Bunnies never get any press. This is a plea from a Long Island rescuer (and friend) who has her hands (and hutches) full:

<<Need temporary, donated garage space in Nassau County: Owners let breeding rabbits get out of control and we volunteers are trying to contain, sex, neuter, medically treat and socialize about 35 rabbits. Many rabbits have injuries/wounds/abscesses from being loose and getting into fights. Despite volunteers' Herculean efforts, three litters were born in last 2 weeks (one litter died). One broken leg bun recuperating in my home, a few bunnies being fostered/adopted in volunteers'
homes.

We are making twice-daily visits to the site to keep the situation under control and help keep the bunnies clean and fed. And with the hot weather, we are trying to prevent deadly heatstroke and flystrike. We are doing adoption events for these rabbits at a local Petco.

So far, we have the cooperation of owners to access their property but we *desperately* need to move the bunnies -- most all now sexed, separated and caged -- into a centrally located garage, warehouse or basement that we have free access to, because it is getting hot, too crowded, and fly infested in the filthy, cluttered, tiny shed on the owners' property.

We can keep the bunnies and their cages clean but we need space to do it. We cannot turn around in the shed where the bunnies are now. And we must constantly keep rotating in frozen water bottles to keep them from succumbing to the heat.

Do you know anyone with a relatively cool, unused garage who would like to help by lending us their space for a few months? Or perhaps a business owner with basement storage? As I said, we'd need access because the volunteers are really dedicated and are making multiple care visits daily-- early before they go to work, and late at night too. Finding an ideal space at this point is more important than anything.

Thank you for any suggestions!

Mary Ann Maier, Licensed Educator
NYC House Rabbit Society
(516) 671-6654

altitude8@yahoo.com

www.rabbitcare.org>>

Is it me, or is there a nice, Irish Spring-clean kind of feeling on the blog today?

Vivi's breeder, Bo Bengtson, sends this update.

<<UPDATE TUESDAY, MAY 30, 2006

In the June issue of “Dogs in Review” magazine I wrote about the experience of dealing with the airlines concerning the risks of flying with dogs. It has been suggested that it might be helpful to reprint that editorial in this space. I have asked the company which publishes “Dogs in Review” for permission to do so and will post it here if they agree.

Julie and Kathy Jones, the “Basenji Sisters” who were the first to call us when Vivi was lost in February, have come up with the good idea of donating the dog food vouchers they win at dog shows to Bobbi & The Strays, the non-profit rescue operation at JFK which has been so helpful in trying to locate Vivi. If anyone else wants to donate unused dog food vouchers, send them directly to Bobbi & The Strays, P.O. Box 170129, Ozone Park, NY 11417.  It may not help Vivi but it will help other strays. Thanks for this, Julie and Kathy.

The overwhelming response from almost everyone we have dealt with has been incredibly supportive and helpful, but there are a few people out there who are obviously unbalanced, aggressive and ready to attack anyone who does not agree with them. Denise Flaim has decided to start blocking some of the “cruel, negative and (from some of what I have seen) slanderous things about people involved in the Vivi search” posts on her Newsday blog. As Denise say, “Even my 2-year-olds know better than some of these people.” There is absolutely no excuse for criticizing those who unselfishly devote so much of their time and effort to help. We have great faith in Honi Reisman, Bonnie Folz and all the others who have assisted in the search effort so far, especially of course Rosa and Tina who still check out every lead and every sighting.

Yes, it is frustrating that Vivi is still on the loose after more than three months. There is a very natural feeling of wanting to “do something” or “go out and get her” ...  but you have to use common sense and accept that, as all those who have real experience of lost dogs keep telling us, everything that can be tried has been tried, and the only thing that can get Vivi back right now is “luck.”

Please be aware that if you take action on your own, against the wish of the owners and the advice of the experts, you may risk Vivi’s existence. If you need to be reminded of all that has been tried, and all we have learned of feral dog behavior, please see my earlier updates on www.awc2006.com.

    Thanks,

    Bo >>

Took less than three hours for someone to start throwing sand in the sandbox. The blocking has begun. Keep trying me.

Denise

I've received about a dozen emails today asking for support for Duke, the bulldog puppy who was in the company of two Rottweilers that severely mauled a Long Island boy recently. Duke has been scheduled to be euthanized by the Town of Hempstead, but has received multiple reprieves.

I wrote a column last week arguing that Duke should not be automatically euthanized just because of the company he kept.

