Siouxland Life - August 2016

Have you considered a portrait of your pet?

A final resting place for pets

Fitness trackers could be the ticket

A GUIDE FOR LIVING IN SIOUXLAND

FETCH! A PET COULD BE JUST WHAT YOU NEED

HARLEY FANS SHOW THE LOVE IN THEIR HOME

AUGUST 2016

SIOUXLAND LIFE IS ON THE WEB! VISIT WWW.SIOUXCITYJOURNAL.COM/SIOUXLANDLIFE SIOUXLAND LIFE AUGUST 2016

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SIOUXLAND LIFE

CONTENTS August

2016

If you’ve wondered about getting a pet – or you’ve got one and you just don’t know what to do – this could be your issue. This month, we go inside the world of pet owners and discover the benefits, consider the work they require and look at some of the extras that come with the job.

Want something you’ve seen in the movies? We can help there, too. This month, we’re all about dogs, cats and other animals you grow to love.

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GET YOUR MOTOR RUNNING You can tell Harley owners live in this house.

It’s almost as good as life on two wheels.

12 ON THE COVER Donni Sue Graff works with her golden retriever Mojo. The Moville, Iowa, woman offers insight into the world of breeders and trainers. Photo by Jim Lee.

FEATURES 4 HOME home sweet Harley 12 PETS treading more than water 14 PETS great companions 18 PETS training 21 PETS meet the breeds 24 PETS great partnership 27 PETS portraits

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20 QUESTIONS pet sitter PETS ap-pet-izers PETS final resting place PETS pop culture PETS getting social HEALTH medical answers PARTING SHOT

PUBLISHER Steve Griffith EDITOR Bruce Miller EDITORIAL Dolly A. Butz, Tim Gallagher, Earl Horlyk, Ally Karsyn PHOTOGRAPHY Tim Hynds, Jim Lee, Justin Wan EDITORIAL DESIGN April Burford ADVERTISING SALES Nancy Todd ADVERTISING DESIGN Kayla Fleming ©2016 The Sioux City Journal. Siouxland Life is published monthly by The Sioux City Journal.

For advertising information, please call (712) 224-6281. For editorial information, please call (712) 293-4218.

TREADING WATER There’s a way to give pets therapy without worry. A treadmill could be the answer.

30 THE INS AND OUTS OF SITTING A pet sitter reveals the secrets to the job – and the ways to ensure success.

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AUGUST 2016

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HOME SWEET harley

CHOPPERS REV UP THE DESIGN OF THIS NORTH SIOUX CITY HOME

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Text by Ally Karsyn | Photographs by Justin Wan

YOU’RE NEVER TOO OLD for a playroom, and this couple proves it. They’ve got toys, alright. But their toys are life-size, and they’re the variety that goes vroom.

Nancy and Barry Knudsen heard the open road calling, and they captured their love of cruising the highways and byways in a big way. The basement of their 4-bed, 4 1/2-bath home in North Sioux City is emblazoned with Pantone 165 – the signature orange hue of Harley-Davidson Motorcycles.

Originally, they had been looking for a lot to build a shed big enough to store their toys and tools.

Nancy’s sister noticed a “For Sale” sign about a mile down the road from her house. They found an old, abandoned two-bedroom bungalow on 2 1/2 acres and ended up buying the property.

What started as a site for an outbuilding turned into a whole house. The empty nesters moved in about four years ago and finished the basement later, once they decided on a theme.

The Knudsens fully committed to the motorcycle theme. The shiny diamond plates around the bar and refrigerator give the downstairs kitchenette a distinctly industrial feel. They also decided to forgo carpet for easy cleaning.

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AUGUST 2016

SIOUXLAND LIFE

SIOUXLAND LIFE

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Nancy bought used barstools and turned them into one-of-a-kind items.

A friend branded the Harley-Davidson logo into the backs, and she had the seats reupholstered with orange leather, thanks to her connections with a hide tanner through working at Tyson Fresh Meats.

The pool table was one of the only pieces of Harley paraphernalia they owned before they moved. With more space, their collection has grown. Barry has had a motorcycle for as long as Nancy can remember. She got tired of riding on the back and got her own bike over 10 years ago.

Nancy did a lot of looking on Houzz.com and came up with this design idea to create inset shadow boxes as an eye-catching built-in media console. Since her husband is an electrician, he knew how to light the spaces and showcase some of their favorite motorcycle trinkets and souvenirs.

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A home theater was on Barry’s wish list. This is where he can kick back and relax while projecting his favorite action films right onto the wall.

“Very rarely do I get some chick flick on down here,” Nancy said with a laugh.

NANCY KNUDSEN Given the amount of space downstairs for entertaining guests, the Knudsens opted for a relatively small living room upstairs.

Instead, they dedicated more squarefootage to a big kitchen, outfitted with plenty of seating from the island to the dining room.

“Very rarely do I get some chick flick on down here.”

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The tiled backsplash above the cooktop was custom-designed to mimic the wavy, swirling pattern in the glass front door. It reminded them of watching humpback whales surface in the waters of Maui.

This kitschy print (opposite page) hangs NANCY KNUDSEN proudly by the front door. Nothing captures Nancy’s design philosophy quite like this.

Nancy’s style borders on contemporary, but it’s also very eclectic. “If something trips my trigger, I’ll pick it up,” she said.

“If something trips my trigger, I’ll pick it up.”

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SIOUXLAND LIFE

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SIOUXLAND LIFE

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PETS treading

more than water

UNDERWATER TREADMILL GETS INJURED, ARTHRITIC DOGS MOVING AGAIN

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Text and Photographs by Ally Karsyn

SOUTH SIOUX CITY | A HEFTY, 13-YEAR-old beagle hobbles into a glass tank. The door closes behind him and water begins rising up from his paws, past his bowed elbows and up to his belly before stopping at his shoulders.

The underwater treadmill rolls along at 1.3 miles per hour. Jean Gill, a certified canine rehabilitation practitioner, has to coax him into motion with small licks of peanut butter.

“He has me trained,” she said. Gill doesn’t resort to bribery with her other clients at Four Paws Fitness & Rehab.

Shadow’s spoiled.

More than two years ago, the aging dog was crippled and overweight. His owner, Julie Kaplan, used to take him on two long walks every day, but then her beloved beagle didn’t want to go as much anymore.

“He started getting really cranky, which is not his normal disposition,” she said.

Shadow was diagnosed with severe arthritis and, around the same time, tore his ACL. The veterinarian recommended aqua therapy at Four Paws Fitness & Rehab, which Gill opened in 2013.

Kaplan initially wrote it off because Shadow’s scared of water but finally went to check it out. She found that it’s nothing like a traumatic bathtime experience where a dog’s doused in a bathtub or sprayed with a hose. Instead, the water gently pools into what looks like a giant fish tank.

Now, he comes in twice a week to walk on the treadmill for 20 minutes.

Through aqua therapy, he’s shed a few pounds and regained some mobility.

“It’s really hard on old dogs to get their core muscles going,” Gill said.

“When they start to get arthritis and get a little stiff, they stay within their safety zone of walking, which means they don’t do a lot of trunk twisting and engagement so their core muscles kind of turn to marshmallows.”

“Kind of like us,” Kaplan said.

“And some humans have this issue as well,” Gill said, laughing. “We all hate to do crunches, right?”

Shadow, a 13-year-old beagle with severe arthritis, has been going to Four Paws Fitness & Rehab in South Sioux City for aqua therapy for more than two years.

Walking on the underwater treadmill for 20 minutes twice a week, he’s able to maintain a healthier weight and get more exercise with less painful movements.

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Above: Jean Gill, a certified canine rehabilitation practitioner, works with Shadow.

Right: Gill treats her German shepherd Echo with laser therapy. Echo has degenerative lumbosacral stenosis, a painful condition caused by the narrowing the spinal column, and she’s a big reason why Gill became a certified canine rehabilitation practitioner.

Exercising in the 90-degree water gets those hard-to-reach core muscles working again.

For really arthritic dogs like Shadow, Gill fills the tank to their shoulders for maximum buoyancy, which takes weight off the joints.

A normal dog bears over 60 percent of its weight on its front legs. When dogs get arthritis in their hindquarters, they shift even more weight to the front to alleviate the pain, which leads to muscle loss. Owners may not notice until it’s too late, and their dogs no longer climb stairs, jump into the vehicle or lie down comfortably.

“The movement of pushing and pulling through the water is accessing muscles that they can’t access on land because it’s too painful,” Gill said. “They build up the muscle mass to their hind end and get that comfort level coming back and that ability to get back up.”

