Good News from the Windy City

Breed-specific legislation, which would have banned certain breeds and was a real possibility in Chicago, has been pushed back, thanks to the tireless efforts of well-known radio personality and pet writer Steve Dale and a coalition of companion animal experts and public officials. Here's what will happen instead:

The Task Force on Companion Animals and Public Safety, a coalition of experts representing various organizations, is now authorized under the auspices of the License and Consumer Protection Committee, Dale says.

A model for pre-empting breed-specific legislation has been created, which can be used by other cities.

People whose dogs have not been spayed or neutered--and thus are more likely to roam and to become a public nuisance or danger--must pay higher license fees. That's a good way to encourage spaying and neutering to reduce the production of unwanted puppies.

All dogs boarded in kennels or doggie day care or that are used by guard dog services must be microchipped. (I'd like to see this go further, with all breeders required to microchip puppies before they go to their new homes, so that breeders can be traced if dogs become lost or are turned in to shelters or rescue groups.)

People whose dogs are chronic wanderers face increased fees.

It's a good start. All dog owners owe thanks to Steve for his efforts, as well as to the many experts who provided support, including Patricia McConnell, Ian Dunbar, Gary Landsberg, Bonnie Beaver, AVMA president Roger Mahr and AVMA Animal Welfare vice president Gail Golab. Good job!

My friend Deb Eldredge, a veterinarian in New York, says: "Go Steve!!! Even if Chicago can't field a decent baseball team, they are smart about dogs!"

Weak in the Knees

Today's Wall Street Journal has a front-page article about the prevalence of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears in dogs. You won't find it online unless you're a subscriber, but it's worth finding a copy to read it, especially if you're unfamiliar with the problem or thought it only affected human athletes.

Written by Kevin Helliker, the article reports that the high rate of ACL tears is mystifying to veterinarians. Could it be the prevalence of obesity in dogs? A fat dog jumping on and off the sofa is putting a lot of pressure on his joints. And active dogs, unless they're well conditioned, are just as much at risk, especially if they're jumping and twisting to catch a flying disc. Cats are prone to ACL tears as well, especially if they're overweight.

How do you know if your pet is overweight? Sight and touch are your best guides. Look down at your dog or cat. Does she have a waist? If she looks more like a sausage, she's overweight. Put your hands on her body, thumbs lining up on the spine and the fingers splayed to the sides. Can you feel the ribs or are they buried under a layer of fat? Hint: you should be able to feel them but not see them.

If your dog or cat is overweight or has suffered an ACL tear or other injury, talk to your veterinarian about rehab. A good practitioner can put together a program that will help your pet lose weight and become better conditioned. Look for more about pet rehab in next week's Creature Comforts.

Dog Walking Weather

I was checking the weather today and noticed that the site had a feature that allows pet owners to determine the best time to walk their dogs--or cats. Here in California, we get a pretty wide range of walking times, apparently: the girls' petcast says they can be walked from 11 AM to 5 PM or 6 PM to 11 PM. I guess that means it's not going to rain until late tonight, if at all. It also notes that mosquito activity is low. Check your own personal petcast here.

And by the way, if you live in tornado alley and your dog starts barking incessantly for no apparent reason--like Sparkle the Jack Russell terrier, who lives in Crossville, Tennessee--you might want to start heading for the basement or some other protected area, with your dog, of course. Sparkle's home was destroyed, but luckily she and her people are all safe.

Equal Time for Birds

Larry Bird, my African ringneck parakeet, complains that I spend way too much time writing about the dogs and not nearly enough about his own beautiful self. Larry is 19 years old this spring. As you may have guessed from his name, we acquired him during the Lakers-Celtics playoffs in 1987. We tried to teach him to say "Go Lakers," but he was true to his color (vivid green) and would never repeat it. He does know a number of words and phrases, however: "Hi Larry," "Good morning," "What cha doin?" "Larry's a good bird" "Larry's a pretty bird" and, on occasion "Wipeout!" When we turn out the lights at night, he says "Good night!" He mimics door squeaks and makes kissing sounds.

But Larry's most unusual accomplishment is that he meows like a cat. Like several cats, in fact. He has two or three different meows, picked up from the various cats we've owned over the years. Most people think they're really hearing a cat when Larry meows. By the way, we also taught Larry to say "Here, kitty, kitty." After hearing him, one of my friends said, "That just proves that birds don't know what they're saying." I don't know about that. I think Larry used to get a kick out of biting the cats when they would stick their noses through his cage bars.

