Woof!

I once had a wonderful friend who had a fox terrier named Slugger.  Slugger was a feisty guy, well named.   Cloie, Slugger’s owner was also feisty, and like Slugger, she had a heart of gold.   Every year Cloie put a picture of her beloved Slugger on every Christmas card she mailed.  When we became friends, and I had just moved to CT, having working in New York City in fashion and advertising photography, I offered to make the Christmas cards for her.  I brought  all my lights and backdrops, costumes, and fake snow and set them up in her home.  We worked well together, because she taught dog obedience, and I managed the set.  Slugger was a great actor, would do anything, or wear anything that Cloie asked, but only once a year.

When Slugger died, I made a compilation of all the Christmas cards we created together, my last gift for Cloie.  She was delighted.   It wasn’t long until Cloie passed too.  I think of her often, Slugger always by her side, wondering what Slugger would be for Christmas.

I wish to share with you Slugger’s cards.  So here they are – with happy holidays to all and all your animal friends.

Slugger's Christmas cards

I know that there are a lot of holiday cards staring the family dog or cat.  Please email the photo to me at helen.neafsey@scni.com and I will post them here at Woof.

The puppies followed Brian Gordisky, the Adopt-A-Dog kennel manager.

A wiggle of puppies, mostly black lab mixes and 2 chow adorable mixes, arrived at Adopt-A-Dog, this week. Brian Gordisky, Adopt-A-Dog’s kennel manager drove a 16 hour round trip to pick up the puppies who came from For The Love of Dogs Shelter in North Carolina.

“We are working with For the Love of Dogs in particular, said Allyson Halm, the president of Adopt-A-Dog, Greenwich’s private shelter. ” We all have driven down there, met the proprietor and we’ve spent time at the shelter.  We’re comfortable with their ethics and morals, so we’ve chosen to stick with them.  A lot of other groups come up here with a truck full of dogs, and we’re not comfortable with that.  We go down to hand-select and spend a little time with the animals – so it’s not a cash and carry, it’s a more intimate relationship.”

One of the chow mix puppies looking for attention.

Looking for fun.

Adopt-a-Dog, as an organization, decided that now would be a good time to bring down the puppies.  They knew that a lot of people are looking for puppies around Christmas.  The shelter also wanted  to encourage people to stay out of pet stores, and not to purchase a puppy mill puppy.  “All puppies in pet stores come from puppy mills, no matter what the store tells you,” warned Halm.  She hopes that people will research puppy mills to see what horrors these  poor animals come from.

“You walk into a pet store,” she added, ” and you see that cute little puppy, chances are good that it is younger than the paperwork is going to say. The puppy mills people, worried about the shelf life of the puppies,  want dogs that will last longer in the pet shop, so they give it a younger age.  So then we know that these puppies have taken too soon from their mothers.  They don’t get the social interaction,and discipline that the mother and their litter mates will teach them.”

“And even worse, many of the puppy mills puppies have both emotional and health issues”,  she added.  “We are hoping that with bringing these puppies from the South now, we can encourage people to adopt, not shop.”

A quiet little puppy.

Halm said that the puppies will be available the day after Christmas.  She feels that the week before Christmas is the absolute worst time to adopt a puppy.  “The weeks before Christmas are a stressful time,” she explained.  “Puppies should be adopted in a stable environment, and pre-Christmas is not stable, at least not in my home!  There are dangers of the poisonous plants, electric extension chords, tinsel, glass balls, all the decorations that are out- and the fact that  you are out shopping, and you’re not at home.  You are not there for the brand new animal who needs you!”

It would be difficult to chose a puppy.

She suggested that prospective puppy owners can come to the shelter, fill out the paperwork now.  Then get all the items that you will need for a puppy, and put them under the tree.  The children can unwrap the lead, the collar, the bowls, the dog cookies,  whatever it is that you need.  Then the following week, when most children are of from school,  and everything has settled down, and you are home, bring home your puppy.

And one more...

Have you ever had an emergency with your pet, and felt awful because you didn’t know what to do?   It can be very scary.  So when I heard about the Pet First Aid and CPR class at the Greenwich Emergency Medical Service headquarters, I signed up immediately.

Betty Bernstein teaches CPR on a dummy dog.

The class was the brainchild of Betty Bernstein, a GEMS instructor at both the American Heart Association and the American Safety and Health Institute.  Because she had at one time boarded kittens,  she understood the importance of first aid and CPR for animals.  Wanting to teach a class that would cover pet first aid and CPR,  she found one written by the American Safety and Health Institute.  It included text books and a video.

Charlee Tufts, the GEMS director, felt it would be even better if they teamed with another non-profit organization. Immediately they thought of  Adopt-A-Dog, Greenwich’s private animal shelter.  Allyson Halm, Adopt-A-Dog’s president and former Greenwich Animal Control officer, agreed at once.  Their goal is to teach a class once a month at the GEMS headquarters in Greenwich. In addition they offer to do a class if 4 or more people can get together, such as organizations, dog walkers/sitters, boy and girl scouts, clubs etc.

Allyson Halm, the president of Adopt-A-Dog, right and Betty Bernstein, instructor, at GEMS teaching Pet First Aid and CPR.

“Young kids who do both pet and children sitting  should definitely know about this class,”  said Halm, “especially if the people who own the animal are away.”  During her time at  the Greenwich Animal Control, she said,  they had many unfortunate calls that the sitter had lost the pet.

Kate Uhry, a dog walker from Old Greenwich, practices CPR with a dummy dog .

The class, taught by Bernstein and Halm, covers such subjects as CPR, choking, bleeding control, approaching an ill or injured animal, rescue breathing,  injury to muscles and bones, soft tissue injuries, burns, eye injuries, medical emergencies, such as poisoning, electric shock, environmental emergencies such as animal bites, porcupine quills, skunk encounters and others, and common pet illnesses or conditions.  And that is just the beginning. There is plenty of hands on experience: 2 dummy animals to work on and a video which is very informative.

Ellie Gerli, a dog walker from Old Greenwich, practicing the "Heimlich" maneuver at the Pet First Aid and CPR.

The Pet First Aid and CPR class is 2 hours long.  It is held at the GEMS headquarters, 1111East Putnam Avenue, Greenwich CT.  The next dates are Sunday January 10th, 2010, or Sunday February 6th, 2010, or Sunday March 7, 2010, all from 1:00-3:00pm. To enroll in one of the classes or for more information,  go to the Adopt-A-Dog website. Or call GEMS at 203-637-7505, ext 1074.

“Whether it is a human or a pet, it gets blurred while you are going  though an emergency”, said Halm. ” If you have this information in your head, it can help you get through it, and get the best for your pet. You will know what to do even before you get to the vet.  And that may save his life.”

Kate Uhry practices CPR through the noes with a sterile plastic cloth.