In addition to canine hydrotherapy, Gill offers laser treatment, massage therapy, conditioning programs and other exercises where dogs work on

balance balls or walk on a regular treadmill. These services can benefit dogs whether they’re injured, athletic or overweight.

While she’s been an occupational therapist since 1999, Gill only recently got into dog rehab after her German shepherd was diagnosed with degenerative lumbosacral stenosis, a painful condition caused by the narrowing of the

spinal column.

She was driving over an hour, twice a week, to bring Echo to therapy. Given her profession, she was encouraged to pursue education in the emerging field of canine rehabilitation.

Now, she works with dogs at Four Paws Fitness & Rehab three days a week, and she still does occupational therapy for their two-legged companions, too.

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PETS great

companions

Patient Ron Kommers, of Oakland, Nebraska, pets Gracie, a border collie and golden retriever mix handled by Ran Newberg, at UnityPoint Health-St. Luke’s in Sioux City.

THERAPY DOG FINDS CONTENTMENT COMFORTING HOSPITAL PATIENTS

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Text by Dolly A. Butz | Photographs by Tim Hynds

SIOUX CITY | GRACIE, a 7-year-old border collie and golden retriever mix, trots through the sliding glass doors into UnityPoint Health-St. Luke’s lobby with her human, Ran Newberg, on a Wednesday afternoon.

The pooch with a soft, shiny black coat and slightly graying muzzle calmly stands at Newberg’s side wearing a green vest and hospital credentials. Her mouth is open in a slight smile. Her brown eyes beam with happiness as she waits for the elevator.

“This is her hospital mood,” Newberg says. “I let her be a dog until we come in here.”

On the hospital’s fifth floor, Gracie meets a blond-haired toddler who offers

her a piece of candy. Newberg politely declines on her behalf. There’s no time to be distracted by food. Gracie, a therapy dog with K-9 S.T.A.R.S., has work to do.

“You’re almost too calm,” Newberg says to Gracie before entering a patient room where they find Ron Kommers lying in a hospital bed.

Gracie hops up onto a chair and then places her front paws over the wooden arm onto the bed. She sniffs Gracie, a border collie and golden Kommers’ hand. retriever mix, waits in the “You look like my lobby at UnityPoint HealthBella,” the Oakland, St. Luke’s. She started Nebraska, man says. working as a therapy “You’re a pretty girl.” dog when she was 18 months old.

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Therapy dogs are frequently called upon to provide comfort in times of stress.

A dozen therapy dogs traveled to Orlando, Florida, in the wake of a nightclub shooting that killed 49 people and wounded 53 others, to provide affection, warmth and reassurance to survivors, family members and first responders.

Studies have shown that petting an animal causes a patient’s blood pressure and heart rate to drop. The act also alleviates muscle tension.

A survey conducted by the HumanAnimal Bond Research Initiative Foundation a nonprofit research and education organization, found that 69 percent of physicians have successfully worked with animals in a hospital, medical center or medical practice to assist patient therapy or treatment. They report interactions with animals improve patients’ physical and mental health, as well as their mood and relationships with medical staff.

During one K-9 S.T.A.R.S. visit, Newberg says therapy dogs sat in bed with a patient after surgery. The man hadn’t yet woken up from the anesthesia. The volunteers took the man’s hand and started petting the dogs with it.

“The guy’s eyes started fluttering. His fingers started moving,” Newberg says.

“That’s why we do what we do. You see those kinds of reactions all the time.”

Newberg says various dog breeds have become therapy dogs, including German shepherds, Rottweilers, Great Danes, English bulldogs and fox terriers. Two rounds of obedience classes are required, as well as Canine Good Citizen certification. The dogs undergo further instruction at the nurses training facility across the street from the hospital, where they practice riding an elevator and learning how to approach patients in walkers and wheelchairs.

“You can tell by the dog when you’re doing the training how much additional training you’re going to need just by their temperament,” says Newberg, who trained Gracie alongside his late golden retriever, Lucky.

Newberg adopted Lucky when she was 8 years old and got her involved in the K-9 S.T.A.R.S. program shortly after that. His wife, Kathy, worked at a pediatric therapy facility alongside K-9 S.T.A.R.S. program coordinator Jean Gill.

“She saw Jean bringing her dogs to work every day and thought that was pretty cool. Jean and Kathy were talking about our dog Lucky

Gracie, a border collie and golden retriever mix, and her owner, Ran Newberg, wait to enter a patient room at UnityPoint Health-St. Luke’s. Therapy dogs from the K-9 S.T.A.R.S. program regularly visit the hospital to comfort patients.

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and that’s how we got Lucky into the program,” he says.

When Gracie came home at 12 weeks of age, Newberg says he didn’t know if she would be a good therapy dog. But given the fact that golden retrievers are generally docile in nature and border collies are highly intelligent, the odds were in her favor.

“It took years of patience. We tested when she was 18 months old, which is the youngest the dogs can be,” he says.

“We didn’t visit with her a lot at first, because we didn’t want her to fail. At 18 months old they’re a lot more puppy than they are dog.”

Gracie, who enjoys playing ball and Frisbee and swimming when she’s not hanging out with her four-legged friends at doggie day care, visits with patients at St. Luke’s three or four times a month.

She also sits with children as they read books to her during the Read-to-Me Story Dogs program at the Wilbur Aalf’s Public Library.

Gracie laps up the attention from Kommers, who pets her head and rubs her ears. He motions to a plate of food covered with a plastic lid sitting on a table at the side of his bed. “There’s a cheeseburger under here if you want it,” he says.

Kommers, who was looking forward

Patient Ron Kommers of Oakland, Nebraska, pets Gracie, a border collie and golden retriever mix, handled by Ran Newberg at UnityPoint Health-St. Luke’s in Sioux City.

to being discharged from the hospital later that day, tells Newberg about his nine dogs back at home. Newberg informs Kommers that he and Gracie will be at the hospital on Saturday visiting the fifth floor and the pediatric and intensive care units. With a chuckle, he says they don’t like seeing patients twice.

On the way out the door, the border collie in Gracie comes out. She takes the leash in her mouth and leads Newberg down the hall.

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PETS training

SHE DROVE A

BENTLEY

TO THE TOP

m

Text by Tim Gallagher Photographs by Jim Lee

MOVILLE, IOWA | DONNI SUE GRAFF established three goals not long into her life as a junior handler of dogs.

No. 1: She wanted to be Best in Show at any show, which meant she had the best dog of any breed.

No. 2: She wanted to own and show a Top 20 dog.

No. 3: She wanted to participate in the Westminster Dog Show, the Super Bowl in this competitive circle.

Graff relaxes with her mother, Debbi Davis, at home near Moville, Iowa, reflecting on a handling career that spans three-plus decades, an avocation that began when she was 7.

“We’ve accomplished the first two goals,” Graff says. “We haven’t been to Westminster. That doesn’t mean we’re done trying. Getting to Westminster is still a goal.”

Graff, the daughter of Moville residents Craig and Debbi Davis, remembers tagging along with her mother years ago as Davis showed and trained dogs in competitions across the United Staes.

Debbi Davis, the former Debbi Denman, of Des Moines, Iowa, was introduced to this sport in the late 1960s, when she was a member of the Iowa State University rodeo team,of all things.

“I showed horses at Iowa State and my college roommate, from Long Island, New York, got me a puppy,” Davis recalls. “We showed it in a show in Des Moines in 1970.”

Folks in the rodeo and show horse circuits often cross over into showing dogs, Davis says. The two disciplines are not all that uncommon, connected by a passion for competition and animals, a passion that is certainly not fueled by profit.

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“You don’t make money doing this,” Davis says, stifling a laugh and shaking her head. “You do this because you love it, you have a talent for it, and a passion for it.”

Debbi Davis soon found that their daughter, Donni Sue, had both that passion and the knack to show golden retrievers. Debbi, who worked as an obedience instructor and confirmation for the Sioux Valley Kennel Club for three decades, also got into breeding golden retrievers. Through hard work and, perhaps, some osmosis, Donni Sue and the Davis line kept improving.

Debbi spun off into the Bernese mountain dog breed in the mid 1990s as Donni Sue developed her line of golden retrievers.

“A friend had Bernese mountain dogs and I liked this big, athletic dog,” Debbi says. “I tried to get one for two years. It took that long to finally get a male, in 1997.”

