somerville dog: a weblog

Strummer and I saw the Somerville Police K-9 cruiser this morning at about 9:30 this morning on Park Street at the Beacon Street intersection!

The Board of Aldermen approved a K-9 Officer in the FY09 Budget.

Posted by Michèle at 10:23 PM
Categories: Somerville, Somerville Dogs, Strummer
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Glenn Yoder has an article about what a great shared space the Somerville Community Path is in the City Weekly section of the Boston Globe for Sunday, October 12, "Making room for wheels and paws". The Path occasionally attracts media attention for incidents of altercation or assault, but what Yoder found was that the story of the Somerville Community Path is a story about community. Moreover it's a story about a community that is actively working together to improve everyone's experience on the Community Path.

Posted by Michèle at 7:20 AM
Categories: Destinations, Friends of somerville dog, Somerville, Strummer
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As part of the Mezzo Design Lofts project, the developers created a neighborhood park for people and pets on Caldwell Street in Charlestown. The park is just over the Somerville City Line at the end of Broadway, in the shadow of I-93.

The developers are to be commended for improving public open space in the neighborhood. Strummer checked out the park on Labor Day, and, we found some problems that will have to be addressed for the park to succeed. I made a little video documenting the problems.

I learned about the park from friends who live in East Somerville with two small dogs. When they told me about the park, they raised concerns for the safety of their dogs: There are gaps in the park's fencing through which a small dog could easily escape to the heavy traffic of Broadway.

About one-quarter to one-third of the off-leash recreational area is landscaped with low plantings and small trees. The landscaping limits the space that can be used for off-leash recreation; Moreover, the grasses, shrubs and flowers will not withstand the use of the area by dogs, and will become an eyesore.

Posted by Michèle at 4:29 PM
Categories: Development and Open Space, Dogs and Business, Massachusetts, Off-Leash Recreational Areas—i.e. "Dog Parks", Somerville, Strummer
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The best way to keep people from proposing legislation to ban dogs is

1. to clean up after our dogs every time, and


2. to NEVER allow our dogs to greet anyone who has not asked specifically to meet them.

Until a person has proven her- or himself dog-friendly by asking to meet my dog, I assume that if I let Strummer approach that person, she or he will introduce anti-dog legislation at the first opportunity. By waiting for people to ask to meet my dog, my experience is that everyone I meet likes my dog!

previously posted to the Fells Dog Owner Group

Posted by Michèle at 11:42 AM
Categories: Canine Good Citizenship, Off-Leash Recreational Areas—i.e. "Dog Parks", Strummer, Training, Voter Information
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I got a Flip Video camera for my birthday!

I had a lot of fun putting together this amateur video of Strummer meeting and greeting and socializing with other dogs at the Off-Leash Recreational Area at Nunziato Field here in Somerville. My analysis of the dogs' behavior reflects my personal observations as an attentive pet owner.

Posted by Michèle at 10:41 PM
Categories: Off-Leash Recreational Areas—i.e. "Dog Parks", Safety Around Dogs, Somerville, Somerville Dogs, Strummer
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Rusty is a Cambridge dog; Strummer knows him from Norton's Woods at the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (map).

Posted by Michèle at 11:57 AM
Categories: DogNet, Gear, Strummer
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Stummer is adjusting to the new member of the pack: Kate, who is just nine days old today. Here is Strummer keeping an eye on Kate in the Pack 'n Play bassinet. Kate is also being supervised by Dad and Mamah, while Mom captures the moment.

