Jenna & Snickers

Jenna & Snickers Promote Humane Education and Responsible Dog Ownership

Real Life Doesn’t Lend Itself to Blogging These Days

I started this blog (actually on my freelancing website at the time – nycgadgetgirl.com) in August 2004, when Snick wasn’t quite a year old. For the next four years, I blogged a good bit. Living in Hell’s Kitchen with my young daughter and dogs, I had amusing things to write about. I met fascinating people. Crazy things happened. I started a Shiba meetup group. I started a Shiba rescue. I fostered dogs. We had run ins with tourists and homeless people. Snick charmed strangers on the street. Life was interesting.

In 2008, we moved to Indiana for seven months. While I was there, the website moved to jennaandsnickers.com and became more about education. Snick and I joined a training club. I started writing about training, behavior, and humane education. The idea for Animals Who Educate was born.

We moved back to NY. I had plenty of things to write about. Snick started an online newspaper, and I built up his facebook and twitter followings to support the eventual launch of Animals Who Educate.

But in 2010, I moved to Mississippi to help my parents with the family business. I tried for a while to keep the blog going. I have a long list of half written posts, ideas for posts, requests for posts, etc. I have one about Shiba sports that’s been finished except for the proof reading for about 2 years now. I don’t have time to write and certainly don’t have time for “brand building” on social media – Snick’s facebook and twitter accounts languish unused for months at a time. Sometimes it takes weeks for me to answer comments or emails that come through the website. So, today, I removed my contact page and turned off comments on old posts. I’ll leave the site up, because a few of our informative posts still get a lot of traffic. I may pull out an old draft and post something occasionally, but there won’t be any rhyme or reason to it.

Maybe in another ten years, I’ll start writing again. You never know what might happen.

Putting Animals Who Educate on Hold

Saying hiIt took months for me to finally decide I had to write this post.

My family/business obligations have become such that I can’t do them justice and also pour my energy into growing a national non-profit organization. One thing (of many) that I learned from starting NYC Shiba Rescue seven years ago is that it takes a TEAM to start and run a successful organization. Over the past few years a few people have offered to help with Animals Who Educate only to then disappear without following up. I still believe in A.W.E. and plan to make it happen, but not right now. Right now, I have to focus on running my family’s business. Someday, when I have a less demanding “real job” or can work for A.W.E. full time, I will resurrect the plan, put together a team, and make it happen.

For now, I will be focusing whatever time I can spare from work on my NYCSR obligations and also on completing the Doggies Helping Veterans project. I may or may not have time to blog here, but I hope you’ll stay subscribed just in case I do!

From Street Dog to Easy Street

kaylaI recently received this updated photo of the first dog I ever rescued. The note that arrived with the photo said “Kayla is doing fine! We just had to have her knee replaced. She is recovering well. Otherwise, she is a happy, healthy dog!”

Kayla’s Story (the synopsis*)

In NYC in July 2006, Snickers and I met a homeless man named Benedict with a six month old puppy named Kaos. He had stolen her from a dog fighter and was managing to take excellent care of her, considering they were living in the streets. In August, I took them to my vet and got her shots updated, rabies tag, checkup, etc. and then applied for her city license tag using my contact information (so she wouldn’t get taken away from him as a "stray"). People who followed my blog sent donations to help pay for that visit. People from the neighborhood sort of adopted Benedict and Kaos – giving them dog food, etc. In November, Bettina, one of their neighborhood angels, bought them a plane ticket to Florida (where Benedict had family) and a pet taxi trip to the airport. Another good neighborhood friend, Mary, donated her dog’s kennel for Kaos to travel in. A few days later, we heard from Benedict that he and Kaos were safe and warm in Florida, although apparently still homeless.

About three months later, February 2007, I got a call from my vet’s office. They had just received a call from Miami Dade Animal Services, trying to locate Kaos’s owner. (She was still wearing her tags, so the trail led to me, luckily.) Benedict was nowhere to be found**. My blog followers and my sister Debbie came to the rescue – everyone started spreading the word – and we were able to find volunteers in Florida to claim Kaos from the shelter for me. First, we boarded her at a vet for a few days to make sure she was healthy and then she was fostered by Jeanette in Orlando while I began the search for a home for her.