Bernese mountain dogs are bred to haul milk in the mountains of Switzerland. When showing that breed, that’s what a handler must work to accentuate for the judge. When shown, the dog must have a big front, a muscular build to show they can do the job required of working in the mountains.

A golden retriever, on the other hand, must look lean and sleek, able to move effortlessly.

While Debbi may have worked with a cart and harness to prepare a Bernese mountain dog for a show, Donni Sue would take a golden retriever for a run and a swim.

“Some will work their dog on a treadmill,” Donni Sue says. “I don’t do that. But I will swim them and I’ll ride along on my bike as they run alongside me.”

As the day of a big show draws closer, Donni Sue says she’ll bike with a retriever three times per week, while having the dog swim at least once a week. There will be daily sessions in the yard or garage (which is heated and cooled), work on their gait and practice stacking.

“From the age of 8 weeks, they gait on a leash,” Donni says. “And at age 6 weeks, I get them on the table for grooming.”

What’s sought is a dog that has impeccable timing, a perfect top line from head to tail, and a sense of balance second to none. With a golden retriever, one tries to show the judge how much the dog wants to please his or her trainer or handler.

“The dog has to want to work,” says Donni, who also shows the Bernese mountain dogs for her mother. “It’s in their personality to say, ‘I’m going to work hard for you because I want to

Dog breeder and trainer Donni Sue Graff is shown at her home near Moville, Iowa. Behind her are ribbons and awards won by Graff and her dog, Bentley, who finished 11th in the U.S. in 2009.

please you.’”

The knowledge, the discipline, the luck in breeding, for lack of a better term, the diet (“The dogs eat better than us, sometimes,” Debbi says) all came to fruition during a stretch about seven years ago when Bentley, a golden retriever, finished in the top 20 of all U.S. golden retrievers three years in a row. Bentley’s mother was Halo, who came from Debbi’s breeding.

Bentley’s greatest performance came in a show at Wichita, Kansas, in 2009, when he won Best of Breed and Best of Sporting Group on each of four days, for four different judges. He then topped the entire competition by winning Best of Show, a huge feat for the breeders and trainers from Moville.

“I’ll never forget it,” Donni Sue Graff says. “We got the ribbons, the pictures and the prestige of winning.”

Bentley ended the year ranked 11th in the country among golden retrievers, an extremely competitive breed.

His accomplishment brought incredible satisfaction to Debbi and Donni Sue, who bred him, raised him, trained him KENNEL NAME Donni Sue Graff, of Moville, Iowa, is a mother of three and a Licensed Practical Nurse. When she’s not working or attending her daughters’ games and activities, she can be found working with golden Retrievers bred and raised in her kennel. Her most successful dog was known as Bentley, though his official name was: BIS GCH Halagold’s Take Me On A Journey SDHF.

and showed him. The only place Bentley didn’t go? To Westminster. A top five finish at year’s end was needed to reach that hallowed ground. That goal keeps Debbi and Donni Sue striving.

With Bentley’s rise came additional contacts from those inside the business and those wanting to make their mark, too. Bentley kept competing and he kept his winning line going, becoming father and grandfather before his death one year ago. Donni Sue is now working with Mojo, a 2-year-old who comes from Bentley.

Lindsie Graff, the youngest child of Reid and Donni Sue Graff, also shows Mojo when she’s not playing basketball and softball, and doing other 4-H activities. There are only so many hours in the week.

“I haven’t shown dogs for two years,” Donni Sue says, mentioning how much she enjoys watching their daughters play volleyball, basketball, softball and more. “I’ve had other time commitments, things I need to be doing now.

I know I’ll get back into it (showing dogs).”

Lindsie will show Mojo at the Woodbury County Fair this month. Mom will take Mojo on the road come September.

Debbi will be there, every step of the way.

“Mojo is very balanced,” Donni Sue says. “Her movement is easy. From head to the tip of her tail, there are no dips or lumps. She’s got a great top line. She’s one strong female.”

As Donnie Sue works the dog, Lindsie and Debbi look on, offering comments and encouragement, sinking roots in a family hobby, a livelihood, that now connects three generations.

SIOUXLAND LIFE

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SIOUXLAND LIFE

PETS meet

the breeds

MEET THE BREEDS:

WHICH, IF ANY, IS RIGHT FOR YOU?

s

Text by Dolly A. Butz | Photographs by Jim Lee

Sophia Johnson, 1, of Sioux City, plays with a pair of Chihuahua puppies at the Sioux City Animal Adoption & Rescue Center in Sioux City. Lots of Chihuahuas are waiting for a “forever home” at the Hawkeye Drive center.

SIOUX CITY | YOU can almost smell the puppy breath as a pair of tiny, 7-week-old Chihuahuas climb on 1-year-old Sophia Johnson, licking her cheeks and gnawing on her white sandals.

As cute as these little darlings are, they’ll require a lot of time, care, patience and money throughout their lives. Chihuahuas live 10 to 18 years on average, and right now, many are being housed at the Sioux City Animal Adoption & Rescue Center, 2400 Hawkeye Drive.

“Right now the Chihuahuas are just hot. They’re small dogs that anybody can have in an apartment,” said Cindy Rarrat, Sioux City Animal Adoption & Rescue Center operator. “People will get these little bitty guys and after six or seven years, they don’t want them any more and they’ll dump them off.”

Finding a home for a dog of that age can be difficult when it’s used to its original family, Rarrat said. She stresses that getting any pet is a lifelong commitment.

“They are not a disposable animal,” she said of dogs, which are often surrendered by their owners because the family is moving or has become annoyed with chewing, digging, barking and chasing – common canine behaviors.

“If you’re gonna get a dog, make sure it’s a lifelong commitment – not just on a whim because you want it,” she said.

Chihuahuas are a popular dog because of their size, says Cindy Rarrat, operator of the Sioux City Animal Adoption & Rescue Center. They are perfect for apartment-dwellers, she says.

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“Make sure you research what you’re getting before you get it.”

Adopting a dog requires a financial commitment to his or her health and wellbeing. The cost of food, toys, vaccinations, spay, neuter or other veterinary care, training classes, flea and tick prevention, grooming, crates, collars, leashes and more add up quickly.

According to the American Pet Products Association, Americans will spend an estimated $62.75 billion on their pets this year, up from $60.28 billion in 2015.

So be prepared to shell out the dough for those furry cuddles, slobbery licks and happy tail wags.

Aspiring dog owners also need to take a hard look at their lifestyle before taking the plunge with a new dog. If you’re not home much and don’t have time to exercise your pet, then Rarrat said bluntly, “Maybe consider getting a stuffed animal.”

“We’ve said that a couple times to people because they’ll come in and say, ‘I want a dog that doesn’t shed, that doesn’t bark, that doesn’t poop,’” she said.

Most of the time when a family shows up at Sioux City Animal Adoption & Rescue Center seeking a dog to adopt, Rarrat said they don’t have a specific breed in mind.

“They look through the dogs and they basically see one they like,” she said.

Before adopting, she recommends visiting the American Kennel Club’s website and using the “dog breed selector,” a questionnaire that helps determine which breed is best suited for your lifestyle. Consider whether you have allergies and where you live.

“If you live in an apartment, you certainly don’t want a Great Dane living in an apartment, although we have people

Knowing the characteristics of different breeds is essential, say dog experts. For example, Buddy, an Australian shepherd, needs a lot of physical exercise and mental stimulation.

that have that all the time. But what’s fair to the dog?” she said. “You’ve got to have enough room to handle a dog of that size.”

Siberian huskies are among the cutest puppies you can find, Rarrat said, but the average person won’t be able to handle them. They need a secure fenced-in yard because they like to run and need plenty of exercise to burn energy. Labrador retrievers are great family dogs, but Rarrat said they too need quite a bit of exercise because they were bred to hunt.

“I think a lot of times you have to think about what the dog was originally bred for,” she said. “Certainly you can make any dog a house dog and you can make them a pet, but you have to realize what they were originally bred for.”

At akc.org you can also find information about the characteristics of each breed.

The Great Plains Kennel Club is another resource for information, as well as her own organization, Rarrat said.

There’s nothing wrong with a mixed breed dog, which Rarrat said studies have Jake, a black Lab, waits for a new owner at the Sioux City Animal Adoption & Rescue Center.

Maybe a cat would fit your lifestyle better than a dog.

shown will often live longer than a purebred dog. But you’ll still need to do your homework. Consider the labradoodle, a “designer” dog that mixes the standard poodle, known for its intelligence, with a Labrador retriever, a breed with a high energy drive.

