The Inquiring Manatee

Encounter with the Dog Whisperer

On a sunny afternoon Wednesday in the canals of Venice, Calif., three blocks from the Pacific, I was in the front yard beside the canal walk, watching my wife bathe our two standard poodles. Who should walk by but a camera crew from National Geographic cable network, taping Cesar Millan, the Dog Whisperer, for his show. Millan was strolling along, walking a tan pug on a leash. With him, walking an evil-looking gray pit bull, was a gorgeous actress I didn't quite recognize. Millan stopped to comment on the poodles. The actress said nothing. What was remarkable was that none of the four dogs barked or lunged -- very unusual for our turf-oriented, barky poodles, certainly. It was a tribute to the preternatural calmness that Millan transmits to dogs. The guy really does have an affinity, a calling to work with dogs and improve their behavior. If he came by every day, maybe there would be some hope for our Ana and Daisy. As it is, their noise drives me nuts.

Mourning the Manatees

    Naturally, I read with dismay news reports that nearly 100 manatees, a record number, have been found dead in the waterways of Florida this winter, victims of a long cold snap.

    Though manatees are not my favorite animal -- cats of all sizes are, followed by dolphins -- I adopted them as this blog's totem because of their offbeat qualities. They are strange but harmless and, for water creatures, cuddly. Also, like the print journalist I used to be, they're endangered.

   Manatee Consciousness is a lasting thing. After Mary Hawkins Turner, my wife Irma's mother, died at age 90 in Longwood, Fla., in 2005, Irma inherited her mom's 2000 silver Mercury Sable GS sedan. We drive it at our summer place in Vermont. We nicknamed the car The Manatee. Why? It is gray, homely, awkward and from Florida. Like a manatee, it is far from fashionable but it is somehow loveable. Unlike a manatee, the car doesn't have to go outdoors in winter. So it may survive for many more years. May all manatees be so lucky.

   

  

  

Score One for the Mountain Lion, Zero for the Dog

     

   

Cats and cat people appear to have won a victory over dogs and dog people. This gratifies me.
      According to the Los Angeles Times, an Orange County, Calif., man named William Morse told game wardens that his dog Hoagie valiantly saved his life during a hike in the Cleveland National Forest by intercepting an attacking mountain lion, taking a life-threatening mauling from the cougar in the process.
      "I went toward the bathroom and a mountain lion came out and attacked us," Morse told reporters the day of the alleged incident. "It got to my dog first and chewed him up. He's a hero, man. I love him to death. Man's best friend prevailed."
      Rangers set out to find and kill the mountain lion.
      What made this original version of Morse's tale sound doubly poignant was that Morse had saved the life of Hoagie, a black shepherd mix, by rescuing him from a pound.
       Well.
       Good story from a dog lover's point of view, but after state wildlife officials investigated further, they told the Times that it appears from the evidence that the dog ran off from Morse and his wife on the hike, chased and attacked the mountain lion and got a good comeuppance from the self-defending cat.
        Said Harry Morse (presumably no relation), California Department of Fish and Game spokesman: "The report we got was that the dog went up to amountain lion and the mountain lion ran away and the dog chased it and was mauled. We went out there and didn't find any evidence of a mountain lion. They didn't find any tracks or hair. that's not to say it wasn't there."
        Moreover, in the opinion of Fish and Game wildlife biologist Kevin Brennan, William Morse was never really in danger because he was with his wife and lions usually attack solitary individuals.
        The officials spared the mountain lion from a death sentence. They called off the hunt.  
        I'd hate for it to be the case that this guy explained his bloodied dog (who is recovering) by putting it all on the cat and portraying his dog as a hero. If Morse's story was false, it could have resulted in needless death for a blameless cougar.
        Message for hikers: If signs on hiking trails prohibit dogs, leave your dog at home or in the car. Rangers bar dogs from many trails because the slavering curs do just what Hoagie may have done: chase and harass wildlife. They can't help being dogs, but the wildlife deserves a break. The wilderness is their home. It's bad enough that people invade their world.
        Happy that the cougar in question is off the hook, I told my wife this morning: "I will always side with the pussycat!" Her equally emphatic response was: "I will always side with the doggie!"
        Sounds like a draw. But for now, the kitties have the last word.