Posted: 15 Apr 2010 02:45 PM PDT

WELLSVILLE -

Persia and Molly visited with second grade students at the Wellsville Elementary School to learn how to take care of dogs, and how to take care of themselves.
"We do these programs about 12 times a year in schools all over the area," said Stephen Phillips, who was tapped by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Serving Allegany County to go into the school to help raise awareness. "I know you've been doing work in your classes on having pets — dogs, cats, fish, birds, but I want you to know it is a lot of responsibility to own a dog. It is important for you to know that you don't get a dog that just gets chained to a tree with food and water shoved at them once a day."
Phillips is a professional command dog trainer who offers both working K-9 training and pet dog training in the Olean area. He brought his black German Shepherd, Persia, who is trained with commands in the German language to find drugs, and Molly, a chocolate Labrador Retriever.
Molly is a dog Phillips rescued from the SPCA and has trained to sniff out drugs.
"A Pennsylvania Police Department called me up and asked me to find a dog trained in drug searching for them," Phillips said. "I found Molly at the SPCA and she seemed to be the perfect dog to train for them. Molly will be going to her new home next week."
After talking about the care of dogs, Phillips talked to the students about what they should do in case they are lost, and rescue dogs are used to search for them.
"To these dogs you each have a different smell that they can follow wherever you go," he said, "But to make it easier for them and for you to be found if you get lost in the woods, find the biggest tree you can and just sit there. Don't wander around. You can take a nap or stay awake, but just stay there. If you get scared of the animals just remember you're in the woods and the animals are more afraid of you, than you are of them.
"Don't worry if the dog shows up alone," added Phillips. "They'll usually nuzzle you and then take off back to their handlers to let them know you've been found and then the handlers will show up."
The students asked questions about wolves, how long it takes to be found, and what if the dog gets lost or it is a beginner dog.
Phillips answered that wolves are more afraid, it takes longer if you wander around, dogs don't get lost, and even beginner dogs have to start somewhere.
During the program, SPCA Shelter Manager Connie Steiner talked about the animals at the shelter.
"You're not too young to volunteer at the SPCA," Steiner told the students. "Ask your parents to bring you up and you can play with the dogs while your Mom or Dad walks them."
To raise funds, the SPCA will host its 5th annual Used Book Sale and Stearns Chicken Barbecue from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. May 1 at the American Legion Post 702, 23 Jefferson St., Wellsville. Pre-sale tickets may be purchased for $7.50 at Hamilton's, First Citizens National Bank, T-N-T Gym, and at the SPCA Shelter. Thousands of gently-used books, may also be purchased at the event

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Pets don't treat loneliness - StarPhoenix

Posted: 15 Apr 2010 06:20 PM PDT

Debunking one of our most cherished beliefs about companion animals, a new Canadian study finds that dog owners who live alone, and have limited human social support, are actually just as lonely as their petless peers in the same circumstances.

Perhaps even more surprising, the Carleton University researchers found that among single-dwellers with insufficient social ties, high attachment to a dog or cat increased the pet-owner's likelihood of loneliness and depression.

The study's authors, both of whom own dogs, say the message — unpopular though it may be — is that pets aren't people and can't compensate for a lack of human relationships.

"Pet ownership isn't the panacea we think it is," says co-author Timothy Pychyl, an associate professor of psychology at the Ottawa-based university.

"So many people will say, 'If you're living on your own and feeling lonely, get a dog.' But the research indicates that pets don't fill as much of a hole as we might believe they do. If you don't have human social support already on your side, you're still going to fall short."

Between 1941 and 2006, the percentage of people living alone in Canada ballooned from six per cent to 27 per cent. Worldwide, one-person households are expected to continue increasing at a faster rate than any other type of household.

The single-dwellers in the Carleton study, published in the journal Anthrozoos, ranged in age from 22 to 78; 37 was the mean age for pet-owners, and 41 for non-owners.

Among those with high levels of social support, dog owners were indeed less lonely than non-dog owners (though this finding didn't hold true for people with cats). It was only in the absence of human networks that the limitations of this companion animal emerged.

People with limited community connections, for example, were more likely to humanize their dog — and those who engaged in this type of anthropomorphism were more depressed, visited the doctor more often and took more medications. Pychyl suggests this is because people who treat their pets like family will go out of their way to nurture the relationship, often at the expense of their personal lives.

"It changes your ability to be in a social network in the same way as other people," says Pychyl. "We all know that pets can be there for us. But if that's all you have, you run into trouble."

Nikolina Duvall Antonacopoulos, a PhD candidate at Carleton and co-author of the study, says they were particularly surprised that cat-ownership appears to have no significant emotional effect on people living alone. She suggests the fact that cats don't need to be walked might play a role in that.

Antonacopoulos notes that the physical activity of dog-walking stands to improve overall well-being, while the dog itself can act as a social catalyst, drawing the owner into interactions with other people. But because only 20 to 40 per cent of dog owners actually walk their dogs on a regular basis, she says more research is needed to support this conclusion.

mharris@canwest.com

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Shanghai Zoo Part 1: Dogs festering in filthy cages - Shanghaiist

Posted: 15 Apr 2010 08:00 PM PDT

The emaciated Great Dane. (Photo by Christine Tan)

It's a pretty gross understatement to say that zoos in China are in the media limelight for their mistreatment of animals. From the 11 Siberian tigers found starved to death, to the heartbreaking discovery of the animal mass grave and the fatal attack on a keeper by a starving Bengal tiger at our own Shanghai Zoo, Chinese zoos and wildlife parks have gotten quite the reputation for being zoos from hell. Here, we bring you part one of a three-part series on our experiences at the Shanghai Zoo - unfortunately, it was unpleasant, to say the least.

Last weekend, we went to the Shanghai Zoo to see our local zoological gardens in light of everything happening at animal "sanctuaries" around the country. After four hours spent walking through the immense park, home to over 600 species, my companion found the perfect word to describe the zoo: inconsistent.

Some animals, especially the ten pandas in town for the Expo, are crowd favorites and plump VIPs who roll around in newly-constructed, large, bright enclosures. No question there that they are well looked after. But others, like the dogs, have been reduced to the most pathetic of creatures, kept in cramped conditions with no escape from their own filth and waste.

Surprised that there are dogs on display at the zoo? So were we. On the zoo map, there is a section clearly marked 'Bailing Pets World' - not the cute petting zoo I had in mind, but a section of small, barred cages containing emaciated versions of every pure breed domestic canine imaginable.

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Bring out the barking - The State

Posted: 15 Apr 2010 08:36 PM PDT

Bark to the Park, the walk and festival for dogs, will be held Saturday.

It benefits shelter pets in the Midlands, where more than 19,000 dogs and cats are euthanized in just two area shelters each year. Here's your chance to help out the less fortunate while having a good time outdoors.

The one-mile walk begins at 10:30 a.m., and the festival starts at 11 a.m. Registration for the walk is $15 to $30, which includes festival admission. Festival tickets are $10. Dogs enter free.

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