Many a visitor has noted the abundance of stray cats in the old imperial capital of Istanbul. They amble and lounge around some mosques and have the run of a couple of universities. Facebook campaigns gather supplies for them, and it’s easy to spot nibbles and plastic containers of water left discreetly on sidewalks for the felines.

Associated Press - In this Jan. 19, 2006 photo, a Turkish Van cat looks at the camera in the eastern Turkish city of Van. The official mascot is "Bascat," a white cat with one blue eye and one green eye, similar to an unusual breed native to the eastern city of Van.

This month, cats will get a publicity boost when the world basketball championships begin in Istanbul and three other Turkish cities. The official mascot is “Bascat,” a white cat with one blue eye and one green eye, similar to an unusual breed native to the eastern city of Van.

The special status of stray cats in Istanbul and elsewhere in Turkey reflects a tradition-bound country on the path to modernity. It partly derives from Muslim ideas about tolerance, and an urban elite with Western-style ideas about animal rights. It points to the freewheeling side of a society that seeks entry into the European Union’s world of regulation.

Sevgin Akis Roney, an economics professor at Istanbul’s Bosphorus University, said the school is so well-known for adopting strays that people leave unwanted cats there, knowing they’ll get fed. Cats wander freely into classrooms at the school, perched on a hill over the strait that separates the Asian and European continents.

“We should learn to live with these animals,” said Roney, who walks around with cat food for hungry strays.
Turkey introduced an animal protection law in 2004, and state policy is to catch, neuter and release or find a home for street animals. Funds for such projects are limited. Alleged poisoning campaigns by some municipalities, usually targeting dogs, suggest laws are sometimes flouted altogether.

Stray dogs are considered more of a nuisance and sanitation threat than cats, and Islamic tradition — while espousing tolerance for all creatures — labels them unclean. In 1910, Istanbul officials unloaded tens of thousands of stray dogs on an island in the Sea of Marmara, where they starved.

Istanbul experienced an explosion of uncontrolled growth in the second half of the 20th century. Millions of people flooded from the countryside, cramming into cheap, illegal housing called “gecekondu,” which means “built overnight” in Turkish. Highways and shopping malls sprouted. That urban sprawl made Istanbul less hospitable for street cats, but pockets of the city kept the tradition of caring for strays — an easy option for Turks who don’t want the hassle of a pet at home.

Cats benefit from their association with Islam in Turkey, where the population is mostly Muslim though the laws and political system are secular. A popular saying goes: “If you’ve killed a cat, you need to build a mosque to be forgiven by God.”

Islamic lore tells of a cat thwarting a poisonous snake that had approached the Prophet Muhammad. In another tale, the prophet found his cat sleeping on the edge of his vest. Instead of shifting the cat, the prophet cut off the portion of the vest that was free and wore it without disturbing the pet.

Associated Press - A young girl feeds a stray cat Aug. 20 in the courtyard of a mosque in Istanbul, Turkey. Many a visitor to Turkey has noted the abundance of stray cats in the old imperial capital of Istanbul.

Nukhet Barlas, an environmental consultant, photographed cats for an online exhibition backed by the European Capital of Culture project, which focused on Istanbul this year. Her images show cats posing in front of mosques, ruins and iconic buildings, ceramics and the shoreline.

“Most of these strays have developed friendly relationships with people. They have personalities and in many neighborhoods, they are almost part of the community,” Barlas wrote in an email.

On her strolls, Barlas photographed long-haired Angora cats and “chalk-white/blue-eyed” Van mixes as well as non-Turkish breeds resembling Abyssinian or Egyptian Mau cats. She believes the variety stems from Istanbul’s role as capital of the continent-spanning Ottoman Empire and a transit point for trade over the centuries. “New breeds appear to continue,” she said. “I find stray cats that look like the popular British Shorthair, or Balinese.”

One tourist hostel in Istanbul is called the Stray Cat. At the Kaktus Cafe in Istanbul’s Cihangir district, cats sit next to customers or doze on the chairs. Cat images decorate dishes and tablecloths.

“Cats are lazy anarchists,” said Ozgur Kantemir, who has eight cats and lives in Ankara, the Turkish capital. “This might be one reason why they conform with us just fine in big cities.”

While cats seep into the culture, they’re not always welcome. The yowls and whoops of cats in combat disturb the sleep of quite a few urban dwellers.

“If you’re on the ground floor and leave your window open, you can come home to a cat looking up to you, asking ’What are you doing here?“’ joked Allen Collinsworth, an American business consultant.

In 2004, Erdogan sued a cartoonist for Cumhuriyet newspaper after he depicted the prime minister as a cat entangled in yarn representing Islamic vocational schools that Erdogan backed. The image went to the heart of hostility between fiercely secular elites and Erdogan’s Islamic-oriented government that has since shaped Turkey’s political debate.

Istanbul’s bounty of stray cats amazed Sir Evelyn Wrench, a former editor of Britain’s The Spectator magazine who wrote in 1935 that Turks thought drowning kitten litters was cruel, so they dropped them in the “dustheap” instead.

