front and that he needs to go outside…now. Delay in getting a dog outside when their tummy is upset is like playing Russian Roulette. Too quick and you have disrupted your nice warm setting and slumber, too late and you’re spending the next 45 minutes on a date with paper towels, disinfectant, and a mop. Yeah, that kind of upset tummy. Ew.

Not wanting to start the week out like that, I drag my sorry self out of bed, look to see if it’s raining as Doofas is bouncing up and down like a pogo stick. He cannot contain his joy-his antics have worked;surely he’s the best wizard in the world since his spells seem to make me do whatever he wants me to do. I quickly dress, we fly toward the back door and he runs out like he’s been shot out of a cannon. But wait…he stops and tracks back, there’s some intriguing scent and he’s Johnnie on the spot to check it out. As I walk down the driveway toward the alley, he bounces over, realizing ‘oh yeah, I’m out here to do some serious business’ and he goes to his reliable pee spot at the fence, sniffs, circles, sniffs some more and then circles back again…and then…ahhh, eureka! the leg lifts up and a tiny piddle trickles out. What the…?! A barely 3-second dribble and then he bounces back toward the back door. Are you freaking kidding me?!  ;(

He seemed so pleased with himself, I didn’t even grumble out loud mostly because of my sleepy stupor, so I just turn out the light and decided to crawl back into bed for 20 minutes or so till I warm up again and the news came on. Funny how once relieved of a tablespoon of liquid, Sam still is not content to lie down till the proper appointed get-up time. He continues to click, click, click, stomp, stomp, stomp but not to the extent as he was earlier. Argh! The alarm finally goes off, I hear of all sorts of world pandemonium and my day begins with a stern voice to the fluffy head laying across my lap in the bathroom as I do my morning thing (I know, TMI, sorry-just want you to get the full picture of a day in the life sort of thing…). This dog knows no boundaries at the bathroom door-it just means mom needs help and though I have no thumbs, I can lay across her lap, look up with my soulful amber eyes, wag my tail and all is right in the world. Yeah, not really, but why deal with door scratching and whining at the crack of dawn when I have a built-in leg warmer during those moments. It’s the ritual and wherever he is at in the house, once he hears the toilet paper roll being rotated (even quietly), he’s there even if he’s been in a dead sleep! I kid you not. I tell him he’s a brat and wonder out loud “what were you thinking by waking me up earlier than normal?” He just wags his tails, knowing I’m a sucker for this, smile and I scratch his ear. Again, more pawsome wizard spells by the dog (maybe he should have been named Harry Potter or Dumbledore because he is indeed a very powerful wizard).

Being a morning person, I revel in this time of day. It’s relatively quiet with only the milkman’s van and a few chirping birds welcoming the daylight with noise on my block. Because we’ve had a tiny shower during the night, the ground smells earthy and worms inch their way across sidewalks to dry out from sodden soil. I use this morning time to plan the work day while we go for our walk/run and to see the crystalline light on dew drops on blossoms. I love this time of day; the soft light gives such a glow to everything; it’s breathtakingly beautiful, especially when the sky is ablaze with a bright orange sunrise. The day hasn’t had a chance to run the proverbial nail down the internal chalkboard in my mind–the time is peaceful and lovely. Or it would be if a certain dog didn’t get a wild hair to set everything on its end with a silly wake up call! Maybe tomorrow all will return to bliss…sigh. 🙂

Does your dog wake you up early for apparently no good reason? How do you handle it?

Live, love, bark! <3

 

DST-Foresight or Folly?

~ Tails Around the Ranch ~ 17 Comments

This is our face on DSTThis Sunday at 2:00 AM here in the US we’ll be moving into that special hell otherwise known as daylight savings time or for those of you who like acronyms, DST. But things will get complicated for those of us trying to figure out the time in Hawaii, most of Arizona and a part of Indiana as those states do not participate in this twice annual nightmare (and I suspect it’s likewise for them trying to figure out what time is it in the DST states). You can call it brilliance or insanity; I just know that Sam’s and my circadian rhythms will be out of kilter for a number of days. And here we were just getting used to actual daylight during our early morning walks. Now it’ll be back to schlepping a hand torch and trying to hold it with thick fat gloves while it is freezing cold, along with the leash and not dropping the house keys in a pile of snow. Along with jacking up my internal clock, Sam’s already ditzy brain will go on full alert loony-bin holiday. When is breakfast again? What time do we go to the hospital? Hey, isn’t it walking time? Aren’t you supposed to be at work now? Why is the sky blue? [ok, so I made that last one up, sue me–see just thinking about one less hour of sleep makes me crabbish and combative] So who concocted this bizarre time continuum twice a year exercise and thought DST would be a good idea nearly a hundred years ago? Turns out maybe some of my relatives-egad!

