Miniature Dalmatian?

Scout (the Jack) is developing tan spots all over. At first glace, the spots appear to be ticking showing through his coat, but with closer inspection, you can see the coat has color pigmentation. He looks like a miniature Dalmatian.

Speaking of miniature, today, I threw a tennis ball at least a thousand times for Scout to fetch. He likes the little miniature size tennis balls--won't even look at a standard size. The game lasted for about three hours. I didn't get much exercise though. I was sitting, reading, and tossing the tennis ball between page-flips.

I'll have put an pedometer on him to find out how many miles he runs when playing fetch.

Snip, snip

Scout, the mighty Jack Russell Terrier, got his balls snipped today.

I worried about him all day.

However, Scout's got too many doggy girl friends to remain intact. His little nuggets had to go.

Trust me on this (else do your own research), there are already way more puppies available than there are good homes for them. While Scout is as cute, smart, and healthy as can be, in today's reality, I don't want him reproducing. So, at some calculated risk, he's been neutered.

The little guy is recovering nicely. He gobbled up his dinner and then curled up under his blanket to sleep. It's weird that he's not jumping all over me, begging for a game of fetch. I want his old self back!

::

Budding buddies

Finally, Casey (the Westie) let Scout (the Jack) lay his head on her to sleep.

Their relationship has always been amiable. They liked each other from day one, but until now, Casey wouldn't let Scout lay next to her. This as a positive step forward in their relationship. And it was so cute!

Terriers: The poor person's Thoroughbred

Terriers are the poor person's Thoroughbred.

Have you ever seen a Thoroughbred run free in an open pasture? It's one of life's most magnificent sights.

However, keeping a Thoroughbred requires acres of land and globs of financial resources, both of which are beyond the average person's means. You could, of course, visit a ranch that raises Thoroughbreds. If you're lucky the owners might grant you the privilege of watching their horses run about.


Five-day-old Thoroughbred running. See original photo here.



Mature Terrier running with a ball. See original photo here.


On the other hand, have you ever seen a terrier run free in an open field? It's another of life's magnificent sights. And it's a spectacle even a person of average means can experience.

Not that keeping a Terrier is cheap, but keeping a Terrier is a lot less expensive than keeping a Thoroughbred--and yet Terriers are just as thrilling to watch run.

Terriers are the poor person's Thoroughbred.

Squeeky clean

Now that Scout is house trained, I'm more comfortable with him. House training is a human expectation not necessarily shared by canines. A clean house matters to me, but, without training, my dogs wouldn't care where they peed and pooped.

That's not true of pot-belly pigs.

As a volunteer at the Oakland Zoo, I fed the pot-belly pigs, fluffed their blankets and pillows, and swept the dust out of their indoor living quarters. Those pigs never messed indoors, not once in the three years that I observed them. And furthermore, pigs don't need house training--sanitation comes natural to them. In fact, pigs purposely establish designated areas outdoors to do their business, well away from their shelter, bed, and food.

Given an appropriate living space, contrary to the popular saying, "Dirty as a pig sty," pigs are the cleanest mammals on the face of the earth.

One hundred percent

Scout is finally 100% house trained. He's five-months seven-days old. Don't know why it took so long.

What a relief though! Up until this, raising Scout was a full-time job. I had to constantly keep my eye on him. "Aught, aught, aught!" "Bad, bad, boy!" was about the only thing I had to say to the little squirt all these months. Now, finally, we are getting to know each other, having meaningful conversations, such as "How are you today?" to which Scout smiles. Speaking the words "Want to go car bye-bye?" sends Scout running to the garage in anticipation of a road trip.

Oh, but he doesn't run exactly. He bounds, soars, hurdles, leaps. His tiny, pink-padded paws rarely touch the ground.

And it's curious the way he holds his left ear upright instead of flopped over in the standard Jack Russell Terrier style. I've been told that when JRTs are teething, their ears sometimes stick straight up. But my theory is Scout's trying to imitate Casey the Westie's ears.

At night, when the inside lights are on and it's dark outside, Scout is fascinated with his reflection in the sliding-glass doors. He sniffs it, pounces at it, and raises his rear end in an attempt to get the reflection to react and come in and play.

I wonder if he's aware that he's looking at himself?

What is science?

Science is the process that takes us from confusion to understanding in a manner that’s precise, predictive, and reliable. –Brian Greene

My Dad, a furniture upholsterer, sparked my interest in science. I remember one time when I was a little kid visiting his shop, he sketched a big circle on a piece of fabric using chalk and a yardstick as a compass. Then he showed me how to calculate the area of a circle, he said “The area of a circle equals pi times the radius squared.” I was amazed, and remained interested in science--especially mathematics-- ever since.

Now, while I'm not a professional scientist paid for doing research, I am an amateur astronomer and math enthusiast (with a bachelor of science degree in math). At work, I'm part of a group assigned to communicate my company's activities for the Year of Science 2009.

All this got me thinking that I've never really answered the question, "What is science?"

Of course, you may be wondering what this has to do with the theme of this blog. In future posts, I intend to explore the profundity of the human/dog bond using scientific methods, so it'll be good to define science and describe what scientists do.

Scientists (professional or amateur) formulate problems, collect information from observations and experiments, draw conclusions based on analytical principles, and document their findings and methods used. The documents are important resources used by others to validate or debunk the findings, and advance peoples’ knowledge and understanding of the subject studied.

There are many skills required to perform the work of science, including:

• Observing


• Classifying


• Measuring


• Using numbers


• Communicating


• Inferring


• Predicting


• Collecting, recording, and interpreting data


• Identifying and controlling variables


• Documenting what is done and what is observed


• Developing hypotheses


• Experimenting


• Making and using models--physical, mental, mathematical, and computer

These skills are used in science to expand our understanding of the universe.

The U.S. Department of Energy considers the following as being among the greatest questions of physics: What is dark matter? What is dark energy? Are there additional dimensions? How did the universe begin?

These skills are also used to find answers to questions about pressing human needs.

Can we extend the human life span? How can we increase food production? Is the earth's ecosystem self-correcting? Can we develop synthetic replacements for the body's organs? Can we direct evolution? What causes the human/dog bond?

In the future, advances in materials science will help engineers and architects build structures that can better withstand earthquakes, storms, tsunami, terrorist attacks. Innovative techniques in DNA testing and manipulation will enable dog breeders to design breeding programs that identify and control aggressive tendencies in dogs.

That's a little bit of what constitutes science.

Brian Greene said it best:

Science is the greatest of all adventure stories, one that's been unfolding for thousands of years.