A friend in Pennsylvania asked to adopt her, so Kaos said goodbye to Florida and was transported, through a series of volunteers, to Ami in Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, that home didn’t work out and Kaos went into boarding in PA. She stayed in boarding for THREE MONTHS. (Thanks again to donations from my blog followers – especially my sister, who footed the majority of the PA boarding bill – for making this all feasible.) Everyone kept sharing Kaos’s story and a new adopter was found, this time in New Jersey. (And to think, all this sharing and networking was pre-facebook!) Kaos made the trip and her new mom Erin loved her tons, but this home didn’t work out either. However, Erin introduced her to Rick & Colleen and, a couple weeks later, Kaos was finally adopted by her FOREVER FAMILY… 14 months after I’d first met her as a homeless street dog in NYC. She was renamed Kayla, which fits her temperament much better and has been living the good life down the shore for almost six years now! It was a long, involved journey, but it put her in the right place at the right time to meet her perfect forever family. 🙂

*All the original blog posts and photos are online in my previous blog.
**Ten months after Kayla found her forever home, Bettina heard from Benedict. He was alive and back in NYC.

How to Build a Cable Run for Your Dog

I’ve had my share of Shiba escapes over the years, which is why I’ve written posts like Making the Most of Companion Identification Methods and Tagg – The Pet Tracker aka The Shiba Owner’s Peace of Mind. My youngest Shiba, Zuki, is a master escape artist though. I’ve never had to work so hard to keep a Shiba safe at home!

Why I Built a Cable Run, Even Though I Have a Fenced Yard

Zuki enjoying the yard safe on her cableWhen we first adopted Zuki, she escaped from the back yard a couple times. (We managed to catch her, but only because she escaped out the back and ended up in a huge flood ditch that she couldn’t get out of own her own.) She was going under the fence, so I had some guys attach chicken wire to the bottom of the fence and trench it into the ground, all the way around the yard – no more holes and no more digging! Everything was fine for a month or two until I came home from work one night and a cute little dog was staring at me from inside my neighbor’s back yard. I walked over to say hello and IT WAS ZUKI!! As soon as I got close to the fence, she leapt over the fence and into my arms. (My dogs live in the house. My daughter was home and had let Zuki outside just a few minutes before I came home and discovered her in the neighbor’s yard.) After that, we only let her out in the yard dragging a 15 foot training lead. We’d stay outside with her and, if she tried to jump over the fence, we’d grab the lead first. That worked great. Until one day when it didn’t. I was outside with all three dogs, Zuki decided to jump the fence, and I didn’t make it in time to stop her. I had to run through the house and out the front to chase after her. By the time I got out there, she was long gone. Luckily, with the help of neighbors, I tracked her down about 20 minutes later. The training lead still served a purpose too… I probably wouldn’t have been able to catch her if she hadn’t still been dragging it.

After that, the rules changed again — Zuki could only be outside if one of us was holding the other end of her lead or it was secured to the house. That limited her outside fun though, and she stopped getting enough exercise. Enter my brilliant father and his excellent solution. For ~$100 we built a 100 foot cable run for her that gives her plenty of running room and keeps her safely inside the fence.

Why not just use a stake tie out? First, I wanted something permanent, that I wouldn’t have to deal with removing every time the lawn guy comes to mow. Second, I wanted her to have a lot of running room, but not be able to reach a fence, so I needed a long thin space, not a circular space. Last, I wanted to minimize the possibility of her wrapping the cable around herself or anything else.

Recently, I was having an email conversation with a reader who has a young Shiba that escapes easily, like Zuki. She felt like restricting her freedom was making her more likely to look for ways to escape. She needed a way to safely give her pup some room to run. I suggested building a cable run like Zuki’s, which is what prompted me to put all the details together in this post.

