Saturday, November 22, 2014

Poodle hair, emotional assistance dogs and other gems from the web

Forget the hair do. Its about the tennis balls.

Today we took a break from working to hit the park where we met a gent walking four magnificent Standardbred poodles…one of whom was sporting a pretty stunning head (and body) of hair.

Profile pic. Just don't try taking those balls...
...this dude might get them.
Phil had a trim too but went for his summer crew cut (good for spotting ticks, and any other creepy-crawly that might come his way, as well as getting rid of all of that excess fur that surface allergens love to stick to).

New look for summer. Phil with his personal groomer, Amanda. 
Highlights from the web this week include this dog who caught a ride on an ambulance. Once the ambos realised that Buddy was on the truck, they had no option but to let him in (read the story and see the pics here).

Which leads us to the topic of assistance pets and emotional support pets in particular. I’m definitely a believer in the concept of pets as therapy, and I think access for animals should be increased, but are there people abusing the assistance-animal tag?

According to this fantastic article from the New Yorker, yes they are. Journalist Patricia Marx decided to test exactly where her emotional support animals would be allowed. In an assignment that made me extremely envious, she took her assistance turtle, snake, pig, and even alpaca to places where, it seems, no animal has gone before.

Read the full article here. Its a long one (one cup of tea will get you through it) but brilliantly written.

On the topic of public health, a recent case involving a rabid cat in the household of an animal hoarder has resulted in the euthanasia of fifty cats. More details here

Whatever you're up to this weekend folks, have a safe one and include the non-humans in your life.

Poor Phil was exhausted after watching those poodles.