It Doesn’t Take a PhD to Understand Dogs I am sitting in a hotel room, the day after my niece Sarabess graduated from college. I am a very proud aunt. Sarabess and I were talking about all her classes and favorite teachers, and she told me about one of her professors who made her cry. Listening to her story, I remember one of my professors who told me the same mistruth. I am still surprised when I run into an educated person who does not believe dogs have emotions. Clearly not pet owners, these people go through life thinking themselves superior to the other life forms because they have emotions. I know for a fact it's just not true. One year, about 2001 or so, we had a dog show with a rescue parade in California. Since we were all there, an owner relinquishment had been set up to happen at the event due to the “emergency” nature of the relinquishment. The family arrived, brought their beautiful dog with his bed and toys, etc, accomplished the paper work, and simply walked away, leaving their dog with us. To this day I can still hear the anguished screaming of that poor traumatized dog that they left behind. It took several hours for us to console that poor dog, and none of us left that show the same. We eventually found this beautiful dog a new home where it lived happily-everafter. I am grateful that dogs have the capacity to be happy in their new homes. However, we should never forget that they have emotions and feelings, too. Recently I was watching the Judge Judy show. Yes, I am a sucker for courtroom drama, no matter the quality. She had a case about a dog that had been taken from the owner’s yard and sold at the mall for $50. The new owner loved the dog, and, having had the dog for a month, did not want to return it to the rightful owner. The court listened back and forth to both sides, and since the dog was not microchipped, it was decided to simply bring the dog into court to try and see if it looked like its picture. When the dog came into the court room, the look on its face when it saw the real owner was of shear joy, love, and delight! After being let loose, the dog flew into the owner’s arms. Clearly the dog knew this man, and it was his dog. The dog was overjoyed! Have you ever packed a suitcase and seen the sadness on your dog’s face as it knows you’re leaving? I used to have to show the dogs the motor home to get them to calm down, but the minute I opened the front door one dog would get in the motor home and refuse to budge from it to be sure he was going too. So, college professor or not, I know my dogs have emotions, and I love them and they love me. I will continue to do rescue as long as life lets me, and I will work to keep ESRA strong and viable so homeless Springers will be blessed and bring blessings on their new families. Thanks to all who rescue, foster, and support ESRA. You are all a blessing to our breed and to me.

By Caryn Pola, ESRA President

Volume 5, Issue 2 Spring, 2012

ESRA is a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation. Our all-volunteer organization works with love and passion for English Springer Spaniels in need. Mailing address for donations and inquiries: 19518 Nashville St. Northridge, CA 91362

The Rescue Side of Life

By Toby Maxwell

Editor’s Note: Toby Z. Dearmin, the dog who regularly writes this column, is taking a break, in spite of getting a 65% approval rating in the readership survey. Temporarily filling in for Toby is another Toby who resides with the other half of ESRA News’ editorial team.

My name is Toby, and my sister Cupcake and I were born on a roof. Luckily for us, the roof is on a house where some rescue-mined people live. I’ve heard them say that the feral cat population is big in our area, and if they can catch our mom, they will get her spayed. They couldn’t take us to a shelter because there are too many kittens born in the Spring for shelters to keep us all alive. We’ve become indoor cats now. During the week, we go to Grandma’s house where she bottle-fed us until we learned to eat from a bowl. We get to run around and play in her hallway and screened porch. On weekends, our new mom takes us back to the rescue house, where we have to stay in her bedroom. She said her parents put a gate at the top of the stairs to keep the three Springers from getting us. I don’t know what that means, and I hope I never find out. In fact, I’ve never met a dog. They say it’s a dog’s life, and guess it must be true because the dogs go as they please in the house and yard. Dogs have leash laws and licensing requirements. There might be 60 million feral cats in the United States. Nobody really knows, because feral cats don’t have anyone to love them. They don’t have an organized rescue, although there are TNR groups. TNR means “trap, neuter, release” and it’s supposed to be the most humane way of controlling feral cat colonies, but it doesn’t keep the cats safe, healthy, or free of parasites. Life is good for Cupcake and me now. If we had been born in the drainage ditch instead of on a roof, we’d end up feral like our parents. Grandma talks about her cat Onyx, who lived for 20 years. Most feral cats only live a few years, and in their short lives they can produce as many as 30 kittens a year. Most of those kittens don't grow up, but the ones that do will start having more kittens before they are fully grown. We’ve already been to the vet — which was horrible, especially that thermometer thing — but I guess it’s for our own good. Next time we get something called “shots.” I hope it tastes as good as the pink medicine we got last time.

