First, I have to give credit to automoblog.net for the clever DWD acronym.  Surprisingly, there are currently no laws that prevent people from driving with a dog in their laps.  That may change soon, as the California Assembly has just passed a bill that will prohibit DWD.  Before the bill can be passed into law, it will have to also be approved by the Senate.

Ok, listen…clearly having a dog on your lap is dangerous to you and the other drivers/passengers with whom you share the road.  But if you don’t give a crap about them, at least think about the saftey of your dog!!   If you get into an accident while DWD, your pup is going to be in big trouble.  Don’t risk it…click here for details on how Oscar stays safe in the car.

There has been a lot of dog news in the last few weeks…most of it very sad.  If you haven’t been paying attention, here’s a quick update…

First we had another dog electrocuted by stray voltage (in Queens).  Then a dog was killed by a street cleaner and a dog fighting ring was busted in the Bronx.  And finally, poor Trouble got her inheritance chopped from $12 Million to $2 Million!

Okay, that last one isn’t exactly in the same league as the first three, but nonetheless…this is not turning out to be a fun summer for the four-legged residents (or previous residents, in Trouble’s case) of New York City.  Let’s hope all the sad doggy news is behind us…

Unfortunately, we’re out of town this weekend, but this sounds a lot like the AKC’s Responsible Dog Ownership Day, which is TONS of fun!!

Free Event this Saturday at Stuyvesant Town/Peter Cooper Village Emphasizes Importance of Making Sure Your Urban Hound is a “Canine Good Citizen”

THIS Saturday, June 28, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m (rain date Sunday, June 29th).  Events will include:

–> The AKC Canine Good Citizen Test®. CGC is a two-part program that stresses responsible pet ownership for owners and basic good manners for dogs. All dogs that pass the 10-step CGC test will receive a certificate issued by the AKC designating their dog as a “canine good citizen.”

–> Low cost microchipping ($25) with proceeds going to the Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals.

–> A free handout of tips for urban pet-owners plus magazines, brochures and dog breed information provided by the AKC.

–> A “Doggie Fun Zone” with a pool, toys and an agility demonstration. Pets can try their paw at agility too!

–> Free nail clipping and fun giveaways for your canine companion.

For more information visit stuytown.com, call (212) 598-5296 or email Communications@akc.org

On June 19th, more than 9,000 dogs from across America illuminated the Reuters/NASDAQ Digital Tower in Times Square as part of the Purina Dog Chow promotion “Picture Your Dog in Times Square.”

One lucky dog, (Sassy, a two-year-old Yorkshire Terrier) and her owner also won a 5 day, 4 night trip to our fine city.  As part of the promotion, Purina also awarded grants to a number of organizations seeking to improve or create dog parks.

Congratulations, Sassy!

A recent Los Angeles Times article draws attention to a new amendment to the NYPD Patrol Guide which has expanded the definition of service animals to include those animals that assist people with epilepsy, heart disease, lung disease and other conditions, including mental disorders - in addition to seeing-eye dogs. 

As assistants to people with disabilities, service animals are granted all types of access that normal pets are not…to restaurants, stores, public transportation - access that most pet owners would love to have.  So, does this broader definition of a service animal make it easier for people to fraudulently pass off their pets as service animals?  Of course. 

Now personally, I firmly believe that if you take advantage of laws that were created to help people with disabilities by pretending that your dog is a service animal, you are banking a BOATLOAD of negative karma.  But I know that some people think…what’s the harm in bending the rules a little if my dog is trained and well-behaved??

My husband feels that Oscar should be granted special privileges because he’s a therapy dog (NOTE:  Therapy dogs are not granted ANY special privileges).  Yes, it’s true that he went through pretty extensive training and is very well-behaved and it would be much more convenient for us if we could bring Oscar wherever we wanted - but we don’t NEED to bring him everywhere with us to be able to effectively function in society.

The problem is that taking advantage of the privileges that are granted to service animals, like Adele, undermines the laws that exist to help people with disabilities. 

I think it’s terrific that authorities are acknowledging that service animals extend far beyond traditional service dogs for the blind.  Maybe service animals need some kind of animal version of the handicapped parking permit…something to identify them as legitimate service animals that can only be issued to owners with disabilities.

What do you think? 

