pet connection

My column this month is on pets that have overcome disabilities. We all know what great things they’re capable of, but for some people it comes as a surprise. As usual, I gathered more stories than I could use. Cassidy’s story made it into my finished piece but was later cut, so I thought I’d share it here.

Cassidy the Rottweiler hasn’t let a missing leg stop her. She lives with Becky Buffum of Austin, Texas, who adopted her when she realized no one else would want this loving but ‘defective’ dog.

On the adoption application, one of the questions was ‘What will you allow your dog to do?’ Buffum recounts. ‘My response was ‘Anything she wants.’

Since then, Cassidy has gone to dog camp, where she excelled at agility and lure coursing. She recently clocked 19 miles an hour at a ‘fastest dog’ contest and nimbly navigates the 150 steps down to the lake from Buffum’s home. She’s learned to swim and makes frequent visits to retirement homes and schools as a therapy dog. The only thing that’s difficult for Cassidy is walking slow, Buffum says.

Cassidy is probably more agile than either of my two four-legged Rottweilers,” Buffum says. “If you say ‘Try it,’ she says ‘Okay.’

It’s not all sweetness and light living with a pet who has a disability. Younger animals usually recover from surgery and start getting around more quickly than older ones. And if you’re considering adopting an animal with a sensory or bodily deficit, take your home environment into account, says Randi Golub, a veterinary technician who adopted two special-needs cats: Cassidy, who’s missing a leg, and Jimmy, who had both eyes removed.

If we had a bunch of active kids or toddlers around, I don’t think that would be the best thing for the cats because they need a patient, stable household. Because Jimmy’s hearing is so acute, I think being in a noisy house with a lot going on might be a little overstimulating for him. With Cassidy you have to move slow because sometimes he starts to go right and then winds up going left.

Of course, I’ve found that to be true with most cats. And Golub, a serial furniture rearranger, has had to curb her tendencies since adding Jimmy to the household. On the plus side, she’s gained two great new therapy cats.

I always tell people that my biceps were never in better shape than when I was carrying a three-legged greyhound up and down the stairs. What about you? Do you have any stories about the joys and difficulties of living with a special-needs animal?

Gratuitous Cavalier blogging: We’re planning the second annual Darcy FUNDay for Saturday, May 31. We’re planning a mini agility course if we can round up some equipment, a rally course, and best costume and best trick competitions. Cardiologist Michael Lesser will be speaking as will my friend and “pet edutainer” Arden Moore, who’s going to talk about cooking for dogs. I’ve collected lots of great prizes, and we’re planning a raffle and a silent auction.

Harper is on track to become a supermodel and Thornton traveling Cavalier (travelier?). She’s going to be in a cover shoot for a dog magazine and in a couple of weeks she’s flying to Oklahoma with Jerry. In the cabin, natch. As with everything else she does, I’m sure she’ll take to it with gusto.

You know you’ve had a lot of animals on the go over the years when the cargo desk guy at your local airport greets you by your first name.

“Hi Gina! Back so soon?”

“Hi, Fred! ‘Fraid so. Alaska 2527 in yet?”

To be sure, it was an unusual week, with the puppy I’d raised for my friend Mary (hey, Otter, miss ya, girl!) going back to Texas on a Continental red-eye direct on Tuesday night, and Ilario the Siberian kitten coming from Portland a couple days later. At the Sacramento airport, all cargo is handled from the same desk, regardless of the airline. Which means if you’re moving an animal, you’re going to talk to Fred.

Before that, I last talked to Fred when I flew with Woody to Texas back in the fall, on that same red-eye Continental flight I used for Otter last week. I hate red-eye flights (I never can sleep on them), I but I chose it specifically because it’s the best flight for a pet — short, direct, cool and during the off-peak travel hours.

