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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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Doggy Day on the Patio at Common Ground
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A-DOG's Ellen, Joan and Ricky celebrate with a new Friend of A-DOG
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by Ellen Leigh
 In celebration of National Dog Day, a special brunch was held on the patio of Common Ground restaurant in Arlington Center. Canines of all shapes and sizes were seen having fun with each other, while enjoying freshly made biscuits (large, soft and flaky, with meat grease!). Cool bowls of water were available on this August Day. Dog lovers could relax outside on a beautiful summer day, dining al fresco with their fido, while watching the dogs cavort! All in all, a lively day, with excellent doggie watching ☺
Restaurant owner and dog lover, Bob O'Guin seemed like someone A-DOG should get to know. A-DOG members Joan Black and myself, along with A-DOG canine representative, Ricky decided to learn more. We interviewed Bob while enjoying a relaxing lunch on the patio and explained A-DOG's mission. Bob was very receptive to what A-DOG does, and readily agreed to support our work. Common Ground will provide gift certificates for A-DOG prizes, as well as for winners of Arlington's Animal Control Pawsitive Award. Let's welcome A-DOG's newest business Friend, Common Ground, a restaurant where the food is made in-house and sourced locally whenever possible, including organic vegetables from area farms. There is a real community spirit here, with live music every Thursday night, fun events such as Trivia Night, and craft fairs held in their function room. Enjoy brunch, lunch, or dinner, and look for possible A-DOG socials, such as a craft beer/sangria mixer for dog lovers or a dog-themed craft fair!
-- Ellen Leigh, Proud A-DOG member
*******
Ellen is an A-DOG member and member of the Wags and Tags editorial team. Photos (top to bottom) show Ricky, several other socializing doggies, and the special giant dog treats served at Common Ground's National Dog Day brunch.
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Dog Days of Summer at Robbins Library
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A-DOG's August Table at Robbins Library
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A-DOG had a display table at Robbins Library during August that featured what A-DOG is all about: Education, Fun, and Community! Librarians and patrons gave lots of positive feedback. The table was very popular, as evidenced by all of the free literature re: Parks & Off-Leash information, Dog Safety in Hot Cars, & Tick Prevention being taken. There were interactive games and puzzles (e.g., magnetic doggie poetry, dog facts tic-tac-toe to enter a chance to win a pound of cookies marking Lakota Bakery's 25th anniversary). Our banner and posters were displayed, and many brochures disseminated.
Various books (e.g., behavior training, memoirs, fiction, scientific understanding of dogs) geared for adults as well as children were a highlight and all were checked out from the table. A tri-fold board showcased photos from our Spring 2016 literary programs (author talks with Sharron Kahn Luttrell, "Weekends with Daisy" and Shara Puglisi Katsos, "Doggie Investigation Gang D.I.G. Series"), the Reading Dogs at the Fox Library (including Rufus, who has upcoming appearances there on 9/13 & 9/27), Educational Presentations done in collaboration with Katie Kozikowski, Arlington's Animal Control Officer included: "Reading Dog Body Language", service dog in training from Operation Delta Dog, and clicker training with Carolyn Barney and "Living with Coyotes" with Belmont's A.C.O. John Maguranis). Our many social activities were also highlighted with photos of such events as Arlington Town Day, Menotomy Wine & Whine, K9 K-RAC, Dog Park programs, Bark for Life, and Arlington Art Lounge painting fundraisers.
Over thirty people newly signed up for the A-DOG newsletter, Wags and Tags. Clearly, there was great interest in celebrating the canine-human bond! Many thanks to everyone who helped with our display table (especially Joan Black, Sue Doctrow, Mary McCartney, Judy Weinberg, Lanie Cantor). We hope you got the chance to stop by the table & saw it for yourself! Ellen Leigh, A-DOG member & Ricky, library liason and Dog About Town
*****
Ellen is an A-DOG member and member of the Wags and Tags editorial team. She led the team organizing our library table. Photo shows A-DOG member Ricky visiting the A-DOG table!
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Magical Dogs: Love and Lessons from our Canine Companions
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Gifts of love and inspiration
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by Christine Dorchak about a book by author Patti Kerr
Magical Dogs: Love and Lessons from our Canine Companions is a new book that takes a look at the magical connection between humans and their four-footed friends. This collection of touching personal stories, photographs, and helpful information on health, rescue, and other special canine topics is sure to tug at the hearts and put a smile on the face of dog lovers everywhere. A perfect gift for all A-DOG members! Author Patti Kerr features stories from across the country, including that of local dog lawyer, Christine Dorchak and her Black Russian Terrier, Kelsey. In fact, Patti will sign each book, ship it for free and make a donation to GREY2K USA, Christine's local non-profit with every purchase made. Order here and use the code GREY2K. Just $15.95.
*******
Christine Dorchak is an A-DOG member and President and General Counsel of GREY2K USA Worldwide. She is shown in the photo with Kelsey.
