How the Wilmington Kennel Club Gives Back

The Wilmington Kennel Club is totaling up the gate from its two days of dog shows during the weekend, but one figure is certain: The club handed over a check for $5,000 to the State Police to buy a new dog.

The State Police's Canine Unit was at Saturday's show to demonstrate the ways that dogs help in police work. News Journal photographer Ginger Wall got this photo of a Dutch shepherd in action.

Martha Doerner, the kennel club's secretary, says the State Police expect to buy a German or Dutch shepherd, at least 12 months old, who probably will be involved in bomb detection. The dog will be cross-trained as a patrol dog, too.

The idea is to give back. Last year, you might remember that the club donated pet oxygen masks to every fire department in New Castle County, and it didn't take long for one of those donations to save a pet's life. You can't put a price on what that donation meant to the home owner.

Some people look at dog shows, and see pure-bred dogs and owners to match. In Wilmington, there seems to be far less of that, plus there's a group of people intent on delivering a simple message: We want - and need - to give back to our community.

8 Things I Learned at the Wilmington Dog Show

Here's what I saw and heard Saturday at the Wilmington Kennel Club's Dog Show at Lums Pond State Park:

1. It's good to have friends. Amy Wingrove (left) and Lyndsey Fisher were there with their dogs in support of their friend and fellow vet tech Shelby Porter as she showed her St. Bernard Quest. All three work at the Middletown Veterinary Hospital.

2. Some St. Bernards would rather play than compete. "[Quest is] mad because she can't play in the mud," Amy said while watching the big dog compete in the working group. Quest had another show Sunday. Mud is going to be delayed.

3. Golden retrievers are handy dogs. Amy's dog Hope (left), whose grandfather was a champion, proved he was a champion cleaner. After Amy spilled a little cheese from her chili cheese fries on the leg of her jeans, Hope licked it off.

4. A new designer breed is born? Lyndsey's dog Logan is an Australian shepherd and golden retriever mix. He was one of a litter of eight left in a ditch. She saw him on the Delaware SPCA's Web site and adopted him at 7 1/2 weeks from the Georgetown shelter. He turned 1 in March and has the most beautiful coloring.

5. Dog handlers have to pick the poop. "He's got to poop, right?" the handler said kind of incredulously as he led his tiny black-and-white, long-haired Chihuahua around the ring in the toy group. The dog sniffed around, found its spot and did his thing. The handler was ready with a plastic bag.

6. Young dogs need show practice. Pam Mandeville showed two Wheaten terriers Saturday, but she also had her 5-month-old Norfolk terrier Georgia there to get her ready for the ring. Pam, who lives in Somerset, N.J., says even the car ride helps a puppy. Add in the noise, smells, other dogs, the grooming and all the people, and it's a true learning experience. Pam hopes to start showing Georgia in the fall.

7. Breeding is everything. That must be why there's a company called International Canine Semen Bank, and why it had a tent at the dog show.

8. Nice is always nice. Cheryl Costello, a member of the Wilmington Kennel Club, is as nice in person as she is on the phone. We met Saturday, and she helped me identify the breeds in the best in show competition. She was pulling for the German shepherd and gave me an excited nudge when it won.

Stealing Dog Food from Concord Pet?

Did I miss something? Is there a big underground market for bags of dog food?

Somebody broke into the Concord Pet on Concord Pike overnight Wednesday into Thursday, taking more than 50 bags of dog food. That's a lot of dog chow, and not cheap. The value was placed at more than $1,200.

Someone must have seen something. That Concord Pet isn't far from some late-night eateries, and Concord Pike always has traffic, even late at night or early in the morning.

Call the State Police at 834-2620, ext. 211 if you noticed anything that night.

The Dog Show Must Go On

These dogs aren't wimps. Rain won't postpone or stop the Wilmington Kennel Club's Dog Shows, which start at 9 a.m. Friday at Lums Pond State Park.

"If it rains, the show goes on," says Martha Doerner, the club's secretary, who was part of the contingent at the park Thursday setting up for the two-day show.

