LOS ANGELES  — Shirlee and Nathan “Nick” Horowitz faced one serious health crisis after another before their doctor said they had to move into an assisted living center. They had only one condition — they weren’t going anywhere without their dog.

Hundreds of retirement communities across the country now allow seniors to live with their pets and more and more keep house pets that provide the

benefits without the responsibility.

As many as 40 percent of people ask about pets when calling A Place for Mom, the nation’s largest senior living referral service, said Tami Cumings, its senior vice president.

When the service was founded 12 years ago, pets were seldom considered when it came time for older people to enter rest homes or skilled nursing homes, Cumings said.

Then came the boom in independent living centers, assisted living complexes and memory centers for Alzheimer’s patients. At the same time, some people have latched on to studies that show pets can help their owners’ health physically and psychologically, said Lori Kogan, a professor of veterinary medicine at Colorado State University.

Shirlee Horowitz and her husband chose the Regency Grand in West Covina, about 20 miles east of Los Angeles. Meals are provided, as is housekeeping and transportation. Medication management and help with dressing and bathing can be arranged. But most of all, their collie Barney was welcome.

“I worried more about him because he had a big yard before,” said Shirlee Horowitz, 77. “But he has adjusted to this better than we have.”

Barney’s friendliness has made it easier for the couple to meet their neighbors, and his walks have helped them get to know the complex.

Living centers usually prefer smaller pets and put the limit at two. Not all pets are dogs and cats either, Cumings said. They get a lot of calls about birds and fish, too.

As much as 30 percent of the residents at the Regency Grand have pets at any one time, said Leah Hynes, Regency Grand’s marketing associate. Seldom do the elderly move in with puppies or kittens, she said. Most of the time, their animals are older, too.

One of the residents lost her husband of many decades. She wanted a pet so Hynes helped her choose a cat. They named it Annie and had the cat spayed, vaccinated and microchipped.

“It was like bringing a new baby home. She had the apartment set up and couldn’t wait to have the companionship and someone to care for again,” she said.

Residents who don’t have pets of their own are encouraged to share Alley, the office cat. At the center’s memory care center, a dog, a cat and two bunnies live with a couple of parakeets and a lot of fish.

Pet-friendly living centers are still in the minority, so people who don’t like animals will easily find centers that say “No Pets Allowed.”

But some living centers are cultivating small menageries.

At the Silverado Senior Living center in Encinitas, 25 miles north of San Diego, residents have miniature horses and for several months every year, a very young kangaroo, said Steve Winner, co-founder and chief of culture for the company’s 23 centers in six states, including Illinois and Texas.

They’ve had a pot-bellied pig, chinchillas, guinea pigs and even a llama until he got too big, said Winner, who estimated that 20 percent of their new residents move in with pets.

When it’s time to walk the dogs, a staff member might play “Who Let the Dogs Out” by Baha Men as a signal that it’s time to put leashes on the dogs.

Kogan founded a prototype program called Pets Forever, a Colorado State class where students earn credits while helping elderly and disabled pet owners care for their animals.

As people grow old, they lose relatives and friends, maybe some of their mobility, their jobs and homes. “So pets become increasingly important,” Kogan said. The relationship between a person and a pet may be the only thing an older person has left, she said.

“Clients will often say their pets are the reason they try to continue living,” she said. “These pets really give them meaning and value in life, a purpose for getting up in the morning.”

LOS ANGELES  — Filmmakers are calling DogTV a new breed of television — an eight-hour block of on-demand cable TV programming designed to keep your dog

relaxed, stimulated and entertained while you are at work.

To get the right footage, cameramen got on their knees and shot low and long. “I shot from the point of view of the dog,” said Gilad Neumann, chief executive officer of DogTV.

In production, they had to mute colors, alter sound and add music specially written for dogs.

There will be no commercials, no ratings and no reruns, although some might argue that watching a slug crawl is hardly exciting new programming.

One million subscribers with two cable companies have access to DogTV in San Diego. It is doing so well that parent company PTV Media plans to offer it nationally in the next several months, Neumann said.

It will cost about $4.99 a month, Neumann said. If you figure more than 46 million U.S. households have dogs (according to the American Pet Products Association) and 97 percent of U.S. homes have televisions, the future looks promising.

