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Celebrating the canine-human bond!
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This newsletter is brought to you by Arlington Dog Owners Group (A-DOG), a 501(c)(3) community organization promoting the rights and interests of responsible dog owners in Arlington, MA.
If you're not already a member, we hope you'll want to
join
A-DOG!
Wags and Tags editorial team: Joan Black, Jen Burns, Sue Doctrow, Ellen Leigh, Judy Weinberg, Janice Zazinski
A-DOG logos designed by Lisa Berasi for Arlington Dog Owners Group, all rights reserved
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On some computers, you might have to click twice to reach the article. We've found, too that these links do not work on all devices.
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by Jennifer Goebel
 April 2005-Saturday morning. Mostly Mutts dog rescue in front of PetSmart, right next to Toys R Us, where were looking for the Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire. Oh no. Just a quick look with my sons, who were 4 and 8, who could resist? A call to my husband. I was falling in love with a 4-month-old lab-terrier mix with lots of energy, and the kids were with me. I've always been a sucker for floppy ears. My husband was looking at the puppy's cage-mate, an 8-month-old reddish-brown dog of indeterminate heritage called Duke. Chow? Husky? Pointy ears. Meh. When we asked, Duke was already taken and I was just as happy, so we signed the paperwork, took a tour through PetSmart for supplies, and brought the cute puppy home.
Three days later, Mostly Mutts called-Duke had been returned. This Puerto Rican street dog didn't fit in with his new family. He howled in the crate, the other dog didn't like him. Would we take him? Heck, we had a large yard - nearly 2/3 of an acre in Decatur, GA. Sure! Two dogs. Why not?
And so Duke joined us. And the two of them, Ruby (who was going to be called Sapphire until my sister said that was a porn star name) and Duke started out on their journey to educate us about dogs and dog ownership. Of which we knew very little, having been cat and kid parents, but never dog parents.
The first thing we learned is that Duke really was not crate-able. He did indeed howl. And whine. That part-Husky side of him could do an incredibly pathetic high-pitched whine. But crates were the thing for dogs-that's what all the books said. He would get used to it. First, one of us would sleep in the living room with the crated dogs, then we moved the crates into the bedroom, and then, after a few weeks, we just gave up. Forget it. It wasn't that much longer before Duke showed us where he really should be-on our bed, sleeping with his pack.
Moving to Arlington
August 2005-Moving from a house with a large yard and doggie door and two work-at-home parents to a two-family house, no fenced yard, and two working parents meant things had to change. In those early years, it was three hour-long walks a day, with Scott, our dogwalker, coming for lunchtime relief.
On one of my first walks in Arlington, I was lucky enough to find a group of dogs and owners in Hurd Field. It became a routine, and was a great time for the dogs to socialize and get some energy out. And for me to learn about dog behavior. While Ruby would run around and play with the other dogs, Duke was more interested in the squirrels, and would spend his time staring up at the trees.
When Arlington hired a new Animal Control Officer and decided to enforce the leash law, it was this group that decided to do something about it. Many Town Meetings and years later, some of this original group (including me) introduced and voted for the off leash hours that we have in place today.
Life with the Duke
It's not clear to me which of the dogs was "alpha" in my house. Duke eschewed formal social hierarchies. Yes, he was the first dog out the door, and the first dog to finish his food, but Ruby pushed him out of the way when people were giving out pets and attention. He would take his bones immediately to the yard, and bury them. Then whine while Ruby worked on hers. The minute her attention drifted to bark at someone at the door, he'd dart in and grab it, and hide it in the back yard. But when he brought them back in, Ruby returned the favor by grabbing them back.
While he knew what I meant when I said "come" or "stay" or "wait," he would consider his own thoughts on the matter before deciding to comply or not. Sometimes, he would wag his tail in acknowledgement, and then continue on his way. He wasn't treat motivated, and without a squirrel in my pocket, I couldn't compete with the chipmunk-filled stone walls for his attention.
Off-leash walks with Duke were harrowing those first few years, but I soon learned that, even if I couldn't see him, he was usually not far. In fact, he was often ahead of me, just around the corner, waiting for me to catch up, while he sniffed for squirrels and chipmunks.
The truth is that Duke drove me crazy. He pulled me so hard that he broke my finger. He got lost. He ate the kids' toys. He ate his own toys. He caught four squirrels. He killed a rabbit. He killed a baby duck. I got muddy and wet bushwacking through the woods to pull him off stone walls and treed squirrels. He ran off more than once. On one memorable occasion, he walked himself home from Whipple Hill, probably using the crosswalk, I'm guessing, since he always wanted to cross at the crosswalk.