Doerner says Best in Show winners should be crowned about 4:30 p.m. Friday and around 5 p.m. Saturday. But there's plenty of action throughout the day, with judging going on in as many eight rings simulataneously.

A couple of reminders: Don't bring your own dogs to the show. Too much of a distraction to the competitors, and you will be asked to leave. And always ask before you pet a dog.

Cost is $5, seniors and children 6 and older $3, children 5 and youngere free. Use the park's campground entrance on Del. 71.

Yep, a Cat Who Plays the Piano

Nora can play the piano, but as you can see (and hear), she's no Chopin. Still, she has that intense face of classical musicians, and a flair for the dramatic.

And the duet with the music student isn't bad. Not bad at all.

If you turn into a Nora groupie, you can get posters and images at the Web site mentioned in the video. Click on "Cats."

A Dog's Tail Doesn't Lie

Which way does your dog's tail wag? The tail starts at a neutral point -- the midpoint of the dog's body -- but what influences which way it goes from there?

That is what an Italian neuroscientist and two Italian vets wanted to find out. They reported their results in the March 20 issue of Current Biology, which The New York Times detailed in a story this week.

The bottom line: They found that dogs wag their tails with a bias to the right side of their bodies when they see their owners, an unfamiliar human (non-threatening) or when they look at a cat. The speed and the forcefulness of the wag increases from the cat, to the unfamiliar human to the owner, but it always has a bias to the right.

Change the picture to an aggressive, unfamiliar dog. In the study, it was a large Belgian shepherd Malinois. The dogs wagged their tails with a bias to the right side of their bodies.

Try it out on your dog. Let me know if you find the same thing.

New Shipmate for the Kalmar Nyckel

A shelter cat has a new home and the Kalmar Nyckel has a new shipmate. Meet Timmynocky - sailor talk for thingumajig - a 4-month-old male who weighs almost four pounds. He joins Toolbox, the ship's longtime mascot, and was photographed Tuesday by News Journal staffer Carla Varisco.

Timmynocky was adopted earlier this month from Wilmington's Faithful Friends, says Sharon Litcofsky, chief mate and boatswain, after the crew decided Toolbox needed a new playmate. Toolbox's former sidekick, Clew Garnet - named for a piece of rigging on the ship - was hit and killed by a car on Seventh Street in late March.

Lauren Morgens, the ship's captain, says Timmy, as he's known, already has been out on three sails, but won't take his first ocean voyage until May when the Kalmar Nyckel goes to Richmond as part of the 400th anniversary celebration of Jamestown, Va.

In the meantime, Timmy seems to be adjusting to life on Delaware's tall ship, exploring all of the the lines, the ship's rail and even the galley. But Toolbox is struggling. "She doesn't love the new kitten," Litcofsky says.

Some things, such as replacing an old friend, just take time.

Hanging Out at Delaware Dog Fest

There couldn't have been a better place to be Sunday than hanging out with hundreds of dogs and their human companions at Delaware Dog Fest. Great weather, great dogs, great people.

The throng included (above) Michael Clevens and 22-month-old Rachel Clevens, both of Middletown, who got a kiss from Taco at Delaware Puppy Rescue's booth. Kisses were going for $1 each.

The annual gathering, coordinated by the Mid-Atlantic Great Dane Rescue League, was held for the first time at St. Anthony in the Hills right on the Delaware-Pennsylvania border. The league moved it there from Wilmington's Banning Park because it has a big pavilion -- a good insurance policy against too-frequent April showers. And wouldn't you know it, only bright sunshine and a high near 80.

"It was just crazy," said an exhausted Kelley Montgomery when we reached her Sunday night.

She estimated the crowd at more than 400, although she says she's terrible at things like that, and we saw at least 200 people there at 12:30 p.m. The event raises money for the Great Dane rescue and lots of other rescue groups, and retailers gather there, too. Kelley estimates that her group raised $8,000 to $10,000.

"We couldn't have asked for a better day," she says.

Look for the photo gallery from the event at the bottom of this Web site.

