Furnishings

Special to The Enterprise

Lots of animals are waiting for “forever homes” at the Yolo County Animal Shelter, 2640 E. Gibson Road in Woodland.

Among them is Melody (A196909), a 1-yearold blackandwhite female shorthair cat who arrived at the shelter with three siblings. She will come right up to you for attention and likes to talk to you, too. Melody would prefer a home without dogs.

Also hoping for a good home is Squirrel (A195226), a 1-year-old Belgian malinois mix. Squirrel knows how to sit, and he is ready for more obedience training to channel his enthusiasm and energy as he learns quickly and is willing to please.

For information on adopting, contact adoptycas@gmail.com. All shelter animals are upto-date on vaccinations, microchipped, and spayed or neutered.

Staff is available by phone during business hours at 530-668-5287. Shelter hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays. To meet adoptable YCAS animals, visit friendsof ycas.org.

At Rotts of Friends Animal Rescue, you’ll

find Jewel, a 2-yearold spayed female Rottweiler. Jewel has a calm, gentle demeanor. She loves kids and other dogs, walks on leash, and comes with free obedience-training classes. Otis, a 5-year-old neutered male boxer, is a complete love bug whose MELODY owner passed away, so he is looking for a new home. Otis is superfriendly and well socialized. He is house-trained, and good with cats and kids. The next Rotts of Friends adoption event is from 8 to 11 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 20, at 34505 County Road 29 in Woodland. Come by 10 a.m., as it takes at least an hour to meet and adopt a dog; everyone SQUIRREL who will be living with the dog should come out to meet it. Bring proof of homeownership, such as a mortgage statement or property tax bill. If you rent, please bring proof that you are allowed to have a dog in your home, such as a pet clause in your lease or a note from your landlord. All dogs adopted from Rotts of Friends are healthy, microchipped, up-to-date on their vaccines and come with free lifetime obedience-training classes. For information, visit facebook.com/ rottsoffriends.

JEWEL OTIS

By EvElyn DalE Enterprise staff writer

Does a dog’s breed predict its personality? Well, not so much. As pet parents know, every dog has its own personality regardless of its breed.

Not every retriever loves to retrieve. Not every husky howls. Not every hunting dog wants to hunt. Not every big dog is aggressive. In fact, most big and small dogs are happy, friendly members of their human families.

According to a UMass Chan Medical School study recently published in the journal Science, at https://www.umassmed. edu/news/news-archives /2022/04/umass-chanstudy-shows-caninebehavior-only-slightlyinfluenced-by-breed, canine behavior is only slightly influenced by a dog’s breed. Furthermore, researchers found aggressive behavior had no genetic basis or any link to specific breeds.

Data from Darwin’s Ark, https://darwinsark.org, provided more than 18,000 owner surveys along with DNA samples submitted by owners for this study. The data identified 11 locations strongly associated with behavior but none connected to a specific breed.

The senior author of this study, Dr. Elinor Karlsson, observed, “For the most part, pure breeds are only subtly different from other dogs. A golden retriever is only marginally more likely to be more friendly than a mixed-breed or another purebred dog, such as a dachshund.”

In evolutionary terms, dog breeds are a relatively recent phenomenon. Genetic research shows the transition from wolf to dog began 15,000-23,000 years ago while intentional breeding to produce herding, hunting, or guarding dogs began just 2,000 years ago. More selective breeding for physical and aesthetic traits commonly associated with modern “pure” breeds didn’t begin until the 1800s.

In the final analysis, a dog’s personality is a combination of nature and nurture — a dog’s genetic nature and its nurturing environment. This is something pet parents have always known, but it’s good to know that scientists agree!

Launched in 2015, Darwin’s Ark is a nonprofit partnership incorporating citizen science, cutting edge technology, and academic expertise to better the lives of people and pets. It is staffed by members of the UMass Chan Medical School, the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, and the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants. As an open-science project, all data is shared with researchers worldwide.

Current projects include working dogs, ticks and Lyme disease, comparing human and canine cancers and their treatments, as

well as understanding the influence genetics has on feline health and behavior.

Interested in learning more and maybe becoming a Citizen Scientist by participating in Darwin’s Ark genomic research? Go to https://darwinsark.org/ about-us.

Bully-breed dogs, “Smiley” (grinning on left) and “Annie,” have helped Suzi Johnson successfully foster all kinds of dogs.

Courtesy photos

paws for thought

Happy Tails

Suzi Johnson has extensive experience fostering all kinds of dogs and knows breed does not predict a dog’s personality.

She also knows that bully breeds, like her own dogs, Smiley and Annie, who have helped her foster dogs find new homes, are often judged harshly by people unfamiliar with them.

“Smiley and Annie helped me foster hundreds of foster dogs and puppies,” Suzi notes, “including medical, investigation or confiscation cases. I even had three litters born in my home. Bully breeds have been probably 70% of my fosters. Over the 30 years I’ve fostered, I’ve been bitten five times. Never has a Pittie bitten me! Please don’t believe the doom and gloom you hear about these ‘bully breed’ dogs. They are the most loving dogs ever.

“Smiley: first ‘foster failure’ from Front Street in 2005. He came in as a stray and ‘grinned’ from ear to ear. It was called a submissive smile but it was a real smile to all who loved him. He was a 75-pound lap dog who loved everyone. I thought he was a Lab/pit, as he definitely had a more Labshaped head and body so I had his DNA done and it came back as full American pit bull terrier. I doubt it, but I never had it tested again. RIP Dec. 30, 2020, at 15 years.

“Annie: second ‘foster failure’ from Chako Pit Bull Rescue. She and four siblings were left in a dog park. All the puppies were adopted but then she was returned as the man’s wife didn’t want another dog. My friend said, ‘Give her to me. I know who’ll take her.’ Yep! She was 5 weeks old, red and white. I thought she might be Boston terrier, as she was all head. DNA said 91% American Staffordshire terrier and 9% bull terrier. I think that’s pretty close — 43 pounds of wiggle! She’ll be 8 years young in October.” — Evelyn Dale of Davis is a volunteer and advocate for shelter animal welfare. Contact her at pawsforthought.comments @gmail.com. This column appears monthly.