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
!
Wags and Tags editorial team: Joan Black (managing editor), Jen Burns, Sue Doctrow, and Ellen Leigh. Contact our
managing editor
if you'd like to submit an article. (Guidelines: 500 words or fewer, with 1 or 2 photos of 1 mb or smaller.)
Articles in Wags and Tags represent the opinions of the author(s) not necessarily those of A-DOG or the editorial team. A-DOG logos designed by Lisa Berasi for Arlington Dog Owners Group, all rights reserved
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- Paws for Calendar
- A-DOG Membership Drive "Wine Tasting" Kick Off
- Help Wanted: Reading DOGS
- "Only unleashed dogs can do that": Mary Oliver "Dog Song"
- A-DOG Unleashed Moments: Part 1
- ACO Diane's Critter Corner: Of Feather and Fur
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- Tuesdays 3:30-4:30 on listed dates are FOX "Reading Dogs” Benny, Penny, & Rufus. All levels of readers welcome. Sign up 30 minutes before session for 15 minutes of a warm, furry personal experience. 2019 Tuesday Dates: Feb 26, March 12, 26, April 9, 23, May 7, 21, June 4 &18
- Saturday March 9 "Wall of Grass" Fundraiser Benefit for Boston Animal Rescue League: Club Passim, 27 Palmer Street, Cambridge 1:00-4:00. Enjoy talents of an interactive collaborative of musicians while raising funds. Passim Menu offers food & drink (including coffee, tea & spirits.Ticket information here.
- Wednesday March 13 "2019 Membership Drive Kick off" Wine Tasting Hosted by Menotomy Beer, Wine & Spirits, 80 Broadway: 7:00-8:30pm. Raise a glass, Enjoy Appetizers & a chance to win FUN door prizes. Make NEW Friends. "Renew or NEW, A-DOG Wants YOU!" Leashed Dogs & Well Behaved Human Companions Welcome! New: Check on membership status and sign up/renew on-site.
- Tuesday March 26 A-DOG Members Meeting, Arlington Senior Center, 27 Maple St (corner of Maple and Academy St, behind Town Hall), lower level Mural Room; on street and limited lot parking. Enjoy "Winter Warmer" of soup, bread & snacks beginning 6:30. Business meeting 7:00-8:00pm. Agenda includes: Membership Drive & Volunteer Menu, ACO & AHS DOG Enthusiasts Club Connections, Planning for Patriots Day Parade, FIDO Fest Video Outreach, Bark for Life & other Initiatives. Come with appetite and your ideas.
- Thursday March 28 Pet First Aid & CPR Program. Arlington Senior Center, 27 Maple Street. Co-sponsored by Arlington ACO Diane Welch & A-DOG. Do not miss this multimedia presentation by Amy Newfield of Blue Pearl Veterinary Partners (shown above with Meeko) features sweet & patient "demo" dogs. Please note: Only certified service dogs, no pet dogs, permitted. Program free & open to the public as community service.
Looking Ahead. Save the date.
- Sunday April 14 A-DOG marches in the Patriots Day Parade. Details to follow
- Saturday April 20 13th Annual Animal Rights Day: Mass School of Law, 500 Federal St., Andover, MA : Live Animal Demonstrations, Crafts, Vendors, Workshops.Free & Open to public.
- Sunday April 28 NEADS Spring Graduation 2-4:30pm Montachusetts Regional Vocational Technical School, Fitchburg, MA. Congratulate graduating teams. Celebrate with cake after ceremony. Admission free with "suggested" donation of $5.00. Certified service dogs only. More information here.
- FIDOfest 2019. Save The Date Saturday August 3, 2019 (Rain date Sunday August 4) Submissions for FIDOfest 2019 are being accepted. Sponsored by ACMi, A-DOG, and generous local businesses.
