i am crazy about dogs! especially big gigantic dogs. they're not too fragile to really hug on. have two dogs. Bro looks like a miniature golden retriever. he was the runt of the litter and as far as we know, the only one who survived. his 11 years old and a gemini...have had him since he was 5 months. KoKoMo is half german shepherd and half black lab. she's my baby. she was 5 weeks when we got her. i believe she owns me and not the other way around. very gentle lovable dog. both of them are affectionate and gentle. they positively grin, frown, and get grumpy. and they're both crazy about their mama! love 'em so much!!

oh, koko is 9 years old and an aries...

I love gentle dogs and disapprove of people who turn dogs into vicious killers. I realize that dogs in their feral state are hunters, but don't have to be when domesticated.

there is a way to train a dog to protect and the dog telling a threat from a non-threat. unfortunately, most people don't get it.

Absolutely.

As a consequence, people like me are terrified by them...I am not dog-chow and do not know how to convince them of that fact when I am shaking all over with fear and dread.

dogs are smart. they know you're scared. you have to bluff them out. also it's good to know how not to appear threatening and the dogs will leave you alone. 1. do not approach a dog you do not know. 2. when approaching a dog that's eyeing you, don't eyeball them back. assume a position of aloofness. if the dog checks you out, stop and allow them to. they'll walk off when they're done. DO NOT RUN OFF! this is provoking to them. 3. if approaching a strange dog in order to help them or something, approach them slowly, talk very softly about anything, and allow the dog to smell your hand, palm up. DO NOTE: a dog with a very serious injury or broken bone is liable to bite. this is a normal reaction and even the sweetest dog can act this way. use a blanket to pick the dog up, don't just grab and go unless the dog is in danger of being run over. 4. do not tease any dog. this is provoking and they will react one way or another. 5. respect they're space.

1. count on it! 2. I stand and look elsewhere - like heaven-ward - hoping for divine intervention. 3. I call someone better equipped to handle this situation. 4. Absolutely out of the question...If they do not tease me, I do not tease them. 5. They can have the entire side of the street! Just let me get out of the way. Good points, Wolfie...I do as you say, but occasionally I meet with one not leashed who owns the place and likes no one. People here do not train their kids...their animals are no better treated!

i know. i got hollered at because my little Bro, who'd never mean to harm anyone unless they're messing with his mama, was waiting at the door for me to bring in my (then) baby girl. i already told him to stay put but he saw a man run by the house on the street and took off. i called to him and told the man to stand still. of course, did he listen? (the man) no way jose, he thought he knew everything. my poor Bro is still thinking this man is gonna get his mama. the man tries to kick Bro and that not work ng decides to bend over and push him. well, the man gets a nip in the meaty part of his palm. he comes to tell me it's my fault. i tell him, ok, Bro has his papers, go wash your hand. the man then comes back to my house to tell me again that i should have controlled my dog and i present him with the papers and he's got nothing more than one tiny puncture wound in his palm. i know that he was right to be upset, however, he didn't follow any of the rules for meeting up with a strange dog. Bro didn't know what was going on, just that his mama was safe now.

This is true - I learned this as a child, as all children should. All animals need to be met on their own terms and given their own space. I am afraid your neighbor did not learn anything from that encounter, unfortunately! You are a VERY GOOD Mama!!!

aw, thanks my dear! *big fat wolfie hugs*

As I have said before Dogs are not my thing, but Ray had one who liked me (and I mostly ignored.) One day when just the dog and I were at his warehouse, a bunch of teenage guys walked by quite close to where I was standing in the doorway and they were making a lot of noise. Moochie got between me and them and began a low growl - just to alert them that I was being protected and they best keep going straight ahead. I felt so privileged to be chosen like that by her...it is an incredible feeling, and I w ll never forget it!

isn't it though? once, my KoKo was playing out back. well, i snuck up on the outside of the fence gate and peeked in. she started this growl to make your hair stand on end. she was a bit confused because she recognized me a bit but she wasn't taking any chances. she started to bolt towards the fence still with her growling. then she saw it was me and bounded over and i swear she was laughing at herself!

