Ditto's Page, ditto, real estate for dogs, lake view realty, Betty Bauer, Steve Kreher

Long time readers of the Chit Chat Newsletter probably remember this story, but I believe it needs to be constantly told. For more recent readers, let me tell you about Ditto, the Lake View Realty Office mascot. He is eleven years old now and gets more loveable each day, but his story with Lake View Realty began 10 years ago this past July.

That particular July we had had several days of rain and it was a little chilly by July standards. A friend of the office called and said she was bringing over a Shih-Tzu puppy her friend Connie, a policewoman, had found running around on Broadway. Connie had chased it for 3 days before she finally caught him. The puppy still had tags on with a name and phone number in Romeoville . (Romeoville is close to Joliet.) Connie called the number and told them she found their puppy. Their response was, “We don't have a dog”, and hung up.,

The reason she was bringing him to Lake View Realty was because it looked so much like Ming, our office mascot (at that time a 9 year old Shih-Tzu). When she came in with the puppy, we all fell in love with him and he has been here ever since. He was named Ditto because he looked so much like Ming.

The reason this story needs to be told is because , we believe he was probably a Christmas present the previous December. We also, believe he was most likely mistreated.

As he grew he most likely became a bigger responsibility the family had anticipated. They probably decided he was too much trouble and the best way to get rid of him was dump him in the City, which is exactly what they did.

So many children ask for puppies and kittens for Christmas and their birthdays. Remember that pets are a great responsibility. In many ways they are like children. They have to be fed, given water, walked, played with and above all loved. Pets can’t speak. The only way they can communicate is by barking, growling or meowing. The only way they can defend themselves is by biting or scratching. As much as the pets need to be trained, children (and some adults) have to be taught how to treat them. If you must give up a pet, please give it to a pet rescue organization. Not all animals can be as lucky as Ditto.

Ditto's email address

(773) 472-2986

fax (773) 871-6933

DOGS ON DAMEN

Peter Volpe (Vice-President, Lincoln Park Savings Bank),

Ditto (Lake View Realty, rescued Mascot)

and Steve Kreher (Lake View Realty)

at Dogs on Damen, Sponsored by Lincoln Park Savings Bank

According to Peter Volpe, the June 3rd and 4th Dogs on Damen

was one of the most successful events yet with over 125 dogs being adopted.

I recently received the following email from a friend of mine:

Dear Ditto,

I have a problem I was wondering if you could help with it. It’s a little embarrassing and I thought you might have some ideas.
A little while ago, my mom just yelled, “Wow, Steve kicks *##” in response to an email she had received. Being a parrot and all, I repeated it. Then of course, I have to hear “Bellaaaaa, stop swearing!!”

You see Ditto, my mom uses bad words sometimes. I can’t help it, I just repeat them. I’m afraid, someday the vet will refuse to board me as I am a bad influence on the other birds!
Is there anything I can do to get my mom to stop swearing so that I too won’t swear?

Thanks for you help,
Your Feathered Friend,
Bella

Dear Bella,

Humans! What can you do about them? What would we do without them? Sometimes though, they are just so embarrassing! You wouldn’t believe some of the things Steve does.

Now to get to your problem. The first thing you try is to be stern. Just say very sternly, “No! That is Bad!” You may have to repeat it a couple of times, but after that you have probably lost their attention and they have moved on to something else and can’t figure out why you are saying that.

If that doesn’t work, you can try the spray bottle of water, but don’t let them see where it comes from. Spray them in the face and say, “Bad!!”.

If neither of those work , you may have to resort to the rolled up newspaper—preferably not one that has been on the bottom of you cage but, that might get their attention.

If none of these work, you may have a difficult Alpha person and you may have to call in a professional trainer.

I hope one of these works.
Your Furry Friend,
Ditto
Bella

Ditto’s Friends Calendar

Revised Permit Plan for
Chicago Park District Dog Friendly Areas
(Part One)

Recently, the Administrator of the Cook County Department of animal and Rabies Control, acting under Section 20-15 of the Cook County Animal and Rabies Control Ordinance has issued Regulation VIII to regulate the operation of designated Dog Friendly Areas (DFAs) (also known as Dog Parks). within Cook County.

