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6 Oakville Beaver Weekend Sunday April 23, 2000 T h e Q \ k v il l e B e a v e r Ian Oliver, Publisher Neil Oliver, Associate Publisher Norman Alexander, Editor Kelly Montague, Advertising Director Steve Crazier, Circulation Director Ten Casas , OfficeManager Mark Dills, Production Manager Riziero Vertolli, Photography Director Metroland Printing. Pubfching & Distributing Ltd., includes: Ajax/Pickering N ew s Advertiser, A fc to n Herald/Courier, Bame Advance, Barry's Bay This Week, B o to n Enterprise, Bram pton Guardian. Burlington Post. Burfngton Shopping News. City Parent, Co<SngwoocWVasaga Connection, East York Mirror, Erin Advocate/Country Routes, Etobicoke Guardian, Ramborough Post. Georgetown Independent/Acton Free Press, Huronia Business Times, K in g sto n This W eek, Lindsay This W eek, M arkham Ecnom ist & Sun, M id la n d /P e n e ta n g u ish in e M irror, M ilto n C anadian C ham pion, M ilton S h o p p in g N e w s. M iss is s a u g a B u sin e ss T im e s, M ississa u g a New s, Napanee Guide, Newm arket/Aurora Era-Banner, Northum berland News, N orth York Mirror, Oakville Beaver. O akvile S hopping News, Oldtim ers H ockey New s, Orillia Today, O shawa/W hitby/C laiington Port Perry This W eek, O w en S ound Tribune, Peterborough This W eek, Picton C ounty G uide, R ich m o n d H ill/T hornhill/V aughan Liberal, S carborough Mirror, StoufMleAJxbridge Tribune, Forever Young, City o f \t>rk Guardian THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE BY: W fe EL LC CO OM MEE ^ lf c /A G O N W 3 0 ltd. BRONtlfUETTERFLY J ftt\0 ^he © »l o ® | oakvllle galleries | TV AUCTION L jtk n a O N T A R I O 467 Speers Rd., Oakville O n t L6K 3S4 (905) 8 4 5 -3 8 2 4 Fax; 3 3 7 -5 5 6 7 F O RB U S IN E S SE X C aL E N C E E d ito r ia ls Make a commitment Every year on April 22nd, we mark Earth Day, a time to reflect on our environ ment and think about what has been done in the past year to make this planet more nature-friendly. Oakville has already acted pro-actively in bettering the area's environment by holding a beach clean-up that was coordinated by the Lakeside Residents' Association. And on the official Earth Day, Oakvillians did their bit to clean the waterways that run through town. The sad reality here, is that every year, tons of trash are recovered from these water courses. But it shows what communities can do if they pull together with a common purpose. Trash is the physical evidence of environmental duress but there are other, more insidious forms of pollution that are still being addressed with varying degrees of success. Oil refineries are currently attempting to meet federal guidelines to reduce sul phur levels in gasoline from 150 ppm (parts per million) by 2002 to 30 ppm by 2005. The U.S. hopes to hit that 30 ppm target by 2004. But the sulphur issue is just one part of the larger air quality equation. The biggest air polluter is the passenger car and even reduction in gasoline sulphur lev els isn't likely to change the fact that more cars are being driven in urban areas that become percolators of smog. And lest we lose sight of the implications of smog, consider this: in December 1952 in London England, 4,000 residents of that city died from inhaling a four-day killer fog fuelled by sulphur dioxide from coal fires. A similar fog hit again in the early 1960s in both London and New York City. Cleaner fuels have helped improve Canada's air quality since Earth Day began 30 years ago. In fact, between 1974 and 1997, the amount of sulphur dioxide in the air decreased by 61 per cent, carbon monoxide fell 74 per cent, lead levels fell 88 per cent and total suspended particulates declined 53 per cent. The formal Earth Weeks end on April 30th but it shouldn't be the end of our With a little bit ofhelp he should live to be 630 It's the middle of the night and it's storm ing o utside. Pow erful thunder rumbles, interrupting my sweet slumber and rattling both the house and my weary bones. Still only sem i-conscious, I have the eerie sen satio n th at I am being watched, that my wife and I are not alone in our bedroom. I sit up and sure enough, green ish-brown eyes are burning holes in me. I flick on a light and there she is, sitting, staring, and quivering. A full, furry-body quiver. She may be closing in on her 42nd birthday (in human terms of time), but she's still one big baby. Wanting nothing more than to swiftly return to Slum berville, I calm her, then coax her up onto a chair in the corner o f the room. Normally, she spends her nights vir tually comatose in her bed in the kitchen. But in the past couple of years, sh e 's becom e petrified of thunder. It's my hope that, comfort ed by our close proximity, she will be able to go back to sleep. But she doesn't sleep. She just sits in that c h a ir and co n tin u es to stare. Unnerved, I finally call her up onto the bed with us. In short order, she falls b lissfu lly asleep, one paw placed for com fort and security across my leg. Her name is Francine (Franny) Ju n ip er. S h e 's a P etite B asset Griffin Vendeen (a.k.a. PBGV, or ANDY JUNIPER French hound), and she's a charac ter. Fabulous feature films could be made about this dog. Personally, I can sit for hours just watching her try and catch birds in the backyard. Her eternal (and wholly unwarrant ed) optim ism -- she actually believes sh e 's going to catch a feathered feast (as if...) -- make for excellent entertainment. In both personality and appear ance, Franny can be described as a comic combination o f incredibly adorable and im possibly goofy. W hen she w alks down a street, fuzzy head bobbing and coal-black nose working overtime in typical hound fashion, she attracts atten tion. I've seen her bring smiles to the faces of countless people pass ing by. And I've seen more than a few people crack up at the very sight of her. Women, in particular, seem drawn to this dog. If I were young, and single, I'd own about five Frannies... and I would have a very active social life. Although Hollywood has yet to Pud IVE By Steve Nease BmSLAWS ON ^ THAT ESSAYALI PAY/ NOW I CAN ENODYTHE REST A j? OF THE WEEKEND/S D E L E T E 5 ' call, Franny was recently cast in the leading role in a remarkable dog show. Inspired by the clever and capable canines we had recently witnessed at a pet extravaganza in Toronto, our kids decided to create their own show. My wife and I paid 20 cents each to see this spectacle, and it w as w orth ev ery penny. Although she's a physical marvel -- this hound can jump like a kan garoo on caffeine -- mentally, she's wanting. Put it this way: I've seen smarter pieces of driftwood. Once, in a scientific test of dog gie IQ, I placed a towel over her head. Apparently, a smart dog will immediately shake the towel off her head. Franny, on the other hand, just stayed put. I think she thought it was (suddenly) nighttime... The combination of this hound's laud able physical attributes and her laughable m ental shortcom ings made for one riveting show. They say that laughter is the best medicine. Research also shows that ow ning a pet is good fo r your health. Personally, each night I clear my head and lower my blood pressure and bond with Franny by taking her out for a walk. Considering all she does for my head and my blood pressure, and considering just how much she makes me laugh, well, I believe I have a shot at living to be 630... in dog years.