TELL TAILS SPARKALICIOUS. Fall 2013 INSIDE:

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1 TELL TAILS Fall 2013 INSIDE: Sparkalicious Paver Pavilion Breed discrimination legislation How are we doing? Public Off-Leash Dog Parks Bandit Ebony Prince North Side Sch. visit Requiem for a Goat Pearl Got Mini Milk Bones? Bear Clover SPARKALICIOUS Most people have to share their office with coworkers whose behaviors or habits may get on their nerves from time to time. Not me. I am lucky enough to share my office with a brownish-black pit bull mix named Spark, whom I affectionately call Sparkalicious. Each morning she greets me by exuberantly wagging her tail and bringing her toys to me; waiting for me to talk to and pet her. Spark LOVES belly rubs so that s how I start my day; rubbing her Tara with Bella Paws to Remember pavers are still available. Go to our web site: And click on the paver on the home page. Breaking News: Spark was adopted 9/5/2013!! Lisa Studley, Feral Cat Coordinator, TONH Animal Shelter The Shelter Connection is a volunteer organization at the Town of North Hempstead Animal Shelter. Our mission, in partnership with the Town, is to improve the quality of life for the dogs at the shelter and increase adoptions through training and socialization. A secondary mission is public education to shift the public perception about shelters and dispel the myth that shelter dogs are damaged goods. The shelter is located at 75 Marino Avenue, Port Washington, NY 11050

2 The Shelter Connection Board of Directors Robert Slifkin MD President Jeff Rosen Treasurer Marianne Sikora Secretary Rosanne Palumbo Wellmaker Director of Training Regina Lagrasta Volunteer Coordinator Denise Waters Special Events Coordinator Newsletter Editor Paula Hornak Kellner Education and Public Awareness Coordinator Advisory Board Sue Hassett Asst. Director, North Hempstead Animal Shelter Erik Tallbe, CPA Accountant Chantelle DiLorenzo Attorney Special Thanks to: CastleRock Printing for their Contribution towards printing This newsletter The Shelter Connection P.O. Box 226 Greenvale, NY The Shelter Connection is an all volunteer nonprofit charitable organization. All contributions are spent on programs and services to improve the quality of life of dogs at the Town of North Hempstead Animal Shelter. All contributions are fully tax deductible. 2 Paver Pavilion completed come visit the shelter, sit in this beautiful new addition and reflect upon honoring present pets or remembering the ones that have crossed the Rainbow Bridge. Space is still available, see the front page for how to order pavers. Why Breed-discriminatory legislation (BDL) is a bad idea Many towns, cities or counties think that banning a specific breed will prevent dog bites. This just isn t so and all BDL does is break up families and kill innocent dogs. Of course the targeted dog we all know is the Pit Bull and any of the bully breeds. Any and all dogs can bite under the right circumstances...it is just better press when it is a Pit Bull. You don t see many headlines about Chihuahuas or Yorkies and they bite as much, if not more, than any other breed (not to pick on these breeds just making a point). See our Happy Tails page at and read all about our wonderful adopted Pit Bulls! HOW ARE WE DOIN? We love hearing from all of our adopters, and are especially interested in feedback for our Progressive Pit Alumni. The Progressive Pit being a new program, your input can help us tweak our program to address the dog and its behavior in the home something we can t address in a shelter setting. More importantly, we just love to hear how your dog has become part of your family through words and pictures! Let us know to: tsc@theshelterconnection.com Or snail mail to: The Shelter Connection, P.O. box 226, Greenvale, NY