Posted by Michèle at 8:39 PM
Categories: And Baby Makes Four, Strummer
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Strummer had a bloody stool a couple of weeks ago. The veterinarian diagnosed "dietary indescretion" and prescribed a bland diet and an antibiotic, the latter to prevent any infection from entering the blood stream through the digestive track. For the next couple of days, Strummer got several small meals a day of steamed chicken and white rice and her antibiotic pill twice a day. After three days on this regimen, I had a new cause of concern: she hadn't pooped in three days. Back to the vet we went, and I learned that I hadn't been feeding her enough for her to make a poop. Though unintentional on my part, underfeeding is in fact a good treatment for an irritated digestive track. The veterinarian checked her out and said I could expect a poop within the next twenty-four hours. Sure enough, that very evening Strummer had a nice, well-formed poop, a little lighter in color than usual, but with good consistency—sticking together but not sticking to the grass—and easy to pick up with a plastic bag.

More information than you needed to know.

But if you're a dog owner, you know that poop speaks louder than words. You keep tabs on your dog's bowels, and if your dog has diarrhea for more than forty-eight hours, or if your dog has not had a bowel movement for forty-eight hours, you call the vet. You bring a sample of your dog's stool to your vet twice a year and have it analyzed for parasites.

But what do you do if you employ a dog walker? Do you get a poop report every day with detailed notes on color, consistency, amount, and time and location of the event(s)?

Your dog walker should be able to answer all these questions and one more equally important question about your dog's poop: Where is it now?

I was speaking recently with a Somerville dog owner, who told me about a dilemma in which she found herself. She has a dog walker, whom she likes a great deal and whom her dog likes a great deal. The dilemma arose because, while in a local park with her children, she happened to espy her beloved dog walker breaking the law by not cleaning up after the dog in her charge.

Your dog's feces is your responsibility. When you hire a dog walker, you should make specific arrangements for waste management. Explain where you keep extra baggies and, if applicable, any other implements for clean-up, where you dog has been trained to do his business¹, and where you dispose of the bagged waste. You should also make it clear that her continued employment is contingent on her upholding your standards as a responsible dog owner.

. . .

¹One of the most helpful pieces of advice I found when I began to research dog ownership is Sue Sternberg's advice in her book, Successful Dog Adoption, about selecting a potty area:

The potty area should be close to your door. . . . This way, when it rains or snows or you have the flu or sprain an ankle, your dog will be trained to eliminate within a few feet from your door, and you won't have to walk all the way to the park or all the way down the block (156).

Also, if you train your dog to "do it" before he gets to go for a walk, you dog will learn that he gets rewarded with a walk for doing his business. What you don't want is for your dog to learn that he gets "punished" for doing his business, which is exactly what he learns if "walkies" always end after he relieves himself.

Posted by Michèle at 11:40 AM
Categories: Canine Good Citizenship, Shooting the S--t, Strummer, Your Dog's Health
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On the unfortunate occasion of the untimely loss to heat exhaustion of one of the dogs he bred, Mike Stewart owner of Wildrose Kennels and retriever trainer, offers excellent advice about the prevention of heat exhaustion in hunting dogs. Stewart's advice to sportsmen (and women) is equally valid for pet owners:

A dog who is overheating will be panting heavily in fast repetition and the tongue will be hanging out and curling at the end in cup form. The mouth is dripping and they may have a glazed look in the eye. Often they show signs of a staggered gait or they may simply stand fixed.

This is when the untrained handler gets into serious trouble. One may misread the dog as refusing a cast, command or quitting. Force may be applied to gain compliance pushing the dog too far. Some dogs just don't quit until it's too late. It's up to you to quit before this point.

In other words if your dog ordinarily comes enthusiastically on command, but on a hot summer day stands or lies down where s/he is and stares at you, don't get mad, get your dog out of the sun and get water.

Know your dog. Strummer's tongue hardly ever hangs out of her mouth: when it does, even if she looks like s/he's having the time of her life, I know it's time for a rest and a drink.

I've also noticed—in the Memorial Day Parade, at Paws in the Park, and at ArtBeat—that she will not drink water even when I know that she is overheated. This could be because she is too distracted to drink; because she thinks she is "working" and, as a former show dog, (inadvertently) learned not to drink when she is performing; or because the water in the plastic bottle is too warm. Whatever the reason, it's bad, and it's my job, as the only one of us that does not have a brain the size of a lemon, to get her out of the sun and cooled off.

