The Slice: Yes, ink on paper still tastes great

Sure, some things change.

But there are still dogs that fetch the paper in the morning.

One such journalism delivering canine is Marty Ruf’s 3 ½-year-old golden Lab, Boyd. “He earns his breakfast each morning by presenting me with the newspaper.”

(Yes, despite its similarity to a comic-strip barking sound, Ruf is Marty’s real name.)

Craig and LeAnn Whiting’s big Bernese mountain dog, Corso, is another delivery dog. “He waits at the front door to go get it,” said LeAnn.

But they have to keep an eye on him.

“If we don’t watch him, he will bring us the papers from several of the neighbors as well.”

In fact, the neighbors know that if their paper is missing, they need to check with the Whitings before calling the circulation department.

One morning, Corso seemed to have run off to parts unknown. So the Whitings got in their pickup and headed out to look for him.

“When he reappeared a street away, he was bringing us someone’s paper.”

Maybe that dog needs his own delivery route.

Corso is teaching his smaller half-sister, Mia, to fetch the S-R. But sometimes that’s a little hard on the newspaper. It can wind up being a tug of war, said Whiting.

But hey, it’s good to hear of local residents who are excited about print.

Slice answer: The one word that summarizes the Spokane area’s attitude about footwear? “Unpolished,” said Doris Primmer.

Life after the health information privacy act: You know how they have music playing in medical examining rooms now? And law citing signs that say “don’t try to turn this off” or whatever?

Sure. Well, what if you determine that the kind of music being played while you wait to be seen is bad for your health?

Seriously. Have you ever been tempted to say, “You know, I think my blood pressure reading is going to be high because the radio station you’re forcing me to listen to gets on my nerves.”

Today’s Slice question: If you had easy access to a very special vending machine that contained items that could really help you make it through the day, what would you have it dispense?