“A lot of people will get them because they’re non-shedding or they shed very little, but they have to realize that these are powerful dogs that have got a lot of energy to burn,” she said.

“If you don’t burn that energy off, that’s where some of your bad habits come in.”

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AUGUST 2016

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PETS great

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PETS BRING OUT

THE BEST IN

MAPLETON YOUTH

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Text and Photographs by Tim Gallagher

Dolly Krohn holds one of her Saxony ducks at the Monona County Fair in Onawa, Iowa. Krohn, 17, will be a senior at MVAO High School in Mapleton, Iowa, this fall.

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ONAWA, IOWA | DOLLY Krohn keeps busy throughout the Monona County Fair – and throughout the year, really – with the assortment of sheep, ducks, geese and chickens she raises on her grandfather’s farm near Castana, Iowa.

Krohn enters many of her animals in the Monona County Fair, competing for Best of Show honors in a number of breeds.

These animals mean more to her than any purple or blue ribbon. They’ve helped her become a grand champion, so to speak.

“These animals have done more for her than years of therapy ever did,” says Dolly’s mother, Judi Krohn.

“These animals “She has just have done more blossomed thanks to her for her than pets.”

Dolly years of therapy Krohn, the daughter of ever did. She Roger and Judi Krohn, has just blosof Mapleton, began sending somed thanks mixed behavto her pets.” ioral signals as a young child JUDI KROHN at home. She Dolly’s mother had difficulty socializing with friends at preschool. When Judi moved the water cooler in their kitchen at home, it set Dolly off in a panic.

“I couldn’t change the rugs because she’d have a meltdown,” Judi remembers.

The Krohns had their daughter checked by physicians at age 6. The diagnosis: high-functioning Asperger’s syndrome, part of the broader category

SIOUXLAND LIFE

Dolly Krohn fills a feeder at the Monona County Fair in Onawa, Iowa. The 17-year-old from Mapleton, Iowa, works with animals as a way to deal with issues that stem from Asperger’s Syndrome.

called Austism Spectrum Disorder. Dad Roger Krohn was recently diagnosed, too.

“We were relieved to know,” Judi says of her daughter’s diagnosis, “and yet sad not knowing how productive she’d be in her life. There is no cure.”

A trip to the Monona County Fair not long after the diagnosis opened new windows for Dolly. She took to the animals immediately. Soon, the little girl who insisted on wearing Crocs for shoes and sweatpants for their comfort was agreeing to don tennis shoes and boots, along with jeans, apparel generally accepted for those working with animals.

“I like all the animals,” says Dolly, now 17 and an incoming senior at Maple Valley/Anthon-Oto High School in Mapleton.

“Sheep, for example, are excellent judges of character, and they’re very gentle. The Saxony ducks almost became extinct during World War II. “I like all the animals,” Dolly says as she moves from the poultry barn to the stall where two of her sheep are being kept.

The unconditional love Dolly has found with the pets she cares for has helped her to open up, to be more trusting of those around her. Dolly, who earns a mix of As, Bs and just a stray C here and there in school, participates in 4-H and FFA. She’s also the one underneath the Rambo mascot head, leading the cheers as her MVAO Rams battle foes in

Above: John Arndt, of Castana, Iowa, speaks with his granddaughter, Dolly, at the start of the fair.

Right: This drawing of the Korean War Memorial by Dolly Krohn, of Mapleton, Iowa, earned a purple ribbon at the Monona County Fair in Onawa, Iowa.

football, volleyball and basketball.

“I like cheering at the games, being with the kids,” Dolly says. “And I like being at the homecoming dance.”

Dolly serves as the track team manager and a “roadie” for the MVAO jazz band.

She also sold eggs and donated $250 of her egg money to the after-prom effort at MVAO High School.

There are still tough days for a teen dealing with Asperger’s syndrome. Dolly can be very literal, and she, occasionally, has a tough time socializing. Judi Krohn recalls saying to her daughter once that they should hop back one row in church.

Dolly began hopping.

“After a tough day, Dolly goes to the farm to be with her sheep,” she says.

“Their calming, unconditional love with her is what she needs. They are her friends.”

They may one day lead to her career as well. Dolly says she’s interested in becoming a zoologist. Either that, or a forensic pathologist. Or, a storyboard artist and producer, working in animation.

Her interests, it seems, are as varied as her 4-H participation. When she wasn’t speaking with judges about her sheep or poultry, Dolly was explaining the thought process behind her visual arts projects, a couple of which are destined for show at

the Iowa State Fair.

A drawing, for example, comes from memory, after Dolly’s visit to the Korean War Memorial in Washington, D.C. Dolly’s grandfather, John Arndt, of Castana, Iowa, says Dolly visited the Korean War Memorial during a light rain shower. The precipitation formed around the faces of soldiers on the statue and streamed downward, looking like tears.

“She remembered how that looked, and she drew it that way,” Arndt says.

“It’s amazing.”

“It’s a forgotten war,” Dolly says. “I just tried to capture that emotion.”

As Dolly worked past midnight on the eve before the Monona County Fair, assembling her visual arts projects and the supplies for her animals, she repeated something she’s said often to her grandfather, a man who has watched her grow on the farm in the face of Asperger’s Syndrome.

“Dolly says she has a gift,” Arndt says, “not a handicap.”

SIOUXLAND LIFE

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SIOUXLAND LIFE

Artist Jonny Binkard, of Ponca, Nebraska, holds up a watercolor that she painted of the family dog Fritz. She’s been painting pet portraits for more than six years.

PETS portraits

SIOUXLAND ARTIST

PAINTS PET PORTRAITS

p

PONCA, NEB. | LIKE a lot of little farm girls, Jonny Binkard begged for a horse.

It was all she talked about, read about, drew. Tucked away somewhere, she still has a notebook from 1966, showing her early sketches of horses with necks like giraffes.

“I guess I’ve come a ways from that,” she said in her basement art studio where pet portraits adorn the walls.

Binkard’s professional pet portraits started out with a cartoonish black and white horse that she painted on a plain gray T-shirt. It caught the attention of a woman at the Special Troopers Adaptive Riding School and brought in her first commission to paint a realistic portrait

Text by Ally Karsyn | Photographs by Jim Lee

Dogs are the most popular pet that Jonny Binkard paints, but she’s also done portraits of horses and cats – and had an inquiry about a pet rooster once.

in memory of Moe, a dearly loved but deceased sorrel horse.

She ended up surprising herself with a striking watercolor painting of Moe. That was six or seven years ago. She’s done dozens of dog portraits, several cats and a few more horses since then.

Binkard knows that pets hold a special place in the family.

Her two boys grew up with Fritz, a basset hound-beagle mix. She remembers him fondly for his wandering ways, wearing paths across the pasture to go play with a neighbor dog and make his rounds on the rural route in search of treats.

Eventually the neighbor dog died. Fritz still ran that route every day for a month,

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Jonny Binkard took a break from making art for several years while she raised her two sons. She gradually got back into art and made whimsy dolls, which later led to these horses, crafted out of cloth, stick legs and grapevine tendrils for the mane and tail.

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SIOUXLAND LIFE

looking for his friend. The beagle-basset hound had his own brush with death.

Fritz got cancer. He underwent treatment and lived for another five years to reach the ripe old age of 12.

Working from one of the few photographs that she had of him, Binkard created a small, 5-by-7-inch watercolor painting of Fritz.

“I look at this and I can remember him and remember what kind of a dog he was and all the little things he did were uniquely him,” she said.

When she’s doing commissions, she doesn’t make a dog sit and stay for hours on end. Just like Fritz, she draws from a photo that is provided by the pet owner or taken by her. She likes to go out and meet the pets to get a sense of their personality whether they’re perky, protective, hyper, happy, playful, friendly, gentle, mild-mannered or aloof.

Many of her recent pet portraits are done with white charcoal on black paper, but she’s also used pencils, pastels and ink. The biggest challenge is getting the eyes right.

“I do those first because if they don’t look like they’re looking at you, there’s no sense in finishing the picture,” she said.

“Not all of them turn out the first time.”

The last pet portrait she completed was a watercolor of a photogenic furry orange cat that she affectionately called “Flerty Fred.” She sells the 8-by-10-inch portraits for $75-$100, depending on their complexity.

While Binkard went to art school back in the day, she hasn’t had a job in the field for decades. She worked as a graphic designer for the newspaper in South Sioux City – before it was called the Dakota County Star – and then left the workforce to raise her two sons. As they got older, she gradually got back into art.