“In every side street you meet the cats, old and emaciated cats, cats with one eye blind, kittens toddling with unsteady step, cats with skin diseases, cats eternally scratching themselves, dying cats run over by cars on the roadside, Wrench wrote. “When I asked residents in Istanbul what could be done about the cats, they shrugged their shoulders. ‘Istanbul was menaced in its old wooden houses by a plague of rats; cats were necessary.’”

He’s a dog, after all, a stray dog from a country with an estimated 400,000 stray dogs who fight every day for survival.

But the story of Francisco and how he got to Greeley, how he adopted an American, is considered a miracle by those who know him.

Tyler Rugh of Greeley now owns Francisco, or is owned by him, depending on how you look at the story.

Associated Press - Fransisco the dog gets some love from Tyler Rugh, right, and his girlfriend Rebekah Marsh Aug. 11 at his new home in Greeley, Colo.

Tyler is 24, grew up in Greeley and graduated from Greeley West High School. He works at Jamplay.com, an online guitar lesson company based in Greeley. Tyler is the company’s online video producer.

The strange story of Tyler and Francisco began last month, when Tyler was on vacation with his girlfriend, Rebekah Marsh, in Puerto Rico. Both live in Greeley, but they went to Puerto Rico to visit a friend from Greeley, Sirah Masters.

“We went to this restaurant in Puerto Rico one day, and this dog was out in front, at the entrance,” Tyler said. “I petted him, and we went on inside. The next day, same restaurant, he was there again. I petted him again.”

Later, as Tyler and Rebekah started walking, the strange dog followed them. They went to a bar on the beach, and the dog sat on the sand and watched them.

“Then he somehow sneaked up an embankment to the bar, and suddenly he was right beside me,” Tyler said. “That’s when he started taking a place in my heart.”

The odd dog followed them to their apartment, stayed outside all night and waited. The next day, when the couple was scuba diving, “I looked up,” Tyler said, “and he was on the beach again, watching.”

Tyler called his mother in Greeley and asked if he should go through all the trouble of bringing a stray dog home. She said yes.

So, the next day, the day before their flight back home to Greeley, Tyler and Rebekah were walking the new dog — which they named Francisco — to the vet’s office to get clearance for the trip to America.

“But a car came around the corner and hit Francisco,” Tyler said. “He was injured and ran off.”

And now the second part of the miracle begins.

“He was gone,” Tyler said of his new friend. “He was injured, and we searched everywhere, but we couldn’t find him. We flew home the next day. … I was crying on the plane.”

Tyler had decided he would probably adopt another homeless dog in Greeley, in memory of Francisco, the dog he almost brought home.

A few days later, back in Puerto Rico, Masters was working at a restaurant when a customer told her he wanted to take the leftovers to a dog that was outside, who had injured legs and had been on the beach, bleeding.

Masters followed the customer and found the injured dog. She tended to the dog’s cuts on his rear legs, but she also called Tyler.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Tyler said. “She’d found Francisco.”

It was only the beginning of the long process of bringing a dog to Greeley. Masters started the process by obtaining a certificate of health from a veterinarian and a certificate of American adoption, and she made arrangements for a flight to Colorado.

“We couldn’t find the right kennel to put Francisco in that would meet federal regulations,” Masters said. “It looked like we’d have to cancel everything at the last minute. Then we found the right kennel, just before the flight, at a Walmart.”

So Francisco, the once-stray dog who adopted an American, flew out of Puerto Rico to New York, then to the Denver International Airport, where Tyler was waiting.

“Sirah and her mother did all this work to get Francisco here,” Tyler said. “We really owe them for that.”

The vet bills, kennel and flight cost Tyler about $500. He said it was worth it.

Tyler and his new friend are almost inseparable now. Francisco won’t let Tyler out of his sight, sleeps at his side and looks at his rescuer with obvious love.

Francisco, part Australian shepherd and mostly mutt, needs to gain about 10 pounds, and Tyler is working on training. Because Francisco came from a Spanish-speaking country, the question was whether the dog could understand English.

“Doesn’t make any difference,” Tyler said with a grin. “He doesn’t listen in either language.”

Francisco is Tyler’s first dog, and it’s pretty obvious Tyler is Francisco’s first human. Out of 400,00 stray dogs in Puerto Rico, they found each other.

But when Thomas put Pogo in bed beside the woman, she wrapped her arms around the dog, stroked his fur and began to grin.

“She hasn’t been able to smile in two years,” her husband told Thomas.

The woman died the next day, but Thomas soon received a letter from the husband thanking her for allowing him to see his wife smile one more time.

Associated Press - Steven Bonwit, right, introduces his dog Max to patient 21-month-old Matthew Roig, center, and his grandmother, Lidia Alonso, both of Miami, on July 1.

“I have so many stories like that,” said Thomas, who has been making pet therapy rounds with Pogo for 11 years. “It’s just amazing what the animals can do.”

Thomas’ Paws for Smiles program, which operates primarily in Broward’s Memorial Healthcare System, is one of at least five pet therapy programs in South Florida.