Posted by Michèle at 9:24 AM
Categories: Strummer, Your Dog's Health
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I overheard a lot of people at ArtBeat on Saturday, saying "Look at that dog! It's wearing a hat!"

Flickr photographer kenyee took this fabulous picture of Strummer in her sun bonnet. Go to kenyee's artbeat dog page for different sizes and to leave a comment!

Posted by Michèle at 8:23 AM
Categories: Strummer
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Strummer had the pleasure this morning of making the acquaintance of several Brookline dogs, who welcomed her at the Brookline Avenue Playground during off-leash hours.

One of twelve parks in the Town of Brookline Green Dog Pilot Program, the Brookline Avenue Playground has off-leash hours from dawn to 1:00 pm, April through November, and from dawn to dusk, December through March. At the Annual Town Meeting on May 25, 2005, the Town of Brookline voted to extend the Green Dog Pilot Program to June 30, 2006 (Article 17 of the Town Warrant).

When we arrived at the "playground" at 10:00 this morning, a soccer game was ending. Also, during off-leash hours, a volley-ball game was played. It seems that, though off-leash recreation is not allowed during hours that are not designated for off-leash recreation, other kinds of recreation are allowed during hours that are designated for off-leash recreation. At almost four acres, however, the Brookline Avenue Playground was able to accommodate this mixed usage this morning.

Austin, Benny, Buddy, Ethan, Murphy, Otis, Samson: Strummer hopes to be able to repay your hospitality some day soon!

Posted by Michèle at 2:40 PM
Categories: Destinations, Massachusetts, Off-Leash Recreational Areas—i.e. "Dog Parks", Strummer
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ArtBeat is "one of the area?s largest and most innovative arts festivals." Lots of events are scheduled at several locations in Davis Square.

This year will be the first year that a pet boutique will have Booth at ArtBeat! Fi-dough, which has a store on Beacon Street in Somerville, will have doggie treats and things for sale and a gift basket raffle!

Strummer is hoping lots of friends (old, new and to be) join her in the Mix/MashParade! tomorrow morning at 11:30... The parade begins at the Seven Hills Park stage (behind the Holland St T exit), proceeds along Elm and Holland streets and ends on Park stage.

Posted by Michèle at 1:04 PM
Categories: Events, Somerville, Strummer
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Twenty people and fourteen dogs attended a fund-raiser on the occasion of Strummer's birthday party, Saturday, June 18, at Pet Spa (669 Somerville Avenue). We raised $370 for off-leash recreation in Somerville!

Pet Spa owner, Theresa Sammon, with the help of her staff, graciously provided the wonderful space at her store, as well as decorations and party favors. Strummer's fabulous carrot and peanut-butter birthday cake was donated by Joe Thompson, owner of Fi-Dough (70E Beacon Street). The Beacon Street Star Market donated a $25 gift card for party supplies, and Marco Romao, of Jerry's Liquors (320 Somerville Avenue), helped with the refreshments.

Posted by Michèle at 2:05 PM
Categories: Somerville, Strummer
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Strummer will be eight years old, Saturday, June 18, 2005.

Saturday is also the date of the opening celebration and rededication of the newly renovated Palmacci Park, which welcomes families with leashed dogs and features Somerville's first doggie drinking fountain!

Posted by Michèle at 9:20 AM
Categories: Somerville, Strummer
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Here's Strummer sporting her new haircut for the beginning of swimming season!

Strummer's friend Vincent (Vizsla) introduced her to Noanet Woodlands in Dover, yesteday. With shady trails and swimming holes, Noanet is very dog-friendly. The Dog Lover's Companion to Boston gives it the highest possible recommendation: four paws!

Posted by Michèle at 10:50 AM
Categories: Strummer
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Peaches was cloned last year from a cat named Mango, owned by Leslie Ungerer, who oversees most of the feline projects at Genetic Savings and Clone in Sausalito, CA.