Long Island Bulldog Rescue  is asking Duke's supporters to attend the Hempstead Town Board meeting tomorrow, Tuesday, June 6, at 7 p.m. at Nathan L.H. Bennett Pavilion, adjacent to Hempstead Town Hall, 1 Washington Street, Hempstead.

They are also accepting donations for Duke's legal fund at www.longislandbulldogrescue.org.

Up until now, I have taken a Darwinian approach to this blog, letting it evolve naturally and rarely if ever commenting directly on content people choose to post to it.

But instead of survival of the fittest, it seems this blog has gone in the direction of survival of the nastiest.

If you want to post cruel, negative and (from some of what I have seen) slanderous things about people involved in the Vivi search, do it on someone else's blog. I can and will delete entire postings or threads, as well as block the ISPs of people who cannot control themselves, or their egos. Believe me, I don't want to do this -- I have a family and a full-time job and a bunch of dogs that need my time and energy -- but I will not tolerate this any longer. Go pee on someone else's hydrangeas.

My point in creating this blog was to give people a place to learn the latest information about Vivi, and to communicate respectfully with one another. It was not my intent for this to evolve -- or should I say de-evolve -- into a place where people make themselves feel better or more important by denigrating others, or where a vocal minority bullies those who do not agree with them. If you want to do that, do it someplace else.

To the vast majority of Vivi lovers who have put up with this nonsense for far too long, my apologies.

Denise

Bonnie Folz, coordinator of the Vivi search, sent this recap of a recent Team Vivi meeting to be posted to the list.

Vivi, ever the iconoclast, seems to have traveled back to the JFK Airport area. So much for the theory that aliens transported her from South Jamaica to northern Queens.

As Bonnie notes in these minutes, she will be sending me a weekly update to post to this blog.

On a personal note, it is my hope that this blog be a source of help, not hindrance, to the Vivi search. Reading various posts (not to mention some off-list emails that float my way), I sometimes wonder.

<<Minutes of the Team Vivi Meeting
May 25th, 2006

Vivi's breeder, Bo Bengtson, counsels patience.

<<UPDATE TUESDAY, MAY 23, 2006

    One of the best advisers in the first weeks of Vivi’s disappearance was Michael McMann of Greyhound Amber Alert. He has more experience of retrieving lost Greyhounds than anyone else I know of. Michael was busy with other rescues at the time, but I contacted him again in a last-ditch effort to find some solution or suggestion we have overlooked that could help us get Vivi back.
   
    Following are parts of Michael’s email, which he has allowed me to share:

    I have no idea how many searches I  have personally participated in. I would guess that it's over a hundred. Of those, all but five have been found. I really don't know, but maybe about 20 or 30 of those I captured myself. In October 2004, Jeff Rosenberg, owner of Greytalk.com, asked me to moderate a new forum, The Greyhound Amber Alert. Since then we've been able to help over 280 families and adoption groups organize searches and captures of lost or loose hounds. We haven't always been successful. By my count, 204 have been captured, 36 have been found dead, and 43 are still unfound.

    Believe me, I know how frustrating this is. I have had some success, but not because of any special skill, but only because I don't give up easily. Vivi just needs someone not willing to give up. I don't think my camping out down there will increase your chances much. What you need are thousands of sets of eyes. The flyers and the volunteers are already providing that. It's just a matter of time before a sighting and a volunteer come together at the right time and place.

    The Greyhounds I've captured in the past have usually settled into a territory. They stay within a mile or so from the center of it, and usually keep to a pretty set routine, especially once they find a regular source of food. The hardest part of this thing is to get Vivi into a routine. Since she's trap shy, we would have to be able to get close to her to catch her. In order to do that we have to get her coming back to the same location daily.

    As for the reported sightings: I've been hunting loose characters like this for a long time. One thing I've learned over that time is to check out every single sighting, but be suspicious of all of them, unless you get a confirmed sighting from someone who knows hounds. People are always willing to help, but they will report anything that looks vaguely like a hound. Just a couple of weeks ago I drove forty miles on a "confirmed sighting" by a local lady, just to find her new neighbor's Great Dane. 

    Whippets and Greyhounds have been bred for centuries to be survivors. They are very fast, extremely cunning,  and within hours of being on the run, they are feral. Capturing a hound who can run over forty miles an hour and doesn't want to be caught is not easy: you have to have committed volunteers, helpful neighbors, and most of all, a little luck. From what I have seen and heard, I can tell you that you have all the elements of a successful search in place. All you need is the last one, a bit of luck.