If each person could have an experience like the ones we have had, there could be no animal cruelty...How could there be?! I am all chicken-skin (as they say here) just thinking about it.

because humans are ignorant and do not take the time. i know people who can't stand animals. i believe it's related to something that happened to them at one point but they won't hear of it. i don't understand how they can NOT stand animals. i love them! sometimes i'd rather be around them than people!!

Amen!

(wolf)they positively grin, frown, and get grumpy. wolf, my dog sometimes smiles, his teeth showing, like a human, when he greets me.

Here are a few doggy web sites you might like to visit. To learn about teaching dogs tricks, visit: http://www.hut.fi/~mtt/belg_tricks.html To learn about companion dogs, visit: http://www.caninecompanions.org/ The American Kennel Club's site is: http://www.akc.org/

DOG PROVERBS "Whoever said you can't buy happiness forgot about little puppies." -- Gene Hill "In dog years I'm dead" -- Unknown "Dogs feel very strongly that they should always go with you in the car, in case the need should arise for them to bark violently at nothing right in your ear." -- Dave Barry "The scientific name for an animal that doesn't either run from or fight its enemies is lunch." -- Michael Friedman "To his dog, every man is Napoleon; hence the constant popularity of dogs." -- Aldous Huxley "A dog teaches a boy fidelity, perseverance, and to turn around three times before lying down." -- Robert Benchley "Did you ever walk into a room and forget why you walked in? I think that is how dogs spend their lives." -- Sue Murphy "I think animal testing is a terrible idea; they get all nervous and give the wrong answers." -- Unknown "I loathe people who keep dogs. They are cowards who haven't got the guts to bite people themselves." -- August Strindberg "No animal should ever jump up on the dining-room furniture unless absolutely certain that he can hold his own in the conversation." --Fran Lebowitz "Ever consider what they must think of us? I mean, here we come back from a grocery store with the most amazing haul- chicken, pork, half cow. They must think we're the greatest hunters on earth!" -- Anne Tyler "I wonder if other dogs think poodles are members of a weird religious cult." -- Rita Rudner "My dog is worried about the economy because Alpo is up to 99 cents a can. That's almost $7.00 in dog money." -- Joe Weinstein "Some days you're the dog, some days you're the hydrant." -- Unknown "If I have any beliefs about immortality, it is that certain dogs I have known will go to heaven, and very, very few persons." -- James Thurber "You enter into a certain amount of madness when you marry a person with pets." -- Nora Ephron "Don't accept your dog's admiration as conclusive evidence that you are wonderful." -- Ann Landers "Women and cats will do as they please and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea." -- Robert A. Heinlein "In order to keep a true perspective of one's importance, everyone should have a dog that will worship him and a cat that will ignore him." -- Dereke Bruce, Taipei, Taiwan "There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face." -- Ben Williams "When a man's best friend is his dog, that dog has a problem." --Edward Abbey "Cat's Motto: No matter what you've done wrong, always try to make it look like the dog did it." -- Unknown "Money will buy you a pretty good dog, but it won't buy the wag of his tail.." -- Unknown "No one appreciates the very special genius of your conversation as the dog does." -- Christopher Morley "A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself." -- Josh Billings "Man is a dog's idea of what God should be." -- Holbrook Jackson "The average dog is a nicer person than the average person." -- Andrew A. Rooney "He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion" -- Unknown "Heaven goes by favour. If it went by merit, you would stay out and your dog would go in." -- Mark Twain

marcia, thank you for posting that here!

Most welcome, m'dear! I am hunting other clever things to get this place jumping again - even if we have to relive nasty stories of creepy crawlies again.

Oh dear am I never going live that one down!! I'll see if I can think up some doggy do.

I am as guilty as you are with the mop-handle story and the one running up my arm...Yeesh!!! Um...perhaps I should have posted the pillar box mistake story here?

I haven't got a dog now, but I did think about taking the two guinea pigs we were fostering out on leads. I thought I could adapt cat leads. Ah, but they returned to theor true owners before I had a chance to try it out.

We tried to leash-train our cat when I was young but she wove herself in and out of the hedges and I was constantly untangling her and me and the lead.. I came home looking like the loser in a cat fight, so we pounded a stake into the back yard and put her on a long light chain.

Maybe it was just as well we coundn't walk the guinea pigs - they run fast!

couldn't you have used a ferret waist leash?

