dogist

Is a type of cancer a new form of life?

Yesterday, The Loom wrote about sticker's Sarcoma, a type of cancer which appears to be spread dog-to-dog, referring to a recent paper in the publication Cell. The dog develops a tumor, which eventually dissipates as the dog either develops antibodies to the pathogen which causes the tumor or some other action occurs. The cancer is of the immune cells called histiocytes. It appears to be the first case of a cancer spreading organism to organism without a carrier of some sort.

Weiss' team reached these conclusions by examining tumor cells and blood samples from 16 unrelated dogs from Italy, India and Kenya, as well as samples from animals in the United States, Brazil, Turkey and Spain. This showed the tumor cells seen today all originated in the same animal long ago, and have diverged slightly into two distinct lineages.

• Newsday: Dogs can transmit cancer cells (August 11, 2006)
• The Loom: A Dead Dog Lives On (Inside New Dogs) (August 9, 2006)
• Cell: Clonal Origin and Evolution of a Transmissible Cancer (Volume 126, 477-487, August 4, 2006)

Pending law in California restricts tethering of dogs

Pending law SB1578 would restrict the tethering of dogs outside to three hours in a 24 hour period.

Curiously, the NRA is against this law.

PETA keeps a list of communities which ban or restrict chaining or tethering dogs.

• Animal rights groups push bill that would limit tethering of dogs: SB1578 would limit the tethering of dogs to three hours during 24 hours, and, supporters say, hopefully persuade owners not to tie up their dogs at all. Proponents of the legislation say tethering dogs all day is not only unfair to the animals but can lead to more aggression. via: The Obscure Store and Reading Room
• Google coverage

Service dog kicked out of Dunkin Donuts

Karen Robinson and her black labrador retriever guild dog, Hampton, were forced to leave a Hyde Park (Chicago,IL) restaurant after an employee at Dunkin Donuts called the police on her after she refused to tie Hampton up outside the restaurant. The incident occurred July 8, 2006.

This week, the Chicago Police Department started educating officers about the state's White Cane Law with a five minute video, the script of which is quite similar to the incident at the Dunkin Donuts.

• Police get lesson on service dogs
• Woman: Cops didn't know guide dog law

Whackjob booby-traps ham with pins

A whackjob, probably in support of the Juniper Park Civic Association's campaign against off-leash hours in the New York City parks, planted a ham in a brown bag in Central Park which was laced with pins or needles. Milo, a Labrador Retriever, tore into the ham and swallowed 30 pins, some of which were up to three inches long.

• SICK 'DOG TRICK': Worried about other possible attacks, the Central Park Conservancy is warning 3,000 dog owners in the area to be watchful for suspicious packages.
• Dog recovering after eating meat filled with pins: I picked up the meat to throw it away and it was full of pins.
• Animal Advocates Issue Warning After Dog Eats Meat Filled With Pins (video coverage)

Other news

• Vivi, now leader of the pack?: update about Vivi, the missing whippet of JFK
• Pooches pic poached, dogs' owner charges: In 1992, Gina Cecala allowed an amateur photographer to take pictures of her dogs Chickie and Tiny, part terrier, part chihuahua mixes. The photo ended up in the collection of Getty Images which in turn released it to Matthews International which used the photo in an advertisement for its animal cremation machine.