RANDOM PIPERISH THOUGHTS

Some people have been asking my mom how I am doing, after my adventure with swallowing the blanket and then getting pneumonia, and I would like to thank everybody for being worried about me.  Also I would like to say that I am now back to my regular, perfect self.  I still have just a few antibiotics left to take, and then I have to get one more x-ray, just to make sure that all the bad stuff is gone out of my lungs.   But it feels to me like it is all gone, so I'm sure everything is fine.

Okay, well, here's something random I wanted to talk about.  Last week while Mom was out walking Mel and Barry, an old man in an old car stopped in the street by where they were walking, and he gave Mom a piece of paper with some words printed on it.  The man didn't say anything.  He just smiled and gave Mom the paper.  So she said "thank you," and went on walking.  And what the paper said was this:

Your Dog


He is your friend
Your partner, your defender,
Your dog -- you are his life,
his love, his leader.


He will be yours,
faithful and true
To the last beat of his heart.
You owe it to him to be
worthy of such devotion.

Then after Mom read the words on the paper, she remembered that a man had given her something like this once before when she was out walking dogs, and she thought it was probably the same man and the same message on the paper.  We don't know why this man doesn't say anything.  Maybe he can't talk, for some reason.  And we don't know if he has a dog of his own, but even if he doesn't, he must have had dogs before in his life because it is clear that he loves dogs.  Anyway, I think it's sweet that he goes around and gives people this important message about being worthy of their dogs.

And speaking of pieces of paper with messages on them, Nicky forgot to tell you that when he was at Barks in the Park last week, he got a doggy fortune cookie.  Mom broke it open for him and pulled out the fortune.  Nicky did not like the fortune cookie, so he didn't eat it and Mom gave it to one of the Humane Society dogs to eat.

But here's the fortune that was in the cookie:  Confucius say, dog who run behind car get exhausted.  Get it?  Exhausted?  Hahahaha!  I think this is a very funny fortune.







Okay, so here's one more random thing.  You know how when people are mad about something, they say, "That really gets my goat"?  Well, I started wondering what being angry has to do with goats.  So I researched this question, and what I learned was that, as usual, nobody knows absolutely for sure where the phrase came from.  But the best guess is that it's about how people sometimes use goats as buddies for race horses, because the horses are really high-strung and skittish, and goats are calm.

So if some mean person wanted to make some other person's horse less likely to win a race, he would steal the goat from the other person's horse.  Then the horse would be all upset and would not run well.  This seems like a pretty good way to explain the phrase, and at least it's an interesting story that mostly makes sense.

Anyway, to wrap up all my random thoughts, I hope you will remember that if you have a nervous horse, you should get a goat to calm it down.  And if you chase a car, you'll get exhausted.  And if you have a dog, you should do everything you can to be worthy of his trust and devotion.  Oh, and if you get pneumonia, be sure to take all your antibiotics!

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OUR CATS ARE OUT OF CONTROL!

First let me explain that when I say "cats," I mostly mean "Chloe."  And when I say "out of control," I mean "being naughty and getting into lots of trouble with Mom."

Anyway, you would think that since there are 2 dogs to every 1 cat in this house, we dogs would have the upper paw and could keep all kitty behavior submissive and nice, like it is supposed to be.  But somehow things haven't worked out that way.  In my opinion, life with cats is best when the cats just stay in their own room most of the time and don't come out to bother us dogs or mom.  That's the way things were when Charlie and Chloe first came here last May, but over the past year, they have got to be Very Bold, so they are out roaming around the house a lot of the time, and they show up in all sorts of places.

For example, Chloe likes to go in the bathroom when Mom is in there, and she sits on the sink while Mom is trying to brush her teeth or wash her face.  And sometimes Chloe tries to play with Mom's toothbrush while Mom is brushing her teeth.  And other times Chloe nips at Mom's hand when Mom is turning on the faucet, which Mom really, really doesn't like.

Personally, I never go in the bathroom because I know that it is a place where dogs sometimes get BATHS, which makes it a very dangerous place.  I have told Mom that she just needs to give Chloe a bath, and that will convince Chloe to stay out of the bathroom.  But so far, Mom has not taken my advice.

Charlie is getting braver, too.  Sometimes he jumps onto Mom's bed in the daytime, and then if Barry gets up there, Charlie doesn't even jump down again.  Also sometimes Charlie sleeps on the dog beds in Mom's office, even if Barry is sleeping there.  And lately, Charlie has started sitting on Mom's computer desk while she is doing email and stuff.