ESRA News Editorial Staff Publisher Shelley Dearmin [email protected] Editor and Layout Linnea Maxwell [email protected] Contributors Felicia Adams Nancy M. Kelly Caryn Pola Ron Press

And the Survey Says…. This is the 15th issue of ESRA News, and according to 100 reader responses to an online reader survey following the last issue, we must be doing something right. Based on responses to questions regarding the newsletter’s length, appearance, format and readability, don’t expect any cosmetic changes. In fact, 96% called it easy to read. The reaction was split on whether an online format was preferred over a PDF with 40% saying yes, 47% indicating they weren’t sure or it didn’t matter, and 12% saying no. Based on those responses, we might consider it sometime down the road. Regarding content, most of the types of articles we feature regularly were rated “very worthwhile” by 50% or more, with Nancy Kelly’s training tips getting the highest percentage at 76%. Nothing really got panned, although articles about ESSFTA were rated lowest with 40% either having no opinion or saying “occasionally worthwhile.” Perhaps most significant is that 71% said the newsletter makes them proud to be part of ESRA. On the other hand, only 34% said it makes them want to contribute financially. Maybe this is because our regular readers already support ESRA with their time and/or money. As with everything ESRA does, the newsletter is a volunteer effort. We try to present a balance of topics from different parts of the country, but we can only include stories that we find out about. If you would like to contribute ideas, pictures, stories, or just let us know what is interesting in your neck of the woods, please contact either Shelley Dearmin at [email protected], or Linnea Maxwell at [email protected].

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Plan for Your Pets Before Disaster Strikes By Felicia Adams As a Red Cross disaster shelter manager, I know first-hand how devastating and disorienting it can be to evacuate from the comfort of your home in an emergency situation. In Texas, we deal with many types of disasters: tornadoes, hurricanes, and the horrifying wildfires last September that destroyed over 600 homes in one county alone. Fortunately, most (but not all, depending upon in what type of facility the shelter is housed) of our disaster shelters accommodate household pets. However, I’ve found that many people end up in the shelter with their pets unprepared. No matter where you live, disaster can strike at any time. House fires, flooding, tornadoes, hurricanes, wildfires, and earthquakes may all force you from your home. Different disasters require different responses, but whether the disaster is a hurricane or a hazardous spill, recovering from such events requires advanced planning. Knowing what supplies to have available, how to evacuate with your pet, where your pet will stay, and how you will meet your pet’s needs throughout the disaster are all critical questions that must be addressed. It will be difficult, if not impossible, to find shelter for your animals in the midst of a disaster, so don’t wait until disaster strikes to do your research. Most jurisdictions, Red Cross chapters and other shelter operators are working hard to ensure pet sheltering facilities are close to or co-located with the human shelters, but families need to be aware of the type of accommodations available in their community. If officials call for an evacuation, pet owners have an alternate plan in case some evacuation shelters do not accept pets. Many hotels, motels, campsites and other facilities around the country now allow pets. Check out AAA or www.petswelcome.com to find a list of those in your area. Hotels and motels may be willing to lift pet restrictions in an emergency. Friends and family members living outside the area may be able to provide shelter, too. (Please check with your local animal shelter or emergency management office to determine if a petfriendly emergency shelter will be set up in your area.) In the event of a disaster:  Do not leave your pets behind.  As you may not be allowed you to take your pets if you need to be rescued, do not wait until the last minute to evacuate.  Securely fasten a current identification tag to your pet’s collar. It’s a good idea to include the phone number of a friend or family member as well.

 Carry a photo of you and your pet for identification purposes.  Transport pets in secure pet carriers and keep pets on leashes or harnesses.  If you and your pets cannot stay together, call friends, family members, veterinarians or boarding kennels in a safe area to arrange foster care.  Be sure to pack your pet’s emergency supply kit (see list below).  Keep a list of emergency phone numbers (veterinarian, local animal control, animal shelters, Red Cross, etc.). Note: If emergency officials recommend that you stay in your home, keep your pets with you and the pet’s emergency supply kit close at hand. Your dogs may become stressed during confinement, so you may consider crating them for safety and comfort. Planning and preparation will enable you to evacuate with your pets quickly and safely in an emergency. However, bear in mind that animals react differently under stress. Outside and in the car, keep your dogs securely leashed. Don’t leave animals unattended anywhere they could escape. The most trustworthy dog may panic, hide, try to escape, or even bite. Additionally, when you return home, give your pets time to settle back into their routines. We should all take personal responsibility for the well being of our family and our pets. By having a plan, keeping proper preparedness supplies on hand, and knowing our community’s emergency operations plan, we have the ability to protect ourselves and our pets during an emergency situation. Assemble a Portable Pet Survival Kit Whether you are away from home for a day or a week, you’ll need essential supplies. Keep items in an accessible place and store them in sturdy containers that can be easily carried (duffle bag, covered plastic storage bin, large back pack, etc.). Your pet survival kit should include:  Three-day supply of food (or more) in airtight, water proof container and drinking water. Rotate food monthly so that it remains fresh.  Bowls for food and water. Continued on Page 4

