Getting serious about pampering pooches

From finance to Fido, Elena Gretch's foray into the world of pet care is unconventional.

Her prelude to launching her own pet training company, It's a Dog's Life, involved a hard and fast eight years working at the New York Stock Exchange trading derivatives. Then in 2005, six months after she and her husband became first-time pet owners, the 32-year-old discovered a new professional calling - to be a stay-at-home mom for her Portuguese water dog and dive into the $40 billion pet care industry.

"We had this hard-core New York City life. With our schedules it was impossible to service all the needs we had. Having a dog was the first time I had perspective of my lifestyle and it inspired us to work for animals," Gretch said.
She initially started the business with the simple premise of offering a dog walking service.

Conveniently, she was able to grow her client base out of her Greenwich Village apartment, where there are numerous pet residents. "But then I set out to become more educated and studied dog training and animal behavior," Gretch said.

In 2006, she became a certified pet dog trainer - one of just 18 in Manhattan, she said. Today, It's a Dog's Life (itsadogslifeny.com) has evolved, offering private dog walking, exercise sessions and overnight care for the city's dogs and cats. Gretch and her nine trained staff members now service some 75 clients in various neighborhoods. Private dog walking runs $38 an hour, while a one-hour training session costs $85.

Gretch said she charges slightly higher rates than the average dog walker because of the level of personalized attention and employee expertise. Pet owners in New York are also more accustomed to spending big bucks on their animals these days. Through her own studies, Gretch discovered that the average pet owner in Manhattan spends $7,000 a year on pet services.

The number one training lesson for a young New York City dog? Social skills, Gretch said.

For new puppy owners, Gretch recommends they take their pups outside to become familiar with the air and to meet children and other dogs. She understands this is a modern approach and not one traditional pet experts may suggest.

"Veterinarians will say not to take out dogs until they have all their shots," Gretch said. "But the amount of sociability that's given up in the formative years can really hurt them in the long run."

Lucky charmer scampers in

Around this time every year, a certain animal zodiac sign gets the spotlight. This year is no different: Ladies and gentlemen, we present the Rat.
THE cunning rat, as folklore tells it, made it to become the first animal of the Chinese horoscope by piggy backing on another animal’s efforts.
What happened was the legendary Jade Emperor invited 12 animals to participate in a race across a river to determine their positions on the Chinese calendar.However, the rat used brain rather than brawn – he hitched a ride on what it perceived was the mightiest swimmer. Just before the buffalo reached the other bank, the rat jumped off the buffalo’s back and crossed the finish line ahead of the poor puffing beast.
An interesting footnote here, according to chineseastrologyonline.com, is that the cat was one of the original 12 participants. So why is it missing from the Chinese calendar? Well, that ratty fellow told the cat that the race would be held at another time. When the cat failed to show up for the race, the Jade Emperor sent his official to earth to grab the first animal that he saw – which happened to be a pig being carried to market by a farmer. When the cat eventually realised that it had been tricked out of celestial fame, it swore to go rat hunting forever....
This story also reflects the luck of people born in the Year of the Rat. Dr Christopher Lau, an expert lecturer/author from Global Fengshui Net Sdn Bhd, who accurately predicted that our stock market would hit record highs in 2007, says that a rat has “selfless people” around him to help his career along. Does that sound like the buffalo?
The rat is regarded as a symbol of good luck and wealth in China and Japan. According to chinese.astrology.com, it is respected for its quick wits, stylishness and charming exterior.
“However, behind that sweet smile, a rat is a keen and unapologetic promoter of its own agenda,” notes the website. Ahem... that seems like how that rodent got first place in the Chinese calendar!
Monetary greed can become a problem if the rat isn’t careful. But if it often hoards, a rat can also be very generous to those in their pack, namely friends and family members who have proven their loyalty. It can also be quick-tempered and sharp-tongued, something that people will quickly learn to love or hate.
The rat’s keen mind always seeks out new knowledge, to be stored away for future use. If boredom sets in the rat is no fun at all, but then again, it usually knows how to keep itself entertained.
The website adds, “A valuable lesson for the rat is to learn to consider others above themselves, at least sometimes. (In doing so), the rat might well find true happiness.”

