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Dog missing in Burns Road area after house fire

By Howard B. Owens

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A house fire struck the Mathew Pribek family residence Saturday, at 5581 Burns Road, Medina, and Pribek believes both of their dogs got out safely. One was found and one is still missing.

The residence is just over the county line, so the Pribeks are asking anyone in the North Oakfield area to on the look out for Pepper.

"She is friendly, but scared and lost," Pribek said. "Our family is desperate to have her back and are prepared to reward anyone who finds her."

If you are in the area of Burns Road, East Shelby Road or Albion Road, North Oakfield, watch for Pepper and if you find her, call Mathew Pribek at (585) 861-0211.

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Batavia residents cared for fawn until mom returned

By Howard B. Owens

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Ross Fanara and his wife found themselves the unexpected babysitters of a newborn fawn over the weekend.

Fanara said they fed the baby two containers of goat milk and waited for mom to return, which she did less than 24 hours after the fawn turned up on their doorstep.

Lost dog found on Pike Road

By Howard B. Owens

A lost dog has been found on Pike Road by an area resident.

The dog was pulling 50 feet of cable.

A deputy is responding.

City will create task force to study best ways to handle local deer population

By Howard B. Owens

The City Council agreed by consent Monday night to move forward with a recommendation to create a task force to study what to do to with the local deer population.

There are no specific recommendations now, but council members agreed it's an issue the city needs to take a closer look at.

"I took a walk out there last fall and there is a swath of damage as wide as a street through the woods and meandering through people's property taking care of all their landscaping," said Council President Eugene Jankowski. "There's a path of dead vegetation all the way out to the edge of the city."

City Manager Jason Molino is expected to present a plan for creating a task force and providing it with directions on the scope and timing of its work.

St. Joe's students give generously to animal shelter in Albion

By Howard B. Owens

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Students in the sixth, seventh and eighth grades of the Saint Joseph School in Batavia, all members of the National Junior Honor Society, collected useful items and monetary contributions for the PAWS Animal Shelter in Albion over the course of two weeks. All SJS students and their families donated pet items, pet food, cleaning supplies, and money to the fundraiser. Friday, the NJHS members delivered more than 300 items and $150 to PAWS.

Info and photo submitted by Alicia Palmer.

Saving baby ducks in Batavia

By Howard B. Owens

This video is from Christopher Weicher at Batavia High School. He said each year the same mallard duck returns to the school to lay her eggs in the courtyard, where's sheltered from predators. The problem arises after the ducklings hatch and have no way on their own to get out of the courtyard for food and water, so staff gently nudges the family toward the doors and the great outdoors.

Saturday, Amy Scott sent in these pictures of city firefighters saving ducklings from a storm drain.

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'Duke' back home safe after ride in van reported stolen

By Howard B. Owens

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    Jeffrey Johnson

A 28-year-old Oakfield resident, Jeffrey Johnson, is charged with criminal possession of stolen property, 3rd, in connection with the alleged theft earlier this week of a van from a residence on Ellicott Street, Batavia.

The incredible part of the story is that the owner's dog, Duke, was in the Toyota Sienna, and after the vehicle was recovered in Rochester, Duke was returned to Betty and John O'Brien.

"Our fear was something happened to the dog, because Duke is a very gentle dog," Betty Carlet Cleare, a reporter with our news partner 13WHAM. "He could have sold him, he could have beaten him, and he could have done any number of things to him. The gods were with us this week."

Duke is apparently so gentle that he did not make a sound when the van was taken.

"He didn't say a peep," Betty said, "which we're thankful of, because that's why I think he survived."

Photo: Fox on the run in Le Roy

By Howard B. Owens

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Eric Almeter sent in this photo of a fox he spotted trotting through Le Roy at Route 19 and Union at about 8:30 this morning.

Photo: Young eagle finds a meal

By Howard B. Owens

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A reader sent in this picture from Sunday afternoon of a young bald eagle that he spotted feasting on a fawn that was dead near the side of the road on Dodgeson Road near Ridge Road, Alexander.

Lost dogs, looking for home

By Howard B. Owens

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The employees at Castilone Chrysler Dodge and Jeep took in these two handsome canines they found wandering and lost near the dealership.

"They are both very nice and want to go home," Sara Stockwell said.

She's hoping the owner will claim the dogs by 5:30 p.m.