Help to Manuever Through Pet Food Recall

It's hard to know where to turn and what might come next in the pet food recall. You used go to the store, grab a case off the shelf, or throw a bag or some cans in your cart, and off you went. Not anymore. A couple of thoughts, some advice and some information as we all go forward:

* This week, we learned that the industrial chemical, melamine, that led to the recall has shown up in a second pet food ingredient, rice protein. And that the contamination might have been intentional, to spike the protein level in the ingredients, making them more valuable. At least that's one FDA theory.

* If you're looking for an easier-to-search database to find out if your pet's food is OK, try this one at our sister paper in Nashville.

* Diane Mayer, owner of the specialty store Happy Dog, Healthy Dog in Wilmington (photo at left), did a segment on cooking for your dog on CN8. She's got the video on the store's Web site and you can find it here.

* We asked vistors to www.delawareonline.com/pets this question: Has the pet food recall changed what you feed your pet? We had 92 responses (biggest response to one of our polls) that broke down this way:

Completely: 21.7 percent
Somewhat: 20.7 percent
A little: 6.5 percent
Not at all: 51.1 percent

Either you have changed what you do, or you think the worst of it is over or you didn't feed your pet wet food. Whatever the explanation, it's an interesting breakdown.

* If you want to make your own food, Diane teaches a class at her store. Check out her Web site for the time, date and cost. If you'd like to try making your own dog treats, try this recipe:

Chunky peanut dog treats
2 cups whole wheat flower
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 cup chunky natural peanut butter
1 cup nonfat milk

Preheat oven to 375.
In a large bowl, combine flour and baking powder. In another bowl, combine peanut butter and milk, then add to the dry ingredients and mix well. Turn out on floured surface and knead until smooth. Roll out to 1/4-inch thick and cut shapes with cookie cutters. Place on ungreased baking sheets and bake for about 20 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cool, store in airtight containers.
-- From www.gourmetsleuth.com/dogtreats

Two Otters Holding, Er, Paws

A sure sign of spring .. two otters holding hands, er, paws, something at the Vancouver Aquarium. Whose heart doesn't break a little when they separate and one reaches out for the other again.

Even the Cats Are Having Their Say

Leave it to Minnie Hughes to have the last word on the cat voting problems. And, yep, these are going to be the last words.

I received this e-mail from Minnie -- one of the contestants in the cutest cat portion -- via her human companion:

"Thanks for writing back and clearing up the poll glitch. I feel much better now. (Earlier today, I could not even get up, I was so depressed. I usually am up around 6 am, but today I slept in until 11 am. See my picture, attached.)"

Have faith, Minnie. And good luck to you and all of your competitors. May the best cat win -- fair and square!

Photo of the Day

OK, we deserve that for that having technical problems with the Cute Cat Contest voting.

Seriously, that's Fat Daddy giving everybody the raspberry. The photo was submitted by mickeyfreak with this info: "Fat Daddy sticking his tongue out, teasing the camera."

Have some fun. Add your own inspired caption to the list.

Why Cutest Cat Voting Had to Stop

The votes were pouring in -- more than 5,300 and counting -- and we thought we had a two-cat race for the cutest.

That is, until we got an e-mail -- although not from the cat above; that is peaceful Styro Dunham -- that gave us a heads-up about a technical glitch. If taken advantage of, the glitch could allow one voter to cast multiple votes. We hadn't seen any evidence of ballot box stuffing -- the number of votes had been constant since we started last Thursday at about 1,000 votes per day.

Although we had not seen any evidence of abuse, we could not assure the veracity of the vote. And while some might scoff that it's only a cute cat contest, we want you to have the utmost confidence in anything you find at www.delawareonline.com or in Delaware Pets.

We have pulled the cutest cat contest poll from www.delawareonline.com/pets and the tallies have been discarded. When the problem has been resolved, we will resume with one week of voting for the cutest kitten. It's time to see new cute faces, and it might be less confusing for all of you to vote anew rather than jumping right back into cute cat voting.

When the kitten voting ends, we will start over with voting for the cutest cat. All cats will start with 0 votes. We know that seems rotten to the cats that piled up so many votes, but it is the fair and the right thing to do.

We apologize for the problem and any inconvenience the glitch has caused.

