My thanks to my buddy Chip Taylor for pointing me to a story of a miniature dachshund lost in the woods for almost a week following an auto accident. From the Missourian:
These two haven't seen each other since the night of Oct. 22, when Stewart lost control of her northbound Jeep and overturned in the median on Interstate 55. The accident 10 miles north of Fruitland put Stewart, a St. Louis resident, in Saint Francis Medical Center with a broken left shoulder, a fractured right arm, four cracked ribs and the news that Shelby and her miniature dachshund brother, Harvey, were killed in the accident. In fact, Harvey had been killed, but Shelby just couldn't be found."They didn't want to get her hopes up," says Stewart's friend and co-worker Mark Parsons, his pants spotted with mud and water stains from helping to search for Shelby.
Parsons was part of the search party that found the 3-year-old dog in a wooded area outside Fruitland at about 12:30 Thursday afternoon, about 2 miles from the interstate.
Ever since news of the missing dog hit the Cape Girardeau media, area residents had been calling in with Shelby sightings. Stewart's friends and family spent hours searching the ditches and woods along I-55 for the dog. Tuesday night, Linda Kesterson called to report that she'd seen a dog like Shelby several times outside of her Fruitland home.
In response, Parsons and co-worker Laura Karr drove down from St. Louis, rendezvoused with Stewart's sister, Sandy Stewart of Portageville, Mo., and took to the woods around Kesterson's home around 9 a.m. Thursday. But three hours of fruitless searching left the party with little hope.
"We were beginning to doubt. I mean, that little dog had been living in the woods for five days," Parsons says.
The fact that Shelby had been a "total house dog" as described by the Stewart family didn't boost hopes for the animal's survival.
After noon, the party gave up hope and returned to Kesterson's house to thank her for her help. As their vehicle pulled out of her driveway, Sandy Stewart turned left and spotted Shelby.
"She was just standing there like a prayer answered," says Parsons, gazing at the happy dog.
I missed Friday Cat Blogging but my buddies at Weekend Pundit didn't. And Benny is a very handsome cat indeed!
...And I just had a post about "service dogs" last week... From MSNBC:
RICHLAND, Wash. - Leana Beasley has faith that a dog is man’s best friend.Faith, a 4-year-old Rottweiler, phoned 911 when Beasley fell out of her wheelchair and barked urgently into the receiver until a dispatcher sent help. Then the service dog unlocked the front door for the police officer.
“I sensed there was a problem on the other end of the 911 call,” said dispatcher Jenny Buchanan. “The dog was too persistent in barking directly into the phone receiver. I knew she was trying to tell me something.”
Faith is trained to summon help by pushing a speed-dial button on the phone with her nose after taking the receiver off the hook, said her owner, Beasley, 45, who suffers grand mal seizures.
Guided by experts at the Assistance Dog Club of Puget Sound, Beasley helped train Faith herself.
The day of the fall, Faith “had been acting very clingy, wanting to be touching me all day long,” Beasley said Thursday.
The dog, whose sensitive nose can detect changes in Beasley’s body chemistry, is trained to alert her owner to impending seizures.
But that wasn’t what was happening on Sept. 7, and Faith apparently wasn’t sure how to communicate the problem. During Beasley’s three-week hospital stay, doctors determined her liver was not properly processing her seizure medication.
From the department of Really Stupid Criminals comes this story from the Sun-Sentinel:
MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Fearing a parrot named Marshmallow could identify them, three thieves returned to the scene of the crime to silence the bird -- only to be caught by police.After making off with a booty of DVD players, computers, radios, TVs and other electronic gear _ one of the suspects realized a parrot in the home had heard him using the nickname "J. J.'' and was repeating it.
"They were afraid the bird would 'stool' on them,'' police Maj. Billy Garrett said. "They actually believed he could identify them.''
They decided to go back for the bird, loading it into the getaway car as police arrived on the scene. The chase ended in just a few blocks, with the men crashing their car.
The foot-tall parrot, with light green feathers, flew away when his cage broke open in the crash. It hasn't been seen since.
From the Buck's County Courrier Times (PA):
Three members of a Doylestown family had enough warning to escape injury Wednesday morning after a pet dog and a smoke detector alerted them to a fire in the basement.Deb and Vince Prendergast and their granddaughter, Haele, were able to get out of their Chubb Drive home safely after the fire started at about 7:30 a.m.
