Shelter Pet Project Day

Today, November 30th is Shelter Pet Project Day, an idea dreamed up by the good people at the Shelter Pet Project Organization. The general idea is for animal lovers to post to their Facebook page about a shelter pet they have known and loved.

You can also post on their website where you can take a look around at all the wonderful pets that are looking for forever homes. To test it out, I actually entered my zip code and said I was looking for a collie puppy to share my home with other dogs, but no cats.

I was amazed at the number of matches that came back, not all of whom looked like collies mind you, but there were some "bone fido" ones in the mix.

So if you are the owner of a shelter pet, share your pet's name and story, your favorite memories or how you met and fell in love with your shelter pet.

Hop on over to their website to get started and follow the link to their Facebook page.

Help them celebrate shelter pets and maybe even save a few lives!

The MInd's Eye

I went to hear Dr. Oliver Sacks, the neurologist who wrote Awakenings among other books, earlier in the week at the Free Library. He has a new book out called The Mind's Eye and in it he shares cases of people who navigate the world without the use of a vital sense. He describes the pianist who mid-way through a concerto suddenly had no idea what the notes on the musical score in front of her meant. Or certain people who lose their sense of three dimensional space and see the world as flat.

It was absolutely packed to the gills and people were in the upstairs lobby watching it on video. Sacks is 76 and a distinguished professor of neurology at Columbia as well as a new title which is "artist." In this role, he advises others who might be interested in writing about science. He preferred, however, the title that he had at Cornell which was "Professor at Large."

It was a wonderful talk, very candid and very entertaining. It was also fascinating that so many people in the audience stood up to talk about their own conditions, many of which involved this loss of stereoscopic vision. Who knew? Sacks himself has lost his.

In any event, the take away that had me pondering a day later was the fact that when Awakenings was the Book of the Year and made into a movie with Robin Williams and Robert de Niro, the medical community rejected it and him as being too popular. In other words, he never garnered the respect of his peers that he did from non-medically trained people who found and find his books fascinating because they are written in English. His case studies do read like novels, a trait that he works very hard to achieve.

Anyway, I wonder who is laughing now? The doctors who poo-poohed him or Dr. Sacks who is clearly laughing all the way to the bank.

New Home for Sweetnorthernsaint

This is Sweetnorthernsaint and you might remember him as the favorite in the 2006 Kentucky Derby--yes, the one in which Barbaro left him in the dust. Sweetnorthernsaint is now seven and has been retired from racing for a year. He is also a gelding, which means that he is not going to earn his feed in the breeding shed. What's an owner to do?

Some owners of geldings literally run them into the ground--dropping them down in class, hoping they will be claimed and become someone else's responsibility. Others run until they can run no more and you don't even want to know where many of them end up.

But not so for Sweetnorthernsaint who is spending his retirement on a beautiful horse farm in Maryland, being re-trained as a fox hunter. His new owner, Lisa Reid, owns the farm with her husband Michael, and she is very excited about the prospect of giving Sweetnorthernsaint a new job--one she feels he will take to perfectly.

"I'm going to teach him dressage and then how to be a fox hunter," she said. According to her, Sweetnorthernsaint is very laid back and the perfect size for what she calls a "lady's horse." "He isn't quite big enough to be a huntsman's horse," Reid qualified. "I really liked him from the first time I saw him."

The re-training is not going to happen overnight, But Reid is known for her patience. "I like him," she said. "I see no reason why he wouldn't he here forever."

Saintly new owner for a well deserving horse.

Nicanor Takes Third

Nicanor finished a game third yesterday in the 3 Coins Up Stakes at Aqueduct. The weather held and the race was run on the turf.

In my opinion, Nicanor ran a good race, but as they came into the far turn, he was in absolutely perfect position to take the lead and open up. The question remains as to whether or not he would have been able to hold onto a lead with Sal the Barber making a game move along the rail, but he was so perfectly positioned, it is a shame the jock didn't just let him go.

If the lesson was rating then I think Nicanor did a good job, laying a perfect second for most of the race within striking distance. Timing is everything in racing and I think Nicky has yet to get his organized--whether it be that he ran out of steam, was out run or just wasted too much energy fighting the tight hold.

