Woman Calls Cops On Black Guy Because His Dog Humped Her Dog Horrors!

"Dog Park Debbie" calls the police to a dog park
because a black man's dog humped her dog

In a ridiculous video, one that might have racial issues like "Barbecue Becky," "Permit Patty" and "Cornerstone Caroline"  we have a white woman calling the cops on a black man at a dog park.

This time, it's because the guy's dog started trying to hump the woman's dog, as dogs tend to do. They don't always behave, do they?

The man got the dog off the woman's dog, and neither animal appears to have been harmed. The man, named Franklin Baxley, did have to get his dog off the woman's a couple other times. Later, the woman's dog did the same to Baxley's but I guess that's OK.

But in a classic overreaction, the woman called the Attleboro, Massachusetts police.

I don't know if the woman was being racist, because I don't have a lot of context from the video. But it appears to fit a pattern of white people calling the police on black people for just doing things that normal people do, like having a barbecue in the park, entering their own apartment building, or allowing their kid to sell bottled water on the sidewalk during a hot afternoon.

To Baxley, this did seem racial, and I can see why he thinks this way: He told Yahoo News: "The woman wanted to impress upon me that she was superior...Her first instinct was to call the police when in conflict with a black person."

This kind of thing just doesn't stop, does it?  I mean, the woman could have kept her dog away from Baxley's dog if she was that upset, but nope! First reaction is to call the police. I'm sure she's going to enjoy her 15 minutes of fame.

I'm sure the cops were a bit annoyed by the waste of time they had to endure sorting this out. Can we please not call the cops unless we have an actual emergency? Here's the video:

Dale Hansen Explains Why We Love Our Dogs, And Each Other

Dallas sportscaster Dale Hansen with Miss Hailey.

My favorite local sportscaster in the nation is Dale Hansen at television station WFAA in Dallas-Fort Worth.

I've featured him a few times in this blog post because the man always makes more sense than just about anybody I've seen on television.  A couple examples of where I featured Hansen are here and here. 

Hansen is a gruff, no-nonsense type of guy that seems stereotypical of sportscasters. But he often goes off-script, commenting on things that might offend some not-so-thoughtful sports fans. His somewhat liberal views sometimes clash with those of conservative sports fans in Texas. Almost everybody loves Hansen anyway.  

This week, he did a commentary on the newscast that had nothing to do with sports, but one that I think everyone can agree with, that is a must-see, especially if you own a dog. Or, more accurately, as Hansen puts it, if a dog owns you.

On the day of his commentary, his bassett hound Miss Hailey passed away. So he devoted his segment on WFAA to Miss Hailey, and why dogs make us more human. By the way, Hansen's comments also fully apply to anyone who has a cat, or any other favorite pet.

While discussing Miss Hailey's passing,  Hansen tells us, "Anyone and anything you love will eventually end in tears, but it is the deal we make......You can avoid the pain and tears of losing a loved one. All you have to do is never love. I choose the pain and tears. But Dr. Seuss was right. Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened."

Oddly, I think the world would be better off if we all chose the pain and tears. Here's the whole video. Worth the watch, for sure:

Dogs Are Parasites Columnist Gets It Bad From Dog Lovers

Our two dogs, Tonks and Jackson last winter "conning" me into
believing they were suffering so much in the snow that
I had to let them indoors for cookies and extended belly rubs. 

A columnist for the San Diego Union Tribune earlier this month tried to talk us all out of loving our dogs by using cold hard science to explain himself.

For most of us, it didn't work.

I don't know if the columnist, Chris Reed, has a beef against dogs, but he did take pains to erase what he said are illusions us humans have about our canine friends.

Basically, he said Fido and all his canine friends are manipulative parasites. Reed said he grounded his argument in science.

The science Reed cited is probably sound. Maybe. The conclusions perhaps not so much. But even if he has a point, hoo-boy.

Here's Reed's premise, in  his own words: "That's because the more the human-canine relationship is examined, the more its parasitic nature becomes obvious - and the more clingy and forlorn humans come to appear."