Designed to bring smiles to suffering patients, the pups and their handlers travel to the rooms of patients at Miami Children’s, Jackson Memorial, South Miami and Baptist hospitals in Miami-Dade, along with Memorial Manor, Memorial West, Memorial Pembroke, Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital and Vistas Hospice in Broward.

“We hear that the patients miss their own pets,” said Nuria Claramunt, assistant director for community and volunteer resources at Miami Children’s Hospital.

“It allows them to be loved unconditionally in stressful, scary moments,” she said.

Miami Children’s robust pet therapy program, which has been in existence for more than 15 years, features 14 dogs.

Among them: a 2-year-old Great Dane named Max that weighs 147 pounds and stands a towering six-foot two-inches from his hind legs.

“That’s not a dog, that’s a horse!” patients and their families have said as they whipped out their iPhones to snap pictures as Max trotted by their rooms.

Max’s human counterpart, Steve Bonwit, has been a volunteer at the hospital for 14 years.

When Bonwit was recovering at South Miami Hospital from abdominal surgery in 2009, a dog from the hospital’s pet therapy program came into his room and lifted his spirits.

The visit got him thinking that Max would make a great therapy dog.

And so in February of this year, after six visits to a local nursing home to see how Max would react in such a setting, Bonwit began taking Max around the second floor of Miami Children’s Hospital once a week for an hour to visit the orthopedic and cardiac patients.

“Max absolutely loves kids. They can pull on his tail, and he won’t respond,” said Bonwit, who added that his white Great Dane can sense when a patient has had surgery. He sniffs around and can detect which part of the patient’s body has been worked on, and he will lie along the other side.

To participate in most pet therapy programs, dogs must be at least a year old, walk well on a leash and get along with other dogs.

Associated Press - Steven Bonwit, left, walks his dog Max from room to room visiting hospitalized children July 1.

They also must be well-groomed, with clipped nails, and have an up-to-date rabies vaccine and a negative fecal exam.

Thomas is a certified tester for the national organization, Therapy Dogs Inc. She takes potential therapy dogs on at least three visits to Memorial Manor nursing home.

If the dogs are well-behaved on their visits — they have to be able to handle loud noises, crowded rooms and lots of petting — they “graduate” and can begin working in a local pet therapy program.

The graduates’ owners must pay $35 for national registration, which covers insurance.

A 9-year-old, trilingual golden Lab named Jean comprises Jackson Memorial Hospital’s unique pet therapy unit.

Jean doesn’t only cheer up her patients, she helps them get moving.

Jean was bred and trained by Canine Companions for Independence, a nonprofit organization that provides trained assistance dogs to people with hearing loss, developmental disorders and/or physical disabilities.

When Jean’s owner, Cathy Herring — a recreation therapist at Jackson for 20 years — found out that the organization trained dogs to work with professionals in hospitals, she immediately put in an application.

Jean had already had nine months of intensive training with the organization when Herring got her. The two underwent two weeks of team training.

Seven years later, the two are staples in Jackson’s pediatric, trauma and spinal-cord rehabilitation units, coming two to three days a week for eight-hour days. Herring incorporates Jean into traditional physical therapy regimens.

On a recent morning, Jean helped 49-year-old Edgar Castaneda improve the strength and mobility of his right arm and hand.

Castaneda was the victim of a brutal assault in 1995. Two teenagers attacked him as he made a nighttime deposit at bank. The teens followed him back to his apartment and shot him in the back of the head.

He was in a coma for two months, and has spent the past decade in assisted living facilities. Now, he goes to Jackson for physical, occupational and speech therapy.

Herring instructed Castaneda to stroke Jean’s fur and to feed her carrots, Jean’s favorite treat, by clasping the chopped vegetable in his palm, holding it to her mouth, and saying “OK.”

When Edgar’s shaking hand grazed Jean’s mouth and Jean licked his fingers, he giggled.

“She loves to give kisses,” said Herring.

“Jean,” Edgar murmurred as he rested his chin on the table to be at eye-level with the Lab and grinned.

Herring said the mild-mannered Jean, who understands commands in English, Spanish and Creole, is loved by all who she comes in contact with. Everyone on Metrorail knows her name, Herring said, and patients bring her gifts and dog cookies.

In addition to bringing smiles to patients, Herring believes Jean enhances the therapy sessions.

“They try so much harder with the dog there,” she said, describing how one patient refused to glide around the perimeter of a bed, but when Herring suggested that the patient glide to certain points to feed Jean carrots, the patient happily obliged.

And making patients happy, improving their day, is what it’s all about for these pups and their owners.

“If we make one child smile a day, we’ve done our job,” said Bonwit. “That’s my goal.”

Pilots N Paws is a website that provides a forum used by animal rescues and animal-loving pilots to arrange and coordinate air transportation for animals.

“Pilots volunteer their gas and time and fly puppies all over the United States,” said Laura Holloway of the SEMO Animal Rescue Alliance in Lilbourn.

Holloway and Julie Adams, also of the SEMO Animal Rescue Alliance, together handed off nine dogs recently at the Sikeston Memorial Municipal Airport to Don Rieser, a private pilot who lives in Antioch, Ill.

