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C A N I N E S   O N L I N E ™
Copyright 2000 Canines Online ™
Issue No.8, Vol.1, January 5, 2001

============================================
CONTENTS:
=>Health:
   -- Outdoor Hazards for Dogs
=>Canine Topic Corner:
   -- What is Canine Rescue?
=>Tidbits:
   -- Fast-Footed Fido
=>News Briefs:
   -- Pounds turn to breed-specific shelters
   -- Dog rescued from icy lake
   -- Groomer helps out shelters
   -- Chubby puppy
   -- A dog's life gets better thanks to new product
   -- Valley animal shelter under fire
=>Recipes:
   -- Peanut Butter Biscuits
   -- Health Muffins
=>Featured Site:
   -- Humane Society of the United States
=>Featured Breed:
   -- Chihuahua
=>Product News, Reviews, and Coupons:
   -- Picking The Perfect Toy For Your Dog!
=>The Tail End
============================================

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HEALTH
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Outdoor Hazards for Dogs

Before you let your dog outside to play, be aware of the dangers that
exist in your own backyard. Your dog may love to roll in the grass and
dig in the dirt, but unsupervised outdoor trips carry risks.

Exposure to Heat and Cold
Extreme heat or cold can be fatal, so keep your dog inside when the
temperature soars or drops. When it snows make sure you wipe his feet
off after a walk so there is no salt in between his pads.

If he spends a lot of time outdoors, provide an insulated doghouse as a
shelter. Pick a doghouse with a sloped roof and a floor that's slightly
raised off the ground so your dog won't be soaked when it rains. Straw,
cedar chips, or a padded bed inside lets your dog nap in comfort and
helps him keep warm on chilly days.

For hot weather, make sure there's a shady spot outdoors where your dog
can escape the sun's rays and provide plenty of fresh water. Consider
using heavy bowls for your dog's fresh food and water so he can't tip
them over during playtime. If you have any doubt about your dog's
ability to withstand the weather, keep him inside!

Garbage
Make sure your dog can't get into garbage cans or compost bins. Fatty
or decomposing foods could make him sick. Bones from food can splinter
and puncture your dog's mouth, throat, or intestines.

Your Yard
Your dog may find the world beyond your yard enticing and may not
understand that other critters and cars could hurt him. Make sure your
fence is high enough so he can't jump over it and deep enough that she
won't dig under it. Also check your fence for holes, and make sure you
always latch gates securely.

Be sure your dog always wears a collar and ID tags in case he ever does
get out. Be particularly careful if you move - many pets get lost
during times of transition.

If you have a pool fence it off to keep your dog out of harm's way.
Dogs don't instinctively know how to swim, and even if they can, they
may not know where to get out of the pool. Plus, chlorinated water
isn't the best drink for your dog.

Other areas with water: You may give your dog plenty of fresh water
daily, but he'll still be tempted to lap from other sources in the
backyard. Make any ponds, fountains, kiddy pools, or birdbaths should
be off limits: Chemicals or bacteria in the water could make him ill.
That goes double for any other surfaces in your backyard that collect
water.

Lawn Chemicals
Keep fertilizers, insecticides, and other lawn and garden chemicals in a
shed or garage and well out of your dog's reach. These potent products
can be poisonous. Don’t even let him walk on a chemically treated lawn
until it has dried. And try to keep him from nibbling chemically
treated grass, flowers, or plants until after it's rained or you've
watered the area.

Plants
Many outdoor plants and some fruits and vegetables can hurt your dog. A
few of them are: English ivy, Japanese yew, azaleas, the underground
parts of spring bulbs, rhubarb leaves, eggplant and tomato vines, potato
plants and berries, and some mushrooms. Keep potted plants out of
reach, and set up a fence around your garden to keep your pet out of the
homegrown goodies.

Sticks and Branches
Like chicken bones, sticks can puncture your dog's mouth, throat, or
intestines. If you offer him ropes and nylon bones to play with
instead, he'll have all the fun of stick chewing without the danger.

Cars
Unless your dog is perfectly trained, keep him on a leash anytime you go
beyond the yard. Even for an obedient dog that always stays close, a
leash is probably a good idea near busy intersections or in crowded
areas. A collision with a moving vehicle could take his life, so it's
better to be safe than sorry.

Even with its hazards, your yard is likely to be one of the safest
places for your dog to play. When you know what to check for, it will
make it a safer place for you and your dog.


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CANINE TOPIC CORNER
****************************************************************
What is Canine Rescue?
Part II of a series of articles about dog rescue

By Melody Joyce*

Mystee strayed from home and became hopelessly lost. She was cold,
tired, hungry and scared when the Michigan Humane Society (MHS) found
her in February of this year.

Like most humane societies and animal shelters, resources available to
MHS for supporting the long-term needs of stray dogs like Mystee are
severely limited. As a result, few shelters can afford to be truly
"humane" to their "captives" for long. Sadly, most dogs not reclaimed
or adopted from shelters within a few days are "humanely" killed.

Fortunately for Mystee, she strayed now, not 10-15 years ago when rescue
organizations were rare. MHS contacted one of today's leading rescue
groups, the "FURKIDS" Chihuahua and Toy Rescue organization, and placed
Mystee into the temporary safekeeping of FURKIDS board member and foster
caregiver, Tanya Irwin.

