Tehachapi's Online Community News & Entertainment Guide
Tehachapi's Online Community News & Entertainment Guide
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As a dog trainer, I find my job is both freshly challenging with each new case, and simultaneously, somewhat predictable. While each individual dog and dog guardian are unique and different, similar issues tend to arise in households across the board, such as, "Our dog goes crazy whenever anyone comes to the door, and won't stop barking and jumping!" I believe what causes this kind of issue – and the remedy for fixing it – are two sides of the same coin: Individuals' behavior is, in part, the...
When someone mentions therapy dogs, naturally called to mind are scenarios in which dogs bring comfort to people in need of a little extra. While this aspect of therapy dogs’ job description is accurate, the story doesn’t end there. In this two-way street of giving and receiving love, the dogs are just as fulfilled by the community service they provide as are the people they serve. Therapy dogs are selected based primarily on temperament. While it is important for any working dog to have som...
As a dog trainer, I find my job is both freshly challenging with each new case, and simultaneously, somewhat predictable. While each individual dog and dog guardian are unique and different, similar issues tend to arise in households across the board. Such as, Our dog goes crazy whenever anyone comes to the door, and won't stop barking and jumping! I believe what causes this kind of issue – and the remedy for fixing it – are two sides of the same coin: Individuals' behavior is, in part, the resu...
I was lucky enough to meet this butterball of love when he was just a four month old, roly-poly chocolate puppy. The moment I laid eyes on him, I knew two things: (1) that I would love him with all my heart; and (2) that he was going to be a BIG BOY. With paws the size of a brown bear's, and an already hulking frame, I realized when we began puppy training that Moku would soon grow to outweigh his human mom, Val, who is about my size. Right around 5 feet tall and 105 lbs. Based on the huge...
Tehachapi, I hope you'll indulge me as I revel in the waves of good news that we at Marley's Mutts Dog Rescue, with help from all of you in our "Mutt Militia", are ushering in these days! While Zach was recently off in Washington building an animal shelter, "Extreme Makeover" style, the wonder-women of MM (Jackie, Amanda, Erin, Cindy, Kim, Traci and Andrea) were in Las Vegas, networking and taking classes at the Best Friends Animal Society conference. In the meantime, our dog rehabilitation...
When it comes to service dog etiquette, I need to give a shoutout to the kids! The girl pictured here is eight year-old Abby; she represents an impressive consciousness many children seem to possess with regard to manners around dogs in public, where many adults seem to be lacking. I took this picture during an outdoor lunch meeting in Sebastopol, CA a couple of weeks ago, after Abby approached me, and with a very mature and respectful tone, asked if it would be okay for her to pet Betty. She...
I received the following message recently, and wanted to share it as a way of presenting a growing problem that is infiltrating communities across the country. While I truly respect this person for "asking before doing", the thoughts expressed here represent a mindset that is significantly detrimental to individuals with disabilities, and the service dogs that help them live fuller lives. Dear Liz, I have a black lab who's pretty much all I've got and I would like to keep him with me as much as...
When one thinks of a dog's life, one typically envisions a mutt stretched out in a sunny spot on the living room floor taking an afternoon nap; a happy-go-lucky puppy with her tongue hanging out as she enjoys the wind in her face on a car ride; a bounding buddy happily chasing a ball. These simple things indeed represent the joy of a dog's day-to-day existence, and they are sublime. That being said, balance is key in everyone's life - human and dog alike. Imagine a life with all work and no...
A great healing revolution is underway in the universe. Healing energy is available to every single one of us in abundance. All we must do to utilize its power is understand that it is there, and choose to tap into it. There are mediums through which healing can be expedited, and catapult us to worlds more empowering and beautiful than any we’ve known. Specifically, I am referring here to the bond between Humans and Dogs. When connected by the common goal of health and balance, both can reach o...
With the obesity crisis weighing down both human and canine populations, research into how to tackle the problem is emerging from scientists in varying disciplines. Currently, the American Kennel Club's Canine Health Foundation is funding a study called The Reciprocal Impact of a Healthy and Active Lifestyle on the Physical and Mental Well-Being of Dogs and Their Owners: Physical Activity and Walking (PAW). The study's abstract reads: While it is well established that an active lifestyle and...
[Update - Tehachapi has made the finals! We are one of the leaders, but it is super important to vote 2 times everyday! It takes less than a minute. Do it for the dogs. :)] Tehachapi Residents, as you may or may not know, our city is in the running to win up to $100,000 toward a dream dog park, to be situated in the new-and-improved Meadowbrook Park! Each of us has two chances per day to vote, once here: http://petsafe.net/barkforyourpark/ and once here: http://facebook.com/PetSafeBrand/. Read...
Dear Tehachapi Residents & Fellow Dog Lovers, As you may already know, Meadowbrook Park is about to undergo an 'Extreme Makeover'. The conceptual site plan for the park's overhaul has been approved, the architects have been hired, and City officials are on board to usher in an exciting new era in outdoor recreation in the city of Tehachapi! Furthermore, Marley's Mutts' Executive Director, Zach Skow and I, Liz Kover, (Animal-Assisted Activities Director), are on the planning committee for the...
My supposed-to-be-ticking motherly stopwatch seems to have cool jets for a woman of 30. I suppose my biological instincts to coddle and coo are aptly fulfilled through my job: I work at a daycare center, and once you read the following list of "notable events" from my day today (and typical of most every work day), maybe you'll understand why I have decided I don't necessarily need kids of my own. Dudley was running to catch a ball I threw to him and tripped over his own goofy feet, landing in...
Envision this. Bill, an American male in his early 40s, has struggled with weight issues all his life. Bill is depressed and uses junk food as an emotional anesthetic. He gets up in the morning feeling dread, and comes home from work each night with fast food to the empty calories of Reality TV. Bill is crippled by a lack of motivation to do better for himself. His negative, sedentary lifestyle has become a disability with which he needs serious help. Now, imagine this. Bill has decided to stop...
A fellow animal rescuer and friend of mine asked a poignant and thought-provoking question. His text message read, "At the end of the day with all you do and all you see and the stories you hear, how do you sleep at night?" The short answer is that after all we do and all we see and the stories we hear in a day's work with Marley's Mutts Dog Rescue, we are utterly exhausted. The longer answer explains how I believe it is that we are able to go to bed exhausted, but not defeated. How we are able...
It takes some of us longer than others to find the place we truly belong. We don’t know why this is, but we know that once we find and feel a sense of true rightness and belonging, the amount of time it took to get there becomes irrelevant. Most of you know Maggie’s story, but let me summarize for those who are new to Marley’s Mutts. Maggie was essentially a feral dog, found wandering in a parking lot in Los Angeles with a Chihuahua sidekick named Charlie. Both were rescued and came to live...
Since the moment of her escape on Christmas morning, several volunteers and friends of Marley's Mutts had scoured the landscape for any signs of Maggie with no luck at all. On the fourth day of Maggie's "pilgrimage", several volunteers met to formulate a plan for her recovery. We split up into teams to cover as much ground as possible. Some hit the original disappearance zone with their dogs. A couple of us hit every agency and local business in town, posting flyers, summoning help from local...
We see and experience more every day the ways in which dogs have the power to help people. They help us see, hear, and stand when we cannot. They help us detect diseases and medical emergencies more quickly and accurately than even the most advanced technology can. They save us from what would inevitably be a lonely earth-bound existence without them, and they act as conduits for comfort and healing in times of unimaginable grief. Every person I know who works in rescue, training, or other...