Possibly, but I didn't think of that. I think the cat leash I'm thinking of is quite similar, it goes around the shoulders and looks quite comfortable. I just loved the idea of walking the pigs up the street! Unfortunately one is in guinea pig heaven now and the other is getting rather geriatric.

i've got one in gp heaven. her name was charlotte and she loved my big dog, KoKoMo. everytime koko walked by her cage, charlotte would squeal with delight and give her kisses. it was the funniest thing. this 10 oz rodent loving on my 100 pound guard dog! koko loved her though. she would always put her nose up against charlotte's cage to get her kisses.

the shoulder harness was actually what i had in mind when i was talking about the waist leash....

Gotcha (thought you did!) How adorable...big fierce dog and tiny GP in love...reminds me of something...*smile*

That's lovely.. Some dogs are really soppy aren't they. I had a lovely beige labrador once. He was a rescue dog and we got him to look after me when my husband was working nights. Trouble was he was a scaredy cat! We had a burglar came across the back of my house, I dragged the dog (euphamistically called Gunner) to the back windows and he actually growled at me and ran back into his basket with his tail between his legs - and wouldn't get out again! Fortunately the burglar ran.

well, it worked even if not the way you'd hoped. koko is a big teddy bear too but she will stand her ground.

My husband used to walk him at 2.30 a.m. when he finished working and the darn dog was forever finding courting couples in the dark - he was not appreciated! He left for a new home in Brighton together with our cat when we went to Africa. It was dreadfully sad, but lovely that the people who came to see Gunner wanted to take the cat as well. we heard from the Labradour rehoming service that he settled really well and loved the beach.

Those Labs are so happy if there is a big body of water nearby. You did him a great favor in finding him that new home. How fortunate for you and the dog and the new owners, as well!

I think he really was a beach dog at heart, and he and the cat were great friends.

i'm glad that his new owners didn't separate him from his buddy! that's so sweet!

Mmm I still have nice memories - and photos. What's your dream breed of dog?

Moi? I'm a cat person, actually, but really like other people's cats...! They make me sneeze, and dogs are worse for my allergies. So, I admire them from afar. Yours?

But, the nicest dog I have ever met was a golden retriever / blond lab. Lovely disposition.

I rather fancy a lap dog of some kind - not a yappy one. If I was on my own I would definitely get a dog because it would make me go out! However, I don't think I could cope with another boistrous labradour. We have a dog rescue place near us and I see some really nice mongrels being walked.

those are the ones i love, mutts! i love big dogs because they can be hugged vigorously and we can lay on the floor and rough house easier. but my little dog is a lot of fun too. he loves to play the hand under the covers game with my husband. both of them love hide and seek and have learned to look for the kids when we ask them by name instead of just dad. and now that the kids are older, both dogs run to the door to greet them as well. oh, and they count how many people walk in. my little dog will go to the last person in line to see if anyone else is coming. and the both of them mope when i'm not home. they watch out the window. and when dad isn't home (esp at night) they sleep with one eye open and are even more vigilant. them's good dogs! i love them both soooooo much!

Wolfie, if I ever find myself living alone, I'm gonna get out your post 42 and read it. Then I will take my anithistimines and head for the Humane Society and adopt me a doggie. Mutt, specifically. I don't think I would feel very safe with all this dark vegetation hiding my house and the walls all around. Good idea!

Your dogs are more like family than the one I grew up in with two older sisters. It shows what love you gave those lucky dogs that they return it so eagerly and steadfastly. Good for you! Wish there were more like you...*hugs*

i don't know about that, but thanks marcia *hugs* these dogs have good personalities to begin with. bro, the little one, would always lay in my lap from the day we got him. he slept in the crook of my arm at night (now he sleeps on my feet). while pregnant with both kids, he knew not to jump up on me and he would lay his head on my belly to get some love. koko wouldn't jump up either (and those were the days when she was able to jump up). we've had her since she was 5 weeks old and now she's going on 10 (in apr). we've had bro since he was 5 months but we knew the family he came from so we actually knew bro since he was a few weeks old. he is the only one to survive of the litter and he was the pup. he'll be 12 in june. for an old man, he sure has a lot of puppy in him (and cat and rabbit we think). and if anyone tells me you can't tell what a dog is feeling or that they don't have feelings will be in for it with me. these dogs talk with their whole bodies and let me know what they want. they wait for me to say the right word and then go nuts so i'll know exactly what they need. gosh, i could just go on and on. i love those mutts! they are family and are just like two other kids (only they listen better)!