DST has been around in the US, Canada and many European countries since World War I and was conceived in an effort to conserve fuel necessary for production of electrical power (I had mistakenly thought it was farmers who needed children to help with work around the farm after school). In fact, it was Germany & Austria who began DST on April 30, 1916. Belgium, Denmark France, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Turkey and Tasmania, quickly followed with Nova Scotia and Manitoba joining them. Britain joined 3 weeks later on May 21, 1916. In 1917, Australia and Newfoundland began DST. The US didn’t join the festivities until 1918 with the passage of the Act to Preserve Daylight and Provide Standard Time on March 19, 1918 which was observed for 7 months during 1918 & 1919. After the war however, its unpopularity provided the impetus for Congress to repeal it in 1919 and override President Wilson’s veto. DST became a local option with a few states (notably Massachusetts and Rhode Island and a few cities such as NY, Philadelphia and Chicago). During WWII, President Franklin Roosevelt established “War Time” from February 9, 1942 to September 30, 1945. From 1945 to 1966 there was no federal law regarding DST, thereby allowing states and localities to choose when it began and ended-the first mistake in a long line of mistakes on this issue. The resulting confusion to transportation segments of the economy was costly since multiple schedules needed to be published when each state or town began or ended it. President Nixon signed the Emergency Daylight Savings Time Energy Conservation Act of 1973 on January 4, 1974 whereby clocks were set one hour ahead. On October 5, 1974, Congress amended the Act and returned to Standard time on October 27, 1974.

Early on, observance of DST was inconsistent and there was no official agreement as to when clocks would change. Many businesses supported standardization, farmers were opposed to such uniformity and state and local governments were a mixed bag. Transportation and broadcasting industries encouraged standardization but the Interstate Commerce Commission, the national timekeeper, was immobilized and resolution was deadlocked. A transportation industry organization encouraged standardization through the Committee for Time Uniformity who surveyed the nation through telephone operators as to local time observations. The committee sought a supportive story from the New York Times on its front page and having rallied the public’s support, the goal to standardized time was realized once it discovered and revealed that a 35-mile stretch along Route 2 between Moundsville, WV and Steubenville, OH, bus drivers and their passengers endured 7 time changes! I can only imagine the stampede to get onboard with a uniform way to set time at that point. No doubt pitchforks, tar and feathers were involved.

The Uniform Time Act of 1966 was signed into law on April 12, 1966 by President Lyndon Johnson establishing Daylight Savings Time to begin on the last Sunday of April and end on the last Sunday of October. States could opt out by passing state law. The Uniform Time Act established a pattern across the country and establishing a uniform system for DST (within each time zone) throughout the US and its possessions, exempting only those states whose legislature voted to keep standard time. In 1972, Congress revised the act to provide if a state was in 2 or more time zones, it could exempt the part of the state that was in one time zone while providing that the different time zone portion could observe DST (proving once again that Congress has a long history of screwing things up with legislative meddling). In 1986 the act was further amended to begin on the first Sunday in April and end on the last Sunday of October. The most recent change to the policy was in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 extending DST, beginning in 2007 forward. Circadian hell now begins on the second Sunday of March and ends on the first Sunday of November. Most western European countries begin DST the last Sunday of March and ending on the last Sunday of October. Worldwide observance is all over the map, literally and figuratively so that no one really knows what the hell time it is at any given time or place.