"They are fast friends," she said of mother and clone, who spend part of their time at the lab and part at her home. ("Hello Kitty, Hello Clone," By Anne Eisenberg, New York Times, May, 28, 2005)

I wonder what Strummer would do if I brought her home in puppy form to meet herself. But I don't really want to know. There has never been and will never be another Strummer.

Posted by Michèle at 7:39 AM
Categories: Dogs and Culture, Strummer
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Happy Equinox!

Can we take it as a sign of Spring that Fi-Dough is down to their final pair of dog boots?

Note to the editor: dogs are quadrupeds and, ordinarily, dog boots are sold in sets that include one boot for each foot. -Canis Major

Strummer has been ready for Spring since February. I am convinced that she was suffering from seasonal affective disorder. She was never thrilled about having to wear her Muttluks, despite their beautiful Bruins colors, but being the little stoic that she is, she grinned and beared it.

Until one day she'd had enough of wearing her boots. And who can blame her? Haven't we all had enough of our boots this winter? She was meeting a new dog at Norton's Woods one evening and and she curled her lips—the little grumple-puss—which is very rare for her. I took off her boots, and she cheered up a bit.

So the next snow-fall, we walked to Fi-Dough (the Somerville store, on Beacon Street) and I got some Musher's Secret™.

Musher's Secret also protects dog's pads against ice balls and salt-burn. It is non-toxic and "will not stain carpeting" (though there are a few suspicious paw-prints on the carpet in front of the door to my office).

Strummer doesn't try to lick the Musher's Secret off her paws, and she's her usual bouncy self when she's wearing it, though the boots are a lot better at controling the ice balls that form around her ankles.

Posted by Michèle at 11:03 AM
Categories: Gear, Strummer
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To celebrate the last day of this long winter, Strummer and I went to the beach yesterday. The beach we chose was Singing Beach, in Manchester-by-the-Sea. Dogs are allowed on Singing Beach from October through April.

Poodles, as you know, were bred to be water retrievers. Thus is it rather embarrassing to me when Strummer runs away from the waves as they roll up the beach. Don't get me wrong, Strummer had a fabulous time at the beach. She just didn't want to play with any of the dogs that were playing in the water, with whom I, of course, kept encouraging her to play.

Just as I was thinking that it was about time to start thinking about leaving the beach, Strummer got caught up in a game from which she just couldn't tear herself away. The game involved three other dogs: a border collie, who was fetching two balls with her people, a boxer, and a Parson Russell terrier, and consisted in a twisted version of keep-away: i.e. keep the border collie away from her tennis ball, and, if that fails, keep her away from her humans. This is one of Strummer's favorite games.

The border collie and her humans didn't seem to be enjoying the game so much, so I called Strummer away. She kept trying to give me the slip, and, finally, when the game reached a new level of excitement, she bolted.

The next thing I knew, all four dogs, my fastidious poodle not last among them, were diving head first into a wave!

I'm convinced that Strummer knew that, if she got wet, we'd have to stay longer to give her coat a chance to dry a little bit.

Good one, Strummer. But the joke's on you: I'll turn you into a water dog, yet!

Posted by Michèle at 10:13 AM
Categories: Destinations, Off-Leash Recreational Areas—i.e. "Dog Parks", Strummer
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When Sue Lundstrom hit middle age, she knew she was going to have to work harder to keep the pounds from creeping up on her.

So she grabbed a leash and took her dogs for a walk. ``Once I turned 40, I realized I needed to do a lot of walking to keep off weight,'' said Lundstrom, 45, who walks a 3-mile path in North Reading with her dogs, Bert and Thomas, five times a week.

Via the Boston Herald.