    I have spent months at a time trying to capture elusive hounds like Vivi. In 2004-05 I spent 13 weekends in Bennington, Vermont, trying to capture a shy, spooky female named Cavan. She spent a total of seven months living through a frigid winter before she was struck by a car. She survived and lives with me now along with three other hounds, all runaways, that have ended up with us. Our oldest, 13-year old Barney, had been living on his own for a year before we captured him. I've always tried to make these searches group efforts, and it's really more important that the dog be found than personally catching him/her. I have written articles about finding and capturing lost Greyhounds for Celebrating Greyhounds magazine, as well as many adoption group newsletters.

    A couple of my articles, along with a lot of other helpful information can be found at the top of the Greyhound Amber Alert Forum: <http://forum.greytalk.com/index.php?showforum=24>

    Thanks, Michael. Obviously the biggest problem is that Vivi is NOT coming back to the same place to eat, and the fact that there are many places where she can find food means that it has not been possible to establish a “feeding station” for her, and also that she is not likely to go into a trap.

    As Michael says, what we need is luck, and that can take a very long time to kick in. It’s very difficult to have enough patience.

    Bo>>

This recent story by Cesar Milan has generated quite a few responses from my Newsday readers. Is he a much-needed wake-up call for a country of indulgent owners? Or an advocate of brutal methods that have long been abandoned by more enlightened trainers and behaviorists? What do you think?

COVER STORY

A 'tough love' dog whisperer spurs some yelps

Cesar Millan has plenty of believers, including celebs, but veterinarians snarl over tactics

BY DENISE FLAIM
Newsday Staff Writer

May 17, 2006

In the unpretty world of doggie dysfunction, Cesar Millan is the last resort, called in to deal with neighbor-chomping Rottweilers, mutts with hairbrush phobias and Shelties that yap obsessively at toasters.

But he's first in the ratings on the National Geographic Channel, which expanded Millan's "Dog Whisperer" show to an hour for its current second season and repositioned it in a prime-time slot (Fridays at 8p.m.). With an everyman vibe - he has no formal training in animal behavior, learning instead at his grandfather's side on a farm in Mexico - and a telegenic persona - complete with spiky salt-and-pepper hair and Clintonish ability to engage - Millan has earned the glib nickname "the Doctor Phil for dogs." And his media success neatly capsulizes the American dream: Entering this country about 20 years ago as an illegal immigrant, Millan started as a dog groomer and wound up training dogs for a Hollywood client list that includes Vin Diesel, Nicolas Cage, Scarlett Johansson and Hilary Duff. His slightly accented English is courtesy of actress Jada Pinkett Smith - he trained her Rotties, she hired him a speech teacher for a year.

An "alpha" bet

Millan's latest book, "Cesar's Way" (Harmony Books, $24.95), released last month, has been on the Amazon top 10 list ever since. And his "way" is in many respects a poke at the indulgence of his newly adopted country - at least insofar as far as its pooches go. Basing his approach on his grandfather's edict "Never work against Mother Nature," this 36-year-old dog rehabilitator (he rejects the label "trainer," except in relation to the owners) takes a tough-love approach that relies on dominance theory - the concept of owner as "alpha." To turn his stubborn students into willing "omegas," Millan sometimes exposes them to the "power of the pack," his good-natured gang of some 50 dogs, including Rottweilers, pit bulls and the odd Italian greyhound. He advocates projecting "calm-assertive energy," and has a deep appreciation for his own abilities - important for an alpha among alphas.

"I teach owners how to practice exercise, discipline and then affection, which allows dogs to be in a calm, submissive state," says Millan in an e-mailed reply to questions. "Most owners in America only practice affection, affection, affection - which does not create a balanced dog! ... You have to continue to practice being the pack leader if you want to help your dog become balanced."

Some of the methods Millan uses to return a dog to "balance" include pinning it to the ground, jabbing it with his hand to simulate the mouthed correction of a packmate, and administering the occasional smack to the head. A $25,000 lawsuit filed this month suggests that such hands-on tactics can take their toll, with a television producer claiming that his 5-year-old Labrador retriever Gator was choked and "overworked" on a treadmill at Millan's Dog Psychology Center in South Central Los Angeles.

(Millan did not comment on the litigation, though the National Geographic Channel released a statement noting that Millan had never worked with the dog and was not there when the incident occurred.)