Really, a Parrot Who Plays Golf

This parrot has a better putting stroke than I do! And watch for the basketball shot at the end.

How Conall Was Saved

This is Conall. You'll read about him, and the woman who saved him from almost certain death at a South Carolina shelter in the April issue of Delaware Pets.

"Conall will always be our mascot," says Marleen Oetzel, founder and adoption coordinator of the Lost and Found Dog Rescue and Adoption Center in New Castle. Lost and Found is the featured rescue group in the monthly magazine, which can be found at pet-related businesses starting Thursday.

In addition to one eye being gone, Conall was severely malnourished and had wounds on his body. After traveling to Delaware, he was diagnosed with heartworm and, later, hookworm. But today, as you can see, "He's a wiggle butt," Oetzel says. "A sweet, loving creature."

Conall is living with a foster mom, and Oetzel hopes to have him ready for adoption in about a month. "His foster mom taught him to give paw," she says.

All of that love and care doesn't come cheap. If you'd like to donate to Lost and Found Dog Rescue, to volunteer, or to adopt, go to Web site or call 613-0394.

Finally! Cutest Cat Voting Begins!

Like the cats above, you've been looking and sleeping and waiting -- for the online voting for Delaware Pets' Cutest Cat Contest to begin. (That's Maggy on the top and George napping -- two strong contenders, but not finalists.)

We asked for your cutest cat photos, and you delivered. You sent Delaware Pets 764 photos of your favorite felines sleeping, looking out windows, lounging, playing with toys, playing in boxes, playing with humans.

Our judges from local shelters and rescue groups -- along with some folks from The News Journal -- narrowed all of those images to 10 cats and 10 kittens (after some back-and-forth haggling about the kittens). Voting started Wednesday evening for the cats and will last through April 17. Click on "Contest" elsewhere on this Web site, and get ready to make a tough choice!

Voting for the kittens -- and they are "awwww" cute -- will begin April 18.

We'll announce and profile both of the winners in the May issue of Delaware Pets and at www.delawareonline.com. The winners also will receive a $50 gift certificate to Concord Pet.

Go Cats!

Photo of the Day

Someone needs to put this photo on a poster or a calendar, or put all three participants in a TV commercial or a movie. Have you ever seen three such sweet faces?

Ron Soliman, our director of photography, took the photo. That's his niece Eurice, her dog, Baby Kate on the left, and Ron's and his wife's dog, Shiloh, on the right. Sweeties all! Baby Kate is an Australian silky terrier.

E-mail your cute people and pets photos that beat this one to pets@delawareonline.com.

A Couple of Walks for the Animals

Is there anything better than walking with your dog? You'll have a couple of chances to do that this month, and raise money for good causes.

* April 14: Kent County SPCA's Furry Scurry Walk for the Animals at Killens Pond State Park near Felton. Registration at 8:30 a.m.; 5K run starts at 9 a.m. and the 5K walk at 9:15. Registration $18; free entry with a minimum of $35 in pledges. Pets must be on leashes, and any messes are YOUR responsibility. Call 698-3006. Proceeds benefit the Kent County SPCA. Furry Scurry 5K T-shirts to all registered participants.

* April 28: Delaware Humane Association's Walk for the Animals at the Beach on the boardwalk at Rehoboth Beach. Registration at 11 a.m.; walk begins at noon at the north end of the boardwalk. Pre-registration is $15; $25 the day of the event. Dogs must be on leashes, and yep, messes are all yours, too. Call 571-0111. Proceeds benefit the Delaware Humane Association. Raise $75 and you get a free T-shirt.

You Have To See 'Planet Earth'

This 11-part series on the Discovery Channel is some of the most amazing nature footage I've seen.

You've got to watch. Or if weekly TV is too passe, buy the DVD.

Look for the footage of the snow leopard. It's rarely seen, let alone on film. And the footage is absolutely amazing.

This Shrimp Packs a Wallop

There might be a fish called the Jack Dempsey, but this mantis shrimp could knock him into next week.

