In case you missed it – Railey: Forget the election; focus on protecting real friends: our pets

Richmond Times-Dispatch Op/Ed, November 11, 2012, John Railey

“Geneva ‘Eva’ Railey is the curious sort.” – RTD

I was trying to write about a serious subject, the presidential election, as I worked on this column Tuesday night, watching CNN and the national poker game play out on the red-state, blue-state map. I was hanging on each breathless new report from Wolf Blitzer as he’d turn to John King and his endless updates of the map. President Obama was waltzing ever closer to what would be his win over Mitt Romney.But my Shetland sheep dog, Geneva “Eva” Railey (named both for a great-grandmother named Geneva and Eva Peron of Argentina), kept interrupting, dropping her favorite ball beside me and giving me a nose nudge to throw it for her.

Of course I did, every time.

But not being a perfect parent (my wife is a lot better), I kept my eyes on the screen as I played with Eva. After all, I’d talked to her on our daily walks about the election, I couldn’t believe she wasn’t showing more interest. Sometimes she’d get tired of my yelling at the TV screen, take her toy and trot off to her favorite room in the house, the one where she can stretch out on her pillow and stare out a front window, barking at passersby. But then she’d come back and start licking my hand, nudging me to play. I started thinking that pets are the serious subject I should be writing about.  Continue reading at the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Note: It is Veteran’s Day, and given this post is not focused on veterans, you can read my unique tie with my dog and the service from my very first blog post, here.

We love this: Wine Dogs

Richmond Times-Dispatch reports: At Veritas Vineyards and Winery, wine dogs play important role.  Although it is near Crozet, just west of Charlottesville, we love this vineyard.  We do need to work on bringing back their dog-friendly Starry Nights summertime events, however.

Hank, a brown and white hound, lounged in the shade of the grapevines at Veritas Vineyards and Winery in Afton recently.

He rose from his spot in the grass and padded off through the lines of grapes, patrolling the vineyard for unwanted critters.

Hank is one of five wine dogs Veritas keeps in the vineyard. Their jobs are to keep deer and small animals, like groundhogs, away from the fruit by chasing them away and barking. Their scent also deters bears from coming to the vineyard, said Ruth Terry, who takes care of the winery’s animals.

“They try to keep more grapes on the vine,” Terry said.  Continue reading at RTD.