July 2014
Wags and Tags
Celebrating the canine-human bond!

          This newsletter is brought to you by Arlington Dog Owners Group (A-DOG), a 501(c)(3) community organization promoting the rights and interests of responsible dog owners in Arlington, MA.  

If you're not already a member, we hope you'll want to join A-DOG!


A-DOG logos designed by Lisa Berasi for Arlington Dog Owners Group, all rights reserved
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Meet "A-dog" Remy 

Nothing will stop Remy the Remdog from enjoying his summer!

   

 

I'm Remy the Remdog!  I'm a Lab mix, and I just turned twelve.  Well, they think I'm twelve, but since I came from a rescue, who knows?  I was out running the streets of Haverill, and I ended up at the New England All Retriever Rescue (NEARR).  They named me Remy after Jerry you-know-who.  (I think he's got the name RemDawg trademarked, so I don't spell it that way.)  My people kept the name Remy but they call me all kinds of things: Remster, RD, Mr. Remy, even Rema-lema-ding-dog.  I've lived with them for six and a half years, and at first I gave them some trouble.  I really hate my cousin Biscuit and let him know who's boss when I first met him.  I also growled at my people a lot.  They took me to a doggie psychiatrist to see why I was acting out.  Now I've mellowed out and I've got them trained. 

 

My favorite thing is to take my people to Robbins Farm Park during the morning off-leash hours, where I charm the other dog owners into throwing the tennis ball for me.  And don't think they can get away with just one throw.  I'm a retriever, that's my job!  The only thing better than the park is going to Maine for a week in the summer.  I charm the neighbors there into throwing the tennis ball in the lake for me.  I swim around like crazy with the ball in my mouth, and I even learned to climb up the ladder onto the floating dock and dive back into the lake.  Here are pictures of me in Maine.

 

 

 

 

The other picture was taken at Angell Animal Medical Center in May before they did a procedure on me.  I really have to lay on the charm when I go to the vet or who knows what they'll do.  They told my people that I've got something growing on my liver, but I don't feel anything.  Nothing's going to stop me from having fun this summer!     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Remy's coauthor and mom is A-DOG member and board member Amy Goldstein. (Shown in one photo, Remy with his dad, Doug Greenfield, on vacation in Maine.)

 

 


PAWS to Mark Your Calendar!
Save the date for coming events

  

  

MAY WAS  MEMBERSHIP MONTH but we still need you, if you haven't already, to join the A-DOG Pack. "NEW" OR "RENEW" IT IS EASY TO DO.  Sign up today here.

 

 

Tuesday, July 22 (7-9 pm)  A-DOG Monthly Meeting, Jefferson Cutter House Community Room, Arlington Center.

 

Thursday, July 17 (7 pm) Screening of the film Redemption at the Regent Theatre, Arlington, MA. Tickets ($5) are available in advance through the Regent link or can be purchased at the door.  Information about the film and the event:  Nathan Winograd, J.D., Director of the No Kill Advocacy Center and the nation's most vocal and influential voice for life-affirming outcomes for homeless companion animals, has created the film "Redemption" as a sequel to the 2007 book of the same name, which documented the history of sheltering in the U.S. and proposed mandates for a no-kill revolution. How far have we come? What further is needed? Who has been successful? Where are homeless animals the safest? A question and answer period with Nathan will follow. 

 

Saturday, July 26 (7-11 pm) Moonlight Beach Party.  The Arlington Reservoir Beach will be transformed into a paradise under the stars!  Join together as a community to celebrate, and raise funds and awareness  for Arlington's parks all while enjoying an adult evening filled with music, dancing, on site grilled dinner provided by Blue Ribbon BBQlive auction and raffles . Tickets are $65 each or $120 per couple.  Tickets must be purchased prior to the event. Organize a group of friends or the parents from an A-Town team and reserve your table now!  For more information about the Arlington Parks Alliance (APA) and to purchase tickets, click here.  

