*A Day at the Park; Rainy and Zoey Break New Ground 
  By Alyssa Mazur

*Flirting with Dessert; Photos from a Pet Sitting Visit with S'more
  Photos by Sandy Brown

*Perception v. Truth; Facts About So-Called "Bad Breeds"
  By Gia Trapani

*Next Month: citydog's 2nd Annual citydog Award Ceremony is coming up!
Humane Society of Greater Kansas City; Art Unleashed

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612 W.48th St.
on the Country 
Club Plaza

816.753.3647
www.threedog.com

A Day at the Park
By Alyssa Mazur
For most dogs, the new Penn Valley Dog Park is a dream, come true. 3 wonderful acres of safely fenced-in grass and trees for them to run and play to their heart’s content, without owners warily looking over their shoulders for the off-leash police.

The park is packed on the weekends with canines and their people, barking, talking, and generally having a grand old time.

Some dogs are lucky and live so close to the park, that they can actually enjoy a brief walk to the park, enjoy some freedom, and then return home tired and happy.

Such is the case with Rainy and Zoey McClenahan-Starr. Rainy, a slick, seal Italian Greyhound, and Zoey, a delightfully dappled Dalmatian are literally down the block (and across a few streets) from the Park. Residents of a lovely townhouse located in historical Union Hill, the two were actually the very first dogs to use the Penn Valley facility.

They were lucky enough to do so on a typical, Kansas City winter day. It was cold, muddy, and windy day and we walked with our heads down and bundled up in sweaters (Rainy and I, not Zoey!). 

We went farther then we intended and looking up, happened upon the skeleton fencing of the new dog park. Looking around, I noticed two men working on the double-gate system, the final completion of the surround.

I stopped the dogs and asked permission to enter the dog park for the very first time. The men eagerly stepped aside to allow us into the park and watched, satisfied to see the fruits of their labor, as the two dogs burst forth off their leashes to discover the wonders of the park for the very first time.

And they put on the perfect show for their admiring human audience; pure energy released into the park and brightened a dismal day for all.

Rainy, skimming the ground like a barn swallow through a dusky, winter sky, swept by Zoey in every increasing circles. She delighted in her freedom, the taste of the wind on her tongue, and the joy of sweet liberation. 

Zoey too shared her glee in his own way, quickly yet methodically pacing off the park in a grid pattern, running back and forth, all the while sniffing, marking, and scratching his dominance and ownership of the new area.

Finally, when I could no longer feel my fingers or toes and the kind men had to return to finishing the gate, we called it a day and decided to head home. Both dogs, much to my amazement, came to me immediately, tired, happy, and cheeks flushed (okay, so dogs don’t have cheeks, but if they did, they would have been rosy) from the activity.

They both skipped along all the way back home, muddy-paws, and all. It wasn’t until we were a few doors away when thin-skinned Rainy started shivering, something that normally happens almost immediately on chilly days to the little Italian Greyhound.

After wiping our paws and feet, we snuggled together on Zoey’s special white, leather chair to finish thawing out and write of our adventure for their mom and dad. It was a surprisingly refreshing way to spend a winter day and I’m quite certain that we all dreamed of warm weather, doggy friends, and a beautiful dog park dressed in green!

For more information on the Penn Valley and other Off-Leash parks in the Kansas City Metro area, visit www.kcscoop.org

citydog's
5th Anniversary Party and 2nd Annual citydog Award Ceremony

TAKE YOUR DOG.
Don't make him 
hear about it second hand at the dog park.
____________

Sunday, August 15th, 
Time TBA
Courtyard of the 
Just Off Broadway Theater
31st and Wyandotte

RSVP at 816.561.4504 or sociallysavvy
@citydogwalking.com

check out last years photos:
1st Annual citydog Award Ceremony

Jag Jordan-Kidwell who some of you may remember from our citydog Award Ceremony last year, along with Poppy, his best Whippet buddy won the "Slowest Fast Dogs" Award.  Jag who was a Whippet, along with many larger or deep chested breeds have problems with "bloat" or their stomachs flipping.  Jag had this problem with his lungs.  Unfortunately it was not a problem that could be fixed.  

