Summer 2014 by The Dog and Hound

Volume 3 â&#x20AC;˘ Number 3

Summer 2014

LISTEN UP!

It’s time to get me neutered and vaccinated.

I hear the SPCA has affordable programs for everyone. That’s music to my ears.

199 Willow Run Road Aiken, SC 29801 803-648-6863 www.LetLoveLive.org Walk-in vaccinations available Tues – Fri, 8a – 3p. Call for spay or neuter appointment and best available pricing.

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Summer 2014

P.O. Box 332 • Montmorenci, SC 29839-0332 • 803.643.9960 •

www.TheDogAndHound.com • Editor@TheDogAndHound.com

Time Dated Material • Periodicals • Volume 3 • Number 3

ummer is here, and we are looking forward to long hot days, trips to the lake, and generally enjoying the great outdoors. Some of our dogs are looking forward to summer, too, while others are less enthusiastic. Our English Pointers don’t mind the heat, and they enjoy splashing in our little pond and swimming with our Golden Retriever mix. Our older Blue Heeler, however, is starting to think that summer is a good time for staying inside where it is cool, or hiding in his new favorite spot under the barn. Meteorologists expect this to be a relatively normal summer here in the Carolinas region, while the Northeast can expect more temperature swings, and there will be continued drought and unusually warm weather on the West Coast. Although many people enjoy the heat, the summer months can bring problems for dogs. Dogs don’t sweat, except a little bit through their paw pads, so they have to cool themselves by panting, or by contact with cool surfaces. City dogs have to contend with burning pavement on their paws. All dogs have to worry about fleas, ticks and mosquitoes. Summer dog care requires protecting your dog from the heat and making sure to banish external pests. Not only can they make him itchy and miserable, they carry dangerous diseases. Time for flea and tick control,

Summer 2014

and vigilance with the monthly heartworm medicine. Heartworm, carried by mosquitoes, is becoming more common in this country. With this affliction, that ounce of prevention is worth at least two pounds of cure. We think we have another great issue for you. Our featured breed this time is the Golden Retriever, one of America’s favorite dogs. Our cover models, Nicholas and Peggy Lee, are owned by Jacqueline Testa of Aiken. (Properly, their names are Reflections Dreams of a Golden Christmas and Reflections You Give me Fever.) We visited them at their home, and they are great dogs, happy to see everyone and exhibiting the sunny personality their breed is known for. Nicholas and Peggy were just home from the dog shows, where they are handled by Amy Wall of Peltzer. It was a hot day, but they were ready to play, especially Peggy who loves her ball. In addition to our breed feature, we have an article about fur kids: are dogs really taking the place of children in some families? It is true that with falling birthrates in the United States, there are now more families with dogs than families with children. This explains this country’s growing number of dog parks, which are being built more frequently than children’s playgrounds. But do people think of their dogs as substitute children? We asked a few people for their opinions. We also have a story about the Palmetto Dog Club here in Aiken. This is a private club with public classes that is devoted to dog training for fun and for competition. A bit later, you will find a story about Jan Epting, who is on a mission to conquer the obedience world with her Cocker Spaniel, Skip. Finally, we have a beautiful piece from the novelist Michael Thomas Ford, whose devotion to dogs is unquestionable. We hope you enjoy the Summer issue. Our next issue, Fall, will be published in October, and we’ll be getting to work on it in earnest in the latter half of August. If you have an idea for an article, or you know something we should know, please send us an email message. We want to be your dog newspaper.

The Dog and Hound EDITOR & PUBLISHER Pam Gleason ART DIRECTOR Gary Knoll ASSOCIATE EDITOR Jean Berko Gleason LAYOUT & DESIGN Gary Knoll ADVERTISING 803.643.9960 editor@thedogandhound.com PHOTOGRAPHERS Pam Gleason Gary Knoll

Going Out Of Town? Don’t miss future issues of The Dog and Hound. We will send you a one year subscription (4 issues) for $14.00. Just send us a check or credit card number & your mailing address: P.O. Box 332, Montmorenci, SC 29839 editor@thedogandhound.com Or sign up on the web at www.TheDogandHound.com

About the Cover

Our cover shows Reflections Dreams of a Golden Christmas (Nicholas) playing with his little sister, Reflections You Give Me Fever (Peggy, named for the singer Peggy Lee). Nicholas and Peggy are owned by Jacqueline Testa who lives in Aiken. Both are Golden Retrievers just getting started in the conformation and obedience rings. Read all about Golden Retrievers, one of America’s favorite dogs, on page 12. Photography by Gary Knoll

Pam Gleason Editor & Publisher

The Dog and Hound Policies: The opinions expressed herein are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the publishers, editors, or the policies of The Aiken Horse, LLC. The Dog and Hound is owned by The Aiken Horse, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

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Table of Contents 6 The Rise of Fur Kids 9 Dog News 12 Golden Retrievers 14 Palmetto Dog Club 18 Adventures in Obedience 20 Regional Calendar of Events 22 Lillie

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Summer 2014

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The Rise of Fur Kids

Don’t Want Kids? How About a Dog? by Pam Gleason, photography by Gary knoll

n early June, Pope Francis disappointed pet owners when he delivered a homily at the Vatican, urging married couples to have children instead of pets. He spoke against what he called a “culture of well-being” that says that it is “better and more convenient to have a dog, two cats; and the love goes to the two cats and the dog.” He warned that pet-owning childless couple will grow old, “in solitude, with the

Suzan McHugh with her dog family.

bitterness of loneliness.” Animal lovers, whether they are Catholic or not, had been hoping that this pope might be a leader in championing pets. After all, he took his name for St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals. Then, last year, he broke protocol when he not only allowed a visually impaired journalist to enter the Vatican with a guide dog, he asked to meet the

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journalist after his speech, and even blessed the dog. Vatican rules normally do not permit animals. Of course, as a Catholic, the pope does have an obligation to urge people to be “fruitful”, so he can’t personally be faulted for encouraging families to have children. However, many people took his comments about pet ownership to be a bit over the line. Is the pope right?

There are many studies that have assessed the relative happiness of couples with children and those without. In studies conducted in the United States, there is no difference in the reports of loneliness among older people with children and those without. As far as happiness goes, childless couples tend to be happier throughout their relationship than couples with children. So the pope may be wrong there. But are people

Summer 2014

really choosing to have pets instead of children? There is some demographic evidence in the United States that indicates that they might be. According to the United States Department of Health, in 2007 in America, there were 70 babies born for every 1000 women. In 2012, there were just 63, resulting in 400,000 fewer babies in 2007 than in 2012. The majority of this decline is due women under the age of 30. At the same time, while the total number of owned dogs has fallen slightly, the number of small dogs and cats has gone up, and the sales of luxury pet items and premium pet food has skyrocketed. Recent research has shown that the affectionate bonds between dogs and their owners are very much like the bonds between parents and children. Are our dogs little fur kids? “My dogs aren’t my fur kids, they are my kids,” says Marleina Storey, who lives in Aiken. Marleina has a number of dogs, most of them rescued in one way or another. They range from a tiny Chihuahua, to a Corgi, a German Shepherd, a Boxer mix and her “heart dog” an Australian Shepherd called Sugar Kisses. In addition, she is a volunteer for Aiken Shelter Animal Advocates and often fosters heartworm positive dogs on their way out of the shelter and into rescue. “When I was younger, in my late teens and early 20s, I thought about kids, and I always wanted to have four kids. It never happened that way,” she continues. “I’m 33 years old now, and I don’t want children. I just don’t. I am satisfied with my dogs.” Family and society often put pressure on people to have children, and Marleina says she hasn’t escaped that. “I’m an only child, so my mother used to fuss at me for not giving her any grandchildren, but now she’s accepted it. She calls my dogs her granddogs.” Not all childless pet owners feel exactly the same way. For instance, Karen Peck and her husband do not have children, but they do have several dogs. Karen now works at the Owens Corning Plant in Aiken. She and her husband used to work in the U.S. Forest Service. Like Marleina, they volunteer for Aiken Shelter Animal Advocates, and have been short-term fosters for 29 dogs over the last year. “I don’t consider them my children,” says Karen. “I think they are completely different. I don’t see them as substitutes, either. I consider them to be companions. Maybe some of it is that the first dog my husband and I got together was a Lab-Australian Shepherd mix. We were on a ranch, and he was a working dog, so there was never an urge to baby him.” Karen and her husband have nieces and nephews that they see occasionally. Does she worry about the “bitterness of loneliness in old age’? “I think that’s a little much,” she says. “As we get older, it’s true that we won’t have children to help us out. But as you get into your older years, you can always have pets. Children don’t stay with you. Besides, sometimes I think I am much happier having animals than having kids or being around people.” Suzan McHugh, who is a real estate broker at the Carolina Company and works part time at Equine Divine in Aiken says that while she definitely considers her four dogs her family, she does not think of them as substitute children. “I think people sometimes think that dogs are a substitute for children, but I don’t think they are. I think they are a whole separate thing. Whatever joy they bring to their owners lives is what is precious about them. It doesn’t have to be about being replacement children.” Suzan has a particularly close relationship with her Jack Russell Terrier, Rooster, who accompanies her to work and is the “official greeter” at Equine Divine and the Carolina Company. She acknowledges one thing that affects all pet owners: the pain their foreshortened lifespans can bring an owner. When you have a child of 12 or 13, he is just beginning his life. For a dog, these are twilight years. “I have Rooster’s mother, too, and he is the one puppy I kept out of her litter,” she says. “We’ve had a special connection from day one. I took him to obedience school when he was very young and he got his