Bleu, a year-old French bulldog, has been watching for a month and snorts and grunts his approval, owner Mary Catania of San Diego said. He used to perk up when “Family Guy” came on, Catania said, but he seems more intrigued by DogTV.

“I always feel guilty leaving him alone all day when I’m at work,” Catania said. “He’s like my kid. I don’t have any children so I really treat him like my child. Anything that makes him happy makes me happy.”

For years, pet owners have been leaving a television or radio on when they go out so their pets have company, said Dr. Nick Dodman, director of the Animal Behavior Clinic in Department of Clinical Sciences at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University in Massachusetts.

But Dodman said that according to research on the canine brain, with analog television, dogs could only see a flickering screen. New technologies like digital TV, high-definition cameras, and enhanced production have changed the way dogs perceive the images, while big screens allow them to see from anywhere in a room, Neumann said.

Do dogs really understand what they’re watching? Dodman said research is ongoing, but it appears that dogs not only recognize other dogs on TV, they may even respond differently to their own breed.

They definitely recognize sounds, though, whether it’s barking or sirens, and audio on DogTV has been tailored accordingly. Because high frequency sounds can be very irritating to dogs, they’ve been removed. And music is written and tailored for their hearing, though it sounds like elevator music to humans.

What you won’t find on DogTV are the sounds that blare on regular TV: no gunshots, no explosions, no heavy metal music, Neumann said.

Dogs can see blue and yellow, but not red or green, Neumann said, so colors are altered for DogTV too.

Based on dog sleeping pattern studies, programmers alternate footage and soundtracks designed for stimulation, relaxation and exposure throughout the eight hours.

Exposure is designed to acquaint dogs with things they will see each day. “There are studies that show when young puppies are exposed to video images of other dogs, it acts as a form of socialization,” Dodman said. Sights and sounds during this part of the programming expose the animals to things like traffic, babies, other pets and doorbells.

Relaxation segments feature sleeping dogs and nature scenes — like the slugs — accompanied by dog lullabies.

Stimulation includes dogs running, playing and surfing, animation and a lot of panting. The idea behind this part of DogTV is to get a dog moving, even if it is home alone.

Shows are “refreshed” daily for variety.

There has been a lot of feedback from viewers saying their cats like the show as well as their dogs, Neumann said. CatTV may be added later, but DogTV is strictly for the dogs, he said.

The Escondido Humane Society, on the outskirts of San Diego County, isn’t wired for cable yet, but DogTV offered to give them relaxation-only test videos.

“We handle 5,000 animals a year. We get high-energy, big dogs that need to calm down. When we plugged it in, we saw almost immediate results,” said development director Jean Loo-Russo.

If an extremely active dog is confined for long periods of time, a chemical imbalance can occur and it can go kennel crazy, Loo-Russo said.

You can prevent that with DogTV and 20-minute walks twice a day, she said.

Every dog at the shelter can’t see a TV, but they are all within hearing distance and that’s helping too, Loo-Russo said.

Pets may one day be able to sniff DogTV, Dodman said. “The technology is here to add smell. There are boxes you can buy that have 60 different wells that you can fill with scents. Like fireworks, you can cue them with what’s on television.”

Too bad they can’t control the remote.

___

Online:

— http://www.dogtv.com

One of the first badges for Jasper, a 3-year-old collie-lab mix, was disaster preparedness. After all, he lives with Robert and Misti Verdahl in Milpitas, southeast of San Francisco, where you have to be aware of earthquakes and other natural disasters.

Jasper and his humans belong to Troop 198 in Santa Clara and have earned 18 badges altogether. Each, the humans said, has made him a better dog.

“We go outside and I know he’s going to be safe,” Verdahl said. “If there’s an emergency, I know he will listen to me.”

There are 682 Dog Scouts who belong to 38 troops across the country. The organization has around 80 badges, but not all dogs can earn all badges, said DSA President Chris Puls of Brookville, Ind.

One of her dogs, a 3-year-old Malinois named Dazzle, is 24-inches high and had to jump twice his height to get his jumping badge, for instance. Long or heavy dogs aren’t really suited to that.

“If it’s not safe, we don’t want you trying for it,” Puls said.

Dogs are not required to earn badges beyond the first one, for basic obedience and appropriately called the Dog Scout badge.

The organization was founded by Lonnie Olson 13 years ago. Membership is $25 a year.