Parts and Tools Needed

[Read more…]

Learning and Organizing for Animals Who Educate

org chart on chalk boardIn the three weeks since I declared 2013 to be a good year for sharing and gathering information, I’ve learned a lot about what I don’t know. (It seems that I’m always learning more and more about what I don’t know.) Corresponding to what I don’t know though, are a few new things that I DO know:

  • I know that starting my humane education organization, Animals Who Educate (A.W.E.), is NOT going to be a quick and easy project, especially since I can’t currently dedicate enormous amounts of time to it due to my "real" job and my ongoing volunteer work with NYCSR.
  • I know I need to read A LOT during the next couple years, so I will have a better idea of what I’m doing, what’s already out there, what works, what doesn’t work, and how I can make the biggest difference without duplicating effort.
  • I know that I need to put together a group of people to help get started, instead of trying to do it alone – a brain trust – to advise me as I make decisions and choose board members, among other things.
  • I have the beginnings of a list of necessary directors, but this probably isn’t complete:
    • an educator,
    • a lawyer,
    • a public relations guru,
    • a grant writer/fund raiser, and
    • an administrator (filled – that’s me)!

There is a lot that I need to learn and sort out. That’s going to take awhile. I hope everyone who is interested will stick around, ask questions, and help provide information.

Question of the week: Should I aim for this to be an organization that can pay salaries for several people to work full time? It could accomplish a lot more that way, as opposed to being a 100% volunteer effort forever. However, it would require a whole set of skills – fund raising and grant writing – that I don’t have and that it wouldn’t be able to PAY for until after it already had it. Thoughts?

Tagg – The Pet Tracker aka The Shiba Owner’s Peace of Mind

I posted several years ago about the various identification methods for pets and how important it is to keep ID on your dog. Of course, ideally, he or she will never be lost! Being able to track your dog when they are missing could certainly help make that a reality.

After the last time little Zuki-san jumped the fence and went for an unauthorized walkabout, the Tagg Pet Trackers became more than just a "would be nice to have" item for me. Apparently, that was obvious to my family, because I was surprised and excited to receive three brand new Tagg trackers this recent holiday season. 🙂

The Actual Tagg Device

Zuki wearing her Tagg Pet Tracker unitShibas aren’t big dogs; Snickers, Secret and Zuki are 24, 17 and 16 pounds respectively. I was concerned that the Tagg unit would be bulky and unwieldy on their collars, especially since they were all used to wearing a very thin mountain rope collar as their 24/7 ID collar. All three seem to not be bothered by the additional weight though. I liked the natural look better than the thick collars and GPS tech, BUT I like the peace of mind with them wearing trackers even better!

I bought small Cozy Collars from Spindrift. They are fleece-lined, the Taggs fit on them well and they don’t seem to be messing up the dogs’ fur so far.

GPS Tracking and Notifications

The obvious benefit of the GPS Tagg trackers is being able to find the occasional wayward Shiba. When first activating the trackers, you set a "home zone." The home zone is limited in that it is restricted to a circular shape and has a minimum radius of 75 yards and a maximum radius of 1000 yards. Hopefully some day it will be more flexible. Whenever one of your dogs leaves the home zone, you receive an alert by text message and/or email. In my experience, the alerts are not 100% reliable, but they do happen more often than not. There’s a trip button on the unit, to tell it not to send the notification when the dog leaves the home zone. I prefer not to use it though, so I have periodic verification that the notifications are working. Contrary to how the text on Tagg’s website makes it sound, you do NOT continue to receive updates for your dog’s location after they’ve left the home zone. (Thank goodness, because that would be incredibly annoying for a dog like Snickers who goes to work with me every day!)

The Tagg units don’t send constant updated location information to the server 24/7 (as that would run the batteries down pretty quickly), but you can log into pettracker.com or use the iPhone or Android app to request an updated location any time. I’ve tested this several times. It’s not exactly accurate, but it’s off by about the same angle and distance every time (which will definitely be good to know if/when I’m tracking one of my dogs someday). The inaccuracy may be caused by the fact that I live in nowheresville, but I’m not sure about that. The location address and a map are sent by email as well as being displayed on the website and apps. If you initiate a tracking session then you will receive updates every 3 minutes for a 30 minute duration. Personally, I don’t think this is often enough for tracking a Shiba, so I would use the Android app and keep clicking Locate for an updated location.

Activity Tracking

Activity Ring Graph and Tagg Points

Ring Graph & Tagg Points

One super-nifty feature that I wasn’t aware of until I actually activated the trackers is activity tracking. In addition to the GPS transmitter, each tracker also contains an accelerometer. The accelerometer records the dog’s movement and the data is synced to Tagg’s server at least once a day. You can log into pettracker.com to see illustrative charts. Tagg also assigns and displays "Tagg Points" (sort of like Nike Fuel Points) based on the quantity and and quality of activity.