After taking classes at the Sioux City Art Center and reading a lot of books, she started dabbling in painting landscapes, but that subject just didn’t click.

“I was never happy with that, so it must be that I was supposed to do animals,” she said.

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Jonny Binkard took a break from making art for several years while she raised her two sons. She gradually got back into art and made whimsy dolls, which later led to these horses, crafted out of cloth, stick legs and grapevine tendrils for the mane and tail.

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AUGUST 2016

Siouxland Life

looking for his friend. The beagle-basset hound had his own brush with death.

Fritz got cancer. He underwent treatment and lived for another five years to reach the ripe old age of 12.

Working from one of the few photographs that she had of him, Binkard created a small, 5-by-7-inch watercolor painting of Fritz.

“I look at this and I can remember him and remember what kind of a dog he was and all the little things he did were uniquely him,” she said.

When she’s doing commissions, she doesn’t make a dog sit and stay for hours on end. Just like Fritz, she draws from a photo that is provided by the pet owner or taken by her. She likes to go out and meet the pets to get a sense of their personality whether they’re perky, protective, hyper, happy, playful, friendly, gentle, mild-mannered or aloof.

Many of her recent pet portraits are done with white charcoal on black paper, but she’s also used pencils, pastels and ink. The biggest challenge is getting the eyes right.

“I do those first because if they don’t look like they’re looking at you, there’s no sense in finishing the picture,” she said.

“Not all of them turn out the first time.”

The last pet portrait she completed was a watercolor of a photogenic furry orange cat that she affectionately called “Flerty Fred.” She sells the 8-by-10-inch portraits for $75-$100, depending on their complexity.

While Binkard went to art school back in the day, she hasn’t had a job in the field for decades. She worked as a graphic designer for the newspaper in South Sioux City – before it was called the Dakota County Star – and then left the workforce to raise her two sons. As they got older, she gradually got back into art.

After taking classes at the Sioux City Art Center and reading a lot of books, she started dabbling in painting landscapes, but that subject just didn’t click.

“I was never happy with that, so it must be that I was supposed to do animals,” she said.

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SIOUXLAND LIFE

AUGUST 2016

29

PROFILE Q&A

20 QUESTIONS with a pet sitter

Leah Nelson

s

Photographs by Justin Wan Text by Dolly A. Butz

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SIOUX CITY | LEAH Nelson once let a friend take care of her dogs when she traveled to Michigan.

During the trip, her schnauzer mix, Chewbacca, went missing.

“I was scared,” Nelson recalled. “I made my phone calls here and got him put on some websites.”

Twenty-four hours later, Nelson’s friend found Chewbacca sitting on the deck waiting for him to return home from work.

Nelson, who grew up with dogs, now runs her own professional pet-sitting business, Imperial Petcare. She cares for a variety of pets, including dogs, cats, fish and lizards, in clients’ homes.

“I always tell everyone I’m living my dream, finally,” Nelson said as she held her gray guinea pig, Lenny, in her right hand. Her left arm was around her mother’s 9-month-old German shepherd, Tank, appropriately named for his hulking size. Her children Ayla, 11, and Ian, 9, who sometimes accompany her on the job, tended to Chewbacca and Yoda, another guinea pig, while Morgan, a Vizsla, paced across the living room floor.

SIOUXLAND LIFE

1. How long have you been pet sitting?

Leah Nelson spends some quality time with Tank, her mother’s German shepherd.

Nelson started her professional pet-sitting business, Imperial Petcare. 2 1/2 years ago.

About 2 1/2 years.

2. Why did you get into pet sitting?

I worked at numerous boarding kennels in town. I see that people love to come and get their dogs on a Sunday.

This way when people come home, their pets are already there. They don’t have to wait an extra day.

3. Do you go to the pet’s home or do they come to yours?

I go to their home.

4. What does pet sitting consist of?

Sometimes I take them for walks. We go out and play in the yard. Yesterday, I was taking care of two Weimaraners and they love kids, so my daughter came with me and she played fetch with them in the yard for 20 minutes. I do everything the owners do in a day.

5. How many clients can you have at one time?

When it’s just me, I can do four.

6. Why hire a pet sitter?

We’re more personable. We come into your house. It makes your animals feel at home. They’re not going to a busy kennel where there’s 30 other dogs barking.

7. What do you think a pet sitter can offer the animal that a kennel or a pet resort can’t?

I know all my clients on a first name basis. I take care of a lot of dogs with medication. It’s very easy at bigger facilities to mess that up. We just take the time for each individual house.

8. Why do you think pet sitting is growing in popularity?

People see what goes on behind the scenes. There’s a lot of cameras in kennels now and they see what happens.

They just feel safer with animals at home in their own environment.

9. What kinds of clients do you have?

Mostly dogs. I do have some small

“I was born and raised with dogs. I’m a third generation dog person. We show dogs. I just love dogs. You have to love what you do.” animals. I take care of lizards, even fish.

I have a house where I have to take care of their Oscars. I have a house where it’s just two Maine Coon cats.

13. Is it easier to watch pets or children?

10. What qualities make someone a good pet sitter?

I was born and raised with dogs. I’m a third generation dog person. We show dogs. I just love dogs. You have to love what you do.

11. Do you have to receive any type of special training?

I helped my sister who’s a professional dog handler for the last 30 years.

I’m also a dog trainer. I took dog training classes.

12. Sometimes animals run away and get lost when their humans are out of town. What advice would you give to family members who might be asked to pet sit?

You have to be careful, especially

if you take your animals to somebody else’s house. They’re not used to that; and they want to get home.

Pets. I was a day care teacher for 10 years and a nanny. I will take pets any day over children.

14. What can a customer expect to pay a pet sitter?

It depends on how many times a day I go there, if I do an overnight. I have some houses that I do two times a day or three times a day. This one I’m doing now is four times a day because they have a handicapped dog who’s in a wheelchair. It just depends on the circumstances.

15. How many hours do you typically spend with a pet?

It’s about an hour and a half a day.

A 20-minute visit three times a day is what most people pay for and I’m always there at least 30 minutes at a time. I have one house where I actually

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spend the night. I do exactly what (the owners) do. I sleep in their room so their dogs can sleep in their bed. I get up at the exact times they do and walk them.

16. How can the pet’s owner help the pet sitter?

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Detailed instructions. If (the pet) gets medication they need to be very specific in writing everything down.

17. What type of animals do you enjoy pet sitting the most?

Probably the big luggy dogs. I’m a big dog person. I have a few Noah’s Hope foster people that have six to 11 dogs. I do enjoy the little ankle-biter mill rescues that they have. I really do like the Maine Coon cats just because they’re cool cats.

18. Do you introduce yourself to the animals before you take them on as a client?

I do a free meet-and-greet with each new customer. I learn all about their medication, all about their food, how many times they go out, whether or not they can go for a walk. Not everybody gets along with every animal. I had a boxer one time – she just didn’t like me. Obviously I wasn’t going to pet sit there. I recommended where to take her.

19. What kinds of instructions do you require that an owner provide you?

All their (pet’s) medications. Any daily routine that they have. Whether or not they’re aggressive with their other, I call them, “siblings” with food. Medication is always the scariest one. I have a diabetic dog I take care of. Each and every time I have to give him insulin, I ask, “What’s his insulin dose?,” because it does change.

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20. What kinds of behaviors have you encountered while pet sitting?

My pugs that I have right now for 10 days, you could tell the older one was sad that Mom and Dad left, but after a couple days they get used to you. Sometimes they don’t eat good at first.

For more information, contact Nelson at (712) 281-0962 or visit Imperial Petcare’s Facebook page.

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PETS ap-pet-izers

GOURMET DOG TREATS ARE PERFECT FOR THE SERIOUSLY

PAMPERED POOCH

s

Text and Photographs by Earl Horlyk

SIOUX CITY | CRYSTAL VanDePol loves to bake. Many of her best customers have four legs.

She’s the owner of Smokin’ Joe’s Gourmet Dog Treats and Baked Goods, a popular stand at the Sioux City Farmers Market.

“People can buy cookies, pies and Scotcheroos for themselves,” VanDePol said, “but they can also pick up something for their pets.”

Starting a dog biscuit business was a natural extension for VanDePol, who already owns an in-home pet-sitting business.

“The treats I’d make for my clients always went over well,” she said. “I figured, why not start selling them to the public?”

Smokin’ Joe’s dog treats aren’t anything like the mass-marketed stuff you’d find on grocery shelves.

Instead, VanDePol makes sure her dog biscuits are made with all-natural ingredients and without preservatives.