Canine rescue organizations began to form in the 1980s, through the
efforts of caring people who recognized the shortfalls of humane
societies. These animal lovers and pet owners wanted to stop the
senseless waste and needless destruction of "pre-loved" but
"disenfranchised" dogs, cats, and other pets. They recognized that
orphaned pets have similar needs to those of orphaned children. As a
result, today's rescue organizations for homeless pets are modeled after
human adoption and foster agencies.

Tanya took Mystee into foster care. As an experienced dog owner and
foster caregiver, Tanya knew well the risks of allowing an unknown dog
into her home. Mystee could expose Tanya's own dog, Martha and other
pets in Tanya's household to all sorts of dangers. Though MHS vets had
examined and spayed Mystee, she still could have carried undetected
disease, and she might have had behaviors that could endanger Martha's
safety. In fact, Mystee had kennel cough, requiring Tanya to carefully
quarantine her from Martha until Mystee was no longer infectious.
Nevertheless, like all dedicated canine foster caregivers, Tanya's
primary concern was for Mystee's long-term well being.

As days went by, Tanya carefully observed Mystee's behaviors.
Caregivers often house foster dogs for weeks or months before those dogs
are placed in permanent homes. In this way, foster home arrangements
allow caregivers to assess each dog's unique temperament and needs.
Such information helps rescue organizations place each dog in a home
that is most likely suited to that dog's long-term needs. Tanya saw,
for example, that Mystee showed fear behaviors typical of a previously
abused dog. That information helped FURKIDS when they placed Mystee
with her appropriate "forever" family.

Many foster caregivers like Tanya also teach their foster dogs
housetraining and obedience skills that enhance each dog's chances for
successful permanent rehoming. Mystee regularly soiled indoors when she
first came home with Tanya, but was reliably housetrained when she went
to her adoptive family.

FURKIDS is a 501(c)3 (not-for-profit, charitable) organization. The
meager funding available to such charitable rescue groups helps cover
costs such as spay and neuter fees, shots, food and bedding,
long-distance phone calls, postage, etc. Rescue adoption fees also help
defray fractions of those costs, but funds often fall short, and most
canine rescue organizations rely heavily on the generosity of their
supporters and their foster caregivers to help fill in the gaps.

So, like nearly all caregivers, Tanya devoted not only her time and
personal attention to Mystee's care, but also shares of her own family's
financial and material resources. These tangible and (especially)
intangible personal investments make "giving up" a fostered dog to a
permanent home a bittersweet event for all dedicated foster caregivers.

(Next issue: Canine Rescue from an Adopter's Perspective)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Melody Joyce holds a bachelor's degree in organizational management.
Her poetry and essays have appeared in small press and academic
publications, and since 1997, throughout the Internet. In 1997, Melody
established an award-winning online helpware resource for writers and
poets, and in spring of 2000 she combined her life-long love affair with
dogs and dog welfare with her business, literary and technological
expertise to establish a web and graphic design company that specializes
in serving canine professionals.


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TIDBITS
****************************************************************
Fast-Footed Fido
If you’ve ever seen a dog chase a cat, then you know dogs can run like
the wind. But just how fast does a dog run? Most domestic dogs are
capable of reaching speeds of about nineteen miles per hour when running
at full throttle, but the members if the greyhound family are the
fastest: they’re able to reach speeds of up to forty four miles per
hour.


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NEWS BRIEFS
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Pounds turn to breed-specific shelters
LEBANON, PA -- At Akita Rescue, adoption requirements are so rigorous
that 'the dog chooses you.'
http://www.mcall.com/html/news/regional/b_pg002b2_dogshelters.htm

Dog rescued from icy lake
HOOVER, AL -- A woman paddled her leaky boat with an old board to rescue
a dog from an icy lake behind her house.
http://www.al.com/news/birmingham/Jan2001/5-dog05.html

Groomer helps out shelters
HARDEEVILLE, SC -- A groomer keeps animals at the local animal shelters
looking their best at no cost, in addition to the eight dogs she trims
and cleans daily for a living.
http://www.beaufortgazette.com/localnews/story/0,1458,227158,00.html

Chubby puppy
American pets are getting fat, and it's not good for their health.
http://www.foxnews.com/etcetera/010401/obese_pets.sml

A dog's life gets better thanks to new product
ELGIN, IL -- Oxyglobin is an oxygen-containing fluid made from cow
hemoglobin and serves as a temporary substitute while the affected dog's
body repairs itself.
http://www.copleynewspapers.com/couriernews/top/e03woof.htm

Valley animal shelter under fire
LAS VEGAS, NV -- Even though the dog's owner said he was coming back for
his pet, the shelter is required by city ordinance to euthanize animals
only 72 hours after they're caught by animal control officers.
http://www.lvrj.com/lvrj_home/2001/Jan-03-Wed-2001/news/15153033.html


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RECIPES
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Peanut Butter Biscuits

Preheat oven to 400. In a mixing bowl, combine oat flour, soy flour and
baking powder. In a blender, blend peanut butter and milk. Pour peanut
butter mixture into dry ingredients and mix well. Turn dough out onto a
lightly floured surface and knead lightly. Roll out dough 1/4 in. thick
and cut into squares or use a cookie cutter. Place biscuits on baking
sheet about 1/2 in. apart and bake for 15 min., or until lightly
browned. Biscuits should be refrigerated or frozen.

Health Muffins
Preheat oven to 425. Line muffin tins with foil/paper muffin forms.