Deaf dog

For anyone who thought sign language was just for humans, this dog has proved otherwise.
Deaf canine Spot will sit, stay and come at the command of his carers after learning to understand their signs. He even knows when he has been naughty or good.
The Jack Russell cross was handed to the Blue Cross Southampton adoption centre six months ago when his owner discovered he was deaf.
Animal behaviour assistant Tasha Cole said: “Spot had never lived in a home. He came from a man who had bought him and his two litter mates as working dogs and they lived in a stable. But the man discovered he was deaf and didn’t want him.
“When he arrived he didn’t know anything. He was very sociable with dogs and people but in the home he had no concept of how to behave.
“I started taking him with me at the end of the day so he could get used to a home environment and when he first saw the television he nearly fell off the sofa he was so shocked. He got stuck on the stairs too. It was like having a toddler in the house.
“The hardest thing was not being able to communicate with Spot so we worked with him to get him to understand sign language, using food to help his training. For example I would hold food in my hand and turn it into a gesture so he learned ‘come here’. “
Tasha said now that Spot can communicate, he is much happier.
She added: “He used to get really frustrated but we can converse now and he has an understanding of what we want from him.
“He’s a lot more settled now and he’s really quite responsive.”
Now Spot is looking for a loving home with owners who can carry on his training.
Tasha said: “We are really hoping he will find a home. He is one very special boy and it has been amazing to watch him progress. I am so proud of what he has achieved.”
Find out more about Spot.

New album

Love the dog. Do not know Norah Jones but I think she is big! Click on the link if you want to have a sample of her music.


















http://www.norahjones.com/index.php

Eat your dog

The authors of a provocative new book have bad news for animal-lovers: pets are bad for the planet. They consume vast amounts of precious resources and produce mountains of noxious waste.
In their book “Time to Eat the Dog: The Real Guide to Sustainable Living”, New Zealand-based architects Robert and Brenda Vale say keeping a medium-sized dog has the same ecological impact as driving 10,000 km a year in a 4.6 litre Land Cruiser. They calculated that the modern dog chows through about 164 kg of meat and 95 kg of cereals a year.
Here are the eco-footprints of the family pet each year as calculated by the Vales: German shepherds: 1.1 hectares, compared with 0.41ha for a large SUV. Cats: 0.15ha (slightly less than a Volkswagen Golf). Hamsters: 0.014ha (two of them equate to a medium-sized plasma TV). Goldfish: 0.00034ha (an eco-finprint equal to two cellphones).
If dogs are irresponsible energy users, I agree with a journalist from The Sunday Times who a few weeks ago wrote: “Then there is the old English sheepdog, perhaps the most environmentally friendly breed of all. If you can get hold of half a dozen or so and train them to lie down for long periods, they make very effective loft insulation.”

All in a day's work

Glenn Close on taking her dogs to work:

"When I'm shooting DAMAGES, I always take my dogs, Jake and Bill to work. One reason is because I don't want to spend money for a dog-walker, but the main reason is because I can. I have always taken my dogs to whatever set I'm working on, be it a feature film, a TV set or a theater. (When I was in the musical, SUNSET BOULEVARD, my two dogs actually had their own name plaques on my dressing room door---on their eye-level.) Another reason why I take my dogs to work is that they are incredibly well behaved so I know they will not disrupt or distract the cast and crew.

Actually, in the beginning, they did cause a bit of a disruption. We were shooting a scene in an area of Patty's office where there is no carpeting. I suddenly heard the clicking of what I knew were dog toenails! I realized that Bill and Jake, tied to my chair, were pacing back and forth in their attempt to watch the action, their toenails clicking on the linoleum. We had to stop shooting and re-locate them to a more quietly carpeted place--still within eyesight of the action. Another thing I do to prepare them for the set is to exchange their regular collars, loaded with all their noisy dog tags, with two tag-less collars, embroidered with "Bad To The Bone". They get all excited during the collar exchange--Bill must twirl around at least 10 times-- because they know they will be coming with me to the set.

I also allow both the dogs to come on the set during rehearsal. That's the time they go around greeting all the crew and being patted to their hearts' content. They really add to our quality of life, by putting a smile on everyone's faces, even on the hardest, longest days. They take their job as the DAMAGES mascots very seriously and do an incredible job.

So I salute my canine entourage and look forward to DAMAGES--Season III with them trotting behind me or lying just out of camera-range, always keeping a watchful, loving eye. "

Good old Fred

Frederick II of Prussia or Frederick the Great or nicknamed der alte Fritz ("Old Fritz") loved dogs. Although he was an accomplished rule, he had an artistic temperament. He modernized the Prussian bureaucracy and civil service and promoted religious tolerance throughout his realm. Interested primarily in the arts during his youth, Frederick unsuccessfully attempted to flee from his authoritarian father, Frederick William I, after which he was forced to watch the execution of a childhood friend.
Frederick the Great wrote endless letters to his sister, Wilhelmina, who had gone through those turbulent childhood years with him. He sought the companionship and love of his pet dogs. After the death of his beloved greyhound, Biche, he wrote in one of his letters to his sister:
“I have had a domestic loss which has completely upset my philosophy. I confide all my frailties in you: I have lost Biche, and her death has reawoken in me the loss of all my friends, particularly of him who gave her to me. I was ashamed that a dog could so deeply affect my soul; but the sedentary life I lead and the faithfulness of this poor creature had so strongly attached me to her, her suffering so moved me, that, I confess, I am sad and afflicted. Does one have to be hard? Must one be insensitive? I believe that anyone capable of indifference towards a faithful animal is unable to be grateful towards an equal, and that, if one must choose, it is best to be too sensitive than too hard”.
Frederick and his dogs are buried at Sanssouci, the summer residence he had built in Potsdam.

So there.......

Some good news

Special Forces units make a point of never leaving one of their own behind — and Australia’s Sabi is no exception. The bomb-sniffing black labrador has been found after being declared missing in action, presumed dead, following a gun battle in Afghanistan 14 months ago. Four-year-old Sabi was rescued by American soldiers in the remote mountains of Uruzgan province, deep inside Taleban territory in the south.
After more than a year of eluding the Taleban and living off her wits, Sabi received a celebrity welcome from General Stanley McChrystal, head of Nato troops, and Kevin Rudd, the Australian Prime Minister, who saw the dog during an overnight trip to visit his country’s servicemen.
Army vets are testing the dog for diseases, but Brigadier Brian Dawson from the Australian Defence Force, said she appeared in good health despite living wild — suggesting that someone may have been feeding her. Pedigree dogs are prized for fighting in some parts of Afghanistan and can fetch prices of more than $2,000 (£1,200), it is reported.