1. +1 to Alex and an improvement for Java 6: you could eliminate the `null` check in the `finally` block if you move the `DerbyDog.getResultSet` call before the `try` block. If it's inside the `try` block and it throws an exception you won't be able to `close` the `ResultSet` because the reference will remain `null`. *Guideline 1-2: Release resources in all cases* in the [Secure Coding Guidelines for the Java Programming Language, Version 4.0][1] documentation could be helpful.

 2. The `catch` block is unnecessary here. Exceptions will be propagated without it.

 3. Be aware of static helper classes. `DerbyDog` seems one of them. You might find [my former answer about it][2] useful.

<!-- magic -->

    ResultSet resultSet = DerbyDog.getResultSet(strSelect);
    try {
        if (resultSet.next()) {
            resultSet.updateString(COLUMN_STATUS, strStatus);
            resultSet.updateRow();
        }
    } finally {
            resultSet.close();
    }




[1]: http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/seccodeguide-139067.html
[2]: https://codereview.stackexchange.com/a/14361/7076