Reed heavily cited the science journalist Stephen Budiansky and his book called "The Truth About Dogs."

Budiansky wrote:  "Instead of the notion that over the past 40,000 years, manking domesticated wolves into present-day dogs, Budiansky says evidence strongly suggests that 'proto-dogs' cultivated mankind, intuitively grasping that 'mooching off people' beat 'fighting it out in the wild.' Early humans 'with their campfires and garbage heaps and hunting practices, but above all their social interactions, represented an ecological niche ripe for exploitation."

Which led to this conclusion from Reed: "Dogs had a secret weapon in winning over humans: Human nature, specifically our near-compulsive anthropomorphism - our habit of attributing human behaviors, emotions or intentions to nonhuman entities."

"So is that love in your dog's eyes - or is that the look of a con man sizing up his mark? Science says it's the latter. Sorry, world," Reed concluded.

There's debate over whether Budiansky's research is great or bullshit. Of course, if us humans are being manipulated like this by dogs, we love it.  The backlash against Reed and the San Diego Union Tribune was swift and unrelenting.

The most common question posed to the newspaper: "Was this written by a cat?"

Kayla Knapp tweeted:

"I actually read the article, just because. And the premise is ridiculous. It says our dogs are conning us into spoiling them. Like, okay? They still make me endlessly happy so who cares if they're 'using' us! OPEN INVITATION FOR EVERY DOG TO CON ME INTO LOVING IT."

The all caps are Kayla, not me. But I can't disagree with her argument. Neither can my dogs Jackson and Tonks. Who are conning me at this very moment.

I just don't feel like I'm a victim of any kind of con from my two pups.

..

Why We All Love Sympathetic Dogs

Like a lot of dogs, Roxy, in this
image from a viral video, knew
exactly how to help Sam, the upset
toddler in the  video 

Like most people who own dogs, at least good ones like me, we know they are often in tune with our emotions, and I swear they actually try to make us feel better.

When Jeff or me is sick and we need to stay in bed, Jackson and/or Tonks get into bed with us, for moral support.

I'm really close to Jackson, our black Cocker Spaniel. When I get particularly frustrated, Jackson will leave the room, because he doesn't like negativity.

That's my cue to calm down, and follow him into the bedroom, because he always retreats to the bed there when I get cross.

I lay down next to him. Tell both him and me that it's all right. He gets a belly rub, I get a doggy kiss, and then, everything is perfect in the world again.

I love the following example of how dogs like Jackson know how to help.

Roxie the dog, of Riverton, Australia, noted his young human companion, Sam was crying. In a show of solidarity, Roxy began howling in tears, too. Just wanting to prove he understood Sam, I guess.

Sam noticed the solidarity and calmed down. Roxy gave Sam a little kiss on the nose, and, as always with these dogs, everything was right in the world again.

So, if you're sick of the news and people not being like Good Dogs, here's that video to cheer you up.

Just Because We Need It: Dog Gets Great Gift, Everyone Happy

Cash, left, meets his new, young best buddy Jennings
at Christmas, making everyone happy 

It's been a trying 2017 to say the least, so the last post of this year, or at least something close to the last post, should go like this one. Just ot make us feel better.

In Ortonville, Michigan, Cash, a 12-year-old Golden Retriever, also had a bad 2017. His best friend, a fellow dog in the household named Rosie, passed away.

Cash mourned. He was getting older and this was too much. He lost all his energy after Rosie's death, and pretty much slept close to 23 hours a day.

That is until Christmas. Cash's human companion, Marie Ahonen, decided Cash needed a new companion to get him back to his old self.

It was a Christmas present: "It'll be our Christmas present to our family - that was our first thought. Then it just kind of piqued in my mind that this will be Cash's present," Ahonen said.

The idea worked. "(Cash) just got so excited and his paws were going a million miles an hour and I'm so excited, like this is what he needed," Ahonen said.

