Posts from the ‘Dog Related Information’ Category

Why You Should Not Skip Your Dog’s Daily Walk

I recently read an article that provided some interesting insights about the importance of walking your dog daily. A 2011 study from Michigan State University found that only two-thirds of its subjects routinely walked their dogs. Consequently, this can significantly negatively impact dogs’ emotional and physical well-being.

Overall, most dogs do not exercise by themselves. And, according to Stephanie Borns-Weil, an Assistant Clinical Professor at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, indicated that a typical yard does not offer enough stimulation to prompt an adequate amount of movement. Walking your dogs provides mental stimulation that comes from companionship, seeing new things and sniffing new things, according to Borns-Weil. Dogs who do not have their needs met can be subject to long-term chronic stress ranging from depression and anxiety, to immune system problems. Studies have found that dogs in shelters also benefit from direct human interaction, which helps to reduce stress.

As a result, you should help your dog get the most out of his/her walk, by letting your dog explore. Sniffing is the way that dogs experience and understand their world. Comparatively speaking, dogs have 300 million olfactory receptors compared to us humans who only have 6 million olfactory receptors. Often times, we want to hurry our dog along, and we miss following their lead to sniff around and explore. Even on the coldest of days, I remind myself that letting our beloved Victory explore and sniff is very important for her. And, Victory loves to sniff around outside during early the mornings and late in the evenings, when there are not many people outside! So, I remind myself that enrichment activities and exercise is important not only for my human child, but also for our fur girl, Victory, as well! Victory always gives us clear signs when she has “cabin fever” during the winter months, signaling to us that she needs to get out and about, and when she does, her morale instantly increases and a smile appears! Her walks and her Hound About rides always seem to do the trick, along with a ride in the car to a fun destination or a ride to get BBQ, during the warmer months! Thus, fully integrating your furry family member into your daily life has wonderful benefits for all!

Who Wrote the ‘Rainbow Bridge?’

My Mom recently shared in interesting article about who actually wrote the ‘Rainbow Bridge.’ I had no idea myself, who had written it for animal parents. The ‘Rainbow Bridge’ has touched so many lives and has brought comfort to so many animal parents who have lost a beloved furry family member. It turns out that he author is Edna Clyne-Rekhy, an 82-year-old Scottish artist and animal lover. Until recently, she had no idea that the poem she wrote over 60 years ago–to honor her dog, Major–had brought comfort to so many others.

Clyne-Rekhy’s authorship likely would have been lost to history were it not for the tenacious work of Paul Koudounaris, an art historian, author, and cate owner in Tucson, Arizona. Koudounaris has spent the last decade working on a book about pet cemeteries and fequently encountered references to the “Rainbow Bridge” in his research, and he was curious who actually wrote it.

The poem’s popularity, he discovered, was launched in February 1994, when a reader from Grand Rapids, Michigan, sent a copy of “Rainbow Bridge” that they received from their local humane society to the advice column Dear Abby, which was published and noted that if anyone reading can verify the authorship, to come forward.

However, nobody came forward, and after that, “Rainbow Bridge” seemed to be everywhere. Starting in 1995, Koudounaris found records of 15 separate claims filed under the title “Rainbow Bridge” with the U.S. Copyright Office. He compiled a list of around 25 names he found to have any connection with the poem, and he was left with one: Edna Clyne-Rekhy.

He has found Clyne-Rekhy’s name after seeing reference in an online chat group to an Edna “Clyde” from Scotland who allegedly wrote the poem when her dog died.

When Koudounaris finally reached out to Clyne-Rekhy in January, he found out that Clyne-Rekhy’s story began in 1959. She was 19 years old and grieving the loss of her Labrador Retriever, Major. “He died in my arms, actually,” she recalled in a call with National Geographic.

According to Clyne-Rekhy, she cried and cried after Major died. Clyne-Rekhy’s mother suggested she write down her feelings. This is when the “Rainbow Bridge” was born.