Born during a hurricane that took off the roof of his family's home , Millan can inspire similarly torrential reactions among animal behaviorists and trainers, who argue that he is pushing human relationships with dogs back to the Middle Ages.

Veterinarians incensed

"To call his operation a psychology center is a total paradox," says veterinary behaviorist Nicholas Dodman, director of the Animal Behavior Clinic at Tufts University's Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine and author of "Dogs Behaving Badly" (Bantam, $14). "I think, like a bullfighter, he understands how to approach and work around a dog, but thereafter he stops. He doesn't understand separation anxiety. I doubt he knows what obsessive-compulsive behavior is. Basically, with a smile, he's going to war with these dogs."

Dodman says Millan relies on two musty tools popularized a half-century ago by heavy-handed military dog trainers and considered out of vogue amid the current emphasis on reward-based training. One is "positive punishment," where an adversive action - "poking and jabbing and pulling and prodding" - is applied to get the dog to stop a behavior. The other is "flooding," in which the dog is "basically drowning" in something it doesn't like, sort of "Fear Factor" for Fido.

"Imagine," says Dodman, "if there was a new Dr. Phil for children, and he said, 'If your kid is playing too many video games, get a big paddle and whack him on the head.'People would be incensed."

This is the case with his colleagues at the prestigious American College of Veterinary Behaviorists, which shared its concerns in a letter to the cable network. (Among them: Nowhere on the show does Millan suggest that owners first rule out a medical cause for aberrant behavior.) And when news of the Gator lawsuit broke, Dodman says the chatter on the group's e-mail list was about volunteering to be expert witnesses against Millan.

"Envy factor"

You don't have to have a degree in psychology, human or otherwise, to see what's behind the current Millan bashing, says Marc Goldberg of the Chicagoland Boarding School for Dogs in suburban Chicago, who gets referrals from Millan and uses a spectrum of training techniques, from food rewards to "taps" from a electronic collar.

"There's an enormous envy factor at play here," says Goldberg, who credits Millan with heralding a "new world view" of dog behavior and tackling tough aggression cases that otherwise would be euthanized. "I've never had clients call me up and refer to dog trainers, famous or otherwise, like they do with Cesar Millan."

Manhattan dog trainer Andrea Arden says she finds it "upsetting" when prospective clients mention Millan because she disagrees strongly with his methods; but she sees a silver lining. "At least he's getting people interested in dog training."

"Dog Whisperer" episodes are riddled with disclaimers urging viewers not to attempt Millan's techniques at home. "I tell people this is not a 'how to' show, but it can create awareness [and] insight into different possibilities," says Millan, ducking a question about how often he has been bitten while rehabbing dogs; on-screen, it happens. "Being bitten comes with the job," he admits, "but it has never been serious."

Millan wannabes aren't always so lucky. "I have a client right now who did a lot of the stuff he ... [does on the show] - reaching out and pinching the dog, grabbing the scruff and pinning him down," Arden says. "And lo and behold, the dog caused 50 stitches in her face."

Paul Owen of Burbank, Calif., was the original dog whisperer; he published his book of the same name in 1999, years before Millan started doing interventions with Oprah Winfrey's cocker spaniel. And he thinks the way people react to the show's techniques says more about them than about Millan.

"You can't blame National Geographic or Cesar Millan - people have a choice in how to train their animals," says Owen. "If people don't have it in them to pin or jerk or hit a dog, they're still not going to do it." Conversely, "I've had people walk out of my classes saying, 'I need something more hands on.' I had one guy slug his Rottweiler and say, 'See? He can take it.'"

Canine craving: "balance"

For Millan, the appeal of his show is simple: Misery loves company as well as redemption. "What people tell me is that they love the stories - the dogs and the owners," he says, ticking off the names of recent celebrity guests such as actress Denise Richards. "People like to see that even celebs and people with money have problems with their dogs. I like to say that your dog does not know or care if you are the president or the janitor. They just want to be balanced."

There's that word again. And in the end, it may be the key to Millan's cult status among the nation's exasperated dog owners. Yes, "Dog Whisperer" delivers high drama and seemingly magical transformations, and, yes, Millan has a high-octane Q quotient, fueled by a Simon Cowell-ish lack of equivocation tempered by a Julio Iglesias charm.