The gift for Cash was a Golden Retriever puppy. In the video,  Marie's husband, Jay, brings in a box and Cash immediately knows something cool is inside. Cash opens the box, and there's the puppy.

Cash immediately came back to life. The puppy looks confused at first, but then at the end decides he's game.

The puppy's name is Jennings (named after Waylon) At last report. Cash and Jennings were gettin along famously, and Cash was indeed back to his old, pre-2017 self

Let's hope the same for the rest of us.

Here's the fun, cute video:

Update: Awful Pit Bull Ban In Montreal Has Been Ditched

Izzy, pictured here, and other pit bulls are once again
welcome in Montreal, after a new mayor overturned
a bad breed-specific ordinance enacted last year. 

Sometimes, elections bring welcome changes.

Montreal has a new mayor, and that new mayor's administration has lifted a year-old stupid municipal ordinance banning pit bulls.

The ordinance was put in place after an understandable outrage: a woman was mauled to death by a dog that happened to be a pit bull.

Rather than tightening restrictions on all dogs deemed dangerous, the city passed a law that pretty much banned all pit bulls from the city. This raised the threat of euthanizing perfect good, safe pit bulls were part of peoples' families, and exiling others away from their forever homes.

The new mayoral administration just pulled the plug on the pit bull ban, saying Montreal should be a welcoming city for all pet owners. The city still has tight restrictions on dogs deemed dangerous, which makes perfect sense. Breed-specific laws don't, though, so I'm glad Montreal listened to the SPCA on this one.

Finally! A "Bachelor" Episode I Can Actually Enjoy

These two women are vying for the affection of Stewart,
the only episode of "The Bachelor" you will ever love.

I have to say I really hate the TV show "The Bachelor" 

The fake sexual tension, the damsel in distress drama and cattiness exhibited by the female contestants, the drinking, the mental health issues, the pumped up music to supposedly build your interest in everything else about

The Bachelor is everything I despise about reality TV.

Until I found a recent episode.

No, not the official "The Bachelor" TV show. This episode is a knock off of the show, and features a very eligible bachelor named Stewart in Sante Fe, New Mexico.

Unlike the cads on the real "Bachelor," Stewart genuinely seems like a nice guy. He's friendly to both top contestants but doesn't get overly fake solititous, fawning or salacious. He just seems to want to enjoy the moment, whatever that moment might be.

He's physical with the women, but in a polite way.  He's a gentleman. Not a smart aleck. He's friendly, loves a good time, is physically active and a very good looking guy, I must say.

The women, in keeping with the usual set up of the show, are vapid, biting, too emotional, kinda dumb and a bit over the top in this episode

The episode involving Stewart is, as noted, set in New Mexico, and one of these American women who are vying for Stewart remarks about her trip to Sante Fe, "I'm so excited because I've never been out of the country before. "

Oookay.

But the women involved are clearly just doing this for the cameras. They're actually fine.

This particular episode ends before Stewart has a chance to decide which woman to "adopt" but I have the feeling that he'll have a great life with whomever he chooses.

Here's the video of the only really good episode of "The Bachelor":

Melt Your Heart As Girl Sings Sweetly To A Dog

A still from a very sweet video in this post

As you might have noticed, I occasionally post things that are just insanely nice as an antidote to the nastiness of the world, some of which I document in this here blog thingy.

Today's installment was so sweet I almost went into a diabetic coma, but the video at the bottom of this post is just so beautiful I had to share. It's just a little girl singing "You Are My Sunshine" to a dog.

The video was actually taken months ago, so it's not exactly breaking news. But it was recently featured in The Dodo, I found if there, and went with it.

Looking into the video further, it turns out that the dog in the video doesn't belong to the little girl, but that situation makes the whole thing better.

Turns out the girl's family belongs to a group called PACT For Animals that takes in dogs for foster care while their owners are away on military deployments or in the hospital.

Here's the video.

Very Young "Veterinarian" Helps Beagle With Injured Foot

Little Laura, in her white veterinarian's coat, treats
a cut on her companion Charlie the Beagle's paw.
Charlie has since made a full recovery. 