Summer 2014

Canine Good Citizen and his pet therapy license. I don’t know if he is so well mannered because of that or if it is just the way he is. He’s this perfect little dog. I know everyone loves their dogs, but when you’re with him, it’s just like having a person with you. It breaks my heart that he is turning 11. I wish I could stop the clock.” Suzan says she will cross her own personal old age bridge when she comes to it. Then she laughs. “My dogs aren’t going to pay my rent when I get old, I know that!” Denise Parmentier, who is a paralegal working at the UPS Customs Brokerage in Aiken has a basset hound named Tucker that she rescued about nine months ago. She says that she considers him both a child and a partner. They have taken obedience and agility classes and participated in a dog show held by the Palmetto Dog Club. Denise has had bassets on and off since she was a child. She grew up in the United States and spent four years in County Cork Ireland, where she had a pair of dogs. After moving to Florida in 2004, she adopted a rescue basset named Sammy. Nine months later, Hurricane Charlie destroyed her home, and she couldn’t find a place to live where she could keep her dog. “I chose to move 2000 miles away rather than give up my Sammy,” she says. “Although I don’t have any children of my own I could never imagine leaving my child or my pet behind. The level of my love, affection and commitment wouldn’t waiver for child or pet.” And what about children? “Well, you know that urge just passed right over my head. Never missed it either. Having said that, I find dogs and young kids are usually attracted to me.” Dog owners are unanimous in saying that one thing their dogs give them is unconditional love. It is also easier to have a dog than a child, and it is, indeed, more convenient: you can’t leave your 5-year-old at home alone while you go out for dinner and a movie, but you can leave your dog. Does this mean that Pope Francis was right to imply that people who have pets and not children are more selfish? It depends on how you look at it. The world population clock currently counts over 7.1 billion people on the planet, with one birth every 8 seconds and one death every 13 seconds, for a net gain of one person every 13 seconds, or roughly 6,646 people every day. Environmentalists say that if this doesn’t slow down, and soon, the earth will not be able to sustain us. So it hardly makes sense to argue we need more children. Meanwhile, there are almost 2.8 million adoptable pets that aren’t going to make it out of animal shelters in America this year simply because no one chooses them. Adoption seems like the responsible way to go. This is not to say, obviously, that there is anything wrong with having children, or that one can’t have children and pets at the same time. Although they might not be as happy on a day-to-day basis as people who don’t have children, most parents find childrearing to be the most deeply gratifying thing that they have done. People who have had children also tend to feel a more profound sense of satisfaction at the end of their lives than people who did not. There are psychological principles at work here: at the end of their lives, people who can look back and see that they have left something behind, that they have some kind of legacy, can be satisfied that they have not lived in vain. That legacy can be kids and grandkids, or it can be creative works. It can be helping other people, or helping animals. For most people, it is important to leave something, even if that is simply a legacy of kindness. So, while having pets may not provide the same long term satisfaction as childrearing, that type of satisfaction can be achieved in other ways. And in the meantime, pets can bring a lot of joy. Denise Parmentier says that she had waited for the right time to get a new dog after her Sammy died. But one morning she got a phone call about a bassett that had been abandoned. “A car pulled up to my front door and out jumped the cutest red and white basset hound. We took one look at each other, he ran into my arms and he had me at Hi! I wouldn’t miss it for the world, kids or no kids. Sometimes a dog is more than enough . . .”

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Dog News by Pam Gleason

Dog Monitoring At the beginning of every summer, local and national news media run many stories about the dangers of leaving dogs in parked cars. At warm outside temperatures, a parked car can become like an oven, even if it is in the shade and the windows are cracked. If the car is out in the sun, temperatures can become dangerous to dogs in a matter of a few minutes, even when the outdoor temperature is only in the mid-70s. In fact, parked cars get deadly much faster than one might think. For instance, according to the Weather Channel, on a 90-degree day, a car parked in

with heat. Exposure to temperatures over 105 degrees can kill an average German Shepherd in as little as five to 10 minutes, according to some sources. Even with all the admonitions about not leaving dogs in cars, every summer people do, and dogs die. This May, a dog walker in British Columbia left six dogs in her SUV when she went on an errand, and they all died of heatstroke. She said she left them for 45 minutes. There have been many other cases already this year: in Phoenix, North Carolina and Omaha, Nebraska, for instance.

Dogs love going for a ride in the car. Keep them safe: make sure they get out when you get home.

the sun can reach an interior temperature of 109 degrees in 10 minutes. In 20 minutes, the interior temperature climbs to 119 degrees; in 30 minutes, 124 degrees; in 60 minutes, 133 degrees. In an hour and half, the interior temperature reaches 138 degrees, almost 50 degrees warmer than the outside temperature. If the air temperature is higher than 90 degrees (pretty much all summer here in Aiken) the temperatures inside a car can be correspondingly warmer. The lethal temperature and length of exposure for a dog depends on his size, breed, age and condition. Short nosed dogs such as bulldogs and pugs will succumb faster and at lower temperatures than their longer-snouted cousins, but no dog is designed to deal well

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Often the outside temperature has not even been that high -- if a car is in the sun, even an 80 degree day can be lethal. There is no organization that keeps track of how many dogs die in hot cars each year, but the number is higher than it should be, since all of these deaths are preventable. And dogs aren’t the only ones in trouble: young children are also at the mercy of their drivers. So far this year in America, at least eight children have died from heatstroke after being left unattended in cars. In 2013, 44 children died, and there have been an average of 38 child deaths per year since these statistics were first recorded in 1998. Most of the children were under 2 years old. The universal recommendation is to leave

your dog at home if you can’t take him inside where you are going. Fourteen states actually have statutes against leaving a pet unattended in a vehicle, generally with a provision that this is illegal if it is too hot, too cold, or may otherwise endanger the animal. ((Ariz., Calif., Ill., Maine, Md., Minn., Nev., N.H., N.J., N.Y., N.D., S.D., Vt., and W.Va.) Exactly what actions may be deemed legal to rescue an animal from a hot car vary from state to state and from municipality to municipality. Generally, the police are permitted to break into the car, whereas other first responders and private citizens may find themselves on the wrong side of the law if they do so. In some places, the issue has been addressed by recent legislation. For instance, the North Carolina legislature passed a bill last summer giving rescuers explicit permission to break into cars in order to save animals. Of course, some dogs have to stay in cars. Police dogs, for instance, generally stay in the vehicle when they are out on patrol but are not actively working on a case. Although their cars are usually left running with the air conditioning on, K-9 units have a distressing susceptibility to heatstroke and every year, between 10 and 20 police dogs die from it. At least one has already died this year. To help protect the dogs that protect us, many police departments use specialized equipment to prevent K-9 vehicles from reaching high temperatures. Temperature alert systems monitor the interior of the car or truck. If it gets too hot (the systems have various set points and some of them are programmable), an alert goes off, which can include activation of the horn, siren and lights, as well as a message sent by email, text or on a pager. In addition, the system rolls down one or more electric windows and activates an exhaust fan. Some models even open the door to let the dog out. One example of such a system is the Hotdog tm , manufactured by Criminalistics, a maker of equipment for law enforcement agencies located in Washington State. (www. criminalistics.com). According to Melody Folk, who works at Criminalistics, the Hotdog tm is hardly a new device: in fact, it has been available since the late 1960s. “You can buy it from our website,” she says. “You don’t have to be a police officer; anyone