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A-DOG Wine Tasting Membership Drive Kick-Off
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A-DOG Annual Wine Tasting: Raise A Glass
You are invited to 2019 Membership Drive "KICK Off" Wine Tasting: Wednesday March 13, 2019 7:00-8:30pm: Menotomy Beer Wine & Spirits: 80 Broadway.
Enjoy incredible appetizers & enter to win FUN door prizes. Renew friendships. Make new connections. Discover more about A-DOG, who we are, what we do and how you can be involved.
* Well behaved humans & leashed canine companions are welcome. Come join us for a delicious end of winter warmer and help A-DOG's Membership Drive get off to a great start.
* Renewal letters for Members whose memberships are expiring will be sent beginning of March.
NEW or RENEW A-DOG Wants YOU to join our Pack.
Please note Membership donation/dues fund A-DOG’s community service educational, recreational and social programs. Arlington Dog Owners Group (A-DOG) is a 501(3)(c) organization and donation/dues are tax deductible to the full extent allowed by law.
Hope to see you March 13,
Mary Parent & Joan Black
A-DOG Board Members
Join or renew your membership
here
. (If you are already up to date and renew early by mistake, no worries....we will update your membership to the next membership period).
Or, we plan to be able to help you check membership status and sign up at the event.
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Help Wanted: Reading DOGS
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by Mora Rothenberg
Do you love children? Are you a warm furry companion? Do you enjoy a good tail or tale? Are you interested in adventure & mystery? Can you listen without judgment? Do you like helping people feel better? Are you a certified therapy reading dog? Do you have time to volunteer? Are you interested in learning about the "Read To A Dog Program?
If
you
woofed, "YES" to these inquiries, there is a special opportunity for you. Fox & Robbins Libraries are seeking certified reading therapy dogs to join "Read To A Dog" Program. Read To A Dog runs September-June. Dogs are needed once or twice a month which can be adjusted according to individual's schedule. Program is held on alternate Tuesdays 3:30-4:30 at Fox Library in East Arlington. Days & times at Robbins Library are to be announced. Children of all reading abilities sign up in advance for 15 minute sessions with Reading Dog specialists. This is a volunteer position but "Rewards" are great.
You
will share in the joy of the children who come and read to you.
Benny, Penny & Rufus, current Reading Dogs hope you will join their team. The program is so very successful & popular, there is hope of expanding to Robbins Library. Former Reading Dog Thelma passed away recently after many years service. She was an inspiration enriching lives of many children. Are YOU the one to continue the legacy and follow in her paw prints?
For further information or to apply for this unique position,
In photo Rufus intently prepares for Read To A Dog session at Fox Library
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"Only unleashed dogs can do that": Mary Oliver "Dog Song"
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Mary Oliver: From "DOG Song"
“But I want to extol not the sweetness nor the placidity of the dog, but the wilderness out of which he cannot step entirely, and from which we benefit. For wilderness is our first home too, and in our wild ride into modernity with all its concerns and problems we need also all the good attachments to that origin that we can keep or restore. Dog is one of the messengers of that rich and still magical first world. The dog would remind us of the pleasures of the body with its graceful physicality, and the acuity and rapture of the senses, and the beauty of forest and ocean and rain and our own breath. There is not a dog that romps and runs but we learn from him.
The other dog—the one that all its life walks leashed and obedient down the sidewalk—is what a chair is to a tree. It is a possession only, the ornament of a human life. Such dogs can remind us of nothing large or noble or mysterious or lost. They cannot make us sweeter or more kind.
Only unleashed dogs can do that. They are a kind of poetry themselves when they are devoted not only to us but to the wet night, to the moon and the rabbit-smell in the grass and their own bodies leaping forward.” ― Mary Oliver
Hometown of Providence, Massachusetts remembers Mary Oliver as "friend, neighbor and champion of local arts." Learn more
here.
Mary Oliver "Poetry" including excerpt from "Dog Songs",
listen here
.
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Photo above: A joyful off-leash romp for Candace (2004–2018), submitted in loving memory by Sue Doctrow, A-DOG officer and board member.