   

Saturday - Sunday, August 2-3 (10 am - 5 pm) Somerville Dog Owners Group's (som|dog's) annual Pet Palooza "includes all our furry sidekicks and their companions for a two-day, family focused festival"!  More details through somldog, here

 

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Photo above from our recent summer wine tasting at Menotomy Beer and Wine, announced in last month's "Paws to Mark Your Calendar".  A-DOG board members and co-organizers Joan Black and Ann Smith congratulate Jessica Farman who won one of the great door prizes!

 
Arlington Public News Photo Contest:  "Pets Enjoying the Weather"
 
Announcing a winner and anticipating future pet-friendly collaborations!

 

 

Arlington Public News, a production of Arlington Community Media, Inc., is a team of volunteer citizen journalists interested in reporting community events, issues, and achievements. Over the past year, APN has done extensive news pieces and interviews, including features on pet safety.

 

Last month in Wags and Tags, APN announced its first Photo of the Month contest!  In honor of Spring, the theme was "Pets Enjoying the Weather.

 

See some of the entries on the Arlington Public News Facebook page.  The winner, Brendan Foley, submitted a photo of his dog Lilly (shown) and won a $25 gift certificate to Arlington's own Firefly Moon gift shop!

 

A-DOG and APN hope to collaborate on future pet-friendly events and activities in our community!

 

 


"Wine and Whine Tasting Yappy Hour"
 Our third annual wine tasting event was a hit once again!


 

The third annual summer membership celebration at Menotomy Beer and Wine was so much fun!  A-DOG members and their well-socialized dogs enjoyed the "Wine and Whine Tasting Yappy Hour", with delicious refreshments by Roslyn Smith and her sister Sharon Tice.  In our drawing, attendees won some great prizes, all donated by A-DOG or by individual members.  These prizes were:  gift certificates for Cafe Barada and Madrona Tree, a bottle of wine with wine charms, an A-DOG t-shirt and doggy water bowl, a paw-print photo frame, and a colorful doggy floor mat.   

 

For more photos of the event, see our website.

 

 

 

 

 

 

ARK and CAPAMA Working to Save "At Risk" Dogs
Learn more at the upcoming screening and discussion of "Redemption"

 

 

The vision for our homeless pets in Massachusetts: That we become a true no kill state, where euthanization is only an option for animals with painful, inoperable medical conditions or dangerous behavior beyond rehabilitation. As more shelters and Animal Control Officers (ACOs) are making it their mission as well, their policies and procedures are changing and tightening. Dogs aren't slipping through the cracks; they are slipping out of obscurity into the limelight as poster dogs for change.

Two years and nearly 300 dogs later, Animal Rescue Konnection (ARK) has worked to make our vision a reality. We saw too many dogs being killed under the guise of labels such as 'unadoptable' or 'aggressive' and decided not only to bark the bark but to do something about it. We set out to prove these dogs could be saved and adopted out successfully.  ARK's focus is on dogs manifesting behavioral issues, often labeled 'aggressive' or 'unadoptable' and killed with little to no chance at rehabilitation.  Harnessing our vast connections in the sheltering community, we give these dogs the chance to succeed. What we have learned is that many of these dogs' behavioral issues disappear or mitigate by simply a transfer to another shelter or foster home. Other times, basic training or enrichment, exercise and some structure is all that is needed. Only rarely is substantial rehabilitation required.  Just because the dog doesn't like to be touched today, as an example, is in no way a determination of how he may behave after transfer to a foster home or different facility where he has time to de-stress. The dogs continually show us this time and time again.

 

ACOs, holding facilities, volunteers and staff at shelters are seeing this as well and are collaborating with us for appropriate placement for their at-risk dogs. They are seeing the rewards of simple enrichment and exercise, and now these very shelters that once reached out for help are helping ARK. It is a stunning turn of events. Unfortunately, there are many who are still resistant to outside intervention, networking or collaboration.  And herein is the focus of another organization formed called Companion Animal Protection Act Massachusetts (CAPAMA).

 

As of right now, companion animals in Massachusetts can be, and often are, killed after a seven-day holding period at an animal control facility. Additionally, shelters are not required to provide any statistics on animal intake or euthanasia.CAPAMA is looking to garner support for an initiative petition to be put on the 2016 ballot that would set guidelines, clearly define standards and shelter terminology as well as mandate record keeping and adopt rescue access laws that would give non-profit organizations access and legal right to save at-risk animals. If you are interested in learning more or becoming involved, please click here.