It’s interesting to see the ebb and flow of the dogs’ activity during the day. There are clear spikes that correlate with morning wake up, meal times, lunch time (for Snickers, at work with me), when T gets home from school (for Zuki and Secret), when Snick and I get home at night, etc. It’s obvious also, that Zuki is naturally a lot more active and Secret is the least active. Since we don’t live in a neighborhood where we can go for walks, I don’t feel like any of them are getting enough exercise. The Tagg Points will give me an easy way to set goals for them and make sure we meet those goals!

Tagg Website & App

The website and Android app (and maybe the iPhone app, but I haven’t used it), need some work to be user-friendly. I’m hoping the disjointedness of it all is because Activity Tracking is new and they haven’t integrated it yet.

  • When you log into the website, the initial view is a map showing your dogs’ locations. This is good.
  • Each dog’s individual profile is listed to the side of the map. The size and placement of the profile links make it appear as if clicking through to the profile would be useful, but it really isn’t. All you can do on the profile page is, um, edit the profile. There are no links to the dog’s location or their activity tracking data. The profile page is tabbed, so you can easily switch between dogs.
  • The menu across the top of the page has a "Home" link and a "Map" link which both take you to the map. The next link is "activity tracking" which takes you to all the nifty activity charts. This page is tabbed as well, so you can easily switch between dogs. The remaining links are "Notifications," "My Account" and "Shop."
  • The Android app lists each dog with a photo; last update date, time and location; and the battery meter. Clicking through takes you to a location map. No activity data is available in the app.

In my opinion, the website would be more useful if the "Home" link displayed an overview of each dog similar to the Android app, but with more detail. Clicking through should show you the dog’s profile info, location and activity data, all in one place, with a link to edit the profile if needed. Keeping this as a tabbed page for easily switching between dogs would be fantastic. Adding a snapshot of each dog’s activity tracking to the Android app would be nice as well.

Thumbs Up!

I love my Tagg Pet Trackers even more than I expected to and I hope they’ll only get better over time with software, website, and app updates.

~~ UPDATED November 2013 ~~
A few additional thoughts based on experience after almost a year of use…

  • The “left the home area” alerts are very reliable now. Sometimes it will take 10 minutes before it comes, but it always comes.
  • Customer service is practically non-existent. You can’t do ANYTHING on the website that you would expect to be able to do and sending email to customer support always results in a reply saying they can only help by telephone (during their very limited telephone support hours). It’s incredibly annoying.
  • The battery life and accuracy of the Taggs has been stable.
  • Zuki occasionally knocks her Tagg halfway off. She was able to chew the first one pretty badly, so I had to replace it. Thankfully, the Tagg system DOES send an alert when this happens, so – if I’m home – I’m able to grab her and fix it before she chews on it.
  • The Spindrift collars that I purchased have totally ripped Secret and Zuki’s fur. They each have a trough where their collar goes around their neck. For them it’s OK. For Snick though, it means that he no longer wears his Tagg 24/7. He only wears his Tagg on his Spindrift collar at home if I’m not home with him and he wears his Tagg on his harness when we go out.
  • I never look at the activity tracking data.
  • The Android app has improved considerably. The website hasn’t changed.

Children & Pets: How Animals Can Help Reduce Domestic Violence and Child Abuse

BZTAT sketch - boy and dog
BZTAT sketch - girl and cat

I worked as a clinical counselor for children and families affected by trauma for over 20 years. One of the first questions I asked my young clients was, “Do you have any pets?” Most of them did.

The question seems simple enough, but it actually was very powerful on many fronts. First of all, it allowed me an opportunity to open up conversation with them in a friendly and non-threatening manner. Children are naturally curious about animals, and even if they do not have a pet of their own, they usually have developed a relationship with an animal at some point in their life, and they have some interest in talking with others about their pets.

Asking about pets also allowed me to explore other clinical information without being too intrusive. How were pets treated in their home? Had the child experienced losses of pets? Had someone in the home been cruel to pets? Had the child ever had a frightening incident with an animal?

Of course, one of the first questions I asked parents and caregivers was, “Has the child ever hurt animals?” I also asked if anyone else had harmed animals in the home.