(They probably won't leave you when a cute member of the opposite sex wanders into view, either - at least, not for very long! *lol*) Gi convinced me with Patas that dogs communicate and make faces and smile. I am definitely a believer! You may go on and on about your furkids. I love hearing about them!

(i had meant to say that bro was the "runt" of the litter as well as the "pup") and those guys grin! big wide toothy grins, tongues hanging out, ears relaxed held back a bit and eyes a bit sleepy looking. both of them wink at me and will wink back if i wink at them. we can make each other yawn, and if i pretend to sneeze, koko will sneeze. and both of them throw themselves on their backs and sprawl like horses!

...and the runt survived? Musta been some grit and gristle he was made from. Let's hear it for the under dog *lol* Lucky pup! That is hilarious that you can evoke such things as sneezes and yawns. I guess it is not just human that sympathizes with the sleepy...! They sound absolutely adorable! "our" cat throws herself on her back on my feet whenever I go outside. She expects and almost demands I rub her tummy! I know all about that! I Love this stuff, Wolfie!

when the dogs are in trouble we send them to their "room". their room is the front entrance 3x3 foyer. if i come home snorting and stomping, they immediately go to their room to hide until mom's storm is over. koko is afraid of thunder. she knows when we're gonna get a storm because she hides. if i'm home, she'll follow me all over the house, even the bathroom where she'll butt the door open just to be close to me. we find her in our bedroom should it be storming when we come home. bro could care less about thunderstorms and that stuff. one thing that i can't stand: folks who get puppies, the puppies outgrow the owner's expectations, the owner puts the dog in a kennel cage even when they're home and then leave the dogs outside without playing with them. then complain that their dog is too wild. dogs love people. yes, some are more hyper than others. but the way to keep an outside dog from losing it is to play with it everyday. give it lots of love and attention and the poor dear won't attack you with requests to play.

Ooo stop it - you're making me feel deprived!!!! *grin*

Me too... People should be as dedicated and as insightful. Usually, when you have a bad day, your kids have had one, too. They cry and wail at you before you get yourself entirely inside the door. The dogs are much smarter. Lay low until the storm is over, indeed! Love these goodies, Wolfie. We are vicatiously joining in your fun. Thanks for sharing. *hugs* Got any more???

loads but the mood isn't good for me right now (it's the v-day let down, happens every year).....

...I know...me too. Wish we could have "done" lunch...or dinner, for that matter *Big Hugs*

me too!

*sigh* Perhaps we should send all of the insensitive chest beaters off and keep the lovely fur-and-feather friends around, light the candles and let it all hang out. Sounds wonderful. Next time, Wolfie!!!

ohmygod, there's a remember button at the top and bottom of this conference! *GRIN*

Only for you...not for me!

btw, isn't it amazing when it happens? ...*sigh*...

*hugs* I miss...and now I feel depressed worse than before. I am Happy for you, though! I have just created a topic I think needs to be linked to ParaSpring but I cannot telnet in anymore (they only have one account.) Don't know what to do about that. Check out Geo 27 and see if you think it would go with your conf.

hey, guess what i learned today????? arnold vosloo is a major dog lover and is interested in dog genetics and breeding. see his related topic at http://www.spring.net/yapp-bin/restricted/read/drool/125.61 enjoy! so hug them dogs, they're loved by all sorts of people!

oh, i learned why the remember button showed up....i did a "all" click in this conference to find dogs (you'd think i'd have the topic number ingrained in my brain) and it wasn't there. so i clicked "forgotton" and lo and behold someone forgot this topic so i had to click "remember"......

Ahhhh! Never messed with those buttons...expecially in other people's conferences! I do have a lava "remember" button but don't know what shows up if I use the fortet one. (There are enough topics in Geo that I have to look up the upper ones and the ones I do not use very often...*sigh*)

Darcy had two Great Danes in Pride and Prejudice...you know, the Colin Firth thingy..?! Must be a good-looking guy thing (but there is one who has 2 cats who outdoes them both *grin*)

*grin* yes, and he's real, not unreachable like those other two *grin*

*s i g h* Ummmmmmmm!

