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Sonoran News
Serving Cave Creek, Carefree, North Scottsdale, North Phoenix, Rio Verde, Anthem, The Boulders, Desert Mountain, Legend Trail, Pinnacle Peak, Terravita, Tramonto, Troon, Tatum Ranch and Winfield.
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The most read weekly newspaper in North Maricopa County

38,500+ Circulation • August 17 - 23, 2005 • Vol. 11 No. 33 • sonorannews.com

OUTDOORS & PETS


Bonnie’s Barkery celebrating one year anniversary
    CAVE CREEK – Bonnie’s Barkery, a unique health food store for dogs and cats, is celebrating its one year anniversary from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 10 at Bonnie’s Barkery, 30845 N. Cave Creek Road, Suite 115.
    Part of the celebration includes bringing together other local pet-related businesses such as veterinarians, dog groomers, pet trainers and behaviorists.
    There also will be miniseminars starting at 10 a.m. from Micki Voisard, Master Dog Chef, Dog Chefs of America, who will show you how simple it is to prepare delicious and nutritious food for your pet.
    At 1 p.m. local author and qui dong practitioner Krista Cantrell, M.A. will discuss Four Ways to Have More Fun with Your Dog (and solve problems too!) and autograph her new book, “Tao of Puppies: How to raise a good dog without really trying .” Reservations are accepted, but not required for either event. To RSVP, please call Bonnie's Barkery at 480-502-7973.
    Maricopa County Animal Care and Control will be on site with dogs and cats looking for new homes. Anyone adopting an animal at the event will receive 20 percent off all purchases at Bonnie’s Barkery.
    “This is my way of thanking all of my customers for helping make my first year a success,” said Sarah Dixon, owner of Bonnie’s Barkery.
    “The main reason I opened this store is to help others learn about the best health options for their pets.” Other activities include a 50/50 raffle, with 50 percent of the proceeds going to Friends of Animal Care and Control, plus fun games for you and your dogs to play like “Bobbing for Bully Sticks,” and a “Popcorn Catching Contest.” The inspiration for Bonnie's Barkery comes from the journey Dixon started a few years ago when she began researching pet foods to better address health issues for her Pomeranian named Bonnie.
    This was a turning point for Sarah. She switched from a career in Quality Engineering and opened Bonnie's Barkery – a pet store specializing in natural foods and holistic remedies – so she could spread the word about the positive effects of good diets and alternative treatments for pets.
    Bonnie's Barkery provides nutritious food options like raw food diets for dogs and cats and other diets that contain free-range, growth-hormonefree and organic ingredients.
    In addition to nutritious pet foods and organic treats, Bonnie's Barkery also provides aromatherapy-inspired shampoos, hypo-allergenic bedding and dietary supplements.      





Dad Kevin leads Ry and Scendo to
the winner’s circle.
Triple C Corral      
A roundup of horse happenings in and around Cave Creek and Carefree
By Peggy Dyer Brock
The Triple C Corral – that vast space in and around Cave Creek and Carefree, out into New River, Desert Hills, stretching from Rio Verde to Anthem and the northern pastures of Phoenix, Scottsdale, and County – has lost a dear fellow horseman and the community will mourn his passing for a long, long time.
    Hundreds turned out Monday morning for the service and reception that bid Wayne Wilson goodbye. Family member after family member, friend after friend, talked of Wayne's love for his family, particularly the grand kids, even everyone else's kids.
    Wayne would be smiling that great smile about this week's column subject, too. "Good going, little whippersnapper!" he'd say, looking back, perhaps a little wistfully. at the early days in his life-long journey with horses.
    Our photo star on 3-year-old Thoroughbred Chopin-Crescendo is Ry, the youngest son of Kevin and Pam Eikleberry, third generation Thoroughbred breeders and trainers ... a 16-year-old boy whose years of learning about horses and months of arduous training for the race track recently paid off – big time! On July 8, Ry won his first race as a professional jockey, and he ran it on "Scendo." Ry and Scendo grew up together.
    Mom Pam said Ry trained with several of the ranch horses, but it was in the stars for Ry to get his first win on Scendo.
    In the late 90s, when Ry was drinking in everything at the family's Triple R Ranch (named for sons, Rustin, Rhet and Ry) in Cave Creek, Kevin and Pam bought a mare, naming her "Pammer" for Ry's mom's nickname earned for feisty demeanor. Sired up with the ranch's elegant stallion Chopin, Pammer decided to drop their equally-feisty little colt a month early, and it was Ry who was in attendance, helped him stand up and to nurse for the first time.
    It was Ry who did the ground work and prepped two-year-old Scendo for the race someone else rode and won.
    Ry got his gallop license about the same time Scendo came back to the Track after a six-month turn-out to grow. Ry galloped Scendo every morning, did all the workouts, readying the horse and himself for the races.
    Dad Kevin had told him that when Scendo was ready to run and Ry had gotten his apprentice jockey license, he would be able to race on Scendo. That turned out to be July 9 at Arapaho Park in Aurora, Colo. – the day Ry crossed the finish line two full lengths ahead of the field.
    Way to go, whippersnapper! We can watch as Ry's career blooms, this season at Turf Paradise.  

At Arapahoe Park in Aurora, Colo., the announcer shouts, “And it’s 16-year old Ry Eikleberry on No. 3 Chopin-Crescendo, ahead by two lengths, crossing
the finish line for his first ever win as a professional jockey!”

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He’s big and loveable
Consider taking Ollie into your home. A rescue dog, Ollie is fostered by a dog trainer. He is trained and housebroken. He loves children and would be a great dog for someone who doesn’t have time to work with a puppy.
    Would also make a companion pal for somebody to love. Call 480-488-2021 ext. 36 for info.
     