I asked several other questions in clinical assessment interviews, but I always found questions about pets to be particularly illuminating. Understanding how children relate to animals is very important to understanding their inner and outer worlds. A child who treats animals in a loving manner has strength of compassion, and likely has supportive, loving people in his or her life. A child who harms animals often has deep psychological stress and limited familial support.

Children who harm animals often have been victims of violence themselves and they are re-enacting their trauma through their behavior towards vulnerable creatures. They often lack supportive adults in their lives, and they often have overly stressed adults for caregivers. If their angst is not redirected, they are likely to move on to harming human victims in their attempts to overcome their inner sense of powerlessness.

Few children who harm animals grow up to be serial killers, but many do grow up to abuse their intimate partners and their children. Serial killers are rare aberrations of humanity. Domestic violence, however, is an all too common problem in all human societies.

Stopping abuse towards animals is a worthy activity in and of itself. But if we teach children early to be compassionate towards animals, we can also help to reduce domestic violence and child abuse in the human community. We can help children learn that abuse to animals is not normal, and we can help troubled youth find the supports that they need.

Programs to Help Are On the Rise

There is a movement growing to address the human animal bond and its implications for human to human interaction in society. I have seen it manifested in 4 different but important directions:

  1. Humane Education – Teaching children in schools and special programs about compassion and respect towards animals. Humane education often teaches children about responsible pet ownership as a way to generalize concepts of responsible citizenship and action towards social justice.
  2. Pet Respite coordinated with domestic violence outreach and shelter services – Many domestic violence survivors are reluctant to seek safety for themselves when they have no options for providing safety to their pets. When survivors are offered temporary respite care for their pets, they are more likely to leave an unsafe relationship with an abusive partner and go to a shelter or other safe place. Domestic violence shelters are partnering with animal rescue groups in several cities around the country to offer this needed service that helps both animals and people.
  3. Psychological Trauma Treatment – Mental health professionals are becoming more specialized in treating survivors of emotional trauma. Professional treatment for individuals who have experienced abuse and neglect can often redirect wayward impulses that can lead to the abuse of both animals and people.
  4. Criminal Justice – More and more, severe incidents of malicious treatment towards animals are being addressed seriously by the courts with judges ordering strong penalties for perpetrators. The justice system certainly has a long ways to go, but the tide is turning as society takes a stand against animal abuse.

Relatively few people are aware of the movement, however, and few understand its necessity for improving both human and animal life in our communities. Few know about the connections between animal abuse and abuse to human victims. Few understand that animal abuse is a serious problem because of its implication that humans are likely being abused as well.

Some say that domestic violence and child abuse are more important concerns to address than the needs of animals. Here is the truth. When animals are suffering in society, children are too. When there is violence to animals, there is likely violence to children and others who may be defenseless.

Raising Awareness with Okey’s Promise Art for a Cause

I created the Okey’s Promise Art for a Cause program to stimulate awareness and promote action in communities on the issue. Through public art projects, people become more aware and new dialogues promote action. So far I have created 2 projects in Canton, OH. Both projects were funded by numerous “Okey’s Promise Keepers” from around the world who wanted to be a part of the movement.

The resulting dialogue in my community has led to a partnership between a local animal rescue group and the Domestic Violence Project that offers respite to pets of individuals and families seeking temporary shelter services.

You can become an “Okey’s Promise Keeper” too by contributing to my third project, which will be a mural on a building in Barberton, OH. My hope is that this project will stimulate interest in the Summit County, OH area to more proactively address the links between animal abuse, domestic violence and child abuse.

We can all spread the word and insist that our communities take action for our animals, our children and their families. What can you do in your community to spread the word? (Share your thoughts in the comments section below.)

BZTAT MuralVicki Boatright, aka Artist BZTAT, is a full time artist who worked for 20 years as a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor. She specializes in animal themed artworks, and she is known worldwide for her colorful custom pet portraits and public art murals. She created the Okey’s Promise Art for a Cause program to create widespread awareness of the links between animal abuse, domestic violence, and child abuse through public art projects. You can see her artwork on her BZTAT Studios website.