But the appeal goes deeper. Matter-of-fact and plain-spoken, not averse to using the rod if he feels he needs it, Millan's an antidote to the "fur kids" philosophy that's taken root in the past decade or two. In this age of supermodels posing with their pugs on the cover of New York Dog, of Internet boutiques that sell boas and barrettes for declawed trendsetters, of Prada dog carriers that cost more than a mortgage payment, perhaps we yearn for a simpler time, when men were men and dogs were dogs and Lassie didn't go to the spa or snack on carob-oatmeal cookies.

And perhaps Millan's assessment of our nation's dogs - overfed and underexercised, out of touch with their instincts and neurotic in their personal relationships - holds a mirror up to ourselves. Tough love, indeed.

Copyright 2006 Newsday Inc.

Story link: http://www.newsday.com/features/printedition/ny-etlede4743494may17,0,1617948.story

Vivi breeder Bo Bengtson writes:

<<UPDATE TUESDAY, MAY 16, 2006

    Apparently some well-meaning people are planning on hiring their own “pet detective” with tracking dogs in an attempt to find Vivi. Please be aware that this is not something that anyone has discussed with Vivi’s owners or breeder, nor with the people in New York whom we have agreed to let us help with the search effort. While we are very grateful to everyone who wishes for Vivi’s safe return, we absolutely advise against any independent efforts to “catch” or track her down. The only thing such an effort is likely to achieve is to frighten Vivi further, perhaps even make her leave the area where she has obviously learned to cope and survive on her own. The results of this could be disastrous, exactly the opposite of what you intend.

    If you have any ideas or suggestions for how Vivi might be returned to us, please let us know. Chances are that we have already tried what you have in mind, but we appreciate your suggestions. We have at this point tried everything that is realistically possible (and a few things that probably weren’t) with no success. We have already used three different pet detectives with tracking dogs on at least four different occasions, and it was useful to learn that the tracks showed that Vivi had in fact been in the area. Tracking dogs will not catch Vivi, however. We didn’t expect them to; nobody who knows anything about lost dogs would believe that Vivi will come up to anyone who is following her with tracking dogs.

    All this doesn’t mean that we don’t have plans. We do, but they certainly do not involve scaring Vivi out of the area where she apparently now is.

    If you care about Vivi and want her to get caught, please do not do anything without discussing this with us first. As we have said before, the ONLY thing you can do – other than put up flyers and posters so the local residents know who Vivi is if a miracle happens and she’s accidentally caught – is to sit on a park bench with your lunch and maybe a small, friendly dog as company... and keep watch. Even if you should see Vivi you should not try to catch her until you are absolutely sure that you can do so. She is much faster than you are and extremely wary since there have obviously been many who chased her already.

    See the guidelines below for how to act around Vivi if you really want to get her back.

    Thank you!

    Bo


HOW TO GET VIVI BACK...

Guidelines for How to Act around a Runaway Dog

The following applies to most dogs that have gone "wild" and do not want to be caught.

The bottom line is: you cannot "catch" a spooked Whippet. Attempts to chase, catch, surround or contain Vivi will have the opposite effect, scaring her further away.

If you see Vivi:

1. Do not get out of the car close to her, don’t slam the car door and don’t call her. You will only frighten her further.

2. If possible sit down on the ground, eat something (noisily!), share with her if she gets close, drop some food on the ground. Talk to her gently and casually, as if you see her every day and don’t care that much about her. Don’t even look at her. If she lets you, pet her gently but do not try to grab her. She is much faster than you are and cannot be caught until she wants to.

3. You should not have a big or noisy dog with you. If you have a calm whippet or small dog on a leash and Vivi is nearby, make a big show of feeding your dog. Nothing makes her hungrier than seeing another dog eat.

4. Do not walk directly toward her; avoid eye contact; act casual but friendly. Not until you can quietly put a strong leash with a choke collar around her neck should you try to do so, and don’t even do that if you are not experienced enough to deal with a dog that might easily panic.

5. In a best case scenario, quietly close a door or gate (a tall one, she can probably jump 6 feet if necessary) behind her. If not, just making non-threatening contact is a huge step forward, and establish a place where she can be fed.

6. The most important thing right now is that Vivi should not feel chased or "hunted" so she doesn’t feel like you’re moving into her comfort area

7. If you catch Vivi, put her in a car or safe room ASAP. Make sure nobody accidentally opens a door. Be calm and quiet, don’t scare her and CALL 1-877-JFK-VIVI (1-877-535-8484), or 917-626-1374, or 516-776-0923 - IMMEDIATELY!