While I can only speak about dogs dealing with DST, I suspect the adjustment period might be equally challenging for cats too. DST can definitely affect all pets, particularly those who are acutely in tune with their owner’s schedules. Routine and consistency are the hallmarks of a dog’s daily life and disruption can be very confusing and/or stressful. Like most living creatures, their internal clocks are tied to natural sunlight though artificial lighting can minimize the effect. ‘Losing’ that one hour of sleep can be most disruptive for feedings. Some proven strategies for dealing with feedings include adjusting schedules in 15-minute increments a few days before DST begins. Another strategy is to not feed or walk dogs at the EXACT same time every day which may help buffer the adjustment period and works well with modern-day hiccups that invariably occur with over regimented schedules. Slight variations keep things a tad unpredictable but easier to handle in the long run. Note to anyone who walks your pets in or near wooded areas, legislation has no effect whatsoever on wildlife so it’s wise to keep aware of their presence in advance on those early morning walks to avoid doing an “stinging eye” Google search on the removal of skunk odor.” Like their human counterparts, dogs may experience a kind of ‘jet lag’ with the artificial change in time that might affect their ability to relieve themselves on the new schedule while they are still working from their internal clocks for several days. Be patient about it and don’t’ punish the dog for accidents—he can’t help it if Congress reset the clocks.

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Bottom line, don’t forget to “Spring Forward” this weekend and complain like some of us about what a dumb idea this back and forth artificial time adjustment really is. And while you’re at it, you might as well update  the batteries in all the smoke alarms at the same time.  🙂

How does your dog’s react to the advent of DST and how you survive it? What are the differences that any of you cat owners experience and how do you manage it? Is it really possible to ‘manage’ cats?

Live, love, bark! <3

A Very Real Scandal

~ Tails Around the Ranch ~ 21 Comments

There’s a real “Scandal” out there but it’s not ABC’s Thursday night political TV thriller starring Kerry Washington (but can I just say, huge fan?!). Nope, the real scandal that no one is talking about is the proliferation of faux service dogs.image

While I’d love to be able to take Sam with me everywhere I go, in good conscience I just can’t do that under false pretenses. Oh sure, I’ve thought about it. I mean, after all, who’d be hurt by a sweet goofy, Standard Poodle wearing a vest whenever I go out? It would only take a matter of visiting any number of web sites (my Google search for service dog vests for sale showed over 56 million hits with some priced as low as $37!). Just pay the fee and viola, I’d be the proud owner of a ‘service dog’ that could go anywhere and according to the American with Disabilities Act, not be denied legal access. But we all know that Sam, sweet as he may be, is no service dog by any stretch of the imagination and even though he provides comfort and emotional support he simply does not qualify as a service animal under the definition in the ADA but the people who’d be hurt most would be the disabled themselves and I can’t do that.

So why is that a problem? People with real disabilities are increasingly being denied access. Recently a couple of stories of veterans who were asked to leave restaurants surfaced setting the ‘Net ablaze in the disabled community. See: Subway restaurant and Minnesota incident for details. Stories like these are beginning to highlight the tip of this scandal iceberg. Estimates suggest there are probably around 20,000 or so legitimate service dog teams yet hundreds of thousands of vests, certificates and IDs are sold every year and the kicker here is…it’s all perfectly legal to buy and possess them.

When I travelled to Hawaii last year, a woman with a very small fluff of a dog was trying desperately to get a ticket agent to allow her to bring her dog on board. When she finally screeched that the dog was her ‘companion’ dog and she absolutely had to have it with her, the agent relented probably because of the kerfuffle being created (and the fact that the dog would easily fit under the seat I suspect). While it seemed like a sweet (albeit nervous) little dog, that dog was no more a service dog than I am.

Service dogs are NOT pets. They are however important working resources for the disabled that allow them to deal with a semi-normal day-to-day life and as such they are a necessity, not just a ‘gee I’d love to take my dog with me everywhere just because’ thing. The ADA’s policies relating to service dogs are enforced through the states but only 16 states have specific laws regarding the consequences of misrepresentation of service dogs or identifying oneself as disabled so enforcement is often hit or miss under the guidelines. Sadly, there’s nothing to prevent anyone from strapping a vest on their pooch and walking through their local mall posing as a service dog team. The ambiguity with a lack of central governance and certification seems to have created loopholes in the system and fixing it is not going to be easy. The backlash associated with challenging a disabled person is nothing most large businesses want any part of and it could be difficult to know the difference between the real deal and a fake based merely upon appearance. One aspect that especially contributes to this ongoing fraud, is that it is illegal to ask about a person’s disability, require seeing medical documentation, identification card or training documentation for that matter. And that’s kind of the heart of this problem. It’s obvious that relying on an honor system (both in people offering to sell these vests and those who buy them) isn’t working to resolve this scandal or make it easier for those who really need these amazing creatures to make their lives more positive.