Sniffer Dog Survives 600-Yard Avalanche Fall VIENNA (Reuters) - An Alsatian sniffer dog survived a 600-yard fall down a mountain when it was swept away by an avalanche in the Austrian Alps, a newspaper reported on Friday. A helicopter plucked Mona from the mass of snow on the 12,400-foot Wildspitze in Tyrol province, the Taeglich Alles said. The dog, which had been accompanying a group of Alpine trekkers when the avalanche ripped her away, came through her ordeal with only a few scrapes and bruises.

Spring Weather Greets Alaska's Iditarod Mushers ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - A record 81 mushers and their dogs trotted through downtown Anchorage in relatively warm weather on Saturday to start the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Temperatures hovered around 40 degrees Fahrenheit, as a relative heat wave gripped Alaska's largest city. Some mushers embarking on the 1,112-mile trek to Nome fretted about the weather, which has reduced much of the area snowpack to puddles and is much warmer than their northern-breed dogs prefer. Emmitt Peters, the 1975 champion, returned to Iditarod competition this year after an eight-year hiatus. Peters said he planned to take it easy for the 20 miles from Anchorage to the next checkpoint. ``In the previous years, I used to go make it to Eagle River as fast as I can. But that ain't going to be the case this year,'' said the musher from Ruby, Alaska. ``If a team wants to go past me, no problem.'' The Anchorage-to-Eagle River stretch does not count in the race standings, a rules change instituted in 1995. It is a significant improvement for the mushers, Peters said, allowing for a warm-up run and giving more time to think about strategy and avoiding mistakes. Timed competition will start Sunday in Wasilla, a town about 40 miles north of Anchorage. Five-time champion Rick Swenson, of Two Rivers, Alaska, said he was not worried about the warmth and predicted it would create a fast trail and a quick race. Swenson, who finished fourth last year, said his dogs were well-trained for the race and that his team has a good chance to grab this year's title. Max Hall, a veteran musher from Manchester, England, predicted another victory for Doug Swingley, who won last year's race and the 1995 race. Hall's team is made up of dogs from Swingley's kennel, and he said they are fast. ``I run his B Team. I've seen what they can do,'' said Hall, who finished 37th last year. Along with the heat, the huge field of competitors might also create problems, at least in the early running, he said. Anchorage is by far the most crowded and urbanized of all Iditarod checkpoints; on Saturday the streets here were lined with spectators who came from around the country to watch the world's most famous dog sled race. Few of them had complaints about the weather. ``It seems wintery to me, plenty wintery to me,'' said Ray Tennant, a tourist from West Liberty, Ohio. Swingley holds the race record of nine days, two hours and 42 minutes, a mark the Montana musher set in 1995. This year's winner will take home $60,000, part of a total $525,000 purse.

i'm so glad mona made it! you know those sled dogs love what they do! have you watched a race and seen them grinning from ear to ear?

Thedogs are so eager for the race that when they get the reins out (traces? whatever those leather leads are called) the dogs yip and dnace around and can hardly stand still! I thought you might enjoy the stories *hugs*

that i did! thanks!!

Gebhardt, Defending Champion Swingley Lead Iditarod ROHN, Alaska (Reuters) - Alaskan native Paul Gebhardt and defending champion Doug Swingley are in front through Rohn River, the ninth of 25 checkpoints at the 28th Iditarod sled dog race. Gebhardt, who also was the first musher to reach Rainy Pass, was the first to navigate the 48 miles to get to Rohn. The leg from Rohn to Nikolai, the 10th stage, is the second-longest on the trek, trailing only the 112 miles between Cripple and Ruby, the 14th and 15th stages. Five-time champion Rick Swenson struggled Tuesday, dropping from among the leaders to 12th, while three-time champion Jeff King remained in the hunt in sixth. Alaskan Mitch Seavey is third with Charlie Boulding fourth and Martin Buser, another three-time champion, fifth. Thirty-six mushers had reached the Rohn checkpoint as noon local time approached and 81 were competing over the 1,151-mile course that ranges northwest from Anchorage to Nome. Swingley claimed his second Iditarod win in five years last year at the age of 45, finishing in nine days, 14 hours, 31 minutes and seven seconds. The native of Lincoln, Montana won a new pick-up truck worth $38,000 and a check for $54,000. The 2000 winner gets a $39,000 truck and $60,000. King holds the Iditarod record for the fastest time by finishing in nine days, five hours, 45 minutes and 13 seconds in 1996 his last win. He needed more than 20 days in each of his first two wins. This year's Iditarod consists of 70 men and 11 women, including DeeDee Jonrowe, who finished second in 1998.

