Pets

On a cold, crisp morning, Sam Treasure patrols a leafy neighborhood in northwest Baltimore, looking for a medium-sized white female who has been causing trouble."

Brigid Smith did a little dance after winning the cow-milking contest yesterday at the Howard County Fair.The Catonsville resident had never touched a cow before but knew what it took to win -- just squirt the milk into the bucket."

Reining in student behavior at graduationsLast year, I attended one of the Howard County high school graduation ceremonies at Merriweather Post Pavilion. Throughout the ceremony students in the audience yelled out the names of students who were graduating.Some graduating seniors, who were sitting on the stage, blew up a beach ball and tossed it around the stage, while their guest speaker was talking.None of the administrators on the stage did anything. This was not an isolated incident. Howard County schools' graduation ceremonies have become sporting events and lack the dignity that should be associated with graduation from high school.

Charles Milton Distefano was not one to allow a quiet day at his Southwest Baltimore home. When he wasn't doing carpentry, he was playing with his four children. When he wasn't playing with his children, he was playing with his pets.And when he wasn't playing with his pets, the 10 goats, four ducks, a horse named Barney and the assorted rabbits and chickens that he kept in the back yard -- and often in his house -- they would cry for attention."He was one of the real characters ," said James Hirsch, who lives near Mr. Distefano's former home on Christian Street.

Cowherd should meet some nice ferretsDoes Kevin Cowherd really not have anything better to do than bash peoples' preferences for pets? His May 22 column, ''Pet peeves about ferrets and other so-called pets,'' is a disheartening display of a lack of imagination.His ignorance on the topic is clear from his article. I would like to know how many ferrets and ferret owners Cowherd has actually met in his life.I have personally known seven ferrets, and none of them had a habit of ''speeding around his little cage at 120 miles per hour.

A MEMORY of Diana Spencer: July 1981, in a reception tent during a polo match at Windsor Great Park, Sunday afternoon, three days before her marriage to the Prince of Wales. She was elegantly dressed in pink and white, the most recognizable person in the crowd, and she seemed well aware that every eye in the place, including this columnist's, was fixed on her. She did not much smile. She seemed thinner than her photographs (and, in fact, had lost 14 pounds in the weeks before the royal wedding)

Animal lovers adopted 29 dogs and cats Saturday at the Maryland SPCA in Hampden -- a one-day record.That's encouraging, says Executive Director Deborah L. Thomas, provided the new pet owners take care of their animals. The trouble is that many Baltimore area owners don't, she said, or they allow their pets to reproduce unwanted offspring by failing to fix them.Although the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was able to place in adoptive homes 2,600 dogs and cats last year -- the same as in 1995 -- the number of animals surrendered to the SPCA increased from 6,100 in 1995 to 7,500 in 1996.

THIS WEEK'S column is particularly meaningful to me because my family and I lost our 11-year companion, and our best friend, after surgery July 28 to save him.Losing Springer has been as hard as losing a child, even though he was our dog.It makes me wonder: How often do we stop to think about our pets?How often do we let them know how important they are to us?Here is your chance to let your pet know he is tops with you.St. John's Lutheran Church is having a Blessing of the Animals service at 10: 15 a.m. Sunday at the Chapel in the Woods.

Adria and Mike Lipka have always wanted to be buried at Elkridge's Rosa Bonheur Memorial Park so they can be with their pets in perpetuity. Now they're having second thoughts.First, say the Baltimore couple, they've had two years' worth of problems getting proper deeds to the graves of their four cats and all of the $5,000 worth of urns, lamps and grave markers they say the cemetery owes them.Now, it turns out, they're not alone in their grief. This week, Howard County and 17 other cemetery clients brought criminal and civil charges against William A. Green, owner of the facility on Route 1, just north of Route 103.The legal cases -- accusing Green of deceptive trade practices and misdemeanor theft -- stem from a five-month investigation by Howard County police and the county Office of Consumer Affairs.

When Robert D. Putnam quit as dean of Harvard's Kennedy School of Government three years ago, he gave the usual line about wanting to return to life as a scholar. But it was no mere face-saving rhetoric.During the last year Mr. Putnam has become one of the leading academic observers of American political life, quoted by Anthony Lewis and George Will alike, even praised in the pages of People magazine.He's done it by grabbing hold of what promises to be a fundamental underlying issue in the next presidential campaign, and that is the cynicism and disaffection that keep so many Americans from engaging in any kind of civic or political activity today, much less actually casting a vote.