Summer 2014

can buy one.” Ms. Folk says that quite a lot of police departments across the country own Hotdog tm units, but that when the company has tried to market the devices for personal use there has been little or no interest. Today, several companies manufacture similar devices for police departments. There is one unit, the Halo Pet Safety System, that is designed for ordinary consumers. (www. sistersofinvention.com) Prices for these devices range from about $50 up to around $1,000 depending on the model and the features. There is also a new system currently being tested on some police dogs in Arizona, where there have been a few high profile heat stroke deaths among K-9 dogs. This is a temperature monitor that goes on the dog itself. The device, created by the technology company Virtual Armor, includes a component that is implanted in the dog’s neck that monitors his body temperature. It sends signals to the handler by text message or by email if the dog’s temperature starts to

The Halo System will alert you if your dog is in a hot car.

climb. The advantage to this system in a law enforcement setting is that it can be used on dogs that are working. For instance, if an officer is training a dog in the heat, and he receives a warning that the dog’s body temperature is getting high, he knows that it is time to rest and have a drink. This will prevent the dog from suffering from heat stress. Of course, no device and no system is ever foolproof. Dog care in the summer requires owners to be vigilant about their dogs, whether they are caring for police dogs or family pets. It is not enough to decide to leave your dog at home when you drive to town on an errand. It is also important to make sure that the dog doesn’t jump into your car after you return and get locked in accidentally. Many dogs love to go for a ride in the car. It is up to their owners to ensure that they don’t get locked in one.

New Animal Welfare Organization in Aiken

There is a new animal welfare organization in Aiken called Palmetto Animal Welfare Service (PAWS). PAWS was created by Joya di Stefano, who was one of the original founders of the Aiken Friends of the Animal Shelter (FOTAS). It is a 501c3 pending nonprofit, with a board of directors that represents a number of different animal

Summer 2014

agencies in the area. Joya says that PAWS is on a mission to stem the tide of unwanted pets that floods our shelters each year, and to make sure that pets in good homes stay in them. There are already a number of groups in Aiken County devoted to this goal. PAWS does not intend to compete with these existing organizations: rather, its goal is to work with them in order to form networks, build alliances and help foster an animal-friendly community. “So far, we’re working with the towns of Wagener, Windsor, Jackson, Burnettown, New Ellenton, and with other organizations: Equine Rescue of Aiken, Homes for Good Dogs, Aiken Animal Shelter Advocates, the Albrecht SPCA,” she says. PAWS provides various types of assistance. For instance, they help raise money to save heartworm positive dogs at the Aiken County Shelter through the PAWS 4 Heartbeat program, which is managed by Aiken Shelter Animal Advocates. The money goes for heartworm treatment and the transport of these animals to rescues that can care for them. PAWS also helps find foster homes for dogs that are in the shelter. Spay and neuter initiatives are central to the PAWS goal. The SNYP (Spay Neuter Your Pet) program assists with the Aiken County spay/neuter voucher program to provide low cost or free spay and neuter services for the pets of low-income residents. They advertise for free surgeries, refer people to the county for spay/neuter vouchers, and help transport pets to and from the clinic if necessary. PAWS can also provide funds for surgeries. For instance, a low income resident might need to have two pets altered. Aiken County will only pay to do one per year per family, so the SNYP program might be needed to step in and pay for the other one. The organization got started this April, and in the first two months has already helped provide spay and neuter for over 70 animals, most of them dogs. Joya says she is looking forward to expanding services to include pet retention initiatives such as providing training for problem dogs, which can help keep them out of the shelter. She is particularly excited about the first major PAWS fundraiser that will take place next May. “It’s called the Spayleto Fun-raiser Jamboree,” she says. “It is sponsored by the SPCA Albrecht Center and they are letting us hold it at their facility. It’s going to be art, music, mutts and more – a jamboree that celebrates community involvement and community participation.” The festival will run from May 29-31, 2015. Joya stresses that if people want to get involved, it isn’t hard. “You can give money, give time. Pick your passion. Go to the shelter and walk a dog; become a foster. There are so many ways you can help.” For more information, check out the PAWS website (www.paws4nokill.org) or call Joya di Stefano at 803.634.0564.

Domestic Violence Legislation

A bill recently passed in the South Carolina legislature that will allow judges to issue protective orders for pets. This is an important step, since domestic abuse and animal abuse often go hand in hand. In fact, according to the American Humane Association, 71% of pet owners who seek refuge in women’s shelters report that the person who battered them also injured, maimed, killed or threatened family pets. The same organization estimates that between 25% and 40% of battered women “are unable to escape abusive situations because they worry about what will happen to their pets or livestock should they leave.” The South Carolina bill was sponsored by Representative Gilda Cobb-Hunter (D-Orangeburg). It allows courts to prohibit harassment or injury of pets in domestic abuse cases. It also allows courts to grant complainants temporary possession of pets, and makes provisions for law enforcement officials to help remove pets from the residence of the accused. Although every state in the nation has animal cruelty laws, just 25 states include pets in domestic protection orders. When the South Carolina bill is signed into law by the governor, this state will make 26. A similar bill has been proposed this year in New Hampshire. It is hoped that this piece of legislation, and others that were recently introduced, will help improve the lives of people in the state who are affected by domestic violence. South Carolina does not have a good reputation in this regard. In fact, the Violence Policy Center, a nonprofit based in Washington, D.C., says that the state ranks first in the nation in the number of women killed by men, with more than double the national average of homicides.

Lost Dogs of Boggs

Back in the summer of 2012, a scandal broke in the animal rescue world in Georgia. The Boggs Mountain Humane Society, supposedly a no-kill shelter, was not doing what it claimed to do. Boggs Mountain, located in Tiger, Ga., was constructed with a lofty goal: it wanted to be Georgia’s best no-kill shelter, rescuing pets regionally and then adopting them out locally or sending them on transports north or west. It even had programs called Lucky Dog and Lucky Kitty, through which the public could sponsor animals to guarantee their lives. The Lucky Dog and Lucky Kitty programs inspired many people to bring pets they could no longer keep to Boggs. They might drive several hours to get their beloved pet to a safe place, pay $100 to as much as $500, and leave knowing that they had done their best. A few weeks later, they would likely receive card or an email, telling them their pet had been adopted. The trouble is, this was not always true. In fact, it turned out that the Lucky Dogs and Lucky Kitties were often transferred on paper to the adjacent Rabun County Animal Control, and then secretly euthanized. The

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letters and happy adoption stories were often fakes, and the director of the shelter, Lowanda Kilby, known as Peanut, even once had her father pose with a doomed pet to make it look like an adoption picture. Fed up with lying, Lynne Cousins, one of

Minnesota-based networker who had worked to find rescue for many dogs that ultimately ended up at Boggs, created a Facebook Page called The Lost Dogs of Boggs. This page attempted to discover which dogs made it out alive and which did not. Back when the

Sparky was supposed to be saved by Boggs Mountain. He was not.

the shelter workers, alerted Randy Travis, a reporter from Fox 5 Atlanta, who came and did an undercover investigation. Posing as a potential adopter, he secretly taped a meeting with Kilby, in which he asked many questions about Boggs Mountain and the Lucky Dog and Lucky Kitty program. He then toured the shelter, visiting with two Lucky Dogs that Cousins had told him were slated for euthanasia. He returned later that day with his news crew, by which time the healthy, friendly dogs he had interacted with in the earlier footage were gone. Kilby claimed that they had been put on a transport north. Later investigation revealed this was not the case. After the Fox 5 story aired, the rescue world was in an uproar. Kilby was placed on leave. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation began a thorough examination of the situation. Within a month, Boggs Mountain, once a bright light in the humane world, was shut down. Although the GBI investigation centered on the Lucky Dog and Lucky Kitty programs, animal rescuers say the deception went much deeper. In fact, they say Kilby would often pull animals from shelters across the southeast. She would raise funds for vet work and other needs, and solicit volunteers to bring the dogs and cats to Boggs. Some of these animals would indeed be adopted or transferred to northern rescue partners. But many of them were secretly killed. No one knew what became of all the money. In the wake of the scandal, Jill Putzier, a

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story broke, it was filled with pictures of animals and pleas from people who wanted to discover their fate. Many of them had heard the same story: the dog they had fostered for Boggs had been adopted by a wonderful family. Sometimes this was true, and the adopter could be located. Sometimes it was not, and the animal was confirmed dead. Over the next year and a half, fraud investigators from IAG Forensics, a CPA firm in Marietta, Georgia, followed a money trail from email accounts Kilby set up, through PayPal, to her own personal bank accounts. Last fall, Kilby was charged with 29 counts of theft by taking, 29 counts of computer theft, one count of theft by deception and a violation of the Georgia Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. In her trial this May, prosecutors submitted evidence that donations to the Lucky Dog programs were going into her own private accounts. They also showed that she had a serious gambling habit, frequenting Harrah’s Cherokee Casino in North Carolina – according to casino reports, she gambled more than $250,000 there between 2010 and 2012. Testimony in the courtroom was often dramatic enough for prime time television. Members of the board of directors of Boggs Mountain Humane testified how sickened they felt when they discovered what Kilby was doing. “It broke my heart,” said Penny Burkett, who was the former board president.