Pumpkin Gray-Houghton was a black and orange Guinea Pig.  He lived with Betty Sue, his housemate.  Oddly enough, Betty is the pig that is on two different medicines, but one day Pumpkin lost interest in his food.  After many visits to the vet, it was discovered that Pumpkin had several tumors.  Once an animal that is not a prey animal begins to lose interest in food, it is very difficult to re-instate the motivation to eat. His family made the decision that was best for Pumpkin.

Sydney (Tubby Tuna) Turns-Leese Tubby Tuna, as he was affectionately known, was one of many pets that are loved and cared for in the Turns-Leese household.  While the other two cats are show Maine Coons, tall, sleek and slender, Sydney was a short, round Himalayan.  He was none the less equipped to jump onto his favorite chair!  He also was the only cat to receive any sort of medicine.  He didn't like it, but somehow maintained his dignity while we smeared gel into his ear. While we have not yet been to the house since Tubby passed away, we are certain that his presence is missed.

Flirting With Dessert; A Pet Sitting Visit with S'more

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July 7 - 18, 2004
Cats & Dogs or Dogs & Cats
Domesticated by The Paul Mesner Puppets
Thousands of years ago some wolf got the smart idea to go through our garbage Since then we have had man's best friend. And somewhere along the line cats decided they would live under the same roof as their human inferiors. The two most popular pets in the world share our lives and we share theirs. Now in an expose we finally learn what they think. In interviews we hear their point of view and we let the fur fly and the tail wag in an exploration of dogs and cats or cats and dogs.

Presented at Unity Temple on the Plaza, 47th and Jefferson ~ ticket info or call 816-235-6222

http://www.paulmesnerpuppets.org/season_05.html

PS-With the help of over 940 participants and over 2,000 attendees, the HSGKC raised over $43,000 during last months Dog-n-Jog!  Way to go Kansas City!

"No animal should ever jump up on the dining-room furniture
unless absolutely certain that he can hold his own in
the conversation." - Fran Lebowitz

"I wonder if other dogs think poodles are members
of a weird religious cult." - Rita Rudner

After all, we all hear the news reports that tell us that another Pit Bull, Rottweiler, Doberman, Chow Chow, or other so called dangerous breed has attacked and severely injured or killed a person. Many of us even know that the ten breeds listed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as most often involved in fatal attacks on humans from 1978 to 1998 are: St. Bernards, German Shepherds, Great Danes, Akitas, Pit Bulls, Chow Chows, Rottweilers, Dobermans, Malamutes, and Huskies. So, when confronted with all these questions/comments/pieces of advice, we do what any loving parents of one of the so-called dangerous/vicious breeds do—we research, learn and arm ourselves with facts about breeds, bites, and statistics.

The fact even now, four-and-a-half years later, is that dog bites ARE a problem: there are nearly fifty three million dogs in the United States and there are five million reported dog bites per year in the United States. According to dogbitelaw.com, of this number, roughly 800,000 people (or roughly 2 percent of the population in the U.S.) seek medical treatment for dog bites. And according to the Humane Society of the U.S., the most frequently bitten in order of frequency are children, the elderly, and postal service letter carriers. Only a fraction of all bites, ten to twenty people per year to be exact, result in human fatalities with children, sadly, most often being the victims. 

Further, since 1978, the CDC reported that fatal attacks have in fact been attributed to over 30 different breeds, including Pomeranians, Yorkshire Terriers, Cocker Spaniels, and Golden Retrievers, but the media downplays this and sensationalizes attacks by the “top ten bad breeds.” They quote the CDC statistics, but only to underscore attacks by the so-called bad breeds and they don’t mention the fact that the CDC stresses that ANY dog can bite and that much of any dog’s behavior is attributable to irresponsible ownership.
However, compounding the media bias are the statistics themselves. While useful to disseminate and compare raw data, statistics do not offer explanations and aren’t adequate as the sole source of information on ANY topic. 

