Dogs have their own library story times
Kids love to read to, and pet, such uncritical listeners
By Alexis Blue

It’s not often pets are allowed in the library. But at the Dusenberry-River Center Branch Library, Australian shepherd Lucy is a welcome guest with an important job — helping children practice reading.

Lucy is the newest addition to the popular Read to a Dog program in Tucson libraries. The program started at the Himmel Park Library in October and has expanded to the Miller-Golf Links Library as well as the Dusenberry-River Center Library at 5605 E. River Road.

It is modeled after similar programs nationwide that use certified therapy dogs to help new readers and children of all ages practice their reading skills on an uncritical audience.

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Becky :: Apr.04.2007 :: Therapy Dogs :: No Comments »

Five star hotels and vacation resorts welcoming dogs…

No Pet Left Behind
By WENDY KNIGHT

ONE brisk afternoon this past winter, the lobby of the Ritz-Carlton, Bachelor Gulch in Beaver Creek, Colo., could have been mistaken for the Westminster Kennel Club dog show.

There sat Biscuit, a white-haired West Highland terrier from Denver, waiting diligently at the foot of her owner, a stylishly trim woman drinking a glass of wine in the lounge with a friend. And Bambi, a skittish border collie from Texas, wore a red Willie Nelson-style bandanna around her neck. Then there was the tan and petite cocker spaniel, prancing up and down the sunny courtyard alongside her equally tan and petite owner.

In a culture in which dogs and cats have become surrogate children (and grandchildren) and are sometimes better dressed than their owners, a growing number of hotels and resorts have welcomed four-legged guests in recent years, including the Four Seasons, the Ritz-Carlton, the Loews and the Kimpton hotels. But now, several luxury condominiums and private residence clubs are taking pet-friendly policies further by offering services and amenities that rival those meant for humans, including grooming sessions, swim classes, massage treatments (no mere belly-scratch) and even a doggie psychic.

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Becky :: Mar.31.2007 :: Travel :: No Comments »

Pompey, NY July 7th and 8th, 2007
Conformation, Obedience, Agility & Freestyle

Who Should Attend
If you are an

• Animal caretaker
• Owner
• Researcher
• Trainer
• Animal Lover

Or…ANYONE who seeks the most humane and efficient training methods … this workshop is for you!

What to Expect:

Professional Informative
Intensive Hands-On

This workshop involves a mixture of lecture and exercises. Participants may work with their own animals (on approval) or team up to practice with other students. (Approx 1 dog/3 humans).

Cost — $250 ($230 with early bird registration)

Included:
Two-day seminar – 9 (breakfast) 10 (seminar starts) to 4, questions till 5 each day
Written training syllabus
Meals: continental breakfast, light lunch, snacks
Animals welcome on approval, first come, first selected.

Susan :: Mar.26.2007 :: Event :: Comments Off

Monkey (UKC Ch. Cailleach Walk on Water DNA-VP) took Reserve Best in Show at the UKC all-breed show in Locke, NY.

Susan :: May.13.2006 :: News, Shows :: Comments Off