Donors to the Lucky programs told stories of bringing animals to Boggs with the idea that they were saving them. One woman paid $1,000 in weekly installments of $200. The animal whose treatment she was paying for was killed two days after she delivered him to Boggs. A man from North Carolina testified that he paid $500 to put his dog, which he could not keep, in the Lucky Dog program, and drove five hours to get her to Boggs. After he was told his pet was adopted a few weeks later, he wrote the adopter a touching e-mail thanking her. The adopter never existed. In fact, the dog was killed shortly after she was delivered. After a two-week trail, the jury found Kilby guilty on all 60 counts. She was subsequently sentenced to 25 years, including 15 years in jail, followed by ten years of probation. Boggs Mountain never recovered and remains closed. Although Kilby has now been sent to prison for theft related to the Lucky programs, the damage she did to the rescue world goes far beyond the 60 counts she was convicted for. It wasn’t just that she was never charged for the animals she pulled from other rescues and ultimately killed. It was a matter of trust. “Animals lovers across the nation lost their trust in shelters and rescues,” says Jill Putzier. “We are all a little more skeptical when donating money and in turn those needing it have suffered. Peanut didn’t just ruin her own shelter, she ruined the rescue world.” Jill says that she and other rescue workers who helped send dogs to Boggs were suspicious even before the Randy Travis Fox 5 story. Kilby only seemed interested in pulling dogs that already had significant sponsorship money pledged to them. “I had a few other friends that had bad feelings about her and the shelter. We got together and started comparing notes, which led us to believe there was a scandal going on before it even broke.” Rescuers connected to the case were thrilled when Peanut was convicted, and both surprised and gratified that she got such a severe sentence. Jill says she followed the trial closely through Randy Travis’s Twitter feed. “When she was found guilty I jumped for joy, couldn’t get the grin off my face. When the sentencing was finally revealed I almost screamed for joy. I believe all the animals that lost their lives because of her greed were looking down on us. They they helped bring themselves justice. “Though Peanut was not charged with animal cruelty because the animals were humanely euthanized, I am happy that part of the scandal was told. Many of us had doubts that her sentence would be substantial; many thought she would get a slap on the wrist. We can’t thank everyone that was involved enough.”

Summer 2014

Emergency After-Hours New Patients Welcome

Best friends deserve the best care.

126 Dominion Drive, Suite 1060 Aiken, South Carolina Located next to Mi Rancho off Whiskey Road

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Dr. Kevin Weis

Summer 2014

www.hollowcreekvet.com staff@hollowcreekvet.com

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The Golden Retriever

Beauty, Personality, Intelligence by Pam Gleason, photography by Gary Knoll

hen you are in the company of a Golden Retriever, it is hard to be in a bad mood. Gentle, loving, enthusiastic and affectionate, W Golden Retrievers are happy dogs. They are beautiful, intelligent,

athletic and eminently trainable. They excel as hunting dogs and family dogs, show dogs and therapy dogs. They have a particularly good reputation as guide dogs and assistance dogs. They have a natural desire to be with people, to please them and to help them. If you want a dog that is in touch with your feelings, a Golden Retriever may be the perfect choice.

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A Dog For Everyone

“Golden Retrievers are good for everyone,” says Jacqueline Testa, who lives in Aiken. Jacqueline has been breeding and showing goldens for over 20 years, and she admits that she is in love with the breed. “They are so adaptable. They just know how to fit in to different situations, and they want to please you. They make wonderful family dogs, since they are so good with children, and they’re so gentle and kind and loving.” Of course, there are situations where a golden will not be the ideal dog. Originally bred for hunting, goldens are large, athletic dogs, with a

Summer 2014

natural attraction to water and an instinct to retrieve. “They aren’t couch potatoes,” says Jacqueline. Most goldens enjoy playing fetch, and will do it until you can’t throw the ball any more. But they will not thrive without exercise, and they might have a tendency to gain weight. They are also not ideal if you are looking for a guard dog – most goldens are gregarious and see strangers as friends they haven’t met yet. Finally they will not do well in a situation where they don’t get love and attention. They want to be near their people, and will be lonely if left by themselves for long. Most people who want a golden, however, see these possible drawbacks as desirable traits. Golden Retrievers have been one of the top five dogs in America for decades, and are currently ranked number three, behind Labrador retrievers, (number one for 23 years in a row) and German Shepherds. They are also consistently ranked in the top five for intelligence as well as for affectionateness.

Golden History

with another breed of dog, however, will often have black-and-tan or brindle-colored puppies, even if the other dog was a different color. Golden Retrievers have been around for a long time and have been developed for many different things. For this reason, there are different variations on the basic dog. Dogs that have been bred for show purposes tend to have larger heads and longer coats. Dogs that are bred for hunting are leaner, with shorter, denser coats. Aside from these physical characteristics, goldens come with gentle temperaments and tractable natures. They enjoy various dog sports such as agility, and they excel at obedience and rally obedience. In fact, the first three dogs of any breed to win the prestigious AKC Obedience Championship were all goldens. They love to retrieve and tend to like having something in their mouths, especially when greeting new and old friends. There are goldens who work as tracking dogs, drug detection dogs and search and rescue dogs. They are the breed least likely to flunk out of guide dog training, and the most popular dogs in therapy programs.

The Golden Retriever came into being during the middle of the 19th century. The breed’s origin is credited to a single person, Sir Getting Gold Dudley Coutts Majoribanks, who later became Baron Tweedmouth. There are few things cuter than a Golden Retriever puppy. However, as Majoribanks was from a British banking family and he was immensely with any kind of dog, if you are planning to get a purebred puppy, it is wealthy, both by inheritance and from his work as chairman of a major important that you go to a reputable breeder and don’t inadvertently brewing company. He had a mansion in London called Brook House, as support the puppy mill industry by buying a puppy that was bred for well as several estates in Berwickshire, Scotland. In 1854, he purchased simple profit with no regard for its health or the health of its mother. a highland deer forest in Inverness-shire Puppies from pet Scotland called Guisachan, which means “Place stores or those you of the Firs.” can find for sale Lord Tweedmouth built a large kennel in on the internet Guisachan, where he bred many different kinds may be products of of hunting dogs, including beagles, pointers, unscrupulous breeders. setters, greyhounds, Scottish deerhounds and Responsible breeders Irish water spaniels. The Golden Retriever take excellent care was created because he was seeking the of their mother dogs perfect retrieving dog for hunting in the area. and puppies. They are According to his kennel records, the breed also knowledgeable was founded in 1868 when he crossed a yellow about bloodlines, and wavy-coated retriever with a tweed water test all their breeding spaniel, which was a popular type of local dogs for certain hunting dog. The wavy coated retriever was genetic problems that named Nous (intelligence in Greek), and he Golden Retrievers are was the only yellow puppy in a litter of black susceptible to. These dogs. The water spaniel was named Belle. problems include hip The yellow puppies from this litter (there and elbow dysplasia, were four) were then crossed with flat-coated as well as cataracts. retrievers and tweed water spaniels. Subsequent Golden Retrievers breedings created a distinct type of dog with a are also prone to Golden Retrievers from Jacqueline Testa’s Reflections kennel. Above: 5-month-old yellow coat, an easygoing, friendly personality, developing cancer. Savannah and Whiskey; Left: Reflections Dream of a Golden Christmas (Nicholas.) a love of water and a natural retrieving instinct. No one knows exactly Lord Tweedmouth’s dogs were first exhibited in 1906, and became a why this is the case, but there is clearly a hereditary component, which recognized breed in 1911. Originally, they were classed as “Retrieversis being studied by several institutions, including the Morris Animal Yellow or Golden.” They became “Retrievers-Golden” in 1920 and Foundation. finally Golden Retrievers. They came to the United States about 1890, While it is possible for dogs from the best bloodlines to suffer from and were recognized by the American Kennel Club in 1932. The any of these health issues, these problems are more likely to crop up in Golden Retriever Club of America was founded in 1938. dogs from puppy mills or backyard breeders. The cost of a responsibly bred puppy is initially higher, but it is likely that the less expensive Golden Retriever Traits puppy will cost more in vet bills in the long run. The Golden Retriever The breed standard calls for a symmetrical, powerful, active dog with Club of America has many resources on their website for those who a kindly expression and an eager, alert personality. Male dogs are 23want to find a puppy. (www.grca.org) 24 inches at the withers; females 21½ to 22½ inches. They should be “You don’t make money breeding puppies,” says Jacqueline Testa. “You slightly longer than they are tall, and males should weigh between do it for the love of the breed and to improve on the breed. The thing 65 and 75 pounds; females 55 to 65 pounds. They have broad skulls, that matters most with the puppies is that they are going into a good straight muzzles and large dark brown eyes. home.” They have muscular forequarters, and broad, strongly muscled Rescuing a golden is another excellent way to get one. The GRCA hindquarters with a slightly sloping croup. Their tails are thick and estimates that 10,000 goldens are in need of rescue every year. You muscular at the base and carried in a natural line with the back. They are can often find goldens that need new homes by searching for them on double-coated with a dense undercoat that sheds out twice a year. Their PetFinder, but the easiest way is usually to contact a dedicated Golden outer coat is “firm and resilient, neither coarse nor silky, lying close Retriever rescue near you. The GRCA website has a list of resources for to the body.” It may be straight or wavy. The legs and the tail exhibit prospective adopters. feathering. The most distinctive thing about the dog is his color. Golden Golden Retrievers have an average lifespan of 10 to 13 years. They Retrievers come in a range of shades from a pale cream to a rich, golden fill those years with enthusiasm, playfulness and joy, and their sunny red. All goldens are in this color spectrum, and it is virtually impossible personalities are as golden as their trademark luxurious coats. for two purebred goldens to produce any other color. A golden crossed