UPDATE 4:30 p.m.: The owner has picked up the dogs.

Missing Pets: Reggie and Zoe missing in Pavilion

By Howard B. Owens

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Reggie, on the left, a 3-year-old Rottweiler, and Zoe, a 5-year-old Austrailian shepard, have been missing in the Asbury Road and Route 20 area of Pavilion since yesterday afternoon. Owner Crystal Geitner thinks they may have ran off into the woods chasing a deer. 

If you can assist in locating them, call Jaret (716) 474-1881 or Crystal (716) 560-3644.    

Dog trainer becomes first certified animal behavior consultant in Genesee County

By Howard B. Owens

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We think of dogs who bite, lunge, snarl and bark as aggressive, but that isn't necessarily the case, according to Tori Ganino, co-owner of Calling All Dogs, on Harvester Avenue.

Those behaviors are often a response born of fear, Ganino said, and dogs can be taught to be less fearful in situations they find stressful.

"What we do is train them that these situations aren't so bad, that you don't have to be afraid, you don't have to bite to make the person or thing go away,"  Ganino said. "Instead, we're going to help you feel better about it. So we change their emotional responses from a fearful one to a good one so that when I they see this person coming along, it's not such a bad thing. It's a good thing."

Ganino is a certified animal behavioralist, certified by the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants, the only such certified consultant in Genesee County.

The certification process includes more than 400 hours of coursework, 500 hours of work with clients and a 12-part, essay-based exam. Certification also requires ongoing training and keeping abreast of the latest research-based behavior and training techniques.

Ganino started on the path toward certification after becoming the owner of a dog who had become fearful after a bad experience with a man in a pet store where the dog had been available for adoption. Ganino said in certain situations, the dog would just shake with fear. She wanted to help her pup handle fearful situations better so she sought some training.

The first training class used what's known as "flooding," which is repeated exposure to the fearful situation until the dog learns not to fear the stimulus any longer, usually by just emotionally shutting down. Ganino didn't feel good about that technique for her dog, so she sought out alternatives and discovered animal behavior training.

"I wanted to find a way to help him feel better about the situation and not put him in a situation he couldn't handle," Ganino said.

Unlike techniques that rely on punishment or dominance, behavioral training is about positive reinforcement for correct behavior.

If a dog snarls and lunges at certain people, the owner shouldn't scold, but rather divert the dog's attention, elicit the desired response and then reward the dog for the correct behavior.

"If he's in a situation where he's growling, he's over the point where he's comfortable with what's going on, so you need to take him away from it so can get him at a place where he's comfortable and then start the training," Ganino said. "That's where the behavior work really starts. You can't reinforce the emotion. You can make changes to get him to feel better, but at the time that he's seeing that person and thinking, 'I'm upset and I'm getting yelled at, too,' he learns that it validates his concerns. He's feeling a threat. It's not a good situation and he's getting yelled at."

Dogs look to their owners for leadership and an owner who is upset in a bad situation is telling a dog "This is a situation where you should be upset."

"With behavior work, we don't say, 'I don't want you to bark at this person,' " Ganino said. "Instead, we say, 'Why don't you look at me. Why don't we go over here and do this.' because 'no' just means stop, but you're not helping him understand what he's supposed to do. When he's lunging at another person, back him up and work with him so he realizes, 'I can look at that person, but what am I supposed to do when I look at him? I'll look back at mom and dad and they'll guide me through it. We'll play. We'll get rewards for it and then we'll go on our way.' "

Ganino owns Calling All Dogs with her husband, Rich, and while Ganino specializes in working with fearful and aggressive dogs, Calling All Dogs offers a range of obedience classes and personal training sessions as well as doggie day care.

A typical six-week class is $99, but on a space-available basis, owners of foster dogs can sign up for free classes.

Well-behaved dogs are socialized, get plenty of exercise and ample mental stimulation. They know what's expected of them and can count on their owners to provide a stable routine. Obedience classes are as much about training the owners as training the dogs, and it helps the owners understand how to avoid situations that maybe their dogs can't handle and then raising the fear factor.

"Any dog can have that emotional change to 'I'm upset and I'm scared,' " Ganino said. "A lot of times biting is a response to 'I'm afraid.' We can help a dog feel better, but it's up to the owners not to put them in situations they're not ready to handle."