3 Tell Tails Fall 2013 As alluded to in the Summer Tell Tails edition, here is the follow up article on Dog Parks and dog to dog interaction. This summary is so well written by Annette Young, MA CPDT-KA, blogger, author of Tails to Wag About, that it seemed foolish to rewrite a synopsis of the DVD we showed at our monthly Movie Night at the Shelter, when Annette expressed our thoughts so well! See more from Annette at (Slightly condensed from original, see full version at website above). Public Off-Leash Dog Parks I have just gotten off a live webinar hosted by the APDT (Association of Pet Dog Trainers) with Sue Sternberg: "A look at interactions between dogs in public dog parks". Living in an area where dog parks seem culturally like the "THE place to take your dog", I thought I should share some of my notes. Sue has dedicated considerable time and effort to shooting video across the US in public dog parks and collecting, presenting this footage in a very educational and entertaining presentation. First off, she discussed some design related things that make for better or worse interactions between dogs as well as between people and their dogs. Things like footing makes a difference - sand being better footing in a dog park, because it slows dogs down, and makes them work harder for each step they take. Having more physical interruptions/ bushes, trees etc. is better as it naturally will interrupt the dogs - rather than an open field, which grants no physical interruptions. Sue has observed better all-round behaviors in parks that have NO Fence around the perimeter. Dogs tend to display better behaviors (possibly because to be able to go into an un-fenced area they probably are under better control to begin with) and people in un-fenced areas are more in tuned with their dogs, according to Sue. Again - maybe simply because having no fence means they cannot afford to disconnect from their dogs - they need to keep an eye. A Seattle dog park displayed a sign at the entrance (to a fully fenced park) saying: "Off leash does not mean out of control." Having access to benches in a dog park is according to Sue not the best thing, as people then tend to sit down to chat and socialize and do less interacting with their dogs. In general - the more walking and moving the person does, the more interrupting of dog-todog play and the more interacting with their dog - the better. To summarize the beginning part - the 3 most important components for a safe and healthy experience are: 1. Owner Attentiveness 2. Interruptions 3. Lack of Congestion Sue has catalogued a whole range of behaviors in dog parks. What the general public seems to believe is "play" in dog parks, very often can be classified within just a few categories - and it's questionable whether any of them are actually play. According to Sue's observations and extensive video-footage, these are the most commonly observed behaviors in off-leash parks: Chase Mobbing Targeting Bullying Humping She could actually not find examples of healthy chase in her extensive video collections from dog parks. Risky chase was a different matter and dog parks had provided ample examples of that. For dog owners, the main point in learning to see the difference lies in being able to identify a few key differences in body language. Healthy chase involves ears back on the dog doing the CHASING, tail high or level on the dog being chased, and healthy chase is most often initiated by the chasee. In Risky chase the ears are forward on the chaser, the tail is TUCKED on the chasee, the chaser has an open mouth, and there is body slamming. Sue went on to define the other commonly observed behaviors: mobbing, targeting, bullying and concluded by stating that dog parks largely are made up of groups of UNFAMILIAR dogs and that unfamiliar dog groupings is not conducive to PLAYING. The healthiest play-interactions that she has observed and witnessed are dogs playing one-on-one with a familiar buddy or one-onone play together with a Human Being! The culture of going to the Dog Parks is alive and strong, and probably won t change much, at least right now. So - what to do about this information? Well, for one; try to learn to Read your Dog. What is his body posture saying? Is the interaction a good experience for him? Is your dog feeling safe? (continued on page 7) 3

4 The Shelter Connection Dogs available for adoption: BANDIT Bandit is a long timer at the shelter. He came in as a bouncy youngster and is now calming down in his adult life. He is an absolute favorite of the dog handlers and it is easy to see why. He is so very smart and has learned so much while being at the shelter. His biggest hurdle was his overexcitement when he was near another dog. He just couldn t concentrate on his studies when other dogs were around. Well, he has finally crossed that hurdle and is now back in the TPP program, training side by side with other dogs and going for walks on the trail with them. He has come so far lots of training and just plain old growing up working in his favor! He still would probably do best in a single dog household, where a backyard and someone to throw a ball for him and where the love of a forever home would finish the task we started so many months ago! EBONY EBONY came to us pregnant. She delivered 8 healthy pups that were adopted, leaving mom waiting for a home to call her own. Ebony is so cuddly with people, and wiggles and waggles when you talk to her. Her cutest quality is the fact that she SMILES when you talk to her. She also has a number of basic commands in her repertoire. She was recently moved into the front office as part of our Homeward Bound program (where we get stressed dogs out of the kennel). She has been part of the TPP program and is quite calm and uninterested in the other dogs around her. She even play bowed with our ever exuberant Pearl while walking them together on the trail. She may be good with calm, friendly dogs! We will continue to assess her in our program and as always work on her skills until she finds her forever home. Need some cuddles and smiles? Ebony might be the girl for you! PRINCE 4 We have highlighted this long timer before and for the life of me, don t know why he is still at the shelter!? Besides his extreme good looks, he is so very smart, has learned all his ABCs and then some, and follows direction beautifully! While we are not sure he really cares for other dogs, he minds his own business when they are near. He is currently enrolled in the TPP program where he trains and walks with other dogs nearby and is able to ignore them and focus on direction from his handlers. We will continue to work with him around other dogs and we will, as with all the dogs, reassess his dog to dog skills on an ongoing basis. He would make a lovely single dog household companion but you best be keeping your own schoolin current he is one smart doggy!