No excuses for a bad trip--this was absolutely picture perfect and it is a shame he did not take advantage of the opportunity. Of course, it is entirely possible that Nicky just ran out of steam, but he ran a game race, certainly showed it was a good choice of stake for him and will now head south for a little r and r.

It will be interesting to see if he continues to race as a five year old, or whether he possibly will be retired to the breeding shed to add his DNA to the enduring Barbaro dynasty.

Barney's Windows

Lest you doubt that Lick Your Plate! Celebrity Chefs Cook for their Dogs and Yours is totally cutting edge, I urge you to look carefully at the Barney's Christmas windows, revealed yesterday.

Clue one: they are all about food and the chefs who cook it. In fact, the general theme is "Have a Foodie Holiday.

So yes, there are the regulars: Martha Stewart, Ina Garten, Paula Deen, Rachel Ray, but look closely. Could that be, lurking in the tinsel of the tree in the women's window, none other than Anita Lo, featured prominently in the book.

What can I say? When you're hot, you're hot.

Post Turkey Workout

Feeling full--even a little blubbery after all that turkey? This should inspire you to wiggle those flippers!

And lest I forget, please know that I am extremely grateful for your loyalty and readership!

Nicanor Entered on Friday

At Aqueduct on Friday with a 3:10 post, Nicanor will be racing in the Three Coins up Stakes. Let's hope its not three coins in a fountain--that the weather holds up and the race goes off on the turf as planned!

STAKES
Three Coins Up S.

Purse $60,000. For Three Years Old And Upward. No nomination fee. $1,000 to enter, starters to receive a $750 rebate. A supplemental nomination fee of $200 may be made at time of entry. The Purse to be divided 60% to the owner of the winner, 20% to second, 10% to third, 5% to fourth, 3% to fifth and 2% divided equally among the remaining finishers. Three Year Olds 120 Lbs. Older 122 Lbs. Non-winners of a sweepstakes at a mile or over on the turf since April 1, 2010 allowed 2 Lbs. Three races on the turf, 4 Lbs. (Maiden, claiming, starter and restricted allowance races not considered in allowances) A presentation will be made to the winning owner. Closed Friday, November 19, 2010 with 22 Original Nominations and 1 Supplement. (If the Stewards consider it inadvisableto run this race on the turf course, this race will be run at One Mile on the Main Track.). One And One Sixteenth Miles. (Turf)

Nicky has drawn post position #7 and has Johnny Velasquez on board if the race stays on the turf. All of which bodes well for our boy!

A great way to cap off the Thanksgiving feast--and lots to be thankful for.

Scenes from the Dog Show

If you watch something other than football on Thursday, you might be tuning in to the National Dog Show which actually took place in Philadelphia over the past weekend. I made a short visit to see whether it might be a good venue to sell our book next year (jury is out on that) and wandered the benched area, which is always fun. These are some competitors.

The first is a golden, same color as Phoebe but you can see that the breed standard seems to be much smaller than my goldens--short legs and big heads seem to be the desired traits.
These bichons made quite a photo. They were posed on three separate grooming tables, one next to the other and at one point they were all looking my way. Didn't quite capture all three but these two are pretty cute.

This Old English sheepdog did not make it to the best of breed for the Herding class in the national Show but was still pretty cute!

Rehab Update

For those who are wondering, the rehab continues and tomorrow Miss Phoebe goes back to Penn for a recheck.

She is still not what they call "stable" on her rear leg, although in my opinion she is just fine. She is up to 12 minutes on the underwater treadmill and able to go for two 40 minute walks per day. All of which is leaving me exhausted but she is loving every minute of it!

As for her weight, well we are not sure if she has actually lost weight. She is so excited to see everyone that she flies onto the scale, thus disrupting the mechanism so we haven't been able to get a proper reading. To me, she has a defined waist line. The doctor is less convinced, but perhaps she has lost a pound or so.

Regardless, she seems to be in fine form, so let's hope the recheck is as good as she feels.

The Leaves They are a Changing

One of the unexpected benefits of my twice daily rehab walks with Phoebe has been the opportunity to savor the incredible display that Mother Nature puts on this time of year. Not that I don't enjoy it with Sam and Amos, its just that Phoebe and I actually get a chance to savor it.

