Goats show personality at Saline fair

Posted by Lisa Allmendinger | The Ann Arbor News September 02, 2008 12:12PM
Categories: Regional
Amanda Taphouse, 15, says her goat enjoys candy.

The Nubian goat also has a knack for showing off, winning first place in senior showmanship at the 73rd annual Saline Community Fair Monday.

Taphouse, of Ann Arbor, and several other teens said they enjoy raising and showing goats because of their unique personalities.

"They are all individuals," said Robbie Graham, 17, of Milan, who won champion market animal with one of his boar goats.Special writer Lisa Allmendinger can be reached at lallmendinger@sbcglobal.net or at 734-433-1052.

Obama and Biden: Compatibility and Your Dog

Sen. Barack Obama selected Sen. Joe Biden as his Vice President this week ending an intense period of speculation. For months, the public debated over who he should pick to be second chair in the White House in the event he becomes president. Why was his choice such a big deal? It was a big deal because people know that compatibility is an important key to any relationship, especially a duo that will make decisions that affect the public. It’s a fact that rings true for humans as well as dogs.

Just like Obama and Biden, your dog’s partner needs to be compatible to him. So if you are picking a new housemate for your dog, you need to consider his personality. Is he an alpha male? Does he get insecure when you show attention to other dogs or people? Can he be a little aggressive? These types of questions are ones you should ask yourself before you bring in any potential housemate for your dog. It will help you pick the one who can cohabitate peacefully with him and bring out the best in his personality. Here are a few other things you can do too:

* Set up a meeting. It should be done prior to your decision to bring a new animal into the home. If your dog shows signs he likes the other dog such as wagging of the tail, it’s a good match.

* Research dog breeds. Find out which ones get along best. Then, you should only look for the specific breeds that will get along well with your dog’s breed.

* Do a trial run. Take in a new dog for a temporary period to see how he gets along with your current dog. After a few days, you will know if the two can live peacefully together and are a match in other ways too.

These three tests and a personality assessment of your dog should help you select the right housemate for him. The end result should be that your dog has a companion to play with and you have a new pet to love. It should be a match made in heaven.

Pet alert: West Seattle dog recovering from poison

That’s Coco the dog, wearing bandages where she needed IV treatment for medications and fluids after an apparent poisoning right in her own yard in the 47th/Genesee vicinity (here’s a map). We first heard from Coco’s owner Kate K very early this morning, and then a followup after they visited the vet - she’s also put up flyers to get the word out (we just got e-mail about one of them) - here’s her story:

This was our first e-mail from Kate around 1:30 this morning:

Had to rush my dog Coco to the vet this evening because she was poisoned with rat or snail bait. We don’t keep that around because we have pets so how did it get in our fenced yard? Our dog Coco (Australian Cattle Dog) is doing better but it was a huge scare. I wonder if this has happened to anyone else in the neighborhood. I can give you more details tomorrow and I’ll also be making a police report in the morning and will put up flyers warning people. We have lots of dogs on this street and I’m scared for them. We’re lucky we were home when she first fell ill and that Coco is so young and healthy. An older, smaller or weaker dog might not have pulled through.

We e-mailed Kate back immediately and said we’d wait to talk with her the next day (today) - we have since communicated by phone and e-mail.

Kate says, “About 45 minutes after we think she ate the poison in the yard last night, she started having tremors, paralysis and vomiting.” She says this is what Dr. Beth Guerra wrote in the report from Animal Critical Care:

Presumptive Diagnosis: Metaldehyde Toxicity

I suspect Coco has ingested a tremorgenic toxin, possibly slugbait poison which contains metaldehyde, a chemical that causes neurological and musculoskeletal signs. If these clinical signs are severe enough, exposure can be fatal. It is imperative to have an animal seen if there is even a possibility of ingestion. The initial signs of metaldehyde exposure include restlessness and anxiety. This progresses to salivation, tremors and ataxia/incoordination. At advanced stages of toxicity, rapid heart and respiratory rates occur, along with
convulsions, seizures and extremely high body temperatures.

Kate says Coco is doing better now, and adds that she is filing a report with Seattle Police. We asked if she knew of any reason why someone might deliberately try to hurt Coco - neighbor dispute, or ? She said she has no idea; Coco barks when people pass the yard, but certainly that’s not unusual. “I don’t have a clue who would do this,” Kate told us, “and that’s why it’s so frightening.” 3:28 PM UPDATE: For those who don’t usually read comments - Kate has posted an update there, after talking with authorities.