Hill's Pet Nutrition, Inc., the makers of Science Diet® and Prescription Diet®¹ sponsored the People and Pets Exercising Together (P-PET) study, a study of "the effectiveness of treatment of both overweight people and overweight pet dogs in a combined targeted program compared to focusing on people alone and pet dogs alone," and has tips for exercising together.

¹Strummer eats Eukanuba® Natural Lamb & Rice^TM.

Posted by Michèle at 9:16 AM
Categories: Strummer, Your Dog's Health, Your Health
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This morning, as the first snowfall of the season was dispersing, Strummer earned her Canine Good Citizen Certificate at Canine University in Malden.¹

To earn her CGC Certification, Strummer had to successfully perform ten tasks, testing her behavior when being greeted by friendly strangers, around other dogs, and when being handled by a canine care professional (i.e. a groomer or a veterinarian); her reliability with the basic obedience commands, "sit," "down," "stay" and "come;" and her ability to maintain her poise (i.e. not bark continually) for three minutes while her owner was not in the room. She also had to show up for the test with a responsible owner, who was required to sign a pledge to take care of her health needs, safety, exercise, training and quality of life and to show responsibility by cleaning up after her in public places and never letting her infringe on the rights of others.

Strummer is looking forward to enjoying the rights of citizenship! In an article on "Dogs and apartments," the Dog Owners Guide suggests that Canine Good Citizen Certification can assuage a potential landlord's concerns about renting an apartment to the dog's owner (see also "Locating Pet-Friendly Apartments") and "Tips for Renters with Pets". It would be great if, as a Canine Good Citizen, Strummer were allowed to accompany her responsible owner in Somerville's parks. And it would be great if there were safe and legal areas in Somerville where Canine Good Citizens could enjoy off-leash recreation under the supervision of their responsible owners.

¹You'd think Malden, the home of Canine University, would be a great place to be a dog, but Malden is considering breed-specific legislation, that would require owners of "pit bulls, rottweilers, chows, Doberman pinchers, shar peis and [wolf] mixed breeds, or any other dog whose behavior endangers a person's welfare . . . to apply for a special permit costing $100 and keep the animal leashed and muzzled whenever it leaves their property" (via Canine University News, November 2004). Of course it makes sense to hold owners of dogs "whose behavior endangers a person's welfare" accountable; it is the part of the legislation that targets dogs on the the basis of breed rather than behavior that is flawed. Did you know that the American Kennel Club does not recognize the pit bull as a breed? The AKC does recognize the American Staffordshire Terrier, as well as the Bull Terrier and the Staffordshire Bull Terrier. The United Kennel Club, on the other hand, recognizes the American Pit Bull Terrier, as well as the Bull Terrier and the Staffordshire Bull Terrier, but the UKC does not recognize the American Staffordshire Terrier.

Posted by Michèle at 10:55 AM
Categories: Canine Good Citizenship, Strummer
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Posted by Michèle at 9:29 AM
Categories: Strummer
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Fortunately, I don't have my own cautionary tale about the risk to dogs riding unrestrained in cars, but my friend, Dave Trowbridge, does. Dave's story has a happy ending: his German Shepherd Dog, Oka, was properly restrained in a VariKennel and survived the accident unscathed.

But Dave's admonition is one that responsible dog owners should take seriously:

If you have a serious accident with your dog unrestrained in your car, your dog will die. If you have any sort of accident with your dog tethered in the back of your pickup truck, your dog will die. (And if you carry a dog in your pickup truck without restraint, you should be publicly flogged.)

Worse, it's all too likely your dog will suffer horribly for quite some time before it dies: you may not leave the scene of an accident, even if you can, and there are no provisions for severely-wounded animals, save the doubtful mercy of a peace-officer's gun. Very few people know how to quickly and painlessly kill an animal with a firearm (draw a line from each ear to the opposite eye, and fire into the point of intersection), and it generally can't be done with a frightened, thrashing dog, anyway. How will you feel, when it's all over, knowing that a $100 crate could have prevented a horrible, prolonged death for your beloved pet?