Losing Vivi after "nearly" catching her will make it even more difficult to instill confidence in her again. She has most likely been chased by more people than we know who grabbed for her in misguided attempts to catch her. Much better to encourage her confidence by feeding her, leaving her alone and petting her if she lets you — until you are SURE you can catch her and put her inside a car or a safely confined area. >>

Since I mentioned my fledgling Ridgeback litter last week, a couple of bloggers asked for photographs of the little fuzzballs. A proud grandma need not be asked twice ...

Sire and dam can be seen here: www.revodana.com/pages/10/index.htm. Mom is a dual champion; Dad is a Westminster winner who just took Best of Opposite at the Ridgeback national -- to his sister.

There are six bitches and four dogs. Yes, those are brown noses you see in the background. Livernoses are equally as acceptable as black noses in the breed, and inheritance is a simple recessive.

On Thurs., June 22, Posh Nightclub at the Garden City Hotel hosts a Charity Bachelor/Bachelorette Auction to benefit Bobbi and the Strays.

For those who have been on the Vivi trail since its earliest days at JFK Airport, Bobbi's outpost in the airport cargo areas was a frequent meeting spot and "refueling" station for posters and flyers.

While Vivi eventually headed northward, Bobbi and the Strays continues to do its quiet, unassuming work, helping homeless dogs and cats in this under-served area of southeast Queens.

Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Bidding begins at 8 p.m. Ticket price is $35, which includes buffet and one complimentary drink.

Alas, hotel magnate Brian Rosenberg is happily married and will not be on the block.

For ticket information, email egiurco@optonline.net, or call (516) 679-5556.

Here's a bright question for a gloomy Monday:

What's the most indulgent thing you've ever bought your companion animal?

For me, it would be the mini-biker Halloween outfit. At least it was pleather.

An update from Vivi's breeder, Bo Bengtson:

<<UPDATE AS OF TUESDAY, MAY 9, 2006

    We are very grateful for the volunteers who are still willing to help make sure that Vivi’s picture and name are familiar to almost everyone who lives in the areas where she has been seen. It’s difficult to accept that she has been around there for so long without anyone being able to catch her, and it is sometimes also difficult to believe that she is in fact out there, but there are fairly frequent sightings. Even if some may be discounted others sound very reliable.

    Gail has set up several feeding stations, one of them inside a small tent, and has set up a motion sensitive camera that would take a photo of any animal — hopefully Vivi — that is touching the food. If it turns out that Vivi is coming back to the same feeding station chances that it may be possible to establish contact with her. Traps have not succeeded so far but may be the only possible solution.

    The best thing anyone can do to help is just sit on a park bench for as long as possible with a book and a sandwich (ready to share if Vivi turns up), and perhaps a small, non-threatening dog as company. If Vivi should be seen she should be treated as if this were an everyday occurrence, with just casual friendliness, treats and no attempts to catch her until it’s quite certain that it’s possible to put a safe slip-lead over her neck. Please see “How to get Vivi back” on this website (www.awc2006.com).

    It is clear, however, that Vivi must be coping well on her own, succeeds in finding sufficient food, and although she is often close to people she is very wary of being caught – most likely after earlier attempts to do so. She is also still ranging over such a vast area — over a thousand acres — and not following any established pattern in her movements, which makes things even more difficult.

    We are trying to remember that some of the lost racing Greyhounds were successfully retrieved after many months, even more than a year... but it’s difficult to wait so long.

    Bo >>

My column today talks about hybrids, from Bengal cats (I covet them!) to flowerhorn cichlids (if the fish's markings resemble Chinese calligraphy, he is said to be lucky).

The "hybrids" that we are most familiar with are "designer dogs," from cockapoos to goldendoodles to puggles.

I've always taken exception to these crosses, thinking them glorified mutts, and arguing that when you cross, say, a cocker spaniel and a Jack Russell, you are playing genetic roulette. You can't guarantee what your "Jackapoo" will look like, how big he will grow, or how he will behave. Not many people can handle a terrier temperament -- and Russells are the apex of earthdogness, little mosquitos on crack zipped into dog suits.

But -- step aside while the lightning bolts from my fellow purebred fanciers wing their way to me -- I have a lot of trouble finding fault with one of these crosses: the Labradoodle. It is one of the few hybrids with a purpose -- to provide a relatively hypoallergenic guide dog. Both breeds meld beautifully, both in terms of their appearance and temperament. And because the breeds have different genetic problems, these first-generation crosses have hybrid vigor.

