Where's Pom?

In 2006, things looked pretty dire for the penguins of Australia’s Middle Island. A once thriving colony had dwindled from over thousand down to four remaining penguins. The population had been decimated by the introduction of foxes to the mainland.

These new predators had developed a taste for baby penguins. They would swim across Stingray Bay at low tide and gorge themselves on the helpless creatures. Conservationists tried a variety of ways to stop the foxes but nothing seemed to work. It seemed like only a matter of time until the foxes destroyed the penguins of Middle Island.

In 2006 — with the population down to just four birds — conservationists introduced a pair of Maremma sheepdogs to protect the flock. The dogs were specifically trained to protect penguins rather than sheep. After some initial hiccups, they performed their jobs spectacularly.

The skittish penguins soon got used to the dogs; the foxes did not. The Maremmas have kept the penguins safe from predators and the population has started to rebound. The island now contains at least 200 pairs of happy feet.

According to Live Science, Australia has a dubious history of using one species to protect another. Fortunately, failure didn’t deter them. The Maremma guard dog project has been so successful, it’s now employed at nearby Point Danger to protect gannet birds. In 2010, the project received an environmental award from the Australian government.

The Washington Post recently reported on a trend developing in libraries in Virginia – reading to dogs.

As the post reported, “A growing number of libraries and some schools in the region are inviting volunteers to bring their dogs in to help children learn, hoping the pets will calm children who are struggling, excite those who are bored and help kids equate reading with fun.”

The program is the creation of Cynthia Power, a teacher at Ashlawn Elementary School in Arlington County and a volunteer with People Animals Love, or PAL, a D.C. nonprofit group that brings well-mannered, friendly dogs to nursing homes and other places.

“Children never get a chance to read without someone telling them they mispronounced a word or skipped part of the story,” Power said. “We don’t give children that chance to just enjoy reading.”

Children interviewed by the Post include those with disabilities, those who are just learning English, the shy, and the dog-crazy (who isn’t?).

Read More: [WaPo]

Last week we wrote about Migaloo, a Australian canine archaeologist  She was taught to sniff out ancient bones so that paleontologists can better understand the peopling of Australia. Today we learn of a dog that was enlisted in the fight against infectious disease.

Meet Cliff, a two year old Beagle from the Netherlands. Dutch doctors recruited him in the fight against Clostridium difficile.

That bacteria is routinely referred to as “C. diff” and it is a scourge of hospitals world wide. The bacteria forms heat-resistant spores that are insusceptible to alcohol based hand cleansers and routine cleaning. In the US alone, 14,000 people die each year from exposure to C. diff. Thousands more suffer from its symptoms.

Paging Dr. Cliff.

Doctors spent several months training Cliff to lie down or sit whenever he smelled C. diff. The results were pretty astounding. In a controlled experiment Dr. Cliff was taken on ten trips through a hospital where he was exposed to patients who carried the infection and patients that did not. Cliff’s handlers were not told who was infected. The canine investigator was able to identify the presence of C. diff 83% of the time.

The results were published in the British Journal of Medicine.

It’s well known that dogs are man’s best friend. Homo sapiens and Canis lupus have lived together for at least 15,000 years. During that time, dogs have contributed to the well-being of the family. They’ve guarded our homes, herded our livestock, helped our disabled and policed our streets.

Dogs are great contributors because they possess extraordinary sensory perception. They see better than us, hear better than us and smell better than us. Maybe some of us need deodorant?

Due of their excellent sense of smell, dogs make great detection animals. They been used to ferret out illegal drugs, explosives, criminals and honey bees. Biologists have been using them as conservation dogs to sniff out different species, invasive plants and even whale poop. Now from Australia we learn that a dog handler has trained the world’s first canine archaeologist.

Gary Jackson of Multinational K9 has trained a black lab named Migaloo to hunt for human bones that are centuries old. Like most dogs, Migaloo loves to play ball. Jackson used this in her training. After he acquainted her the smell of ancient bones, he taught her that she can only have her ball if she targets the odor. Migaloo became an obsessive archaeologist.