Generally, though, he did what I asked. He took pills he definitely didn't want to take. He swam at FlowDog to help his legs recover post-ACL repair surgeries, even though he didn't like it. He would let me Furminate him, wash him, and spray his muddy legs down, giving me a look of "well, if you must." He went to vet willingly, even those last few times when it was horrible for him.
For a 70-pound dog, he was a cuddly guy, sitting next to us on the sofa, putting his head on our laps, breathing on our computer screens, and pawing at our keyboards. I miss his soft ears.
He was a great singer. He would give us impromptu howling concerts that would last for several minutes. Sometimes after dinner, sometimes morning concerts with our arrival downstairs, sometimes for no reason at all. He howled at his friends when he met them at the parks, or on the streets. A few of them would howl with him, giving us a nice duet.
Duke followed me around the house. If I went upstairs, he went upstairs. When I came down, he came down. I was his pack leader, and he would sigh with contentment when he settled on the bed next to me. And he was there for me through some tough times. Even when he was filled with abdominal fluid, skinny and weak, he slowly made his way up the stairs. When he couldn't make it onto the bed, he settled onto the stack of three dog beds on my side of the bed.
We lost Duke to liver failure on May 12.
I miss hearing his feet patter up the steps at bedtime. I miss his companionable sighs, his little "let me in" yips, his waggy tail, his nose bumps saying let's go walk, his expressive eyes, and his soft, soft ears.
There's a Duke-shaped hole in my heart now, and I think there always will be. But it's a good hole, from having loved and been loved by this funny, wonderful dog.
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Jen Goebel is one of A-DOG's first members and an early board member. She was also one of the Town Meeting members who successfully championed off-leash morning hours.
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East Arlington's New Streetscape Comes Alive During
Capitol Square's "Feast of the East"
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Luv and Other Gifts partners with A-DOG -- join us!
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Diane Buxton owns the Arlington gift shop Luv and Other Gifts and her shop is a Friend of A-DOG!
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ASPCA Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Month and Pawsitive Award for March
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by Katie Kozikowski
Off-Leash Dogs Reporting System
As of April, a new reporting system has been put in place by the Animal Control Officer and Recreation Department to collect data on off leash dogs in town. This has caused quite the discussion among dog and non-dog owners alike and I would like to take a moment remind everyone that this system is in place for data collection only.
Arlington currently is an extremely dog friendly town and allows for off leash hours in the mornings between park opening and 9am in designated areas. With the nicer weather upon us and more people visiting our parks with their dogs, it is important that people still remember there is a town bylaw stating that dogs need to be leashed after 9am in every public area of the town with the exception of the OLRA. We love our dogs and we love to give them the freedom to express normal dog behavior, but we also are keeping in mind that other non-dog owners and dog owners with fearful/dog aggressive dogs enjoy using the parks without having to fear of an off leash dog approaching them as well.
The data collected from this reporting system will better help the Animal Control Officer figure out where and when there might be reoccurring issues to help alleviate inappropriate off leash activity. As mentioned previously, this information is for data collection only and will not be immediately sent to Animal Control or the Arlington Police. However, as always, if there is something that needs to be handled immediately, Animal Control or the Police should be contacted by phone to have an officer dispatched to the scene more readily.
The link to the reporting system can be accessed by computer or on your smart phone here.
A reminder that the fines in Arlington are hefty for off leash dogs:
1st offense: $75
2nd Offense: $100
3rd offense: $150
4th and subsequent offenses: $200
Let's work together to keep Arlington dog friendly and safe for everyone!
ACO Katie's Corner presents updates from Arlington Animal Control Officer (ACO) Katie Kozikowski.
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Around the Doggone Web - June Edition
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Useful online information
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by Janice Zazinski
Warm weather issue!
- Most dogs love to swim, so this article on "dry drowning" was something I'd never heard of ... be sure to monitor your dog when she's swimming for signs of exhaustion.
- Hot pavement can hurt your dog's feet ... how to prevent, and what to do here.
- Steve Dale is a Certified Animal Behavior Consultant and writes a regular column/blog in Chicago. This week, he gets into a car in a fake fur coat to see how it feels; in his words, "I was not prepared for what happened." For starters, the interior of the car, on a 84 degree day, got up to more than 90 degrees within 10 seconds; moments later, it was off-the-charts-hot.
- Excellent 32-second video of what to do when you see a dog in a car on a warm day. Start by checking to see if any of the doors are unlocked.