This morning, on my favorite radio show, they had a comedic sportscast and the announcer mentioned the Iditarod. He said the "French" team -- which included a sled being pulled by 30 poodles in a straight line -- had dropped out of the race. Apparently, in the training process, the poodles had never been taught the proper way to slow and come to a stop. So, when the first checkpoint came along, the first one stopped and the rest came crashing in. "Ohhh, it was horrible. Ohhh, the humanity...I mean the canine-ity." The reporter went on to say that the team was forced to withdraw -- not because of the carnage, but because the remaining poodles were so angry...."and once you get a poodle angry with you, you just cain't do anythin' with 'em."

no way! did they use standard poodles (i hope so, miniature would be a bit extreme, if this isn't already)

Poodles racing across the frozen tundra. Tres bizarre. I think all the dogs have to be Alaskan huskies, which are more or less mutts, being a mix of Siberian husky, malamute, hound, and mutt. The dogs also wear little boots on their paws.

I trust it was a joke, but who knows? People are weirder than anybody!!!

There was a little pink furry pig with socks on wandering round a store in the shopping mall on saturday. he had a notice on saying that if he was found in x, x or x shop would they bring him back to his home store. He oinked rather nicely, and sidled up to customers who were taken unawares. i know it's not dogs but I thought you'd like it. He did have sockies on (I was reminded by cheryl's posting).

....Only in Britain do they use pink piggies with socks on to do the advertising. Actually sounds adorable, but how did they keep him from getting trod upon?

and what about messing the place? (btw, a friend of mine had a pot-bellied pig named sadie. she was smart too! unfortunately, something happened and she passed on. she was their baby)

well, since he was electronic the mess wasn't a problem. he's big enough not to get trod on but still quite small - the best piglet size! He kept stopping and oinking and wrinkling up his nose. He could obviously detect when he was coming to obstacles. They had him for sale in other colours too minus the sockies. Esther said I couldn't have one! sigh

Pooh! You NEED one!!! Pigs are smarter than any other domestic animals that I know of. Butm I think sheep are. They have never found the wild progenitors of the domesticated sheep. Clever animals are worth more live than dead for their wool, and someone takes care of their food and shelter and medical. Not bad!

well, flea season has hit (due to the nice warm weather) and both the dogs have been dosed with a flea spray (the drop on the neck and rump). well, KoKo is suffering really bad from itchy skin. the poor girl itches on her belly, mostly. she'll be laying there and her rear leg goes to scratching the floor like we were tickling her. i've put some aloe on the dry spots in an effort to relieve her discomfort. she has nicked her opposite hind leg during these scratching episodes. (she's kinda big and has trouble getting herself all the way over to really scratch well). i've sat with her the last couple of nights examining her belly for what may be the cause of this and nothing has been found except pink skin. no fleas running loose on her underside. she suffers from dry skin but mostly on her back. you should see her face when i hold her leg so i can look without being scratched myself. pooooor baby. all i can do is hug her and rub aloe. we're gonna take her to the vet as soon as the AM has a spare moment to m ke sure nothing serious is going on.

Poor baby!!! There must be something which will sink into the skin and lubricate it like some form of lanolin. Wow! Betcha some cortisone might help, as well...but the aloe can't hurt and neither can your TLC *hugs*

Oh, btw, in Hawaii it is 'uku' season all year long! (Uku can mean fleas or lice....or both!)