Kozette, Olson’s boxer mix nicknamed “Kozi,” is a model Scout with about 45 badges.

Community service is part of any good Scout program, Olson said. The DSA members make about $10,000 a year for the Salvation Army and participate in several Christmas projects. Most troops also work with local groups to do whatever is needed in their hometowns.

Olson’s 80-acre St. Helen, Mich., property is converted into one of numerous weeklong camps every summer. Puls is a former police officer who teaches and certifies badges at all the camps.

She has three dogs who have earned 122 badges between them. One, a 12-year-old cattle dog named Coyote, is retired with 48 badges.

Because cattle dogs often go deaf, Puls and Coyote worked hard on the sign language badge. Then Coyote went blind instead of deaf.

More than a decade ago, the Scouts decided to sell human-grade, dog-safe cookies, she said, but the group took a break from cookie sales to streamline operations.

Verdahl joined DSA because he’d taught Jasper everything he knew and the dog wanted more.

Jasper could put laundry in the washer and (plastic) dishes in the dishwasher. He could stack bowls, open blinds, flip a light switch and open a door, Verdahl said.

There is no housekeeping badge, but Verdahl figures Jasper can qualify for about 50 badges that are available.

The family’s favorite so far is geocaching, an online treasure hunt in which players try to locate hidden containers or geocaches using GPS devices.

“Geocaching has taken us all over the place. We are experiencing things in our local area we never knew existed,” he said.

Who has done more work to get the badges? “Me for sure. It’s all play for him,” said Verdahl, a nurse.

He said he and his wife are healthier because of Scouts. “I haven’t lost any weight but my enjoyment in life has increased, I laugh and smile more.”

Many badges are earned in camp. All of Jasper’s were submitted on videotape because he is far from the nearest camp. He holds the record for videotape badges, Olson said.

But there are some he can’t claim because he doesn’t have the obstacle courses or water parks.

In the water, dogs can be puppy paddlers, beach buddies or boaters. They can qualify in rescue, racing or retrieval. Puls said one of the Scout pairs who started dock diving in camp have gone on to compete nationally.

The earth dog badge, mostly for terriers, is awarded if a dog stays focused while chasing a (protected) rat into an 8-foot earth tunnel, negotiates a 90-degree turn and continues the chase through another 8-foot tunnel without losing interest in the quarry.

“These are not ‘gimme’ badges, not a walk in the park,” Puls said. “A dog with a lot of badges has put a lot of time and training into it.”

The Scouts have two mottos. For humans: “Our dogs’ lives are much shorter than our own. We should help them enjoy their time with us as much as we can.” For dogs: “Let us learn new things that we become more helpful.”

Both serve as inspiration for the group’s grossest badge: “Clean Up America.”

It consists of picking up piles left behind by other dogs on trails, parks and beaches.

That’s an all-time high and the first time in history more than $50 billion has gone to the dogs, cats, canaries, guppies and the

like, the American Pet Products Association said in a report issued Thursday.

Food and vet costs accounted for about 65 percent of the spending. But it was a service category — one that includes grooming, boarding, pet hotels, pet-sitting and day care — that grew more than any other, surging 7.9 percent from $3.51 billion in 2010 to $3.79 billion in 2011.

APPA President Bob Vetere said 2012 should be another banner year for services, predicting it would grow 8.4 percent to an estimated $4.11 billion in 2012.

Owners are taking care of their pets, said Dr. Jessica Vogelsang, a San Diego veterinarian and author of pawcurious.com. “They are planning ahead. When they go on vacation, they want to make sure their pets are well cared for,” she said.

Spending in 2011 was up 5.3 percent from 2010, when it totaled $48.35 billion, Vetere said. He estimated 2012 sales would total $53 billion.

In 2011, people spent $19.85 billion on food, $13.41 billion on vet care, $11.77 billion on supplies and over-the-counter medicines, $3.79 billion on other services and $2.14 billion on live animal purchases.

In 2010, they spent $18.76 billion on food, $13.01 billion on vet care, $10.94 billion on supplies and over-the-counter medicines, $3.51 billion on other services and $2.13 billion on live animal purchases.

Food sales did slow down, Vetere said, even though the 5.8 percent growth exceeded projections of 4.1 percent growth.

APPA numbers indicate that animal sales and adoptions are flattening out and the number of people who switched over to high-end food products is topping out.