These fake service dog teams are creating additional and unnecessary discrimination toward the disabled who already suffer institutionalized discrimination due to the mere fact they are disabled. As the stories reported earlier mentioned, some find it can be a constant and uphill battle just to survive in an increasingly difficult-to-fit-in society when you’re disabled. We all profess to ‘support our troops’ but sometimes when the rubber actually hits the road, it’s a whole different story. In the meantime, more and more self-absorbed people continue to order service vests so they can take their dogs to the movies or restaurants with them…because they just “want” to have their dogs with them all the time-not because they really need them as a service dog.

What do you think about faux service dogs? Have you seen this scandal in action?

Live, love, bark! <3

P.S. Since publication of this post, I have found a report that really explains it all in detail. It can be downloaded here.

The Case Against Retractables

~ Tails Around the Ranch ~ 26 Comments

I know a lot of people use retractable leashes and I’m sure I’ll catch all kinds of pushback about this post. That said and with apologies to those of you who do use them, here’s why I’m opposed to these devices.

Sam and I particularly enjoy our weekend walks. We can linger a little bit later in bed rather than getting up at the crack of dawn and then going out later and actually seeing and catching up with people and their pets on the weekends. We can hang on the corner and chew the fat about the latest news. A recent weekend started out just like most of our other weekend outings.

Sam has a few people he completely adores. He will do just about anything to reach them to say hi and get a couple of chin or ear scratches and our buddy Steve is one of Sam’s absolute favorites but not because he almost always has a pocket treat for Sam. Steve is a super nice guy with a heart go gold and Wyoming drawl who loves all things 4-legged. In Sam’s mind, there isn’t anything better and when you throw in a treat or two…well it’s easy to see why Steve ranks right up there on our list of favs.

Steve has 3 adorable Scottish Terriers.  They are classic, busy little black dust mops and everyone in the ‘hood knows them. Boone, Poppy (brother and sister) and the latest addition, Murphy, are just as cute as buttons and typically ‘all’ terrier. They all are on their own retractable leashes as well.  I’ve known Poppy and Boone for years and they know me and are always glad to see us. In their excitement at seeing us, they always get wrapped around either me, Sam or Steve. On this encounter, they got wrapped around all 3 of us.  I usually let go of Sam’s leash so he can step out of the fray but this time the dogs were so interwoven around him and me, it didn’t matter. We were stuck and Sam was a little freaked out; the more he tried to disengage himself, the worse it got. His frenetic high-stepping seemed to get the Scotties super ginned up and for a moment it was a real cluster. It only ended with a yelp from Sam as one of the leashes had apparently pinched him. By this time both Steve and I were desperately trying to calm down all that energy and untangle the mess. Poor Sam must have been thinking WTH and I was thinking that along with a couple other acronyms.  I tried to be gracious and say “well, we better go, loads of errands to run, have a good weekend” but truth be told I couldn’t get away quick enough! My dog had gotten hurt because of those stupid leashes…which is a moronic euphemism for a thin cord that can garotte a leg or ankle tendon willy nilly quick!

In my books, the use of a leash is to keep a dog under control as well to keep said pooch safe and not have it go dashing about under everyone’s foot. By the time I got Sam home to closely examine him, I could see he had a tiny spot that looked like a rug burn.

Years go my son had one of those leashes for his wildly active German Shorthair Pointer. His thinking was by giving him room to run ahead, he’d tire out more quickly without having to try to personally keep up the same pace.  I recall once he took the dog to a softball practice and the leash extended out fully and then SNAPPED back! That $40 leash was now just a handle in my son’s hand with his dog was blocks away in a split-second. That taught me a valuable lesson that day to NEVER, EVER get one of those things.  But seeing the potential havoc they can wreak really solidified my biases against them and made me think about the danger. They do nothing to train a dog to politely walk and everything to encourage pulling.