Reward in Dog Death Nears $110,000 SAN JOSE, Calif. (Reuters) - A man who allegedly hurled a dog to its death in California traffic in a bizarre case of road rage now has an nearly $110,000 price on his head thanks to contributions from infuriated animal lovers around the country. Leslie Baikie, a spokeswoman for the Humane Society of Santa Clara County, said Thursday that contributions to the reward fund had ballooned after an animal welfare group from Virginia ponied up a huge check. ``We had a $50,000 pledge from 'Our Animal Wards', and that comes on top of about $59,000 in cash and checks we have right now,'' Baikie said. The money is earmarked for anyone who provides information leading to the arrest and conviction of the man who allegedly murdered Leo the Bichon Frise after a minor traffic altercation outside San Jose International Airport in February. Leo's sad saga was publicized this month after Sara McBurnett, owner of the 10-year-old fluffy white dog, related how she lightly bumped the vehicle in front of her. The driver of the other car, a sport utility vehicle with Virginia license plates, stormed back and began berating McBurnett. When she opened her window to respond, he reached in, grabbed Leo the dog by the collar and threw him into three lanes of oncoming traffic. Local newspapers, radio and television stations took up the story, transforming Leo into a cause celebre which has touched people as far away as Norway and Australia. Police Wednesday released a composite sketch of the culprit, described as a white male between the ages of 24 and 28 of medium height and wiry build.

this is horrid!

You did not see the original story?! Horrible enough that a huge reward has been collected to catch this troll. Are our children safe at this rate?! I do not think this much rage has been engendered by any other such abduction story - of any species of critter (even the two-legged little dears to whom we are so attached!)

yes, i saw the original but it still is terrible.

It is downright frightening!!!

'Dog Training' for Postal Workers LONDON (Reuters) - A British animal charity has offered to train postal workers in handling dangerous dogs after a postman booted a Yorkshire terrier into the air when it bit him, the London Times newspaper reported Wednesday. The charity dropped a court case against postman Billy Ace, who kicked the dog so hard that its skull was fractured and it had to be destroyed, but said it would be pleased to offer advice on dealing with animals. ``It is a natural tendency for dogs to feel protective of their property, but there are things that postmen and women can do to help avoid conflict,'' a spokesman for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) told the paper. Ace, whose kick sent the dog flying almost four meters (12 feet) though the air, said he was defending himself against the animal and that his actions were ``reasonable.'' The Times said almost 7,000 postal workers were bitten by dogs in Britain in 1999 and almost one in 10 were forced to take time off to recover from dog-inflicted injuries.

A Yorkshire terrier? Oh yeah, now there's a vicious dog. Aren't they a little smaller than housecats? Poor dog. Yes, dogs are territorial and the little guys can get into "macho dog" mode, but Ace's action was extreme.

Ask Gi...her Yorkie is a full-fledged furperson of the first rank and member of the household. They are, ounce for ounce, the fiercest members in the canine family, I think.

Saint Bernard Nears Record With 16 Puppies PHILMONT, N.Y. (Reuters) - A Saint Bernard dog in upstate New York gave birth to 16 live puppies, tying for the second-largest puppy litter in recorded history, her owners said on Sunday. The 2 1/2-year-old dog, King Triton's Ariel, originally delivered a litter of 17 full-blooded Saint Bernard puppies during 12 1/2 hours on Friday, but one of the puppies died shortly after birth, said her owner and breeder Greg Howard. ``She is doing great and all puppies are doing fine,'' said Howard, who has only been breeding Saint Bernards in Philmont, south of Albany, New York, since last year. He said the pups are ``feisty and hungry.'' The Albany Times-Union reported that Ariel's litter tied the record for the second-largest litter of surviving puppies in recorded history. The latest Guinness Book of World Records noted that 16 Great Danes were born in June 1987 in Little Hall, England. That litter originally totaled 23 but seven puppies died after birth. The largest litter ever was recorded on June 19, 1944, in Ambler, Pennsylvania, when 23 American foxhounds were born, the Times-Union reported. Howard said he and his wife, Renee Wendover, were taking turns with three-hour shifts to satisfy the insatiable new puppies. Ariel is recuperating from her laborious birth on a blanket in a blue kiddy pool and the puppies are brought to her for nursing eight at a time. ``She's a great mom and so is the daddy,'' said Howard, who said the dad was very interested in the birth of his 10 sons and six daughters. Last year, Ariel's first litter yielded eight puppies, which will grow to 180 pounds (82 kg) each when they are fully grown. They will be sold for $600 when they are 8 weeks old

16 puppies! geez....

I had trouble nursing one - imagine two relays of eight!!! wow!

Tell me about it... Poor Mom!

She must need a sling to keep her tummy off the ground!