For your pleasure, these are some of the trees we see on one of our longer routes. The Japanese maples are especially wonderful this year--scarlet against a blue sky. Even Miss Phoebe doesn't mind a pause to capture it on film!



Worth remembering when these trees soon become snow sculptures.

Smarty Moves In

This is Smarty Jones and presumably, one of his new handlers at his new digs, Ghost Ridge Farm in Pa. According to the New York Daily Record, Smarty has settled into his new home and has been bred a few times!

"It's just like a person moving to a new area, " said Carl J. McEntee, general manager of Ghost Ridge Farms. "Horses communicate with other horses, like humans. They communicate with people. Part of it is the acclimation of the staff to particular horses, too. Thoroughbreds are higher-strung than other horses--they are athletes."

Smarty doesn't look too high strung in that photo. In fact he looks remarkable calm, cool and collected as in "I think I'll stay awhile," which is exactly the plan. For now, his routine is pretty much the horse's dream existence: eat, graze, romp and get groomed. Not to mention a lot of TLC and human contact.

"You have to get to know them, and they have to get to know you," Marshall Horan, Ghost Ridge Farms' stallion barn manager, elaborates. "They have their own personalities. They are worth millions of dollars and you don't want to do anything that can hurt them."

So far so good. Smarty will be available for public displays of affection from 10-2 today at the farm, 860 Dietz Road in Windsor Township, for those of you in the neighborhood.

Canine Companions for Independence

There is a family in the school where my daughter teaches who are puppy raising a dog for the Seeing Eye Foundation. There is another in the neighborhood who raised dogs for this organization, Canine Companions for Independence.

I admit I could never do it--let a puppy go after a year, but watching the video makes me very, very glad that there are people who can.

Zenyatta Officially Retired

The official word is in: Zenyatta will retire to Lane's End Farm in Versailles, Kentucky in early December. She retires after winning 19 consecutive races and earning $7,304,000, the most of any North American raced female racehorse.

She will make one last public appearance at Hollywoood Park on December 5, where she will be paraded before her adoring fans. And then it is off to the blue grass and breeding shed, where speculation runs high about her future mates.

Since A. P. Indy also resides at Lane's End public opinion seems to favor those two hooking up, but the official list of suitors has yet to be disclosed. Remember Zenyatta is going to turn 7 in January, so she will be an "older" mother, but I am sure she will take to it with her usual grace and finesse.

Will she miss racing? Perhaps. But I think she might miss the California climate more. Remember this gal has not shivered through a Kentucky winter in quite some time. Only time will tell how she will make the adjustment but in choosing Lane's End, the Moss' have chosen the creme de la creme for their Queen.

Just a thought here but we know that Rachael Alexandra is going to be bred to Curlin (part of Jess Jackson's plans to create the "new" thoroughbred). Wouldn't that be something if Zenyatta also was and their babies became rivals? Talk about a story. . .

For now, we can only wish Zenyatta well and a smooth transition to this next chapter in her life.

Quarterback Sneak

No animals, no publishing insights just a great belly laugh--guaranteed--courtesy of the Driscoll Middle School Trick Play in Corpus Christi, Texas.

Enjoy!

Scenes From the Good Dog Gala

I left Amos at home but many other people brought their dogs to the 2010 Good Dog Gala for the benfit of the Philadelphia SPCA. Here are some of the gala good dogs:


A Cute Wheaton terrier (above)

An adorable French bulldog (above)

A dinner attendee making himself comfortable on the ballroom floor--much better than the marble halls! (above)

And my dinner partner, Miss Maddie, Sabina's dog, whom everybody, inclduing the Phiadelphia DA wanted to take home!! (above)

This pug was dressed as Mary Todd Lincoln, complete with pearls that I am sorry you can't see!

Clearly a good time was had by all two and four legged attendees.

Once You're a Jet, You're a Jet

While the prevalent football chant around here is E-A-G-L-E-S, there is a thoroughbred who enjoys another war cry belonging to a team just up the turnpike. Owned by 80 strong, the 2 year old in training based at Monmouth, responds to the cheer for the J-E-T-S. In fact, that's his name: Jay E Tee Ess!

As the New York Times reported, the horse is owned by Fantasy Lane Stables., which sold thirty shares to investors. Some of these shares have been divided among the predominantly working class investors, many of whom have never owned any part of a race horse before.