The Park District has developed this permit plan for use of the DFAs within the Chicago Park District to make them operate in compliance with the Code of the Chicago Park District including Chapter VII, Section B 10 of the Code relating to :Bringing Animals in Park”, with its own administrative decisions, with City of Chicago ordinances and with Cook County ordinances and regulations. In addition to a City of Chicago license and current rabies vaccination, any dog in a DFA must have had an examination, additional vaccinations and a recent fecal sample test.

Conditions For Entering DFAs Chicago Park District requires people escorting dogs in DFAs must have obtained from a licensed veterinarian permits and registration tags for all dogs issued pursuant to the requirements in Regulation VIII. People bringing dogs into a DFA must have both a permit with them and a registration tag for each dog. The registration tag, and Cook County Rabies Tag must be on the dog’s collar or harness. The permit and registration tag may be used at any officially sanctioned Park District DFA. Any permit and registration tag shall be valid only for a single season no matter when purchased. A single season is defined as the period running from January 1st of any year through December 31st of the same year.

Operations of DFAs Each DFA will be posted with the following instructions:
1. Only dogs that are healthy, fully immunized and dewormed may use this area. People bringing dogs into this area must have with them a permit for the current season for each dog and each dog must have a current Cook County Rabies Tag and a registration tag for the current season on their collar.
2. Owners are legally responsible for their dogs and any injuries caused by their dogs.
3. Owners must remain with their dogs and dogs must be watched at all times.
4. Dogs must be leashed prior to entering and upon leaving the area. Gates to this DFA must remain closed at all times.
5. Owners must immediately clean up after their dogs. Failure to do can result in a fine up to $500. (Chicago City Ordinance 7-12-420)
6. Dogs with a known history of, or who exhibit, dangerous behavior are prohibited.
7. Children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult.
8. Only three dogs per person allowed
9. Puppies under four months and female dogs in heat cycle are prohibited.
10 Failure to have valid permit and registration tag, or the violation of these rules may result in the commission of a misdemeanor under Cook County ordinance subject $1,000 fine and/or six months in jail.
The Chicago Park District shall also post a sign at each DFA explaining how permits and registration tags allowing dogs to enter a DFA may be obtained.
Permits and registration tags for dogs using DFAs will be issued by licensed veterinarians in Cook County who participate in the permitting plan.
Part 2 of this article will be published in next month’s Chit Chat with the addresses of Dog Friendly Areas.

The following by an unknown author was posted on the Muffin Diabetic Pet web site ( www.petdiabetes.net ). It is just something I wanted to share with my readers.

Dear Lord, Please watch over our humans, they are so weak. They have no claws or teeth, they can’t run fast or fly away, neither can they burrow or build a nest in which to be safe. They smell bad, do strange things that aren’t altogether intelligent, have no real ability to communicate with us, although we are able to figure out what they want.

Lord, grant US the ability to watch over our humans, care for them, cheer them when they are down, make them laugh, smile and shower them with our love, We pray that we can bring a little joy into their otherwise mundane existence.
Lord, please let them know that when we insist on getting attention, it is so we can check their emotional well being and boost their morale. When we pester them for different foods, toys, etc, it’s so they will learn to see us in ways they hadn’t considered, bringing them closer and back into the fold which they are part of but keep forgetting about.

They expect us to know what they want even though sometimes they don’t know what we want. Some of them really try and we know they love us but some of them are so dumb yet our love for them remains intensely unfaltering.

Lord, when we die, please make sure to send us ahead to where ever our humans are going to be, so we can pave the way for them, vouch for them and be there for them when they too die...please allow us to continue proving that humans are worth the effort. You placed these humans in dominion over us, but you charged us with the task of caring for them and SHOWING them your love every day, through us.

God, bless these mortal humans, they know not that we are their guardian angels sent in love to task them so that they may grow to be part of your plan. You and Us God..we’ll bring them back into the fold...You and US!

I want to be able to talk to all of my friends, both two and four legged and find out what they are thinking about.

I will be giving you hints on what is cool for dogs and other pets, a lot of good advise about where to eat, where to shop, and of course tips on real estate.

I will also run photos of cute pets, preferable cute girl dogs that I meet on my walks.