In my compact four-door sedan, however there just isn't enough room for a crate that can accommodate a standard poodle. I asked a member of the Poodle Club of Massachusetts how to travel safely by car with my dog, and she said: the best vehicle restraint harness for dogs is Ruff Rider. With a tensile strength of 9300 lbs., it surpasses SAE standards for human seat belts, and its design is orthopedically sound, ergonomically correct, and warranteed for the life of your animal.

Restraining a dog in a vehicle insures the safety not only of the dog but of the human occupants of the vehicle as well. The owner of Ruff Rider, Carl Goldberg, says "If you brake hard at 30 mph, a 60-pound dog will fly forward with a force of 1,200 pounds per square inch." That's a dangerous projectile--at only 30 mph: even on short, local drives, say to Sheepfold in the Middlesex Fells or to Canine University in Malden, I exceed 30 mph.

In my car (as in all things), I try to do right by my dog. Strummer travels in the Roadie LX, and she loves to go for rides!

Posted by Michèle at 9:35 AM
Categories: Canine Good Citizenship, DogNet, Gear, Strummer, Your Dog's Health
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After six weeks of perfect attendance, countless homework hours and heeling (uphill, both ways), Strummer graduated yesterday from the Adult Beginners Class at Canine University in Malden.

Actually, Strummer really enjoyed going to school. Though Canine University is not a place where dogs get a lot of doggy time with one another, it is a place where a dog's relationship with her owner is strengthened. The foundation of any relationship is communication. How does a verbal species communicate with a non-verbal species? With a clicker! According to most clicker training websites and books, a clicker is a child's toy that makes a cricket noise. (I don't know about you, but when I was a child, we played with things like barbies, matchbox and matches.)

Anyway, a clicker certainly puts the fun in dog-training. First, the dog learns that whenever she hears the click, she gets a treat. Then, the human uses the clicker to "mark" a desired behavior when the dog offers it. The dog sits, the dog gets a click and a treat. When the dog does not offer a desired behavior, nothing happens. Dogs like treats better than nothing. And this is why clicker training is both fun and produces results. When the dog hears the click, it knows exactly what it is doing that wins it a treat. Communication.

Training methods that rely upon correction when the dog offers undesirable behavior tell the dog when it is offering undesirable behavior. Think about it: the desired behavior is a sit. The dog looks at you; the dog gets a tug on the leash; the dog learns that looking at you is undesirable behavior. The dog looks to the left; the dog gets a tug on the leash; the dog learns that looking to the left is undesirable behavior. The dog backs away; the dog gets a tug on the leash; the dog learns that backing away is undesirable behavior. This could go on for hours before the dog actually offers a sit. What's worse, what happens when the dog finally does sit? Nothing! With a clicker, on the other hand, from the first sit, the dog gets a piece of critical information: sitting produces treats. This is fun in two ways. Treats are good, and, from the dog's perspective, she is training you: Sitting makes you click and treat. By the last day of school, Strummer and her classmates were not only sitting, they were wagging their tails while they were sitting!

In addition to sitting, in the Adult Beginner's Class at Canine University, I learned how to teach Strummer to lie quietly (no small feat in a room full of dogs), to stay, to "leave it," to come, and to walk on a loose leash.

The commencement speech was inspirational, albeit brief: "Good dog."

Posted by Michèle at 8:19 AM
Categories: Canine Good Citizenship, Strummer, Training
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Poodles do not shed: instead of fur, they have hair that grows continuously (like human hair). Because of the frequent grooming poodles require, their coats trap less dander and dust, which, some say, are the real causes of pet allergies. Poodles are, therefore, a good choice for people who suffer from pet allergies and want a dog. Also, a Standard Poodle offers the secuity of a large dog.