I often resist cloyingly cute videos involving kids and animals, but I somehow couldn't pass this one up.  

It's just too adorable, and I keep wanting to see nice things in a world that sometimes feels so evil.

The backstory is that a little girl named Laura and her companion, a beagle named Charlie, have had some viral video fame as we've seen what besties they are ever since Laura was born.

Previous videos show Laura as a baby, but now she's a grown up toddler.

Recently, Charlie cut his paw on a thick blade of frozen grass. So, Laura did what she had to do. She put on her white veterinarian coat and went to work.

As you'll see in the video below, I have to give Charlie huge credit for what a patient "patient" he is as Laura treats the injured paw.

I have to give a lot of credit to Laura, too. She may be too young to know how best to treat a minor dog injury, but who cares? The love she has for Charlie is crystal clear in the video, as is the fact that Charlie knows this.

Side note in the video you'll watch below. The people involved are talking in Polish, which makes my heart melt more because I'm of Polish descent.

Every little moment in the video is incredibly sweet, including the hugs, and the blanket Laura puts over Charlie.  By the way, spoiler alert: Laura's treatment worked. Charlie is all better now.

At the end of the video, Laura is done, and Charlie settles comfortably down for a nap, knowing he is well cared for and in good hands.

We should all be so lucky.

Here's the video to make you go "awwwwwwww"

Video Proves Dogs Rescued 2016 And Will Rescue 2017.

A dog happily blows bubbles in its water dish
as part of a compilation video showing some of
the best dog moments of 2016

I love the compilation video of the Dogs of 2016 at the bottom of this post, and you will, too.

I'm biased because I love dogs, but even people who are not particularly into dogs will get some smiles and maybe even be a touch moved by the video.

The clips prove that dogs can be a great stress reliever, even in difficult years like 2016.

The video ends with a message that we should all take to heart: "No matter how challenging 2017 gets, remember the dogs will always be good."

Maybe we should all learn from the dogs.

Watch:

Nice Move! Letter Carrier Builds Handicap Ramp For Elderly Dog

Maddie Dimetrosky, 11, helps Tashi, 14 down the handicapped
ramp letter carrier Jeff Kramer built for Tashi so' they can
greet each other every day.
Photo by Jeremy Pappaso/Boulder Daily Camera.

I get so negative in this blog sometimes, and I will continue to do so, I'm afraid, but any bit of heartwarming or good news does the body and mind good, so I'll keep throwing those in, too.

Today's installment takes us to snowy Boulder, Colorado, where a letter carrier named Jeff Kramer always liked the greeting he got from a dog named Tashi at one particular house on his route.

According to the Boulder Daily Camera: 

"'He would just come by eery day and pet him,' said Tashi's owner Karen Dimetrosky. 'Tashi would hang out outside and would always get so excited when Jeff came. He would always try to pull me toward the mail truck.'"

Tashi is now 14 years old, elderly, and can't walk so well anymore. So Tashi's  human family started having to carry the dog up and down the front stairs to greet Kramer.

Kramer had recently lost an old dog, which had used a handicapped access ramp to get into his house.

So why not give Tashi the ramp?

At first, Kramer just dropped off the wood from the ramp and the Dimetroskys would use the wood to build a new ramp. But the family isn't particularly handy, or good at carpentry

So, Kramer came back and built the ramp himself. "I just noticed they needed it," Kramer explained.

"I can't image not having the ramp now. It's the only way he gets in and out," Dimetrosky told the Daily Camera. 

Now, no need to carry Tashi to greet Kramer. He just uses the ramp so Kramer and Tashi still get to have their daily happy moment.

The irony of being a letter carrier who did this is not lost on Kramer. "Yeah, a mailman who likes dogs. Go figure," Kramer said.

Yeah, I know the story about Tashi isn't a big important news flash, but ti's always great to see a small, pleasant moment in the middle of the world's chaos.