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Tips to keep your cats safe at home
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by Katie Kozikowski
KITTY CONVICTS: An elegant "orange" solution to a tricky problem
Y
ou may have noticed on social media large numbers of cats missing. While 28% of dogs are reported and returned home, for cats the percentage is only 5%. The reasons are simple. More dogs have collars with identification and loose dogs in a neighborhood are reported as "lost." Cats are better at hiding than dogs. Even when cats are noticed roaming a neighborhood, they are not reported as it is assumed they are outside cats. Elegant orange is the perfect color solution for your "indoor" kitty's collar. Orange is bright, reflective and identifies an "indoor" cat. It signals to people that this cat lives inside. This cat is an escaped convict and is lost. If you have an "indoor" cat, the "Kitty Convict" program is an elegant solution to a tricky problem. However, if you have an outdoor cat that goes missing, or your "Kitty Convict" escapes, please try the following suggestions: (1) Put up lost posters with pictures, descriptions and contact information; (2) Contact Animal Control with information; (3) Post on social media pages; (4) Check with local vet offices. (Mill Brook Animal Clinic, Arlington Animal Clinic and City Cats) inquire if anyone has brought an animal, with your cat's description, to them to be scanned for a microchip recently; (5) Check animal shelters and hospitals in the area that accept strays (e.g., Mass Vet Referral Hospital, MSPCA Jamaica Plain, MSPCA Methuen)
IMPORTANT: Note. Most missing cats are found only a few houses from home. Be sure to check with neighbors. REMEMBER: Keep a collar on your cat with identification. Microchip your cat for permanent identification especially if kitty does not wear a collar. Many cats will not keep one on and collars do get snagged and fall off even if one is worn. Get your cat on a strict feeding schedule so they will return home at night Try your "absolute" best to keep cats inside - Cats face many challenges and dangers which might prevent them from coming home like coyotes, cars and even people trying to help what they believe to be a homeless cat. If you have any questions or are seeking more tips/tricks to keep your cat safe, call Animal Control phone number at (781) 645-8014. A safe cat is a happy cat! #kittyconvict See this link for more information on "Kitty Convict".
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Pawsitive Award Winner!
We do have another Award Winner! Sheridan was identified at Menotomy Rocks Park walking with her two dogs, George and Seamus. Both dogs were appropriately on leash. Sheridan was observed carrying multiple doggy "poop" bags. She received the "winning" ticket for not only cleaning up after her own dogs according to the laws but also for being a good neighbor and scooping up after others. A big round of applause goes to Sheridan, George & Seamus. Do remember to carry doggy bags with you. Dog waste should always be picked up & disposed of properly. Thank you, Sheridan, for setting a great example and being such a responsible dog owner. Sheridan was randomly chosen from the July/August "Leash it and Ticket " Drawing. She received a $20 gift card from Friend of A-DOG, Whole Foods Market!
You may be the very next winner for simply doing the right thing.
ACO Katie's Corner presents updates from Arlington Animal Control Officer (ACO) Katie Kozikowski.
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Lakota Bakery has "Sweet Treats"
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Friend of A-DOG celebrates 25 years in Arlington
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by Joan Black
For a quarter of a century Lakota Bakery's owner Barbara Weniger has been an active and gracious supporter of school, charity, service and community organizations with generous donations of delectable treats and "gift" certificates. Barbara has made the Arlington storefront on Mass Avenue the business home of her personal recipes with a close family of "baker" elves as staff. There is nothing quite like coming into the store and being greeted by a display case dazzling with amazing cookies and the warm smile of patient staff. Selecting cookies is the hard part especially when you are down to the last one to make a dozen. You are never rushed as you scan the case anxiously. There are so many cookies and so little time to try them all especially when you continue to include all your favorites first. Arlington is also Barbara's personal home. As a business friend of A-DOG for many years, Lakota Bakery has provided prizes for Arlington Dog Owners Group's community service projects & ACO Katie Kozikowski's public safety PAWSITIVE Awards Program. During the month of August A-DOG has an Informational Display Table at Robbins Library including health and safety tips. It features an "interactive" drawing game for "Sweet Treats" prize - one dozen Lakota cookies donated by the bakery. The Sweet Treats Game will also be featured on Town Day and winner announced, The heart of Lakota Bakery is that Arlington is home and our homes have been blessed with cookies to celebrate birthdays, graduations, holidays, homecomings, weddings, parties and gatherings of all occasions to share love of family and friends. Congratulations, Lakota Bakery for 25 years of sweetening and enriching our lives. We are grateful Arlington is your home. On August 4, 5 & 6 Lakota gave out treats to the community as a "thank you." People could vote on the new "sweet treat" recipe debuts added to the 40 plus cookie menu selection. My personal all time favorites include mocha creams, Florentines & rumballs. Which are yours?
Feast upon these other tributes to Lakota Bakery's 25 years of providing delicious hometown cookies.