I submitted an application to Poodle Rescue of New England in Janaury 2004. Through the entire month of February I worried that I would never find a dog. Every day I checked the PRNE website and PetFinder--several times a day. I also started reading lots of books about poodles and about owning and training a dog, and I joined a couple of poodle-related e-mail discussion groups: Poodle-L and PSG (Poodle Support Group).

Then, in March, I was finally contacted by a PRNE volunteer, who scheduled an appointment for a combined home visit and adoption interview. The volunteer brought her standard poodle to the appointment: happily, my husband, who has pet allergies, had no allergic reaction to the poodle in our home. The PRNE volunteer spent about an hour and a half in our home, answering our questions about living with and caring for a Standard Poodle and making observations about things that a dog might do that, as first-time dog owners, we might not expect: e.g. make nose prints in the windows; stain the curtains and upholstery by leaning or brushing against them; have an "accident" in the forced hot air registers in the floor. The volunteer also advised us that all Somerville parks are posted "No Dogs Allowed," and recommended parks owned by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation Division of Urban Parks and Recreation (formerly the Metropolitan District Commission [MDC]), as well as some parks in neighboring municipalities, where dogs are allowed, but, for the most part, must be on leash.

In mid-March I attended a match organized by the Poodle Club of Massachusetts, where poodles got to "practice", as it were, for conformation, obedience and rally competitions. At the match, the PRNE volunteer who had visited my home introduced me to a breeder who was looking to adopt out a six-year-old bitch, who had never produced a litter and was, therefore, being retired from breeding. The breeder wanted her to enjoy the rest of her life as a pet in a family who could give her the attention of an "only dog".

Strummer came home with us April 2, 2004; we finalized the adoption on April 19, Patriot's Day. It felt like forever, but in the end it took only three months from the time I submitted my application to Poodle Rescue of New England until I had adopted my dog!

Posted by Michèle at 3:07 PM
Categories: Somerville Rescues, Strummer
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Yesterday evening on our way home from the office, after a brief romp through the grounds of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Strummer was attacked by a loose dog on Somerville Avenue between Laurel and Loring Streets. It was just after 6:00. The dog was maybe 12-18 inches tall at the shoulder, short-haired, white with brown markings. It looked a lot like this.

Being on a leash, Strummer had a difficult time defending herself. I tried ineffectually to pull her by the leash away from the attacking dog, before it finally occurred to me to kick the other dog to get it off her. A crowd of people gathered out of range of the two dogs and me, and finally a man arrived and kicked the attacking dog so hard that it flew about three feet from Strummer, whom I immediately surrounded with my whole body. I asked the man who stopped the fight if the other dog was his dog; he said it was not.

I then proceeded to run my fingers all over Strummer's body and through her thick poodle hair. I couldn't see any blood, but my hands found wet spots on her foreleg and flank. The moisture must have been the other dog's saliva, because after meticulously working my fingers through her hair, I did not come up with a trace of blood.

A concerned woman, who had stopped in the rush hour traffic on Somerville Avenue, talked with me for several minutes, which really helped to calm me down. She told me that she has a Yorkshire Terrier who has been attacked by the same dog that had just attacked Strummer. She encouraged me to check Strummer carefully for injuries and, even if I didn't find anything wrong, to take Strummer to a veterinary hospital anyway, just in case she sustained internal injuries.

The man who stopped the fight returned to check if Strummer was injured. He said he was the owner of the beauty salon on Somerville Avenue at the bottom of Laurel Street and that he thought the dog was owned by a man who lived across the street.

By this time I had calmed down sufficiently to realize that a loose dog had just attacked my dog and that Somerville has laws against both dogs being "at-large," or running loose and distubance of the peace by dogs (Code of Ordinances City of Somerville, Massachusetts, Sec. 3-33. Disturbance of the peace by dogs and Sec. 3-34. Dogs at-large. See Chapter 3 Animals, Article II. Dogs). I called 911 on my cell phone and was put through to the Somerville Police Department, who told me that the dog officer had already left for the day and advised me to call the Animal Control Office on Monday. I requested that an officer come to assist me in speaking with a witness and trying to identify the owner of the dog that attacked mine.