“This is the third or fourth time to fly my dogs out,” Holloway said.

Associated Press - Laura Holloway, left, and Julie Adams of the SEMO Animal Rescue Alliance in Lilbourn help Don Rieser of Antioch, Ill., load puppies bound for new homes in Wisconsin aboard Rieser’s Cessna June 28 at the Sikeston Memorial Airport in Sikeston, Mo.

Animals helped by the SEMO Animal Rescue Alliance come from “shelters, off the streets — dumped, abandoned,” she said.

When the Rescue gets an animal in, they post pictures and short bios with the hope that an animal rescue elsewhere will contact them with an e-mail about an adoption home.

“We have a lot of regular rescues that we send dogs to,” Holloway said.

Lately, most of the animals from the SEMO Animal Rescue Alliance are going to Chances Animal Rescue in Appleton, Wis., she said.

“They take 90 percent of our puppies,” Holloway said. “The northern states have tons of low-cost spay/neuter clinics and they don’t have the overpopulation that the south does. Here in Missouri there are ‘puppy mills’ and people here do not spay/neuter like they should.”

Prevention of overpopulation by spaying and neutering pets is an important part of keeping animals from being euthanized, she noted. Holloway said the SEMO Animal Rescue Alliance estimates they prevented 7,000 puppies in the area from being born last year.

But over the last 12 months, the SEMO Animal Rescue Alliance has also shipped a total of 1,000 animals, most of those via ground transportation but more than a few through the Pilots N Paws program.

“Most go to Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Indiana, Colorado, Pennsylvania,” Holloway said.

Holloway said she has personally arranged flights for around 60 animals.

The recent furry air travelers included five puppies from a feral dog that the Rescue plans to trap, fix and release; and a mother dog and her four puppies that were recently dumped in Adams’ front yard.

Rieser said he volunteers for a Pilots N Paws flight about every three months or so.

He got involved in the program after retiring about two years ago.

“My first flight was right here,” Rieser recalled. “It seemed like a good thing to do with my time. I like dogs and cats.”

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — At first glance, teaming at-risk teenage boys with untrained dogs might seem a little, well, risky.

Don’t tell that to Josue Vasquez, 17, Luis Ramirez, 14, or Alejandro Flores, 16.

The teens are part of Sycamore Canyon Academy, a residential program for troubled boys — most between the ages of 13 and 17 — in Oracle.

And last month they helped two dogs, Amethyst and Belle — known around the grounds as Ammie and Bella — to graduate from dog obedience classes.

Watching the boys work with the dogs, you’d never know they’ve dealt with substance-abuse problems and have been in and out of detention facilities several times in their short lives.

Each boy stands in a different corner of a large room, taking turns calling Ammie, clicking a device when she arrives and giving her a dog treat. Bella gets a turn after Ammie has gone around several times.

“Remember, you’re treating, petting, praising,” instructs dog trainer Jay Smith of Community Dog Training, who works with the boys and the dogs from 2 to 4:30 p.m. each weekday.

“When you call the dog, even if you’re not happy, act like you are.”

Associated Press - In this May 27 photo, student Josue Vasquez works with Bella, a dog from the Foundation for Animals in Risk (FAIR), during a training session at Sycamore Canyon Academy in Oracle, Ariz.

The teens are proud of the work they’ve done with the dogs and are eager to take their knowledge and new skills back to the outside world.

Not everyone at Sycamore Canyon gets to work with dogs. It’s a program for which the boys must apply, and only a few are chosen, based on how they’ve done so far in the rest of the program.

Ammie and Bella were the second pair of dogs to graduate from the six-week classes, taught by Smith and his partner, Julie Hall.

The first two dogs, trained by different boys, were within hours of being euthanized at the Pima Animal Care Center when the Foundation for Animals in Risk — FAIR — rescued them for Smith to begin the program at Sycamore Canyon, Smith and Hall said.

After graduating from the program, the dogs are placed in foster care until they’re adopted. One of the original pair was adopted May 23 — a cause for celebration among the current participants as they readied their dogs for graduation last month.

Before being sent to Sycamore Canyon — an offshoot of the multi-state Rite of Passage organization – and learning to work with the dogs, Flores said he didn’t care about his life at all, whether he died young or ended up in jail.

He says he has learned social skills and leadership by being responsible for the dogs, which live with the boys at Sycamore Canyon until the obedience program is complete.

“It makes me think differently,” he said. “I can help out a lot of people.”

While working with the dogs, the boys can only offer positive reinforcement, not stern voices or negative response. Ramirez said the training has taught him self-control and patience he didn’t know he had.

“You can’t really get mad at the dog,” he said. “If she doesn’t know what you want her to do, you just have to wait.”

Vasquez says he was angry when he was sent to Sycamore Canyon. It’s a four-month program, and the longest he’d ever been sent anywhere was 2 1/2 months, he said.

“I never thought you could attend a place and have it actually change you,” he said.

We’re talking about dogs. A couple of dozen — dozen — roam the halls of power in the Capitol every day.