Here are a number of reasons not to use a retractable leash:

  1. Since some of those leashes can be 20 or more ft. long and a dog can be far enough away from his human when the situation can quickly turn dangerous. A quick pivot toward a cat or squirrel and the dog could be in the street facing oncoming traffic, for instance.
  2. You could be approached by an aggressive dog and at 20 or more feet, it’s nearly impossible to get control of any potential problem quickly.
  3. A strong dog could break that thin line and could end up in a dangerous situation-see #1 & 2. Similarly, the cord can snap back and injury the handler.
  4. Dogs can easily get tangled up in retractable leashes resulting in burns, bruises, road rash, or worse.
  5. Dogs can receive an injury to their neck or spine when the retraction mechanism is engaged and the resulting jerk clicks in place (it’s not wise to challenge the law of inertia–moving objects tend to keep moving).
  6. Because dogs tend to pull with these leashes, the pulling could be perceived as aggressive by another dog.
  7. The handles can be easily pulled out of human hands.
  8. The clatter of a dropped retractable leash can frighten a fearful dog. If it’s running away, the racket simply follows the poor dog who can’t get rid of it.
  9. Like most retractable devices, leashes tend to malfunction over time, refusing to retract or extend.
  10. Retractable leashes are a bad idea for a dog who has not learned to politely walk next to its handler and next to impossible to administer any correction when needed.

 When your dog is well-trained on a regular leash and a retractable leash without any confusion in its behavior, then you my friend are a genius by being able to walk your dog with no risks to you or others. Sadly, I think few qualify in that regard, since most people (at least in my neighborhood) tend to be more focused on social media than whether or not their dog is walking calmly next to them, while not peeing/pooping all over their yards without being picked up or racing up to the next dog they see without knowing if that dog can handle something like that. Sorry for the rant, but when my sweet dog gets injured because someone can’t handle their 3-ring circus on walks, well…can you see why I’m hoping ‘retractables’ get retracted…permanently?

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Live, love, bark! <3

When did my dog turn into a wuss?

~ Tails Around the Ranch ~ 17 Comments

So yesterday was the coldest day of Winter so far and I arrived home to discover there was no power! Are you freaking kidding me, Xcel??? A quick glance across the street however showed Christmas lights a-blazing at the neighbor’s house. Ugh.

For some reason my little block seems to get hit by the evil power fairies periodically. Normally this isn’t a problem but like I said, it was the coldest night of the season and it was expected to snow all night long. And while candlelight is kind of groovy in a romantic sort of way when there is electricity, it does nothing for a tired person who just wants to come home to play with the dog, make a nice hot dinner, and catch a couple episodes from the recent Breaking Bad marathon, and not have to eat a PBJ or nosh on a few dry crackers in the dark. When I called Xcel to report the outage and get a sense about when the power would be back up, they said, oh yeah, we know all about it and we’re hoping everything will be back to normal by 9:22 (yup, they were that exact on the timing) but if I had any other concerns or issues, I should ‘go online to report them.’ It was 6:10. Hell-loo people?? I DON’T HAVE ANY FREAKING POWER, YOU MORONS!!! How am I supposed to go online? Does anyone know when companies will begin to understand the concept of optics and how stupid they can appear to their customers sometimes?

One problem with the power going out is that every electric clock in the house has to be reset not to mention a complete reboot for the satellite dish.  Power outages also seem to play havoc with one certain smoke alarm (for some unknown reason) and it was in overdrive chirping its displeasure at the power cut. I had no idea when that bad boy started chirping away but Sam was nearly beside himself when I unlocked the door. When I first got him nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing fazed him. Now it seems that chirping alarms completely wig him out. And there are a few other things that I’ve noticed in the past year or so as well that also tend to freak him out, but the smoke alarms are ginormous in his mind.