 

July 17 at 7:00 the Regent theater in Arlington will be showing the Boston premiere of the animal sheltering documentary "Redemption."  

 

The creator of the film, Nathan Winograd, has based the documentary on his award-winning book entitled the same name. He will hold a discussion after the film and both ARK and CAPA will be there with additional information. Look at the events section for additional information.  We look forward to seeing you there.

 

 

Article by Mary Lou Maraganis

 

 

Important Summer Reminder for Dog Safety
Dogs and hot cars are a dangerous combination!

 

 

 

Please don't forget, now that it's summer, that it is extremely dangerous to leave your dog in a car on a hot day, even a "moderately hot day" for a short time. Do not risk this!  What follows is an excerpt from an informative, potentially life-saving article by the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (MSPCA), who reminds us, as well, that "causing an animal to be subjected to unnecessary cruelty or suffering is a felony" in our state.

"The inside of a car can heat up to 110� F in 10 minutes on an 80� F day - even with the windows slightly open. Your pet will suffer needlessly and could die when left in your car even on a moderately hot day. Your pet would be safer at home."  

Read more of the MSPCA article to learn about heat stress, its symptoms and emergency treatment, and the importance of intervening if you see somebody else's dog locked in a hot car.  If you see a dog locked in a car on a hot day, please call Animal Control or the police to evaluate the situation and get that dog out of any potentially harmful, deadly situation! 

 

Photo from the an animal-friendly blog.  Drawing is from a public domain clip art site.

 

Help Wanted: Your Dog's Face Here?
Wags and Tags Welcomes Your Contributions

A-DOG Members and supporters, Wags and Tags is YOUR monthly newsletter!  If you have suggestions for an article, including one you'd like to write, for a future issue, please contact us (arlingtondogowners@gmail.com) with "Newsletter" in the subject line.   
 
Maybe you'd like your dog to be one of our "
Arlington dogs, or A-dogs", like Blarney (December), Annabel (March) and Molly (last month).  You don't have to live in Arlington, but can be a neighbor who enjoys Arlington's dog recreation benefits, or otherwise supports our mission.  You can also suggest a special Rainbow Bridge memorial tribute to a beloved canine family member you've lost, like the beautiful tributes to Isabel in March and Raleigh in May.  
 
Or, maybe you're a Friend of A-DOG Business and want to describe how you help A-DOG and what you offer to our community of dog owners and dog-friendly people.  Your business, too, can be featured like Bette Yip's Picture Perfect Pets (November), BlueSkyDogs (January), GoPlay! (February), or Your Wonderful Dog (last month).
 
Suggested article length for the newsletter is 500 words or fewer but this is only a guideline.  We will also need at least one photo, preferably a jpg or gif format, compressed to a size of less than 1 MB.  Depending on the topic, you might want to write a longer version for our website, with a link in the Wags and Tags article.

 
The Irish Setter on the computer photo is reprinted from a website called "iget2work".

 

 

Our next  A-DOG meeting
  
A-DOG's monthly meetings are scheduled for each 4th Tuesday evening. Come join us on July 22, at 7:00 - 9:00 pm at the Community Room of the Jefferson Cutter House, 611 Mass Ave (at Mystic, in Arlington Center).  The Community Room is accessible via the rear entrance at the municipal parking lot.
 
 

 

A-DOG 2014 Membership Drive Is Still On!
 
A-DOG's membership year runs from April 1 through March 31, so some full memberships are up for renewal.  If your membership is expiring, you should have received a reminder letter and there is 2014 Membership Drive information on our website.  As an A-DOG Full Member, you are entitled to discounts and benefits from our Friends of A-DOG businesses.  And, your dues and donations to A-DOG are tax deductible, to the full extent allowed by law.
  

 


A-DOG members, Business Friends of A-DOG and other subscribers receive Wags and Tags each month.  If this issue was forwarded to you and you'd like to subscribe to Wags and Tags without joining A-DOG, click here or click the green sign-up button on the front page of our website.  

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info@arlingtondogowners.org
Arlington, MA 02474