"It's about the excitement of owning a horse," said one, Steve Schoengold, a retired purchasing director for the town of Greenburgh, NY. "It's a thrill to be able to spend time in the paddock before a big race and the greatest feeling in the world is watching your horse storm down the stretch knowing that he is going to win."

As for Jay E Tee Ess, well he hasn't won yet, but then again, he has only had two starts in which he finished fourth and sixth, respectively.

Still hopes are high among the faithful, who are convinced that their horse might learn something from the football team after which he is named. The Jets are off to a great season!

Book Dominoes

What with the last photo shoot and great preliminary comments form the editor and publisher ("You did a beautiful job. Once I started, I couldn't stop reading it! I think we definitely have an amazing book on our hands!"), books have been on my mind lately.

Hence the above. Enjoy.

Update on the Cavaletti

Bless my tree guys who came last week to trim some trees in the backyard and almost ran over my improvised Cavaletti course for Phoebe. What is this, they wondered and actually rang the doorbell to ask me.

When I explained that Phoebe had to walk over a series of two inch high objects for physical therapy they asked me why I hadn't called them to set up a real course. After all, they spend the day carting off and cutting down tree limbs.

Why indeed? It would have been brilliant on my part to enlist their help, but in the end, they came through all by themselves. They happened to have a few old railroad ties and they happened to have chain saws and they happened to be have been able to move those ties around like pieces of spaghetti.

The above photo is what they made me--perfectly cut posts, spaced exactly equidistant and out of the way of traffic and dogs.

Miss Phoebe reacted by walking perfectly over each one without even smirking at me. "Now this," she informed me, "is a real Cavaletti."

Thanks guys.

Pet Pharm

This is the trailer from the documentary aired last week on the Canadian Broadcast Company called Pet Pharm. It is essentially about the increasing tendency to medicate pets with human drugs for essentially human conditions.

The basic question remains: do pets develop these "conditions" because we are trying to fit them into human society or would they have them "in the wild" so to speak?

Check your listings if you have access to Canadian television. It sounds like a fascinating topic.

Drug Shortages for People and Animals

Unbeknown to me, even though there have been articles written about it since this summer, the United States is experiencing a severe drug shortage that is trickling down to veterinary practices. Many of the drugs in limited supply are emergency drugs, pain medications and anesthetic agents.

As the Wall Street Journal reports, there have been many "near misses and errors" and even deaths because of the shortage. Most of what there has been is frustration on the part of health-care practitioners because of the lack of information pertaining to the shortages, including why are they occurring in the first place and when will they be over?

There are a lot of presumed reasons for these shortages, not the least of which is a drug company's prerogative to simply stop manufacturing a drug if they find it is unprofitable or if they can no longer obtain the ingredients used in the manufacturing of the drug. The FDA is looking into some enforcement issues that would halt these voluntary stoppages.

In the meantime, this is serious business for people and animals. If you or your pet is electing to undergo any type of voluntary procedure in the coming weeks it would behoove you to ask the doctors is they will be substituting an anesthetic drug because the one they usually use is unavailable. And if so, be sure to ask it that drug is as effective as the one they don't have.

When it comes to emergencies, you are pretty much as the mercy of your health-care provider, which it where it gets really scary. It is time to make the FDA accountable for the drug companies' carte blanche policy when it comes to making and distributing drugs. One would like to think someone is paying attention to what the drugs were designed to do in the first place: make people better.

Early Favorite

Uncle Mo established himself as the early favorite for the 2011 Kentucky Derby with an impressive win in the Breeder's Cup Juvenile. Poor Mike Smith was not having a god day. His mount, Jaycito, veered very wide and then just did not seem to be able to get it together.

Uncle Mo looks like a nice horse but I say that with the usual caveat about Kentucky Derby favorites. Few have ever won the roses.

Keep your eye on him throughout the winter campaign. He is light years ahead, in terms of racing experience, of those two and three year olds who might be making their first starts in December and January of the new year.

The jury is still out as to whether or not an impressive racing campaign as a two year old helps or hurts one's chances for a successful three year old year. It depends on the horse, the trainer and good old fashioned racing luck.