Global Fengshui’s Lau has similar views. A rat is sociable, makes friends easily and is highly persistent. However, for the coming year, he is advised to “be sincere” in everything he does so that it will be reciprocated.
Now, doesn’t this all sound exactly like Templeton, the rat in the movie Charlotte’s Web, whose mean spirit is in sharp contrast to Wilbur, the piglet with the heart of gold? Yet, in the end, the rat overcomes his own selfishness for the greater happiness of all.
A fascinating piece of Chinese folklore involving the creature is the “Rats’ Wedding Day”. In his book, Rat, Kwok Man-ho recounts that once upon a time in China, on a peaceful night at the Wah Chiu family home, the father suddenly heard strange noises coming from a room that had been locked for years. When he peered in, he saw an amazing sight – a traditional marriage procession of rats, dressed in fine robes.
A few days later, a Taoist priest came by and told the father that the house had an evil spirit and needed to be cleansed. When the priest was done, he told the father that he must leave out food and drink to thank the household god. However, the father ignored the priest’s advice and the very next day, the house was overrun by rats, driving the family out.
In another book, Chinese Creeds and Customs, by V.R. Burkhardt, it is added that the 19th day of the first month of the lunar calendar is thus observed in some Chinese households as the “Rats’ Wedding Day”. Everyone goes to bed early so as not to disturb the revels of their four-footed tenants. An offering is put out to induce the more benevolent rodents to exercise restraint over their more unruly brothers, and to moderate their appetites during the year.
If a very large rat takes up residence in a house, it is treated as an honoured guest, for this is the Money Rat which will attract wealth, more than compensating for his board and lodging.
Paintings of a rat’s wedding procession were traditionally hung up at home during Chinese New Year, notes the book, Mooncakes and Hungry Ghosts: Festivals of China. These would often feature a charming rat bride and groom accompanied by musicians, lantern-bearers, gong-beaters and palanquin carriers. If the rat’s wedding went undisturbed, it was believed that the grateful rats would leave the humans alone for the rest of the year.
What about rats in real life? Are they in any way associated with their Chinese horoscope characteristics?
Take “single-minded get-ahead instincts”. The brown rat (Rattus norvegicus) is, according to the BBC website, the “most widespread terrestrial mammal” on earth. They originated in the grasslands of China, spread to Europe and eventually, via ships, to the Americas. They are now so common that they are found everywhere from sewers, to laboratories and even homes, where they are kept as pets!
Then there is the Polynesian Rat, or Pacific Rat (Rattus exulans). This fellow is incapable of swimming long distances yet it managed to spread from its home in South-East Asia to as far as Hawaii, Fiji and even Easter Island. They accomplished this by hitching rides, no, not on the back of cosmic Chinese buffaloes, but inside the paddle-driven canoes of Polynesians as they migrated eastwards.
While the celestial rat constantly seeks out knowledge to chew on, the earthly rat incessantly seeks out food. Polynesian rats are omnivorous, eating insects, centipedes, spiders, worms, snails, fruit, seeds, leaves, roots and sometimes even lizards and birds. They are considered as pests in this region, as they feed on sugar cane, coconuts, cocoa and other crops.
The global “success story” of the rats has been due to their extraordinary ability to adapt to different environments, and by riding on hard-working “buffaloes” – humans who conquered the earth while throwing away everything from caveman food scraps to half-eaten mee goreng.
Rats aren't just good at going forth and multiplying. They are really clever – just as the Chinese horoscope make them out to be.
Lab rats, for example, have proved valuable in psychological studies of learning and other mental processes. The researchers, Foote, Allison and Jonathon, noted last year in the journal Current Biology that rats actually possess “metacognition”, a mental ability previously only found in humans and some primates.
For animals, metacognition is a quantum leap in intellectual capabilities as it involves “thinking about thinking”. This means developing a plan before action (“What should I do?”), monitoring the plan during execution (“Am I on the right track?) and even evaluating the plan after (“How can I improve?”).
So the rat is clever. In fact, it has been brilliant in seeking out profitable alliances. But perhaps it’s not all selfishness? After all, thousands of rats have “sacrificed” their lives for medical research. As for live rats, the Chinese horoscope does point out that it is generous to its friends. And that’s precisely why rat lovers think that it makes an ideal pet.
“Rats are extremely social! What does this mean for you? Love, love, and more love! They will absolutely beg to be with you. The more time you spend with them, the closer your bond will grow with them. You will be showered with affection!” advocates the website, rattyrat.com
And due to their intelligence, they can be taught tricks and they love games. They are also adorable in riding on your shoulder, grooming you, yawning, hopping around, playing tag and more.
What about that plague stuff? And their reputation as vermin?
After all, in the West, the rat is reviled as a filthy disease carrier, the worst of which was the bubonic plague or Black Death which wiped out some 50 million Europeans in the 14th century. An anti-rat bias has entered the English language. For example, a high-powered lawyer might be “ratted upon” by his own brother about allegedly buying houses and handphones for judges. And people watching the whole proceedings may even “smell a rat”.
Despite all that, it's not really the critters' fault. For one, the poor rats were merely unwitting carriers of plague-causing fleas, and they themselves also succumbed to the disease. Secondly, who asked us humans to leave all that food lying around? Besides, they can be domesticated, litter trained and end up as extremely clean animals, grooming themselves more frequently than cats.
“Rats love to please. They can easily learn your schedule. Many people feel their personality is like that of a dog, and many people refer to their rats as pocket puppies,” enthuses rattyrat.com

