Meet Surfing's Top Dog, Vets Say No to Pup Perfume, Pet Friendly Housing Bill Stalls Out, and More!
Iza nailed 3rd place in the Medium Dog category at this year's World Surfing Dog Championships. photo: Paw Prints Pet Photography
Hanging Ten, Doggy Style:
Meet Surfing's Top Pup
Over 20 surfing pups and 6,000 fans hit the beach last month for the World Dog Surfing Championships in Pacifica, California. A fundraiser for charities including the Peninsula Humane Society and the SPCA, the annual event features separate competitions for Small, Medium, Large, and Extra-Large dogs, as well as contests for Stand Up Paddleboard, Dog/Dog Tandem, and Human/Dog Tandem. The pup who racks up the most wins overall is named Top Dog.
This year's big prize went to Cacau, a fetching Chocolate Lab who'd traveled all the way from the beaches of Brazil to compete. While other dogs drew attention with zany attire, Cacau proved herself to be a serious jock. In addition to scoring top marks in the Extra-Large and Stand Up Paddleboard categories, she and her human, Ivan Moreira, took first place in the Human/Dog Tandem event, carving out precision turns amid choppy surf. The overall champ also managed to snag a respectable third place in the Dog/Dog Tandem group (see this talented girl in action here.
Despite its popularity, this year's contest almost didn't happen due to steeply rising costs for permits and other fees. Fortunately, supporters stepped up to crowdfund the event, keeping the competition alive for surfing pups and grateful fans everywhere.
While Cacau is this year's undeniable Top Dog, she wasn't the only one to take home a prize for surfing prowess. For a list of all the 2024 winners, visit surfdogchampionships.com
Sources: sfstandard.com, thewildest.com, the-sun.com
Perfume for Dogs?
Vets Say No Way
Apparently targeting those humans with more money than sense, the luxury fashion house Dolce & Gabbana recently launched Fefé, a perfume for dogs touted as "fresh, irresistible, clean" and retailing for a cool $109 per bottle.
While the company says the fragrance has been certified by Safe Pet Cosmetics, some prominent veterinarians beg to differ on its safety. "Dogs have a fantastic sense of smell, and changing their odor can cause significant issues," says Dr. Daniel Mills, a professor of veterinary behavioral medicine at England's University of Lincoln. Dousing them with perfume can mask important signals dogs use to navigate the world, he notes, including odor cues from other dogs, humans, and potential dangers. A perfumed pup may also cause other dogs to misidentify them, leading to aggression or social rejection. "Overall, it's a very bad idea," says Mills.
Dr. Donald Broom, a professor of animal welfare at the University of Cambridge, agrees. "A dog with perfume put on it would be deprived of important life information," he says, likening it to a person trying to see in blindingly bright light. The president of the British Veterinary Association also concurs, noting that dog perfume could hide underlying health problems and delay treatment.
In short, do your dog a favor and save that $109 for something the two of you actually need. Whatever that may be, we're pretty sure it's not a bottle of Fefé.
Source: nytimes.com
Many pet owners wish more landlords would open their doors to renters with pets. photo: Joanna Kulesza, The New York Times
Trouble Finding a Dog-Friendly Apartment? Bill to Increase Housing Access Stalls Out
The New York Times recently reported on what it called the last frontier in housing inequity: pet friendliness.
As the Times observed, it's hard enough to find an affordable place to live, and for many renters, pet fees and size and breed restrictions make it even harder. Nationwide, roughly 94 percent of apartments have some sort of breed or size prohibitions and most charge pet deposits or even pet rent. Add a hot housing market into the equation, and the odds of finding a home for you and your pup just got even worse.
Some lawmakers have tried to address the situation, but it's been an uphill slog against powerful state and national housing lobbyists. For a case in point, look no further than here in California.
Last March, Assemblymember Matt Haney (D-San Francisco) introduced AB 2216 to increase access to housing for pet owners throughout the state. But after intensive lobbying from commercial housing interests, the Humane Society reported that the bill had been amended in a way that "could have negative consequences on renters across the state, creating a disproportionate burden on low-income households." Though passed by the California Assembly in May, the watered-down bill has since languished in the state's Senate Judiciary Committee, with no sign of a hearing.
If you're a California resident and want to get this bill moving again, feel free to contact your state senator about it. Don't know who that is? Find out here - and tell them woof from us!
Sources: nytimes.com, humanesociety.org, sacbee.com, leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
Two working dogs from K9inSCENTive ready for instructions. photo: Desert Botanic Gardens
The Nose Knows:
Canines Join the Eco Battle
There's seemingly no end to what dogs can do with those genius noses of theirs. Now pups are sniffing out endangered cactuses as part of a battle to save rare desert species from extinction and to stop plant trafficking, which has been on the rise in the U.S.
Based in Acton, California, K9inSCENTive specializes in training and deploying dogs for ecological scent detection. The company often partners with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Smithsonian, or the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, a 140-acre spread with over 15,000 cactuses and agaves where the dogs locate rare plants for seed collection. This fall, one of the company’s teams will deploy to the northern rim of the Grand Canyon to search for Pediocactus bradyi, a tiny cactus that's been listed as endangered since 1979 and is a favorite target for plant poachers.
And these four-legged eco-warriors aren't just sniffing out cactus. During the company's 10 years of operation, K9inSCENTive dogs have been used to detect a wide range of endangered flora and fauna including California tiger salamanders, giant garter snakes, western pond turtles, San Joaquin kit fox scat, as well as various fungi and fruits.
Such rare plants and animals are nearly impossible for us humans to locate on our own due to a variety of factors. But luckily, we've had the good sense to befriend a species with up to 100,000 times our own sniffing power.
Thanks to these talented canines, we have a shot at saving some of our rare environmental treasures while there's still time.
Source: sfgate.com
K9 officer James Thomas with his K9 Kip. An incognito Elsie can be seen jumping behind them. photo: Utah Division of Wildlife Resources
Three Days in the Wilderness:
Faithful Dog Guards Lost Octogenarian
An 80-year-old woman with dementia was visiting family at a cabin in the remote mountains of central Utah recently when she slipped out unnoticed while her family was busy making dinner. (The woman's name has not been released to protect her privacy).
Her family launched an immediate search, which was soon joined by rescue teams on trail bikes and motorcycles, as well as helicopters, drones, and community volunteers who began blanketing the rugged area.
The woman's husband told searchers that their dog, a Chocolate Lab named Elsie, had gone missing at the same time, but it wasn't until the morning of the third day that authorities finally obtained security footage from a neighbor's camera showing the woman and dog together.
By this time, a K9 officer and his trained detection dog Kip had also joined the hunt. They reported hearing faint barks that helped them pinpoint where to search even though the area seemed far too rough for an 80-year-old to traverse.
Another searcher soon noticed what appeared to be possible tracks, which he followed, calling "Elsie!" and listening intently. He was just 15 feet away when he heard a louder bark, leading him to the missing woman asleep facedown with the dog next to her. Despite three days and two nights without food or water, Elsie had never left her elderly owner's side.
Though scratched, bruised, and severely dehydrated, the woman was alive and is now back home and doing well. She has no memory of her three-day ordeal in the wilderness, which is probably for the best.
As for Elsie, she's not talking. Apparently, it was just all in a day's work for a faithful friend.
Source: apple.news, usatoday.com