Here's the Boulder Daily Camera's YouTube story on Kramer and Tashi:

Bachelor Party Ends In Mass Puppy Adoption

Guys at  bachelor party in the remote Tennessee
woods found abandoned puppies and the pups'
mother, so they adopted them on the spot. 

When you think of bachelor parties, the first words that come to mind aren't usually, "sweet." "kind," and "awwwwwww"

But one such bachelor party ended up just that way.

A bunch of guys from Michigan were celebrating the upcoming nuptials of one of their buddies in a remote cabin in the Tennessee woods.

It would be a fun five days of four wheeling, carousing, boozing and a grand old time.

During the guys' stay, a skittish, obviously malnourished dog showed up at the cabin door. They fed the dog, who hung around, knowing there'd be more food.

But the guys got alarmed when they noticed the dog had recently given birth and kept going off into a certain place in the woods.

So they followed and found the dog's seven puppies in a den under some brush.

Mitchell Craddock, the groom to be, described the situation to Michigan Live:

"'We're guessing they were maybe aroud five or six weeks old,' Craddock said, and although their mother was very malnourished, the pups were robust. 'We were proud of her,' he said. 'She gave everything she had to those puppies.'"

Smart mom, too, having the nerve to ask for help from humans even though she'd obviously been mistreated by  humans.

The guys naturally pulled the pups out and took care of them, too.  The stash of money for beer for the guys immediately turned into a puppy food fund instead.

The bachelor party dudes got so attached to the pups that they knew they couldn't just leave them when their four days of fun in Tennessee was over. So they took the pups home.

 Craddock adopted one of the puppies and four of his groomsmen adopted puppies as well. The other puppies and the mother were adopted by relatives of the groom and groomsmen, said the Huffington Post

All the dogs are doing well, and see each often because everybody who adopted the dogs lives fairly close to one another.

For the record, the puppies' names are now Brimmie, Rosie, Daisy, Knox, Gunner, Bear and Finn.

This turned out to be one of those bachelor parties where the strippers didn't strip, the booze didn't flow and nobody got arrested.

However, it was certainly one of the best bachelor parties ever. I know the dogs liked it a lot, too.

If you want to see for yourself how the puppies are doing, Michigan Live put out this little YouTube video of them:

Montreal Passes Worst Anti-Dog Law Ever; Judge Temporarily Suspends IT

If the guy in this picture lived in Montreal, chances
are he's have to get rid of his dog, under
a bizarre and mean new city ordinance.  

UPDATE: 

A judge on Monday temporarily suspended the loathsome Montreal pit bull band, pending an appeal by the SPCA.

It's unclear whether the law would be overturned. But the ordinance, which was to have begun Monday, is now not quite on yet.

The judge will decide Wednesday if the law's suspension should go on for the entire appeal.

We'll see.

PREVIOUS DISCUSSION

Back in June, a pit bull, or a dog that looked like a pit bull, mauled and killed a 55-year old Montreal woman.

This was obviously an enormous tragedy, and the owner of the dog that killed that woman must be held culpable for allowing a dangerous dog to do such a thing.

In response to this tragedy, the City Council and Mayor of Montreal have just done something that will create a tragedy of a different sort.

The new law could force the euthansia of thousands of perfectly safe, well behaved and loved dogs just because they are pit bulls or sort of, kinda look like pit bulls.

Owners of these dogs in Montreal must pass a criminal background check, pay hundreds of dollars in fees, muzzle the dogs and keep them on less than a four-foot leash anytime they are outdoors.

As the Montreal Gazette reports, the city of Montreal is yet to explain how it will determine what is a "pit bull type dog," how a person deemed to have this type of dog would appeal if the city rules against them, how it will enforce this ordinance, how residents with these dogs will prove they have no criminal record, what actually constitutes a criminal record.

Oh, and you have to take time off during a three hour window during the work week when thousands of other dog owners are trying to register their dogs. And if you don't register in a timely manner, you lose your dogs.

Sounds fair to me! Ugh.