All lovers of dog art should check out this cool short film…

The artist ties together a string of dog art images by morphing from one image to the next.  Click here for a full catalog of images of the individual pieces used and links to the artists.  What a great lesson in dog art history!!

Sadly, another dog has died recently in NYC as a result of stray voltage.  Sebastian, a 7-year old Siberian Husky, was electrocuted over the Memorial Day weekend in Queens.  Last June, Mushy, a 5-year old Bull Mastiff died as a result of stray voltage in Harlem.  The issue of stray voltage was elevated in 2004 after the death of a 30 yr old woman, but 4 years later it’s still a frightening problem.

According to what I’ve read, the problem usually occurs when frayed underground wires come in direct contact with a metal plate or manhole cover, but sometimes wet concrete itself becomes electrified.  Dogs fall victim to stray voltage more often because they don’t have shoes to insulate against the electricity.  I normally try to keep Oscar away from walking on metal surfaces, but it sounds like that’s not enough to keep him safe.  Very scary stuff… 

As far as I’m concerned, there’s only one real problem with dogs - they leave us far too quickly.  With normal life spans between 8 and 15 years (depending on the breed), a dog lover will have to suffer the loss of his/her best friend far too many times in a normal human lifetime.  Since Oscar is my first dog, I have yet to go experience the sad reality of losing a beloved pet.  And since Oscar is only 2 and 1/2, I hope that I won’t have to face this reality for at least another 10 years or more.  But it’s really scary how quickly the first few years have flown by…and it makes me unbearably sad to even think about the day when Oscar’s smiley face won’t be the first thing I see every morning.  I can’t even read stories about wonderful pets passing away without tearing up…

So, what if a company could clone your elderly or deceased pet and give you a perfect genetic match so that you could start all over again?  Best Friends Again is looking to do just that.  They claim to have successfully cloned a family dog named Missy 3 times.  Tpday they are auctioning off the opportunity for 5 people to clone their dogs and I CAN’T WAIT to see what people will bid for a 2nd chance with their dog.  Bidding for the first auction starts at $100K (!!), and the starting bid increases by $20K for each subsequent auction.

I joked with my husband that fortunately we have 10+ years for the price of cloning to come down, but assuming I had money to burn, would I really spend $100K for Oscar II?  My first reaction is…absolutely.  I would pay any amount of money for another 12-15 years of Oscar - adopting Oscar is the best decision I’ve ever made and I can’t imagine having to fall asleep every night without him curled up beside me.

But on the other hand…just think of all the animals in shelters and how many wonderful dogs could be helped with the money that will be spent on this first commercial cloning opportunity.  I have no doubt that the 5 cloning slots will go like hot cakes.  Even if the bidding never goes above the opening bid, that will be $700K spent to create 5 dogs.  Imagine how many dogs lives could be saved with $700K…when I think about it that way, I know I’ll never be able to justify Oscar II, so I will just have to do my best to enjoy every second with Oscar the 1st!!

What do you think?  Would you clone your current or childhood dog?

I just learned that this Friday is “Take your Dog to Work Day” - who knew? 

I can’t imagine that any of my previous employers would have allowed me to participate in this little-known holiday, but fortunately, in my current job every day is “Take your Dog to Work Day”! 

If you’re lucky enough to have an employer who lets you bring your dog to work this Friday (or every day), here is a great list of tips to help you make sure that the experience is positive for you, your dog and your co-workers.  Who knows, if it goes well, maybe your employer will permanently embrace the positive effects of having a dog in the office!

Here’s a picture of a very scruffy Oscar putting in a hard day at the office by helping to evaluate the packaging for our new product…

Oscar approved!!

I made a personal vow that I was only going to allow myself to write one post about poop per month.  I’ve been pretty much sticking to this rule…check out my April and May poop-related posts.

So, for my June post, I’d like to draw your attention to a few articles I came across about a recent crack down on people who don’t pick up their dogs poop.  Check out these articles from newsday.com and the Daily News with stats on recent two-fold increase on tickets given to New Yorkers for not picking up their dog’s #2.

On top of the increase in the number of tickets, it looks like the fine itself will also be increasing from $100 to $250 in the near future.  Here’s a great article that takes you on a day in the life of a NYC Sanitation Department Canine Task Force agent - that’s a mouthful, but in layman’s terms… it’s the guy who busts you for not picking up your dog’s crap.

Woohoo!!  I only have one question…can I start making citizen’s arrests?