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Emergency Preparedness— Continued from Page 3  Current photos and physical description of your pets, including details on markings.  One week of medications in waterproof container. Rotate medication every month out of your emergency kit – otherwise they may go bad or become useless.  Copies of vaccination records (especially rabies) in a waterproof Ziploc bag.  First aid supplies. Pet first aid kits are available from the Red Cross and the ASPCA.  Comfort items such as a toy and blanket. A blanket can be used to scoop up a fearful pet.  Small garbage bags, paper towels, disinfectant.  For dogs —include an extra leash and a sturdy carrier large enough to use as a sleeping area.  For cats—include a litter box and litter as well as a sturdy carrier large enough for transport.

CARING FOR DOGS IN HOT WEATHER Never leave dogs in a car, even with the windows down. The inside of a car can reach temperatures in excess of 150 degrees in a matter of minutes. Dogs should be kept indoors during excessive heat. Plan outside activities with your dog during the cooler parts of the day: early morning and evening. Limit the outside activity of your dog during the heat of the day. During hot weather, sidewalks and pavement radiate excessive amounts of heat, and can be too hot for the pads of your dog’s paws. Consider that if the sidewalk is too hot for you to walk barefoot, it is too hot for your pet to walk on. Allow access to the coolest part of your home. If you don’t have air conditioning, or you turn it off while at work, make sure your pet can get to a cool place, such as a basement. Take extra precautions in hot weather for dogs that are elderly or overweight.

Be Prepared for Behavior Emergencies: Loose Dog Approaching! By Nancy E. Kelly

Your dog is on leash, but an off-leash dog is approaching. You have no control over the loose dog; you can keep your dog near you because of the leash, but he is likely to bark and make things worse. My emergency plan for this situation includes the following options: (1) Turn and walk briskly in the opposite direction. Do not run; that will excite both dogs, and arousing them is not helpful. Calmness is key in this situation, so that you don’t contribute to instigating a fight. If you see the loose dog in time, you can make a u-turn, telling your dog how great he is, and be on your way before the loose dog notices you’re there. This is when walking nicely on a leash comes in handy; practice making quick, happy u-turns when out on a walk. (2) If a loose dog suddenly appears coming toward you, and is too close for you to safely turn around and leave, throw a handful of treats at him. He’ll be surprised and stop for a second to figure out what’s happening. If he was just approaching you out of curiosity and wasn’t planning to attack, the treats will occupy him long enough for you to be on your way out of the area. If he had maliciousness on his mind, you won't have hurt anything because he’ll probably ignore the treats.

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If you know that a loose dog is protecting his or her yard, barking at you in a territorial manner, walking back and forth along his property line but not coming at you, you still want to get out of the area as quickly and calmly as possible. Usually you’ll be okay to just cross the street and walk along the other side until you’ve passed the loose dog’s territory. Make sure you know the loose dog’s motivation (protecting his yard) and also your own dog’s potential to react to the loose dog. If your dog barks and growls at the loose dog, a fight can ensue because the loose dog is already highly aroused and now your own dog is adding to the problem. If you have such a dog in your neighborhood, you can defuse this situation over time by using the “Open-Bar” technique every time you walk past his yard (See ESRA News, Fall 2011.) Both dogs will be less aroused as they become habituated to each other’s presence. Recently an ESRA volunteer took a very shy foster Springer to a local adoption event. ESRA often takes in very shy, fearful dogs who present quite the challenge to their foster parents as they help them with remedial socialization to turn them into adoptable dogs. This volunteer planned to take the dog inside for just a few minutes, giving lots of treats to help the dog remain calm, relaxed and happy among the crowd, and then Continued on Page 5

