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Saturday, February 16, 2013 ��� Daily News 3B Pets health&activities Therapy dogs ease passengers��� anxiety By Ryder Diaz San Jose Mercury News (MCT) SAN JOSE ��� Henry James weaves between legs and roller bags at Mineta San Jose International Airport, but he���s in no rush. Around him, people scurry to their gates, but for the 4 1/2year-old golden retriever, being calm is his job. ���Do you want to see him?��� his owner Kyra Hubis asked two passengers waiting to board a plane home to Atlanta. ���This is Henry James, he���s a therapy dog.��� Elliot Willard was at the airport with his sisterin-law, Ashley Willard, because his grandfather, who lived in San Jose, recently passed away. As they tousled Henry James��� long, shaggy fur, smiles spread across their faces. It was exactly the result hoped for. Every Monday, Henry James and Hubis walk the terminals to comfort passengers who may be stressed, grieving or feeling the jitters of flying. Hubis, a retired critical care nurse for 30 years, runs the therapy dog program as a volunteer. She finds that many passengers are in need of a dog���s wagging tail, wet nose and unconditional love. ���Traveling is a stressful experience,��� said Rosemary Barnes, the airport���s public information manager. ���You may be going to a job interview. You may have lost a loved one. There are so many reasons that people come to airports.��� The program began after 9/11, when an airport pastor brought in her own dog to help soothe stressed and frightened passengers. The effort has since grown to include 11 volunteers who walk their therapy dogs ��� including a German shepherd, What to do when a cat becomes a hermit By Kathy Antoniotti Akron Beacon Journal (MCT) MCT photo Kyra Hubis and her "therapy dog" Henry James walk through Mineta San Jose International Airport in San Jose, California, on Jan. 28. The duo roam the airport terminals looking for anyone who needs relief from fears of flying or other stresses. miniature schnauzer and bordeaux mastiff ��� up and down the terminals, a few hours a week. The program runs on donations, which pay for the uniforms of the furry counselors: red vests covered in patches embroidered with slogans like ���Pet me I���m friendly.��� ���We know from a whole body of research that blood rate, heart rate and respiratory rate decrease when a person interacts with an animal,��� said Rebecca Johnson, researcher at the University of Missouri. For people who like dogs and are not extremely allergic, these animals have a proven calming effect, said Johnson. Just as people soften with the smile of a stranger, dogs can lighten a heavy mood. ���These dogs are going to be perpetually smiling and engaging people and making eye contact. That���s a positive force,��� Johnson said. Back in Terminal B, Joe Truckey of Califor- She never asks people their names or where they are going, but often when passengers begin to pet Henry James, they open up about their lives. After a half-hour of walking the gates and greeting at least two dozen people, including waddling toddlers, Hubis leads Henry James into the airport meditation room for a drink of water and a quick snack. By the time they leave two hours later, they might visit with more than a hundred passengers. Los Angeles International Airport plans to start a similar program, modeled after the program run in San Jose, to make their passengers more comfortable. Miami International Airport has also implemented a therapy dog program. ���I���m a dog person, and I know if I were upset, I���d want a dog,��� said Hubis, who is hoping to grow the program with more dogs walking the San Jose���s terminals more often. nia���s Orange County reached down to pet Henry James. Truckey, whose leg was injured by a forklift when he was 18, has mingled with therapy dogs in the past. At age 45, he had an operation on his leg that left him bed ridden in the hospital. Bored and anxious, the hospital���s therapy dogs helped to calm him. ���They looked just like him,��� said Truckey, as Henry James panted and wagged his long, fluffy tail. Each dog must be tested and certified to be part of the program. The dogs must remain calm amid frenzied crowds, rolling wheelchairs and screaming children. ���They have to handle people touching them and people crying into them,��� said Hubis, who has visited with grieving family members and nervous flyers. Hubis only approaches people who are interested in visiting with a 90pound energetic hound. Question: We got our 3-year-old female cat from the pound almost two years ago. She had given birth to three kittens ��� they were weaned. At our house, she acted like a normal cat ��� running around the house, playing with toys, etc. However, within a year or so, she started finding secluded places in the house or cellar and staying in them for a week or so, coming out only to eat and drink. She may go outside, but only for a little while. Since she became a hermit, she doesn���t use the kitty litter ��� a bath tub or tile floor or a laundry tub will suffice. She never did like to be held or sit on our laps. All we want is for her to behave like a cat. What do you suggest? Answer: First of all, kudos for adopting a cat from the pound! This sounds like a unique situation, and it raises a lot of questions. When cats become withdrawn, there are many factors that could be at the root of the cause. The first thing that you should rule out is a medical problem. A thorough physical exam and history would be a great first step. Cats are masters at hiding the fact that they are sick, many times a