Chloe prefers to sit on Mom's lap when Mom is on the computer, and Chloe usually makes a pest out of herself while she is there.  For one thing, she drools, and then she gets the drool all over the keyboard and the thing Mom puts her wrists on, not to mention on Mom's hands.  And if Mom doesn't pet Chloe enough, which Mom usually doesn't when she is using both hands to type, Chloe will sometimes butt Mom's hand, which makes Mom type the wrong letters.  Or else Chloe will nip Mom's hand, and if she does that, Mom dumps her on the floor.





And if Chloe isn't on Mom's lap, she is walking around and around the computer, and she stands in front of the screen so that Mom can't see it, especially if Chloe thinks it is time for supper.  And Chloe also likes to play with stuff on the computer desk and knock it on the floor and chew on pencils and pens.

Another favorite activity of Chloe is looking at squirrels and birds out the window.  And when she does this, she gets really excited and makes this funny chattering sort of noise. Mom thinks this is cute, but we dogs mostly just ignore it.

When Mom opens the door for us to go outside and potty, Chloe sometimes sneaks outside, too, even though she's not supposed to go outside, ever, because that's what it says on her adoption contract.  And when she gets outside, she eats a few bites of grass, and then she runs back in the house.

Except one night last week, Chloe went outside, and Mom didn't know she was there, so when all of us dogs came in, Mom closed the door.  But then Chloe came to the door and started meowing really loud, and right away Mom noticed that Chloe was still outside.  So she opened the door and let her in.  This was actually not the first time this ever happened, but this time was different because when we looked out on the patio where Chloe had been, we were shocked to see a little black kitty!  We don't know where this kitty came from or where it went after Mom closed the door.  And mostly we don't know why it was dumb enough to come into our yard when there had just been a bunch of dogs out there!

Oh, and here's another thing Charlie and Chloe do.  Sometimes after the rest of us get in bed and are trying to sleep, they start playing and romping loudly up and down the stairs.  And a couple of times, they got into a big catfight right in the cat room next door to Mom's bedroom.  We don't know how the fights got started, but Mom had to get up and go in there and tell them to knock it off.  Which they did.

One thing Chloe does that I really like is she jumps up on the kitchen counter and gets interesting stuff that Mom has left lying around up there, such as empty catfood cans or plastic bottle lids.  Then after Chloe snags these things, Barry or I take them away from her so that we can chew on them, which is lots of fun.  And sometimes Chloe opens the door to the place where the trash can lives, and then she climbs into the trash and drags some good stuff out that way.

Chloe also likes to open the cabinet where the dog treats are, even though it is a high-up cabinet.  But she can reach it by jumping on the counter first and then pawing the cabinet door open.  So now Mom puts the treats into a big plastic container that Chloe can't pull down out of the cabinet, or else Mom puts the treats on a higher shelf.

The times when Chloe most likes to thump around with cabinet doors are either when Mom is trying to eat or when we are all in the living room watching TV or else when we are all upstairs in the bedroom trying to go to sleep.  I don't know if Chloe is just wanting extra attention or if she feels extra active and playful at those times.

Anyway, the cats do actually sleep most of the night, and the place where they sleep is usually with Mom, since none of us dogs sleep with her.  Chloe sleeps on Mom's right side, and Charlie sleeps on the left side.  Except if Mom is sleeping on her side, then both cats want to be on her front side.  This sometimes make the cats hiss and growl at each other a tiny bit, but then they settle down and everyone goes back to sleep.

So that's how our life with the cats is going.  Mom says she loves Chloe and Charlie, even though they make her grumpy sometimes.  I think it must be pretty hard for Mom to love such naughty kitties, but somehow she does.

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SHIBA INUS

It's been a whole month since the big, horrible earthquake and tsunami in Japan, but things are a long way from being back to normal in that country.  So as long as we are thinking about Japan, I decided I would tell you about the most popular Japanese dog breed, which is the Shiba Inu.

Some basenji people say that shibas are pretty much like basenjis, except with more hair.  But I kind of doubt that shiba people would say this, even though it's true that there are some things the two breeds share.  Like for instance, both breeds are really ancient.  Scientists who have looked at the DNA of shibas say that this breed goes all the way back to the 3rd century B.C.

What happened in the beginning was that dogs were brought to Japan from China, and these dogs were probably chow chows.  Then, during about two thousand years, six different breeds of Japanese dogs were created from these first dogs.  The shiba inu is the smallest of these.  They were bred to hunt and flush birds and small game, and they are really good at climbing on steep hills and rough mountain slopes.