***********************
Joan is an A-DOG officer, member of the A-DOG board and member of the Wags and Tags editorial team. Photo shows one of the many happy winners of gift certificates donated by Lakota to A-DOG over the years.
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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!
____________
- Sunday, October 16, (10 am-2 pm), SOMdog's Tom Taylor Memorial Doggie 5k Fun Run. You run or walk with or without your pup through historic Union Square in Somerville, MA. Come early for 5K & stay for after-paw-ty at Bull McCabes! For sign up & to learn more click here. Early-Bird Registration 9/30/2016 online registration closes10/10/2016
- Saturday October 22, 11th annual Horses Helping Horses Fall Beach Ride to benefit Equine and Farm Animal Center at MSPCA Nevins Farm will be hosted at Crane Beach in Ipswich! Bring your horse, or "hoof it" on two feet for an eight-mile ride/walk along the ocean. Meet adoptable horses & 'equine alum'!
- Tuesday, October 25 (7-8 pm, doors open at 6:30). A-DOG's Annual Meeting. Jefferson Cutter House, lower level meeting room (Community Room). Refreshments.
Send us calendar items for possible inclusion in this section in future Wags and Tags issues!
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Pawsome People and Awesome Dogs
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Dog Days of Summer Beach Party at Arlington Reservoir (summary by Joan Black). The Arlington Res beach was open to dogs and their owners on Sunday September 11 for the 3rd annual romp on the beach hosted by Arlington Recreation K-9 Rec Activities director Daria Pannesi. Proceeds for the FUNdrasing event ($5.00 admission) benefited Arlington's only enclosed Dog Park at Thorndike. Despite an intense morning tempest of winds with flash downpour of rain, dogs and owners braved the weathers and came to play, swim and socialize. Laura Howson posted. "My family and I spent several hours at the Res today enjoying Dog Day with my Somerville-dwelling sister and her Boston Terrier Bud. It was a really great event with (IMO) good attendance (post-storm) and nice, responsible owners. The dogs had a blast, as always. We went last year and were excited to return this year. Thank you, Daria Demers Pannesi, for organizing and promoting this great event!" With Joe Connelly's resignation, the Recreation Dept is in transition (we will soon welcome Arlington's new Recreation Director, Jonathan Marshall, coming to us from Natick). However, Dog Days Beach Party took place after all -- many thanks to Jim Feeney, Interim Recreation Director who said "Let's make this happen!" Thanks especially to A-DOG board member David White and Park and Recreation commissioner Leslie Mayer who reached out and investigated the situation when the event was not scheduled as usual in August. The traditional "Dog Days of Summah" became "Splash in September" and was a flurry of furry fantastic fun!
On July 23, 700 shelters across the United States participated in "Clear The Shelter Day" Salem based Northeast Animal Shelter was one in Massachusetts who worked to "clear the shelter.". NEAS reported an excellent adoption event. Over that weekend there were 57 adoptions total with 39 pets finding homes on Saturday alone. Northeast Animal Shelter still has some loving and amazing cats seeking adoption so come and pay a visit. Friendly felines and canines are waiting to go home.
VOTE YES ON 3: Prevent Animal Cruelty. A message from the MSPCA "Voting Yes on Question 3 is the right thing to do for Massachusetts." The ballot question to prevent farm animal cruelty will be Question 3 on the Massachusetts statewide ballot this November 8. As a partner in this campaign, we urge you to speak up for those who can't by voting YES on 3. This measure will give breeding pigs, egg-laying hens, and veal calves enough room to turn around and extend their limbs and also establishes that meat and eggs sold in the state meet this modest animal welfare standard. Supported by Animal Recue League of Boston, The Humane Society, Sierra Club, United Farm Workers, ASPCA, Center for Food Safety, & MSPCA For more information and to get involved to help lead the animal to victory in November . More information here. A YES VOTE ON 3 * Prevents animal cruelty * Promotes responsible farming * Improves food quality * Implements commonsense protection for animals, the environment and food safety
MSPCA Animal Action Team Update, August 12. Last week, the House passed this animal protection bill that made it to the Governor's desk yesterday. We thank these Representatives who made this possible. (Including Dave Rogers, who represents precincts n Arlington.) People were asked to contact Governor Baker to ask him to sign S. 2369 and they did This bill protects: ANIMALS IN HOT CARS - allows intervention by law enforcement and individuals (in certain circumstances) when pets are kept in hot cars; TETHERED DOGS - restricts the number of hours that dogs can be tethered; DOGS IN CRUEL CONDITIONS - enhances enforcement of the state law prohibiting keeping dogs in cruel conditions. Thank you Representatives Lori Ehrlich, Angelo J Puppolo Jr, Lou Kafka, Ted Speliotis, Robert DeLeo and Dave Rogers! Photos here.
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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. 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 recent tribute to Duke.
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 Menotomy Beer Wine and Spirits,Maida Pharmacy & Compounding Center and Lakota Bakery.
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 our Annual Meeting on October 25, (6:30-8 pm). 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 have received 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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