By the way, Woody (pictured), is one well-traveled young dog. (more…)

On NPR’s Science Friday a couple days ago, host Ira Flatow explored the possibility of bio-engineered animal-less “meat,” prompted by a pledge from PETA for a million bucks for the person who:

[...] is able to make the first in vitro chicken meat and sell it to the public by June 30, 2012. The contestant must do both of the following:

• Produce an in vitro chicken-meat product that has a taste and texture indistinguishable from real chicken flesh to non-meat-eaters and meat-eaters alike.
• Manufacture the approved product in large enough quantities to be sold commercially, and successfully sell it at a competitive price in at least 10 states.

OK, not withstanding the fact that PETA probably picked up more than a million dollar’s worth of free publicity and probably quite a bit in donations, too, for more grandstanding nonsense — the chances of there being a competitively prized, commercially available product in four years would have to be pretty darn small — who on earth would want to trust the people responsible for food safety for us and our pets — corporate agribiz, foreign nations and a neutered U.S. regulatory system — with the production of synthetic meat-like food?

Um … not me.

Many of the points PETA makes in its “go veg” campaigns — aside from not eating meat for philosophical or religious reasons — would be made moot by the move away from factory farming and toward humanely, sustainably produced meat along with enforcement of standards already on the books.

Check out the Slow Food organization for some good information on what’s good for us all. And make your choices in line with what you yourself believe to be right.

Yes, my day job “green blogging” is leaking over here. My boss says: “Why does everything you write about “green living” seem to be about food? Can’t you write about compact fluorescent light bulbs a little? We ARE a community-owned electric utility!” But to me, feeding the world in a sustainable way is the bottom line — and we need to do it in a way that protects both us (pets included) and our ability to keep this big blue marble we’re all riding on from breaking down because we ain’t got no spare.

And speaking of food, Agatha this morning was sitting on two beautiful large brown eggs. Oh my gosh? Fresh eggs … is it really this easy? And the hens are so cute and friendly! I thanked Agatha and them scrambled the the eggs for breakfast. Update: Make that three big brown eggs, but I’m not sure who laid the third. Update No. 2: The Aruacunas are here, duly named Paloma, Isabella and Viviana (thanks, Nadine!)

Update on the kitten front: He’s doing great. I brought the two quietest and most gentle of the dogs — Drew and Heather — into the office for him to get used to while I work this morning. The others are on the other side of the baby-gate. Ilario is doing just fine with it all.

The four Aruacunas are yet to arrive, but I now have:

• Agatha, a Delaware;
• Beatrice, a Rhode Island Red; and
• Charlotte, a Barred Plymouth Rock.

The names came to me on the way back from the lady I got them from. Gotta think of some suitable names for the Aruacunas.

In other news … Ilario scared the pants off me this morning. Got up, went into the office and looked into the wire dog crate where he’s acclimating to life with dogs.

No kitten.

Found him sleeping in the cubby hole of the cat tree. Seems the little guy is an escape artist, and is still small enough to fit through a gap in the bars of the wire crate. He is now in a large, solid Vari-Kennel Ultra instead. No shimmying out of this one, pal.

He’s spitting at the dogs a little as they walk by, but they couldn’t care less about him. A kitten in full flight is considerably more interesting, though, so he’s just going to have to relax in the crate for a couple days, then graduate to the office with a baby-gate keeping the dogs out, and then get the run of the house and Clara’s Secret Garden.

For her part, Clara finally figured out she had feline company in the house. She wasn’t exactly happy about it, but her response wasn’t over-the-top fury, so I’m guessing all will be well soon enough.

The newest member of the family is amazingly relaxed considering what a stressful day he has had, flying to Sacramento from Portland. He’s sitting in a Great Dane-sized crate in my office with a bed, food, water and a litter box inside. This will be his home for the next couple of days while he acclimates to the incredible shock of suddenly living with dogs. He’s sitting in the bed at the back of the crate trying trying to keep his eyes open … and failing.

For the dogs’ part, the reaction has been a shrug — wow, look, another cat, so what?

Clara has yet to come into the office and realize what’s in the crate. She’s asleep in my bedroom.

More tomorrow, including a picture. Poor little tyke just needs to be left alone for now.