In Japanese, the word inu means "dog."  Shiba means "brushwood," and especially one type of shrub that turns red in the fall.  No one is sure why "brushwood" is part of this dog's name, but maybe it was because the dogs hunted in these types of bushes.  Or maybe it was because the dogs can be a red color, like the leaves.  And also the word shiba means "small" in the Nagano dialect.  So a Shiba Inu is a "Little Brushwood Dog."

Shibas can be any color, but the most common colors are red or black-and-cream.  The male shibas weigh about 23 pounds, and the females weigh about 17.  They have a thick, double coat, and a tail that curls over their backs.  Shibas live to be about 12 or 15 years old.  They sometimes have genetic health issues such as hip dysplasia, luxating patellas, allergies, glaucoma, or progressive retinal atrophy.

If shibas are really unhappy or annoyed, they do something called the "shiba scream."  This scream is very high-pitched and loud.  Basenjis can shriek or scream, too, so this may be the same sort of sound that shibas make.  Mom says this sound is "unnerving," but I like to think of it as "expressive" if you are trying to get your point across.  Personally, I'm a very good shrieker, and this talent comes in handy from time to time.  But getting back to shibas, they sometimes also scream when they are happy, like when their human comes home after being gone for a long time.

Another way that basenjis and shibas are similar is that we both like to keep ourselves clean and tidy by licking ourselves, sort of like cats do.  But unlike basenjis, shibas like to swim and they also play in mud puddles.  This seems like totally bizarre behavior to me, so don't ask me to explain it.

Shiba inus are alert, intelligent and very independent, so it can be harder to teach them all that obedience-type stuff.  Also shibas are sometimes dog-aggressive, especially with a dog of the same sex.  So shiba owners have to be careful when their dogs are around other dogs.  But if shibas are socialized a whole bunch starting from when they are puppies, there won't be so many problems of this type.

During World War II, shibas almost became extinct because a lot of them were killed in bombing raids, and then there was a distemper epidemic after the war.  Over the centuries, shibas got bred to other types of dogs, but the breed stayed mostly pure in rural parts of the country.  So eventually, three surviving bloodlines were used to make one strong breed again.

The first Japanese breed standard for the shiba was published in 1934.  And in 1936, the dog was declared a National Treasure of Japan.  Then in 1954, an Army service family brought the first shiba to the United States.  The AKC recognized the shiba inu in 1992 and added the breed to the Non-Sporting Group in 1993.  Nowadays, the shiba isn't used for hunting.  It's just kept as a pet in Japan and other countries.

We sometimes see shiba inus around here, like right in our own neighborhood.  And yesterday, Mom was surprised to see one in the clinic waiting room at the shelter.  She even went and asked the dog's mom if it was a shiba, just to make sure.

So you never know where a shiba inu will show up, just like you never know where a basenji will show up.  We cute little ancient breeds really get around!

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LICK GRANULOMAS

Sometimes dogs start licking their legs or feet, and then they just keep on doing it over and over again, and their skin gets all icky in the place where they've been licking, and this is called a lick granuloma.  Another name for it is acral lick dermatitis.  Mostly it's dogs who get this condition, but sometimes cats do, too.

The word acral refers to the outer parts of the body like legs or toes or ears.  And a granuloma is where a bunch of immune cells get together and make a wall to try to keep bad stuff out of the body, such as bacteria or fungi.  But a granuloma doesn't really look like a wall.  It just looks like pink, moist skin that  has an inflammation.

Granuloma cells under a microscope

There are a lot of reasons why a dog might start licking itself obsessively on the leg.  Sometimes it's because the dog has something that makes it feel itchy, like for instance demodectic mange or allergies or a flea bite.  Or maybe there is a sore spot there because of a splinter, bee sting, or a joint that hurts.

But other times there isn't really any physical reason why a dog starts licking.  Instead, the dog has a psychological reason, like maybe the dog is bored or stressed or has separation anxiety.  This especially happens to large dogs who need a lot of exercise, but they are not getting it, and maybe they are also being left alone all day.  So they start licking themselves, and this gives them something to do to pass the time.  And just the act of licking can make a dog feel better, like he is sort of comforting himself.  The breeds that most often get lick granulomas are:  Dalmatians, Dobermans, Great Danes, Labrador Retrievers, Irish Setters (and other setters), Golden Retrievers, Border Collies, and German Shepherds.

Anyway, when a dog does all that licking, it opens the skin up, and then bacteria can get in and cause an infection.  Which makes the granuloma worse.  So one way to treat this condition is to put the dog on antibiotics.  And then you have to figure out if there is a problem such as allergies or hypothyroidism that is making the dog want to lick itself.  Also the dog might need to take antidepressants for a while.  And another thing that helps is if the dog gets more exercise and mental activity.