140 Vendors Gather For LP Arts & Crafts Country Fair

Barbara Shrewsbury, right, says Red, 3, a 42-pound part-Chow, is personable and playful. He's been neutered and has had his shots. Haley Sterling and the Key Club are volunteers at the Humane Society, washing and walking dogs and cats several times a week.

LAKE PLACID — Downtown was crowded, usually so for a Saturday morning. Going west on Interlake, half the parking spaces were filled for a few blocks, but closer to Main Avenue, they were all full and people were walking toward DeVane Circle.
It's the Lake Placid Arts and Crafts Country Fair, and by 9 a.m., thousands were already gathered to check out the Panama hats, jewelry, wooden parrots on perches, and wooden walking sticks with birds for handles.
At the west side of the traffic circle, the Highlands County Cattlewomen were serving beef sandwiches and potato salad, the Lutherans were heating brats and kraut, the Rotary Club was frying burgers and chicken, and Venus United Methodist Church was serving turkey wraps and meatball subs.
A few tents away, Norman and Pat Barker were selling handmade quilts. Where are they made? The Barkers live in Etowah, in Southeastern Tennessee, where quilting is a tradition, she explained. Other quilters are from neighboring northern Alabama and western Georgia.
Most of the quilts – kings and queens – are in the $300 range, baby quilts are $100, and there are also twins, fulls and odd sizes.
Ironically, as she was talking. "Rocky Top" started playing, and Pat Barker couldn't help but comment on what has become an anthem for her home.
The music was coming from the Caladium Cloggers, one of two groups of square dancers who must get aerobic during their 30-minute shows. These women don't politely glow, they sweat thunderously, like the men, but it's because their tapping footwork with those white loafers was fast. Way faster than the average dancer could keep up with. That's why the crowd was clapping during the performance, and applauding afterward.
How Much Is That Doggie?
Walk past the Humane Society tent. That's Red who was greeting fair-goers.Red was literally Barbara Shrewsbury's pet project on Saturday.
"Red's been with us for over a year," said the president of the board for the south Sebring animal rescuers.
"It breaks my heart because he's such a good dog. They just don't know his potential," she said. A 3-year-old part-Chow and maybe part Labrador, Red is one of four dogs and two cats the Humane Society brought to the fair this year, hoping – sometimes against hope – for adoptions.
So, what about Red?"He's very intelligent," Shrewsbury said, knowing this may be Red's big chance to find that great home with loving owners. "He was well trained. He knows how to walk on a leash. He knows how to sit and heel. He does well with other dogs. He's very playful. He'll fetch anything. He loves to cuddle, and he's a good kisser."
A good kisser. An important quality to mention. Surely, someone's going to find that vital in a canine companion.
For more information, call 655-1522.
Also on the bill are the Mountain Dew Cloggers, Grace Harmony gospel music, and the German band Woodhaven Music Makers, talks by state troopers, wildlife from Vanishing Species and facepainting by Toby's Clowns. The entertainment closes at 4 p.m.