Pet ownership is becoming less of an impulse decision, Vogelsang said. “I am seeing a lot of people saying, ‘This isn’t the time for us.’ People are more interested in pets than ever before but they are taking their time, once they make the commitment, to do it right.”

“I don’t think this is a bad thing. I am proud of the owners,” she said.

Pet insurance is another area that is expected to grow briskly, Vetere said. Included in the veterinary care category, insurance was estimated to be $450 million in 2011 and expected to grow to more than $500 million in 2012.

“Insurance makes such a difference in the health of an animal,” Vogelsang said. “I can’t tell you how many times I have had a pet come in and the only reason (the owners) were able to afford catastrophic care is because they had insurance. It’s literally a life-saver and I’m really glad people are embracing the concept,” the veterinarian said.

The pet industry is also a major attraction for entrepreneurs and investors looking for creative and innovative products, Vetere said.

Vogelsang believes the trend is toward “very specific items geared to the specific needs of pets. We are seeing a lot of puzzle feeders for dogs — not just toys but ones that are geared toward the mental needs of the animal. Then there are bionic toys for destructive chewers, a lot of very niche items,” she said.

A baby changes everything for a pet — from how its home looks, smells and sounds to what the rules are.

Low energy, friendly, social dogs are the most adaptable pets, while independent, excitable, high maintenance, busybody dogs are the least adaptable, said San Francisco veterinarian and animal behaviorist Sophia Yin.

“Little dogs can be more jealous and more snippy,” said Lynn Sullivan, community health program manager for The BirthPlace at Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center and Orthopaedic Hospital.

When Saya Barrett learned she and husband Jack were going to have a baby, she worried that their 15-pound, 5-year-old poodle, Latte, would be jealous.

Instead, Barrett said, Latte “was curious. He could hear her little noises from the crib but had no idea what they were or where they were coming from. He figured it out pretty soon though. He did what any other confused dog would do — looked around, sniffed, then soon found her in her crib.”

Almost immediately, she said, they knew “Latte would be a good big brother” to baby Aila, now 4 months old: “Latte is very good to her. He will lick her hands and feet if we are sitting on the couch together.”

While Latte adjusted easily, Yin said making some changes before the baby arrives can help a pet and ease new parent anxieties.

Maybe your dog needs to learn some basic commands like sit, down or stay, she said. If your dog is used to jumping in your lap or up onto furniture, new boundaries should be set before the baby comes home. Maybe you have to move the cat’s litter box to make way for a crib.

If your dog is uncomfortable around visitors, add some social activities like trips to the dog park.

You can buy CDs or find online recordings of baby sounds, including rattles and cries, Yin said. Pairing noises with treats will make the newness easier to accept.

Use baby powder, shampoo and lotions before the baby is born. While the baby is still at the hospital, take a shirt or blanket the baby has used and let your pet get familiar with the scent, Sullivan said.

A trip to the vet will assure that pets don’t have fleas, parasites or other problems, but cat owners who are pregnant must also guard against toxoplasmosis, Sullivan said. The parasite that causes it is most often found in cat feces, so use gloves or get someone else to change litter boxes.

Cats can be an ideal pet for new parents because they often ignore the baby, but they are also curious and can jump and crawl, Sullivan said, recalling an incident when her son, now grown, was an infant and her cat wouldn’t stay out of the crib. “When she scratched the baby, that was it,” Sullivan said. She immediately found a new home for the cat.

“Infants are helpless,” Sullivan said. “No matter how good-natured a pet is, never leave any pet alone with a baby.”

Yin said when she talks about cats and babies, the same question always comes up — can a cat suck the life out of a baby while trying to lick milk off the infant’s face?

Not true, she says: “Cats will not suck the air from a newborn, but they do like to snuggle up to a warm body.”

Cats don’t like sticky surfaces, so to keep cats away from a crib, cover the outside with sticky paper or double-sided tape.

When babies start moving and crawling, that poses new challenges for pets, especially fearful dogs.

“Their first response is to get away,” said Yin. “As long as they can do that, it’s OK. But when the object keeps coming after them and corners them, they might become defensive.”

Most dogs will accept their new roles as pal and protector, Yin said, but there might be reasons they can’t, don’t or won’t.