History is Made

As heartbreaking as Zenyatta's loss, Goldikova's win, for me, was the highlight of Saturday's Breeder's Cup races. In textbook terms, it was sheer perfection as she charged down the stretch to win her third straight Breeder's cup mile on the turf. She entered the history books as the only horse to do so.

She is just that good. A tiny horse, compared to Zenyatta's huge dimensions, her stride and heart equal those of the big Z, and she got an ideal trip from her jockey.

It was a huge win for the Europeans on a day when the American horses were racking up most of the wins. But also a huge win for classic turf races at a classic distance by a very classy horse. To me, it was horse racing at its best, and should go down as one of the great races of all times.

The Agony of Defeat

If you can stand to watch, your heart will be broken again and again as Zenyatta just misses her 20th consecutive victory. My heart was indeed broken as I watched in the bar of the Loews Hotel in Philadelphia where I was attending the Good Dog Gala for the SPCA. I was surrounded by fifty of my new best friends who had also gathered for the event.

From the moment she broke, I thought something was wrong. She looked like she was lugging outward and it seems that she was not comfortable on the track or with having dirt kicked in her face. Remember she had won most of her races on the synthetic surface.

But Mike Smith settled her only to get incredibly boxed in. In a classic East coast versus West coast jockey duel, the guys in Kentucky were not going to give him any breaks. Plus this was a huge field. I don't think she has run in such a large group since last year's Breeder's Cup Classic. Remember in California, they usually run the other way from going head to head with her.

Hence, she does not routinely encounter traffic--which she did--or such fierce competition. But to take nothing away from her, the fact that she almost caught Blame is nothing short of remarkable. Did Mike Smith misjudge the distance? I don't think so. I think he gave her the ride of her life. I just think it was one of those things.

Were we greedy? Did we expect too much from a mere mortal animal? Did we project an impossible image of perfection on her? Who knows. Anyway you look at it, it was heartbreaking. But that should take nothing away from a magnificent animal who gave us so much pleasure for so many years.

I am deeply disappointed with a lot of things, including the defeat. But probably even more so with the fact that the popular press did not jump on the Zenyatta bandwagon until it was to witness her one defeat. Where were they when she was racking up all those wins?

Let us hope that she is indeed horse of the year because she deserves that and more.

Pet Insurance Real Life Case Study

For those of you keeping score (or on the fence about pet health insurance), I have been keeping track of the expenses associated with Miss Phoebe's ACL tear, including rehab. The totals to date--which does not include all of the rehab treatments because I am going to submit them together--is as follows:

Expenses submitted $842.21
Reimbursements 443.70
Out of pocket 398.51

Granted $398 is a hunk of change but nothing compared to 842. Insurance has paid for a little more than half of Phoebe's expenses so far.

Here's where it is going to get interesting. When Penn discharged her, they actually wrote a prescription for rehab with a specific doctor at a specific facility. I have been following that prescription to the letter of the law. My previous expenses only included three treatments and they reimbursed about 40% of the cost of these.

I am going to lump the next group together, along with a copy of that original prescription and see if my luck holds. If it doesn't I recently learned that Penn Vet Hospital actually has an insurance person on staff to submit your claims and go to bat for you. So we shall see.

So far, I am delighted with the results. Let's hope my luck holds!

Breeder's Cup App

Here is the dilemma I face. I must attend the local SPCA gala tonight because they are honoring a dear friend. For long time readers of the blog, this is the dinner to which I took Amos a few years ago.

This year, Amos is not going to be in tow simply because I have to stay through the ceremony for obvious reasons and Amos is not always the patient type. When he decides he wants to go home, we have to go home because he starts barking, pretty much non stop. As in, the "Timmy's in the well" bark or in this case, "I'm ready to leave now, get your coat" bark. He is very insistent.

Anyway, go I must and the event, which is always punctual because people do bring their dogs, starts at 6:30. Please note the post time for Zenyatta's race is 6:45. Hence the dilemma. Of course, I am picking up another friend who also wants to watch the race.

So Plan A is to get there in plenty of time to watch the race in the hotel bar. Plan B is to hope my i-phone app for the Breeder's Cup actually works. It says it includes live streaming of the races.

