Research has shown that dogs can help people recover from illness or injury.

That’s why therapy dogs are being used more and more, but one special dog is helping in a different way.

An accident more than a year ago left Hans the dachshund paralyzed, but don’t tell him that.

Lynn Mell is recuperating from a stroke, a long process involving painful physical therapy.

Hans helps her stretch, the most painful part of her therapy. People have to control their movements when they pet animals so they don’t hurt them. Petting Hans helps to stretch Mell’s hands.

“It makes them really concentrate on their hand movement,” a therapist said.

Research shows animal-assisted therapy can reduce heart rate and blood pressure, lessen anxiety during medical procedures, increase long- and short-term memory and motivate patients.

But Hans is a special case.

Although he’s not a certified therapy dog, his disability reminds patients of everything they can do.

“I feel so bad for him, but he manages. He gets around,” a patient said.

Hans faces obstacles, such as getting the wheels of his wheelchair-like device stuck on furniture, but he overcomes them.

He depends on the device and never lets it slow him down.

Hans got hurt jumping off a sofa.

To the casual observer, the numerous breeds of domestic dogs would seem to have reached the acme of diversity by a single species. There are about 400 breeds of purebred dogs, though the American Kennel Club recognizes only about 162. Those who watched the recent telecast of the Westminster Club’s dog show from Madison Square Garden in New York City must have been amazed at the great variety of dogs exhibited—from the huge Great Dane to the tiny chihuahua. We can’t but wonder what some paleontologist in the distant future will think when he digs up the bones of the different dogs man has created.

Yet, we know that all of the different varieties of dogs belong to the same species. This is primarily because they are theoretically capable of mating and producing fertile offspring. Size difference, however, may make the act of mating impossible, as in the case of a Saint Bernard attempting to mate with a Pekinese. Though not characters for differentiating species, it is interesting to note that all dogs have similar basic habits, instincts, and the working of their brains.

The evolutionary history of the dog is lost in the clouded mists of the past, but we do know with a high degree of certainty that the dog was the first animal domesticated by early man. The origin of dogs has perplexed zoologists for ages, and many theories have been put forth as to their ancestry, with none being generally accepted. The one thing, however, that most experts agree upon is that the dog’s immediate ancestor is the wolf. In fact, a dog may be backcrossed to a wolf, and hybrids, though usually infertile, may be produced.

A plausible scenario of how this came to be is that an early man found an abandoned wolf pup and took it to his primitive abode, where he nurtured it. Raised in the friendly environment, the pup grew into an adult that was more docile than its parents and eventually became bonded to its surrogate “parent.” The young wolf proved to be of great value to the hunter in his quest for game and as a guard for his family, and the relationship was sealed.

If the captive wolf reverted to the aggressiveness of its parents, it was killed and another one procured who was less belligerent and was used as a breeder. Thusly, the use of selective inbreeding to produce a desired animal was instigated. And this practice has continued through time and accounts for the great variety of dogs we have today. Charles Darwin considered selective breeding while he was pondering how new species were formed, but rejected the idea. Though there is a plethora of different varieties of dogs, there is only one species, Canis domesticus.

Until recent years, it was generally believed that man had domesticated dogs no more that 10,000 years ago. However, recent DNA and other genetic tests has convinced anthropologist Dr. Colin Groves and others that dogs became associated with man and became domesticated some 100,000 years ago. One hundred thousand years ago is the generally believed time that modern man emerged. If true, Fido has been man’s best friend for a considerable time.

The origin of the dog’s immediate ancestor the wolf is obscured. Paleontologists have long speculated about how the family Canidae, the family that includes the dog, wolf, hyena, jackal, fox and many other flesh-eating mammals arose. The tree of the evolution of the Canidae is indeed complex and has many branches, one of which leads to the bears. Some of the early canine ancestors lived in trees when the ancestor of the modern horse was about the size of a large dog and had three toes. It took a considerable time for the first wolf to make an appearance on earth, but when man appeared, the dog evolved in a relatively short time.

When you look deeply into the eyes of your pet dog, you may be able to detect a bit of the wolf’s presence in your beloved companion.