The crustacean imported from Bali, with its outer-space alien face, has powerful claws that it uses to attack and kill prey, including snails. Carleen Webb, one of the owners of Just Fish in Bear, says you can hear it crack a snail's shell. That power means that fish fans need to keep it in an acrylic tank; it's been known to break a doubled-paned glass one.

Webb says the mantis shrimp ($89.99) -- just a few inches long -- is popular among fish owners as the focal point of a separate exotic tank. "When they see people, they come right at them," she says. "They're curious."

Creepy, but cool.

Keep Your Cat Away From the Lilies

The folks at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine remind us that Easter lilies -- including all parts of the plants -- are highly toxic to cats, with the potential to cause kidney failure.

The list of lillies that are poisonous include:
* Easter lily
* Tiger lily
* Rubrum lily
* Japanese show lily
* Day lily

What should you watch for? Within a few hours of eating a lily, a cat might vomit, lose its appetite or become lethargic. If you see any of these signs or suspect you cat might have chewed on a lily, call your vet or an emergency animal hospital.

P.S. That hand-me-down warning about poinsettias being poisonous to dogs is mostly myth. The Christmas plant is only mildly toxic to dogs, and most will exhibit no symptoms at all. Some might have an upset stomach, including vomiting, but the plant will not kill them.

Can't We Make Wheat Gluten in the U.S.?

By now you know that the FDA believes it has traced the tainted pet food back to a plant in China that made the wheat gluten used by Menu Foods.

It made me ask: Can't we make wheat gluten in the U.S.? Why do we have to import it from China? Might it have something to do with the labor and production costs being cheaper? Or maybe the lack of environmental regulations?

We're typically the third-ranked country for wheat production behind China and India, and we're also a big exporter of wheat. Delaware harvested 51,000 acres of wheat, according to the state's Web site, which didn't list the year for that figure.

Gluten is what's left behind after you wash wheat flour dough with water until the starch is gone. From there, the gluten can be cooked and processed for use in all sorts of products, including pet food. Check your can or pouch for the first ingredient listed. Wheat gluten isn't as common in dry pet foods.

Among humans, wheat gluten is big in the dishes of Southeast Asian countries, and was first developed in China. It's the tofu of the Far East -- used as a meat substitute in dishes that call for meat. Vegetarians use it, so do those who follow a macrobiotic diet, and Buddhists who follow a meatless diet incorporate it in their menu plan.

Elvis Meets Elroy

They both have five letters in their first names, and those names each start with "E."

Elroy meet Elvis. Elroy is a 4-month-old shepherd mix, who is up for adoption at the Delaware Humane Association in Wilmington. He is modeling a gold lame tuxedo jacket ($30, small) and matching scrunchy bow tie ($5.99, medium) from the Elvis Presley Hound Dog Collection, found at P.U.P.S in Lewes. (And he looks good doing it in this photo taken by News Journal staffer Jennifer Corbett!)

Elroy was brought to the humane association from the Philadelphia Animal Care and Control Association after he was picked up wandering the streets of Philadelphia. If you are interested in adopting him -- or any other animals at the humane association -- call 571-0111, or stop by and meet this very personable and friendly guy.

The Emphasis Is Now on Healthy Dog

Put the pet food supply at risk and pet owners turn lots of places for answers. They inundate their vets with calls about what to do. They reach out to locally owned pet stores for alternatives and answers. And they turn to a specialty pet store with a bakery in the back for food they can trust.

Diane Mayer, owner of Happy Dog Healthy Dog in Wilmington's Trolley Square, says the last three days were unbelievable. "When I saw these poor people come in this weekend with the panic/worry/fear/love on their faces ...," her voice trails off.

The staff sold out of the retail foods they carry, they sold out of the foods they bake on the premises, and customers even snapped up foods in the refrigerated unit near the check-out counter.

"I don't know if they'll like it, but at least I know it was made here," Mayer says was the attitude of her customers about feeding their dogs.

At 6 p.m. Wednesday, Mayer will take that help a step further when she hosts a monthly dog food class in the store's bakery. She teaches those who are interested how to make their own dog food and snacks. If you're interested, the cost of the class is $35. Call Diane at 428-1919 to see if she has more room.