Maybe you have an older dog with arthritis. Getting pounced on by a young child could hurt, causing the dog to snap. Dogs may also lash out in response to rough or even mean-spirited behavior from children, like spitting or wrestling. If a dog pants for no reason or won’t lean into a child for a hug, that could be a sign that the dog feels stressed by the child’s presence, Yin said. “Some children are very aggressive with animals and they need to learn early how to treat animals,” she said.

New mothers might also consider a dog walker or even doggie daycare to give everyone a break, Yin said.

Finally, don’t take on a baby and a puppy at the same time. “That,” said Yin, “would be like having twins.”

The lab-shepherd mix, known as a crafty escape artist, was placed in a foster home by Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, Utah. Despite his new owner’s best efforts to keep him close, the dog pushed an air conditioner out of a window and made his getaway.

Fortunately the staff at Best Friends anticipated Houdini’s wandering ways and had outfitted his collar with a GPS tracking device.

The device worked as promised, and Best Friends adoption manager Kristi Littrell found the errant dog in an overgrown lot in Kanab.

About half of the pets that enter animal shelters each year are strays or lost animals, but the growing use of GPS technology may offer owners a new option for trying to track down roaming cats, missing dogs and other runaway pets.

Several GPS devices are now being marketed that attach to collars and can be monitored by handsets, cellphones or computers with relative ease. Kristi Littrell, adoption manager at Best Friends, said Houdini was “the same color as the weeds” in the lot where she found him.

“I would never have found him without the GPS device on his collar,” she added. Best Friends is still hoping to find a home for Houdini, and plans to give the GPS device to the new owners to help make sure that if he ever does get out again, he’ll be easily tracked down.

“It’s great these devices are available to us now,” Littrell said. “They will undoubtedly help in a lot of cases where pets would otherwise not be found and returned home.”

Best Friends uses a device called Loc8tor to keep track of Houdini. A handset picks up a signal from a tag attached to the pet’s collar and indicates which way to go to locate the tag. It’s designed to work within a range of 400 feet, though obstacles like walls and floors can reduce the range.

Another GPS tracking device designed for pets is Tagg The Pet Tracker. Its fans include Jessica Vogelsang, a San Diego veterinarian who received a free Tagg for review on her blog, Dr. V at Pawcurious.com.

“I’ve tried out a few GPS trackers but the Tagg is the only one I liked enough to recommend,” she said. “I’ve been testing it for about a month now and I’ve been getting accurate locations with it consistently. What I find really innovative about it, however, is how well they’ve integrated mobile technology so you can track your pet in real time not only on the site but with your phone, using the app or even text messaging.”

To use Tagg, you need a home computer and a cellphone. You program your pet’s safety zone — it can be as small as your house or as big as your neighborhood. If he leaves that space, you will get an email or text (your choice) telling you he’s gone and where he is. If he’s on the move, you can track his movements until you find him and take him home.

“I never would have dreamed in my lifetime that there would come a day when I would get a text message for help from my pet,” said Mike Arms, president of the Helen Woodward Animal Center in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., who uses Tagg with his puppy Anchovy.

GPS devices could theoretically help people locate missing pets in all kinds of situations where animals are vulnerable to getting lost, such as when pets are shipped by plane or after natural disasters, assuming that owners have access to the electronics they need to track signals and that the devices remain charged.

There are several GPS tracking devices on the market, and while many consumers rave about the technology, complaints tend to fall into several categories. Some say batteries in the devices do not always hold a charge for as long as promised; that digital maps associated with the devices are not always easy to read or use; and that the devices do not always cover the range of distance that pet owners expected.

The Tagg Master Kit costs $100 and comes with a battery charger and a month of wireless service; service is $8 a month after that. A basic Loc8tor Pet kit costs $100.

LOS ANGELES — Just over half of American pet owners will buy gifts for their pets this holiday

season, and they’ll spend an average of $46 on their animals, with toys and treats topping the list, according to a new AP-Petside.com poll.

Sixty-eight percent of pets getting gifts can look forward to a toy, 45 percent to food or another treat, 8 percent new bedding, 6 percent clothing, 3 percent a leash, collar or harness and 3 percent new grooming products, the poll showed. (Some pets will get more than one gift.)

“Christmas is about the pets,” said Gayla McCarthy, 58, of Kekaha, Hawaii, whose Australian shepherd, Echo, will find a toy under the tree. McCarthy even got a shirt for her husband as a gift to him from the dog, and she’ll be giving collapsible bowls that she ordered online to all their friends’ dogs.