The Prendergasts credited their son's dog Moose for alerting them shortly after the fire started by barking and scratching at the couple's bedroom door, according to Larry Browne, an assistant public information officer for the Doylestown Fire Co.
"The smoke detectors had something to do with it," Browne said. "But they're putting some credence in the dog (helping to alert them to the fire)."
After the dog woke her up, Mrs. Prendergast woke her husband and granddaughter, dialed 911 and all three left the house.
A dog saved a Butler County woman from her burning home Wednesday.Dorothy Bordine's dog Queenie is a new edition to the family.
Wednesday morning, the 82-year-old was in a back room when her kitchen caught fire.
Queenie made sure Bordine got out of the house.
Bordine said, "She was just barking and jumping up and down. It was very unlike her. At first I thought the door bell was ringing because I couldn't hear it down there. That wasn't it at all and I realized there was something wrong."
Bordine said she probably would have lost the house if it wasn't for Queenie.
Ever wonder where your dog is visiting as he meanders through the neighborhood? Want to see things through his perspective? From ABC News:
Japanese dog lovers will get to see the world from the perspective of their pets, with a digital camera attached to their companions' collars.Toy maker Tomy will launch the 38-gram "Wonderful Shot" on Friday at a cost of 9,240 yen ($US87).
The company says it can take pictures via a remote control, letting owners "enjoy pictures from dogs' view".
Or owners can put on a time switch, taking pictures at intervals of one minute to one hour.
"You can check where your beloved dog is or what it is looking at while you are away from home," the firm said.
The camera can take up to 90 pictures of 350,000 pixels.
A black cat gets loose from it's owner on a crowded airplane and all hell breaks loose... From the New York Times:
I called the flight attendant and told her that there was a cat under my seat. She was obviously not a cat person, because she bent over and tried to pick it up. The cat scratched her hand and scurried away. She jumped back and lost her footing, nearly landing in a passenger's lap. "I hope the cat had all its shots," I heard her say to no one in particular.A few moments later, she announced: Would the cat's owner please come forward?
No one responded.
I heard the flight attendants talking about the fact that there was no cat on the passenger manifest. They speculated it might be a stowaway. It took 10 minutes before a passenger finally 'fessed up. It turns out that she had hidden the cat in a backpack, and it had clawed its way out.
Meanwhile, everyone on board was trying to capture the cat. Crew members were chasing it through the cabin and grabbing it, but it kept escaping. The cat became so anxious that it began soiling the carpet. The passengers who weren't busy hunting the cat were complaining about the smell. Finally, the cat passed under my seat again and I was able to snatch it by the scruff of its neck. It was trembling and its eyes were about the size of large marbles. I handed the cat back to its owner, and it spent the rest of the flight locked in an economy-class restroom.
Remember Christina Applegate from Married With Children? She has a cat that sings. From the department of really slow news days comes this ContactMusic.Com story:
Sexy actress CHRISTINA APPLEGATE's pet cat has a special talent - it sings.The former MARRIED...WITH CHILDREN star, who has two cats and a dog, recently discovered her pet's vocal abilities, and now she's started to record it.
She says, "My cat sings with me - and I have tapes of it. I discovered this talent in my cat one day when I was doing vocal scales in my house.
"Every time I would go to the bottom of the scale, he would sing. And then I'd go up again and I'd stop and he'd go, 'Meow.' And on and on and on. On key, on time, every time."
But Applegate admits her other cat boasts no such talent, joking, "She's more of a dancer!"
You want to see a cutie-pie puppy? The Pryhills have one named Skye. Is that a face you could just "smooch"?
Mog is feeding her cats prime rib. And she wonders why they're hovering around her own plate now...
Yeah, I was surprised to find out they had them there, too. But due to lack of funding, it's becoming an endangered sport there. From the Strathspey & Badenoch Herald:
ORGANISERS of Britain's largest dog sled race have warned that next year could be the last time the event will be held in Aviemore because of funding problems.More than 200 teams from across the UK take part in the annual rally staged in January which has been held in Aviemore for the past 20 years.
But members of The Siberian Husky Club of Great Britain, which organises the event, say they may have to look to relocating the races elsewhere because of a lack of sponsorship.
Club secretary Penny Evans said: "Basically we are skint and desperate for funding assistance."
It is estimated that the three to four days of sleddog racing helps to inject more than £1 million into the local economy, and the husky club claims it is second only to Crufts in terms of media interest.
