The Barking Lot is a regular weekly feature of This Just In…Originally written by both my lovely wife, Jennifer and me, this blog brings you the latest news about our furry friends including articles, columns, photos and videos. Enjoy!

THE WEEKEND DOG-WALKING FORECAST: We grade the weather outlook for taking your pet outdoors.

TODAY:  HIGH WIND WARNING FROM 7:00 THIS MORNING UNTIL 9:00 TONIGHT. Damaging winds will blow down trees and power lines. Widespread power outages are expected. Travel will be difficult, especially for high profile vehicles. Highest winds will likely be from the late morning through the afternoon. People should avoid being outside in forested areas and around trees and branches. If possible, remain in the lower levels of your home during the windstorm, and avoid windows. Use caution if you must drive.

Showers early then continued cloudy and windy in the afternoon. Morning high of 62 with temps falling to near 50. Winds SSW at 25 to 35 mph. Chance of rain 50%.  “D”

SUNDAY:  Partly cloudy. High near 60. “C”

Time now for DOGS IN THE NEWS, canines that made headlines the past week.

Most US pet food contaminated with ‘forever chemicals’, study finds.

Weird dog poo? There’s an app for that.

Canines, anyone? Westminster dog show heads to tennis center.

Comrades in arms are reunited after bonding on deployment.

First French Memorial for ‘Hero Dogs’ Honoring Their Military Service With New Monument.

Gordon the Shiba Inu Wins the 2022 World’s Cutest Rescue Dog Contest: ‘He Exudes Joy.’

Kids Who Read Out Loud to a Dog See Improved Literacy. From a Barking Lot blog written by my wife Jennifer in December of 2019:

So what happens when you take that budding K5 reader to the Franklin Public Library program called Tail Waggin’ Tutors?  You get one very happy five-year-old Kyla and Puzzle:

At the beginning of her Kindergarten school year, Kyla was close to a second grade reading level.  So I’ll admit that when we signed up to read to Puzzle, it was more for the canine interaction than the necessity to work on reading skills.

An excerpt from the blog I wrote just after that interaction in September 2014:

We also enjoyed chatting with his owner, Kathy, when we were done.  She explained to me how successful the program is, and how much SHE enjoys working with Puzzle and the kids. 

Kathy told me that Puzzle’s reading program was so successful at the Greendale library that they expanded their opportunities to include the Franklin library.  She shared that the key to this amazing program is letting the kids read in a comfortable environment.  A dog is completely non-judgmental and easy to work with.  The children can read to the dog, a parent or other caregiver can read to the child in Puzzle’s presence, or the child can simply enjoy Puzzle’s company while they become more comfortable with the setting and then hopefully, eventually, they will want to read.  Kathy is present during every interaction but never interrupts or interjects. 

Fast-forward to Kyla’s recent Interim Assessments scores for ELA (English Language Arts) in October of this year. She scored 20/23 for an “Advanced” proficiency level.  Her recent report card also reflected these skills with an “A” in her ELA class.  Needless to say we continue to be proud of her accomplishments.

Why this reflection on Kyla’s Kindergarten reading journey now?  Dr. Stanley Coren recently wrote an article about this very topic.  I love his research and writing style with all his articles.  But naturally this piece truly touched my heart.  Enjoy!
—-Jennifer Fischer

On November 3, 1957, 957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 2 with space dog Laika aboard, a mostly-Siberian husky, the 1st animal in space. From The Barking Lot, September 2020:

A new documentary, SPACE DOGS has been released about a Russian street dog named ​​Laika, the first living creature to orbit the Earth aboard Sputnik 2.

Three days before the scheduled liftoff, Laika entered her constricted travel space that allowed for only a few inches of movement. Newly cleaned, armed with sensors, and fitted with a sanitation device, she wore a spacesuit with metal restraints built-in. On November 3, 1957 at 5:30 a.m., the ship lifted off with G-forces reaching five times normal gravity levels.

The noises and pressures of flight terrified Laika. Her heartbeat soared to triple the normal rate. Her breath rate quadrupled. She died soon after launch according to a Russian medical doctor and space dog trainer. Sputnik 2 continued to orbit for five months. Even if everything had worked perfectly, and if Laika had been lucky enough to have plenty of food, water and oxygen, she would have died when the spaceship re-entered the atmosphere after 2,570 orbits. A British website, the Guardian called the experiment “animal cruelty in the name of exploration.”

Legend has it that Laika returned to earth as a ghost and has roamed the streets of Moscow ever since. Following her trace, and filmed from a dog’s perspective, SPACE DOGS accompanies the adventures of her descendants: two street dogs living in today’s Moscow.

In case we missed it, Eclipse the dog, known for riding the bus alone to the dog park, has died.

Time now for another Barking Lot edition of…The Naughty Dog.

That’s it for this week. Thanks for stopping by.

We’d really appreciate it if you forward this on to other dog lovers you know. Let them have some fun!

See ya, BARK, next Saturday!