Bluegrass and dog rescue

Back in the day, Emmylou Harris was rarely known to tour without her canine travel companion, the poodle mix Bonaparte. Then, when Bonaparte passed on, the singer decided to honor him by rescuing dogs who'd run out of time in Nashville, Tennessee shelters. For the last eight years, Bonaparte's Retreat fosters (including Harris herself, who's currently caring for seven adoptables) have been keeping these dogs happy and safe till permanent, loving homes come along. Read more.

Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (epi)

Vet Buzz from Erin Troy, DVM, CCRP, Muller Veterinary Hospital, Walnut Creek, CA Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency or EPI can be thought of as a type of maldigestion. The problem starts in the pancreas, which is an important organ that sits near the stomach and small intestine. The pancreas has multiple functions including making and storing enzymes needed for digesting starches, fats, and proteins. Without these important enzymes, as occurs in EPI, proper absorption of food is impaired. Read more.

About those bears . . .

An estimated 30,000 bears roam the Sierra Nevada, and their presence should be a top-of-mind concern for campers. Keeping a clean camp is the most important element of being bear aware. Remember, secure food storage isn’t just for people food; it’s for dog food, too. A few crumbs of kibble left out in a bowl is enough to attract raccoons, squirrels, skunks, dive-bombing Steller’s jays—and ursus americanus. Read more.

Of pugs and politics

Meetup.com, founded in 2002, wasn’t created just for canines. But curiously, pugs played a role. According to techno-lore, the platform’s founders concocted a made-up event, International Pug Lovers Meetup Day, to test market the site. Pug lovers (and folks who merely found the idea hilarious) rallied to the cause, garnering press and visibility. Meetup.com gained a foothold in popular culture as the tool that propelled political candidate Howard Dean into the national arena in 2004, but pugs were never forgotten. Today some 40,425 people are subscribed to 174 Pug Meetup Groups in 148 cities in five countries around the world. (The San Diego Pug Club, with more than 1,000 members, is the largest.) Read more.

Bay area meetups 2012

Some dog Meetups focus on a particular interest or breed, while some of the larger ones offer quite a range, from rescue to picnics to elegant evenings out. Some are extremely specific. Female Small Dog Owners 18 to 30ish in the East Bay, for example, is a social group for young women who own small dogs. Read more.