Statistics don’t tell us that many jurisdictions require dog bite victims to list the dog that bit them by breed. With it estimated that the average person is unable to identify more than 30 breeds of dog on sight, many victims/recorders of bites use guesswork—it is not uncommon for example for Boxers or other
blocky, muscular dogs to be listed as Pit Bulls. Add to this the stress and emotional turmoil that often accompanies a bite and it’s easy to see how data that’s collected is often wrong from the get go. Further more, mixed breeds are usually not listed as such when recording a bite. Instead they are listed as the breed they most resemble, with mixes such as Chow Chow/Collie being listed as “Chow Chow.”

Further, statistics don’t explain that the likelihood of a particular breed showing up on the list of bite or fatality incidents is largely dependent on the popularity of that breed—data from the 1950’s and 1960’s show high appearances of breeds that were popular at those times, Doberman’s showed up more in the 1970’s as people rushed to get one, Pit Bulls experienced a burst of popularity in the ‘80 and showed up more often, and Rottweilers showed up more in the 1990’s as their popularity in the U.S. surged—and that breed specific bites and fatalities change from one area of the country to another. Nor do the
statistics explain that the reason bigger breeds such as the ten so-called bad breeds show up most often because bigger dogs obviously and unfortunately do more damage when they bite. 

Furthermore, statistics don’t point out that certain conditions contribute to the
possibility of a dog biting: according to dogbitelaw.com, chained dogs are over 2 times more likely to bite and unspayed/unneutered dogs are 3 times more likely to bite. And lastly, statistics, when used, manipulated, and presented in a biased manner, do not encourage a balanced perspective and almost always elicit emotional responses instead of fact-based responses.

And who ultimately suffers from this media bias and use of select statistics? Those of us who are owners of any of the so-called bad breeds and our dogs themselves. Why does all of this matter to us? Because those of us with Carmie’s, Rosie’s, J.J.’s, and Zygos’s can be: denied homeowner’s insurance; can have our homeowner’s insurance cancelled; can find ourselves in the position of constantly defending our beloved dog to friends, family, and even complete strangers; can be harassed by wary neighbors whose only source of information is the nightly news; can have our dogs shot by highway patrolmen who ignore their wagging tails and deem them “aggressive Pit Bulls” (as happened just a couple summers ago to two Bulldogs); can be forced into a position of either moving or giving up our dog if our city passes breed specific legislation (BSL) making ownership of certain breeds illegal (currently Kansas City, Ks, Overland Park, Ks, and Liberty, Missouri are just a few of the local cities that have breed specific legislation); can have our dogs seized by animal control officers as we travel through jurisdictions where they’re illegal (even though they’re in a car with us and we’re not living in that area); and much more.

And why should it matter to all other dog owners? Because, as pointed out by the CDC itself, dogbitelaw.com, dogexpert.com, and numerous dog trainers and veterinarians, ANY dog can bite and with the increase of reported dog bites every year in the U.S., any of us or people we love could become a statistic, as could any of our dogs unfortunately.

Whether we own a purebred or a mixed breed dog, it is up to each and every one of us to be a responsible dog owner: 1) know the history of our dog’s breed(s), 2) familiarize ourselves with breed specific behaviors/traits and breed temperaments, 3) spay and neuter our pets, 4) train and socialize our dogs from the minute we take them home with us, 5) restrain our dogs in areas that are not designated as off leash, 6) redirect our puppies and dogs to chew and bite only on toys or chew bones, NEVER people (what’s cute as a puppy won’t be nearly as cute when that puppy weighs 85 pounds or when a dog cannot differentiate when it’s okay to bite or mouth a human and when it’s not) and do not wrestle with our dogs (again, this teaches and reinforces aggressive behavior), 6) watch our own dog’s behavior for extreme fear of
strangers, aggressiveness to other animals or humans, and admit to ourselves when it may be time to ask our vet to refer us to an animal behaviorist, and 7) familiarize ourselves with legislation that is biased, unfair, makes no difference in actual number of bites, and that ultimately affects all of us who own a dog, not just those of us who own one of the “top ten bad breeds.”

Kansas City's Socially Savvy Dog Walking and Pet Sitting Company Since 1999
Columbus Park, River Market, Downtown, Westside, Union Hill, Hyde Park, Westport, Plaza, Brookside, Waldo
112 W.18th St. 2nd Floor     Kansas City, MO 64108    816.561.4504    sociallysavvy@citydogwalking.com 

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