“Treat time! Treat time!” booms Sen. Christopher S. “Kit” Bond (R-Mo.) from behind his desk. As vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Bond was about to go on television to talk about terrorism, but first it was Tiger time. Now you might think an expert on national security would have a noble German shepherd or a muscular Doberman, and Bond is sure to mention that he grew up with Labrador retrievers, hunting dogs and beagles. But Tiger is a 2-year-old Havanese, a cuddly toy breed that looks like a gray baby Wookiee.

“This is the first time I’ve had a fufu dog,” he says. And his colleagues don’t let him forget it: When Tiger was a puppy and weighed only five pounds, Bond took her outside with a pink leash and collar and someone said, “Didn’t you used to be Kit Bond?”

It was noon and Tiger had her eyes locked on Bond’s container of yellow dog treats. Next to Tiger sat Pooley, a Chihuahua mix who belongs to Shana Marchio, Bond’s communications director. “I think they can tell time, because they always know when it’s treat time,” the senator confides.

Associated Press - Marsha Catron, a staffer for Rep. Linda Sanchez, D-Calif., not pictured, descends the staircase May 12 in the Longworth House office building with "Chavo", a male beagle adopted from a shelter by the congresswoman in Washington.

Tiger is named after the University of Missouri mascot. She likes to lie on her bed under Bond’s desk and destroy University of Kansas Jayhawks toys. Tiger’s school spirit once led to an embarrassing situation, Bond said: She wouldn’t stop barking at Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Sheila C. Bair. Bair has two degrees from Kansas, and “I think she sniffed it out,” Bond said.

Many congressional dogs have names relevant to their home states. Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.) rescued a Labrador mix from the side of Interstate 64 in West Virginia and named her Julep after his state’s signature cocktail. Rep. Ken Calvert (R) owns a dachshund named Cali, for California, and Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-Calif.) has a bichon frise/poodle mix named Bruin, after the UCLA mascot.

While Bruin makes the weekly trip from D.C. to California with Lewis, Cali lives in D.C. with his owner.

A couple of years ago — pre-Cali — Calvert decided that his schedule was too hectic for him to own a dog. His communications director, Rebecca Rudman, offered to take care of the dog if she could bring the dog to work every day. Rudman and Calvert picked out Cali on a Sunday, and she came to work Monday morning. Visitors can see faint outlines of Cali’s messes on the carpet before she was housebroken — or, House broken, in this case.

Cali has made herself at home on the Hill, swimming in the fountain outside the Rayburn House Office Building, snagging a treat from the Capitol Police every morning on her way in and playing with her best friend, the Chihuahua in the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform office.

Congress has a long history of lawmakers bringing their dogs to work, says Senate historian Donald Ritchie. In the 19th century, John Randolph of Virginia often strode into the Senate chamber with his hunting hounds at his heels. The late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) was known for walking his Portuguese water dogs, Sunny and Splash, in the grassy area next to the Russell Senate Office Building. “Usually aides walk the dogs, but Kennedy always did it himself,” Ritchie said.

Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) is one of Congress’s most famous dog lovers. He often praised his Maltese Billy during floor speeches. Soon after Billy’s passing in 2002 at age 15, the senator’s granddaughters surprised him and his wife with a new puppy. “It was a little ball of white fur in the guise of a Shih Tzu,” Byrd, 92, said via e-mail. “My wife took one look and said, ‘Here comes Trouble!’”

Though many people call the dog Trouble, the senator calls her Baby, “because she has a baby face,” he said.

Associated Press - Rep. Linda Sanchez, right, D-Calif., plays with Chavo, a male beagle adopted from a shelter, as he sits at his favorite spot on the couch May 12 during a meeting at the congresswoman's office in Washington. Like several other lawmakers, Chavez brings her dog to the office every day which tends to lighten up what can be an intense environment on the Hill.

He used to bring Baby to work every day but she started putting on weight from all the treats, so now she only goes to the Hill occasionally.

Ritchie doesn’t know of any rules on the books concerning dogs: “Senators can pretty much do what they want.”

In addition to Julep, Whitfield also owns a Scottish terrier named Bosley and the rambunctious Jack Russell terrier (is there any other kind?) Nigel. Nigel has to come to work with the congressman every day, “because our dog walker can’t really deal with him,” Whitfield said.

Whitfield’s wife, Connie Harriman-Whitfield, is the Humane Society’s senior adviser for presidential initiatives, and she helped organize a dog contest last year called the Congressional Canine Honors.

Two of the six awards in the photo contest went to Whitfield’s staffers’ dogs — including “rising political star” and “elder statesdog” — causing whispers that Whitfield’s Humane Society connections gave him an unfair advantage. (“Not true,” he said.)

But it was Bosley who caused the most trouble back in 2002 when he escaped from the Cannon House Office Building and took off running down Independence Avenue SE. Members of Whitfield’s staff and a policeman chased him all the way to the Capitol.

The benefits of having Julep, Nigel and Bosley underfoot outweigh their rare disruptions, Whitfield said: “I think the atmosphere is better, because it’s hard to be very formal when you have a dog jumping around the office.”

You might say dogs are the antidote to life on the Hill: simple when governing is complicated, silly when legislation is serious.

