February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
Canine shrinks
The term "It’s a dog’s life" will take on new meaning in Belfast soon when group of university experts sets up the first center in the United Kingdom devoted to the study of canine behavior
The Canine Behavior Center at the School of Psychology in Queens University works alongside animal organizations worldwide to further the understanding of dog behavior, reports The Belfast Telegraph.
The center will study the behavior of every member of the species, including wild dogs, wolves, jackals, dingoes and African hunting dogs, as well as domestic pet breeds.
What are the benefits one might ask? Dog owners can get expert advice on all aspects of their pets’ behavior, particularly dog behavior problems, the experts say.
"Behavior therapy for dogs is a relatively new science," explained Dr. Deborah Wells, one of the center’s researchers.
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"But demand for such a practice is growing steadily. We have already dealt with numerous dog behavior problems ranging from relatively minor issues such as tail-chasing or pulling on the lead, to more serious difficulties such as aggression or destruction."
Courtroom scare
Limerick was the site of a frightening court room drama recently when a man who Gardai believe is responsible for a summertime murder was set free because of an administrative snafu only to be hauled back into custody a few hours later when the relevant paperwork had been sorted out.
The man’s brief release sent reporters scurrying for the phones and gardai raising cynical eyebrows as an alleged murderer walked away free, the Limerick Post reported.
A selection of evidence against the man was not physically in the court when the case was called. Unaware that the evidence was literally on its way from state solicitor’s offices to the court, prosecutors requested an extension. But they were refused by the judge who declared that the state had had "ample" time to prepare its case and that the delay was "pre-emptory."
The man had been remanded on bail after the fatal shooting a 21-year-old in a local nightclub. After being released on the technicality, he was rearrested two hours later and formally charged.
Criminal choice
A prisoner being held in the custody of the Limerick Garda was given just a glimpse of high-flying freedom recently when he was asked to choose who should get to fly to Paris for free on Concorde.
The bizarre choice of arbitrators came about after Anna Curtin was told she had won a trip for two to Paris in the National Lottery, reports the Limerick Leader newspaper.
Curtin decided to take along one of her daughters, but couldn’t choose which one would be her lucky companion on the supersonic airliner. So she called a friend who works as a Garda. That friend put the two names in a cap and asked a man who was in custody at the time to draw out a name. No details were available about the man and his alleged crime, or, for that matter, what he thought of his task.
Art apes life
Two teenagers were given a stern warning recently after the art project they claimed to be participating in backfired and landed them in trouble with the law.
Waterford Today reports that the two lads approached several houses in the Knockboy area wearing gorilla masks and startled local residents by peering in through their windows.
What might have been a harmless prank was taken a little more seriously by the local Garda, which was furious about the supposed art project that sent gardai and army bomb experts chasing mysterious parachutes through the town recently.
The two boys said they had been asked to undertake the project in school. Garda were skeptical of their artistic intentions and sent the boys to apologize to neighbors.