Mountain Views News          Saturday, January 25, 2014

Mountain Views News Saturday, January 25, 2014 
9HEALTHY LIFESTYLES Mountain Views News Saturday, January 25, 2014 
9HEALTHY LIFESTYLES 
THE JOY OF YOGA 
AN INVESTMENT IN YOU 
Originally, yoga was practiced one-on-one between student and teacher. 
A practice was handed down through tradition and customized for that 
particular student. An ongoing student-teacher relationship was founded, 
nurtured, cultivated. 

Today, we have group yoga classes which put many different bodies in 
the room. Each person progressing at their own physical, mental, and 
spiritual pace. It takes time and discipline to stick with and grow in your 
practice. And in starting out, it's so important to have a teacher, even if it's 
just in group classes. Getting connected with a teacher in-person is vital 
too, a workout video or online class is not same. 

For those already established in their yoga practice, there may come a 

time when working one-on-one with a teacher is the next indicated step. 
You could want to reach a particular goal, physical, spiritual or personal. A personalized practice may 
be in order. That's what private time with a teacher is for. Often through private sessions, a student 
can deepen their practice must faster than just through group classes. Your need could be a simple as 
wanting privacy, free of intimidation or as complex as a very challenging physical condition. In any 
case, establishing a one-on-one relationship with a teacher can prove to be an invaluable, inspirational 
experience. 

See you in class, Keely Totten Teacher at Yoga Madre 


THE COOL CUKES 


I bet you don’t think of something as common as cucumbers when 
you think of super healthy foods. Did you know that cucumbers are 
from the same family as squashes and melons? Cucumbers are the 
4th most commonly cultivated vegetable in the world and have many 
health benefits. 

First, cucumbers are over 90% water and contain almost all of the 
vitamins the body requires. The skin of the cucumber contains a lot 
of vitamins but because cucumbers are heavily spayed with pesticides 
and waxed, I would recommend washing thoroughly or peeling. The 
best bet for a healthier salad is to buy organic and leave the skin on. 

Cucumbers are low in calories making them a great snack food. They 
Dr. Tina is a traditional are not only full of water but they also contain electrolytes, especially 
naturopath and nutri-potassium. Try putting a few slices in a cool glass of water on a hot 

tionist at Vibrant Living summer day for a refreshing drink. 
Wellness Center 
Cucumber peels are a great source of dietary fiber. Fiber from 

cucumber skins helps reduce constipation, and helps to eliminate toxic compounds from the gut. 

Cucumbers contain a high amount of vitamin K. Most of the vitamin K is found in the peel or 
near the peel so peeling reduces this greatly. Vitamin-K has been found to possibly have a role 
in bone mass building activity. It has also been used in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease by 
limiting neuronal damage in the brain. 

If you find yourself having too many alcoholic beverages, try eating cucumbers before bed 
to avoid a hangover or headache. Cucumbers contain sugar, B vitamins and electrolytes to 
replenish many essential nutrients. All of these things can play a role in reducing the intensity 
of a hangover. 

If you are looking for an easy way to improve your health, add some cucumbers. They are great 
in salads, they are great as a salad all by themselves (thinly sliced, then sprinkle with rice vinegar, 
sesame seeds and some sea salt), they are refreshing in water and they are great alone as snacks. 

JUST FOR BEST FRIENDS 
DIRT-DIAMOND 
DIGGING DOGS 


by Chris LeclercHappy Tails 
Worth Their Weight in Gold 

My beloved mutt, Molly was wandering in the backyard 
recently, sniffing about and nosing in on certain points of focus, as she often does. Eventually she 
found a particular spot that interested her enough to dig a really deep hole in the dirt. She then 
stuck her entire face down into the hole with her front legs bent low and her tail held high, wagging 
intensely. After about a minute of pressing her pointy nose down into the soft soil, she finally emerged 
and turned to me with a messy, muddy mustache and a look of disappointment on her face. 

I always get a kick out of watching Molly’s curious antics as she meanders between the trees and 
bushes in our back yard, digging what appear to be random holes in various locations throughout 
the property, and I wonder exactly what it is that she thinks she might find in that subterranean 
playground of hers. 