“Have you looked at the label for dog food lately?” she asked. “There’s always tons of ingredients but only a few that you’re able to pronounce.”

Using ingredients like peanut butter, pumpkin, chicken and sweet potato to make healthy biscuits, jerky and chews, VanDePol also makes treats that come in gluten-free varieties for pets with digestive issues.

“Since people are becoming pickier about their diets, it’s only natural that they want their pet’s diet to also be healthy,” VanDePol said.

So what does she recommended for the health-conscious pooch?

Well, the pumpkin and peanut dog treat is a crowd-pleaser as is the cheesy cat and dog, which is made with cheddar and Parmesan cheese, and sour cream.

But VanDePol said her customers can’t get enough of Smokin’ Joe’s chickenbacon dog treats, which are made with wheat flour, chicken broth, powdered milk, eggs and real pieces of bacon.

“Everything is better with bacon,” she joked.

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AUGUST 2016

Smokin’ Joe’s Crystal VanDePol discusses the healthy benefits of her gourmet dog treats with customers at the Sioux City Farmers Market. In addition to all-natural, preservative-free pet foods, VanDePol also makes cookies and pastries for pet parents.

Above: While mass-market dog treats have ingredients you can’t pronounce, Crystal VanDePol prefers natural ingredients for her Smokin’ Joe’s line of pet treats.

Right: Crystal VanDePol uses all-natural veggies and unprocessed meat to make her pet jerky.

People (plus their pets) seem to be responding to VanDePol’s natural take on dog treats.

She recently partnered with Becky Davis, of Loess Hills Honey, to open a storefront at 516 Fifth St. It’s called Loess Hills Honey & Treasures.

“While people will continue to purchase Smokin’ Joe’s products at the

SIOUXLAND LIFE

farmers market, they are also available at the store,” VanDePol said.

After all, people want the best for their pets.

“It’s amazing that people will say they’re on a diet but will splurge on their pets,” she said. “Since my dog treats are all-natural, nobody will have to worry about empty calories.”

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PETS final

resting place

A portrait of Theodore “Ted” Cate, of Spencer, Iowa, stands near a figurine of Liz, Ted’s beloved hunting dog. Ted Cate died in December, at age 91. He worked for years to try to have a pet cemetery established in Spencer.

MEMORIES OF A

PET CEMETERY

PLAN IN SPENCER

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Text and Photographs by Tim Gallagher

SPENCER, IOWA | THE last line of the obituary for Theodore Hoyt Cate, of Spencer, pertained to pets. “Monetary remembrances should be made out to ‘People for Pets,’” it said.

Ted Cate, 91, died on Dec. 18, 2015, at Spencer Municipal Hospital. His body was donated to the Mayo Clinic for Medical Research.

“Lymphoma,” says his widow, Phyllis

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SIOUXLAND LIFE

Cate, sitting at home at their dining room table. “Ted was crazy for pets, dogs. He had dogs all the time.”

Ted Cate, a native of Rossie, Iowa, graduated from Spencer High School and enlisted in the U.S. Navy immediately after Pearl Harbor was bombed. He served as a gunner’s mate and a deep sea diver in both the Atlantic and Pacific theaters during World War II. He earned medals in the war and took his G.I. Bill to the University of Iowa where he studied civil engineering, a career he enjoyed for decades upon his return to Spencer.

When he wasn’t working or helping raise their three children, Ted participated in several professional organizations, as well as the Hy-Noon Kiwanis, the Spencer Community Board of Education (for 14 years) and found time to serve as a Cubmaster for Cub Scout Troop 128.

He also fished and hunted, and lined his den with a few photos of his great catches, including the prize turkey he shot weeks before his death last fall. The

Above: De Wolf Park, located south of Highway 18 on the east side of Spencer, Iowa, was the location for a pet cemetery sought by Theodore “Ted” Cate, a former civil engineer and longtime resident of Spencer who died in December 2015. Left: The World War II veteran was an avid fisher and hunter. The photo at the right shows Cate with a turkey he harvested last fall, just weeks before his death.

“He was a firm believer that political trees need a good shaking from time-to-time and that the ship of the state needs a good shakedown cruise occasionally.”

-- from Ted Cate’s obituary den remains as it was prior to his death, a place where Phyllis takes a guest to show a statue of Liz, Ted’s beloved retriever.

“The effort to establish a pet cemetery in Spencer dates back to 2003,” Phyllis says.

“Man’s best friend deserves an appropriate legal resting place, and our groundwater and neighbor’s well deserve protection,” Ted Cate said in 2008.

The city council’s cool reception put Ted to work, obtaining more than 100 signatures on a petition and information for presentations on the topic, and his role as committee leader. Phyllis hands over 11 binders of facts, letters, emails and proposals on the establishment of a pet cemetery. Ted

believed De Wolf Park on Highway 18 on Spencer’s east side made the most sense.

“We loved our dogs,” she says. “Ted would ask, ‘How could you not?’”

The Cates once detoured on their way home from Des Moines, stopping at Ankeny, Iowa, to tour a pet cemetery attached to a cemetery serving humans.

He listed 50 states from Alabama to Wyoming that had pet cemeteries or pet crematories, as well as those in Canada and the United Kingdom.

Ted Cate pressed on after the city council rejected his idea by a vote of 4-3

Theodore “Ted” Cate had a brick memorializing his Retriever, Liz, in his office at his residence in Spencer, Iowa. Ted Cate, 91, died in December 2015, before he could see his vision of a pet cemetery in Spencer realized.

in 2013. He provided more signatures and noted how the proper handling of a deceased pet, burying said pet in a container designed for sanitary handling, would reduce dangers of polluting groundwater.

As Spencer directs money to safeguard the Little Sioux from pollution, did it not make sense to prohibit residents from burying a pet in the backyard?

Cate disclosed that a local veterinary service would provide cold storage for deceased pets for $9.40 per month. And he noted how a resident stepped forward to show interest in locating, opening and closing graves, thus saving man-hours for the Spencer Parks Department or the City of Spencer.

“In 2015, he was still getting signatures,” Phyllis says, noting that the idea didn’t die with her husband.

A note in his obituary sums up his spirit: “He was a firm believer that political trees need a good shaking from time-to-time and that the ship of the state needs a good shakedown cruise occasionally.”

Even in death, he was reaching out, seeking help in making Spencer a little better, for those living, and for those who have passed.

“He also requests your help in having the city establish and operate a self-supporting pet cemetery in De Wolf Park,” the obituary says. “...Monetary remembrances should be made out to ‘People for Pets.’”

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ask a professional Q: Doctor, I always wake up in the morning & don’t feel rested. Why is that?

A: That’s a great question! While a lack of proper sleep, which is between 7-8 hours, is typically to blame, there’s another culprit that typically goes unchecked: your pillow.

When was the last time that you changed your pillow? It’s a common question that we ask our patients, because if your muscles can’t relax and allow you to count those sheep, you’ll be tossing and turning all night, keeping Dr. Joel your muscles, tendons, and ligaments tight – and tender.

Pistello, DC Waking up without that rested feeling? A great place to start is looking at your pillow.

When we recommend a pillow, it’s not as easy as simply saying, “This pillow is the best!” Indeed there are a lot of options, shapes, colors, thicknesses, and prices out there. We recommend setting the last option aside until you find something that you are comfortable with – and then remembering you can’t put a price on a good night’s sleep. What IS most important is that you get a pillow that will support how you sleep.

Do you primarily wake up on your back, side, or stomach? Let’s get the last position covered first: if you are a stomach sleeper, it’s time to turn over. Try to fall asleep on your back or side, as sleeping face down not only contorts your neck by twisting it, but keeps it in a potentially painful degree of extension every night.

The next best position is on your side. For this position, you want a higher pillow, about the thickness of your shoulder to your neck, so that the neck stays in perfect position, nice and straight all night. Keep a pillow in between your legs too, to ensure that your lower half doesn’t twist and turn too in the night, giving you that achy low back feeling in the morning.

By far the best position is to sleep on your back. While it may feel uncomfortable, it’s the best for your neck, keeping a good curve in it, allowing it to fall back and truly relax. Many cervical pillows have a weird curve shape that is higher on one end and lower on the other. These are going to be the best to get a good night’s sleep. They come in various thicknesses, so have someone size it up for you. Always feel free to stop by and let us take a look at your pillow, let us help you sleep a little easier!