Now, I just have to bounce the ball a few times and say: “D’ya want this? Find.” She’ll go out and start sniffing like a hyperactive kid, and before long she lets me know: “I’ve got something!”

This may actually be a major breakthrough. The process of discovering ancient remains has always been expensive and time consuming. Now all you need is a well-trained dog and a tennis ball.

[National Geographic]

Author and dog trainer Tamar Geller recently launched an initiative to help injured members of the United States Military. Operation Heroes & Hounds’ allows military personnel to coach and live with shelter dogs. As Tamar explains, “The focus of the program is on personal transformation through The Loved Dog™ method, a playful and nonaggressive approach to canine coaching. Both service members and shelter dogs learn a new set of skills that will make a positive impact on their future.”

Tamar’s program is not unlike many prison-based programs where inmates get a chance to work with shelter dogs training them for service or as pets. Such programs are often praised as a way to provide therapy for both the individual and the dog.

http://www.tamargeller.com/outreach-heroes.php
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15014860/ns/health-pet_health/t/prisoners-rehabilitate-death-row-dogs/#.TlE2bjtZbR0

The tennis club we frequent has its own dog — an easy-going Golden Retriever named Massie — one of four dogs the club’s proprietor owns. As anyone who plays tennis already knows, the game can be a frustrating endeavor that makes you wonder why you play. Enter Massie. She’s a calming presence seeking a quick pet as soon as you come off the court regardless of how you played. Getting ready for a big match? Give her a hug before stepping on the court, and you’ll instantly feel better.

It’s no surprise that dogs are frequently enlisted to sooth frayed nerves. They’re masters at reading human behavior. Rosie (pictured right), a seemingly easy-going Golden Retriever, is the first judicially approved courtroom dog in New York. She is frequently employed to relieve the stress of witnesses testifying even gently nudging them toward the witness stand as she did recently in the case of a 15-year old girl who testified against her father for raping and impregnating her. The father was convicted.

Attorneys for this defendent argued that the dog’s presence in the courtroom tainted the jury who handed down the conviction as the NY Times reported: “Defense lawyers argue that the dogs may unfairly sway jurors with their cuteness and the natural empathy they attract, whether a witness is telling the truth or not.”

It’s worth noting that service dogs like Rosie are frequently used to calm witnesses who are also children. The prosecution compares them to toys like teddy bears, which children are allowed to hold during testimony.

Lawyers in the above case are preparing an appeal while acknowledging the risk of appearing anti-dog. The Times noted, “Rosie, they wrote, “is a lovely creature and by all standards a ‘good dog,’ ” and, they added, the defendant “wishes her only the best.” The case could set precedent for how other service dogs are used in courtrooms.

Rosie, named for Rosa Parks, was trained by Dale and Lu Picard, of  Educated Canines Assisting With Disabilities, or ECAD, who noticed her special abilities with emotionally troubled children.

Read more: [NY Times] [Gothamist] [ECAD]

Our friends Kim and Stick have a border collie. No matter how many times they toss a ball, he brings it back. Stick could throw his arm out of its socket and the collie would bring it back. The city council in Elmira, NY decided to use this trait in Border Collies to its advantage.

The city has a ring-billed gull problem. The little devils are every where. Some regard them as a pest because they’ll steal unguarded food on crowded beaches. Then there’s the poop issue but we won’t get into that…

The Elmira city council voted to accept the services of a border collie from the local shelter. It’s a seven year old female named Sammi. Her job is to harass gulls. Because of their herding instinct, border collies don’t hurt the birds. They try to herd them. Of course a bird doesn’t know it’s being herded. As far as its concerned, the collie is attacking. Elmira hopes Sammi does her job so effectively, they just go somewhere else.

If she’s successful, Sammi will save the city $4000.00 a year on its USDA contract for gull control. Under the agreement, Sammi will remain under the care of the kennel but the city is responsible for her medical bills.  So where will all those gulls go? My guess is a town without border collies….