Lead certificate requirement The Anne Arundel County Department of Health reminds parents that all children newly enrolled in county pre-kindergarten, kindergarten and first grade are required to have a lead testing certificate. The certificate ensures that children living in high-risk areas are being tested for lead poisoning, which can cause young children to have difficulty learning, behavioral problems and developmental disabilities. High-risk ZIP codes in Anne Arundel are 20711, 20714, 20764, 20779, 21060, 21061, 21225, 21226, and 21402, because they have a greater proportion of older homes that may contain lead paint.

A roundup of recent flight data and travel news: Pet-setters. Last week, Pet Airways took off from BWI Marshall Airport on its inaugural flight that caters to cats and dogs. My colleague Andrea Walker was at the airport and reported that the flight to Chicago (where some pets were making a connection) included a Bernese Mountain dog, a Labrador retriever, four cats, a Boston terrier and a variety of other pets. One-way fares start at $149, but the flights are already sold out for the first two months.

It isn't easy to avoid fireworks on the Fourth of July. After all, they fill the night sky in just about every neighborhood. But there are grown-ups, pets and kids who would, if they could. Patti Neumann's balcony overlooks the Inner Harbor and she and friends will be there watching Baltimore's fireworks display tonight. But Bogart, her 7-year-old Wheaten terrier, will wait downstairs, thank you very much. "He doesn't mind thunderstorms, but when fireworks start, he starts shaking uncontrollably," says Neumann, founder of CityPeek, a tourism Web site.

If you asked Josh Smith where breakfast comes from, the Baltimore teen would likely say, "the girls." That would be Sugar and Spice, his family's pet chickens. Josh's mother, Liz, got the girls by mail order in April and set up a coop for them in the backyard of the family's Hamilton house, between a beehive and rows of planted vegetables. Josh, 13, and his brother, Hooper, 7, delight in feeding the ginger-colored birds treats of worms and melon and collecting the big, brown eggs that come two a day. "This is how it's supposed to be," Liz Smith said as she nestled and stroked a softly clucking Sugar.

Southwest Airlines has always promoted the fact that it doesn't charge passengers extra fees like its competitors, but that was before the economy went bust and people stopped traveling as much. The Texas-based airline and largest carrier at BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport said yesterday that it was going to start allowing people to bring pets on board - but for a $75 "pet fare." It also will begin charging $25 for helping unaccompanied minors on flights, and $25 more for overweight bags and a third piece of luggage.

Providing for pets after we're gone What a touching story about Kenneth Munzert, who made provisions in his will for his dog ("Bequest for man's best friend," March 11). Some people may think it is frivolous or silly to provide for animals in an estate. I think it is wise that the Maryland legislature is considering a bill allowing owners to establish trust funds for their pets so their wishes are met ("Trust-fund Fidos," editorial, March 3). Pets become like family to many people, and can be the most devoted companions.

The dog scampered back and forth in the small room, true to its name. "I call her Frisky," said the man at the other end of the leash. Typing into a computer, the intake employee at the Baltimore Animal Rescue & Care Shelter went through the litany of questions, from age (2 1/2 ) to breed (Doberman) to spayed (no), before getting to the question of why he was giving up the dog. "I lost my job," he said. As the economy goes to the dogs, the dogs - and the cats and the guinea pigs and the ferrets and seemingly every kind of other pet - are going to the pound.

Many feel left out by holiday feasting I was saddened to read Kevin Cowherd's column "This Christmas, don't give us food issues" (Dec. 21). Judging by the ever-increasing epidemic of obesity in our society, it appears that many people still celebrate the holidays, and every other day, "with full-throttle eating and drinking." But holiday dinners and parties can leave the unfortunate few who suffer from chronic illnesses that prevent them from enjoying the season's gastronomic bounty feeling deprived, embarrassed and depressed.

My husband and I purchased tickets from Los Angeles to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in June. The trip was scheduled for Nov. 4. About a month ago, Bob, our 27-year-old cat, was diagnosed with chronic renal failure. The vet said he had two weeks. I was not about to lose him without a fight, and the next thing you know, he's at least 90 percent of what he used to be. But he requires intensive care. The airline tells me that I have only one year from the date of my ticket purchase to travel. Can anything be done?

Rest assured, Anne Arundel County pet owners: A dog, cat, bird or even a reptile needing oxygen after being rescued from a burning building can be treated with the latest in life-saving equipment. Oxygen masks are now available for pets at 16 of the county's 30 fire stations, a move that fire officials and animal lovers hope will reduce the number of animals killed by smoke inhalation. Anne Arundel County fire officials respond to about two dozen to three dozen fires a year that require pet resuscitations, Battalion Chief Matthew Tobia, a department spokesman, said yesterday during a demonstration of the masks.