Although the average budget for pet gifts among those surveyed was $46, 72 percent of those polled said they’d spend $30 or less. Those who bought gifts for their pets last year said they spent $41 on average.

Overall, 51 percent of those polled this year said they would buy holiday gifts for their pets, a figure that’s been relatively stable in the last few AP-Petside.com polls. It was 53 percent last year, 52 percent in 2009 and 43 percent in 2008.

Income does matter. Those making $50,000 or more say they plan to spend an average $57 on their pets. Those making under $50,000 say it will be $29.

Major pet retailers have been taking part in the Black Friday and Cyber Monday frenzy for a few years. Petco Animal Supplies Inc. plans a 72-hour “Black Friday Weekend Blowout,” said Greg Seremetis, vice president of marketing.

Products for both pets and pet owners will be available, he said. “Including pets in holiday gift-giving has been a growing trend in the last few years. More and more pets are being treated as family members and being included in holiday traditions, including having a gift waiting for them under the tree,” he said.

PetSmart Inc. plans to open stores at 7 a.m. on Black Friday, then continue with a “Countdown to Christmas” sale, said spokeswoman Stephanie Foster.

Online retailer Foster & Smith Inc. plans a live, streaming, four-hour (11 a.m. – 3 p.m. EST) webcast full of sales and giveaways on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, spokesman Gordon Magee said. “As far as we know, with the exception of QVC …, no other retailer has done a live broadcast like this on Black Friday and Cyber Monday,” Magee said. “We are going to give it a go.”

Younger pet owners are more apt to say they’ll buy their pet a holiday gift, including 56 percent of pet owners under age 50. Among those ages 50-64, it’s 47 percent, and among seniors, 39 percent, the poll showed.

Lauren Beard, 22, of Felton, Pa., and her family lavished their dog Groovy with gifts last year — including treats and bones — because it was the chocolate lab’s first Christmas. “We still love her but it’s a little less exciting this year,” Beard said. So she reduced her budget of $70 last year to $50, and hopes to get some things on sale. She’ll also buy a gift for Groovy’s best friend and neighbor, a golden retriever named Tessie, Beard said.

Ronda Singleton and her husband live in Elk, Wash., and raise and show standard poodles. But they don’t plan to get gifts for their dogs or for each other. “If we need something, we go get it,” she explained, adding that the dogs get treats all the time. She and her husband like to celebrate holidays with traditional dinners and church services.

Thomas Koch, 69, in Raleigh, N.C., has something special to celebrate this year — adoption of his adult son should be finalized, he said.

The two will spend the holidays with their dog, Jessie, a Sheltie-chow mix, and two cats, Tanz and Callie.

Last year, Jessie got toys and the cats got play mice and a large bag of catnip. “They liked it so much we just threw it on the carpet and let them roll in it,” Koch said.

He covered the goodies last year for a mere $8, but is setting aside $10 this year just in case prices have gone up.

George Smith, 43, a father of three in Adams County, Colo., says pets are “part of the family, just like our kids.” But they keep the holiday gifts for Miley, a golden retriever, and Zippity, a cat, low-key: no fancy wrapping or stockings, just $10 worth of toys and treats.

Steve Gottula’s budget was $100 last year and he figures it will run about the same this year for his two dogs and seven cats. Odie, a dachshund, and Sky, a Dalmatian, will get special bones, and the cats will get catnip and mouse balls.

Gottula, 48, his wife Leigh (she’s the one who brings home the strays) and five kids (ages 6 to 16) live with the nine pets in Spring, Texas.

His daughters have made stockings for the pets — with their initials — and they are always part of holiday celebrations, Gottula said.

“The cats like to play with the paper and ribbon and get lost in the boxes and wrappings,” he said.

What do his pets mean to him? “They are entertaining, they are companions. They have little senses of humor. They all have personalities. If you give love to them they give it back — it’s unconditional,” he said.

The AP-Petside.com Poll was conducted Oct. 13-17 by GfK Roper Public Affairs and Corporate Communications. It involved landline and cellphone interviews with 1,118 pet owners. Results among all pet owners have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.

___

Deputy Director of Polling Jennifer Agiesta contributed to this report.