Politicians always react to tragedy by "doing something, The horrified family of the woman called for all pit bulls to be banned, so the city acted. Of course, the City of Montreal is just making things much, much worse.

Most pit bulls, and dogs that look like that breed, are perfectly fine and safe. A few bad people train or neglect these dogs so that they can become dangerous and vicious. Shouldn't you go after these idiots instead of all dogs? o be i

The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty To Animals does not euthanize animals, but it doesn't know what it's going to do with an influx of animals the city wants killed. The SPCA also said it would cancel its contract with the City of Montreal over the ban.

There are rescue organizations trying to ship some of these dogs to other parts of Canada, but still, its a huge task beyond the capabilities of existing animal rescue organization.

Veterinarians are fighting back, too. The CBC reports that Quebec's Order of Veterinarians has told members that they have the right to refuse to euthanize healthy dogs, even if the owners violated Montreal's stupid law.

The Order of Veterinarians says "no municipal regulation or provincial legislation can obligate a veterinarian to carry out any veterinary act,"

Veterinarians interviewed by the CBC say they have no qualms about euthanizing obviously dangerous dogs, but not wipe out several breeds of them because of municipal rules.

To me, this is like an instance where a white guy kills a woman, so you're going to register and possibly jail all white guys as a result, whether or not these white guys have violent tendencies or not.

Montreal is being stupid. I thought it was such a civilized city in my frequent visits up there. In this case, it's not.

Shame on Montreal.

Fido Does Understand What We Say, Duh!

Confirming what we already know, research indicates dogs like my
Jackson and Tonks know what we mean
by what words we use and how we say those words.  

Anyone who has a dog for a companion alreaady knew this, but dogs understand what we mean when we say certain words, and understand what we mean when we saw those words in a certain way.

You know how a dog reacts when you enthusiastically say "Good Boy!" The go all lovey-dovey on you when you do that, and they're very happy.

Still, for what it's worth, researchers in Hungary did some tests and figured out that dogs process words and the way they're said much like humans do.

They were able to train dogs to sit still while they did MRI's on them.

Both sides of their brains lit up, depending on what was said and how it was said.

According to the Associated Press:

"'Dog brains care about both what we say and how we say it,' said lead researcher Attila Andics, a neuroscientist at Eotvos Lorand University in Budapest said in an email. 'Praise can work as a reward onlh if both word meaning and intonation match.'"

In other words, if you just say "Good Boy," like you're reading a boring text, the dog won't really register it. And if you enthusiastically say some random word like "Interstate," that won't do much for the dog, either.

However, if you say "Good Boy!" like you're excited and happy with Fido, both the left and right side of the dog's brain will light up in the MRI. That means they're understanding what the word means, and also figuring out the implications of what ou say by how you're saying it.

This is just one study on a limited number of dogs, so results may vary.

But it's fun to get some possible proof of what we already know. And what my dogs Tonks and Jackson already know.

Great Idea: High School Runners Team Up To Give Shelter Dogs Exercise

A California high school cross country team holds a practice
run with dogs from a local animal shelter.  

The high school cross country running team at St. Joseph High School in California came up with a great idea to help shelter dogs.

It's one of those brilliant flashes that you hope is copied all over the place.

Dogs need exercise. The pups awaiting adoption at shelters don't always have the opportunity to get as much exercise as they need.

So the cross country team took the dogs, put 'em on leashes and had them join their workout.

This all started when Stacy Silva of Santa Barbara County Animal Services noticed a Facebook post from St. Joseph High School Cross Country Team coach Luis Escobar that practices were starting.

Silva knew Escobar is a dog lover, and broached the idea of a team run with the dogs. The teens got a bit of training to know how to handle the dogs and off they went.

The kids were kind enough to notice if any of the dogs needed a break, so they weren't forced to run more than they could. (One runner ended up carrying Fred, who clearly didn't want to run the full distance.)

So: All you fit cross cross country runners out there: How about it: Does your local animal shelter think this is a good idea?