Behavior Emergency — Continued from Page 4 take her back out to the car for a rest before repeating the short visit inside. They had a lovely, uneventful and very short visit inside, and were on their way back to the car when they encountered a volunteer from another breed rescue group with one leashed dog and one dog off-leash, heading inside to the event. Not expecting anything of this sort, the ESRA volunteer steered as far away from this trio as possible, but the loose dog came right over and attacked the shy ESRA dog before the volunteer could react, and a fight ensued. No physical damage was done to either dog, and the two humans separated them immediately. The ESRA volunteer let the Springer rest in the car for a while and then took her inside for one more short and successful visit that day. The Springer showed no emotional damage or increased fear after this incident, but it certainly could have set her conditioning back substantially. Often just one attack like this can cause a fearful dog to shut down and become difficult to rehabilitate. This shows that things can happen when you least expect them, even at a rescue dog adoption event! The ESRA volunteers at the event spoke to those in charge about the volunteer walking her foster dog off-leash, and are satisfied that it won’t happen again. What a fiasco — but what a good reason to be prepared with an emergency plan! The one thing I wish the ESRA volunteer could have done in this situation, because the dog was not ready to do a controlled u-turn, was to pick up the dog, turn and walk away. This usually is safe if the attacking dog is small and the owner is right there to help. With a large dog, it might not be safe to pick up your dog because it can arouse the attacking dog further and a larger dog can do more damage to a human. In this case, the attacking dog was very small, able to bite an ankle at worst, so this would have been a safe move. With foster dogs, you must consider whether your charge is amenable to your picking him or her up; this is why it’s so important to work with dogs to be able to touch them in every area of their bodies and to pick them up if necessary. You can see why it’s useful to think through an emergency plan before you meet a loose dog. If you’re ever in this situation, you’ll have to move quickly to change things and you won’t have time to think. You can’t plan in the middle of a crisis; it has to have been done ahead of time.

These photos were safely staged to demonstrate a quick and happy u-turn. Both dogs are the author’s.

Springer Nationals Return to Missouri in September Make your plans now for the ESSFTA National Specialty Show, Sept. 22-29, at Purina Farms Event Center in Gray Summit, MO. Once again, ESRA will play a prominent role with many opportunities for volunteers to help with fundraising. We will have the merchandise booth open during show hours, plus the Rescue Banquet on Friday, Sept. 28 and the Parade of Rescues on Saturday, Sept. 29. More information will follow by e-mail as the time approaches. Meanwhile, as you make your summer travel plans, save some time to reconnect with ESRA and the ESS world in September. Purina Farms is located about one hour southwest from downtown St. Louis and the Lambert–St. Louis International Airport. Within 10 minutes from the Purina Event Center are several hotels that accept dogs and five campgrounds are located near the show site. For complete information about the show, go to: http://www.essftanational.com/index.html.

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Fun and Fundraising Go Together Like Dogs and Water in Florida By Ron Press ESRA’s Florida folks gathered in April for our 2nd Annual Fundraising Picnic at Ft. De Soto Park in southern Pinellas County. This park has a very large off-leash dog park, and more importantly to the dogs, a large off-leash dog beach. I can assure you that many of the 30 to 40 Springers in attendance gave their approval to the dog beach. The weather was perfect, in the upper 70s to low 80s with a nice breeze coming off the Gulf of Mexico. We had a shelter that comfortably handled the 70 or so people who attended. This included our local volunteers and a recent adopter, a couple of families waiting to adopt, plus some friends who came with their “honorary” Springers. For a $10.00 donation, we served pulled pork and baked beans from an old family secret recipe, and marinated grilled chicken with a dipping sauce made by one of our local ESRA members. Everyone brought side dishes to pass. All of the food must have been good, because we didn’t need to beg people to take extra food home with them. Most of the day was spent with people getting up to date with old friends, getting to know many new friends, and eating. People wandered back and forth to the beach and dog park. Some walked out on the 500-foot fishing pier that was in front of the shelter, and enjoyed walking around the park. We had a silent auction table and sold tickets for a great many raffle items. We held a 50/50 raffle in which 50% of the money collected went to the ticket holder and the other 50% went to ESRA. The winner of the 50/50 gave the money right back to ESRA. The proceeds of all the ticket sales, the net profit of the food, and some generous donations came out to more than $1300.00. We all had such a good time that I have already set the date for next year to be held at the same spot. We will gather on April 20, 2013. The park has camping sites that can be reserved six months in advance. Starting on November 20, anyone who would like to come down and join us can reserve a camping space.

Meanwhile in Alabama... Springers and humans from several states gathered at Oak Mountain State Park in Alabama for a good time at the ESRA-Southeast picnic in May. Coordinator Judie Lemsky says the event raised $1350, and also included an appreciation day for volunteer Rachel Palarca, who is moving to California.

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