Giving Back

Don’t have a dog right now. Mokie, the Chihuahua I’ve had for the past three years the one who used to be my sister’s dog is now living with my other sister. For complicated reasons, I’m splitting my time between two homes, in two towns, and dragging a dog through all this just isn’t practical or fair. Mokie “vacationed” with Pam’s family while I was moving, and fit into their home and hearts so well, we decided it was best for him to stay there.

I do miss that little muffinhead, though, and miss having a dog with me at all times. To cope, I’m getting my dog-hair and dog-breath fix at an animal shelter that’s close to one of my homes.

I’m lucky; the animal shelter is a brand-new and spacious facility, the culmination of years of fundraising and planning by its director and board. The staff has been reenergized by the move to the new location; everyone seems highly committed to doing what’s best for the animals. And volunteers are in short supply, so anything I’ve offered to do has been eagerly accepted. I’m walking dogs, washing dogs, and training dogs to sit quietly in front of their cage doors when approached. The other day, as I was doing this, two young girls who were also volunteering came over to watch and within an hour (and a pound of canine cookies) they had every dog in the shelter sitting or lying down quietly the moment someone stepped in front of them.

So, while I do certainly miss having my own dog, and would love to take four or five home with me, I’m going to try to wait until I get my life better stabilized. The company of dogs has sustained me so much over my lifetime, starting before I can even remember. My resolution for 2007 is to spend time trying to give something back to dogs not just one dog in gratitude.

Another good thing I’ve been able to offer the shelter is a bunch of dog food! My office always becomes a bit unmanageable around the time of Whole Dog Journal’s annual dry dog food review, which is featured in this issue. It’s a pleasure on many levels to pack all the food into my car and haul it to the shelter.

This was the tenth time I have reviewed dry dog foods for Whole Dog Journal. In 1998, when the magazine was first published, I was hard-pressed to find more than a dozen or so foods that contained whole meats, grains, and vegetables. Today, there are scores of these foods on the market, and the variety and quality level continues to rise; check them out, starting on page 6.

This issue also contains a welcome article from Greg Tilford, a highly respected expert on herbal medicine for animals (see page 16). Greg has offered to answer some of our readers’ questions about herbal remedies for dogs. You can e-mail your question to Greg at WDJHerbQuestion@aol.com. He’ll select a few and we’ll publish his responses in an upcoming issue. Of course, this issue also contains the usual practical advice on

positive training and holistic health. I hope you enjoy it.