At least four cats adopted during event at Petco

By Howard B. Owens

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This kitty was known as Porky until today, but Porky will soon have a new name, undecided at the time of the picture, says new parent Diana Fox, of Holley.

Fox was one of at least four people to adopt cats today during the Volunteer For Animals 50th Anniversary Fall Fur Event at Petco this afternoon.

The Volunteers for animals will continue the 50th anniversary festivities later this month with its annual Fur Ball. The 12th annual event is at 6 p.m., Oct. 24, at the Days Inn in Batavia. For more information, click here.

Rocky report

By Howard B. Owens

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It's been just over a week since Rocky joined our family and during the week I've been asked several times how he's doing.

He's doing great. He's fit in well.

He and Pachuco are getting along fine. As for the cats, they've gotten used to him. If they challenge him, he backs down. If they run, he gives chase, and a sharp "no" usually ends the chase.

He's a ball of energy at times. He's loving and loves to be a companion. 

When we got him, his only apparent discipline training was "sit." I almost have him doing "down" pretty well now. He's walking on leash 100-percent better, at my side with no tugging.

In other words, he's displayed no apparent behavioral problems.  

One thing I forgot to mention in our post about adopting Rocky is a big thank you to the volunteers with Volunteers for Animals and the staff at the Animal Shelter. They obviously did a great job caring for Rocky and they were so, so helpful during our adoption process, full of information and useful advice.  

Previously:

Rocky has a new home -- ours

By Howard B. Owens

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Remember Rocky, the dog whom authorities say was scalded by hot water? The owner and her boyfriend where charged with crimes, and the owner surrendered Rocky to the county for adoption.

Rocky walked this week in the Oakfield Labor Day Parade and I was surprised to learn nobody had shown any interest in adopting him. On the spot, he kind of muzzled his way into my heart, so after much thought and conversation with Billie and a couple of visits to the animal shelter, Billie and I decided we would adopt him ourselves.

He's a real sweetheart, very gentle, loves people and other dogs and doesn't care much about cats. We had him with Pachuco in Kiwanis Park today to ensure they would get along, and they hit it off and have been doing well together this afternoon.

We think we can give Rocky a good home.

Previously:

Lost cat at MedTech Center

By Howard B. Owens

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This orange tabby kept trying to get into the MedTech Center on R. Steven Hawley Drive (across from GCC) this morning. Workers there think it's a house cat who is lost. It's being kept at the nursing office. Call (585) 343-0055, ext. 6355.

Found cat at Alexander Elementary School

By Howard B. Owens

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This kitten was found by staff on school grounds at Alexander Elementary School. It appears to have had recent surgery because of the purple dye on its fur. If it's your cat, contact the school.

UPDATE 2:42 p.m.: The owner has been located.

Cat found on Alexander Road, Alexander

By Howard B. Owens

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A resident of Alexander Road, Alexander, found this apparently lost cat. The cat has a flea collar, so the cat definitely has a home and an owner. Contact 585-813-4560.

Deer abound in Batavia, but solutions hard to find

By Howard B. Owens

Deer are causing damage in Batavia and residents say the problem is as bad as they can ever remember it, but that doesn't mean a solution will be easy to find.

DEC Biologist Art Kirsch led a two-hour meeting on the issue Wednesday night, but offered no clear answers and said it could take years for Batavia to thin its deer herd to a less destructive level.

City Manager Jason Molino agreed.

"We've got the right folks at the state level to help us," Molino said. "We've just got to get the right folks in the community to participate and try to come up with a solution. Unfortunately, the solution isn't a cookie-cutter solution and I don't think the time frame is either. I don't think what anyone can predict what type of obstacles we might receive in the process."

Several residents told of the problems they face, including Gus Galliford.

"We're concerned about the deer just ravaging our property," Galliford said. "They're coming in numbers we've never seen before. I built my house 25 years ago and lived in the neighborhood all that time, but after this past spring, they're just destroying the whole thing."

The deer have cost his family thousands and thousands of dollars, Galliford said.

Kirsch said an overpopulation of deer are a problem on at least three levels: ecological damage, car accidents and transmission of disease.

His best suggestions for now: fencing, repellents, and fertility control.

Molino suggested the city may need to set up a committee to study the issue and recommend a solution.

Reporting for story provided by The Batavian's news partner, WBTA AM/FM.

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