somerville dog: a weblog

The City Clerk's Office will be issuing dog licenses at Somerville's Sixth Annual Rabies Vaccination Clinic on Saturday morning, June 3, 2006, from 10:00 to 12:00, at the Animal Control Office in the Public Works complex on Franey Road, across from Trum Field.

The fee is $12.00 for a dog license, or $6.00 if the dog has been spayed or neutered. The cost for the vaccine service is $5.00. No prior record is needed, but vaccines will be for one year only unless a current rabies certificate is supplied. All dogs must be leashed and cats must be in carriers.

The Somerville Dog Owners Group (som|dog) is working to improve the rate at which Somerville residents license our dogs with the City. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts requires that dogs over the age of six months be licensed annually in their city or town. Through dog licensing, municipalities ensure that dogs in the community are properly vaccinated against rabies.

While owners are required by law to license our dogs, there are many other good reasons for Somerville dog owners to get our 2006 dog licenses now:

1. If your dog gets lost, a license tag on your dog's collar is the fastest way for local authorities to return him to you.
2. Your dog's license tag tells people in the community that you are a responsible dog owner: your dog is properly vaccinated against rabies.
3. A current dog license is required if you want to bring your dog to an Off-Leash Recreational Area in Somerville.
4. On July 1, 2006 the fee for a Somerville Dog License will increase to $16.00 (or $12.00 for spayed/neutered dogs)

Dog Licenses are issued at the City Clerk's Office, City Hall, 93 Highland Avenue, Somerville, MA 02143, Monday-Wednesday, 8:30AM-4:00PM, Thursday 8:30AM-7:00PM, and Friday 8:30AM-12:00 Noon. Requests are also accepted by mail.

The City accepts checks or money orders only by mail, and checks, money orders or cash in person. Checks should be made payable to “City of Somerville.” For all requests, please include the following information:
- the owner or owners' name(s), address(es) and telephone number(s).
- the dog's name, breed, color, age or date of birth, and gender (male/female).
- evidence of the dog's most recent rabies vaccine.
- evidence that the dog has been spayed (female)or neutered (male), if applicable.

Posted by Michèle at 12:36 PM
Categories: Canine Good Citizenship, Events, Somerville, Your Dog's Health
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UPDATE 1 January 2007: In addition to their Yahoo! group, RoDogRun has a website at www.rodogrun.org/.

Citing benefits for park safety and park stewardship, not to mention an improved sense of community, the Ronan Park Dog Run Group is preparing to submit a Dog Recreation Space proposal to the City of Boston Parks and Recreation Department, according to an article that ran in the Dorchester Reporter, today ("Pooch-lovers push for Ronan Park paradise," by Demetra Chornovas).

The Friends of Ronan Park, a park stewardship group, welcomes the inclusion of a dog run as an improvement that will benefit all users.

Boston Mayor Menino signed the Dog Recreation Space (DRS) Ordinance in January 2005. The Friends of Peters Park submitted the first DRS application in January 2006.

Posted by Michèle at 8:03 PM
Categories: D.O.G.s (Dog Owner Groups), Massachusetts
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The Nashua Dog Owners Group (Nashua D.O.G.) is working to establish a permanent dog park in the City of Nashua, New Hampshire. Their efforts are described in a very nice article by Andrew Nelson that ran in the Nashua Teleraph on Tuesday, May 23, "Dog group nearly paws-itive park plans will move forward" (registration required).

Nashua D.O.G. has submitted a proposal to their board of aldermen to create a members-only off-leash recreational area on city-owned property, which the group would lease from the City for $1 a year. The group would assume responsibility for the construction of the dog park: the proposed budget for the project, according to the article, is $75,000. The group would also assume responsibility for maintenance of the area. Access to the area would be restricted to registered members who would be issued a passkey to enter the area. A passkey system is in use at the Overlook Dog Park in Manheim Township, in Pennsylvania.

Currently, Nashua D.O.G. sponsors a weekly off-leash play group on private property. Dogs must be registered in advance to attend the play group, and the weekly fee is $3 per dog. Some weeks, more than 160 dog attend the two-hour play group, and Nashua D.O.G., a 501(c)(3) organization, collects about $500 weekly in playgroup fees.

Posted by Michèle at 7:31 AM
Categories: D.O.G.s (Dog Owner Groups), Off-Leash Recreational Areas—i.e. "Dog Parks", United States
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I received an e-mail from Ward Seven Alderman and Somerville dog owner, Robert Trane, about Deramaxx, a pain reliever which veterinarians continue to prescribe for dogs even though a similar human painkiller, Vioxx, was taken off the market in 2004 in response to reports of illness and death linked to the drug.

According to an article that ran yesterday the Washington Post, "Vioxx Debate Echoed in Battle Over Dog Drugs," by Marc Kaufman, "more than 350 reports of deaths linked to Deramaxx have come into the FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine." Deramaxx is the brand name of Deracoxib, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID).

David Stansfield, director of professional relations for Novartis Animal Health, the maker of Deramaxx, says that the company advises "veterinarians not only to inform pet owners of possible side effects . . . but also to conduct blood and sometimes urine tests before the drug is prescribed. Those tests can be expensive, however, and are not routinely done."

The American Veterinary Medical Association opposes efforts to require vets to give out the drugmakers' information because "it's just not the be-all and end-all of the communication that's needed," according to Elizabeth Curry-Galvin, interim director of the AVMA scientific activities division, quoted in the Post.

A miracle drug for one individual may be dangerous or deadly for another. Ask your veterinarian for the consumer information provided by the drug manufacturer and to discuss with you the risks an benefits of the treatment prescribed for your pet.

UPDATE 14 May 2006: In the som|dog "Dog Talk" forum, a member shared another article about Deramaxx that ran a little over a year ago in USA Today, "Even painkillers for dogs have serious risks," by Julie Schmit.

Posted by Michèle at 8:26 PM
Categories: Friends of somerville dog, Your Dog's Health
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Chigger, of blogdogs (alas defunct UPDATE: reinstated June 2006!), observed in February 2004,

I'm becoming increasingly concerned with the issue of identity theft online, and feel compelled to express some of my concerns. If you spend much time on the web, you soon realize that there are web sites written by dogs, and web sites written by humans about the dogs they live with. And that's all fine and good. But more and more what I’m finding is web postings that are identified as written by dogs, when in reality they are written by… yes, you guessed it… humans. . . .

For starters, dogs never refer to any human as "Mom," "Mommie," "Mum" or any other human variation on the word bitch. We don’t use bizarre phrases like "T.T.ing" to refer to "taking a piss." And we certainly don’t lapse into some kind of mid-20th-Century-blackface-plantation-movie-pseudo-patois as a way to suggest that we’re not human. I quote: "Mum sez the evil vetman sez I should have a bath evvy WEEK with de medisin soap!!"

In today's Globe, Kristen Green has an article about the canine internet. somerville dog is honored to be included among the sites mentioned in the article.

Activity on somerville dog has been a little bit low of late: For more information about what's going on in Somerville, please visit the website of the Somerville Dog Owners Group (som|dog). We're walking with our dogs in the Somerville Memorial Day Parade! You can also see a slideshow of Somerville dogs on Dogster.

Strummer has a diary on Dogster. Give her a bone!

Posted by Michèle at 7:39 AM
Categories: DogNet
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