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A-DOG Unleashed Moments: Part 1
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collected by Joan Black
There were so many wonderful responses to my request for Unleashed Moments photos and stories. Not all would fit in this month's Wags and Tags so it will be continued in March: "Only Unleashed Dogs Can Do That! Unleashed Moments, Part 2".
Thank you for "unleashing" these free & wild moments with your marvelous pups.
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White Mountain hiking and lakeside lounging:
Photos:
Above:
Argo dives into the deep
Below:
Luna drying off on deck
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My Pack of Three: Living & Loving The Wild
by Joanna Cendrowski
Penny, the Coonhound mix is four years old and my uber athlete who knows how to spend the whole day on a couch but also knows how to be the leader for a 10 mile hike up the mountain and always enjoys the view from the top.
Argo is a Golden Hound mix and at 5 is super smart, agile, playful, loyal and super active. It is just his personality to turn every walk into adventure and explore like it's his first time there.
Luna is a Westie at 2 has a BIG dog personality trapped in a small dog body, She is a runner, a hunter, a swimmer and an avid hiker who can take on any BIG boulders in her way.
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Reggie: How Beautiful Life Can Be
by Nancy Sen
We are so grateful Reggie found us. We adopted Reggie from Carolina Coonhound rescue four years ago and he has changed our lives for the better. His boundless energy has not abated with age, and he is never happier than when bounding through the woods. Watching him wend gracefully through the trees, brush & streams is watching joy itself; it always feels unfair to return him to the leash. Reggie's wild spirit is perfectly balanced by his fierce love for & loyalty to his family which has experienced many changes over the last four years: welcoming a (human) baby brother, bringing two cats into our home and welcoming his grandma and her dog into our lives. With every upending life change, Reggie has exceeded our expectations and made the experience even sweeter. He is endlessly patient with our toddler, has welcomed my mom & her dog with a full doggie heart, and delights in letting the cats playfully boss him around . We are lucky Reggie has shown us how beautiful life with a canine companion can be.
Photo: Reggie views the beautiful world
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Smudge: She Was A Good Dog
by Jane Auger
When we moved to our house next to Menotomy Rocks Park in 1998, the first order of business was getting a pup. Walking in those lovely woods could only be improved with a furry companion. We got Smudge as soon as she was weaned and she followed us everywhere. She was always up for an adventure. We took her hiking in Acadia National Park in Maine, in Vermont, to the beach and through the woods everywhere. She liked to be in front of us on any given trail and would always look behind to make sure we, the pack, were following her. She was a strong swimmer, and loved to "fish." She hiked and swam until she was 12.5 years old and finally passed away at 13.5. Smudge was a very good dog. Someone gave me a copy of "Dog Song" when Smudge died, and i treasure it.
Photo: Smudge hiking in Maine
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ACO Diane's Critter Corner: Of Feather and Fur
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Love & Kindness: It's What it's All About!
Letters from Rufus & Diane
To: Diane Welch Subject: Happy Valentine's Day! Thanks for being my ACO!
Hi, Diane,
I am so happy you are my ACO! You truly love animals! Your compassion toward all creatures great and small, two-winged, four-footed, (even cats!), makes me want to lick you! I hope you stay here a long time! Oh, by the way, I'm Rufus. I am a Therapy Dog About Town. I love everybody. I read to children at Fox Library (well, I try to stay awake while they read to me), and try to cheer up troubled teens and lonely elders, usually kisses work.. I hope I get to shake paws with you someday!
Paws-itively yours,
Rufus (with a little help from my partner & A-DOG member Joanna Rutter)
To: Rufus
Subject: Love & Kindness! Thanks for being YOU!
