Caesar, Saladin, and the white wolf

In the non-medieval world, Caesar defeated Pompey at the battle of Pharsalus on August 9, 48 BC; Pompey fled to Egypt, which, of course, did not end well for him. In the medieval world, not much happened, though. Wikipedia says that Saladin’s father died on August 9, 1173, but a Wikipedia report is not exactly like Moses bringing the Ten Commandments down from Mt. Sinai and I don’t have time to verify this for myself.
So, I thought I’d range further afield today and give my fellow dog-lovers an update on the white wolf. For new readers, Tristan is a white German shepherd that I adopted last year from Echo White Shepherd Rescue, a wonderful organization that has saved hundreds of dogs from death. Tristan’s Echo Angel pulled him from a high-kill Florida shelter just hours before he was to be put down, and then 13 wonderful volunteers drove him up the coast to me as we followed his odyssey on Facebook. He was painfully skinny and bald in patches from near starvation, but he has made a remarkable recovery, morphing from a frail senior shepherd into a 95 lb Godzilla. He’d had a rough life before Echo rescued him, but he adjusted very well to such creature comforts as air conditioning, a soft bed for his aging bones, and the occasional scoop of ice cream. But one psychic scar from his Florida years remains, his fear of thunderstorms. He was an outside dog, chained up 24-7 in a backyard, so it is all too easy to understand how he developed this phobia. I can always tell when a storm is coming, for suddenly I have a second shadow, sometimes a second skin. During really bad storms, he has been known to dive into the bathtub, not showing Olympic form but still an impressive feat for a dog with arthritis. At the suggestion of friends, I bought him a Thunder-shirt, which is supposed to sooth his fears by constricting them. I am a huge fan of the writer Temple Grandin, who has written several books about her struggles with Asperger’s Syndrome, and she said that a similar device helped to control her panic attacks. I am happy to report that the Thunder-shirt seems to be helping Tristan, at least somewhat. He is never going to be a happy camper during a storm, but we’ve had some very violent ones this summer, and I really think the Thunder-shirt has eased some of his anxieties. He hasn’t been diving into the bathtub as much, for example. The only fly in the ointment is Holly, his little groupie, the spaniel I adopted last December, who is as great a fan of Tristan as I am of George Clooney. The first time I tried the Thunder-shirt, I’d turn around and it would be loose and flapping in the wind. I’d re-attach it, and then it would happen again. Baffled, I kept vigil after the third time, and caught Holly in the act of tugging on it till the Velcro straps loosened. Apparently she prefers him in all his naked splendor, and has been sulking now that I’ve spoiled her fun. But for those of you with nervous dogs and no crazy little spaniels, I do recommend giving the Thunder-shirt a try. Any one else have stories about whether it worked or not?
PS I won’t be around much for a while, as I am bogged down in a challenging scene at Ombriere, Eleanor’s palace at Bordeaux. And my friend, Koby the Omnipotent, confirmed the death date for Saladin’s father!