Yay Hay!!!! I GOTTA pink furry pig!!! (for H. for her birthday, but at least I have it vicariously!) I went in the baby store (which I usually avoid) and bought some new born sockies for its little feet. I hope H.likes it (she's 22!). My husband thinks I'm mad!

Is this a REAL LIVE pig? (What date is her Birthday?)

I gotta name for it. are you ready??? S P A M

Tony Phillips' Huskies are not happy. For the past two years, the Huskies have eagerly awaited winter and their favorite pastime of dog sledding. But two years of La Ni�a conditions have left the Eastern Sierra mountain range in California with less than its usual supply of snow. No snow means no sledding. And the latest U.S.-French TOPEX/Poseidon satellite imagery shows the La Ni�a pattern holding on in the Pacific, in a similar manner to this time last year. So the question on every dog's lips is "When is the snow coming back?" Unfortunately, this is a very hard question to answer, according to Pete Robertson, group leader for the Climate Diagnostics and Modeling Group at the Global Hydrology and Climate Center in Huntsville, Alabama. "Many people in this business are trying to understand the 'teleconnections' between the La Ni�a and El Ni�o conditions in the tropics and how they affect the United States' climate," says Robertson. "But what is important to remember is that there is so much variability in what affects weather conditions, while you can hedge your bets about weather during a La Ni�a or El Ni�o episode, we cannot directly predict the weather from just looking at these tropical systems only." La Ni�a and El Ni�o are opposite and extreme phases of natural oscillation in a climate system. Of current interest is the La Ni�a pattern, now influencing the worldwide climate system. La Ni�a is commonly defined as a lower than normal sea level or cold pool of water along the equator. This low sea level is accompanied by higher than average sea levels in a giant horseshoe around the equator, creating warm seas around the coast of Asia and Australia. Sea levels and temperatures during El Ni�o and La Ni�a are alike but have opposite characteristics. With La Ni�a's lower sea surface temperatures come lower than normal surface precipitation in the tropics, says Robertson. These changes in the tropics cause changes in the jet stream, which is a river of the fastest moving air on the planet. La Ni�a conditions generally give the expectation that storm tracks will be more northern, resulting in drier than normal conditions for much of the southern half of the United States, and above-normal rainfall in the Pacific northwest and Canada. The past two years have seen exactly that, with heavy rainfall and lots of snow in the Pacific Northwest and upper Midwest, but relatively mild weather and significantly less precipitation than normal to date in Southern California and the Southwest. Left: The question on every dog's lips is "When is the snow coming back?" Pictured here, Ruby (right) and Tovic (left) enjoy a run during the El Ni�o winter of 1997-98. Recently, their sledding season has been cut short thanks to the influence of La Ni�a. The rainfall associated with the La Ni�a system is one thing that the GHCC and Robertson are particularly interested in studying, as rainfall and the corresponding levels of evaporation have a great impact on the atmosphere. The world's oceans are giant reservoirs of heat that influence global climate because they can cool or heat the atmosphere above. This transfer of heat impacts weather patterns across land and sea. "We try and estimate precipitation from space. We get data collected from the Microwave Sounding Unit, which flies on the NOAA satellites, to study," says Robertson. "We are particularly interested in seeing how precipitation changes in location and intensity during a La Ni�a event." During a La Ni�a event, less precipitation is seen over the tropics, and vice versa during an El Ni�o event, says Robertson. Ultimately, what studying these patterns allows them to do is study the hydrologic and energy cycles over the tropics, he continues. Energy from the sun comes in through the tropics by heating the oceans. The energy then principally finds its way into the atmosphere through evaporation. "When we look at precipitation, we are looking at the smoking gun of how energy gets into the atmosphere," says Robertson. "We can then study the year to year changes in how energy is added to the earth's atmosphere." Scientists at the GHCC have gathered tropical precipitation data over the past 20 years. This large data set allows them to analyze the most recent precipitation data from the La Ni�a/El Ni�o patterns and to see how they are similar or different from earlier events. However, as Robertson points out, there is much more to be studied before the La Ni�a/El Ni�o pattern can be understood to the stage of being able to draw conclusions about all its effects on climate. "For now, we know it is a natural oscillation of a climate system. And it's the biggest we know of," Robertson says.