Dogs in the News

All the Way Home--Nearly

From staff and wire reports
Wednesday, May 17, 2000

* Rudy the police dog was still in training, but he figured out the basics: how to get back where he belonged.

The $20,000 police dog jumped out of his Minnesota trainer's car earlier this month and disappeared. A week later, he turned up only 10 miles from his home. He had traveled about 100 miles to reach Backus, Minnesota.

Rudy was scraped up. "I think maybe he got into it with some coyotes," said trainer Joe Jasicki.

Jasicki said he was transporting Rudy when his daughter accidentally hit the automatic release switch that opened the car's back gate. Rudy, trained for bomb and drug sniffing as well as other police work, will eventually end up with a police department in Mississippi. Rudy lost about 15 pounds during his journey, but should be okay.

1. Learn the work involved in the kind of animal you want. Read this article carefully and check out books on pet care from the library. Tell your parents that caring for a pet is a good way for you to learn about responsibility.

2. Promise that you'll not only take care of the pet, but that you'll do all the chores that you hate.

3. Write down a list of names ("Possible pet names: Rover, Spot, King, Britney, A.J., Kevin, Nick . . . "). Leave the list somewhere where your parents will see it: on the coffee table, on the refrigerator, inside your dad's briefcase.

4. Do research on amazing pets that saved their owners' lives, then talk about them at breakast. ("Mom, did you know that a cat in Chicago once alerted a family to a fire in their apartment?")

5. Ask your mom and dad if they had a pet when they were your age. If they say they did, just sigh and say: "Oh, that must have been nice." If they say they didn't, ask: "But didn't you always want one?"

6. A last resort: Lie in a heap on the living room floor crying.

--John Kelly

Purebred or Mixed Breed?

PUREBRED: A dog or cat whose parents are the same breed. A purebred usually looks and acts the same as another of the same type of purebred. Purebred pets are usually more expensive than mixed breeds.

MIXED-BREED: An animal with parents of different breeds who each pass along their traits. Their behavior may be less predictable than that of purebreds and they can look like just about anything. Mixed-breed cats and dogs (mutts) are popular as pets.

Do You Ah-choo?

About one in 10 people is ALLERGIC TO PETS. Cats, rabbits and dogs cause the most allergy problems, but some people are allergic to rodents or birds.

If you are allergic to a type of animal, just being near it can make your eyes water and your skin itch. You may sneeze or have trouble breathing.

Usually, it isn't the hair or fur of an animal that causes allergies; it's the dander. Dander are tiny flakes of skin. An animal's saliva or urine also can cause allergies.

If you or someone in your house has allergies, a fish might be the best pet for you.