Summer 2014

The Dog & Hound

Summer 2014

Palmetto Dog Club Training and Camaraderie

Story and Photography By Pam Gleason

t’s a Saturday morning in Aiken and about a dozen dogs and their owners are filtering into the Palmetto Dog Club training field. The field, located on Banks Mill Road, includes a full complement of agility equipment, as well as a separate area for obedience classes. It is right next to Citizen’s Park, the city’s 123-acre sports-oriented public space, and it almost feels like a canine extension of it. Although this is definitely a place to work your dog seriously, it has an informal, friendly atmosphere. Much of the field is shaded from the

hot sun in the morning, and there are picnic tables between the agility and the obedience areas where people and their dogs can hang out and watch the classes. Good behavior is expected inside the field’s fence, and that means no fighting and no eliminating. There is a sign on the gate as you come in proclaiming the training field a “no pee zone.” The first class of the day at 11 a.m. is the advanced agility handlers class, which is taught by Brad Stauffer. Brad is a renowned trainer of Thoroughbred racehorses, and the president of the Aiken Training Track. He is also a dog trainer, and agility is his specialty. His experience with horses and with dogs, both animals that use body language to

Summer 2014

communicate, has given him a keen awareness of how a dog is influenced by the way his handler moves. The handlers class, which is limited to registered members of the club, has only three participants this morning. Although the people in the class are experienced, the dogs are not necessarily. The club president, Susi Cohen, who has competed quite a bit with her standard poodle, is there with her 2-year-old mixed breed Lucy. Lucy is a small, wiry dog – she looks as if she could be part Whippet. She is wary of strangers and suspicious of unfamiliar objects such as large cameras. Before she goes out on the course, Lucy seems skittery and nervous. But she is enthusiastic and confident on the agility equipment, soaring through the tire, galloping up and over the A frame and the dog walk, dashing through the tunnels and leaping the jumps with inches to spare. She’s a little less interested in the weave poles, and decides she doesn’t have to do them. She has been working in agility for only a few months. Brad gives Susi some hints on how to make Lucy more patient on the pause table. Lucy is most interested in the running and jumping portions of the exercise. She looks as though she would happily run and jump all day. “Lucy and I will never get it,” says Susi when she comes back to the picnic tables. “My standard poodle would do all of this in a snap. Lucy has fun though. She’s the entertainment for the handlers class.” Lucy is clearly happy, and she is distinctly more relaxed now than she was before. How long before she can compete? Susi says competition is not the goal. “I do it for training for the dog, and exercise, and fun for me,” she says. “That’s what the club is all about. It’s a group of people who have a camaraderie, who love dogs. We have people who do compete, but it’s not required and it’s not always the goal.” The Palmetto Dog Club was founded in 2006 by Susan Henderson, who owned Southern Saddlery, a tack store on Banks Mill Road. She fenced off an area that became the training field, and filled it with agility equipment. She had Giant Schnauzers, huge black dogs, and Pembroke Welsh Corgis. Her dogs accompanied her in the store and ran agility, handled by Brad Stauffer. Susan was a devoted dog person and a promoter of dog sports. When she died in 2012, her estate, including the Southern Saddlery building (she had closed the store some years earlier) and the training field, passed to her sister, Harriet DeLaney. Today, the Palmetto Dog Club, which is a registered nonprofit, leases the field and the equipment. The club has about 30 members, who can use the training field for practice whenever they want and are eligible to participate in advanced classes at no fee. Membership in the club is by invitation. The club also holds public classes, open to anyone with a dog and the desire to train. Courses run in the spring, summer and fall. The classes meet once a week on Saturdays for six weeks. Most popular are basic obedience and basic agility. Basic obedience is open to dogs of any age, size or breed. If

The Dog & Hound

there are enough dogs under six months old to split the class, then the younger dogs will be in a class that emphasizes socialization. Depending on the time of year, the availability of a trainer and the level of interest, there also might be classes in rally obedience and classes to prepare dogs to earn their Canine Good Citizens certificates. “Lots of people want to take the beginner agility class, but they have to take an obedience class first,” says Susi. “They have to understand that the equipment can be dangerous, and they need to learn how to use it safely. Their dog has to listen to them. It’s important that their dog have a good recall.” Susi, who became president last fall, says that the club, which had been relatively quiet, is picking up steam again, with more people

getting interested in training their dogs and some new members. The club held its own unrecognized dog show recently, which was very successful. Each year, club members give agility demonstrations at Woofstock, the annual fundraiser put on by the Friends of the Aiken County Animal Shelter (FOTAS.) In the future, Susi is hoping to be able to work with FOTAS to offer dog training to animals at the Aiken County Shelter. Dogs at the Albrecht SPCA, which also runs a separate shelter for the City of Aiken, have a training program called Phideaux University that has improved their adoption rates and reduced the number of dogs that are returned to them. Susi thinks there is no reason why the county shelter can’t do the same thing. After the advanced handlers class is over, Susi gives her dog to her husband Paul, who has been watching, and moves to the other part of the field to teach a beginner obedience class. There are half a dozen dogs, and they are working on leash manners. Another half dozen dogs and their handlers are now on the agility field, in a beginner agility class with Brad. This is the fifth week of the class. The dogs, which are on leashes, perform with various levels of aptitude. Some are clearly into it. Some are not. “Tire, tire, tire, tire!” calls one handler to her dog, trying to convince him to jump through a tire suspended a few inches off the ground. But her dog will have none of it, skirting around the outside and then looking up at her as if to say “Hey, I don’t have to go through that thing. It’s just as fast to go around. Look, here I am.” Carolyn Huey, who lives in Aiken with her husband, is taking the class with her Boston terrier mix, Jeannette. (“Her name is Jeannette Jerome,” Carolyn explains. “That was Winston Churchill’s mother, a Brooklyn socialite who married Lord Randolph Churchill. We’ve also had William Wallace and Abigail Adams – we name them after famous people.”) Carolyn and her husband acquired Jeannette at PetSmart

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adoptions. When they got her home, she proved to be “totally wild,” prompting Carolyn to take her to dog school. “She was on the kitchen table and on the dining room table,” says Carolyn. “We’ve had her two years, and we’ve been in classes with her for two years. I’ve had dogs all my life and I’ve never had one I had to get help with in training.” Carolyn says she has taken Jeannette to several different places and worked with different trainers, but that she prefers the Palmetto Dog Club. “It has been great,” she says. “This has been the best experience we’ve had. The difference is that here, they teach me as well as her. In the other classes I took, they just taught her. Brad tells me what I need to do and it makes sense and it works. So I like that, and Jeannette enjoys it too.” Carolyn does have competition aspirations for Jeannette, although she says they both have a long way to go. “I love agility, and I’ve always wanted to compete. Whenever it’s on TV, Jeannette and I watch it. (We watch the Dog Whisperer, too.) This is the first dog I’ve had that I thought could do it. Jeannette’s a busy dog and she needs to be busy. At home, we have a set of jumps and I taught her to jump through a hula hoop. She loves jumping, but she can be a little bit stubborn.” Carolyn brought Jeannette early to walk her around and calm her down. It is getting hot, and the dog is tired, so they watch the other beginners work on the equipment. In this particular class, and in the beginner obedience class, all the handlers are women. Susi says that there are men who are members too, and that there are often men in the public classes. “Our public classes tend to be bigger in the fall and spring, when the Northern people are still here,” she says, referring to Aiken’s large population of seasonal residents. “In the summer, we slow down a bit – it’s hot, and a lot of dogs don’t do well in the heat. The owners don’t do well either. We have a picnic in the

summer, and seminars, which are indoors. We’ll pick up again in the fall.” Susi says that the club is a very much a shared venture among the members, and that everyone pitches in to help. Classes and membership fees are quite modest: the club is a nonprofit and no one is making a living off it. For the most part, people participate because they love dogs. “It’s a joint project,” says Susi. “By and large, it is a labor of love.” For more information, visit www.palmettodogclub.org.