Friday is Take Your Dog to Work Day, a campaign sponsored by Pet Sitters International to promote pet adoption. The group doesn’t track how many workplaces participate, but said in the months leading up to it last year, nearly 100,000 people visited takeyourdog.com.

Page’s company, Replacements, Ltd., in Greensboro, N.C., is the world’s largest retailer of old and new china, crystal, silver and collectibles. And while the four-legged turnout will be bigger on Friday, it won’t be that much different than any other day because employees at his plant are encouraged to bring pets every day.

The invitation on Page’s company’s front door reads: “Well-Behaved Pets Welcome,” and it extends beyond Page’s 490 employees to visitors, buyers, tourists and travelers, said spokeswoman Lisa Conklin.

“When you walk through here, people are smiling,” explained Jeanine Falcon, vice president of human resources.

Associated Press - "Austin" sits at the desk of receptionist Yolanda Brown today at the offices of Replacements, Ltd., in McLeansville, N.C. Friday is the 12th annual Take Your Dog to Work Day.

The American Pet Products Manufacturers Association says about one in five U.S. companies allow pets in the workplace. Many of the companies are smaller, but a few of the larger ones are Google, Amazon, Healthwise in Idaho and headquarters of the Humane Society of the United States in New York City.

Sophie, a 5-year-old bulldog, not only goes to work every day with her owner, the Rev. G.T. Schramm, rector of Trinity Episcopal Church in Shepherdstown, W.Va., but she has a job and a title too.

As “special pastoral assistant,” her job is to greet and to listen. “She has an uncanny way of knowing when somebody comes in here upset or out of sorts,” Schramm said.

And if there is a room full of people, it is her job to circulate and greet everyone, he added.

At Bare Necessities in Avenel, N.J., about 10 percent of the company’s 90 employees planned to bring their dogs with them Friday.

Each dog owner makes a donation and the company, which sells branded intimate apparel for men and women online, matches the money and sends it to a local shelter, said Kiera Lim, director of acquisition marketing.

Lim and her husband, who also works for the company, will be bringing their boxers, Pixie, 2, and Jax, 3.

Associated Press - Shana McClanahan, left, pets "Bailey" today as owner Judy Sizemore, back, looks on at the offices of Replacements, Ltd., in McLeansville, N.C.

“It’s a day to blend your home life and your work life,” Lim said. “You spend so much time at work and your colleagues are great. If your pets are important to you, your co-workers have probably heard all about them. This is their chance to meet them.”

Some companies will host contests, fundraisers or invite someone from a local shelter or pet-sitting service to talk to employees, Pet Sitters International spokeswoman Beth Stultz. There’s an online photo contest for $500, a pet prize pack and a donation of $500 to the animal shelter or humane organization of the winner’s choice.

But the main hope is that people who don’t own pets see how happy pet owners are and go out and adopt a pet of their own, Stultz said.

On a normal day at Page’s warehouse, retail store and museum, you can see 20 to 30 dogs, Conklin said. They’ve had visits from a few cats on leashes, a student duck, potbellied pigs, a rabbit and an opossum.

There are pet-free zones and commonsense rules. But the pet policy is considered a major perk for employees.

Falcon brings her 2-year-old, 125-pound, Bernese mountain dog Zola to work at least once a week and a lot more during the summer.

“When you come as a visitor and you see a dog, you can’t help but smile or be tickled or delighted by that. When you start as a new employee, you are going to greet that dog or puppy and get to know that owner,” Falcon said.

Employees remain strangers in some companies, never even looking at fellow workers, Falcon said.

“That doesn’t happen here,” she said. “The pets create an opportunity for connection. It happens without us trying to make it happen. We value it.”

And, Conklin said, “If you are having a bad day or you’re feeling stressed out and you see a fuzzy face and wagging tail, it really lifts you.”

Links of Interest

Pet Sitters International: http://www.petsit.com

TYDTWD photo contest: http://takeyourdog.com/gallery

Replacements: http://www.replacements.com

Trinity Episcopal Church: http://www.trinityshepherdstown.org

Bare Necessities: http://barenecessities.com

A City Council meeting with cats on the agenda drew an unusually large crowd of about 30 people Tuesday night, including one woman who brought three large signs, one of which said, “Arrest criminals, not cats. Can Barre afford a jail for cats?”

City officials cited complaints from some residents about a roaming cat that turned a neighbor’s garden into a litter box.

Barre resident Sue Higby called a leash law for cats “a bad idea … unless you want to have the police department chasing cats around for a million dollars an hour.”

Cities around the country and at least one state have enacted or considered cat restraint laws. In 1949, the Illinois Legislature passed “An Act to provide Protection to Insectivorous Birds by Restraining Cats.”

It was vetoed by then-Gov. Adlai Stevenson, who wrote, “To escort a cat abroad on a leash is against the nature of the cat,” according to the New Jersey-based Cat Fanciers’ Association.

The agency says jurisdictions with cat leash laws or similar restrictions include Akron, Ohio; Aurora, Colo.; Montgomery County, Md.; Palm Beach County, Fla.; and New Orleans.

