Each week, we bring you the profile of an orphaned dog from the BC SPCA Vancouver Shelter that needs a loving home. This week, we have two!

The Vancouver SPCA received a small handful of poodle miniature crosses this week and I got to walk one of them. His name is Astro.

Astro is just over a year old and light enough to carry with one arm but big enough to give a proper hug. Admittedly, Astro isn’t much of a walker. He’s more of a play in the backyard, watch the wheels go round and round kind of dog. We got one block down before he began getting anxious about getting back to his kennel. Maybe he thought the other pups would take his chew toy? Who knows…

Astro does get excited when he thinks it’s time for play, wagging his tail in a typical doggy way and jumping up to the door when you come close, so it’s not as if he’s anti-social – he just has some security issues so he needs someone who’s patient and willing to show him the ropes one block at a time. Astro would be a perfect match for someone who likes slow leisurely walks and has a porch where he can fully utilize his exceptional observational skills. He practiced by staring down every car that went by during our stroll.

For details on Astro, click here.
BC SPCA Vancouver Shelter: 604 879 7721 or vancouver@spca.bc.ca

Dogs shouldn’t be fed any of the following items: grapes / raisins, chocolate, onions, garlic, alcohol…and the list goes on. Nobody ever mentions bird poop, but if you’ve met Dre, you’ve probably wondered…

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Cars, houses…heck, pretty much everything! They don’t make ‘em like they used to. And textiles are no exception. Today’s clothes are largely composed of strange synthetics that combined with shoddy mass manufacturing, just can’t take the wear and tear of regular use. And that’s how big companies like it. How else will they get you to go back for more! Well, that wasn’t always the case. Fabrics from 20 or 30 years ago were more substantial and rivalled today’s standards.

Now thanks to the rise of Conscious Consumerism, people are realizing that there is a lot of life left in old clothes. You know that gorgeous party dress that you’ve had to shelf due to that conspicuous tear? Save for the hole, the rest of the garment can be salvaged and become part of a cheeky and cheerful new design. That’s Melissa Ferreira‘s artistic view anyway. When the Vancouver-based designer started Adhesif Clothing, she was inspired by the quality of older textiles and just how many unwanted clothes were out there. “It just made sense to use recycled fabrics,” she said. “There was already an abundance of it.”

Wearing Melissa’s adorable, sustainable clothes is a great way to make your statement and celebrate the planet. “Start by taking small steps. Reduce, re-use, and recycle. At the very least, don’t be wasteful.”

For a listing of shops that carry Adhesif Clothing, click here.

I covet stick straight hair. Having curls and a dual cowlick to boot, the flat-iron look is something that I really need to work for in order to make it happen every day. To think, that my Dabbler editor almost didn’t give me this assignment because she thought I already had straight hair! After I did my little happy dance, I accepted the challenge of testing out Pantene Pro-V’s latest collection – the Extra Straight hair care line: shampoo, conditioner, and straightening cream. With my jumbo ceramic round brush in hand, I gladly put this one to the test.

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Reena has some of the best solutions for your everyday household problems, but so do her readers! This week, we’re featuring two:

Yesterday, my daughter got gum in her hair, and I was dreading the ‘peanut butter’ treatment! Rather than use ice, or cut her hair, I took the section of hair that was full of gum and put a paper towel behind it, then sprayed it thoroughly with Pam cooking spray. I let it sit for a couple of minutes and was able to comb all of the gum out. A quick hair shampoo, and problem solved! The paper towel was used to help catch the spray from soaking into the rest of her hair. Take care, Tina.

Was interested in your column about using leftover rice. Sometimes I make rice pudding – place rice in bowl, add 1-2 cups of low fat Cool Whip, rinse half to 1 cup of raisins and add about 2-3 tsp of cinnamon. Mix well and cool in fridge until needed. It is delicious. This recipe would be good for about 2 cups of rice. Love your books and always read your column! Gail.

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At the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco lives a Penguin named Pierre who has a bit of a problem: At the ripe old age of 25, he’s going bald! And although for us humans this can be an embarrassment, for an African Penguin it would usually be a death sentence unless you happen to have some friends at Oceanic Worldwide, a diving gear supplier.