The sad part about lick granulomas is that they are really hard to get rid of.  If you can keep your dog from licking the spot long enough for it to heal up, then it's likely the dog will go back to licking it again later on.  The best thing to do is to catch the granuloma when it is still very small and before the dog has formed a habit of licking there.  Because, as you know, old habits are really hard to break.

Sometimes surgery is done on a lick granuloma, but then you have to keep the dog from licking the stitches.  And another thing that can happen is that if you keep a dog from licking one leg, he might just start licking another one.  Or another part of the first one.

I am happy to say that none of the dogs in my family have any lick granulomas.  But whenever Mel has to have his leg shaved so a catheter thing can be put in, he will start licking that leg and making it all pink and hairless.  So Mom has to watch him, and when he starts doing all that licking, she has to put a muzzle on him for several days until the place is healed up.


Okay, well, that's it for today.  There only seems to be so much you can say about lick granulomas, and I think maybe I've said it all!

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MY EXCITING WEEKEND, by Nicky

Mom and I got to do lots of fun stuff together Saturday and Sunday, so now I am all worn out.  Also I think my brothers and sister are jealous, but I don't care because I had a good time!

Saturday we had to get up at 5:30, and it was still dark outside.  Then Mom hurried around and did some things such as feeding us breakfast -- which was a very important thing to do.  Then she and I went out to the car.  I jumped in without much coaxing because I was excited to be going wherever we were going.

It turned out that we were going for a nice, long walk with some other greyhounds and their moms, so that was a lot of fun.  Mom did not take her camera, so I cannot show you any pictures of us walking, but I will tell you that we were a very handsome group.  Each of the other two moms had two greyhounds, but my mom just had me.  She thought about taking Mel or Barry, but she was afraid they might bite somebody or somebody's dog.  And anyway, it was more fun for me to get to spend some quality time all by myself with Mom.

Then yesterday, right after lunch, Mom and I got in the car again, and we went to a thing called "Barks in the Park," which was at a park way out south of where we live.  And at that event, I was one of two greyhounds who were there to meet people and show them how nice and beautiful greyhounds are, so that maybe they will want to adopt one of their very own.

The other greyhound who was there was named Wesley, and he was a brindle, too, but a darker color of brindle.  His mom and dad were also there, Aunt Donna and Uncle Kim, so they petted me a bunch, and lots of other people stopped by to pet us, too.  I love being petted, so I had a fine time.

Mom took me to the off-leash area that was set up just for "Barks in the Park," and she let me run around in there without my leash, just to see if I liked it.  And I did like it, at least for a little while.  I sniffed some other dogs, and they sniffed me.  I peed and I pooped, and I played a little bit with a sort of whitish dog.

Some of the dogs who were there played a bunch, and then they got thirsty, so they drank out of the great big water dish.

Then one dog just got in the water dish and lay down, which everybody thought was funny.

I didn't want to do a whole bunch of running around because it was sort of hot to be doing that.  At least it was hot enough to make me pant a lot.  Later in the afternoon, Mom took me back to the off-leash place again to see if I wanted to play.  I kind of checked out one of the three German short-haired pointers that were there, but I didn't really play with him.

The Humane Society was also at "Barks in the Park," including lots of shelter dogs that Mom knows.  Piper has already told you about several of them.  There was also a Sheltie Rescue group there, and they put some cute little outfits on the girl shelties.  At least I hope they were all girls.  I think a boy dog would be really embarrassed to have to dress like that!

Then at about 4:00, we left and we drove home.  And as soon as we finished supper, I went to bed in the middle of the living room and started taking a big old nap!

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RIDING A COW IN GERMANY

Photo by Kerstin Joensson/AP

This is a story about a girl who lives in Laufen, Germany, and her name is Regina Mayer.  She is 15 years old, and she wants a horse.  But her parents won't give her one.  Which is exactly what happened to my mom when she was growing up.  She wanted a horse, but her parents wouldn't give her one.


Anyway, Regina decided she would not let the lack of a horse keep her from riding, so she spent two years teaching a cow to let her ride it.  The cow's name is Luna, which means "moon" in Spanish and maybe some other languages, too.  Luna lets Regina get on her back and ride her, and she will even let Regina put a saddle on her.

Kerstin Joensson/AP

Also Luna has learned to jump over hurdles, just like a show horse would do.  The hurdles are made out of beer crates and logs, and Regina probably built them herself.  If you want to see Luna and Regina jumping the hurdle, you can watch a video here.