020 Trust me when I say there’s nothing like trying to comfort a 60 lb. hound who’s scared out of his wits and trying desperately to either climb into your lap or get as close to you as possible while you try your hardest to keep him from stroking out. I’ve had dogs in the past that didn’t do well with thunderstorms or fireworks, but Sam always seemed immune to them, until recently. Loud noises are starting to become problematic and that annoying chirping sound ranks right up there on the Top-10 wig-out list. Sam was drooling all over, pacing around like a caged tiger, panting like crazy and generally being uber-stressed. Once I got him calmed down (or so I thought), we snuggled together for body heat and comfort and waited till the power went back on. Tick, tick, tick. Ever notice when the power goes out how time crawls ever so slowly? Yeah, super s-l-o-w-l-y.

Eventually the power was restored but Sam’s affable demeanor sure wasn’t. Every ten minutes or so, he wanted to go back outside and check the “pee-mail” or whatever until the smoke alarm reset its quiet self. Did I mention it was the coldest night of Winter? While going potty when it’s needed isn’t a problem (even when it’s inconveniently cold), I sure as hell don’t want to stand outside shivering while he breathes deeply and gets his calm juju back on! He woke me up at midnight, at 1 AM, at 3:22 AM, and again at 5:12 AM. Bastard. By 5:12 I was ready to get up but certainly wasn’t prepared to again stand out in the sub-zero temps so he could survey the length of the alley and take extra time sniffing every nook and cranny. He was still so stressed out he didn’t even eat breakfast.

By the time we went for our morning constitutional an hour later, he was all gung-ho frisky as if he were running the Iditarod (BTW, did you know that back in the 1988 Iditarod, musher John Suter entered the race with a team of standard European poodles but rules were passed thereafter allowing only northern breeds like Siberian huskies and Alaskan malamutes to race. Seems many of the poodles were dropped off at checkpoints due to frozen feet and hair-matting problems–boy can I relate to that-Sam has to wear boots in the snow). But enough digression…back to the wussy dog.

Keeping Sam corralled so I didn’t break anything on icy sidewalks wasn’t easy but maintaining the quick pace kind of helped keep me slightly warm. After an abbreviated romp, he was finally calm enough to eat and take a big dog stretch and give me that “Hey, I’m going back to bed look.” I, on the other hand needed to re-shovel the night’s snow accumulation and then drag my sorry butt to work. I know he’s gonna sleep 98% of the day, and as payback maybe I should tickle the hairs between his toes tonight. Just thinking out loud here-but who am I kidding, I’m going to bed early! 😉

So bottom line question is when did this strapping, devil-may-care, athletic dog suddenly become a wuss when it comes to noises? Has your pooch’s behavior changed recently?

There’s a New Year on the way and the pawsibilities are endless! Live, Love, Bark <3

Halloween and Hounds

~ Tails Around the Ranch ~ 12 Comments
Be safe this Halloween!
Be safe this Halloween!

At the risk of sounding like a curmudgeon, can I just say my second least favorite holiday is just a few days away. Right after the 4th of July, Halloween is the next holiday I despise. I know lots of you will think I’m crazy but hear me out. Because after a week of working at a stressful job, answering the doorbell 700 times between dusk and 10:00 p.m. isn’t exactly my idea of a prelude to a relaxing weekend. Then there are all those dressed-up goblins, sugared up, flapping their arms, squealing like banshees and getting Sam all riled up, dropping candy everywhere and generally being…well, being little kids with sky-high energy. And don’t get me started on those over 4 ft. tall–they should automatically be barred from trick-or-treating, but that’s a whole ‘nuther subject. What is it about little kids who are otherwise fairly charming to be around, nice even (dare I say, cute?) who turn into the Zombie Apocalypse on Halloween? They may look like little princesses and action figures in costumes, but trust me they are just blood sucking zombies waiting to attack and freak you out.

All those masked strangers with their bags of candy can stress out our pets. Apart from the doorbell being the ultimate dog whistle, strangers that don’t look human in normal an sense of the word showing up ringing the door bell all night long can freak out a poor dog.  Truth be told, they kind of freak me out too. Any other day of the year you’d be accused of being crazy answering your door for disguised strangers at night. I dunno, call me paranoid. But think about it. It kind of makes sense, doesn’t it?

Then there’s the idea of getting ready to sit down to a nice relaxing meal on a Friday evening after a rough week and then having to get up immediately to answer the door (so much for that hot meal), corral the dog away from said door all the while keeping that bowl of tasty candy away from a snooping long nose that make this holiday more than just slightly unpleasant.

