I dedicate this little song to Jacob. He received a good luck charm from the sky the other afternoon.
Help us, PLEASE!! This past Sunday, we had Mr. Harry Oakes, search and rescue dog trainer, over to our house to help us in our training. Cider, as most of you are aware, loves to greet people by jumping up on them. We would really love to break her of this habit, especially before rain and mud come back again, and we are going to need your help.
August brings one of the year's most famous and enjoyed meteor shower – the Perseid Meteor Shower. Hundreds of star lovers from across the Pacific Northwest are expected to attend OMSI's biggest star show of the year. The event, sponsored by OMSI, the Rose City Astronomers, the Vancouver Sidewalk Astronomers and Oregon Parks and Recreations will have telescopes set up for attendees to use. Jim Todd, OMSI's planetarium manager, will be presenting informal talks about the meteor shower, constellations, and the summer sky.
The Perseid Meteor Shower occurs when the Earth enters the path of debris left by the comet Swift-Tuttle in its last trip past the Sun. Swift-Tuttle follows a highly eccentric orbit around the Sun with an orbital period of about 130 years. The comet last passed by the Earth in December 1992.
This strong annual shower can produce 20 to 60 meteors an hour, though because of the light pollution and other factors, "many are too faint to see with the naked eye," Todd said. "Still, an observer in a dark subdivision can hope to see few meteors on the peak nights. This year the New Moon will not be a factor during the prime meteor-watching until the early morning. Under these conditions, you will see a Perseid or two each minute."
Rooster Rock State Park is located 22 miles east of Portland on I-84 at exit 25. The event is free, and there is a $3 per vehicle parking fee for public.
Bosco sees Bill and Maddy in the distance..
Laughter in dogsLaughter might not be confined or unique to humans, despite Aristotle's observation that "only the human animal laughs". The differences between chimpanzee and human laughter may be the result of adaptations that have evolved to enable human speech. However, some behavioral psychologists argue that self-awareness of one's situation, or the ability to identify with somebody else's predicament, are prerequisites for laughter, so animals are not really laughing in the same way that humans do. The dog-laugh sounds similar to a normal pant. However by analyzing the pant using a spectrograph, this pant varies with bursts of frequencies, resulting in a laugh. When this recorded dog-laugh vocalization is played to dogs in a shelter setting, it can initiate play, promote pro-social behavior, and decrease stress levels. In a study by Simonet, Versteeg, and Storie, one hundred and twenty subject dogs residing in a mid-size county animal shelter were observed. Dogs ranging from 4 months to 10 years of age were compared with and without exposure to a dog-laugh recording. The stress behaviors measured included panting, growling, salivating, pacing, barking, cowering, lunging, play-bows, sitting, orienting and lying down. The study resulted in positive findings. Exposure to the dog laughing recording resulted in the following: significantly reduced stress behaviors, increased tail wagging and the display of a play-face when playing was initiated, and more frequent pro-social behavior such as approaching and lip licking. This research suggests exposure to dog-laugh vocalizations can calm and possibly increase shelter adoptions. (Simonet, Versteeg, & Storie 2005) A dog laughter sample: Simonet 2005.
Lola was found shopping for a condo near the Willamette River by her family. Thanks for the update Bill and that is good news --except for Lola's Realtor !