___

Online:

http://petside.com/gifts2011

There are no statistics, but there’s plenty of anecdotal evidence and many possible explanations, ranging from

 

superstitions like the notion that black cats are bad luck, to a simple logistical problem: Black animals are hard to photograph well, and are therefore hard to advertise. To combat the problem, shelters have come up with a variety of creative measures, from reducing adoption fees to improving the quality of the photos.

“Overwhelmingly, we hear from the shelter and rescue groups that black dogs, especially the big black dogs, and black cats take longer to get adopted,” said Kim Saunders, vice president of shelter outreach for Petfinder.com, the country’s largest online pet adoption database.

Some have called “Black Dog Syndrome” a hoax, but Inge Fricke, director of sheltering and pet care issues for the Humane Society of the United States in Washington, D.C., insists “it is not a hoax. There is definitely anecdotal evidence. There haven’t been any definitive studies to absolutely prove that the phenomenon exists but it is something commonly accepted by shelter workers as truth.”

Some in the adoption business think there may simply be more black dogs and cats than animals of other colors. Others think the animals may be wrongly perceived as menacing.

Mike Arms, president of the Helen Woodward Animal Center in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., blames part of it on typecasting. “If you think of any movie with a mean, devil dog, it’s always a black dog, and if you see a witch in a movie, they always have a black cat.”

Shelters will change lighting, use light colored blankets, and even dress the animals up to try to get better photos for websites, ads and fliers, Fricke said.

“The easiest way to make a black dog look friendly is to put it in a bright colored bandanna,” Arms said. “Who pictures a devil dog in a yellow bandanna?”

Photographer Seth Casteel of Little Friends Photo in Los Angeles says any shelter pet can pose a photo challenge, but black ones top the list.

“I hear about ‘Black Dog Syndrome’ all the time,” said Casteel.

A bad picture can make a pet look sick, mysterious or even ominous, he said.

“To photograph a black dog or cat effectively, you want to capture personality, important physical traits and details and have the photo be in focus. The key is lighting and shutter speed,” he said.

For years, Casteel has spent at least a day a week volunteering at shelters across the country, taking pictures of available dogs and cats of all colors.

He just launched a free, nationwide, nonprofit program called Second Chance Photos to teach volunteers how to take good photos of shelter pets. Volunteers (amateurs are welcome) can sign up at secondchancephotos.org. The program also gives shelters some ideas on ways to raise money for cameras and photo editing software.

Black pets should be photographed in the shade or on a cloudy day, not in direct sunlight, Casteel said.

“In the shade, the challenge is shutter speed. Your camera may respond by slowing down the shutter speed to achieve the proper exposure, resulting in a blurry photograph. To remedy this on a point-and-shoot camera, change your setting to ‘sports mode,’ which will give you a faster shutter speed and sharper photos,” he said.

You can also manually set the shutter speed to 1600, he said.

“With black dogs, do your best to showcase their unique and positive personality. You can take the dog on a short run before the photo shoot so that he or she will pant, which looks like a smile,” he suggested.

“A good photographer for shelter pets is worth his weight in gold,” Saunders said.

“If you are thinking about adopting a dog please don’t overlook black dogs. They are every bit as wonderful as lighter colored dogs, and make just as loving and faithful companions,” said Alyce Russell, volunteer executive director of the Glendale Humane Society.

Some shelters hold special adoption events for black pets, with incentives like lower adoption fees and two-for-one adoption days. They also make sure the animals are taken out of their cages to meet potential owners as a way of encouraging their adoption.

At the Helen Woodward Center, they hold “Me and My Shadow” adoption specials when they get too many black kittens, waiving the fees when a black kitten is adopted with another kitten.

Another simple factor in getting black animals adopted is making sure people can get a good look at them. A dog or cat that’s been abandoned or abused may cower, and if the animal is all black, it may be hard to see inside a cage.

For years, many shelters stopped offering black cats for adoption around Halloween because some cats were being abused. But that thinking is changing.

Applicants are screened better these days, the cats have microchips and too many cats might be missing out on good forever homes, said Beth Chee at the Woodward center.

“Once we are sure that you are truly planning to make a lifelong commitment to a pet, we will accept your application,” she said.

“We really encourage shelters and rescues not to stop promoting adoption of those pets at this time of year,” Saunders said.