You see, penguins rely on their feathers rather than blubber to keep themselves warm as they fly through frigid waters. And when the feathers come off, so does the insulation. As a result, poor old Pierre was left shivering on the side of the pool as his friends basked about. But with the help of his scientist keepers and scuba gear friends, he was outfitted with a sleek and warm wet suit that would keep him nice and warm. And after wearing the new outfit for some time, Pierre’s feathers are now growing back and he is slowly learning to take the plunge in the buff as he did back in the day.

The idea of outfitting penguins with clothes to keep them warm actually isn’t all that new. On several occasions, knitting drives have been started to make sweaters for penguins caught in oil spills. When the oil soils their feathers, they start picking at them and end up growing bald. In addition, they lose the ability to repel water and as a result the penguins get cold and die. So now when you see pictures of penguins with knitted sweaters, you know it’s more than a fashion statement.

Vaid’s Verdict: Heartfelt and surprisingly thought provoking, The Art of Racing in the Rain has everything you need for a feel good story – hardships to overcome, strong characters, and best of all, a lovable narrator named Enzo…who just happens to be a dog.

In his third novel, Garth Stein abandons convention and embraces fiction in all its imaginative glory. Sure, you can write fiction with fantastical characters that live in imaginary worlds – but why go that far when you can turn an average story into a revelation simply by changing one perspective? Enzo, a shepherd-poodle mix (who’s convinced he’s actually half terrier) is an intelligent, humble narrator with an obsession for opposable thumbs and car races. Stein uses this unique perspective to show his readers something we rarely see…human beings. To see ourselves in another light, from alien eyes, is refreshing…and personally, it helped that Enzo hates crows as much as I do.

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No, we’re not talking about the superhero that fights evil in theatres next month. But when you get a load of what an average Joe like Jeff Glen goes through to train for the ultimate triathlon, you’ll wonder whether he has supernatural powers!

Summer’s just around the corner so you’ve probably started to notice a lot of people out training for the marathons and triathlons that are going down all over the world in the coming months. Ever wonder what it takes to finish a race like that? Well, Jeff should know! In part one of three, he introduces the equipment necessary to conquer the most challenging race of all: The Ironman Triathlon.

Next week, we’ll take a peek at his training regimen!

BBC News – Day in Pictures: Hungarian Puli sheep dog, “Fee,” jumps over a hurdle during a preview for a pedigree dog show in Dortmund, Germany.

The Puli is a medium-small breed of Hungarian dog known for its long, corded coat. The tight curls of the coat, similar to dreadlocks, make it virtually waterproof. Pulik are very intelligent, have excellent agility, and are obedient enough to train for athletic competition. They are also fabulous herding dogs.

NEW feature on Dabbler! Each week, we’ll bring you the profile of an orphaned dog from the BC SPCA Vancouver Shelter that needs a loving home.

It’s strange to think that there are people out there who are afraid of Rottweilers. I’ve found that of all the dogs I’ve walked at the SPCA and even of all the dogs I’ve met in my life, Rottweilers are by far the sweetest, most obedient and cuddly breed! Today I got to walk Ginger, a 7 year old female Rottweiler who was found in a park as a stray. We walked for about 2 hours at a nice quick walking pace but I think she got tired towards the end. Either that or she knew that if we stopped she’d get more cuddles and tummy rubs! At one point when I said we should go (she was still lying down looking at me with the ‘I’m so loveable, please pet me some more’ look), she pawed and rolled around until she and I got tangled in the leash and she nearly got me on the ground while she was happily trotting around my legs and rubbing her slobbery cheeks on my gloves. I do hope that she gets adopted soon because it would be such a shame to let any of that cuddliness go to waste!

For details on Ginger, click here.
BC SPCA Vancouver Shelter: 604 879 7721 or vancouver@spca.bc.ca

To read the profile of another dog, click here.

In a new Dabbler travel mini-series, writer and seasoned globetrotter Valerie McTavish offers Snapshots from her current travels in Cambodia and Vietnam. Her final stop: The largest city in Vietnam. If Beijing is “the City of Bicycles,” then Ho Chi Minh City is “the Capital of Motorbikes.”

Stepping off the sidewalk in Saigon could easily be considered suicidal. I’m standing in the Ben Thanh Market area studying my map to plot a route that requires the least number of street crossings. When I look up, a wall of styrofoam chunks is an inch from my nose – the courier with this impossible balance of junk on his bicycle has decided to use the sidewalk to skirt a jam on the road. Get the whole story