Summer 2014

The Dog & Hound

Adventures in Obedience With Jan Epting and Skip

by Pam Gleason, photography by Gary Knoll

an Epting has some lofty goals for her 6-year-old cocker spaniel Skip. She would like to see him become an American Kennel Club Obedience Trial Champion. The Obedience Trial Championship, sometimes called the Ph.D. for dogs, is the highest obedience honor a dog can receive. It requires the accumulation of 100 points in upper level obedience trials as well as three first place awards. “There hasn’t been a cocker Obedience Trial Champion since around 2002,” she says. “If he gets that, he’ll automatically be entered in the American Spaniel Club Hall of Distinction. He’ll also be permanently recorded as one of the top cockers ever. Am I going to die if he doesn’t make it? No. A year ago I never would have thought I’d have that goal.” Jan once worked as an engineer at the Savannah River Site. Today, she lives in Aiken with her family and spends much of her time with her dogs. She has two cocker spaniels, Skip (Log Cabin Skip’N Black Stones) and his mother LizzyB (Dan NJanz Lizzy Butterscotch). Her husband, Danny, has a German Shorthaired Pointer (Log Cabin Dogs Mage E) that he uses for hunting. Jan got involved with cocker spaniels ten years ago because she wanted to get a lap dog for her children. Her entrée into the world of obedience happened a few years later. “Originally, we were looking for a Cavalier King Charles spaniel, but I couldn’t find one within driving distance,” she says. “Then we found a breeder with a litter of cocker puppies in Georgia, and we went to look. Out of all the litter, Lizzy was the most friendly to the children.” When she was about a year old, Lizzy showed that she had an interest in birds and so Danny started taking her out hunting with his pointer. It didn’t take long for her to realize that when there was a shot it meant that there would be a bird, and she started to love it. Hunting was in her blood. Jan soon joined the Cocker Spaniel Specialty Club of Georgia, which emphasizes versatility. The club has hunt tests as well as trials in obedience, agility and rally. Jan began to train Lizzy for spaniel hunt tests. When she decided to breed her, she chose a stud dog from a line known for hunting. Skip was the puppy she kept out of that litter. Skip started off learning to be a hunting dog. Then, Jan thought it would be best if both Skip and Lizzy had a foundation in obedience, and so she began their formal training with Lois Evans, a local obedience handler and trainer. “I started competing with Skip when he was a year and half old, and we have had so much fun,” says Jan. “He loves to practice and loves to work. He’ll work for me forever. He’s always been that way.” Jan’s two cockers each earned an alphabet soup of titles. Lizzy is a UD (Utility Dog), VER (Versatility), RAE (Rally Advanced and Excellent) and JH ( Junior Hunter, Spaniel Field Test). Skip is a UD, RAE and SH (Senior Hunter, Spaniel Field Test). Last fall at a show in Augusta, Skip earned a few points that count toward an AKC Obedience Championship. There are not many cockers that compete in obedience. As a result, Skip was suddenly the fifth ranked cocker spaniel in the country. Jan didn’t realize this until someone at the American Spaniel Club mentioned it to her. It was

The Dog & Hound

exciting news. “They invite the top three dogs from each breed to go to the AKC National Obedience Championships in Harrisburg,” says Jan. “He was number five, so he was on reserve. Two dogs in the top three elected not to go, so he was invited.” The championships were in March. Skip did well, although his performance was not perfect. The main thing that the championships did was ignite Jan’s ambition. She was determined to find the best obedience trainer money can buy, and soon sought out Connie Cleveland, the owner and primary trainer at Dog Trainers Workshop in Fountain Inn, S.C. Now, she and Skip work with Connie and her staff

every Tuesday. It is a two-hour drive each way, but Jan says it’s worth it. “Any time I have an issue, Connie comes up with a spreadsheet of all the things that cause the problem and all the fixes. Then she gives me a practice schedule and a list of exercises. And it works! It’s just amazing.” Although Jan’s training goals are now more serious than before, she says it’s still just play for her and Skip. “It’s productive play,” she says. “You have a goal in mind. The engineer in me enjoys working toward a goal. Training them, taking them to a trial (and trial is the right word) going back home and working some more, it’s all just fun. You get to play with your dog, and the dog loves it. Skip is special: it’s fun just watching him work.”

Summer 2014

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Albrecht Aiken SPCA. Dogs, puppies, cats and kittens for adoption. Hours of operation: MonSat. 11 am - 5 pm. Weekly offsite adoptions at Aiken Petsmart, Sat 10 am- 3 pm; Sun 1:30 pm - 6:30 pm. www.LetLoveLive.org 803.643.0564 Adopt a Shelter Dog or Cat from the Aiken County Animal Shelter. Many beautiful, healthy, friendly animals to choose from. 333 Wire Road, Aiken. See the pets at www. fotasaiken.org. 803.642.1537. Pointers! More than just bird dogs. Many beautiful purebred Pointers

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Summer 2014

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The Dog & Hound

JUNE

Regional Calendar of Events

German Shepherd Dog Club of North Georgia Show. Ellijay Fairgrounds, 1729 South Main Street, Ellijay, GA. Mac McCarthy, 770.993.9758, bvp@bellsouth.net. 1 Cape Fear Retriever Club Hunting Test. Pembroke Farms, Rocky Point, NC. Frances New, 910.850.4652, jagg69@ embarqmail.com. 1 Piedmont Border Collie Association Obedience Trials. Durham Kennel Club, 7318 Guess Road, Durham, NC. David Raper, 919.245.0553, davidraper@centrylink.net, www. piedmontbordercollie.com. 4 Lure Beagle Club Field Trial. Indian Beagle Club, End of Powell Road, Vale, NC. Judy Proctor, 704.462.0999, yankee2rebel@hotmail.com, www.akc.org. 5 Yappy Hour. 5-8pm. Live music, cash bar, open dog park, TONS OF FUN! Scott and Drew are back by popular demand with folk, southern rock, and blues. Albrecht Center for Animal Welfare, 199 Willow Run Road, Aiken, SC. 803.648.6863, www.spca-albrecht.org. 5 Shelter Tour. 1pm. Albrecht Center for Animal Welfare, 199 Willow Run Road, Aiken, SC. 803.648.6863, www.spcaalbrecht.org. 6 Indian Beagle Club Field Trial. Indian Beagle Club, End of Powell Road, Vale, NC. Judy Proctor, 704.462.0999, yankee2rebel@hotmail.com, www.akc.org. 6 $5 Freaky Friday Adoption Event: Plaid for Dads! Albrecht Center for Animal Welfare, 199 Willow Run Road, Aiken, SC. 803.648.6863, www.spca-albrecht.org. 6-7 Palmetto Obedience Training Club Rally. Northwest Recreation Center, 701 Saxon Avenue, Spartanburg, SC. Rose Schwietert, 864.579.1164, rose.schwietert@gmail.com, www. palmettotrng.com. 6-8 Moore County Kennel Club of North Carolina Agility Show. Bon-Clyde Learning Center, 3030 Lee Avenue, Sanford, NC. Karen Wlodarski, 630.212.6934, karen-w@msn.com, www. mckcnc.com. 7-8 Asheville Dog Show. Western North Carolina Agricultural Center, 1301 Fanning Bridge Road, Fletcher, NC. MB-F Inc., 336.379.9352, mbf@infodog.com. 7-8 Palmetto Obedience Training Club Obedience Trials. Northwest Recreation Center, 701 Saxon Avenue, Spartanburg, SC. Rose Schwietert, 864.579.1164, rose.schwietert@gmail. compalmettotrng.com. 9-13 Perry Agility Show. Georgia National Fairgrounds & Agricenter, 401 Larry Walker Parkway, Perry, GA. Jim Macke, 404.583.5783, trialsec@perryagility.com, www. chattahoocheeweim.org. 14 Phideaux's Flea Market (8a-2p) and Dog Wash (10a–2p). Albrecht Center for Animal Welfare, 199 Willow Run Road, Aiken, SC. 803.648.6863, www.spca-albrecht.org. 14 Georgia Dachshund Races. Dachshund races, costume contest, doggie weddings, best coat, longest, smallest, oldest, best nose, obstacle course and more. Jim Miller Park, 2245 Callaway Road SW, Marietta, GA. 14-15 Western Carolina Dog Fanciers Association Dog Show. Haywood County Fairgrounds, 758 Crabtree Road, Waynesville, NC. MB-F Inc., 336.379.9352, mbf@infodog. com, www.wcdfa.org. 18 jrSPCA Meeting. 6-7pm. The jrSPCA is a group of 6th 12th graders dedicated to learning about and loving animals. They have monthly meetings and take on 3-4 fundraising