IN THE old days they were known as ‘poodle parlours’, but nowadays dog grooming takes place in ‘canine beauty salons’ with highly-experienced groomers.

One such canine beauty parlour is Wagtails on Morecambe’s Yorkshire Street – heaven for dog lovers like me. I don’t have a dog of my own, but I would love to have a four-legged friend.

I am straining at the leash to find out what it’s like to be a canine beautician.

A few days earlier on the phone, Ray Headington of Wagtails told me: “I can’t wait to see this, flower!”

He set a few alarm bells ringing, but it didn’t put me off.

“Don’t wear your good clothes,” he warned.

Oh dear.

Dressed in my scruffs, I turn up at Wagtails on a Thursday morning and am greeted at the door by ‘Tinkerbelle’, a massive, friendly Rottweiler and Hattie, an enthusiastic Airedale terrier.

Both dogs belong to Ray and his wife Tricia, who run Wagtails together. Their dogs are extremely popular with the customers and Tinkerbelle even collects 10 pound notes from the customers.

Obligingly, Tinkerbelle gives us a demonstration of her cash collecting skills before I get ready to work. Behind the counter is a door leading to the beauty parlour. The sound of hairdryers is blasting from the doorway. Ray shows me through and Tricia says ‘hello’.

I had imagined a couple of dogs and perhaps one beautician. However, the parlour is full of all kinds of dogs and five women are busy grooming them.

Tricia, who has worked as a canine beautician for an amazing 48 years and has been in Morecambe for 18 of those years, takes a breather from finishing a very stylish haircut for a shi tzu called Benji, to welcome me to Wagtails.

Benji lives in Heysham and visits the salon every week for a special bath and shampoo. His nails get a trim and his fine hair gets a tidy-up. Tricia explains that the groomers also check for “lumps and bumps” on the dogs and recommend a visit to the vet, if need be. Benji looks very relaxed as Tricia combs his hair – she even lets me do it.

“The dogs get to know you and they let you do it,” she explains. “Most come in wagging their tails and can’t wait.”
As Tricia cuts Benji’s fringe, she coos: “Stay still darling.”

My ‘client’ is Max, a grand old English sheepdog who looks like Donny Tourette from the band, The Towers of London. Max is in need of a haircut, nail trimming, a good shampoo, a blow dry and much more.

He looks at me with his big, soulful eyes so I give him a good pat before Tricia starts telling me about the salon.

The salon opens at 9am and the women work flat out for the rest of the day as it’s often very busy. Wagtails recently moved from Heysham Road to Yorkshire Street, a move Tricia describes as “brilliant”.

“There’s a nice community on Yorkshire Street. We’ve got lots of business.”

Dog owners travel from far and wide to have their pets beautified at Wagtails. One dog even travels all the way from Benidorm.

Ray says: “They come to us because we have a good reputation.

“Most of our business is by word of mouth. Some people who have moved away from the area still come to us. They make a day of it. One comes from Ireland and another comes from Halifax.”

All of the dogs’ records are kept on computer – a staggering 1,669 pooches.

Benji is easy to manage, but Tricia and her staff have much bigger clients on their books including a Great Dane and a 13.5 stone New Foundland dog.

As we chat, Dougal the Westie and Caspar, a miniature poodle, are getting the works.

Imogen Newlands is one of the groomers working on the dogs. She has been in the business for nearly seven years and loves it.

“Every day is different,” she explains.

Tricia takes people on apprenticeships and believes they learn much more this way than by going to college.

“A lot do go to college, but all they learn is the basics,” she says.

“It takes three years to learn the whole lot.

“It’s like being a car mechanic – you have to be ‘hands-on’ to do it.

“It’s a profession for life. It’s something you can either do, or you can’t.

“You must not be nervous of the dogs. Even dogs that are normally well-behaved will have a go if you’re nervous. You need to learn to have the right body language.”

Tricia got into the business when she was 16 years-old and worked in boarding kennels in Stratford-upon-Avon. She later moved to boarding kennels in Southport owned by Bob Martin.

When she left there she managed ‘The Smart Dog’ in Southport.

“It was a grooming parlour – they used to call them poodle parlours,” she says. “We didn’t get the wide spectrum of dogs that we get nowadays.