Call 276-4325 today for an appointment 3930 Stadium Drive. (Between Wal-Mart & Explorer Stadium)

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Siouxland Life

AUGUST 2016

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PETS pop

culture

POP CULTURE

PETS

s

HOW MOVIES AND TV INFLUENCE OUR CHOICE OF PETS Text by Earl Horlyk | Photographs by Justin Wan

SIOUX CITY | ALEC TESKA was playing peek-a-boo with a fancy bearded dragon at Sioux City’s PetSmart.

“I’d like to get another pet but I doubt my mom would let me get a lizard,” said the 10-year-old.

Having already seen the movie “Finding Dory,” Alec said he’s considered getting a regal blue tang, the same breed of fish as the movie’s titular character.

And he’s even considered purchasing a clown fish like Dory’s animated friend, Nemo.

“Nemo is more of a saltwater fish,” Greg Salmon explained to Alec. “That means we don’t sell them here.”

As PetSmart’s store leader, Salmon said it’s very common for movies or TV shows to influence the purchase of pets.

“That can be a very positive thing,” he said. “Children can see all of the positives associated with pet ownership.”

Still, there have been some drawbacks.

Even though PetSmart doesn’t sell dogs, Salmon recalls stories surrounding 1996’s “101 Dalmatians.”

“While there A fancy bearded are many dragon lizard is exceptions, seen at PetSmart in dalmatians Sioux City. don’t do well

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in families with small children,” he said.

“They’re great dogs, but not for all kinds of families.”

If you ask Tiffanie Wichman, a corgiJack Russell mix is the perfect type of dog. Then again, she might be biased.

A PetSmart dog trainer, Wichman is mom to a corgi-Jack Russell named Banjo.

“Banjo had passed through a few owners before he got to me,” Wichman said. “That’s OK because we bonded as soon as we met.”

Wichman uses Banjo in many of her obedience classes.

“Banjo’s a bit of a ham,” Wichman said. “He loves to show off.”

And when he’s not stealing the spotlight during Wichman’s classes, Banjo

SIOUXLAND LIFE

likes to watch movies with his master.

“Maybe it’s because I’m an animal lover, I’ve always been drawn to movies featuring animals,” Wichman said, listing off 2009’s “Hotel for Dogs” and 1993’s “Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey” as recent favorites.

“I think I can top that,” Salmon interjected. “I tear up whenever I see (1957’s) ‘Old Yeller.’” “‘Old Yeller?’ I love that movie,” Wichman said, nodding her head in agreement. “It’s so sad.”

Both Salmon and Wichman said they’re anxious to see “The Secret Life of Pets,” a recently-released 3-D animated movie featuring the voices of comic Louie C.K., among other actors.

“You can see PetSmart is also keen on ‘The Secret Life of

Greg Salmon, store leader at PetSmart, says it’s very common for movies or TV shows to influence the purchase of pets.

Sioux City’s PetSmart store, in the Lakeport Commons Shopping Center at 5001 Sergeant Road, carries an advertisement for the movie “The Secret Life of Pets.”

Similar flicks with four-legged stars – or those with fins – can impact sales.

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Pets,’” Salmon said, pointing to several displays boasting images and scenes from the movie. “It looks like it will be a good one.”

Prospective pet-buyer Alec Teska couldn’t help but overhear the discussion.

Although he’d still like to bring home a fancy bearded dragon, Alec figured a more conventional dog or cat might be an easier sell to his family.

“Hey, I like dogs and cats, too,” he said with a shrug.

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Are You in the Dog house?

Remodeling Right: DIY or Professional?

It’s fun and inspiring to watch TV shows about home design and remodeling – everything from the latest looks in countertops to wholehouse remodels. And YouTube and other online video sites are chockfull of helpful how-tos and demos to assist home owners through countless do-it-yourself projects.

There are relatively simple home projects that can be completed by DIYers, such as hanging pictures, interior painting, caulking, and changing door knobs and cabinet pulls.

And, home owners with the correct tools and a higher skill level should be able to tackle some aesthetic work such as installing crown molding.

But it’s also important to know when to stop and hire a professional. You may find yourself in the dog house if you take on a project too large or above your skill level.

Replacing the exhaust fan over your oven with a built-in microwave looks like a reasonably simple swap. But if you notice your kitchen lights are dimming when you zap your popcorn, you’ve probably forgotten that the microwave, unlike the exhaust fan, uses a lot more energy and likely needs a dedicated circuit. A remodeling professional knows that.

What if it doesn’t work?

That YouTube do-it-yourself video may make a tilework project look doable, but will YouTube give you your money back if you don’t lay it straight? Professional remodelers may not know everything, but they do take responsibility for everything they do.

A professional remodeler can advise you on products, finishes and appliances that match your lifestyle, location, house size and budget and help you avoid spending money without a reasonable payback on either resource expense (energy and water, for example) or the sale of your home when you are ready to upsize or downsize.

So how do you find a professional remodeler to keep you out of the dog house? There’s a question with an easy answer. To find a remodeler with the experience, educational qualifications and knowledge to do the job right – the first time – in the Siouxland area, visit www.siouxlandhba.com/members/

Are there any unintended consequences?

Remodelers can tell you lots of funny stories about siding installed upside down – and sometimes scary stories involving do-ityourself electrical wiring gone awry. So before you buy the latest or trendiest gizmo for your home, ask yourself a few questions.

In today’s increasingly efficient and more airtight homes, it’s more and more important to look at the house as a system. Your new windows are keeping out drafts, but how are they affecting your home’s air quality once the “natural ventilation” of the leaky old ones are gone? Do you need to look at mechanical ventilation systems? If so, how big? A professional can tell you.

How much do you know?

How do you know if it’s right for your home? Todd Hagaman

Todd Hagaman President

Construction

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712-255-3852 siouxlandhba.com AUGUST 2016

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PETS getting

social

A longtime educator, Joyce Rasmussen volunteers her time at the Siouxland Humane Society by socializing dogs like Bingo, a rambunctious blue heeler.

SOCIETY DOGS: RETIRED EDUCATOR ADAPTS

s

TO FURRIER PUPILS

Text by Earl Horlyk Photographs by Tim Hynds

SIOUX CITY | BINGO, a 2-year-old blue heeler, is very protective of his personal space.

The energetic dog lets out a series of loud yelps whenever somebody passes by his kennel at the Siouxland Humane Society.

However, that doesn’t happen when Joyce Rasmussen plays with Bingo in the field behind the Tri-View Avenue facility.

“No, Bingo’s just a good boy,” Rasmussen, a volunteer, said of the rambunctious dog. “He’s just looking for attention and needs someone to love him.”

A retired school teacher, Rasmussen began volunteering her services at the Humane Society more than a year ago.

“I’ve been a dog person my entire life, and I’ve always had an affinity for them,” she said while tossing a chew toy for Bingo to catch. “My job is to help socialize dogs into potential pets.”

The socialization process is more

in-depth than simply getting a dog to behave. Instead, it requires mutual respect between human and canine.

“Animals have a sixth sense when it comes to people,” Rasmussen said.

“They know it when we’re nervous and that makes them nervous.”

Which is why Rasmussen waits for the dog to approach her and not the other way around.

“A dog’s first defense is to run away if frightened,” she explained. “If you don’t give them a reason to be scared, they won’t be.”

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Bingo, a 2-year-old blue heeler, carries his ball back as part of the training.

Joyce and Bingo enjoy their learning and playing time together.

DOG SOCIALIZATION REQUIRES TIME AND PATIENCE “The perfect time to socialize a dog is between the ages of 3 weeks and 3 months,” Rasmussen said. “That’s when they’re up for anything.”

Dogs up for adoption at the Humane Society run the gamut in age.

“You know the expression, ‘You can’t teach a dog new tricks’?” Rasmussen asked. “Well, you can. It simply takes more time and a lot more patience.”

This is especially true if a dog previously has been abused.

“Dogs can’t speak up and tell us their

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SIOUXLAND LIFE

life stories,” she said. “Perhaps the dog is being wary or fearful for a good reason.

You never really know what you’re up against.”

SETTING DESIRED GOALS “What do you want your dog to achieve?” Rasmussen asked. “Probably being comfortable with you and your family.”

That’s why she thinks the best thing you can do for a dog is to expose them to a wide variety of people.

“Dog owners may think they’re being protective of their pets,” Rasmussen said.

“Instead, you should encourage your dog to explore new situations and new people.”

FINDING THE PERFECT COMPANION Some dog-human relationships, however, don’t work.

“If a dog is used to a quiet household and a one-on-one relationship with his owner, adoption into a family with children may not be desirable,” Rasmussen said.