change in behavior is the only clue they give. The amount of time you describe that she spends hiding, coupled with the idea that she isn���t using her litter box are red flags that something could be physically wrong. If medical issues are ruled out, I���d move on to environmental causes for her hiding behavior. Cats are creatures of habit, and some are very sensitive to changes in their home life. Did any new people or animals move in around the time she began to hide? For some cats, even moving the furniture around can be enough to send them into a panic. Cats are also very sensitive to noises that we often tune out. For instance, I���ve known cats who stop using their litter box if it is too close to the washing machine because of the surprising noises that it creates. Try to look through your cat���s eyes and see if there is anything that she could perceive as a threat in your home. To help her abandon her hermit lifestyle, I���d also work slowly at gaining her trust. Since she���s a cat that doesn���t like to be held, I���d start with toys that don���t require you to touch her. Interactive toys, like a feather on a fishing pole style, are great for getting shy cats to come out of their shells. Food can also be a powerful tool. Offering tiny bits of special treats during play and social time will help the cat associate you with good things. The most important thing to keep in mind is to let her come to you. Avoid the temptation to pet her or pick her up ��� let her come and rub on you first. I hope this helps. Best of luck to you and your kitty. ���By veterinarian Meg Geldhof, medical director of One of a Kind Pet Rescue. When pee marks the spot, gate the spot Q: A year and a half ago my family purchased a 1year-old Yorkie from a local breeder. He is a wonderful dog, very loving and affectionate. He���s fantastic with my two children and a wonderful addition to our family. But he constantly urinates right outside my bedroom door. He does go out in the yard, but several times a day I have to clean up urine by my bedroom door. I have had to start putting a pee pad there. Now he is doing this at the front door. Friends have said that they think since he is not neutered he is marking his territory. Can you offer some advice? A: Neutering the dog will remove his instinct to lift his leg and mark his territory, but it will take a while for all the testosterone to leave his system. Since he has marked those spots in your house for such a long period of time, it may now have become a habit. So it is your job after he has been neutered to prevent his access to those areas using gates and blockades so that he can���t get to them for a few months. In this manner, he will forget that he ever marked those spots and he will lose the desire to do so. ��������� Q: We just got a bearded dragon for our son, and it is a great pet, as my son is allergic to any pet with fur. The dragon seems as interactive as any guinea pig or rabbit. However, we have issues with how hot to keep his tank. Every website about bearded dragons seems to have a different recommended temperature. Even with the heat bulbs that came with the setup, we cannot seem to get the temperature in the tank as high as some of the websites recommend. When we replaced the 100-watt heat bulbs with 150-watt bulbs, the lizard seemed very uncomfortable. So we put back the 100-watt ones. He seems much happier and is eating well and is active. Can you tell me the correct thing to do in this case? A: If the 100-watt heat bulbs keep your pet comfortable and he is eating well and digesting his food, then that temperature is just right for him. By observing your pet���s behavior and adjusting his environment to make him more comfortable, you did the correct thing. ��������� Q: In a recent column, a lady wrote that backyard birds were being killed by a cat, even though the cat���s owner put a bell on it. We allow our cat outdoors and we have a small cowbell on her collar. She does not seem to catch any birds at all. Most cat collars have smaller jingle bells that make less noise on them. Perhaps that is the reason why the bell did not work on that particular cat. A: The situation with a bell on a hunting cat is not that cut-and-dried. Perhaps Just In Time For Warmer Weather! your cat is just not as good a hunter or as motivated as the other reader���s cat. Plus birds do not have the powers of observational learning, so they can���t really figure out that a bell ringing in the bushes means that a cat will momentarily attack. A bird���s world is full of bells, sirens and car alarms. Suburban birds are pretty much desensitized to such sounds, so it would take quite a number of experiences of being stalked by a belled cat for a bird to figure out that the ringing bell means danger. And it is rare that the bird gets stalked by a hunting cat more than one time before getting caught. Although your cat seems to be fine with the cowbell on her collar, I know cats that would not be. The bell could get caught on a branch or some other object, causing all sorts of drama for the cat. Keeping cats indoors is really the best way; both the cats and birds live longer and more uneventful lives. Grow Your Own Tax Return Specials $ 20,09984 in Discount Coupons were published last week in the DAILY NEWS RED BLUFF TEHAMA COUNTY Don���t let that return go to ���waist��� when it could get you in shape! 2 Months Tanning Only $50 *Limited to one per person* Must be 18 3 Ways to Save Hundreds on Memberships BERRIES-CARE & PRUNING Cane berries to Strawberries, learn to grow them! 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