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Beginning in April, the City of Waterloo will begin the 2017 fire hydrant inspection, maintenance and flushing program. There are approximately 2500 fire hydrants within the City and all fire hydrants are inspected annually. This program is designed to ensure that our hydrants will operate properly when needed. Due to the complexity of the program, it is difficult to determine which day testing will be conducted in a specific area. Hydrant operation may cause some temporary inconveniences such as poor water pressure and in some cases coloured water. Please check your water before use and if discoloured water is detected, please open a cold, hard water tap (non-softened water) and allow the water to run for 5 minutes. If it does not clear, turn it off, wait one hour and let it run another 5 minutes. Continue to do this until it is clear. Thank you for your co-operation and understanding. Any questions or concerns should be directed to the Utilities Customer Service Representative at 519-886-2310 ext 30239. Hydrant inspection and maintenance program P. 519.886.1550 TTY. 1.866.786.3941 waterloo.ca/publicnotices 14 • WATERLOO CHRONICLE • Th ursday, October 12, 2017 Serving your community since 1856 CITY LIFE Over the past few weeks, my life has quite literally gone to the dogs. Well, to one dog in particular, at least. Our dear rescue dog Lucy has quickly become the focus of much of my attention. She's settling in well to her new home and has started staking a claim on certain places in our house, including our old fam- ily room sofa, the floor by the front door and, most notably, my heart. Lucy has also established ownership of the backyard and will tirelessly defend her fenced-in fortress from invading birds, squirrels, rabbits and lawn mowers. Her sudden, verbal assault can be quite startling, but it doesn't last long, thank goodness. A most notable quirk of Lucy's is her howl, which is becoming less frequent as she gets settled. Again, thank goodness. She cuts a majestic, wolflike silhouette as she lifts her head up to the sky, but the sound she emits is nothing short of blood- curdling and in dire need of auto-tune. I find her off-key performances rather comical and endearing, but I doubt anyone else does. Don't worry my dear neighbours, we have a trainer working with us to improve Lucy's behaviour. Besides the inability to carry a tune, Lucy and I have many other things in common. W e b o t h h a v e a v e r y s h o r t s p a n of attention and we both love to eat, especially treats. As well, neither of us can catch a ball. Actually, it's more likely that Lucy choos- es not to catch her ball, or any other toys from her rapidly-growing collection. She'll just sit there watching as toys rain down around her. It's a good thing I have bad aim. I'm now making play-dates for Lucy just as I did for my daughters when they were younger. A typical text from me will read some- thing along the lines of: "Can Rex come out to play?" A huge thanks to Rex and his owner for helping Lucy to overcome her fear of water, by the way. While walking in parks and along trails, I've met a lot of other dog parents (a.k.a. pawrents, so I'm told). They've taught me a lot about common dog traits, what they mean, and how to deal with them. These behaviours can vary from breed to breed, which is all fine and dandy unless, like myself, you haven't the slightest idea what kind of dog you've got. It's a standard game among other dog owners to try to figure out Lucy's lineage. Her white coat, large brown spots, long bushy tail and floppy ears have led most to conclude she's a mixture of border collie, shepherd and husky. I'm only now discovering what longtime dog lovers have known for years, that four- legged friends can be a great source of com- fort and companionship with their uncondi- tional love and acceptance. They're also great for reducing stress. When they're not howling, of course. ••• A freelance writer, blogger and communica- tions consultant based in Waterloo, Penny Walford can be reached at penny.walford@hotmail.com. My life has gone to one particular dog named Lucy in recent weeks PENNY WALFORD MY TWO CENTS Meet Nelly. This beauty is comfortable here at the centre and has a hard time making friends, but when she does she makes the best cuddle buddy. Come into the Kitchener-Waterloo Humane Society today if you have some time to get to know this doll. To visit Nelly, or other pets available for adoption, visit the K-W Humane Society at 250 Riverbend Dr. in Kitchener, or call 519-745-5615. SUBMITTED PHOTO A pregnant mother sleeping on her back during late preg- nancy may cause problems for the fetus, according to new research published in Th e Jour- nal of Physiology. Th is is the fi rst study to monitor unborn babies overnight and at the same time record the mother's position during sleep. The sleep position of women in late pregnancy has been shown to be related to an increased risk of late stillbirth. Researchers at the University of Auckland investigated sleep position of pregnant women by setting up an infrared video camera to record their position as they slept. Th ey also continu- ous recorded the heart rate of the women and fetus overnight using an ECG device. When the mother slept on her back, the fetus was less active. Fetal activity is one mea- sure of its wellbeing. Fetuses were only in an active state when the mother was on her left or right side. When the mother changed position during sleep, for example from her left side to sleeping on her back, the baby quickly changed activity state and became quiet or still. This research involved 30 pregnant women at 34-38 weeks gestation and all of them were healthy with healthy babies. Th e researchers are now investigat- ing pregnancies where the fetus is not growing properly or the mother has reported decreased fetal movements, as both situa- tions have been associated with an increased risk of stillbirth. Peter Stone, one of the lead investigators, said: "In the situa- tion where the baby may not be healthy, such as those with poor growth, the baby may not toler- ate the effect of maternal back sleeping. We are suggesting that there is now suffi cient evidence to recommend mothers avoid sleeping on their back in late pregnancy, not only because of the epidemiological data but also because we have shown it has a clear eff ect on the baby." Sleep positions can aff ect babies: study