It seems as if Fridays or the weekend are "Cat Blogging" days for folks around the blogosphere.
The Mind of Mog has one here. Also here.
Even InstaPundit has one.
If you have one, please email me about it with the link. I'll try to give it a mention. While my other site receives hundreds of emails a day, this one receives few, so I can respond more quickly and link to you.
Just a reminder that while the PetPourri is "resting" during the Summer, there will be a new one in September. So while you're romping through a field with your pooch, or snuggling with your cat, or your guinea pig or snake or mice or parrot is posing for you, take those pictures and send them in! Do it now while you're thinking about it. Please put "petpourri" in the subject line so I don't accidentally delete it.
The email address is on the left sidebar.
You can view the previous PetPourris here and here.
And while you're at it, give them a big smooch for me.
Even with all that they're facing, our troops in Iraq still make time to rescue a kitten. From the Air Force Times:
In the sprawling Al Faw Palace at Camp Victory where leaders are tough and business is serious, a group of concerned officers led a team in a kitten rescue July 8.The public affairs staff had heard a family of kittens meowing in the ceiling for a couple of days, but said they were surprised to hear a faint meow in one of the pillars outside on the second floor balcony.
“When I heard the kitten, I couldn’t stand the thought of it just baking inside the pillar, so I called the palace management team who came right up,” said Maj. Denise Varner, a media operations officer here...
... Once a hole was made in the base, Colonel Morgenthaler reached in and rescued the kitten. Soon it was relaxing in its new home made out of a television box. She also tried to lure the mother cat down from the ceiling with a tuna sandwich.
“We’ve gotten rid of mice and other critters,” Mr. Nikica said. “So this is nice to rescue the kitten. Everyone’s happy.”
Major Varner named the kitten Liberty, or Libby for short. She said they plan to gather the family and release them elsewhere on base.
(U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Karen Petitt)
Heh. From Bloomberg.com:
Pet Valu Canada Inc. agreed to halt sales of dog biscuits shaped like mail carriers after the country's postal service accused the company of being insensitive to the risk of dog bites, the Globe and Mail reported.The company ordered more than 290 stores to stop selling Bark Bars after it received a ``cordially persuasive'' letter from Canada Post, the Toronto-based newspaper said, citing company President Ed Casey.
Yes, I use way too many puns around here...
I hate mentioning sickness like this and I try to minimize it here. But I think that once in a while it is important to remind folks that we all have to be on the look-out for animal cruelty -- and report it -- when we see it. From Reuters:
A Texas man was charged with animal cruelty in the death of a young dog whose snout was taped shut to prevent it from barking and disturbing his afternoon nap, police said on Friday.According to police, Richard Swift, 42, is suspected of wrapping duct tape around the muzzle, head and neck of a 1-year-old black Labrador retriever named Bull. The dog, who was outside for several hours in 95-degree (35 Celsius) heat, could not cool down by panting.
Richard Swift, 42, of The Colony, near Dallas, was arrested on July 14 and charged with animal cruelty, police said. If convicted, he could face up to two years in jail and a $10,000 fine.
Bull was euthanized after suffering from heat stroke, veterinarians who treated the dog said.
Swift, the brother of the dog's owner, apparently let Bull out of the house so he could sleep. When the dog started barking to be let back in, Swift taped his mouth shut and left Bull outside in the Texas heat "to teach the dog a lesson," The Colony police report said.
Before I started Tarazet (this blog) I used to talk about pet things at my other blog. Last Winter, I tried to bring a cold, lonely cat into my home -- with disastrous results. You can read that account if you like -- it opens in a new window -- but I won't recount it here. Suffice to say that I did everything wrong. I named the cat Kimo and here's a picture of him from last January (on my front porch, notice the snow...):
Re: The story several posts ago (below) about feeding stray cats, I do, and amazingly, tonight he came running up as I filled up the bowl with dry food that I leave outside my door.
I had actually forgotten about him and it was a pleasure to see him. But, he doesn't look good. He's much skinnier and has probably lost over a pound or two. Obviously he has been living from day-to-day or hourly. I'm sure the worms don't help. He chowed-down a bowl of food. I brought him out another bowl of (70/30%) milk and water. He slurped-up all of it and when I brought him out some more, he drank that too. Hunger and dehydration.
He's still friendly and clearly recognized me. I can't capture him. I can't control him or my own Sammy's reaction to him. All I can do is hope he's back in my area for awhile and will eat-up my food and drink. And, everynight, I will say a prayer for him to somehow find a better life. Or somehow jump into my car and let me take him to the Vet for all that he needs.
That's all I can do. Please God, take care of Kimo.
Like, REALLY BIG.
A 27-pound rabbit from Holland is believed to be the world's longest rabbit, according to a Local 6 News report.2-year-old Continental Giant is almost 4 feet long and sleeps on a dog's bed because he can't fit into a normal-sized hutch. Roberto is larger most 3-year-old children, according to the report.
Although Roberto is believed to be the world's biggest bunny, Guinness World Records said it has stopped listing "biggest animal" titles out of fear that it may lead to people deliberately overfeeding their pets to win the coveted title.
Continental Giant rabbits can live for up to 12 years, suggesting that with at least 10 years left, Roberto may still have a bit of growing to do.
Proving that there IS a "bell-curve" of human intelligence, here's a story about one woman who falls on the lower end of it... From Yahoo:
An anonymous call regarding an alligator on a chain led Fish and Wildlife officers to a home in Elkton Sunday.The officers searched a canal behind the residence and discovered a metal fence pole that had been driven into the ground.
A 5-foot alligator wearing a dog collar around its trunk was attached to the chain by a dog collar.
The officers went to the residence and interviewed a female occupant.
The female said that she had caught the gator and was keeping it as a pet and had had it for approximately three months, feeding it four pieces of chicken a day.
The female was issued misdemeanor notices to appear for possession of an American alligator and feeding a wild American alligator.
The alligator was released back into the wild at another location.
Meanwhile down under, From the Australian:
A DOG saved a Gold Coast man from his burning home by tugging his clothes to wake him, police said today.A spokeswoman said the 43-year-old man was working at a table at his Sawrey Court home, in Mount Tamborine, when he fell asleep.
The man was woken by his dog at 9.45pm to find the paperwork on the table and part of the dining and lounge room on fire.
The man and the dog fled the house without injury, but the house was badly damaged.
One woman in California has made it her mission to rescue unwanted guinea pigs from shelters, etc. The San Mateo County Times interviews her.
Teresa Murphy has been rescuing guinea pigs from shelters and homes that don't want them anymore and finding new owners for them. She talked recently with staff writer Justin Jouvenal.Q. I guess having guinea pigs in your dining room interferes with your entertaining plans.
A. It's a good thing. I'm not into cooking. I eat out a lot.
Q. How did you get into guinea pig rescue?
A. My boyfriend had a guinea pig when I met him. After doing some research, I found out that the guinea pig needed a friend, so I went to the pet store and bought a guinea pig. She was pregnant and had five babies. One of the sons got the sister and the mother pregnant so we ended up with two more litters. We ended up with about 12 guinea pigs. I did some research and reading and discovered there were guinea pigs at humane societies, pounds and shelters. It turns out there is a big problem with homeless "pocket pets" -- rats, guinea pigs and hamsters. I went to the Peninsula Humane Society and adopted one more guinea pig. I thought, "Well now, I've got 13 guinea pigs, what's one or two more? I'll do guinea pig rescue."
I leave out a dry-food bowl for a couple strays. In one town in Pennsylvania, I could soon go to jail... From KDKA TV:
People who feed feral or stray cats in one Pennsylvania County could soon face fines of up to $600 -- or even go to jail for 30 days under a new ordinance that's under consideration.Supervisors in Lower Windsor Township in York County plan to enact the ordinance at their meeting on August 12th.
It would regulate pet noises and odors, as well as making it a crime "to keep or feed any wild or feral or stray domestic cat, except in an attempt to catch such cat for proper placement."
Police Chief Dave Sterner says the proposal has brought more calls than any issue he remembers. Sterner says he's even been called a murderer.
Sterner says police won't stop anyone from feeding their own cats or feeding deer, and police won't go out and shoot cats. He says the law is aimed at controlling feral cats in residential neighborhoods.
It should come as no surprise that there are videos and such for your pets. There's a company producing "Music For Cats" for their listening pleasure. What I found amusing is that an arts critic for the Guardian (UK) is actually reviewing these records:
The people behind Music For Cats & Friends Vol. 2 (I missed out on volume one) seem to have the best intentions alongside their commercial one and are backed up by a study from the not-at-all-dubious sounding Vienna Veterinary University. I won't bore you with the details of the empirical evidence but the basic conclusions are: cats have natural rhythm, they like an insistent beat and eight out of 10 who express a preference prefer deep tones over high-pitched squawking.So, based on that, felines would choose up-tempo Tom Waits over Geddy Lee singing one of Rush's power ballads. Given their hearing range, I'd imagine dogs would be more appreciative of the Canadian trio and would welcome the opportunity to sing along to excerpts from Hemispheres.
In what will be a huge boom to research into cures for various diseases of dogs, scientists have assembled the first genome -- of a boxer -- of dogs. From PharmaBiz.Com:
The first draft of the dog genome sequence has been deposited into free public databases for use by biomedical and veterinary researchers around the globe, the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), one of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), announced.The breed of dog sequenced was the boxer, which was chosen after analyses of 60 dog breeds found it was one of the breeds with the least amount of variation in its genome and therefore likely to provide the most reliable reference genome sequence.
The NHGRI-supported researchers are currently comparing the dog and human genome sequences and plan to publish results of their analysis in the next several months.
The dog genome is similar in size to the genomes of humans and other mammals, containing approximately 2.5 billion DNA base pairs. Due to a long history of selective breeding, many types of dogs are prone to genetic diseases that are difficult to study in humans, such as cancer, heart disease, deafness, blindness and autoimmune disorders. In addition, the dog is an important model for the genetics of behaviour and is used extensively in pharmaceutical research, the NIH release says.
To best characterize disease in dogs, it is important to have a sufficient number of markers in the genome. Therefore, in addition to the boxer, nine other dog breeds, four wolves and a coyote were sampled to generate markers that can be used in disease studies in any dog breed.
A team led by Kerstin Lindblad-Toh of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Mass, and Agencourt Bioscience Corp, Beverly, Mass assembled the genome of the domestic dog (Canis familiaris).
Now dogs have their own bakeries -- even a franchise of them... From the King County Journal (WA):
REDMOND -- Randy Randolph's business is going to the dogs.And that's just fine by Randolph, ``top dog'' at the Three Dog Bakery.
Co-owned by Randolph, his wife, Bonnie Chin, her brother David Chin and Randolph's brother Brian Randolph, Three Dog Bakery -- part of a chain of franchised stores -- specializes in 130 different treats for dogs.
That includes dog birthday cakes, made of whole wheat flour and apple sauce with honey and yogurt frosting on top, and personalized with the lucky dog's name.
And that's not to mention the 20 or 25 wedding cakes the bakery in downtown Seattle has turned out.
(The store also carries an assortment of toys and other items for dogs.)
It's a labor of love for Redmond's Randolph and his dog-loving partners.
I normally find stories by simply entering "cat" or "dog" et cetera into Yahoo News Search. Almost all the stories that came up under cat this morning concerned cruelty and I just don't want to bum you (or ME!) out too much. I'll just mention one, below.
Just an unfortunate reminder that there are some mutants among us who hate animals enough to kill them. From ic Dumfries:
POLICE are hunting a cat killer in Moffat.Two domestic pets had to be put down this week after being poisoned.
Police confirmed that they have had three incidents in the Dundanion Road area in the past fortnight and that they had a number of similar deaths last year.
One resident believes the death toll could be as high as a dozen since last summer.
This story was referred to me by several readers as well as being reported by Matt Drudge last week. Indigo Insights sent me the photo. From the AP:
When Maggie Rogers spotted something bobbing in the water three miles into the Gulf of Mexico while on a scalloping trip with friends, she assumed it was a turtle, or a piece of sea kelp.But as the boat got closer and slowed down, she discovered it was a tiny, apricot-colored kitten. Nine inches long and screeching, the cat was paddling furiously.
''We scooped him up and he sat on the boat with me for eight hours,'' said Rogers, who is the finance director at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium.
''He was exhausted and stressed,'' Rogers said. ''His heart rate was high.''
The boaters on the 17-foot Scout Current Drift did not know how the kitten arrived in the Homosassa Bay. There were at least 40 boats in the crowded area where he was found, they said.
On Tuesday, three days after he was found, a veterinarian said the 10-week-old, 1-pound kitten had worms, but was otherwise healthy.
He was adopted by Rogers' sister-in-law - and named Nemo.
Here's a story referred to me by TWO good friends of Tarazet, Indigo Insights and Publius & Co....
Fort Carson Staff Sgt. Rick Bousfield of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team had a mission: Saving Pvt. Hammer.Pfc. Hammer is an Iraqi tabby cat the unit adopted after he was born last fall at a base in Balad, 50 miles north of Baghdad.
When Bousfield found out his unit was leaving Iraq (news - web sites) in March, he decided he couldn't leave a member of his team behind.
"He has been through mortar attacks," said Bousfield, a 19-year Army veteran. "He'd jump and get scared liked the rest of us. He is kind of like one of our own."
Pfc. Hammer got his name from the unit that adopted him, Team Hammer. Soldiers would tuck Hammer in their body armor during artillery attacks, and in return, Hammer chased mice in the mess hall.
"He was a stress therapist," Bousfield said. "The guys would come back in tired and stressed. Hammer would come back and bug the heck out of you. He wiped away some worries."
The kitten earned his rank after nabbing five mice.
When Bousfield learned his unit was going, he sent an e-mail to Alley Cat Allies, a national clearinghouse of information on stray cats, asking for help bringing Hammer along.
Alley Cat Allies raised $2,500 for Hammer's shots, sterilization, paperwork and a plane ride to the United States.
Hammer left Iraq with his unit in March, then flew from Kuwait to San Francisco in cargo-class. He traveled first class with an Alley Cat Allies volunteer to Denver.
Bousfield met the kitten at the airport.
It's one of those slow, lazy days during the Summer and the hyper-active Crispy Critter Cat is taking a break:
Consider this a Tuesday cat-blogging...
Summer Stock theaters are a part of life in much of the world (they certainly are in New England, where I live.) I wish I'd seen this performance of Annie:
Anderegg's Annie is delightful. On Friday she was nearly upstaged by Tetley, the dog playing Sandy. At first, Tetley didn't seem to want to be on stage. Anderegg attempted to wrangle him and offer him treats, but he just dragged her around the set. During a bit with a policeman played by A. Donald Cross, Tetley wriggled out of his collar and fled the scene entirely, leaving troupers Anderegg and Cross to improvise a scene about the dog without the dog. The audience was delighted by the unintentional comedy.
A dog in Australia is about to turn 27-years-old and may be the world's oldest living dog. From Yahoo:
CANBERRA, Australia - A 26-year-old mongrel living with an Aboriginal family in Australia's Outback has the potential to become the world's oldest living dog, a newspaper reported Sunday.Jerry, an Australian cattle dog-bull terrier cross, will next month turn 27 — the equivalent of 189 years for a human — said Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals veterinarian Honey Nelson in Sydney's Daily Telegraph.
"He will be 27 ... years in August — I have no doubt at all," Nelson reportedly said after examining Jerry. "He could push on to 28, going by his good body condition."
The oldest living dog in the 2004 edition of "Guinness World Records" is Butch, a 27-year-old beagle in the U.S. state of Virginia.
Jerry's owner, Waddie Harris — an Aboriginal tribal leader in New South Wales state's Wilcannia town, put Jerry's longevity down to his high-protein diet of Outback wildlife.
"Jerry has grown up on kangaroo, rabbit and emu as well as scraps off the table," the newspaper quoted Harris as saying.
An Australian cattle dog named Bluey, who died in 1939 at age 29, is thought to have been the world's oldest dog, the newspaper said.
Cat owners are no longer allowing their boarded cats to be the second-class citizens at kennels. From the Monterey County Herald:
When mom and dad go on vacation, Marcel goes to camp.At least that's how Jen Kwan and her boyfriend refer to the Catnap Inn in Guilford, Conn. Opened in October 2003, the inn is the newest addition to a small group of kennels in the state designed specifically for cats.
Everything about the inn has a familial feel to it. Owners Dawn and Job Day live next door. Instead of the stainless-steel floors and bars typically found at kennels, this boarding resort has suites of mahogany, southern red birch and break-resistant glass that Job, 47, designed and built...
[snip]
...Job Day believes that cats-only kennels have particular appeal to owners of indoor cats because they spend so much time together. ''People are getting more attached to them,'' he said.
So when it comes to temporary boarding, cat owners want more. Guests at the Catnap Inn lounge in three-story suites that have 21 square feet of floor space. The litter box sits in the lower level next to a small, narrow cubby for treats that mom and dad -- as Dawn calls the owners -- leave for their cats. An overnight stay costs $15; for longer stays, the last day is free if your cat checks out before noon.
Unlike most kennels, each suite is ventilated with a negative-pressure air flow system, which is used in hospitals and laboratories to slow the spread of diseases and odors. Dawn also requires that the cats be treated for fleas before they arrive at the inn.
Hard to believe, but one species of rabbit is almost on the Endangered Species list. From the Salem Times:
Not all rabbits are reproducing like rabbits.The New England cottontail, a small, brown bunny that looks like every other rabbit in this part of the world, is getting so scarce it might soon be on the nation's endangered species list.
Scientists aren't sure why this close cousin to the Eastern and Appalachian cottontails has all but disappeared from the region it's named for, but reports show it might be heading for extinction. Overdevelopment and predation are being blamed for what's estimated to be a 75 percent drop in the cuddly creature over the past 30 years, and now the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is stepping in.
You bet! There's a story from last week's New York Times about a family that owns up to a promise of a pet rabbit for the daughter. From the article:
I tried to picture rabbits playing with toys.Instead, the only mental image that appeared was of my childhood pet Paul, a white rabbit that for two years had huddled in a corner of his cage without comment. Then one day he ate a dishtowel and died, leaving as his legacy a strong smell of urine in our family room.
Toys? Maybe I had overlooked something.
I mentioned some cats looking for a home several posts down, now I've found a story about rats doing the same. From the Journal News comes this story from Ardsley, NY:
...The next day, as classes ended for the year, teachers caught two rats let loose in the cafeteria.Now Martin is trying to find good homes for the rats — and the 18 babies they recently gave birth to.
Martin said rats are friendlier and make better pets than mice, hamsters or gerbils.
"Rats are much smarter and calmer," she said. "But because they're rats, they come with a stigma. People think of sewer rats, but pet rats are completely different."
She should know. She already has six pet rats, along with four parakeets, two cats and a dog.
Despite her family's fondness for the rats, her mother said there was no way they could keep the 20 new arrivals, now housed in Martin's garage. "Can you wonder why?" Doreen Martin said, with a tone of irony.
Kofi, a lively black Labrador retriever from Support Dogs, Inc., could be
considered eight-year-old Libby Schuedig's new best friend. Since April of
2004, Kofi's job has been to be Libby's companion and give physical support to
her, a vocation the dog appears to think of as play.Schuedig, of Imperial, was born 12 weeks premature with spina bifida, a
congenital birth defect in which her spinal column failed to close completely,
leaving a section of her spinal cord protruding. Neurological damage left her
physically disabled. Today, after a number of surgeries, Schuedig is able to
get around by using a walker and wheelchair—and now Kofi."When he (Kofi) gets his leash on, then he knows, okay I'm a work dog now,"
said Libby's mother, Amy Schuedig.According to Libby Schuedig, Kofi will help her do "lots of stuff," including
steadying her while she stands.
What? Your guide dog isn't bi-linqual? From Yahoo:
A blind francophone student at the University of New Brunswick has been barred from English-immersion classes because his guide dog only responds to French commands.Yvan Tessier of Trois-Rivieres, Que., said Tuesday he has been told he and his dog Pavot can't attend the immersion program at the university's Fredericton campus...
...
... Tessier said he sent a cheque for the course in the spring and understood he was accepted.However, he said when he later informed the university that he was visually impaired, the university said it did not have time to properly prepare for Tessier's special needs.
The university also tried to elicit a signed pledge from Tessier declaring that he would communicate with his dog only in English.
"It is imperative that you return this signed statement indicating your understanding that all communication with your guide dog will be exclusively in English," states the declaration sent to Tessier by Debbie Pepin, co-ordinator of the university's English-language program...
...
... University officials were scrambling Tuesday to explain what happened."In Mr. Tessier's case, some of the program's academic and administrative requirements were not met, and adequate advance notice of Mr. Tessier's intent to attend this particular session was not given," the university said in a statement.
"The university was, therefore, unable to accommodate Mr. Tessier in this particular five-week session."
Susan Mesheau, a spokesman for UNB, said the university has a good track record with visually impaired students. She said there have been other cases were students attended the English immersion program with guide dogs.
Even if you don't have pets -- even if you think you are allergic to dog or cat allergens -- you can't escape them... From Eurek Alert:
Scientists at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), one of the National Institutes of Health, and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development have found that detectable levels of dog and cat allergens are universally present in U.S. homes. Although allergen levels were considerably higher in homes with an indoor dog or cat, levels previously associated with an increased risk of allergic sensitization were common even in homes without the pets.This report by Arbes et al., which will appear in the July 2004 issue of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, is one of a series of allergen reports from the National Survey of Lead and Allergens in Housing. In that nationally representative survey of 831 homes, researchers collected dust samples, asked questions, and examined homes.
Have you checked out The Cat Site?
First, a quick story from the Muscatine Journal:
A Clear Lake [Iowa] woman has become an author of a children's book she based on the crazy antics of her hairless cat.Sharon Anderson's book, ''Bare - The Hairless Hero,'' is a collection of four stories about her mischievous cat, Bare. It was recently published by Allen Printing & Publishing Company in Clarion.
The retired schoolteacher is giving away copies of the book to Ronald McDonald Houses in Iowa City, Sioux City and Des Moines and to Mercy Medical Center-North Iowa. Copies have also been donated to her church, Clear Lake Christian Church, and the Clear Lake Public Library.
She estimates she has given away about 300 copies of the book so far.
Then there's Charles M. Schultz, creator of the great comic strip Peanuts which featured Snoopy the beagle. Yet I've always felt that Snoopy acted more like a cat. And I remember (but can't find) a photo I saw of Schultz holding his pet cat... Hmmm...
I'm curious to know if you readers have a favorite animal character in book or film. Would YOUR good dog or cat make a good protagonist?
Animal lovers are trying to catch and find homes for a bunch of stray cats living in a construction area. From NBC 10 TV:
A wild cat roundup is occurring in Philadelphia that has animal lovers trying to catch at least 70 cats and kittens caught in the middle of a new construction project.The major construction project is near the Roosevelt Boulevard in Northeast Philadelphia. It involves a tiny plot of land with trees and brush that remains untouched because it is the home of a colony of cats.
However, cat lovers are worried sick about their furry friends.
Almost every day for the past five years, Elaine has set out food for the 70 cats that call this overgrown thicket home.
"It's a labor of love. It's a compulsion," she says.
She's captured some cats, and she tries to have them neutered
The activists say the population has been there for probably 40 years, and it would be tragic if the cats were plowed under and killed.
That's not going to happen, insists the company behind all this development.
"The difficulties they've had, they haven't been able to move the cats in the time frame they'd like to, so we have to step in and help them," says Greg Reaves of the Goldenberg Group.
The activists also say the cats have been fed for so long that most would die if they were relocated to the wild.
The cat lovers are searching for volunteers to help them safely trap the kitties and they're searching for a new location the cats can call home.
If you'd like to help, call (215) 338-1414.
Another story about a divorce that winds up centering on custody of the family pets. From the Chicago Tribune:
Lynn Goldstein Nichols still has nightmares about Beanie and Kacey, the two cats she lost to her ex-husband in a divorce four years ago. And to this day, she says, it hurts more to think about her lost pets than the 30 days she spent in jail for disobeying a judge's order to give them up.''If I could, I would spend all my time crusading to change the laws that say these living creatures that spend their life with you are nothing more than property,'' said Nichols, 54, of Louisville. ''If your pets are like your children and you get a divorce, they end up getting divided up like pots and pans. It's devastating.''
With so many marriages in America ending in divorce, couples aren't just fighting over the kids or who gets the china and the king-size bed anymore. A growing number are squaring off over who will end up with the family pet.
Chicago had their "cows" and now a town in Michigan has its dogs... From the Detroit News:
It’s all the rage in social circles. Blank fiberglass sculptures dressed up by talented artists, donated by philanthropic business owners to benefit designated charities. Chicago did cows. San Francisco pulled out hearts. And Birmingham, well, Birmingham went to the dogs.“People in Birmingham love their dogs,” explained Stacey Kives-Bigley, the event co-chair, whose fiberglass dog was dressed up in pearls and a painted-on pastel frock that represents the style of clothing sold in her Birmingham boutique, Pink Envy.
An estimated 180 people crammed into the Corner Bar in Birmingham on Wednesday for the Dog Town preview evening titled Three Dog Night. It was the first opportunity to view a sampling of the artistically designed dogs before they are unleashed on the streets of Birmingham...
I don't know why I would put a story like this here but it's a slow news day... From CNN:
A German woman has been charged with helping her two daughters murder their father amid suspicions the family fed his body to their pet Doberman dogs, police said.The family reported the dead man, identified as Rudolph R., 52, as missing to the local police in the southern German town of Neuburg in October 2001.
Police confirmed press reports that the fiance of one of the dead man's daughters had already confessed to bludgeoning him with a wooden board, slicing the man's body into pieces and feeding it to the family's seven dogs.
A police spokesman said there were indications, but no concrete proof, that the man's body had been fed to the dogs. He did not provide further details.
In the previous post I asked how your pets handled the "noise" of Independence Day. From KNTV:
A number of stray dogs that appear to have run away due to stress caused by Fourth of July fireworks were taken in by the Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA, shelter officials said Monday.Between Sunday afternoon and 10 a.m. Monday, 25 dogs were taken in -- over three times more dogs than during a similar time period on an average day, shelter officials said.
Shelter staff began calling families Sunday evening to let them know their pets were OK, and when the shelter's doors opened Monday morning, 12 dog owners were waiting outside hoping to be reunited with their canine counterparts.
Since it's the Fourth of July (Happy Birthday America!) I was wondering, since no doubt there are fireworks, firecrackers and cherrybombs going off in your neighborhoods, how your pets react to the noise. Two of my cats don't seem to notice but Crispy loves noise and heads right to the window to catch the action or see what it was...
And again, from Germany... From Reuters:
A Berlin animal shelter is trying to wean a 31-pound cat off its daily diet of oily tuna fish, hoping the obese animal's health will improve enough to find it a new home.Peter, the second grossly overweight cat the shelter has received in recent months, has trouble moving and cleaning himself because of his swollen body, spokeswoman Claudia Pfister said.
"Peter doesn't like the taste of the diet food and will only eat tuna fish," she said, adding the cat was at least 20 pounds overweight.
She said his elderly owner, who died recently, spoiled him with large daily helpings of tuna. "We're giving him his tuna fish now, but only diet-sized portions and without the oil."
A paraplegic dog is helping people feel better about themselves. From WKMG TV in Florida:
A tiny paraplegic dog named Wheely Willy is warming hearts in Japan.At least one man in a wheelchair was moved to tears Friday when Willy visited elderly patients at a Tokyo hospital. Others smiled and called the little dog an inspiration.
It's the first trip out of the United States for Willy, a chihuahua rescued from a California freeway 15 years ago.
When passers-by found him, Willy's spinal cord was so badly damaged he lost the use of his hind legs. His throat was also injured, leaving him unable to bark.
Former pet shop owner Deborah Turner took him in. She gave Willy a frame with wheels so that he could walk on his two front legs, and started taking him on visits to schools and hospitals. She said he's brought joy to many lives.