Associated Press - A cat stands under a tree June 15 in Barre, Vt. A suggestion that a Vermont city require cats to be on leashes when they're outdoors makes perfect sense to some. Others say they'll fight it tooth and claw.

In Barre, the feline firestorm started last week when city officials began reviewing animal control ordinances with an eye to updating them. Mayor Thomas Lauzon said then that a draft rewrite would have the effect of banning cats from roaming.

Reviews were mixed among residents lined up Tuesday at the Simply Creamies ice cream stand near City Hall.

“Have you ever tried walking around with a cat on a leash? It sounds kind of crazy,” said Cheyenne Roberts, co-owner of the Pit Stop Diner in Barre.

Thad Cochran of nearby Plainfield had this rejoinder: “If dogs have to have a leash, why not cats?
Lauzon said Tuesday that no one on the council intended to require that cats be restrained. But on second look at the law, he realized that both the existing ordinance, adopted in 1973, and the proposed rewrite ban roaming cats; the law had just never been enforced.

“No owner or keeper of an animal shall allow his, theirs or its animal to run at large,” the key language says. Cat owners hoping to get around the law by a whisker appeared to be out of luck. Animal is defined by the city as “every living being, not human or plant.”

When the daily newspaper serving Barre, The Times Argus, ran a story about the cat restrictions last week, the caterwauling began.

Cats “are quite neat when it comes to personal scatological matters,” said a letter to the editor bearing the signature Morticai Flint, who turns out to be a tiger cat owned by Paul and Alison Flint. “Generally, we provide valuable services to urban areas notably in the realm of vermin control.”

Paul Flint attended the Council meeting, carrying a toy kitten in a cat carrier and explaining, “Morticai wouldn’t get into the cage.”

Some say the solution to cats wandering into trouble is keeping them indoors.

“Scientists estimate that free-roaming cats kill hundreds of millions of birds, small mammals, reptiles and amphibians each year,” the Virginia-based American Bird Conservancy, which runs a “Cats Indoors!” campaign, says on its website. “Cat predation is an added stress to wildlife populations already struggling to survive habitat loss, pollution, pesticides, and other human impacts.”

Lauzon said the city may end up with a compromise ordinance requiring cats to wear collars with tags identifying their owners and showing their rabies shots were up-to-date. Owners would only be fined if their roaming cats were determined to be a nuisance.

The issue is expected to be settled later this summer.

“Many animals are fostered. Most are dogs, cats, puppies, and kittens.  Sometimes reptiles and pocket pets are fostered until a permanent home can be found,” Dr. M.A. Crist, clinical assistant professor at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences explains.

In the Brazos Valley area especially, there are many young adults and college students who are in a transition stage in their life due to school or other reasons. Because of this, some of us are more hesitant when it comes to making big decisions such as adopting a pet.

“Some young adults volunteer to foster an animal before adoption, especially if they provide volunteer work to a shelter or rescue organization.  Many young adults or college students who graciously provide their volunteer services do go on and adopt the animal they are providing fostering services for.  I believe this could allow the foster parent time to ‘bond’ with the pet before making a lifetime commitment,” explains Crist.

Of course there are also people who foster animals without the intention of adopting.

“If the relationship does not work out for a permanent home then the pet was housed for some time period and had human contact until new owners could be found.  Pet fostering does allow some young people to enjoy the company of a pet but yet not have a lifetime commitment if they help find a permanent home for the foster pet,” said Crist.

The process leading up to fostering a pet usually consist of filling out an application and maybe attending a short orientation session. Most shelters provide the food, crate, and everything else to meet the specific needs of your animal. Some pets that need to be fostered also have special needs due to them being young, old, or sick.

“Older pets come with an established character, whereas, usually young pets are developing their character.  Older pets may have been abused in a previous environment and need extra time and care to get acquainted with the foster parent and foster household.  It is helpful to know the history of the foster pet if possible to provide the best care possible,” explains Crist.

When introducing a new pet into your home there are some things to always consider. Some animals are timid or anxious before they become fully adjusted which can concern some new parents if they are unsure of this being a permanent personality trauma or problem.

“If the foster pet has not responded to the new foster home or parent within a timely period and is displaying unusual behavior or unacceptable behavior, then the foster pet needs to have a complete physical examination by their veterinarian.  The foster pet may need to be referred to a board certified animal behaviorist for further treatment.  Occasionally, the pet may need medications for their behavior which can be prescribed by the animal behaviorist,” said Crist.

“The foster parent needs to decide if the foster pet is going to coincide with the existing household pet or will they be kept separate until the foster pet gets a permanent home.  Some things to consider is if the foster pet is young or old and will it get along with the household pet.  Also, does the household pet have a dominant or passive character and will it get along with the foster pet? Introductions need to be made slowly, over a period of days to weeks. The trick with kitty harmony is to introduce the felines slowly,” said Crist.

