DEAR JOAN: I am in love with the Liberty Mutual emu. Is it entirely computer-generated, so there is no hope?
I know this is a silly question that you probably can’t answer.
— Julie Hartley, Wichita, Kansas
DEAR JULIE: I do believe you’ve issued me a challenge. And I love a challenge.
LiMu, the spokes-emu for Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, is a real bird, but not everything you see is real. The firm responsible for the commercials says it films many different emus, then uses those images to create an artificial intelligence emu.
But let’s not sell LiMu short. Emus can be trained to perform certain things, although it’s important the training starts when they are young. There are limits to what they can do, however, so it’s probably much easier to have an AI stand in.
No word on whether Doug (identified as comedic actor David Hoffman) is AI or real.
If you have an affection for emus other than LiMu, I have good news. The Sedgwick County Zoo in Wichita (scz.org) has emus you can see when you visit. The zoo has about 3,000 animals from 400 species.
About 36 miles north of Wichita, near the town of Hesston, is the Kalaya Emu Estates, which raises emus for meat, oil and other products. Not exactly the same vibe, but you can probably see some live emus there.
For my emu-loving friends in the Bay Area, the Oakland Zoo, San Francisco Zoo and the Sacramento Zoo all have emus.
DEAR JOAN: We have a 14-year-old, male, yellow Labrador retriever. He has been the best family pet. Recently, he has started to experience having pooping accidents during the night, I’m assuming, while he’s sleeping.
We’ve tried feeding him earlier in the day so he has plenty of time to do his business before bringing him in for the night and we also take him out for a quick night walk in hopes that he’ll do his thing. Sometimes he does while other times he doesn’t. It’s usually the times he doesn’t poop on the walk that he wakes up with a few logs on the bed or floor.
Is there anything you could suggest that we try? I’ve mentioned this to the vet and he says it’s part of his being old and he may be losing control of his bowels, plus the arthritis in his legs don’t allow him to stoop long enough to eliminate.
The vet has him on anti-inflammatory medication which, I think, is helping but the poop issue continues.
— Alicia, San Jose
DEAR ALICIA: As the vet suggests, advanced age and arthritis are the likely causes of the issue.
I like that you’re feeding him earlier and walking him later, but you might need to include a second bathroom break sometime between dinner and bedtime. If not eliminating in one go is part of the problem, then maybe a second attempt will help.
As muscles weaken with age and arthritis, it may be too painful to maintain the position long enough to finish his business. You could use doggie diapers at night to help with the clean up.
The colder nighttime temperatures might also be a factor. No one likes a cold toilet seat.
The Animal Life column runs on Mondays. Contact Joan Morris at AskJoanMorris@gmail.com.
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