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Written by: DJ Geribo

Category: Our Pack

On July 3 (Jim's and my anniversary), my sister's little dog, Jasmine, aka Jassy, passed away. She was the sweetest little Papillon and I was very sad to hear of this news. I had just seen her on Monday of that week. She had been diagnosed with collapsing trachea the previous year but apparently an enlarged heart is what finally did in her little body. She was always the best girl and had tail wags and kisses to greet you. She was beyond adorable when, at Christmas, she pranced around in her "Christmas dress" fully aware of how cute she was - the applause and laughter she got were probably a clue, too.

Jassy was almost 11 1/2 years old. She left us way too soon and she will be greatly missed.

Jassie with red sweater when she was a pup.

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Written by: DJ Geribo

Category: Petpourri

I recently read an article in the Huffington Post that talked about a 'new study' that was conducted to find out who was smarter, dog people or cat people. I always question these studies, and ask questions like, who paid for it, and what did they want to find out, and why? Who actually benefits from this study? As someone who loves both dogs and cats, (we have dogs, no cats, only because my husband is allergic) my intellectual abilities were not in danger, so I read on.

The survey, based on the findings of 600 college students, found that cat people tended to be introverts and therefore stayed home and read a book with their cat curled up in their laps. They were also considered to be more open-minded than dog lovers and more sensitive, tending to be non-conformists and people who did not follow the rules.  Dog people were more extroverted, getting out to walk their dogs and socialize more with others. They were more outgoing and tended to follow the rules more closely (not sure how that conclusion was made.) Dog lovers were looking for companionship from their pets and cat lovers wanted affection. People may also choose pets based on their own personalities. Cats are seen as more independent and keep to themselves.

This study sounds more to me like it is determining not so much if cat people are "smarter" than dog people but if cat people are more introverted than dog people. And based on what I read in this article and the findings that they shared, I would say that is a yes! Also, one would have to wonder, do these findings change once we leave college?

(Yes, he is on top of a cabinet, head next to the ceiling - looks pretty introverted to me!)

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Written by: DJ Geribo

Category: Petpourri

Whenever you ask someone how old their dog is in human years, they are likely to figure it out based on the old formula of 1 year for a dog equals 7 human years. This isn't really true though. It is actually based more on the kind of dog it is. Most of us know that small dogs live much longer than big dogs, with 10 years for an Irish Wolfhound or Great Dane being old age. But for a much smaller dog, 10 years is more like middle age and they have many more years to go, as long as you give them a reasonable amount of exercise and a diet better suited for seniors. I've had Pomeranians, mostly, and my Kameko, at 12 1/2 is still playful and does a 2 mile walk, with hills, without barely breaking a sweat. When a friend, a few months ago, asked us her age we said, 11. He asked, 11 months? At the time she was running around his office, barking, and greeting everyone who paid her just the tiniest bit of attention.

As for cats, since there isn't the size difference thing that there is with dogs, there is a formula that pretty much works for determining their age. Once cats are into young adulthood, say two years old, you can add four years for every year of life so that a four-year-old cat will be about 32 human years and an eight-year-old cat will be about 48 human years. And as with dogs, keeping your cat on a healthy diet with minimal treats and a fair amount of exercise will help them survive into old age (that's 20 years, or 96 in human years).