Trying to Create a Lively Blog

Hello again, Our Place to Paws readers! We've hit summer, and below you'll find our June photo winner, a new Kid's Corner project, links to new animal videos and more!

You might have received an email from Our Place to Paws last month inviting you to check in on our blog. As your editor, I've been posting regular news on the blog...sometimes links to animal news, sometimes news from animal organizations, and more often, recently, personal notes on the goings-on in our household related to various pet health problems and other animal activities (we have one cat battling hyperthyroid condition and are facing a real dilemma with another about a potential big surgery).

I'm hoping to make the blog a regular online stop for our readers, but it will only be interesting if many more people join in the discussions. Anyone who wants to can click on the word "comments" at the bottom of any post, to read what others have said and to add comments. I've included in the letters section below a question and answer that appeared on the blog recently. The more discussion we can generate, the more fun and informative it will be for all of you.

We're also looking into the possibility of adding Message Boards and online animal-related games on our Web site to make your visits to Our Place to Paws more interactive. In the meantime, you can check out the site to see what changes we've made in the past month, and to view the rest of this month's winning photos and an inspiring story about a teenage puppy raiser who volunteers for Guiding Eyes for the Blind.

One thing we're NOT getting is any essay/photo submissions to our Cats vs. Dogs page. So I'm going to up the ante, folks. I will donate $10 to the animal rescue/welfare cause of the winner's choice, along with the $20 PetCo gift certificate the winner will receive. Any takers? Send in your essays!

Now for this month's newsletter. Today you can watch a video of a very rare rhino and read Orson the Chow's latest column. I think it's clear that Orson is in his classic "dog knows it all" mood...I think he's gotten a PhD in psychology since his last column. The guy is worrying me.

In this issue:

Virginia Teen Raising Fourth Guiding Eyes Puppy
Reader Photo Spotlight July Winner!
Kids’ Corner: Make a Stone Mouse!

Do you have any comments or suggestions about the newsletter or the site? Please write to faye@ourplacetopaws.com and let us know!

And remember, this newsletter doesn't always forward properly via email, so if you want to send it to a friend, point them to this online link (you can also read the newsletter at that link if the formatting doesn't come through well on your email):

http://www.ourplacetopaws.com/newsletter8.html

Meow. Woof. Naaaaayy.

- Editor

FEATURE STORY ON OUR PLACE TO PAWS

Virginia Teen Raising Fourth Guiding Eyes Puppy

by Faye Rapoport DesPres

When Ana Osowski was just two years old, her parents, Tim and Amy Osowski, learned that their daughter had an eye condition that could cause blindness. Thankfully that never happened, but as Ana grew older she decided she wanted to do something that would help visually impaired people.

"I realized what a gift it was that I still could see perfectly fine," Ana said. "It really impressed me that I had a chance to make a difference to someone who doesn’t have that ability."

When Ana was 11, her parents gave her permission to raise a puppy for Guiding Eyes for the Blind, a non-profit organization and one of the world’s leading guide dog schools. Four years later the Lincoln, Va. teen is training her fourth dog, Champ.

ANIMAL COLUMNISTS

This month, Orson answers the call of one Cincinnati family with a dilemma he’s sure is shared by many. They write:

Dear Orson,

Recently our six-year-old son, Hoover, has discovered a new game. It’s called “sneak up on the sleeping dog and scare the c**p out of him.” My husband and I are at our wits’ end. I’ve tried everything from explanations to scoldings to extra chores. I’ve even threatened to take Hoover out of his summer camp, but nothing seems to work. I’m afraid that our male poodle, “Twinkles” is going to develop a complex. I make sure that no episode goes unnoticed and that our son understands that what he’s doing is wrong, but he seems determined to “play.”

. . . Why is Hoover doing this, and what can we do to save our family?

Orson responds

More Animal Columnists >>

YOUR LETTERS

I'd like to donate money to a non-profit organization that helps animals, but I'm never sure if an organization uses most of my donation for marketing, or if it really gets to the animals. How can I know?

Best,

Derrick G.

Editor’s Note: I've found a couple of places online where you can check ratings of charitable organizations. One is the American Institute of Philanthropy and another is Charity Navigator. Hope that helps!

Question posted as a comment on the Our Place to Paws Blog: Can anyone out there figure out why, after taking my dog Versaci out for an extensive walk, does he decide to pee on my bed???? He doesn't pee in his own bed, so why does he pee in mine, especially sine he just went outside???? My dry cleaner is very happy about this but I, however, am not. Please help! - Anonymous reader

Response: Sounds like Versaci might do well to consult his vet or an animal behavioral specialist. It might be his way of "thanking you" for taking him out on a delightful walk as he has "marked" you this way, or it might be something more biological such as a urinary tract infection. With an infection he may be relieving himself where he feels safe.

Please talk to your vet about the behavior to eliminate any biological causes. After that there are several over the counter treatments for the bed and linens to fully decontaminate the smell of his which might be bringing him back to the same area each time. In addition there are treatments for environments specific to "stink" to a dog and will discourage him from finding the smell of the bed so "compelling". Even the best dry cleaner is unlikely to be able to break down the chemical component residues of the urine completely. To us they smell fresh, to him they smell like a fire hydrant. Both fields of treatment chemicals are often used as house breaking aids and are harmless to the animal as well as most fabrics. Good luck! - Anonymous reader

READER PHOTO SPOTLIGHT

July Reader Photo Winner: Five in the Front Yard,
Submitted by Jan L., Arizona

To see our Honorable Mentions, visit Our Place to Paws by clicking on this link.

VIDEOS

This looks like pretty good exercise. One little dog could jog in the pool all day.Watch on YouTube!

WWF Captures First-Ever Camera Trap Video of Rare Borneo Rhino.Click here to see this amazing video of an animal you've probably never seen before.

KIDS CORNER

There are so many creative, fun projects you can do with things you can find right in your own home.

One month we made a chocolate mouse, now it’s time to make something even simpler but just as cute – your very own stone mouse. Click here for directions.

FEATURED ANIMAL RESCUE

The Eleanor Sonsini Shelter in Pittsfield, Massachusetts is now run by The Friends of Eleanor Sonsini Shelter, Inc., a non-profit volunteer organization. The organization assumed operation of the shelter from the city of Pittsfield, and is always looking for homes for their wonderful cats and dogs, as well as volunteers.

OUR PLACE TO PAWS STAFF

Editor-in-Woof: Faye Rapoport DesPres
Contributing Writers: Peggy Dey, Jean-Paul DesPres, Richard Wexler
Book Reviews: Joan Schweighardt
Contributing Artist: Gloria Rapoport
Graphic Design: Justin Sablich

To subscribe to Our Place to Paws, send an email with Subscribe: Our Place to Paws in the subject line to faye@ourplacetopaws.com. We will not share or sell your email address or our email list no matter what - upon pain of having to change 100 litter boxes every day. Our Place to Paws is trademarked, and content is copyright 2007.

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