     

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Ghost of a chance
Casper is a Maine Coon mix 5-year-old neutered male, large, with grey medium length hair. Good with cats, unsure dogs and children. Casper was found with his sibling Pebbles. Current on all shots. Felv negative. Call 480-488-9890 for info.
      

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Rosebud and friend Ceasar visit Dr. Pitman and assistant Meagan at Noah’s Ark Mobile Clinic.
Veterinarian on wheels
Dr. Ted Pitman makes pet care more convenient
       CAVE CREEK – Rosebud, a 7-year-old English bulldog, wasn’t sure about entering the veterinarian’s office for a check-up.
        She sniffed the entrance steps side-to-side before tentatively placing a paw on the lowest step. With a little encouragement from Dr. Ted Pitman, Rosebud summoned up the courage to negotiate the remaining steps before giving the office interior a thorough once-over.
        Rosebud’s reticence was understandable. After all, it’s not every day the vet’s office drives to the pet. But Pitman, who recently started Noah’s Ark Mobile Clinic by outfitting a customized 26-foot vehicle as a mobile veterinarian’s office, plans on making his house and driveway calls a much more common experience for pets and their owners.
        “I enjoy doing house calls and there seemed to be more and more clients requesting the service,” Pitman said.
        “And I think there’s really a need for it.” Pitman, a veterinarian in Arizona for 36 years, owned Hayden North Animal Clinic until he sold in November, 2003. He thought he was ready to retire but it didn’t last long. Wanting to get back into owning his own practice but not wanting to do the same thing as before, Dr. Pitman saw the need for “mobile” veterinary services.
        “The people who are going to find it beneficial are those with multiple animals, and the older patients who have difficulty getting in and out of vehicles and those who just don’t like traveling,” he said.
        “If at the end of every car ride it seems they’re going to get something unpleasant, like a vaccination or whatever, it’s not any fun to take them. They get frantic right from the start.
        Cats don’t like to travel for the most part. Older clients, disabled people, hopefully it will become a vital service for them, too.
        “And just busy people – the veterinary service doesn’t have to mean a big disruption to their daily schedule. We can pick up their pet in the morning before work, do what procedures need to be done and deliver them back home in the afternoon. No longer must you schedule time away from work to provide quality care for your pets,” said Pitman.
        The vehicle is custom built by LaBoit, Inc. in Columbus, Ohio. It is outfitted with all the equipment you would find in a standard practice. Dr. Pitman can provide exams, vaccinations, dentistry, x-rays, inhouse diagnostic and pre-surgical blood analysis, spays, neuters, declaws, general surgery and even at-home euthanasias.
        Dr. Pitman is waiving the “house call fee” for first-time clients, which saves you $45.
        All the other fees are pretty much the same as a standard practice. He is also providing Vaccine Clinics emphasizing the new “Rattlesnake” vaccine.
        “Rattlesnake bites are a significant hazard for dogs and can cause serious injury or even death. This new vaccine will help protect your dog,” explains Pitman.
    The vaccine clinics are from 7 to 10 a.m. and will be held on the following days: Aug. 27 and Oct. 8 in Cave Creek/Carefree (location to be determined); Sept. 10 at Rawhide; Sept. 17 and Oct. 15 in Fountain Hills (location to be determined); and Sept. 24 at Reata Pass in North Scottsdale.
    Should you have any questions regarding Noah’s Ark Mobile Clinic or the vaccine clinics, contact Dr. Pitman at 480-585-NOAH (6624).   
  
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Snakes are out – ‘Don’t Mess with Me, Dude’
By Stevie Denison
    As fall approaches, snakes will be more prevalent. This includes the rattlesnake, our least-favorite predator.
    A rattlesnake is a pit viper with a wide, triangular head, narrow neck, rattles and the ultimate in camouflage apparel.
It injects its venom through two hollow fangs in the upper jaw.
    A rattler will strike, then release and wait for the venom to do its job. That job is to immobilize prey, as well as to transport chemicals which start digestion by damaging tissues, red blood cells and, in the case of the Mojave, the central nervous system. In a word, these snakes are dangerous.
    The good news is that they want nothing to do with you.  Eighty percent of the humans bitten are those who invite disaster.  One of the basic rules of desert living is to watch where you’re going and never put your hand where you can’t see around it.
    Our pets don’t have the advantage of reading this newspaper, however. Your dog may be nosing around in the undergrowth and get nailed before he knows what hit him.  The face is the most common area for snakebite. Fortunately, there is room to swell and it is not near vital organs.
    You will notice quick swelling, heavy bruising, and your pet will be in great pain.
    The important thing to remember is to keep calm and walk, don’t run, to your vet.  You don’t want to rush the venom through your pet’s system by increasing heart rate.
    The best treatment is antivenom which increases chance of survival, decreases pain, and speeds recovery. This stuff is not easily come by and is very expensive. You owe it to your dog.
    Simply snake training your dog can avoid the preceding ugly scenario. I know of two places in town that do this.
Ann Austin (480-488-1588) is in Carefree. She encourages the family to become involved thereby observing your dog’s body language when encountering a snake. Each dog is different and his reaction can alert you to potential danger.
    Partners dog training facility in Cave Creek (480-5956700) also offers snake training.  The rate for training is about $40 to $50 as opposed to $1,500 and up if your dog is bitten. It is a good investment in time and dollars; a fascinating experience where everybody learns.  

    Stevie Denison is the owner of Stevie’s Pets, a bonded and insured pet sitting service based in Cave Creek. She can be reached at 480-948-5261 or 602-615-4979.