The text went like this:

According to Clyne-Rekhy, she said, “It just came through my head, it was like I was talking to my dog–I was talking to Major. I just felt all of this and had to write it down.”

Clyne-Rekhy still has the original hand-written draft of the poem. When she showed it to Koudounaris, he immediately knew it was real.

Koudounaris suspects that it must have been passed person to person until it lost its connection to its original author–and eventually took on a life of its own. Clyne-Rekhy spent years in India and later moved to an olive farm in Spain–a path that may help to explain why she was not aware of the poem’s growing popularity in the U.S., Britain, and beyond.

“‘Rainbow Bridge’ provides the missing piece for people who have had to live with this anxiety that their animal is not good enough to deserve an afterlife,” Koudournairs says. “It gives us a reason to hope.”

Clyne-Rekhy says she plans to be reunited with Major and her subsequent pets, whose ashes she has kept.

“We’re going to be scattered in the North Sea,” she says.

*Image Credit: Painting by Stella Violano.

Alaskan ‘Puppy Bus’

Have you heard about the Alaskan ‘Puppy Bus’ that went viral on Tik Tok, recently? If you have not, it is absolutely adorable. It mirrors having one’s human child get onto a school bus! The dogs literally walk onto the bus and get in their seats by themselves and then they get buckled in! You can view the heartwarming video here!

Mo Thompson and her husband, Lee, run the bus and they take the dogs on off leash on walking and training trips via their business, Mo Mountain Mutts! After picking up the pups from around their small town of Skagway, Alaska, their minibus makes it way to trail walks, hikes, and swims.

You can read more here.

Photo Credit: Mo Thompson

Presidential Medal: Patron the Bomb Sniffing Dog

Have you recently heard about this tiny Jack Russell terrier that has won hearts and admirers for helping neutralize hundreds of Russian explosives in Ukraine? He has even won state honors, too.

Patron the bomb-sniffing dog — and his owner, Mykhailo Iliev of the Civil Protection Service— received a medal from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a news conference on Sunday, in recognition of their service to the country.

Patron, whose name means “ammo” in Ukrainian, is credited with detecting more than 200 undetonated explosive devices since the beginning of the war in late February, according to Reuters.

With his powerful snout and protective vest, Patron has become a fixture of Ukraine’s official social media channels and an international symbol of patriotism. He’s even inspired an outpouring of fan art in the form of illustrations (ranging from poignant to tongue-in-cheek) and knit plushies. His official Instagram page has more than 240,000 followers.

Zelenskyy handed out the award at a news conference with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Kyiv, as Patron barked and wagged his tail enthusiastically. At one point, Trudeau laughed and pretended to check his pockets for treats. This is such a neat story, and you can watch the ceremony here.

Patron poses at an award ceremony in Kyiv, Ukraine on Sunday. The Jack Russell terrier is credited with detecting more than 200 Russian explosive devices since the start of the war. Photo Credit: Efrem Lukatsky/AP.

The Pet Show

The Pet Show exhibition at Fotographiska, located in Stockholm, Sweden, showcases photographers and artists, including Martin Usborne, Robin Schwartz, Sophie Gamand, Tim Flach, William Wegman, and Elliot Erwitt, as well as new and emerging artists.

The exhibition is a tribute to pets and their place in our hearts and our history, and their significance in art and culture through the centuries. Twenty-seven artists and more than 140 works blending documentary photography, portraits and everything in between infusing what we love best about dogs: their present moment nature; endlessly entertaining quirks and pure expressions of unconditional love; and joy. The Pet Show celebrates animals for what they are: beloved works of art.

Images are courtesy of fotografiska.com.

Dog-Friendly: Guides for Dog-Loving People

Four and Sons is thrilled to introduce Dog-Friendly, a collection of city guides for dog-loving people, created together with its long-time contributor, photographer Winnie Au, and fellow enthusiasts, indie publisher Hoxton Mini Press.