- The Humane Society of the United States reports that Massachusetts State Senator Mark Montigny and State Representative Lori Ehrlich have filed legislation (S878/H1273) to prohibit confining animals in a car during extreme heat or cold and give animal control officers, police officers, and firefighters authority to rescue the animal. Check out this and other pending animal-friendly legislation here.
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PAWS to Mark Your Calendar!
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Save the dates for coming events
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Mark your calendar for these great EVENTS. Please consider attending or volunteering for the
events sponsored or co-sponsored by A-DOG (shown in
GREEN
)
.
Contact us if you're interested in volunteering at any of these events...we need you!
____________
MAY IS NATIONAL DOG BITE PREVENTION MONTH
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Send us calendar items for possible inclusion in this section in future Wags and Tags issues!
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Help Wanted: Your Dog's Face Here?
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Wags and Tags Welcomes Your Contributions
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A-DOG Members and supporters, Wags and Tags is YOUR monthly newsletter! I
f you have suggestions for an article, including one you'd like to write, for a future issue, please email us with "Newsletter" in the subject line.
Maybe you'd like your dog to be one of our "
Arlington dogs, or A-dogs
", like Molly, Remy. Tammy, potcake Lexi and others. Or, write an article about Happy Tails Trails, describing your favorite place to enjoy nature with your dog, like an article a few months ago about Whipple Hill. You don't have to live in Arlington, but can be a neighbor who enjoys Arlington's dog recreation benefits, or otherwise supports our mission. You can also suggest a special Rainbow Bridge memorial tribute to a beloved canine or feline family member you've lost, like the tribute to our friend Duke this month.
Or, maybe you're a
Friend of A-DOG
Business and want to describe how you help A-DOG and what you offer to our community of dog owners and dog-friendly people. Your business, too, can be featured like BlueSky Dogs, GoPlay!, Menotomy Beer Wine and Spirits,Your Wonderful Dog and Maida Pharmacy & Compounding Center.
Suggested article length for the newsletter is 500 words or fewer but this is only a guideline. We will also need at least one photo, preferably a jpg or gif format, compressed to a size no greater than 1 MB. (Please send the photo as a separate file, not imported into a Word document.) Depending on the topic, you might want to write a longer version for our website, with a link in the Wags and Tags article.
Articles on any other topic of potential interest to dog owners are welcome. So are more volunteer editors and writers. Please send us your story proposals! Wags and Tags editorial team: Joan Black, Jen Burns, Sue Doctrow, Ellen Leigh, Judy Weinberg and Janice Zazinski.
Pssst...We are well aware that
our
members are not likely to have issues with spelling or grammar that's a little "ruff", but don't worry....our editorial team can polish your story, as needed.
The Irish Setter on the computer photo is reprinted from a website called "iget2work".
The "Bad spelling...image was posted on Facebook by Grammarly.
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Our next
A-DOG meeting for 2016
A-DOG holds four meetings per year. The next one will be Tuesday, August 23 at 6:30 pm. Our Annual Meeting is held in October. Unless otherwise noted, meetings are on the fourth Tuesday of the month at the Community Room of the Jefferson Cutter House, 611 Mass Ave (at Mystic, in Arlington Center). The Community Room is accessible via the rear entrance at the municipal parking lot. Refreshments are served. New members show up every time so please join us!
A-DOG Membership!
A-DOG's membership year runs from April 1 through March 31, so some full memberships are up for renewal each spring. If your membership has expired, you should receive a reminder letter in early 2016 during our
Membership Drive. As an A-DOG Full Member, you are entitled to discounts and benefits from our
Friends of A-DOG businesses. And, your dues and donations to A-DOG are tax deductible, to the full extent allowed by law.
Shop for A-DOG!
Please support businesses that support responsible dog owners in Arlington by patronizing our
Friends of A-DOG Businesses.
(If you are not a full member, please sign up and pay your dues at the link above for joining A-DOG. If you are unsure if your membership is still active, or need another membership card as proof, you can
email us to check into it.)
Also, when you buy from Amazon, please start at the
Amazon Smile website and choose "A-Dog The Arlington Dog Owners Group, Inc" as your preferred nonprofit group. Amazon will make a donation to A-DOG and your purchase will not cost any more!
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A-DOG members, Business Friends of A-DOG and other subscribers receive Wags and Tags each month. If this issue was forwarded to you and you'd like to subscribe to Wags and Tags without joining A-DOG, click here or click the green sign-up button on the front page of our website.
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