Plus, having a very active dog like Bingo wouldn’t work for an apartment dweller.

“The way Bingo likes to play catch makes me think he was a football player in a previous life,” Rasmussen said with a laugh. “Bingo’s the type of dog who definitely needs a job to perform and plenty of space to work off his energy.”

Walking Bingo into his kennel, Rasmussen is quick to point out she’s not a dog trainer. She’s simply a dog lover.

“I don’t have any special training,” she said. “All I know is that dogs do respond to me.”

Surprisingly, Rasmussen said experience gained from her nearly 40-year career as an educator helps when socializing dogs.

“It takes time and patience to teach children as well as dogs,” she said. “Each can be very rewarding.”

ADVICE Medical

Answers

‘DOC, I’VE GOT A QUESTION …’ answers to your medical questions

How well do those fitness trackers work? What do I need to look for to be sure I’m benefiting? Is there a number of steps I should try to achieve?

There are many sources that would suggest a 10,000-step daily goal to maintain fitness. This number actually comes from Japan in the 1960s where it was shown that men who burn 2,000 calories per week by exercising had a lower risk of developing heart disease. Two thousand calories per week calculates to about 300 calories per day, which calculates to about 10,000 steps per day. This number: 10,000 steps, became more popular over the years with fitness tracker developers because it was a nice, round, easy number to remember to encourage people to meet a particular fitness goal. Of course, every person is different, and for someone who does not exercise daily, 10,000 steps might be too much at first and depending on one’s ability level. However, on the other hand, 10,000 steps might not be enough if one’s goal is weight loss. For achieving weight loss, a healthy diet and exercise both need to be implemented and again more than 10,000 steps per day may be required.

As far as commenting on how well fitness trackers work is beyond my level of expertise, but there are many different fitness trackers out there and they can definitely be helpful for tracking your daily fitness levels and working toward a fitness goal.

Do older people de-hydrate faster than younger ones? My mother lives in a nursing home and I don’t know how much exercise she gets. But she always seems dehydrated. How much water should she drink?

As we age our appetites typically decrease, and therefore we do tend to dehydrate faster in the sense that we often eat or drink less than

when we were younger. Moreover, as we age our skin becomes drier, we exercise less, and we sweat less, all giving the appearance of dehydration. How much water we should drink in a day really depends on our activity level and our size and weight. Generally, we should drink between one-half and one ounce of water for every pound of body weight, each day. For example, if you weigh 180 pounds, you should drink between 90 and 180 ounces of water daily: closer to 180 ounces if you are more active and say live in a warmer climate and sweat more and closer to 90 ounces if you are less active and live in a cooler climate and don’t sweat as much. However, you should also check with your doctor about how much water you should drink because other illnesses such as kidney or heart disease can affect how much water may be safe for you to consume.

At what age do you need to be worried about shingles?

Should you just get the shot whenever?

Shingles can occur at any age but is more common as we age, especially after the age of 60. A single dose of the shingles (zoster) vaccine is recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) at or after the age of 60 regardless of whether one has had a prior episode of shingles. The vaccine is approved by the FDA at age 50 or older but the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommends that vaccinations begin at age 60. The vaccine is currently not approved for individuals less than age 50.

MEET THE DOC Jesse Nieuwenhuis is a family medicine resident physician at the Siouxland Medical Education Foundation in Sioux City. He grew up on a farm near Primghar, Iowa, and chose to attend the University of Iowa and Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa, for his undergraduate college education, graduating from Northwestern with a degree in biology and a minor in chemistry in 2009.

He then chose to work at the Iowa Neonatal Newborn Screening Program in Ankeny, Iowa, as a microbiologist for a short time after graduating from college. He then attended medical school at the Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science in North Chicago, Illinois, graduating with an M.D. in 2014. Upon graduating from medical school, he chose to pursue his graduate medical education in Family Medicine at the Siouxland Medical Education Foundation in Sioux City.

My son is very anxious about starting school. How do I calm his nerves or keep him from freaking out? Should we see a doctor about this?

It may be helpful to see your doctor about this issue because often the anxiety can stem from multiple aspects and dimensions that your doctor can help you, as a family, sort out. If your son is open with talking about his anxiety and the reason for it, having an honest and open line of communication with him about this issue would be a great start to “feeling out” the overall situation.

However, many children often conceal the real reasons for their anxiety due to a variety of different reasons. Therefore, having an outsider’s perspective from a health profession may be of benefit by letting the child talk to someone other than a parent, who he or she may be more open and honest with. However, again, every child is different in how they express themselves and communicate, but if you have any concerns, your doctor would be a great resource in this matter.

WHAT KINDS OF HEALTH QUESTIONS DO YOU HAVE? Submit your questions and they may be used in this monthly feature. Write to Siouxland Life at 515 Pavonia St., Sioux City, Iowa 51102.

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PARTING SHOT By

i

Bruce Miller

THE BEST CAT AND DOG IN THE WORLD

I CAN’T TELL YOU HOW many times people have asked, “Why don’t you have a pet?”

I’m sure there are benefits, but all I can see is a feral cat or rabid dog greeting me at the door when I’m not home at a reasonable hour.

I probably wouldn’t remember to feed the cat or walk the dog and I’m not the kind of person who likes to play fetch.

Litter boxes? Hell no.

It’s not that I don’t like animals (although I do get nervous when dogs “like” me a little too much).

It’s just that I had the ultimate pets – Robbie and Peanuts – and I don’t think a third could live up to the standard they set.

Robbie was a purebred Cocker Spaniel who had papers and a title – he was actually “Sir Robert.” But when he came to live with us, he quickly lost his formality.

Robbie belonged to an older couple who were going into a retirement home and couldn’t keep him. My family gladly stepped in and gave him the kind of attention they weren’t able to offer. My sister and I played tirelessly with him and helped him over the hurdle when Peanuts, a white cat, joined the fold.

Peanuts had real attitude and a flair for style. She wore a rhinestone-studded collar, loved paper bags and would hiss at any kid we didn’t like. When she was catnapped by a neighborhood girl who wanted her, my sister went all Liam Neeson on the kid, walked in her house and took Peanuts back. The girl never tried that again.

Peanuts, though, could have held her own. She had a regal attitude that wouldn’t work in just any house. Peanuts loved to look at herself in the mirror and was really concerned that her looks might be gone when she had a chicken bone surgically removed from her throat. The vet had to shave her neck, which meant the “diamonds” had to come off. Both moves didn’t sit well, but she survived the surgery, returned home and got plenty of TLC from Robbie.

Strangely, the two were best friends. He knew she ruled the house; she knew he wasn’t going to jump on furniture.

When she gave birth to six kittens, he helped her take care of them. Two were especially prone to running and Robbie always herded them back. The two (and I don’t remember their names, but I do know there was a batch we named John, Paul, George and Ringo) would get away from their stern mother and have to deal with their newly minted redneck uncle. Robbie and Peanuts were a team.

When he started to get old and frail, she was right there to help him. She knew when he wasn’t feeling well and on the

day he died, she wouldn’t leave his side until the vet arrived.

She was there, too, when the neighborhood kids helped me perform a funeral. Whenever she went outside, she waited on the back step, just in case he might come running.

Because the two were so close, my parents felt it wasn’t fair to bring a new dog into the home. My sister and I agreed.

Peanuts, then, ruled the roost. She sat with dad when he watched TV. She slept on my bed during the day. And she insisted on Puss ‘n’ Boots cat food. In a silver bowl.

When stones started falling out of her collar, she made sure we noticed and got her another one, twice as blingy.

Because she was so smart, I was convinced Peanuts was destined for a career in Hollywood. She had that look – she just didn’t have talent. I told her we could probably get her career going if she learned a trick. So, I taught her how to shake hands.

I’d say, “Peanuts, shake,” and she’d stick out a paw and shake hands.

Because I wasn’t old enough to take her to Hollywood (and my parents never agreed to the pact), I didn’t make good on the promise.

When I went to college and came home for visits, she’d stick out a paw to greet me.

I’m sure she was just toying with me, but I know she could have been a star. Peanuts was an original.

Robbie was, too.

Together, they were pets for the ages. Another cat or dog?

I couldn’t welcome another into my home after I’ve already known the best. It just wouldn’t be right.

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• Leg aching • Heaviness • Muscle cramping • Leg fatigue • Restless Legs Syndrome • Ankle swelling

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• Itching and burning • Skin discoloration • Ulcers of the skin • Eczema to the lower legs • Phlebitis (blood clots)