5 Town Shelter Visits the North Side School: Tell Tails Fall 2013 Last year the second grade students at North Side School made posters for the Town of North Hempstead Animal Shelter. We tried to help to get some of the dogs adopted. Each class made posters for 2 different dogs. On the poster we included information like the dog s name, what type of dog it was and the commands that the dog was taught at the shelter. When we were finished, a few of the class moms went around the neighborhood hanging up the posters in stores and restaurants. Genna Tudda came from the Town of North Hempstead Animal Shelter to visit the second graders too. She explained how the shelter got the dogs and how they tried to find good homes for them. We learned that a responsible pet owner cares for a dog by feeding it, walking it and giving it clean water to drink. Most importantly, a dog needs love. It was a lot of fun to work with our partners and make the posters. We did our best because we wanted the dogs to find a loving family to take care of them. A few of the dogs that we made posters for were adopted! This made the second graders very happy... and hopefully it made the dogs happy too! -Luke Venable, a student at North Side School, age 8 Adoption signs for Egypt and Sam- we are happy to report that both dogs have found their forever homes! If you are interested in having the Shelter visit your school or work with your scout troop, please call the shelter at and ask for the Animal Shelter. 5

6 The Shelter Connection Requiem for a goat by Denise Waters TORY TORY & HARRY Long time readers and volunteers will remember the year, sometime in 2001, when the shelter got a phone call about a stray goat loose in Great Neck. Sure, they thought, bring it in. Ha-ha...along comes a big Lincoln with a baby goat on the front seat! Really? Baby goat spent a short time at the shelter, sweet, cuddly and loved the dogs. As luck would have it, family members of mine recently moved upstate to a farm! They agreed to take the goat. Tory (her new name) was very much in need of companionship. She hated to be alone and would often be found knocking on the front door of the house to come in. For a time she hung with the cows but when they left she again needed companionship. Enter Harry the horse. The two became fast friends, spending their days together grazing and their nights together snuggled in the barn. They were inseparable from that day on...thankfully both surviving a devastating flood in the region. She still liked to snuggle the family each day when they went to the barn though some visiting family members didn t find being head-butted when they weren t looking so endearing! Tory never had a sick day in her life and she died at 12 years old peacefully one morning in her favorite spot behind the barn. According to local goat farmers she was a milking goat that usually lives 6-7 years so she had a long and peaceful life just grazing and hanging with her buddy Harry. Leave it to a 5 year old to lighten a very sad day. He happened upon her with his grandma the day she died and when grandpa came and started to explain her death, he turned to him and said Pop Pop, she didn t die I think she was murdered! Again, that night, when grandma and he were stargazing grandma was telling him that Tory was up in Heaven flying around, this precocious 5 year old said It s a nice story Mimi but goats don t fly! We loved you Tory we will miss you. Wonderful sweet dog available for adoption: PEARL Pearl is a young Pit mix, a shelter favorite who resides in the main office during work hours, as part of the Homeward Bound program. Here she learns how to let the staff know when she has to go out to do her business, how to calm herself around the hustle and bustle of daily work days and is often in the company of other dogs passing through the office. She is as exuberant in her love of people as she is in her play so occasionally she needs to be told to calm herself, which she does! She is often used as a companion dog in the TPP program to help assess other dogs responses when near an unfamiliar dog. She of course is always ready to play! She is a hard player so probably wouldn t suit a shy companion, but she would be just as fine playing with her humans who she loves so much! If you love the exuberance and joie de vive of the Pit bull breed, you gotta love this girl! 6