On its website, the Oahu (Hawaii) Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals talks about ‘Black Dog Syndrome’ and asks potential pet parents: “Don’t judge a pup by its color.”

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Online:

— http://www.humanesociety.org

LOS ANGELES — Guide dogs and their handlers have always undergone intense training on dealing with distractions from squirrels to skateboarders. But today’s guide dogs have a whole new generation of things to worry about: quiet cars, button-activated walk signals, stroller traffic on handicapped curb-cuts, and a greater likelihood of interacting with other dogs.

“It used to be you encountered other dogs mostly on sidewalks while you were going down the street,” said Morgan Watkins, acting president and chief executive officer of Guide Dogs for the Blind, which has campuses in San Rafael, north of San Francisco, and in Boring, Oregon.

Nowadays, he said, a guide dog might encounter another dog in a supermarket aisle or at the mall or the dentist’s office, he said. There are few places pets can’t be found these days.

“We work very hard with the assumption that your dog can be distracted anywhere,” said Watkins, who started losing his vision at age 11.

Anything or anyone that keeps a guide dog from focusing on its work is considered a distraction — and becomes something the dog is trained to ignore.

Everyone can help guide dogs and their handlers avoid some distractions. One basic rule: Don’t pet a guide dog without permission.

Because the dogs are so highly trained and well-behaved, people want to touch them, Watkins said. Many times, he said, he has reached down to learn which way his dog Will is looking, only to find someone else’s hand already on the dog.

Another simple way to minimize distractions for guide dogs is to keep your own dog leashed.

If a dog barks at Will, Watkins said he would probably keep moving. “Odds are he won’t flinch,” he said. Guide dogs are also not trained to fight. If a guide dog is attacked by another animal, handlers will drop the harness and call for help.

Another new distraction or hazard for guide dog teams is the electric car.

Watkins has excellent hearing and can usually make out the sound of an electric car, but it’s difficult at noisy intersections. That’s why guide dogs are taught intelligent disobedience — defying an order to keep a partner safe, Watkins explained. If Watkins tells Will to go and there is an electric car going through an intersection, he will not go.

When the dog disobeys, “I follow my dog. It’s part of the trust,” he said.

In addition to quiet cars, other environmental elements and distractions that have necessitated changes in guide-dog training include six-lane streets, traffic islands, roundabouts, cars turning right on red, wheelchair-accessible curbs, button-activated walk signals and even baby strollers using handicapped ramps and curb cuts, Watkins said.

Watkins got his first guide dog at age 40 and became CEO of Guide Dogs for the Blind after a long career in computer technology. Walking with Will, he feels through the harness when the dog turns his body, changes pace or cranes his head. “The dog isn’t making noise, the environment is making noise. He sees and leads. I direct and praise,” he said.

Cecilia von Beroldingen, who lost her sight as an adult, relies on all types of technology, from a talking GPS called TrekkerBreeze that tells her where she is and how to get home, to an iPhone app that audibly identifies currency, barcodes and colors.

But von Beroldingen, who runs a state forensic training facility in Sacramento called the California Criminalistics Institute, relies on a guide dog in addition to the technology. The gadgets won’t steer her clear of obstacles like tree limbs or ladders or a forgotten child’s toy. They won’t find her a seat at the airport, help her board a bus or navigate an escalator. And when the day is done, no mechanical device can compete with the warmth of a loving dog at her side, a companion she trust like no other.

She got her first dog, Kola, in 1994. “She saved my life, she was my best friend,” she said.

Von Beroldingen got Kola and her current guide dog from Guide Dogs for the Blind. The organization breeds its own dogs, with puppies spending their first eight weeks at San Rafael, followed by 16 months with a trainer for those dogs that are suited for the program. After two or three months at a school, the dog teams up with its handler and is trained for another few weeks.

Watkins said the school pairs up humans and dogs that have the same personalities, same demeanor, even the same gait. If the blind person can’t afford vet care, Guide Dogs will pay for it, he said.

Most guide dogs work until they are 8 to 10 years old, Watkins said. When they retire, they can stay with their partner or Guide Dogs will place them in an adoptive home.

Guide Dogs for the Blind trained about 2,200 of the 10,000 guide dogs working in the U.S. and Canada today. September is National Guide Dog month and several groups are working to raise money and awareness for the cause, including Dick Van Patten’s Natural Balance pet food, Petco and Independent Pet Food Stores.