Check out the video:

Comfort Dogs Once Again Come To The Rescue, This Time In Orlando

A K-9 Comfort Dog consoles a woman in
Orlando last week after The Pulse nightclub shooting. 

Sometimes, humans are incredibly cruel to other people.

Like that evil Omar Mateen, who killed 49 people and injured dozens more in The Pulse nightclub in Orlando a little more than a week ago.

Of course, many humans are incredibly kind, which explains the outpouring of support for Orlando.

Some of those kind people are with K-9 Comfort Dogs, sponsored by Lutheran Church Charities,  a group that trains golden retrievers to be therapy dogs.

The dogs go to places that are in crisis or had a disaster - like Orlando - where they help comfort people traumatized by the events.  Dogs always seem to be a light in an otherwise dark tunnel.

Unlike humans, dogs are almost always willing to lend a hand - make that a paw - when people need help.

Tim Hetzner of K-9 Comfort Dogs sent 12 golden retrievers along with 20 human volunteer dog handlers to Orlando, says CBS News. quoting Hetzner:

"With a golden, you don't feel alone, and you know that you're loved.....That helps people at the time to cope and to talk, and to see that there's hope. There's light."

Any breed of dog would help in a crisis like Orlando's of course, but golden retrievers are very good picks for this type of work.

The K-9 Comfort Dogs start a training program that lasts more than a year, starting whe their just eight weeks old. They learn to work with people with disabilities, get through airports, airplanes and escalators, and to manage their own temperaments in distressing situations.

While on the job, the comfort dogs will only work two hours at a time, then decompress during a play break by fetching balls orby taking a nap.  You don't want to overtax these dogs, who are only trying to help.

If what the comfort dogs are doing in Orlando sounds familiar, it should. The same organization went to Newtown, Connecticut when elementary school kids were slaughtered by a crazed gunman, traumatizing the town - and the nation.

According to National Geographic, petting a dog decreases levels of stress hormones and lowers blood pressure. Research suggests petting a dog releases oxytocin, a hormone associated with bonding in affection, in both dogs and humans.

As many of us with dogs as companions know, they seem to have empathy. One study cited by National Geographic put dogs in a room with a couple of people. One person just sort of hummed to himself, the other pretended to cry.

The dogs always ran up to the person crying and nuzzled him or her.

Here's another good thing about comfort dogs and dogs in general: We seem to be an era of xenophobic politicians (Hi, Donald!)  These so called leader want to reject anyone they perceive as "other." So let's get rid of the Muslims, the Mexicans, the gays, or whoever else you want to target!

Dogs aren't like that.

Says National Geographic, citing Brian Hare, director of Duke University's Canine Cognition Center.  

"We've done research on this, and we've found is that not only are most dogs totally not xenophobic, they're actually xenophillic - they love strangers," Hare said. "Thats one way in which you could say dogs are 'better than people. We're not always that welcoming."

People often give obedience training to dogs. Maybe it's time the dogs start training us humans.

Friday Fun: Dogs React To Guy Barking

The video in this post is a couple years old, but it's still a fun distraction on a Friday.

We have a guy that can bark, uncannily, just like a dog. So they put him in a room with dogs. He barked. The dogs mostly looked confused.

But it's still fun to watch the dogs' reactions to Barking Man:

A TV News Anchor Almost Threw Rock Through Car Window For Great Reason

Denver News9 anchor at home after his on-air dog apology
as he gets help from his canine companions answering
congratulatory emails about his editorial.  

News anchor Kyle Clark, the anchor at News9, the local Denver NBC affiliate, came this close to throwing a rock through the window of somebody's Honda CRV recently.

No, Clark has not become unhinged. Nor does he lead a secret life of crime and vandalism.

But he loves dogs, and has two of them at home. On a recent, sunny, hot, 90 degree day, Clark stopped at a strip mall to run some errands.

Inside the CRV was a dog. In a swelternng hot car. He ran his errands, and came back ten minutes later and the dog was still there.  You could hear the dog crying all the way across the parking lot in that terribly hot car.

