For Pet's Sake Column

Have you ever wondered what has fins like a whale, skin like a lizard, and eyes like a moth? Tom Mueller has and he dishes on all things Biomimetics in the April issue of National Geographic magazine. Biomimetics is “the young science of adopting designs from nature to solve modern problems,” writes Mueller.

Case in point: Velcro®. Many moons ago, according to the article, George de Mestral plucked a cocklebur from his pants and his dog’s fur after one of their many hikes together. Upon closer observation, the Swiss inventor and engineer found the burrs’ spines were tipped with tiny hooks. de Mestral had one of those ‘Aha!’ moments and Velcro® was soon born.

“This was to become the basis for a unique, two-sided fastener—one side with stiff ‘hooks’ like the burrs and the other side with the soft ‘loops’ like the fabric of his pants,” states the official Velcro® Web site (www.velcro.com). “The result was Velcro® brand hook and loop fasteners, which is a combination of the French words ‘velour’ and ‘crochet.’”

Velcro® wasn’t immediately popular with the fashion design crowd, likely because of that nails-on-the-chalkboard “RRRIPPPing” sound. But de Mestral had grander goals for his creation—Velcro® was used in the first artificial heart surgery and NASA sent the fancy fasteners to the moon on space boots and suits and inside helmets as nose scratchers, of all things. From cockleburs to the cosmos. Now that’s far out!

SAVE THE DATE… On Saturday, April 26, 2008, Teva presents the inaugural Gaucho Gallop on the UCSB campus. Run with your Rhodesian Ridgeback or sprint with your Shih Tzu in the Dioji Dog Dash at 8:15 am (afterward, drop off your pooped pooch at Dioji’s Doggie Lounge), followed by a 10K cross country race and 5K Fun Run/Walk at 9:00 a.m. Celebrate in style at the Finish Line Festival, which will be filled with music, vendor booths, pizza from Woodstocks, an awards ceremony, and raffle with great prizes. All participants will receive race shirts and the first-ever Gaucho Gallop Medal.

The All-Gaucho Reunion kicks off with a pre-celebration on April 2 (that’s tonight!) from 5:00 – 6:00 pm. Bring along your four-legged pal and mingle with some terrific sponsors and other athletes. The event will include the launch of a new student scholarship created for first-generation college students at UC Santa Barbara. Net proceeds from the Gaucho Gallop event will go towards this scholarship fund.

To RSVP for the Kick-off Celebration or to register for the Gaucho Gallop, call John Lofthus, UCSB Alumni Association Director, at (805) 893-8416, send him an e-mail at john.lofthus@ia.ucsb.edu, or visit www.gauchogallop.com.

SPOTLIGHT ON PUPPY MILLS. You have often read my pleas for dogs held as prisoners in puppy mills—large breeding facilities (mostly in the Midwest)—where dogs are forced to give birth to litter after litter of puppies, all the while living in filthy, frightening conditions.

Finally, the plight of these poor pups is getting some national coverage: On Friday, April 4, TV correspondent Lisa Ling takes us behind-the-scenes of the hidden world of puppy mills and shares her findings on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Tune in to KSBY Channel 6 from 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm or set your recorder or TiVo to catch this important show and then log on to Oprah’s message board at www.oprah.com to thank the producers for shining the spotlight on this cruel practice of animal abuse.

WHILE WE’RE ON THE SUBJECT OF PUPPY MILLS, I’d like to introduce you to Rosebud, a tiny French bulldog (14 pounds) who was rescued last year from a large dog breeding operation. She had a host of physical problems and several C-section scars. Her veterinarian believes that she was too small to give birth naturally so instead, she was forced to endure multiple pregnancies and painful cesarean section surgeries. All in the name of profit.

Today, after months of loving care in a local foster home and surgeries to repair a herniated belly button, help correct deformities in her kneecaps and hips, and finally a spay surgery, this darling doggie with a petal pink tongue that perpetually sticks out, is eager for her forever home. Although she will always have some health issues, Rosebud is ready for the right family who can respect her physical limitations and accept her for who she is—a delicate flower.

If you can offer Rosebud a lifetime of love and gentle care, please contact French Bulldog Rescue at www.frenchbulldogrescue.org or e-mail Rosebud’s foster mom at kitfreid@yahoo.com.

Rosebud never met a lap or a person she didn’t like. She’s also quite fond of other dogs and will spend hours grooming her fellow four-legged friends with her pink tongue. Little Rosebud loves to go on walks—that is, as long she’s being carried or pushed in her own doggie stroller!

SEND-OFF FOR SOPHIE. Oprah Winfrey recently bid a fond farewell to her beloved cocker spaniel, Sophie, who died of kidney failure on March 10. She was 13.

“She was as close to me as anybody has ever been in my life,” the TV titan said during her ‘A New Earth’ webcast earlier this week. “I miss her little body. I miss the physicality of her because slept with me every single night, came to work with me every single day, and has been at every event for the past 13 years.”

Rest in peace, Sophie.

When Karen’s not covering sticky animal subjects, she’s busy writing her next column. Send your story suggestions to her at karenleestevens@cox.net.