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According to some traditions, August 16 is the feast day of Saint Roch, the patron saint of dogs and invalids.
St Roch is a French Saint who, during the Middle Ages, developed a following because he cared for those who fell ill from the bubonic plague. When he became ill, he isolated himself in a forest, where a dog brought him food each day from his master's table.
We don't know of any local dog-friendly feasts today that commemorate St Roch, but we like the story of St Roch and his bond with a dog.
St Roch was said to have been the son of a rich merchant, born about 1350 in Montepellier, in Southern France. He chose to live as a hermit. On a pilgrimage to Rome, he caught the plague and, abandoned by others, was taken care of in a woodland by a dog who fed him and would not leave him.
Old English paintings depict St Roch — also known as Rocco, Roke, and Rollox — as a pilgrim with a sore on his leg who is accompanied by a dog with a loaf of bread in his mouth. St Roch was reputed to have cured many people suffering from the plague. After his death in 1610, a cult for the cause of St Roch as the patron of plague sufferers spread across much of Europe. Many miracles were claimed to have happened at his tomb.
Reynard of The English Chemical Theatre adds
It is possible that the Roman termination of the canicular days [Dog Days] was originally extended in England from the 11th to the 17th August to incorporate the feast day of St Roch, patron saint of dogs, on the 16th. Certainly within the Church of England it is reasonably common for some parishes to hold an animal service around this time, where domestic pets and animals are blessed within the church building. I can't say authoritatively whether this is connected to old traditions of the dog days and St Roch or not, although it is doubtful whether the practice itself has a lineage preceding the twentieth century.
The declaration of St Roch as a patron saint means that humans can pray for his intercession for the healing of invalids. We hope this typically includes dogs!
On August 1, 2008, the Emirates Airlines new A380 arrived at JFK Airport in New York. Everyone's been fussing over this "flying palace." It's a huge, double-deck, wide-body aircraft — the largest passenger airliner in the world.
I think the Superjumbo Airbus A380 has the face of a mother dog.
The A380 has space and amenity pawsibilities heretofore unknown in the sky. The best-hyped is Emirates' "onboard super-spa" — the two showers in first class. Additional first-class offerings include 14 private suites, a lounge, and a snack bar. Other airlines' A380s all have big amenities. Popular are first-class double beds and work desks. In the future, look for onboard casinos and gymnasiums.
The very first A380, dubbed a "21st century flagship," made its debut flight in April 2005. The Airbus PR people said:
"For its first flight, the A380 took off at a weight of 421 tonnes / 928,300 lbs., the highest ever of any civil airliner to date. During the flight, which took the aircraft around South West France, the six crew members . . . tested the A380’s handling, using both direct and normal flight control laws with the landing gear up and down, and with all flaps’ and slats’ settings during the part of the flight at cruise altitude."
I'm glad I wasn't on that flight. I might've had to kiss my tail goodbye.
If you fly first class to or thorugh Dubai on Emirates, you could receive two nights' complimentary accommodations at The Harbour Hotel & Residence or at The Palace the Old Town. But not if you're a pet! Dogs and cats will have to say Dubai another way.
You'd think the Emirates A380 would have an onboard pet spa and a lot of space for us pets to travel in the cabin with our humans. . . . Nope.
Emirates has this to say about pets onboard: "No live animals — neither pets nor service animals — are permitted in the cabin of any Emirates® aircraft. They can, however, travel in the aircraft hold subject to certain conditions and extra charges."
Are we just "baggage" in the hold? . . . Assistance dogs are "baggage" too? . . . Is this the 21st century flagship philosophy?
If and when we dogs and cats do have to fly, we must always read the latest IATA Live Animal Regulations as well as our airlines' pet policies. Maybe we can find some airlines who like us if we dig through a dogzillion international flights — try searching at Airline Consolidator.
You'll have to have a strong, air-travel-approved pet carrier, or travel crate. Talk to your vet about shots and stuff, and pack your favorite treats and books for the long flight.
Remember this advice from PJ O'Rourke: "Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it."
by winecountrydog
Today's the birthday of Carolina, a special dog-mom who, like her dog, lives on in our memories. We're remembering Carolina and Wishie, her "assistance" dog, by re-pawing dog-ma's story about them.
In dog-ma's words, here's the little story.The first time I walked through Carolina's front door, Wishie spotted me. He was my friend Carolina's arthritic Boston terrier.
I'd hardly taken a step inside the house when Wishie — outfitted in a dark-red sweater to keep him warm — came rushing right at me in a determined but unsteady run.
I fell to my knees on the living room rug. My heart raced. I reached out my hand to my adorable new friend. I forgot why I was at the house. And I didn't care, because I wasn't ever going to move from that spot. Wishie was radiating too much charm and love.
Wishie liked hitching a ride on the foot platform of the mobility scooter Carolina drove. Carolina's legs didn't really work because of a spinal cord injury. Wishie's legs didn't work well because of his arthritis. And Toby, Wishie's little terrier housemate, liked to hitch a ride, too, because he was half-blind and timid.
One night, we all went out to dinner in San Francisco. On the way into the restaurant, Carolina had Wishie and Toby tucked away on the foot platform of her scooter.
Somehow Carolina got the dogs into the restaurant. I then noticed a woman at the next table who looked very unpleasant. The woman looked down and saw the dogs, then looked up at Carolina. Uh oh, I thought. But the woman's serious expression dissolved into a huge grin, and she started talking away with Carolina.
I later asked Carolina whether people ever reacted negatively when she took Wishie into places with no-dog policies. She responded by sliding Wishie's special dog collar off her scooter handlebars. She leaned over to me and held out the collar for me to see the big tag hanging from it.
The tag read Official Assistance Dog.
I giggled and said, "Oh, c'mon. What kind of assistance dog could Wishie be?"
"He's a Seeing Heart Dog," Carolina replied.
Many different breeds of dogs — usually bigger than Bostons — make great assistance dogs. Big Golden and Labrador retrievers are trained as service dogs and skilled companion dogs at Canine Companions for Independence in Santa Rosa, California.
If you're a hearing-impaired human and need a signal dog, paw-leeze keep in mind that we Welsh Corgis are very good at signaling.
Pawdon me, though, if I assert that nobuddy could be a better Seeing Heart Assistance Dog than Wishie.