The same argument applies to the lurcher -- traditionally, a sighthound crossed with a herding dog or terrier, developed hundreds of years ago in Great Britain and Ireland for poaching because the ownership of greyhounds was restricted to the nobility. (Gypsies are credited for popularizing these dogs, and word "lurcher" is said to derive from the Romani word "lur," meaning "thief.") The classic lurcher combination is a greyhound crossed with a collie; Whippet x Beddlington is also popular. These dogs have the speed of their sighthound forebears, with the nose and often biddability of the other parent.

So ... if a reputable Labradoodle breeder does the appropriate healthy screenings recommended by the respective parent club of each dog, and the puppies are sold on spay-neuter contracts with a return-to-breeder clause, is there really anything wrong with this? (Other than the argument that any selective breeding of any dog, purebreds included, just adds to the overpopulation problem.)

What do you think?

These two questions arrived via email today:

<<I heard Vivi was found and recently entered in a dog show in Portland, OR. Untrue? What is the current status?>>

Search coordinator Bonnie Folz responds: "Did she win?"

Unfortunately, Vivi has not repatriated back to the Other Coast.  We still believe her to be hanging around northern Queens, eluding searchers, hopscotching around city parks, and generally being the picture postcard of whippet ingenuity and independence.

There was another reported sighting this morning in Oakland Gardens, in the vicinity of Alley Pond Park.

<<You have been so kind to have the on going blog about Vivi. Several "bloggers" have been wondering if you will be shutting it down. It is for course you choice to do so. After all it is your space. If you are planning to terminate the use for the Vivi bloggers, please let us know so maybe we can relocate. It would be terrible to check in and find it gone and not know where to go for information. >>

I started this blog in the weeks preceding Westminster to discuss animal topics in general, and to complement my weekly  Animal House column in Newsday. I thought the timing was perfect -- and it was! When Vivi made her great escape, it seemed natural to use this blog as an information source and contact point for searchers, sighthound people and basically anyone who was touched by Vivi's story.

As the weeks -- and months -- wore on, Vivi's owners and the main searchers realized what the experts had been saying all among was true: that intense, targeted attempts to catch her were more likely to drive her away. As the media attention dwindled, as it inevitably does, the focus turned to raising and maintaining awareness about Vivi's presence in the Queens communities where she has been seen.

And so while the dedication to the Vivi search remains unabated, the tone and pace of the search have changed. Breeder Bo Bengtson's emails have gone from lengthy daily missives to weekly reports. And so, too, the frequency of updates to this blog has slowed. That's just natural, because there's just only so much to say.

On a personal note, my posts of late have been pre-empted by a happy occasion: the arrival of 10 magically delicious Rhodesian Ridgeback puppies, who turn 4 weeks old today.

Thanks to Vivi, this blog has grown and grown, and now there's a bustling little community here. Sure, it has its share of dysfunction, but what gathering of animal people (or people in general) doesn't?

While we wait for Vivi to allow herself to get caught, there are plenty of other things to discuss and debate. As with the boarding-kennel vaccination post I made earlier in the day, there are always opportunities to make a difference.

So, all this is to say that, no, I have no intention of shutting this blog down. And, yes, I plan to start posting more often, in between scooping piles of ever-growing Ridgeback poop. Whenever there is Vivi news -- or maybe even when there isn't -- I'll update you about the  little white and brindle runaway. And as other subjects come up, I'll post them too, if only to give us something to do until the day she shows up.

I posted this Bo update earlier in the week, but the blog ate it!

<<UPDATE AS OF TUESDAY, MAY 2, 2006

More is not more, especially when you're talking about vaccination.

Kris Christine is an unlikely activist: After her dog developed a mast-cell tumor at the site of a rabies injection, she started to do research on overvaccination. Her relentless lobbying evenutally prompted her state to change its rabies vaccination requirement from annually to every three years.

Not one to stop at her state line, Kris was also instrumental in creating the Rabies Challenge Fund, which will bankroll vaccine trials to prove that the rabies vaccine is effective for as long as seven years.

And now, Kris sends the following email urging concerned dog lovers to oppose a New York State bill that would require annual vaccination against a battery of diseases -- even when  canine epidemiologists recommend vaccinating every three years for many of them, and not at all for others. (See my recent story about canine vaccination.)

<< Greetings All!