PETS
Greyhounds visit
Newtopia Cyder
Newtopia Cyder
By John Gregory
Dog lovers mingled as they admired the sleek, gentle greyhounds at the pet-friendly Newtopia. The event served as an introduction to Greyhound Adoption Center, which is based in El Cajon. An assortment of items, such as limited-edition glasses, were on sale as a fundraiser for the private greyhound rescue organization. Attendees came from as far as Temecula for the event, according to Marilyn Golisch, one of the directors for Greyhound Adoption Center.
“It’s more of a meet-and-greet to have people meet the greyhounds, and we dispel some of the myths surrounding the greyhound breed and talk a little bit about our adoption program,” Golisch said.
She explained how the organization, which has been in existence for 30 years, rescues greyhounds from dog racing tracks and helps them get adopted.
“They are rescued from the racetracks throughout the country and as far away as Macau, China,” she said. “Over the years, we’ve rescued and saved 6,000 greyhounds. They’re the best kept secret in the dog world.”
Golisch further explained the characteristics of greyhounds as pets.
“They are absolutely sweet. And people think because they are a race dog, that they were a commodity for the industry – the second fastest land animal – that they are hyperactive, they need a big yard, they need all this exercise. And just the opposite is true,” she said. “They are a sprinter and they’re good for that short burst of energy, and then they’re done for the day, and then they kind of lay around with their legs up in the air.”
Visit houndsavers.org.
Babs Fry, founder and president of “A Way Home for Animals Inc.,” is a canine super sleuth. When man’s best friend goes missing, she can sniff out the escaped pooch’s whereabouts faster than you can say, “Lassie come home.”
“Basically, what I do is to serve as a go-to point for people who have lost their pets,” Fry said. “When that happens, most people don’t know where to begin. They panic, and then go racing around looking for their dog, and when that doesn’t work, they put out flyers, all of which is counterproductive. So, I teach people the steps they should take and what they should avoid, and I’ll personally get in involved if needed.”
When Scripps Ranch resident Leslie Chadwick’s foster dog Penny went A.W.O.L. via an open gate, she turned to Fry for help.
“Babs reached out to us the next day and told us what to do and what not to do,” Chadwick said. “We had one false sighting, then the following day Penny was seen in a nearby field. Babs told me to take our other dog and a rotisserie chicken and stay in one place.”
“The biggest mistake people make is to chase after their dog,” Fry said. “Stay in one spot, don’t spread your scent around because your dog will follow that scent instead of going back home. Don’t use fried chicken or boiled chicken or chicken nuggets. The rotisserie chicken has a unique smell that attracts dogs; it really is very effective.”
Standing in the mud and pouring rain, in one hand Chadwick had her dog on a leash, in the other hand she gripped a rotisserie chicken. It wasn’t long until Chadwick and Penny were reunited and on their way home.
“Babs is amazing,” Chadwick said.
In fact, she has been instrumental in getting three dogs back to owners here in Scripps Ranch within the time this article was written.
“It takes a village to rescue lost dogs. From putting up posters, calling in sightings and Social Media detectives doing follow-ups,” Fry said.
She is quick to credit the individuals in the Scripps Ranch community that volunteer to be part her support group – like Leslie Chadwick and Marsha Linehan.
“I originally got involved when Babs helped find my friend’s dog,” Linehan said. “My friend had cancer and she was very distressed when her dog went missing. But thanks to Babs and her friend Trapper Laura, they quickly brought the dog home.
A recent rescue involved a pooch named Canyon who’d been on the run for more than a week. Working endlessly, all hours of the day and night Babs, Chadwick and Linehan completed another successful rescue.
Fry has helped find hundreds of dogs in San Diego and even more nationwide.
“I live in East County, but my services have actually gone worldwide. I take calls from anywhere in the world,” she said.
Fry’s serves are free. The expenses come out of her own pocket. To find out how to help and to learn more about the do’s and don’ts of catching a runaway dog, contact Fry at (619) 249-2221 or email awayhomeforanimals@gmail.com.
In the early 1980s a group of pet therapy enthusiasts from San Diego founded Love on a Leash, an organization in which certified therapy dogs visit hospitals, homes and schools offering people-in-need some tender loving care as only a pet can offer.
“What started as a local program with a handful of helpers now has more than 2,000 volunteers nationwide,” said Linda Roth of the San Diego North County chapter. “Here in Scripps Ranch we have about 280 members and we each have a dog or a cat and even a bunny that has been certified as a therapy animal.”
In 2015, Roth, already a seven-year volunteer, and her canine pal Happy teamed up with Martha Wilcox and her dog Sedona along with Sharon Eastman and her pooch Puzzle to introduce Love on a Leash to Ellen Browning Scripps Elementary School.
Gayle Shinn, district counselor for the San Diego Unified School District, recalls that meeting.
“Our association began three years ago when I wanted to do an assembly with dogs to teach children about all the wonderful things animals do for us and to respect animals,” Shinn said. “I met Linda and her dog Happy and thought it was a great idea to have the Love on a Leash dogs come to the assembly. The dogs had a very calming impact on our students as well as our staff. Things went so well that we made it an every-other-week event.”
Ellen Browning Scripps Elementary School Principal Liz Sloan also endorsed the program.
“The dogs are great motivators for students that are very shy and reluctant readers,” Sloan said. “We have the children read to the dogs and it brings them out of their shell, and they love the dogs.”
Roth, the leader of this unique pack, is on the go constantly traversing the community with her gal pals and their handsome hounds doing what they love best: spreading love one tail wag at a time.
“We go into the classroom, put down our quilts and blankets and the children sit down with the dogs and love on ’em, brush them, read a story to them. Some will just talk to the dogs with amazing results,” Roth said. “Once, the nurse brought in a little girl who couldn’t stop crying. She sat down with Happy, put her arms around him – in less than a minute she stopped crying and talked to Happy for 15 minutes. … One reason dogs are so effective with children is because dogs are not judgmental. They just want to share the love.”
The success stories are vast and wide-ranging depending on the child’s specific needs. The breed of the animal is irrelevant. The love a dog shares is like a pair of stretch pants – one size fits all.
“Not all dogs are suited to be therapy dogs so we take the owner and their dog to at least 10 one-hour visits to see how they react in social situations before they can be certified as a therapy pet,” Roth said. “A therapy dog is at first a service dog that is trained to help an individual that requires assistance in opening a door, or maybe they’re in a wheelchair. The service dog helps them do a variety of daily tasks that most people take for granted. For us at Love on a Leash, dogs are just love covered in fur. They’re comfort dogs.”
To find out if your dog, cat or rabbit has what it takes to become a therapy Love on a Leash participant, visit loveonaleash.org.
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