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projects a year. Must be a registered volunteer and have gone through volunteer orientation to participate. Albrecht Center for Animal Welfare, 199 Willow Run Road, Aiken, SC. 803.648.6863, www.spca-albrecht.org. 18 Cherryville Beagle Club Field Trial. Indian Beagle Club, End of Powell Road, Vale, NC. Judy Proctor, 704.462.0999, yankee2rebel@hotmail.com, www.akc.org. 20 PeeDee River Beagle Club Field Trial. Indian Beagle Club, End of Powell Road, Vale, NC. Judy Proctor, 704.462.0999, yankee2rebel@hotmail.com, www.akc.org. 21-22 Savannah Dog Training Club Obedience Trials and Rally. Groves High School, 100 Priscilla D. Thomas Way, Savannah, GA. Ginger Robertson, 912.308.1007, pawsomeresults@gmail. com, www.savannahdogtrainingclub.com. 26 Fundraiser Red Carpet Premier: “Topp Dog To The Rescue.” Showing the reality based television show featuring the exploits of Blake Rashad an Ex-Military and Police Dog Trainer with over 30 years experience. Each week, he will offer assistance to individuals by providing a dog to fit their specific needs. This episode is Starring seasoned actress Sharon Conley, who has appeared in "The Hunger Games and The Blind Side.” Landmark Theatre Midtown Cinema, 931 Monroe Drive NE, C212, Atlanta, GA. 855.777.9311, sheila@kidzandk9s.org. 28 Bully Independence Day IV. Join the American Bully Kennel Club for one of the best dog shows all year! Georgia National Fairgrounds, McGill Marketplace Building, Perry, GA. 404.819.6332.

JULY

Yappy Hour. 5-8pm. Live music, cash bar, open dog park, TONS OF FUN! Albrecht Center for Animal Welfare, 199 Willow Run Road, Aiken, SC. 803.648.6863, www.spcaalbrecht.org. 5 Shelter Tour. 1pm. Albrecht Center for Animal Welfare, 199 Willow Run Road, Aiken, SC. 803.648.6863, www.spcaalbrecht.org. 11 $5 Freaky Friday Adoption Event: Summer Lovin’. Planning on taking a pet home for this weekend? Wear your vacation getup to qualify for a $5 adoption fee on any eligible pet available for adoption. No holds. No rain checks. Adoptions subject to approval. Albrecht Center for Animal Welfare, 199 Willow Run Road, Aiken, SC. 803.648.6863, www.spcaalbrecht.org. 11 Durham Kennel Club Rally. Durham Kennel Club, 7318 Guess Road, Durham, NC. Tracy Fletcher, 919.819.2245, funshelties@gmail.com, www.durhamkennelclub.com. 12 Phideaux’s Flea Market (8a-2p) and Dog Wash (10a–2p). Albrecht Center for Animal Welfare, 199 Willow Run Road, Aiken, SC. 803.648.6863, www.spca-albrecht.org. 12-13 Durham Kennel Club Obedience Trials. Durham Kennel Club, 7318 Guess Road, Durham, NC. Tracy Fletcher, 919.819.2245, funshelties@gmail.com, www. durhamkennelclub.com. 18-19 Four Paw Agility Club of North Georgia Obedience Trials and Rally. Gwinnett County Fair Grounds, 2405 Sugarloaf Parkway, Lawrenceville, GA. Christopher Brooks, 864.292.0876, 4paw_trial_secretary@showentries.info. 18-20 Tarheel Weimaraner Club Agility Show. Bon-Clyde Learning Center, 3030 Lee Avenue, Sanford, NC. Tina Eastman, 843.271.2711, sunriseagilitytss@gmail.com, www. ncweimaraner.org. 3

Summer 2014

19-20 Hilton Head Island Kennel Club Dog Show and Rally. Ridgeland Hardeville High Scool, 250 Jaguar Trail, Ridgeland, SC. Onofrio Dog Shows, 405.427.8181, mail@onofrio.com. 23-27 Greenville Dog Show and Rally. TD Convention Center, 1 Expositon Avenue, Greenville, SC. MB-F Inc., 336.379.9352, mbf@infodog.com, www.greenvillekc.org. 25-27 Tallahassee Dog Obedience Club Agility Show. Cloud Livestock Facility, 1300 E. River Road, Bainbridge, GA. June Ebert, 813.983.1997, astibug@msn.com, www.tdoclub.org.

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Shelter Tour. 1pm. Albrecht Center for Animal Welfare, 199 Willow Run Road, Aiken, SC. 803.648.6863, www.spcaalbrecht.org. Cape Fear Dog Training Club Obedience Trials. Cape Fear DTC Facility, 2463 Companion Court, Fayetteville, NC. Roberta Pylate, 910.987.1936, bertap@embarqmail.com. Yappy Hour. 5-8pm. Live music, cash bar, open dog park, TONS OF FUN! Albrecht Center for Animal Welfare, 199 Willow Run Road, Aiken, SC. 803.648.6863, www.spcaalbrecht.org. Greater Monroe Kennel Club Agility Show. Cabarrus Arena and Events Center, 4751 Highway 49 North, Concord, NC. Laurene Galgano, 757.481.4854, www.greatermonroekc.org. $5 Freaky Friday Adoption Event: School Pride. Qualify for a $5 adoption fee on any eligible pet available for adoption. No holds. No rain checks. Adoptions subject to approval. Albrecht Center for Animal Welfare, 199 Willow Run Road, Aiken, SC. 803.648.6863, www.spca-albrecht.org. Phideaux’s Flea Market (8a-2p) and Dog Wash (10a–2p). Albrecht Center for Animal Welfare, 199 Willow Run Road, Aiken, SC. 803.648.6863, www.spca-albrecht.org. Greensboro Dog Show. Greensboro Coliseum Complex, 1921 W Lee Street, Greensboro, NC. MB-F Inc., 336.379.9352, mbf@infodog.com, www.danvillekennelclub.com. Carolina Piedmont Agility Club Agility Show. NetSports, 3717 Davis Drive, Morrisville, NC. Robin Early, 336.946.1484, agilcorgi@windstream.net, www.carolinapiedmontagility.com. Atlanta Dog Show. Atlanta Exposition Center South, 3850 Jonesboro Road, Atlanta, GA. Onofrio Dog Shows, 405.427.8181, mail@onofrio.com, www.conyerskennelclub.org. Mutt Strut 2K Run/Walk (with or without)Dog. Wanderalong the Swamp Rabbit Trail and and finish in Cleveland Park where participants are invited to stay and enjoy the ‘Mutt Strut Village,’ featuring live music, refreshments and treats for two and fourlegged competitors. One hundred percent of the even proceeds benefit the Greenville Humane Society. Cleveland Park, 847 Cleveland Street, Greenville, SC. 864.242.3626, annedaltonw@ greenvillehumane.com, www.bringfido.com. Raleigh Dog Show. NC State Fairgrounds, 1025 Blue Ridge Road, Raleigh, NC. MB-F Inc., 336.379.9352, mbf@infodog. com, www.raleighkennelclub.org.