In about 20 minutes an officer arrived, escorted Strummer and me to the salon and spoke with the man who had indicated that he knew who owned the offending dog. Unfortunately, it turned out that the witness did not know who owned the dog and wasn't even sure where the dog lived.

Interestingly, Strummer showed no fear about returning to the place where she had been attacked. Either she was not afraid of meeting the dog again or her doggy senses informed her that the dog was not in the area.

I think I may have been more upset by the whole incident than my dog was: while we were waiting for the police officer to arrive, I sat on the grass with her in my lap and lavished love upon her. It was a warm evening and after a while she stood up and faced me and wagged her little tail!

I kept hearing in my mind the voice of the woman who stopped in traffic to comfort me, and I finally called my vet's office around 9:00 last night. Their answering service gave me the number for Angel Memorial Animal Hospital in Jamaica Plain. I called Angel Memorial and learned that they consider any dog fight an emergency: they recommend that any dog involved in a fight be checked by a veterinarian. Considering that Strummer was acting normal, had jumped up to greet my husband when we got home, had eaten and had urinated when I took her out, I decided that, rather than upsetting her by taking her to the Hospital, I'd let her enjoy a quiet evening at home. I'm keeping a close eye on her; she has a prior appointment with the vet on Monday to be spayed.

Posted by Michèle at 5:15 PM
Categories: Somerville, Strummer
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I took Strummer to Pet Spa (669 Somerville Ave), yesterday, for her first "bath and tidy" since I brought her home three weeks ago. The experience seemed to energize my generally sedate six-year-old girl, but then she's always more lively when I return after leaving her alone for a short period.

Strummer, a standard poodle, doesn't shed, which is good for my aversion to vacuuming and for my husband's allergies. The Humane Society of the United States suggests that poodles are "hypo-allergenic," because their coats demand more brushing and bathing than other dogs, and allergy-provoking dander is controlled by the additional attention and care that the poodle's coat receives. The implication is that, if all dogs' coats got the care and attention that poodles' coats get, they, too, would be less irritating to allergy sufferers. I don't know if this is true, but I do know that I prefer to run my fingers through a clean and well-groomed coat than over a dirty, matted coat!

Pet Spa was featured in a Somerville Journal article by Auditi Guha last month.

Posted by Michèle at 10:20 AM
Categories: Somerville, Strummer
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The process of adopting a poodle seemed endless, but, in the end, it only took three months from the day I submitted my application to Poodle Rescue of New England to the day I finalized the adoption of Strummer. A PRNE volunteer put me in touch with the breeder who had decided to adopt her out so that she could have the undivided attention of being an only dog.

Here she is the weekend before Patriot's Day enjoying an off-leash walk in the Vermont woods.

It's my weblog and I'll cheat with the date stamp if I want to.

Posted by Michèle at 12:26 PM
Categories: Strummer
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Strummer is a six-year-old standard poodle. She came to Somerville on April 2, 2004 from rural New Hampshire, where she lived with a houseful of poodles. When her adoption is finalized, she will be spayed and licenced in the City of Somerville.

She is getting used to being an only-dog in the city, though she still spends most of her time lounging in her crate, mostly coming out only to be petted. She will carry a toy around briefly first thing in the morning or after a long nap, and, sometimes, she'll even play a few rounds of fetch!

On a leisurely stroll, Sturmmer would like to make the acquaintance of everyone she meets, though she doesn't pull on a leash or jump up on strangers. She's learning that, in the city, humans have things to do and places to go and don't have time to make friends with everyone they meet.

She's a little stand-offish around other dogs, but, in all likelyhood, that's just because, for the time being, she wants to make sure that she gets her fair share of attention from humans.

In the future, Strummer can look forward to obedience training and agility training.

Posted by Michèle at 10:28 AM
Categories: Strummer
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