The races staged at Glenmore Forest at the outset of this year were beamed into millions of homes with on the hour coverage from Sky Sport.
The rally has mushroomed since 12 sled dog teams first competed in Aviemore in 1984 and it has since become a mainstay of the tourism calendar.
However, organisers have been struggling with funding the event since the main sponsors, Spillers Petfood, pulled out of not only the races but the sport itself four years ago when they were taken over by bigger rivals.
Here's a helpful story for you dog owners (and there's also a video) from TV 9 (Albany NY) on how to (and why you should) keep your dog's ears clean.
Laurence Simon has the latest edition up of the Carnival of the Cats. So why are you still here?
I have recounted here many times the "wonderfulness" (that's a word, isn't it?) of dogs. Certainly they are the best friends of us human-people type persons. What a joy it must be (plus some hard work) to raise a furry-friend destined to be someone else's guide dog. Yes, you're doing good, helping to train a dog to be the companion and friend and mostly the HELPER to someone who needs an assistant. But the folks who graciously consent to do this can't help but bond with the puppy they're entrusted with. And it really must be painful to give that young dog up finally, even knowing that the dog has a loving task ahead of it being the eyes or ears of someone in need. From the (CA) San Mateo County Times:
Puppy-raisers house-train the pups, teach them basic obedience and good manners, and -- above all -- socialize them to the world. Stahl and Formosa attended San Bruno Dog Obedience School, went shopping and to restaurants, traveled on BART and SamTrans, attended 4-H meetings and the San Mateo County Fair, and provided pet therapy to the elderly.Formosa returned to the Guide Dog campus for formal guidework training in March at age 18 months. Following completion of her training, she was partnered with graduating student Gerald Rickert in July.
After several weeks of an intensive in-residence course together, Rickert and Formosa are now enjoying their new life together. "Raising Formosa was an experience I will never forget," Stahl said. "She's a wonderful dog. My whole family is very proud of her, and it's a great feeling to know that we were able to help Gerald and his family."
For more than 50 years, Guide Dogs for the Blind has been creating lifelong partnerships by providing skilled dogs and training for free. The organization receives no government funds but depends entirely on private donations. For questions or to donate, contact Guide Dogs for the Blind, National Office, P.O. Box 151200, San Rafael, CA 94015; call (800) 295-4050; or visit Guide Dogs For the Blind.
Pay attention, Sammy... From Yahoo:
LONDON (AFP) - The controversial Atkins diet, credited by a host of celebrities for helping them acquire a svelte figure, has a new figurehead -- a portly British cat which has shed half its body weight under the regime.Using a version of the no-carbohydrate, high-protein diet, dubbed perhaps inevitably "Catkins", Fidget has slimmed down from a hefty 22 pounds (10 kilos) to only 11 pounds, his owner said Wednesday.
Pet shop owner Shaun Kirk tried the new regime after Fidget, aged 18, found it difficult to crunch dry biscuits.
The newly-sleek cat, who used to tear open packets of food for himself in the shop whenever he felt peckish, instead tucks into tins of meat.
"I suppose you could say he's on the Catkins diet," said Kirk, from Tyneside, northeast England, adding that the weight loss had nothing to do with a new exercise regime.
First, of course, you really need to be sure you are playing with your cats and giving them regular exercise, not just letting them lounge around. Second, cut down the portions of food or even put the dry food away during the day or at night to slim them down if they are obese. They'll be healthier and (in reality) happier, and live longer...
Having said that; Rainbow was obese for much of her life and she lived to be 20 1/2. I'm sure it (cat longevity) is mostly "in the genes" but I really believe that regular play with them -- exercise -- is the biggest factor in keeping them at a proper weight. And I DO hate denying them food when they want it...
What a shame that we live in a society where people might try to adopt a black cat just to harm it. From NBC4 TV:
LOS ANGELES -- A local humane society placed a hold on black cat adoptions until after Halloween, the group said Monday.The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Los Angeles takes similar action every Halloween in an effort to head off possible harm to the felines, which are associated with bringing bad luck.
"... Many people have ulterior motives when adopting black cats." said SPCALA president Madeline Bernstein. "It is a shame that all the myths and superstitions about black cats have made them targets, and it is simply not safe to allow these adoptions around this holiday."
In the past, Halloween-related mistreatment of black cats has ranged from using them as party props to sacrificing them during satanic rituals, according to the society.