“It was mainly poodles, spaniels and terriers.”
Max is waiting for his bath so we stop chatting and, ominously, Tricia hands me a large, waterproof apron to wear. “You’ll need this,” she smiles.

Groomer Sam Long and I prepare to lift Max.

He’s a big, heavy dog (about six stone I’d say) so it takes two of us.

He doesn’t seem to mind as we carry him over to the bath.
The bath itself is raised up to waist level for ease of dog washing.

Max has clearly done this many times before and he waits patiently as Sam and I use jugs to pour water over him.

It’s great fun giving Max his shampoo. We even use Dove soap to clean the white fur on his face and paws.

He doesn’t howl or growl, but he does look a little bit like a child who doesn’t want to get soap in his eyes.

Then we shower off the shampoo and soap and squeeze his fur to get the water out.

The next step is to dry him with cloths and towels before lifting him out of the bath and onto a drying table covered in towels.

Blast
Sam hands me a large dog hairdryer and we both blast Max’s fur with the warm air.

Tricia explains that we must keep the dryers moving constantly so as not to burn Max’s skin.

This is the bit Max least likes and he grumbles a lot.
The bathing, showering, lifting and drying are all very physical and I can imagine that after a whole day of working like this, anyone would be worn out. Still, it’s satisfying work and the dogs are great characters.

Sam continues working on Max and Tricia introduces me to ‘Aggro’, a tiny long-haired dog that looks as if it should really be called ‘Sweetie’ or ‘Cutie’.

Jasmine, a fabulous black standard poodle, is also waiting, so I shake paws with her and give her a pat.

Tricia says the groomers will treat between 15 to 18 dogs in a day and that it’s “one of the hardest jobs you can do”.

She explains: “A lot of people don’t realise how hard it is.

They just think it’s going to be all cuddles and kisses.”
She shows me her hand which is badly scarred: “This finger was split right down the middle by a chihuahua. It’s like going to the dentist – some dogs probably think they’re going to the vets.”

Tricia has occasionally worked on show dogs, but not recently.

I’ve had a highly enjoyable day at Wagtails, but would I like to do it as a job?

Well, I doubt I’d be able to hack the physical side of the job. However, I would like the creative side of being a groomer.

One thing is for sure – Tricia and her groomers do a superb job and If I had a pet dog, I’d be happy to leave it in their capable hands.

It would certainly be a lot more fun than working in a ladies’ or gents’ salon.

On the grooming table Sam has almost finished Max’s treatment.

He looks gorgeous now that he has had his ‘cut and blow dry.

“The dogs are usually a lot happier once they’ve had their coats shampooed and their hair cut,” adds Tricia.

“I would far rather have dogs than people.”

A 3-month-old mixed breed puppy is battling for his life after swallowing two magnets that caused intestinal fluids to leak into his abdomen.

Surgeons at Angell Animal Medical Center removed the magnets that perforated Kazor’s intestines, but the dog is being monitored in the Critical Care Unit at Angell.

Kazor was brought in by his owner after it began vomiting and showing signs of severe abdominal pain and lethargy. The Angell staff took X-rays of the dog’s stomach. It was discovered that Kazor had swallowed two small but powerful magnets.

The surgical team then found that the magnets had joined together while being lodged in two separate organs — the stomach and the colon — creating a hole which was seeping life-threatening bacteria. The surgeons closed the hole, but Kazor remains in Angell’s Critical Care unit under 24-hour watch to identify if bacteria enter the dog’s abdomen.

While Kazor is on the mend, it still faces a risk of infection that would require further surgery. Angell funds are helping the dog’s owner to cover a portion of the cost of Kazor’s surgery and care, but more aid is needed.

The MSPCA is asking the public to contribute through the Angell Special Fund to help cover Kazor’s care, as well as the many other pets in need of life-saving help.

An Alaskan husky puppy dog is back at home with his 8-year-old owner, Friday, but Orlando police want to talk with the cruel man who stole it last weekend.

The boy was walking Snowy on Cava Alta Drive on Sunday night, when a man came up, pulled the puppy off its leash, jumped into a car and drove off.

Thursday night, someone called the boy’s family and said they found the puppy wandering along Colonial Drive.