As we speak, I am still waiting for the free app to download--it has taken at least ten minutes so far. As one who has not had luck with the NTRA live streaming computer apps, I am skeptical. Hopefully I will be able to test it (if it even finishes downloading) on Friday with some of those races.

I know there is always you tube--the race will surely be up within minutes and the DVR is set at home--but there's nothing like seeing it live.

Keep your fingers crossed. I think we are going to be in the bar.

Dancing with the Star

Racing fever is building as the countdown to the Breeder's Cup continues. You know where my heart lies, with this dancing queen.

Be sure to keep your eye on her fancy footwork during the post parade!

Meet Me at Barbaro

We are getting closer to Friday's and Saturday's Breeder Cup events, held this year at Churchill Downs. While everyone is talking about the Classic which will be Zenyatta's last race, Alex Brown has written a nice piece about the added attraction of the Barbaro Memorial statue, which many visitors to Churchill Downs will get to see for the first time.

As Brown points out, Barbaro is the only horse to be buried on the actual property of the track. Brokers Tip, Swaps, Carry Back, Sunny's Halo and Eight Belles are all buried in the little cemetery right outside the Kentucky Derby museum. Barbaro is buried right outside the main entrance to the track itself.

Because of it's location, visitors to the track have access to the statue without paying an admission fee which was one of the Jackson's intentions. This statue, even unlike the one that honors Secretariat in the paddock at Belmont, is accessible without entering the track, making it a popular spot for the legions of Barbaro's fans. It has also become a meeting place for all visitors to the track. "I'll meet you at Barbaro," can often be overheard.

Let us all hope that the Breeder's Cup races will be run without incidents that necessitate the creation of memorials to any more champion horses.

Smarty's Coming Home--Sort Of

News from Bloodhorse.com that Smarty Jones, who, in 2004, won both the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, is relocating from Three Chimneys in Kentucky to Ghost Ridge Farms, near York, PA. It is presumed that he will continue to stand at stud since a new syndicate agreement is being written in conjunction with the move. Ghost Ridge is currently accepting nominations for 2011.

Pat Chapman, who owned Smarty together with her late husband Roy purchased him back from Three Chimneys to whom they had sold a 50% interest in him as a stallion. "We've had many discussions over the past year about what is in Smarty's best interest and I am thankful for the Clay's support in my decision to bring Smarty Jones back to his home state of Pennsylvania to stand at Ghost Ridge," said Pat Chapman.

Part of the impetus to bring back to Pennsylvania is his huge fan base in the area. Pennsylvania racing fans were always wild about Smarty since he raced at Philadelphia park and the Chapmans are from the area. "If it wasn't for Smarty, I'm not sure there would be the slots and casinos in Pennsylvania that has fueled both the resurgence in the racing and breeding programs," noted Tarry Bratton, owner of Ghost Ridge Farms.

As a stud, Smarty is no slouch--having sired 89 winners from 137 starters, including stakes horses. It is hoped that by moving him to Pennsylvania he will be closer to his primary base of mare support and thus give him an even greater chance to be a success.

One thing is known for sure: Ghost Ridge Farms will need a nearly full time tour director to keep all of Smarty's fans happy! He is one of the main attractions on the daily Three Chimneys tours and it is expected that he will maintain that status in Pa.

Smarty is expected to move in early November.

Zenyatta on 60 Minutes

You may have seen the story about Zenyatta on 60 Minutes on Sunday but here is the back story about the 60 Minutes staffer, Michelle Boniface, who grew up on a horse farm in Maryland. Her mother is a former jockey and her father is a trainer. Michelle got to play "horse whisperer" for Bob Simon and camera crew and had them all convinced by the end of the week that Zenyatta is not just any horse.

Have a look. I think you'll enjoy it.

The Results are In. . .

In case you were wondering, Amos did NOT walk away with the top prize at the Howl-a-Ween Spooktacular yesterday. These guys did:

A one-eyed pit bull (above) dressed as a pirate (hard to see but trust me that's what he was),

A cowboy and his horse--actually a great costume!!!!!(above)and

a "pit bull of the night,"complete with tutus.
Amos, by the way, was the only dog who was well behaved enough to stay for the entire event. Phoebe and Sam in true headstrong golden retriever fashion were more trick than treat and should have stayed home!