When I mentioned Molly’s peculiar behavior to my husband, he said, “Maybe she’s looking for truffles.” 
That gave me a good chuckle, as I am sure there are none in our yard, and besides, until recently I 
thought only pigs were trained to find truffles, but I admit that‘s what it looked like Molly might have 
been up to. Actually, I’m sure Molly just smells the many moles that burrow and nest underground in 
our yard, and that‘s why she is so intent on digging in the dirt like a mud monkey. 

Ironically, just a few days after Molly‘s backyard mud-mauling adventure, I happened to come across 
an article about dogs that really do hunt truffles, entitled Diamonds in the Dirt, in an issue of Sunset 
Magazine. Apparently truffles have become real big business in the culinary industry and it is no trifle 
task finding the rarest, most desirable specimens, some of which can fetch thousands of dollars per 
pound in the European and American auction markets. 

It seems that locating truffles underground these days would be a nearly impossible task without the 
amazing skills of a trained truffle-tracking dog, making a well-trained canine truffle-sniffer no trifle 
commodity. Or, as the Truffle Hunting Dogs website so aptly puts it, “Truffle dogs are worth their 
weight in gold”! 

It fascinates me that a dog is able to sniff out a truffle nestled deeply beneath the surface dirt. I have 
never seen, held or smelled a truffle myself, so I’ve always assumed they were similar to mushrooms; 
some a bit tastier than others but for the most part rather flavorless and therefore equally scentless. 
Well, boy oh boy was I ever wrong. 

As it turns out, most truffles have an intensely potent flavor, some quite spicy and exotic tasting, so in 
light of that fact it makes more sense to me that a dog could run randomly run through a forest and 
pick up the distinctive scent of a hidden treasure-truffle wafting up to the surface from below. 

You see, the canine’s olfactory senses are exponentially keener than that of the human. The average 
dog has 220 million olfactory receptors in it’s nose while the average person has only 5 million, 
allowing the canine to detect even the slightest scents that would go absolutely unnoticed by we 
humble human beings. 

So, what kind of dog makes the best truffle hunter? And, how do you go about training a dog to sniff 
out those valuable nuggets buried beneath the earth’s surface? Well, apparently a variety of canine 
breeds have proven to succeed in truffle-hunting, and from what I understand the training techniques 
are somewhat similar to those used in preparing canines for police or search and rescue work. 

One truffle enthusiast who was featured in the Sunset Magazine article hunts regularly with his curly-
coated canine, Tom, a 35-pound Lagotto Romano, and as a team they have succeeded in finding 
some pretty amazing Piedmont White truffles in northern Oregon. The Lagotto Romano is an Italian 
bred poodle-spaniel that dates back the 16th century and in recent years has become one of the most 
successful breeds in seeking out hidden truffle treasures. 

In France, where Perigord Black are the truffles of choice, the desired pup of pursuit is more likely to 
be a prick-eared terrier type of no discernable breed. Having read that, I began to think that perhaps 
my amazing and curious Miss Molly may have a little of that bloodline mixed in with her doggie 
DNA! 

Being the ultimate equal opportunity dog-lover that I am, I imagine just about any canine with a healthy 
snout and a willingness to learn & obey could be trained to hunt truffles, much in the way they are willing 
to be trained to do anything in order to please their master. Who knows? Maybe someday Molly will go 
to school for truffle-hunting and make us a fat fortune finding ugly, very tasty and very expensive “dirt 
diamonds” in the forest! OK, so I won’t hold my breath, and hopefully neither will she. After all, we 
wouldn’t want 
her to loose her 
inherent drive 
for sniffing 
things out in her 
own yard, even 
if it is just for 


fun! 

LOOKING FOR A BEST FRIEND,,, 

Meet Speckle and Arrow! 

