Ask Clay: When did dog owners become Daddy?

Today’s question:

I think it's odd when people with dogs call themselves mommy and daddy. When did this start? I have yet to hear of a human giving birth to a dog.

I don’t know when it started. It may be odd, but it’s really none of my business. Or yours.

Adoptable animals in the Valley:

Are vinegaroons extinct? In the 1950s and ‘60s they could be found in Arizona.

Extinct? No, you’re just not seeing them.

Vinegaroons are creepy-looking arachnids sometimes called whipscorpions or whiptails. They are related to real scorpions and spiders. They don’t sting, but they can give you a nasty pinch while they release a fluid that is mostly acetic acid — vinegar.

The reason you don’t see them much anymore could be habitat loss. They live in deserts and grasslands in low to medium elevations.

They are not especially endangered and not protected by any state or federal regulations.

When I was taught to change a tire I was told to replace and tighten the lug nuts in a star pattern. Is this correct or would a circle or random pattern be any worse?

I don’t know where you got the idea that the star pattern had gone out of style, but then I never know for sure where you people get some of your ideas

As far as I know, tightening the lug nuts in a star pattern is still the preferred method of changing a tire. You don’t tighten the one right next to the one you just tightened, but rather the one across from it.

The idea is to even out the pressure on the tires and get an even rotation.