Take your new foster cat to your veterinarian for a complete physical examination for a healthy pet check.  Have a prepared room with food, water bowls, a bed, and a litter box which will be your new cat’s home until the two cats’ get used to each other.  Do not put the food so close to the door in the beginning that the cats are too upset at each other’s presence to eat.  Gradually move the food dishes to feed your resident kitty and your new cat on each side of the door to this room and this will encourage them to get used to each other’s smells and eat calmly.  Once this is accomplished, prop the door open enough just to allow the cats to see each other and repeat the whole procedure.

It is good to switch out the sleeping bed or blankets between to have them get comfortable with each other’s scent.  When the new cat is using the litter box and eating regularly, it is also good to let your new cat have some free time in the house while the resident cat is confined to the new cat’s room.  This switch allows each to cat to experience each other’s scents and the new kitty to become familiar with its new house without being frightened.   It is better to introduce your pets to each other gradually so that neither pet becomes frightened or aggressive.

“Do not force the cats to be together and do not allow interactions that fearful or aggressive because if this is allowed it can become habit and it is difficult to change.  Eventually, you can encourage them to play with a cat “fishing pole” or cat toys on a string.  Remember a litter box for each cat plus one,” Crist said. “Introducing a cat to a dog can be quite tricky as well.  Some dogs have such high prey drive that they should never be left alone with a cat.  Usually dogs want to chase and play with cats and they become defensive, afraid and sometimes injured or worse.”

Using the separate room technique as described above helps the introduction.  Once the new cat and dog have explored each other’s scents and are comfortable eating on each side of the door, a controlled face to face meeting is allowed.  The dog is placed on a leash, on a “down stay” on one side of the room and a person on the opposite side of the room will sit quietly next to the cat and offer food or catnip to keep the cat around them without physically restraining the cat.  Repeat this with lots of short visits rather than long visits until the dog and cat are tolerating each other’s presence without fear or undesirable behavior.

The next step is to allow the cat to investigate the dog with the dog on a leash on a “down stay” and praising good behavior.  It is best to keep the dog on a leash and with you whenever the cat is free in the house during the introduction phase.  Allow the cat an escape route and hiding place and always keep the dog and cat separated when you are not present until you are quite certain that your cat will be safe.

“Be mindful that kittens are much smaller and can be easily injured or killed by a young energetic dog,” said Crist, “or high prey drive dog as well as our senior cats.   Sometimes it is best to allow the kitten to become fully grown.”

At the end of the day, we want always do what is best for the animal. Fostering an animal can help people decide if they have the time, energy, or accommodations needed for a pet.

“The only negative would be if the young adult or college student over commits themselves,” explains Crist.  “Sometimes the foster parent gets emotionally attached to the foster pet and it can be hard knowing they have to give up the pet at the end. For most, the foster parent is eager to find a great family who can make a lifelong commitment to the pet.”

ABOUT PET TALK…

Pet Talk is a service of the College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University.

“Dogs that are bred in cooler temperatures can develop problems because of this heat,” said Dr. Mark Stickney, clinical assistant professor at Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences. “For example, the heat makes it difficult for the dog to pant, which allows them to cool themselves down. Long hair also makes finding and removing ticks more difficult. With short hair, the ticks are much more easily recognizable.”

Then there are the Texan’s all too familiar friends, the mosquitoes.

“It is a myth that long-haired animals get bit by mosquitoes less than short haired animals,” said Stickney.

If your animals are going to be outside this summer there are some things to take into consideration. Make sure that all animals have access to fresh water (cold if possible) and some form of shade. The shade is necessary to help prevent sunburns, hot spots, and blistering on the bottom of more sensitive doggie paws. If you have a dog that is not usually outside, or is going to be outside for an extended period of time, sunscreen is an option to consider. There are sunscreens that are made specifically for dogs and can be applied to areas with less hair such as the nose, ears, and belly.

Another important fact to note is that dogs can have heat exhaustion and heat strokes just like people. Owners should encourage high energy dogs to take breaks when playing out in the sun because of this. Also, people who exercise with their dogs either with a bike or by jogging should keep in mind that dogs (especially smaller breeds) need to be conditioned to work up their stamina. So be mindful of Sparky’s capabilities before dragging him along on that three mile bike ride.

“Owners will sometimes make the mistake of grabbing a hose that has been lying out in the sun to spray down animals such as horses or dogs, but the hot water that has been sitting in the hose can scald them before the cooler water comes through,” said Stickney.

If you allow your cats to go outside, “the only problem would be mattes and/or hairballs in long-haired cats, but this can be managed by brushing them daily to help keep them clean,” said Stickney.

Some people prefer the look of their cat when shaved, which is perfectly fine. However, there is no medical need to shave your cat unless they are having problems with these things.

Veterinarians will most likely hold different opinions on when or if to shave your pets depending on the region that you live in. Some might argue that long hair on certain breeds will work as a cooling mechanism.

“This would not hold true in our climate because of the levels of humidity,” explains Stickney. “If your dog seems exhausted and overheated ask your local veterinarian if shaving could be an option for you and your pet.”

By keeping an eye on your pet and exercising caution when exercising and cooling your pet off, the dog days of summer will be more enjoyable for everyone.

ABOUT PET TALK

Pet Talk is a service of the College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University.