Animal lovers are always touched by 
the heartwarming stories of the special 
bonds that develop between different 
species…… The greyhound that nurses 
a litter of abandoned kittens; the lifelong 
friendship between a sanctuary elephant 
and a stray dog or the recent story about 
the unbreakable love shared by a paralyzed 
7 month old cat and her protector, a 2 year 
old dachshund - both abandoned on a 
highway. We have been fortunate to see 
a similar bond of caring and connection 
between two rescued dogs that has touched 
all of us at the shelter. 

Speckle, a chi mix, came to the shelter in 
April 2013. She is a bit older than most 
of the dogs we see – probably 5 or 6 years 
old. She was timid and a bit unsure of the 
shelter experience in the beginning, but we 
have seen her blossom and become very 
friendly with all the people she has gotten to know. Speckle has been with a variety of different dogs 
as kennel mates, and although she has adjusted to them, she didn’t seem to find a true soul mate until 
she met little Arrow. 


Arrow, a very petite 2 year old chi mix, came to the shelter in August 2013 with an injured pelvis and 
spent several weeks in our clinic while she recovered. In November, she was introduced to Speckle 
as her kennel mate. 

It could not have been a better match! These two girls have developed a real bond with each other. 
Speckle is happier than we have seen her at any time since she has been with us. She takes a very 
nurturing role with Arrow, perhaps sensing her recent injury and need for compassion. In return, 
Arrow adores Speckle. They watch out for each other and seek each other out on walks. When you 
approach their kennel, they both do a little “happy dance” tapping their toes in excitement, letting you 
know they are eager to go out together. 

Both girls love people and are very fond of spending quality time in the lap. Arrow is younger and a 
little more playful, but she is very comfortable just being cuddled. It would be wonderful if you have 
room in your home and heart for these two sweet friends! 

They currently reside at the San Gabriel Valley Humane Society located at 851 E. Grand Avenue in 
San Gabriel. We are located off San Gabriel Blvd., north of Mission and south of Las Tunas. 

To arrange a ‘Meet and Greet’ with these special girls (aka….5126 and 5114), please stop by any time 
from 10:00am to 4:30pm Tuesday thru Sunday. 

Their adoption fee is $159 for both which includes their spay surgery, microchips, first vaccinations 
and a free wellness check-up at a participating veterinarian. Feel free to call us at (626) 286-1159 for 
more information on Speckle and Arrow. 

 See our website at www.sgvhumane.org for information and photos of all our available pets. 

PET OF THE WEEK 

REGGIE: ANIMAL ID #A4666477 

Big gifts some in small packages, as precious little 
Reggie proves! Reggie (A4666477) is a winsome 
five year old tan neutered male Short Haired 
Chihuahua mix who was found in Hacienda 
Heights with his brother, Ronald (A4666476) 
and brought to the Baldwin Park Animal Care 
Center on January 7th. Weighing 6.4 pounds, 
Reggie walks well on a leash, but is just as happy 
to be carried, and his small stature makes him a 
perfect purse pet. Reggie already knows his basic 
commands, such as sit, and is well-socialized with people and other dogs. We expect he would 
adore children too, as long as they understand they need to be gentle with a smaller dog. Reggie 
is a great little guy that will be a spectacular indoor companion for anyone in any living situation. 
For a video of Reggie and his brother Ronald, please visit this link: http://youtu.be/R3OvYgN59u4 


To meet Reggie in person, please see him at the Baldwin Park Shelter, located at 4275 N. Elton, 
Baldwin Park, CA 91706 (Phone: 626-430-2378 or 626-962-3577). He is currently available now. 
For any inquiries about Reggie, please reference his animal ID number: A4666477. The shelter 
is open seven days a week, 12 pm-7 pm Monday-Thursday and 10am-5pm Friday-Sunday. This 
is a high-intake shelter with a great need for adoptions. For more information about Reggie or 
the adoption process, please contact United Hope for Animals Volunteer Adoption Coordinator 
Samantha at Samantha@hope4animals.org. To learn more about United Hope for Animals’ 
partnership with the Baldwin Park Shelter through its Shelter Support Program, as well as the 
many dogs of all breeds, ages, and sizes available for adoption in local shelters, visit http://www. 
unitedhope4animals.org/about-us/shelter-support-program/.