Book Review: Misfits by Deborah M. Guske

Misfits: Tales of a Dog Rescuer
A Handbook for Dog Rescuers

by Deborah M. Guske

[rating:2.0]Misfits, a dog rescue handbook

Several people have suggested that I should write a book about rescue – a dog rescue handbook or manual on how to start a non-profit rescue organization. I decided to look for an existing book that fits the bill. I purchased the Kindle Edition of Misfits as the first possibility for review.

The first 40% of Misfits didn’t interest me at all, as it was simply a compilation of personal stories about some of the author’s various foster dogs. The stories do contain some good medical info (sourced from other books and websites) however, which could be very useful to some readers.

The next 20% of the book has excellent information for volunteers new to rescue. Although the author’s writing style is disorganized and the book was apparently not proofread before being e-published, the information contained in the center chapters is valuable enough to justify purchasing and reading the book. It gives an overview of, and sound advice regarding, owner surrenders, transports, fostering, adoption applications, home visits, insurance and inevitable euthanasia.

The last portion of the book contains a toxic plant list, a list of internal parasites, and the reference list (mostly for the medical info quoted in the first portion). This could be a handy reference for someone new to rescue and fostering to have on hand.

Misfits can’t be used as a guide for starting a rescue organization, but it IS a very good introduction to the rescue world and a decent quick-reference for health issues. Reading this book could help prepare new rescue volunteers and also help them understand some of what is involved in the “business” of rescue.

Misfits is available from Amazon as a Kindle ebook.

Discussion: Challenges Facing Animals Who Educate

Wow! I’m so excited about the fantastic response I received to my first email update to subscribers this weekend. Matter-of-fact, I’m so excited that I rescheduled the post that was planned for today and wrote this one instead. 🙂

Much of the feedback was about Animals Who Educate (AWE). I’m inspired by the fact that so many people said they’re looking forward to learning more about AWE. I hope that means you’re all also looking forward to discussing it, because our conversations are going be a major driving force in building the organization.

dog on books

What is Animals Who Educate?

The idea for AWE was born on this blog three years ago. The name "Animals Who Educate" was suggested by the first person who commented on the post and the name TOTALLY stuck. (Thank you, Hope!) The original objectives – only slightly revised – are still the cornerstones of the plan.

Animals Who Educate will promote and support humane education in schools by

  • providing guidelines, training and certification for volunteers,
  • promoting the program to educators,
  • bridging the gap between schools and volunteers, and
  • creating and distributing a standard curriculum to be used by schools and volunteers throughout the country.

How Do We Start?

The first task is to brainstorm and determine as many of the challenges that the organization will face as we can. The second task is to spread the word far and wide and bring more people to the conversation.

How Determining Challenges Will Inform the Blueprint for the Organization

The objective of the organization is a challenge in and of itself – to reach as many children as possible and to encourage and nurture an empathy for animals within them. However, building an organization that can make a difference on the national level will involve many OTHER hurdles – legal, logistical, gaining acceptance, financial, etc.

One challenge in particular that came to mind a year or so ago was how to efficiently communicate with, and coordinate, so many volunteers. After some time, thought and research, I realized that AWE lends itself perfectly to a structure like Intermountain Therapy Animals uses for the R.E.A.D program. (Read about how becoming a R.E.A.D. team works.)

Identifying the challenges to be faced will help us make a better plan for what to do and how to do it.

OK, Get To Work!

First: Monumental to tiny and everything in between… what hurdles and complications do YOU see Animals Who Educate needing to clear along the way? Leave a comment!

Second: Forward this post (by email, facebook, Twitter, etc.) to everyone you think may be interested in joining the conversation.

Snickers, Fierce Gorilla Slayer

Snickers has always enjoyed destuffing toys, but the Gorillas are special. He LOVES the crazy monkey noise they make. Unfortunately, he gets pretty excited about them and then they don’t last very long!

Of course, the problem with destuffing noise-making toys is that the noise box can be very dangerous if chewed or swallowed.

I keep the toys with noise boxes where the dogs can’t get to them unsupervised. Sometimes, Snick and I have a special playtime with one. Today he played and played and PLAYED until the latest Gorilla toy was dead. (Oh, and don’t worry, the noise box was still inside the Gorilla when he crunched it into pieces. I took it away from him before he managed to pull it through one of his destuffing holes.)