When he's not playing peekaboo with himself in the mirror, Larry likes to ride on shoulders and take hot showers with us. His favorite foods include scrambled eggs and chicken, leading us to nickname him "cannibal bird." The only drawback to Larry--besides the scattered seed and the powerful beak--is that when he wants attention, Larry shrieks. Not like a girl, thank goodness, but ear-piercing enough just the same. That's okay. We all need a good scream now and then.

Love and Money

An article in The Scotsman reports that an insurance company survey says that the cost of dog ownership over the course of the animal's life can range from 18,000 pounds to 33,000 pounds (that's $31,224 to $57,250 for us here in the States). I believe it. A veterinarian I know said recently that he spent more than $12,000 last year on his dogs and cats.

It's expensive enough when you're just buying high-quality food and taking them to the veterinarian once or twice a year, but when an injury occurs or illness strikes, vet bills can really get scary. A lot of people complain about the high cost of veterinary care, but it's certainly a better bargain than uninsured medical care. Veterinarians on the East and West coasts, where veterinary costs tend to be the highest, are paying a premium for land and staff salaries. And veterinary medicine is right up there with human medicine as far as what's available: kidney transplants for cats, hip replacements for dogs, chemotherapy for animals with cancer, physical therapy for dogs with ACL tears--you name it, it's probably available for animals or will be soon.

Even small hospitals, like the one I take my dogs to, can provide very sophisticated care. "We can do ultrasounds, we can do endoscopy, we can do laser surgery," says John Hamil, DVM. "If you go to the specialists, you can get care that rivals the care you can get in a human hospital, at a tiny fraction of the cost."

But even Dr. Hamil worries about rising costs for his clients. "With people stretched as tightly as they are...we have people that are priced out of the market," he says. "Certainly young people can be priced out very quickly."

Willingness to pay isn't necessarily related to income, though, he says. "Oftentimes people who have a modest amount are willing to spend the money, and sometimes people who have a lot of money say 'no way.' I see people as or more willing to provide care now at the new cost than they did 35 years ago at the lower cost, and I think that's because there is a different ethic in regards to care for animals. There's a different awareness of what's available and a different desire for the level of care to be provided."

This is a subject I contemplate every 10 years or so--about the length of time between each catastrophic pet health problem. Veterinary medicine has done some wonderful things for my animals, and I've never regretted a cent of the cost. I just wish it could do more. I would fly my Darcy to Timbuktu if they could fix her heart there. I have a neighbor who complained some time ago about the $600 his dog racked up for a back problem. "It's just not worth it," he said. He's so wrong.

House Hunting With Dogs

The Wall Street Journal's real estate section has a good piece on what dog owners should look for in a home. I especially liked the advice on electronic fences, which seem like a good idea to many people but have some definite cons: to name just two, they don't keep other people out of your yard and they don't prevent other dogs from coming into your yard and attacking your dog.

If you're a dog lover deciding where to settle, consider some of these dog-friendly cities. Dog Fancy has also ranked places friendly to dogs. Of all of these, my dog-tested favorites are Vancouver, Seattle, San Francisco, Long Beach, and San Diego. Just remember that water dogs do best in Vancouver. Luckily, my greyhound and Cavaliers have never minded the rain. Maybe that's because they're all of British origin and some ancestral memory tells them that rain is a normal state of affairs.

Cool Pet News

If only I'd had a dog to tutor me in school. I might have gotten beyond basic arithmetic. A couple of recent experiments show that dogs appear to use calculus-like, well, calculations to figure out the optimal path to fetch a ball or stick. And, of course, we all know they can count. My dogs all keep careful track of the number of treats each has received to make sure they're not shorted.

Those of you in tick country may be interested to learn that scientists have deciphered the genomes of certain bacteria that cause ehrlichiosis, a tick-borne disease that can affect dogs and people. The study reports new genes that allow the bacteria to evade a host's immune system and adapt to new niches and will help scientists better study the bacteria and how they operate.

Fellow pet writer Beth Adelman recommends a new book for people with allergies who have or would like to have pets. Here's what she says:

"I just got a copy of a great new book by Shirlee Kalstone, called "Allergic to Pets? The Breakthrough Guide to LIving With the Animals You Love." Shirlee worked with a DVM and an MD on this book, and it is really straightforward, practical, factual, and covers dogs, cats, birds, horses, ferrets and rodents!.

"She has dogs and cats, and is very allergic; she and her husband have a company that develops products that lessen the impact of allergies. But the book is not a commercial for her stuff. It's a rundown of pretty much everything we know so far about pet allergies and what you can do about them so you can keep your pet with you. The book is short and inexpensive, too ($7.99). Definitely, it will help keep some animals in their homes.

(And no, I did not work on the book with her at all, so this is an unbiased endorsement.) "