We all know that chocolate can be poisonous for dogs, and then there’s that potential for knocking over the adorably carved pumpkin with the candle in it (assuming of course the neighborhood squirrels haven’t completely destroyed it yet) while you’re trying to keep the dog in the house without running after little Ashley or Micah and definitely keeping him out of the candy bowl. Let’s just say fire, chocolate and artificial sweeteners = a very bad combo for dogs and a disaster just waiting to happen.

So think about your fur-baby and the potential for danger this Halloween.  If possible, keep your pet in a separate room away from those masked strangers and from running out of the house after all those little zombies.  Keep the candy away from your pets and definitely rethink those candles on the front porch.  Make sure you have a safe and happy Halloween, just don’t eat all the Snickers bars–save some for Thanksgiving between football games and sitting down to eat that turkey and pumpkin pie. 🐾

Live, love, bark! 🐾

Hot Dog!!

~ Tails Around the Ranch ~ 10 Comments
Hot Dog Safety Tip
Hot Dog Safety Tip

No, I’m not talking about the common ballpark food, I’m talking about dogs left in cars, a recent phenomena which seems to have risen in epic numbers judging from social media reports.   This latest story however, proves I can no longer be silent about this terrible trend.  WHAT THE &#@% IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE???????

Sheesh, it’s bad enough when I see people taking dogs with them out to dinner in my neighborhood only to (a) leave the dog tied up to a parking meter or worse, (b) leave the dog in the car while they nosh and yuck it up over drinks and a meal in one of the many trendy restaurants in our ‘hood with their equally clueless friends…their poor pet languishing on hot sidewalks at the mercy of strollers rolling over paws and tails or getting tangled up with people walking the area.  Not to mention those dogs who act aggressively toward their manacled brethren (or vice versa) or the ones suffering alone in a car that is anywhere from 20-40 degrees hotter than the outside ambient temperature with no water or ability to control the heat.  This is animal cruelty people, plain and simple!

Then there are those who just can’t seem to help themselves by taking Fido shopping with them.  I mean who in their right mind takes a dog shopping???  I love Sam dearly and want him with me whenever possible, but I have the good sense to leave him at home when I go shopping.  It seems ridiculous to take him to the grocery store, yet I can’t tell you how many times I’ll dash off for some milk and see dogs sitting on the back riser baking in the sun or hanging their heads out of a partially cracked window desperately seeking relief.  Which prompts a terse visit with the store manager for an announcement over the PA for the owner to come forward.  I’ve left notes on windshields using not so lady-like language to those cretins and been seconds from calling the police when the idiot owner arrives and gives me the what-for about minding my own business.  Talk about doubling down on bad behavior.  Yikes!

Is it that people just don’t realize the consequences and exactly how hot it gets in a parked car?  On a 78-degree day, the temperature inside a vehicle can easily reach 100-120 degrees in mere minutes.  On a 90-degree day, it can reach 160 degrees in less than 10 minutes!  Dogs do not have the ability to cool themselves down as easily as us uprights and once overheated, can suffer organ damage, heatstroke, even death in as little as 15 minutes.

So the next time you’re out and about, please leave your pup at home. It’s more than a bad idea, it’s cruel and can be a chargeable offense. You might as well just put your pooch in a hot oven and bake cookies. It’s better to leave them at home when you have shopping and errands to run, unless you can always bring him inside with you.

What if you see a dog in a locked car and cannot find the owner?  The ASPCA recommends calling animal control or 911.  Maybe a few more broken windows will wake people up.  I know it seems ridiculous to have to say this, but spread the word and sign the Hot Car Pledge.  Surely the only reason people that do this is because just don’t realize the dangers associated with leaving dogs in cars.  And if your municipality doesn’t have laws prohibiting pets from being left unattended in parked cars, start lobbying for one.

Whew, I know I got really worked up over this issue, but when I see it happen or read yet another story about it, it’s hard for me not to get worked up about it.  Okay, now I’ll climb off my soapbox and enjoy a nice hot dog (but a vegetarian version :)) that is the quintessential summertime food and try to stay cool during the Dog Days of August. Just don’t get me started about runners with dogs on hot pavement!