By David DiBenedetto

I don’t know about you, but watching the ongoing disaster in the Gulf has me feeling pretty helpless. If I didn’t have a day job or a family, I’d hop in the truck and drive down to Louisiana to do some volunteer work. Like many of you, I’ve fished the Gulf (Venice, in particular), and I know there are few places like that on Earth. In fact, I’ve caught dolphin and wahoo with Captain Devlin Roussel around what was the Deepwater Horizons rig.

But I just heard about a group called Matters of Trust, based in San Francisco, that is collecting dog hair to stuff into booms and to weave into oil-sopping mats. Dog hair it turns out is oil adsorbent, which means it attracts oil as opposed to absorbing it. It seems dog groomers across the country are now shipping clipped hair to the organization’s warehouse to be stuffed into booms. Is this just a PR play? Hard to say for sure. Hanes did donate some 50,000 pairs of nylon stockings.

All of this works nicely in my recent plans to give Pritchard a trim. (For the record, the hilarious photo above ended up in my inbox. Gives new meaning to the term guard dog.) It’ll be 90 degrees here in Charleston, SC, today and that’s just the start of it. Summer will be warm and my dog will be outdoors for a majority of it, whether training or on the boat. While I hate to think of my dog as even remotely “coiffed,” I know Pritchard will be cooler for it—and come dove season we’ll be able to avoid a few of the burs that get into her fur. The trick is to have a full coat by the time the frigid weather of duck season rolls around.

I haven’t committed to the trim just yet, but If I do maybe I’ll send Pritch’s hair off to make booms. She is a water dog after all.

Any of you thinking of giving the dogs a summer shave? Or volunteering to help out in the Gulf?

Comments (7)

from Quiet Loner wrote 2 years 2 weeks ago

We have a "semi-longhair" porch cat that sheds enough hair to knit another cat with. I'm thinking of trolling him to soak up the oil.

Catching up on a previous post, my vet doesn't worry about dogs gnawing big bones. I live far in the country and can let my Boykins work the raw bones after I have processed a deer. Haven't had a problem in 30 years experience. I also collect brain/lymph node samples from 50 or so deer per year. Gnawing, carrying, hiding some of these heads seems to a Boykin's idea of heaven. It is not my wife's idea of heaven. It also teaches the dog that deer is a food item. Put him down on a blood trail and he thinks "LUNCH!". If you fear bones, give them antlers. Saw off the sharp points if there is any chance the antler can be left where a tire can contact it.

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from pinopolis wrote 2 years 2 weeks ago

Great to know. We're planning to trim our pup too. This is proof that relief comes in all different forms. My thoughts, prayers and (coming soon!) dog's hair are with the folks affected by this horrible disaster.

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from jamesti wrote 2 years 2 weeks ago

i don't trim my lab, i just brush him 3 times per week. not sure it that would do any good on this front. i just read this morning that there is a long list of people who are ready to volunteer but noone is calling them to do so. hope they don't wait till it's too late.

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from countitandone wrote 2 years 2 weeks ago

David Di and Pritchard...CNN Television did a story the night before last about a woman who has been collecting human AND animal hair since the Exxon-Valdez catastrophe. She got with the program BACK THEN and people thought she was nuts. Who knew? She did.

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from kelmitch wrote 2 years 2 weeks ago

90 sounds great for water work.

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from kelmitch wrote 2 years 2 weeks ago

Aceo88 You had asked how to introduce your dog to birds there is a great link on GundogsOnline-Spaniel training you should look at.

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from kelmitch wrote 2 years 2 weeks ago

62 here too cold to start any water yet.

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from Quiet Loner wrote 2 years 2 weeks ago

We have a "semi-longhair" porch cat that sheds enough hair to knit another cat with. I'm thinking of trolling him to soak up the oil.

Catching up on a previous post, my vet doesn't worry about dogs gnawing big bones. I live far in the country and can let my Boykins work the raw bones after I have processed a deer. Haven't had a problem in 30 years experience. I also collect brain/lymph node samples from 50 or so deer per year. Gnawing, carrying, hiding some of these heads seems to a Boykin's idea of heaven. It is not my wife's idea of heaven. It also teaches the dog that deer is a food item. Put him down on a blood trail and he thinks "LUNCH!". If you fear bones, give them antlers. Saw off the sharp points if there is any chance the antler can be left where a tire can contact it.

+1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from pinopolis wrote 2 years 2 weeks ago

Great to know. We're planning to trim our pup too. This is proof that relief comes in all different forms. My thoughts, prayers and (coming soon!) dog's hair are with the folks affected by this horrible disaster.

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from jamesti wrote 2 years 2 weeks ago

i don't trim my lab, i just brush him 3 times per week. not sure it that would do any good on this front. i just read this morning that there is a long list of people who are ready to volunteer but noone is calling them to do so. hope they don't wait till it's too late.

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from countitandone wrote 2 years 2 weeks ago

David Di and Pritchard...CNN Television did a story the night before last about a woman who has been collecting human AND animal hair since the Exxon-Valdez catastrophe. She got with the program BACK THEN and people thought she was nuts. Who knew? She did.

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from kelmitch wrote 2 years 2 weeks ago

90 sounds great for water work.

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from kelmitch wrote 2 years 2 weeks ago

Aceo88 You had asked how to introduce your dog to birds there is a great link on GundogsOnline-Spaniel training you should look at.

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from kelmitch wrote 2 years 2 weeks ago

62 here too cold to start any water yet.

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All submitted comments are subject to the rules set forth in our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.