Dearest Rufus,
What a beautiful surprise your note was on a very cold day! You warmed my heart to the very core! How have I not met you yet? I love that you do story time with our young cubs and bring gentleness and comfort to elderly or those in need of some love. Isn't love and kindness what it's all about? I must admit to you when I started this new adventure in my life, as Arlington's ACO, my heart would flutter on my way into work. I thought I would l aways feel that way.I sometimes called my husband almost in tears wondering if I would ever be good at this. He would reassure me I absolutely could do the job and that the people of Arlington believed in me. I continued day by day and then weeks became months. Here's to the power of love and kindness. I do love my job and am gaining more skills & experience each and every day. I still have much to learn but I know this... I am so blessed to be your Animal Control Officer and grateful for the Arlington community for its support.
Best Regards,
Diane Welch
Animal Control Officer:Arlington Police Department 112 Mystic Street, Arlington, MA 02474
c:
781-645-8014
Photo: Rufus sending "love & kindness" to ACO Diane Welch
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by Diane Welch; Summary Highlights by Joan Black
Sharing helps lost Pets, Squirrel & Owl sitting in a tree, Rescued injured Hooded Maganzer Duck helped at Tufts Wildlife Clinic, Owl released with Officer Corey Raleau: Then free in a tree, Town Hall Squirrel defies "Have a Heart trap. Prefers "Skippy," Bishop School Program: "Autumn The Red Tailed Hawk Talk," Smitty on Rat Patrol. Keep Pets Safe from Rodenticide Poisoning, Fireplace liberation for Barred Owl, 6 Puppies from surrendered pregnant Dog have homes, Poppy, Ray, a volunteer driver for transport to Tufts Wildlife Clinic, Healed Red Tailed Hawk released back in Arlington, Poop Patrols awards three A+: McClennen, Menotomy Rocks & Thorndike Dog Park had "No Poop left behind", local Garter Snaked aided by resident, On Mystic lake two Eagles feast,Injured Bat brought to Bat specialist, Starling "catch & release" from a house. Down the chimney she came, Adorable pair, Bald Eagle at the Res, Loss of Barred Owl from Rodenticide Poisoning. RIP, Arlington Chicken Coops earn top grades, napping Screech Owl, Harper goes AWOL, Another Bareed owl release. Be safe, Red Tailed Hawk enjoying Rat Lunch, Injured Barred owl off to Tufts & final spotlight Cambridge "Post Office" Barred Owl helped to demonstrate how to use a "raptor trap" Thank YOU to ACO Diane for sharing her many adventures with us.There is something learned in living every day!
"Diane is really about animal protection and care." A-DOG Board member David White suggests, "Maybe she should be renamed Arlington's Animal Warden." David sent this link.
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Diane Welch is Arlington's Animal Control Officer (ACO) and contributes this regular column in collaboration with Joan Black, A-DOG board member and officer.
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A-DOG Meetings in 2019
A-DOG holds five meetings per year, in January, March, May, July and October. Unless otherwise noted, meetings are on the fourth Tuesday of the month. The next meeting is March 26, 2019 at the
Arlington Senior Center/Central School building, Academy and Maple (behind Town Hall), lower level Mural Room
(6:30–8 pm). Schedules and locations of 2019 meetings will be announced in
Wags and Tags
.
A-DOG Membership
A-DOG's membership year runs from April 1 through March 31, so some full memberships are up for renewal each spring. If your membership expired, you should have received a reminder letter during our Membership Drive. 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. If you are not an A-DOG member,
join here
anytime! (If you join after Sept 1, expiration will be extended to the next membership period so you don't miss out.)
Shop for A-DOG
(If you are not a full member, please sign up and pay your dues at the link above for joining A-DOG. If you are unsure if your membership is still active, or need another membership card as proof, you can email us to check into it.)
Also, when you buy from Amazon, please start at the
Amazon Smile website
which should get you directly to our donation link. If not, be sure to choose "A-Dog The Arlington Dog Owners Group, Inc" as your preferred nonprofit group. Amazon will make a donation to A-DOG and your purchase will not cost any more!
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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Arlington Dog Owners Group | www.arlingtondogowners.org
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