Offbeat Enough

In one large city a telephone operator traced the source of an emergency phone call because the caller would not speak. The phone only emitted unusual noises. When the ambulance crew arrived at the scene, they found a basset hound who had dialed 911 in the process of chewing up the phone.

In 1978, New York City passed a law that required residents to clean up after their dogs. Until that time, people had to walk around 54 tons of dog poop deposited daily.

There was a dog (part collie) who liked to take baths and learned how to turn the water on and off and adjust the faucets to get the right temperature.

Dogs see only black, white and gray. They can hear much better than humans, though. They can hear sounds ten times farther away than we can.

There was a dog in Grand Rapids, Michigan that was twice as large as an adult man. This St. Bernard weighed 310 pounds.

The original reason for the haircuts that poodles get was to make swimming easier for them.

The only things that are taxed in Ile de Sein, France, are dogs.

An average dog costs its owner about $1.40 per day. In ten years, $5,000!

If dogs were criminals, you could keep track of them by taking their noseprints, which are as unique as human fingerprints.

Americans spend four times more money on dog food than on baby food.

Experiments have suggested that a dog’s sense of smell may be one million times more sensitive or accurate than a human’s.

Some advantages of owning a dog for elderly people: 1. The well-trained large dog gives a sense of security or safety. 2. The dog can be a reason to get regular exercise - going for walks. 3. Touching your pet reduces tension and blood pressure.

In England, pit bulls, the breed of dogs which are sometimes bred to be vicious, may be outlawed, meaning all 10,000 or so of them in that country may be sentenced to death.