From the SPA
What the heck do we know?
By Christine Foster

All my life I’ve heard that dogs are color blind (though I never really believed it) and indeed recent research is admitting that dogs do see colors, just not as vividly–more like our vision at twilight. And for decades scientists have also maintained that cats are color blind, and recent research is showing, you guessed it, that cats can see blue and green, and possibly red. So sometimes you have to wonder–what the heck do we really know about the animals that share our lives?

Take that old saying that a year in a dog’s life is equivalent to seven of ours. That’s pretty slippery when you look at it. A year-old pup is much more of a baby than a seven–year–old child, and a ten–year–old dog is normally not taking it as easy as many folks in their seventies.

Take Mingus. He is a mature dog, yes – but in the best sense of the word. He’s a handsome golden retriever mix who was surrendered by a family who said they no longer had room for him. We’re not sure how old he is. The family thought he was almost 10, but here he is, very healthy, with great teeth and plenty of energy. If we had to guess we’d put him closer to six.

Mingus is a happy fellow, astonishing really, given that he was dumped. Best of all he’s relaxed and adaptable. He looks to the humans around him to tell him what’s expected and then gets on with it. He’s been well cared for and socialized – he’s housebroken, walks well on a leash, and loves to play ball. So here is the perfect companion animal for a single, a couple, or a family – though it’s probably better if they don’t have a toddler, because Mingus might actually be a bit too energetic to play with a tot!

How long will he live? The Guinness book of records used to have the oldest dog, Butch, (in the States) at 28 until he was surpassed by Bluey, an Australian cattle–dog at 29 years and 5 months. Bluey spent a full 20 years of his life working with cattle and sheep in Australia. So keep your dog busy and happy and…who knows?

And then there is Sydney who is at the very beginning of what we all hope will be a long and happy life. She is a sweet young thing under a year old and the first to greet you when you enter the female cat cage. With no fear of dogs or loud noises she is also very relaxed and hops into a cat carrier like a world traveler. She would love to be someone’s affectionate lap cat and may even greet your guests at the door.

Please come and visit these and other great pets at The Sociedad Protectora de Animales. We are open from 12 –2 p.m. Monday through Friday for adoptions and volunteers. $300 (pesos) is requested for adoption and includes sterilization. We are located at Los Pinos 7, a right turn off Calzada de la Estación. The clinic phone number is 152-6124.