One of Regina's teenaged neighbors, whose name is Martin Putzhammer, said, "At first I thought it was kind of weird -- a kid on a cow?  Had to get used to it, but once I did I thought it was pretty funny."

The RSPCA did not think the situation was quite so amusing.  A spokesperson for that group said she is worried that Luna might hurt her udders.  She also said, "Riding a cow is definitely not something we'd recommend."

But speaking of cows that jump over things, I started thinking about that nursery rhyme that talks about the cow jumping over the moon.  Maybe you remember this rhyme because your mom or dad read it to you when you were a kid.  Or else maybe you read it to your own kids.

Anyway, I looked it up in Wikipedia, and I found out that the very earliest version of this poem that anybody knows about goes all the way back to 1765, when it was printed in London in Mother Goose's Melody.  Here is what the original version said:

High diddle diddle,
The Cat played the Fiddle,
The Cow jump'd over the Moon,
The little dog laugh'd to see such Craft,
And the Dish ran away with the Spoon.

Then there is a comment in the book that says, "It must be a little dog that laugh'd, for a great dog would be ashamed to laugh at such nonsense."  I think this is not a very nice comment about little dogs.  The real thing that should be said here is that big dogs take life way too seriously, but little dogs have a sense of humor.  At least that's how I see it.

A lot of people have made up theories about where this poem came from and what its deep, hidden meaning is.  But probably the real truth is that it is just a little verse that was meant to be silly and fun to say to children.

And maybe there is a German version of this poem that inspired Regina Mayer to teach her cow to jump.

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Some Pictures From the Shelter

On Wednesday, Mom went to the shelter, which she usually does on Wednesdays, and she took her camera, which she usually doesn't do.  So now I am going to show you some of the pictures that Mom took of the poor, homeless dogs there.

This first dog is named Pete, and he is 3-1/2 years old.  Pete has some shar-pei in him, which you can tell by the shape of his muzzle and his button ears that are set very high on his head.  The shelter is calling him a shar-pei mixed with lab, but really he is probably part pitbull.

Pete is a really nice dog, but he has diarrhea some of the time, plus he jumps around in his kennel a lot, so he never seems to gain any weight.  Living in the shelter makes Pete feel all stressed out, so he licks himself and makes sore places on his legs.  Pete would be a really special pet for somebody, if they would just adopt him.

Oh, and I guess maybe I should also mention that Pete drools quite a bit, but he can't help it, so please don't hold that against him!  And mostly he only drools when he's outside in the yard, not when you're playing with him inside.

This next dog is Kasie, and she is a long-haired dachshund mix.  She's 2 years old and very cute.  Kasie was adopted for a while, but then she started snapping at the family's children, so they brought her back.  Kasie has been to obedience class, and she is house-broken.  She needs to be in a home with no kids and probably no other dogs.

Kasie also needs a tall fence because she can get over a short one.  Here's a picture of her climbing over the picket fence at the shelter.

Mom's friend Karen was also at the shelter on Wednesday.  Aunt Karen plays the violin in the Kansas City Symphony.  She loves dogs, and she has a golden retriever named Dodgie.  Aunt Karen likes to go to the shelter and play with the poor, homeless dogs, just like Mom does.  Here's a picture of her with  Danika, who is a 1-year-old shepherd/greyhound mix.

Danika is really pretty, but she has way more energy than any dog could ever really need.  She does calm down a little bit after she has been out of her run for a while, but she is still kind of hyper.  Danika used to be in a run with a black dog named Persia, and Persia kept attacking Danika and biting her.  So finally Persia went to another shelter.  In this picture you can see some of Danika's bite wounds on the side of her face.  She also has some on her neck and tummy, but none of them were bad enough to need stitches.

Whoever adopts Danika needs to make sure she gets lots of exercise, like maybe running or taking lots of walks.  Danika likes to chase balls, so maybe you could also wear her out by playing a lot of fetch with her.  Or if she had another dog who really liked to play, that might work, too.

This last dog is Alice.  She's pretty new to the shelter, and she's really cute.  Alice is a golden retriever mix, and she looks like she is still a puppy, but really she is 2 years old.  Aunt Karen likes Alice a bunch because Aunt Karen likes golden retrievers.  Mom likes Alice because she is pretty and sweet and a very nice size for a dog.

So anyway, those are some of the photos that Mom took on Wednesday.  If you are looking for a nice dog to adopt, you might want to run over to the Humane Society and adopt one of these dogs I just told you about.  Of you could even adopt a cat, if you happened to want one!

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