7 GOT MINI Milk Bones? Tell Tails Fall 2013 As always, many dogs, many needs. Continuing the GOT? Series we again ask for your help with mini Milk Bones for the dogs. We go through a lot of treats in our positive reinforcement based training session. The favorite among the handlers is Milk Bone minis as these are tinier than the smalls and easily snapped in two to cut down on the amount of treats we use (and calories given). The dogs thank you for helping their training days be rewarding, fun and healthy! Public Off-Leash Dog Parks (continued): Or maybe Safety is not the issue. Maybe he is having a grand time...but might it be that he is actually practicing BAD behavior? Maybe he needs to be interrupted, not so much because he is causing another dog suffering, but because REHEARSAL of a bad behavior is also not a good thing? And as his guardian - if nothing else; one of the most important behaviors to be on the look-out for that Sue stressed is actually very simple to observe: WHEN (or IF) THE DOG'S TAIL IS TUCKED BETWEEN THE LEGS: YOU NEED TO INTERVENE! Get the dog out of there (as in: leave!) or - get yourself in between him and the other dogs so you can help him out, put a barrier between him and the other dog or simply: Pick him up! Your dog needs your help! Sue spoke very strongly about taking a stand for your dog and helping him out by picking up if and WHEN needed: Your small, medium and even large dog - when they need your help. Pick them up! IT's your job as a guardian to protect them and offer help. With those words I will close off and leave this as Food For Thought for you. I think the last paragraph really summarizes it for me: Is the Dog Feeling Safe? If not - we need to note the sign(s) of how he communicates that: EARLY (!) so we can intervene and help and also respect what the dog is saying. One of the most difficult client conversations I have had was with a woman who had a very submissive, frightened "tail tucking" dog who clearly did NOT enjoy being forced to meet strange dogs in the off leash dog park daily. When I suggested to the woman that perhaps this dog is not a good candidate for the dog park and I would look for other was of getting the dog out for exercise, she responded with enormous frustration: "But we've had dogs before and the dog park is SO MUCH a part of our Life-style! That's what we DO! Every day! That's where we meet our friends!" It made me very sad that there was no regard for the dog or what the dog was so clearly saying about the situation. We DO have it all wrong if the reason we go to the dog park is because WE want to hang out there! Credits: Annette Young Sue Sternberg info@suesternberg.com Please Help us help the dogs At our local shelter Yes, I want to help improve the quality of life for the dogs at the Town of North Hempstead Animal Shelter. Enclosed is my gift to support The Shelter Connection: $100 $50 $25 $15 $10 Other $ Please make checks payable to: The Shelter Connection and mail to: Your donation is fully tax deductible and will be acknowledged with a receipt. 100% of your donation will be applied directly to program services. The Shelter Connection P.O. Box 226 Greenvale, NY

8 The Shelter Connection Tell Tails Fall 2013 BEAR What can I say? He s a big ol mellow and lovable guy. He is absolutely adored by the staff and would meld into your home like he lived there forever. Being a little older and more mature you can sit on your patio or watch TV and Bear would be the perfect companion. Got a nice cozy dog bed and some love to spare for this unbearably adorable fellow? CLOVER She is a young mixed breed, possibly Boxer mixed with Pit but it makes for a most adorable face. She is about as squishy and lovable as a dog can be with humans, and she loves everybody! She is currently learning her doggy ABCs with a variety of handlers at the shelter and is also enrolled in our Progressive Pit program as she seems a bit tense around other dogs. If you want a lovable companion and don t have other dogs in your life, Clover is the dog for you! The Shelter Connection P.O. Box 226 Greenvale, NY Nonprofit Org. U.S. Postage Paid Greenvale, NY Permit No. 144 Got Milk Bone Minis?