For over a year, Four and Sons has been quietly working on a collection of city guides for dog-loving people. This includes the best places to explore with our pups by our side—from sprawling parks and tucked-away art galleries to stylish hotel suites and canine-friendly cafés. The books will feature a mix of beautiful photography, insider intel, maps and illustrations. 

Four and Sons is currently raising funds to finance all original content, to launch the collection with London and New York, and to get tails wagging for more cities to come. You can learn more and support the project here.

A Dog’s Life

Below are some fun quotes relating to our beloved furry family members! Victory, our rescue sheltie, enriches our lives in so many ways, and we cannot imagine life without her.

“Like many other much-loved humans, they believed that they owned their dogs, instead of realizing that their dogs owned them.” —D. Smith

“Dogs are our link to paradise. They don’t know evil or jealousy or discontent. To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring — it was peace.” —Milan Kundera

“A dog is not ‘almost human’ and I know of no greater insult to the canine race than to describe it as such.” —John Holmes

“While he has not, in my hearing, spoken the English language, he makes it perfectly plain that he understands it. And he uses his ears, tail, eyebrows, various rumbles and grunts, the slant of his great cold nose or a succession of heartrending sighs to get his meaning across.” —Jean Little

“The dog has an absolutely uncanny knack of knowing what we are thinking, even what we are feeling.” —Brian Vesey-Fitzgerald

“Once you have had a wonderful dog, a life without one, is a life diminished.” —Dean Koontz

“In a perfect world, every dog would have a home and every home would have a dog.” —Author Unknown

“Dogs’ lives are too short. Their only fault, really.” —Agnes Sligh Turnbull

“One could say that dogs see the world faster than we do, but what they really do is see just a bit more world in every second.” —Alexandra Horowitz

“When the world around me is going crazy and I’m losing faith in humanity, I just have to take one look at my dog to know that good still exists.” —Author Unknown

“A dog is like an eternal Peter Pan, a child who never grows old and who therefore is always available to love and be loved.” —Aaron Katcher

“The dog has an enviable mind; it remembers the nice things in life an quickly blots out the nasty.” —Barbara Woodhouse

“After yers of having a dog, you know him. You know the meaning of his snuffs and grunts and barks. Every twitch of the ear is a question or statement, every wag of the tail is an exclamation.” —Robert McCammon

“No one appreciates the very special genius of your conversation as the dog does.” —Christopher Morely

Dogs: Lessons Learned

Below are several quotes about lessons learned from our dogs. Victory is an integral part of our family and she goes with us everywhere and we are so blessed she is in our lives. She has taught me so much about life, especially during this pandemic. And, Alex is learning greatly about love and animals through her experiences with Victory.

“The dogs in our lives, the dogs we come to love and who (we fervently believe) love us in return, offer more than fidelity, consolation, and companionship…They offer, if we are wise enough or simple enough to take it, a model for what it means to give your heart with little thought of return…Perhaps it is not too late for them to teach us some new tricks” —Marjorie Garber

“We try to teach our dogs new tricks when there’s so much we can learn from them.” —Robert Coane

“We derive immeasurable good, uncounted pleasures, enormous security, and many critical lessons about life by owning a dog.” —Roger Caras

“If your dog does not like someone, you probably shouldn’t either.” —Author Unknown

“If I could be half the person my dog is, I’d be twice the human I am.” —Charles Yu

“Everything I know, I learned from dogs.” —Nora Roberts

“In a world of hypocrisy and betrayal, dogs are direct. They never lie.” —Erica Jong

“It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.” —Mark Twain

“Dogs. They are better than human beings because they know but they do not tell.” —Emily Dickinson

“Dogs come into our lives to teach up about love. They depart to teach us about loss. New dogs can never replace a former one — they merely expand the heart. If you have loved many dogs, your heart is very big.” —Author Unknown

“The world would be a nicer place if everyone had the ability to love as unconditionally as a dog.” —M.K. Clinton