He was tempted to throw a rock through the car window, but didn't. (By the way, Florida just made it legal to break into a car to save an animal and other states are following suit.)

So he called 311, the number you call to get city services.

Clark pretty much did what the Humane Society says you should do when you see a dog trapped in a hot car. Take down the car's make, model and license number, go to nearby businesses and have them make announcements to get the owner of the car to their car and call non-emergency numbers to get help.

You probably should avoid throwing a rock through a car window unless you're desperate because you might face criminal charges or a civil lawsuit.

In Clark's case, he was on hold for five minutes with 311 before the owner of the CRV emerged from a frozen yogurt shop.

He politely cautioned the owner of the CRV not to leave dogs inside cars on hot days. They can die really fast in those conditions.  In this case the dog survived.

The person basically just laughed Clark off. There was nothing more Clark could do about the really bad dog owner. I personally still worry for that dog, because I'm sure the person in question just doesn't care.

Later, Clark took to the airwaves and offered a heartfelt apology. Not to the dog owner he confronted in that torrid parking lot. But to the dog that was in the CRV

"I'm sorry that your dog does not have better humans," he told the dog, on air at News9.

Here's the viral video of Clark's on-air apology to help encourage everyone to take care of their furry companions in hot weather:

Dogs Have Happy Time With Play Tunnel

A video of two dogs at a play tunnel has gone
viral for good reason. It's fun! 

Time is short to post a blog today, so I'm just going to leave you with a couple of dogs and their adventures with a play tunnel.

The video was shot by Matt Buckmaster when he brought his Italian greyhound Penelope to the K9 Fun Zone in Seattle.

He uploaded it to Facebook, and has been viewed 1.5 million times.

No wonder.  It's a happy video, so it's good to watch especially if you want to cure a foul mood:

Robot Dog Vs. Real Dog Battle It Out

Boston Dynamics' robot dog isn't nearly as
pleasant and tag waggy and fun as a real dog
but it is a nifty piece of technology  

It's come to this: We have real dogs playing with robot dogs now.

I'm rooting for the real dogs, but still.

In a video posted a to YouTube a few days ago, we see a robot dog (named Spot, of course) playing with a real dog, named Alex.  You can see the video at the bottom of this post.

Alex does not quite know what to make of his metallic robot new friend, with it's fairly accurate dog movements, but he gives it a whirl.

The robot dog was created by Boston Dynamics, the same outfit that caused a bit of a stir last week when they unveiled their nifty humanoid robot that could do lots of physical things that robots could not previously do, like navigate like a human around obstacles, keep its balance, and get right back up when somebody pushes it over.

Apparently, these things would be good in warfare, as it will be machines killing each other rather than humans, goes the theory.

The robot dog can also easily get up and walk away after lying down, it can walk over curbs and rough terrain, and can walk in a variety of different ways.

Impressive robotic work, but I still prefer the real furry companions. Yeah, my real dogs Jackson and Tonks sometimes have accidents in the house, bark at inappropriate times, make a mess and get sick, something that robot dogs won't do.

Robot dogs are cool, but I'd MUCH rather hang on to
my two real furry companions, Tonks (left) and Jackson. 

But you can't replicate the excitement the real dogs Tonks and Jackson bring when you come home from a long day at work.

Robots can't really replicate the laughs you get in a tug of war game with flesh and blood dogs, and they can't comfort you the way a warm dog sits on your lap contentedly when you want to relax and chill out.  

Still, a couple Christmases ago, my young nephew Jonas from Minnesota received a toy robotic dog for Christmas that follows simple commands and "learns" the habits of its human to help make the pair friends.

While not nearly as nice as a real dog, Jonas' robot dog was oddly endearing.

Boston Dynamics' dog is not endearing at all, but obviously that's not the point. The company was just showing off its nifty robots and what they can do.

But, if you're into that type of thing, you can watch the video of the robot dog and real dog cavorting in a parking lot, below: