Times of Middle Country

Golden Retriever puppy. Pixabay photo

By Leah S. Dunaief

Leah Dunaief

Recent impressive research tells us something we already knew: not every golden retriever always retrieves. We have been fortunate to enjoy three golden retrievers in a row over four decades, and for the first two, when we threw a tennis ball, it was enthusiastically returned and dropped at our feet. Then there was Teddy.

Teddy came to us at eight weeks, a golden ball of fur with two eyes, two ears, a pink nose and a tail. He passed on 12 years later, and during that time, we were convinced he was the most beautiful, most intelligent and most fun dog in the world. But there was one oddity about Teddy the Golden Retriever. When we took him out on the lawn and threw a tennis ball, he would politely sit down and watch its trajectory. Then he would look back at us as if to say, “Yeah? So?”

However, if we brought him to a beach and threw a rock that landed among thousands of other rocks, he would bring back that exact rock and drop it at our feet, backing off, tail wagging, and wait for the next throw. This had a terrible effect on his front teeth. Over the years, it wore them down, but he never seemed to mind and didn’t appear to be in any discomfort.

The other item he retrieved at the beach was seaweed. He would plunge into the water, stick his nose beneath the surface, then come up with a mouthful of seaweed and bring it about 10 feet up on the shore, where he would deposit it. From his many trips to the beach, there remained a line of seaweed that marked his hunting spot.

Although the current researchers never interviewed Teddy, they did surveys of 18,385 dogs and sequenced the genomes of 2,155 dogs for their research paper published in the journal Science. They were looking for predictors of canine behavior and concluded that by breed was essentially useless. This might surprise you, as it did us, except regarding the retrieving aspect we just discussed. 

But apparently, stereotypes like pit bulls being aggressive were not validated. In fact, they scored high on human sociability, with videos showing lap-loving pit bulls. According to an article reporting on this study in The New York Times this past Tuesday, written by James Gorman, “Labrador Retriever ancestry [most popular breed in America], on the other hand, didn’t seem to have any significant correlation with human sociability.”

However, the research allows, there are some few predictable traits. “If you adopt a border collie…the probability that it will be easier to train and interested in toys is going to be higher than if you adopt a Great Pyrenees.” 

Go figure.

Breed supposedly accounts for only 9% of the variations in any given dog’s behavior. Rather, behavior patterns were strongly inherited, to the tune of 25%, again according to the research, within any given breed. In studying genomes, “several genes [were discovered] that clearly influence behavior, including one for how friendly dogs are.”  So if you are about to buy a dog, check out its parents first.

The researchers found 11 specific DNA regions that were associated with behavior, and an interesting comparison can be made with those same areas in human genomics. A region that affects the likelihood of a dog howling corresponds in humans to language development, and another that marks dogs enjoying being with humans presents in human DNA with long-term memory.

So I will tell you a little more about Terrific Teddy. When company would arrive at our home, he would walk up to each newcomer, wag and, I insist, smile, until the person gave him a pat on the head. He would then go on to the next person and wait until the greeting ritual was repeated. After that, he would withdraw to a corner and watch the socializing quietly unless called.

He was a bit of a terror under the table when we were at dinner. He would stealthily snatch the napkins off the diners’ laps. Some day I will write a children’s book about Teddy, the Napkin Snatcher Dog.

Middle Country stayed within striking distance through the first 24 minutes of play, but the Huntington Blue Devils slammed the door in the second half with seven unanswered goals to put the game away, 16-4, in a Division-I matchup May 10.

Huntington packed a one-two punch with Robbie Smith on attack scoring four goals and two assists along with teammate Liam Lennon who had three assists and four goals in the win. Huntington mid-fielder Aidan McNulty was in on four assists with two goals, and Chris Maichin scored twice.

Middle Country senior Justin Robbert had two goals for the Mad Dogs, and Colin Cleary and Charlie Cavalieri both scored.

The win lifts Huntington to 10-3 in league, 10-4 overall, with one game remaining before post season play begins.

The loss drops the Mad Dogs to 6-7.

File photo from Pixabay

This 5K race will be held Sunday, May 15, and will help raise money and awareness for victims of post-traumatic stress disorder and support for the Joseph P. Dwyer Program.  

Participants will trek through the roads, trails, hills and track of the Rocky Point High School and Conservation Area.

Registration to begin at 10 a.m. in front of Rocky Point High School: 82 Rocky Point-Yaphank Road, Rocky Point NY 11778.

Doctors recommend mask-wearing during indoor gatherings. Stock photo from Pixabay

In Suffolk County, the number of positive COVID-19 tests has been steadily climbing in the last month, mirroring the increase in other counties in the state and in parts of the country.

As of May 9, the number of people who tested positive per 100,000 residents on a seven-day average was 47.8. That is up from 34.9 a week earlier, 13.4 on April 9 and 6.3 on March 8, just over two months earlier, according to data from the New York State Department of Health.

“The numbers are creeping up,” said Dr. Mickel Khlat, chief medical officer at St. Catherine of Siena Hospital in Smithtown. Catholic Health had about 28 to 30 patients a month ago with COVID-19 and that number has now risen to the mid-60s. Most of those are incidental, he added, as the hospital discovered a positive test when a patient came in for another procedure. These positive tests, however, reveal the ongoing presence of the virus in the community. “I was hoping in 2022 that this would go away, but I don’t see this going away any time soon.”

Area doctors and health officials suggested familiar practices to reduce risks, including social distancing and mask-wearing in confined spaces indoors and ensuring up-to-date vaccinations.

“Immunity from vaccines and immunity from infection with SARS-CoV-2 virus wanes, so we urge everyone to get vaccinated and to get their booster or second booster if you are eligible,” Dr. Gregson Pigott, commissioner of the Suffolk County Department of Health Service, explained in an email. 

Dr. Sharon Nachman, chief of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Stony Brook Children’s Hospital, suggested that the hospital is recommending that people speak to their primary care providers to get the best advice on their need to get a second booster.

“Often, individuals may not realize that they fall into a category of vulnerable populations,” she explained in an email. “These can include not only adults with immune issues, but also those with heart and lung diseases, kidney issues, obese individuals and, of course, those who are elderly.”

Khlat said since the virus first reached Suffolk County, obesity is often the underlying condition that presents the greatest risk factor for dying, which was evident in the first and second surges.

People of all ages in Suffolk County have been hospitalized, even children, Pigott added.

Recently, fewer sick people have needed medical attention in the intensive care unit.

The majority of people who are under 65 years old and in the ICU are unvaccinated, Pigott added.

In general, the most common symptoms for COVID-19 include respiratory issues as well as fever, Nachman said. Other symptoms include gastrointestinal issues.

“If you have symptoms, please consider doing a rapid test to evaluate the possibility” of having the virus, Nachman added.

The coming fall and winter

In the broader context, state and national officials are anticipating a challenging fall and winter. Earlier this week, the White House estimated that the country could experience as many as 100 million new infections without renewed mitigation measures.

While daunting, particularly in the third year of the pandemic, the large number of potential new infections could encourage Congress to appropriate more funds to combat the virus and alert state officials to the need for measures to protect residents.

Area hospitals have already started to consider the possibility of a rise in infections later this year.

“We are anticipating increase in illness this upcoming fall and winter and are addressing those needs now” through supply chain preparations and other measures, explained Nachman. 

Khlat said St. Catherine continues to make sure the hospital has enough personal protective equipment, including N95 masks. While he suspects the tighter quarters in colder weather could contribute to a surge, he doesn’t expect people will be as sick this time.

If they do get sick, patients can receive the first and second dose of remdesivir in the hospital and then get their next few doses at home, through a hospital-at-home program.

Medical options

Pigott urged those who are at risk and test positive to contact their medical providers soon after testing positive and/or developing symptoms.

Those who contract COVID-19 have several therapeutic options, especially if they have mild-to-moderate symptoms and are at risk for severe disease.

“COVID-19 antiviral medications or therapies should be started within five to seven days of symptom onset,” Pigott explained.

Nachman added that treatments for Covid include monoclonal antibodies and Paxlovid.

“They can be difficult to get, difficult to take and, particularly for Paxlovid, have serious drug-drug interactions,” Nachman cautioned. “They are indicated for those with underlying medical issues. Other therapies, although less commonly available, include intravenous remdesivir.”

Khlat said he’d recently heard of two cases in which patients took a five-day course of Paxlovid.

“A week or two later, they came back for monoclonal antibodies,” he said. People had “relapsed from Paxlovid. That, I never heard of before.”

Generally, Khlat said Paxlovid works well, although he, too, cautioned about drug interactions.

With fewer and shorter hospital stays for people who contract COVID-19, hospitals continue to have capacity. “We are not seeing an influx of patients getting admitted for COVID,” Khlat said.

The following incidents have been reported by Suffolk County Police:

Centerport

■ A 2019 Honda Pilot valued at $20,000 was stolen from a driveway on Arthur Street in Centerport on April 26. The keys had been left inside the unlocked vehicle. 

■ A resident on Coolidge Drive in Centerport reported that his 2017 Toyota Prius was stolen from his driveway on April 26. The vehicle, valued at $18,000, had been left unlocked with the keys inside.

Centereach

■ Walgreens on Middle Country Road in Centereach reported a shoplifter on April 26. A woman allegedly stole assorted cleaning products valued at $100.

■ Walgreens on Middle Country Road in Centereach reported that a man allegedly stole 12 cases of beer valued at $170 on April 26. 

■ A customer shopping at Walmart on Middle Country Road in Centereach reported that her wallet was stolen from her purse which had been left unattended in a shopping cart on April 30.

Cold Spring Harbor

■ A resident on Glen Way in Cold Spring Harbor called the police to report that his 2022 Mercedes Benz GLC300 was stolen from his driveway on April 30. The vehicle was valued at $55,000. The keys may have been left inside.

Commack

■ Walmart on Crooked Hill Road in Commack reported that a man allegedly broke a lock to a cabinet on April 29 and stole Nintendo game cards valued at approximately $300 before fleeing. The lock was valued at $200.

■ A shoplifter was reported at Marshalls on Henry Street in Commack on April 29. A woman allegedly stole assorted clothing items valued at approximately $270.

Greenlawn

■ A resident on Massey Court in Greenlawn reported that his BMW X5 was stolen on April 26. The vehicle, which was left unlocked with the keys in it, was valued at $30,000.

Huntington Station

■ Prestige Auto Wraps & Detailing on West Pulaski Road in Huntington Station reported that a customer’s 2021 Jeep was stolen from the premises on April 29. 

■ Target on East Jericho Turnpike in Huntington Station reported that three men entered the store on April 24 and allegedly stole a Cricut cutting machine valued at $430 and miscellaneous cleaning supplies totaling $150. 

■ A customer at Dunkin Donuts on Walt Whitman Road in Huntington Station reported that he left his 1998 Dodge Stratus running and unattended with the keys inside on April 25 and when he came out of the store the car was gone. 

■ A customer shopping at Food Plaza on New York Avenue in Huntington Station on April 26 reported that her cell phone was stolen from her unattended pocketbook.

■ USA Gas on New York Avenue in Huntington Station called the police on April 28 to report that a man allegedly pumped $80 worth of gas and left without paying.

Lake Grove

■ A resident on Chester Street in Lake Grove called the police on April 26 to report that someone stole four ADT security key pads from a bin in their yard. The items were valued at $300.

■ Macy’s at the Smith Haven Mall in Lake Grove reported a grand larceny on April 26. Three women and a man allegedly stole miscellaneous clothing valued at over $2100.

■ Victoria’s Secret at the Smith Haven Mall called the police to report that two women allegedly stole assorted apparel valued at approximately $2,000 on April 29.

■ Verizon Wireless at the Smith Haven Mall in Lake Grove reported that man entered the store and allegedly stole an iPhone 13 Pro Max valued at $1,100 on April 18.

Mount Sinai

■ Rite Aid on Nesconset Highway in Mount Sinai reported that two men allegedly stole 16 cases of assorted beers valued at $270 on April 25.

Nesconset

■ A Samsung Galaxy tablet with a case was stolen from an unlocked vehicle parked on Smithtown Blvd. in Nesconset on April 27. 

Port Jefferson Station

■ Assorted hand tools and a pair of sunglasses valued at approximately $2150 were allegedly stolen from a building under construction at Brightview Senior Living on Route 112 in Port Jefferson Station on April 26.

St. James

■ A resident on Woodlawn Avenue in St. James reported that a 2016 Yamaha Quad YFZ450R was stolen from their backyard shed on April 27. The vehicle was valued at $8,000.

South Setauket

■ Target on Pond Path in South Setauket reported a shoplifter on April 29. A man and a woman allegedly stole eight LEGO sets and cans of Enfamil. The merchandise was valued at $1,165.

Suffolk County Crime Stoppers offers a cash reward for information that leads to an arrest. Anyone with information about these incidents can contact Suffolk County Crime Stoppers to submit an anonymous tip by calling 1-800-220-TIPS.

— COMPILED BY HEIDI SUTTON

Photo courtesy of Councilman LaValle's office

On Saturday, April 23, The Greater Middle Country Chamber of Commerce, along with several local public officials, welcomed their newest member, The Paper Store, located at Smith Haven Plaza, 2075 Nesconset Hwy, Lake Grove, with grand opening celebration & ribbon cutting ceremony. 10% of all sales generated on that day benefitted Ronald McDonald House Charities.

A Hallmark partner, the specialty gift store sells fashion apparel, home decore, stationary, jewelry and more.

Pictured from left, Melissa Carter, The Paper Store; NYS Assemblyman Doug Smith; Doreen Newman, Greater Middle Country Chamber; TOB Councilman Kevin J. LaValle; Tracie Congdon, Store Manager; NYS Senator Mario Mattera; Suffolk County Legislator Leslie Kennedy; Suffolk County Comptroller John Kennedy; and District Manager Lisamarie Soper.

Located next to Bed Bath & Beyond, the store is open Monday to Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Thursday and Friday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday from 8 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information, call 631-979-2340.

Pixabay photo

By Daniel Dunaief

Daniel Dunaief

Sure, the book “What to Expect When You’re Expecting” could be helpful.

Until you’ve gone through pregnancy and had a child, you don’t really know what’s around the corner. Other parents sometimes expect you to follow their footprints to the promised land, which somehow didn’t always seem like the happiest place on Earth for them or their screaming kids.

You hear about terms like first, second and third trimester, which sound like safe little building blocks you might want to play with on the floor, stacking one on top of another while Mozart plays blissfully in the background.

But, really, so much of life, even during those days before childbirth, when moms are expecting, doesn’t follow a script or textbook cue cards.

My wife and I tried to keep at least a month ahead of the “nesting phase” and the “tired phase” among so many others in the books.

We went to Lamaze classes where, despite being in our mid 30s, we felt remarkably young in New York City compared to so many other first-time parents in their late 30s and early 40s who were sharing pregnancy stories and preparing to “breathe, honey,” and to count the time in between contractions.

Our birth plan went out the window when, after my wife’s three valiant days of pushing, our doctor decided to do a C section. How do you make important decisions when you’re beyond exhausted and when your excitement and anxiety seem to be in an extended foot race for your attention?

Just before the doctor started the procedure, she told me that if I passed out at any time, they were going to leave me on the cold, concrete floor, stepping over me to tend to my wife and daughter.

Fortunately, everything worked out, despite the challenges for my wife of recovering from abdominal surgery that made even the simplest of motions, like rising out of a chair, difficult and painful.

So, here we are, over two decades later, and we and others are still maneuvering around playbooks we’ve had to rewrite. It seemed fitting, given that it’s Mother’s Day this Sunday, to reach out to a few successful scientists — I cover science, so these are my peeps — to ask them a few questions.

IACS Endowed Chair of Ecology & Evolution at Stony Brook University Heather Lynch explained some of the best parenting advice she got was to think of “running the household like running a business, and outsource what can be outsourced with zero guilt.”

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Professor and HHMI Investigator Leemor Joshua-Tor, meanwhile, said she learned to trust her gut, especially for the timing of discussions with her daughter. As her daughter enters her teenage years, Joshua-Tor has taken more of an advisory role, letting her have more control over her life while offering a calming presence.

Joshua-Tor wrote in an email that she thought “my daughter would have a good role model with a mom that had a fulfilling career and work life.”

Joshua-Tor was pleased to hear her daughter bragging about her mom’s career.

Lynch, who studies penguins that share parenting duties, credits marrying well for her parental success.

She and husband, Matthew Eisaman, who has a joint appointment at Stony Brook and Brookhaven National Laboratory, “split things 50-50 and if I had to do even 51% of everything, I think this whole house of cards would collapse,” she explained in an email.

Amid the pandemic, which wasn’t in any parenting textbooks (but probably will be in the future), Joshua-Tor said she tried to keep her daughter positive while ensuring her safety.

As a parent, Joshua-Tor added, “nothing was as I expected, but how deep things hit you is a biggy.”

Pixabay photo

By Leah S. Dunaief

Leah Dunaief

The idea that wars would cease if countries were economically tied tightly together seemed to make sense to the world’s leaders immediately following World War II. It sounded like a reasonable premise. After all, why would any nation attack its neighbor if its economy depended on trading with that neighbor, right? In past centuries, wars were started to gain land and the riches they yielded.

Before the Industrial Age, economies were agrarian and depended on land ownership. But by the middle of the 20th century, a huge variety of goods could be exchanged across borders cheaply, especially with advances in transportation. Countries could be locked together by mutual profit rather than by expensive and bloody wars.

For more than 70 years, this theory actually worked in practice. Europe was a prime example. The British had already stopped fighting the French, who stopped fighting the Germans, who stopped attacking Slavic countries, and so on. Instead, they did business together, more or less peacefully, vacationed in each others’ mountains and on each others’ beaches and even formed what they called a European Union. It is not like the United States in that its 27 members must act unanimously or be expelled, but despite infighting, countries want to be in it. Once in, nations can enjoy more cheaply the fruits of economic transactions and a certain amount of financial support. 

The Russians were the world’s third largest producer of oil. They got some $123 billion of their export revenue from supplying crude oil to the rest of the globe, plus refined petroleum-like petrol and diesel at $66.2 billion, gas at $26 billion and coal at $18 billion (2019 figures), especially to neighboring European countries, including Ukraine. Russia was the largest exporter of wheat, plus iron and nickel, nitrogen-based fertilizers and a wide variety of raw materials.

If at war, Ukraine would halt its trade with Russia, which could affect Russia’s economy. So why would Russia start a war with its Ukrainian neighbor? It doesn’t make economic sense. There goes the theory that countries who trade together play nicely together. In fact, it is as if a bully in the schoolyard has begun beating up a smaller child who is supplying him with candy.

President Putin says he fears the encroachment of NATO and must have a buffer between Russia and the other members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization that was organized expressly to defend against a possibly aggressive Russia. Churchill always considered Russia the biggest threat. Ukraine is not a member of NATO, nor of the European Union. Putin further says more that makes no sense about denazifying Ukraine.

One thing seems to be obvious. Putin is not trying to grab Ukraine for its GDP. His army is pursuing a scorched earth attack, destroying apartment buildings, hospitals, industrial plants and whole cities, as it tries to establish a land bridge between the Donbas in eastern Ukraine and Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014. This would afford Russia uninterrupted access to the Black Sea, a goal of landlocked czars for centuries. But what he is really after is power.

Perhaps, Putin thought that his trade ties with other countries would keep them from interfering in his “special military operation” in Ukraine. No military riposte materialized after he grabbed Crimea. Perhaps he hoped his actions would serve to divide NATO members in their response to him. In fact, only Viktor Orban, the Prime Minister of Hungary, has refused to condemn Putin, straining what has been a Warsaw-Budapest alliance within NATO. On the opposite side of the spectrum, German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, said that no one could assume Russia would not attack other countries given its violation of international law in Ukraine, and that he would support Finland and Sweden if they decided to join NATO. Scholz made his comments despite Germany’s dependence on Russia for most of its import of gas.

So much for the hope that economic ties peacefully bind.

Pixabay photo

The warm weather is here, which means more people will be out walking, many with their furry best friends.

It’s important to remember to keep your dog on a leash, whether when walking down the street, in a park or along the beach. Some may think that their dog is friendly and wouldn’t hurt a fly — and they may be right — but that doesn’t mean that other dogs share the same demeanor.

It’s important to note that dogs are territorial. In the April 28 Ask the Vet column by Dr. Matthew Kearns, the veterinarian explained that the animals are hardwired to protect their territory. If they feel threatened, they will feel the need to defend themselves. Certain movements may also trigger them.

Dogs can hurt other animals and humans. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are an estimated 4.5 million dog bites to people every year in the U.S. Dog bites can lead to a need for medical care and even fatalities.

It’s also possible for a dog off-leash to chase after smaller critters. The chase could lead to danger to wildlife and animals running out into busy streets. It’s also healthier for dogs to be walked with a leash as it lessens the chances of them engaging with other dogs, which can increase the spread of diseases such as distemper, and they are less likely to sniff droppings from other animals.

Plus, if your dog does get away from you, the leash signals that it belongs to someone, and the person who finds the pet knows to first look for a collar and ID.

Walking your dog on a leash also shows courtesy to your neighbors as pet owners have more control over where their dog goes when they have a hold on them. The lawn down the road is not your dog’s bathroom.

Speaking of dogs and bathrooms, remember to bring a bag with you while walking your dog to clean up any mess they may make.

With just a little care, dogs, humans and other animals can enjoy the great outdoors together and lessen the dangers that can occur.