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Cary Kennel Club Dog Show. NC State Fairgrounds, 1025 Blue Ridge Road, Raleigh, NC. MB-F Inc., 336.379.9352, mbf@infodog.com, www.carykennelclub.org. Yappy Hour. 5p – 8p. Live music, cash bar, open dog park, TONS OF FUN! Join us for the acoustical styling of Gavin Reilly. Albrecht Center for Animal Welfare, 199 Willow Run Road, Aiken, SC. 803.648.6863, www.spca-albrecht.org. $5 Freaky Friday Adoption Event: Football Forever. Planning on taking a pet home for this weekend? Support your favorite football team to qualify for a $5 adoption fee on any eligible pet available for adoption. No holds. No rain checks. Adoptions

Summer 2014

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subject to approval. Albrecht Center for Animal Welfare, 199 Willow Run Road, Aiken, SC. 803.648.6863, www.spcaalbrecht.org. Canine Capers Agility Club of Greater Atlanta Agility Show. Wills Park Equestrian Center, Wills Coliseum, 11915 Wills Road, Alpharetta, GA. Chris Danielly, 770.787.7470, cdanielly@aol.com, www.caninecapersagility.com. Shelter Tour. 1pm. Come take a peek behind the scenes at our Adoption Center, Marr Training and Education Center, and Carl and Linda Strojan spay and neuter clinic. Board member, Lisa Sommers, leads the tour. Albrecht Center for Animal Welfare, 199 Willow Run Road, Aiken, SC. 803.648.6863, www.spca-albrecht.org. Pinehurst Dog Show. Pinehurst Harness Track and Polo Field, NC Highway 5, Pinehurst, NC. MB-F Inc., 336.379.9352, mbf@infodog.com, www.mckcnc.com. Shetland Sheepdog Club of Georgia Agility Show. Chicopee Woods Agricultural Center, Calvary Church Road, Gainesville, GA. Chris Danielly, 770.787.7470, cdanielly@aol.com, www. sscgeorgia.org. Phideaux’s Flea Market (8a-2p) and Dog Wash (10a–2p). These are the same great dog washes we’ve always had, now at the SPCA and with shopping opportunities. Albrecht Center for Animal Welfare, 199 Willow Run Road, Aiken, SC. 803.648.6863, www.spca-albrecht.org. jrSPCA Meeting. 6p – 7p. The jrSPCA is a group of 6th - 12th graders dedicated to learning about and loving animals. They have monthly meetings and take on 3-4 fund raising projects a year. Must be a registered volunteer and have gone through volunteer orientation to participate. Albrecht Center for Animal Welfare, 199 Willow Run Road, Aiken, SC. 803.648.6863, www.spca-albrecht.org. Western Carolina Dog Fanciers Association Show. Haywood County Fairgrounds, 758 Crabtree Road, Waynesville, NC. Jayne Abbot, 828.713.3278, jhabbott@charter.net, www.wcdfa. org. Winston-Salem Dog Training Club Obedience Test and Rally. Winston-Salem Dog Training Club, 3800 Bethania Station Road, Winston-Salem, NC. Olivia Perkins, 336.766.9081, opp@triad.rr.com, www.wsdtc.org. Central Savannah River Area Retriever Club Field Trial. Running Grounds, Lincolnton, GA. Tara Wilkes Jordan, 912.526.6757, tjw_128@hotmail.com. Greater Columbia Obedience Club Agility Show. South Congaree Horse Arena, 301 Oak Street, West Columbia, SC. Karen Wlodarski, 843.696.2892, karen-w@msn.com, www. gcoc.net. Durham Kennel Club Agility Show. Durham Kennel Club Agility Field, 7318 Guess Road, Hillsborough, NC. Jenn Galgano, 757.481.4854, gonedoggin@cox.net, www. durhamkennelclub.com. Carolina Afghan Hound Club Dog Show. Piedmont Kennel Club Showplace, 13607 Choate Circle, Charlotte, NC. Marianne Shaw, 828.299.7256, m.burtshaw@yahoo.com. German Shepherd Dog Club of Atlanta Dog Show. Wills Park Equestrian Center, Wills Coliseum, 11915 Wills Road, Alpharetta, GA. Linda Waskan, 770.460.6776, atlgsdshowentry@att.net. Chattahoochee English Springer Spaniel Club of Greater Atlanta Agility Show. Wills Park Equestrian Center, Wills Coliseum, 11915 Wills Road, Alpharetta, GA. Donna Slavin, 706.254.3451, slavinspectra@gmail.com, www.cesscga.org. Putts for Pets Golf Tournament. Woodside’s Reserve Club, Aiken, SC. 803.648.6863, www.spca-albrecht.org.

The Dog & Hound

Lillie

by Michael Thomas Ford

hen I open the front door, the boy standing on the porch grins and asks, “Can the little rabbit dog come out and play?” He means Lillie, one of my Chihuahuas, who is what is often referred to as a tripaw. Her right front leg is not there. The boy waiting for my answer met Lillie several days ago on one of our walks. When he first saw her running around, he thought she was a rabbit, as her three-legged gait looks a bit like hopping. I hesitate in answering. Lillie does not have a good history with small boys. It was a boy who was responsible for the loss of her leg. As a puppy, newly removed from her mother and siblings, she was left alone with children who put her into a towel, swung the towel around, and let go. Lillie flew into a wall and shattered her leg. Not wanting a broken dog, the family asked a vet to put her down. Instead, he removed the damaged leg and got Lillie into a rescue group.

I met Lillie a few days after her operation. A picture taken of her sitting on my lap shows a small, unsure dog with a very large incision closed by ugly, black stitches. The uncertainty in her eyes is palpable. Yet when she came home with me, she set about exploring her new house and yard without hesitation. For the first few days I ran to steady her every time she tried to pee and threatened to tip over, but she quickly mastered her new center of gravity, and before long I forgot that she wasn’t like the four-legged members of the household. I’ve known a number of tripaws, and whether they came to be threelegged early in life or later on, they all have met the challenge with the same attitude that dogs apply to most things: This is how things are

The Dog & Hound

now. Every time I scratch the spot where Lillie’s leg used to be attached to her chest, I think about the careless child who caused her accident and wonder if he felt even the tiniest bit of remorse. Unlike me, Lillie probably doesn’t spend much time thinking about how much easier life would be if she could jump on and off the couch by herself. Not that she’s forgotten entirely. Several months after Lillie came to live with me, she woke me up in the middle of the night with a high, keening wail. At first I thought she was having a seizure, but there was no trembling, and she remained asleep, still crying, until I gently shook her. Afterward, she curled up against me and went back to sleep as if nothing had happened. In the five years since, this has happened about once every six months. She’s been seen by several vets, none of whom have found anything worrisome. Although it’s possible she suffered some slight neurological damage from crashing into the wall, it’s been suggested that, instead, she’s having flashbacks to the accident. Do dogs remember such things, and for so long? Does Lillie dream, and when she does, does she sometimes see the laughing faces of the children who thought it would be fun to put her in a towel and swing her around? Does she recall the blurring of the world as her tiny body was hurled through the air, and the pain of the bones in her leg shattering irreparably? Does she remember wanting her family to make the hurt go away, only to have them leave her behind because she now wasn’t the puppy they wanted? I hope that she doesn’t, although in some ways that’s preferable to the thought that there might be a physical source of her nightmares. There’s little I could do about a damaged brain, but I like to think I can banish the bad dreams by reminding her what a beautiful girl she is, and how much she’s loved, and how with her invisible leg she can outrun everyone. I confess that I haven’t forgiven the little boy who hurt her, even though his actions brought Lillie and me together and probably saved her from, at the very least, a tedious life with stupid people who should never have gotten a dog in the first place. And I know not every little boy is that little boy. Still, when the boy on the porch asks if Lillie can come out and play, my instinct is to tell him no. But then I remember how he gently touched her when he first met her, letting her smell him and dictate how much attention she would accept. And I remember her wagging her tail and biting my nose when I picked her up afterward, which is what she does when she’s happy, as if to say, “Stop worrying so much.” And so I bring Lillie outside and let the boy play with her for a few minutes, after which he waves goodbye and runs off to do something else. The next day, while Lillie and I are picking up the mail at the communal box, a woman stops and says, “This must be the dog Brody has been talking about. Thank you for letting him play with her. He’s been terrified of dogs since one bit him, but he really likes her. I think she’s helping him get over it.” That night, I watch Lillie as she sleeps. At one point she stirs, and for a moment I fear she’s about to have one of her episodes. But then she settles down again. I rub the scar on her chest and hope she’s dreaming about biting the nose of a little boy who is also no longer afraid. Michael Thomas Ford is the recipient of the 2014 James Duggins MidCareer Author Prize, which is a nice way of saying he’s no longer young and has written a lot of books.

Summer 2014

The Dog & Hound

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