pfu pfu' pfu pfu'

Recognize the sound?  Click here for the correct pronunciation.  Its the sound of a normal heart beating.  I first learned about the heart in 1954 on a field trip to the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia.  The Institute had just opened its giant model walk-through heart.  The two story exhibit would be the accurate size for a 220 foot tall person.  Throughout the model we excited children could hear the powerful, regular beat of a normal heart.  Pfu pfu' Pfu pfu'.  You can visit the Instistute's heart still.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States.  You would not know that from television advertising that tells me indigestion, fibromyalgia or problems in the bed room are our greatest plagues.  Recent news reminds us that womens's hearts, too succumb to the effects of poor diet, insufficient exercise, smoking and too much stress.  Heart disease kills more women each year than the next four causes of death combined, including all forms of cancer.  February is American Heart Month and Friday is Wear Red Day to raise awareness.  I have my outfit ready.

No Bad Dogs

I have a friend who keeps sheep on 100 acres in Olympia.  Hers is a peaceful place where ducks, geese and the occasional swan settle on ponds.  Brilliantly stripped garter snakes hide in the bushes and moles do their job of turning and aerating the soil.  The sheep are the main attraction.  In their daily rhythm they move from the barn, through the sort yard, along the ditch and down “ewe lane” to their pasture.  In the evening they retrace their steps.  My friend works her sheep with dogs -  Kelpies and Border Collies.  To my eyes, newly focused by my recent retirement, this place is almost heaven.

The peace was shattered last week by brutality.  Two dogs from the neighborhood rampaged the sheep.  Two died from their horrible gaping wounds.  One lamb lived on to be discovered by my friend. Her face was torn off.  She had been partially eaten alive.  My friend’s only choice was to slit the lambs’ throat to end her misery.  Coyotes occasionally get into the fields.  My friend loses one or two sheep to coyotes each year.  But she loses more to dogs.  It is easy to tell the difference.  Coyotes strike at the throat and kill quickly.  Dogs are not practiced killers.  A dog confronting a 400 pound ewe can easily make contact but does not dispense a swift and fatal blow.  My friend’s experience with dogs run wild is a terrible, but not unusual demonstration of one of the challenges of our relationship with man’s first friend – the domesticated dog. 

Owning a dog is a responsibility – a responsibility to society and to the dog.  Without care, a dog can become a criminal.  Well known dog trainer Barbara Woodhouse wrote that there are no bad dogs, just inexperienced owners.  Her words are often paraphrased: no bad dogs, just bad owners.  All dogs can bark, run reckless and wild, steal food, dig and bite.  Those who do not are the lucky ones – they have been properly cared for.  They have been trained.  Their diet is nutritious, they are given regular exercise and attention, their bed is clean and secure.  The unconditional love they offer is returned with daily attention to their needs.

Every day in the news there is an account of harm caused by a dog who is not properly cared for.  Sometimes it is really awful.  Dogs have strong jaws. A big strong dog can exert more than 225 pounds of force in a bite.  Who is to blame when such force is unleashed in a neighborhood?  If you have a dog be grateful for her innate instinct to love and protect you.  But be a responsible owner.  Train your dog.  Her transgressions are yours.

Why Did the Elephant Cross the Road?

Short Answer: to avoid conflict with his human neighbors.  In China, India and Africa wild elephant populations are increasingly crowded by human activities.  Defending their crops, villagers barricade themselves in - and the elephants out.  Elephant habitat is broken into isolated pieces and herds are separated.  But resourceful Foundations and NGO's working with land owners and local government are providing safe passage linking preserves and wilderness areas.  Sometimes a land corridor - but increasingly a tunnel or overpass.  The latest is a 9-mile fenced-in corridor complete with a highway underpass on the slopes of Mt. Kenya.  You can read about it here. 

For over 50 years the remarkable David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust has been saving elephants who wander into trouble - one at a time.  The profiles in their Orphan's Project read as well as any children's book about helpless baby animals.  They successfully return these lucky ones to wild herds.  This is a shinning point of light in our troubled world.