My cat Sammy is all black and she has brought me nothing but GOOD LUCK. Indeed, I consider her just one of my many blessings. She is also (and always has been) the best behaved of my feline friends and she's not even a "bed hog" in that she just sleeps in the far corner of the bed that I never use, so to speak.
She also keeps me company when I'm reading and sometimes I read outloud to her. She seems to enjoy that too. I think I'll post this now so I can give her another "smooch".
California and especially the City of San Francisco are leading the nation in issuing special licenses to dogs (well, their owners) who -- on doctors' orders -- prescribe the companionship of a dog for the well being of someone. From the SF Gate:
Jackson, 55 and HIV-positive, had trouble with depression and was feeling isolated, not really wanting to leave home. But two months ago, he adopted Topper from a rescue agency. "It's the best thing I've done in 20 years,'' he said. "He needed love and affection as much as I did.''One of the first things Jackson did was register Topper with the Animal Care & Control agency in San Francisco as an "assistance dog.''
The official designation gives Jackson the legal right to take his four- legged companion on the bus or in a taxi and into shops, restaurants and public buildings. And, perhaps most importantly, his landlord had to make an exception to the no-dogs policy for the apartment Jackson rents in the city's Upper Market neighborhood.
Topper is not alone. By last week, San Francisco had issued 658 tags for assistance dogs -- a number that reflects a big jump since a 2002 ruling by a state regulatory agency that gave people troubled by psychological and emotional problems the right to keep companion dogs and to exercise the legal benefits that go along with it.
Service dogs traditionally have been paired with the visually and hearing impaired, and people using wheelchairs. Now, however, more are helping people who are depressed or anxious and who rely on canine companionship to help them cope.
I pretty much avoid ALL political discussion here at Tarazet, saving any such angry stuff for my other blog. Tarazet is meant to be "politics free" except as it might occasionally pertain to our beloved pets. Tarazet is meant to be a fun place. So I'm sure the title of this post worried you some. Fear not, it's only to mention an article about a semi-regular to the NBC Today Show who discusses the candidates' dogs, and has a new book out I saw mentioned the other day. From the Miami Herald:
Mo Rocca is analyzing the 2004 election with a precision that would make Tim Russert or Jeff Greenfield proud. Only he's focusing on the dogs behind the candidates.First, Sen. John Kerry's German shepherd, Cym.
"A male dog named Kim and, worse yet, it's spelled C-Y-M? I mean, that's just not going to play in swing states like Missouri. Or Michigan? Hello, not! In the rust belt, do you think anyone's going to go for a male dog named Cym? To me, that's got wacky billionairess written all over it. It's got Teresa's paw prints.''
Next, President George W. Bush's Scottish terrier, Barney.
"The Scottie is likable, feisty, a little rash. It urinates on itself uncontrollably at times, and yet it's forgiven over and over again. Although we'll see how much can be forgiven on Nov. 2.''
Who is this earnest oddball with the rectangular glasses and enough TV jobs to keep your Tivo humming around the clock? Maybe you recognize him from NBC's Today, where he has become the person most likely to get belly laughs out of Katie Couric's floor staff.
His new book, All the Presidents' Pets (Crown, $22), deserves a genre all its own: the docu-satire. By placing real-life Washington players into absurd scenarios, it spins a wild and hilarious tale of who's really running the show in Washington.Hint: The true power brokers have four legs.
In Rocca's hilariously demented universe, Lyndon Johnson and his beagle, Him, discuss the Gulf of Tonkin resolution that resulted in the escalation of the Vietnam War.
The Cuban Missile Crisis is solved by a romance between Charlie, John F. Kennedy's terrier, and Pushinka, the dog given to Jacqueline Kennedy by Soviet leader Nikita Khruschev.
And in 1798, John Adams' bulldog and Thomas Jefferson's sheepdog try and fail to maintain a civil tone during Crossfire debate between Alexander Hamilton and James Madison.
The book's main character is Rocca himself, who -- and this part is fictional, but not that unlikely -- is hired by MSNBC to cover Bush's dog, Barney. The job lands him a seat inside the White House press briefing room, where he meets veteran White House correspondent Helen Thomas, who leads him down a hidden tunnel and into a secret lair where she keeps the true history of the presidential pets.
And, of course, when I turn to the comics section of the paper, the first ones I read are Marmaduke and Garfield. And isn't everyones' favorite character in Peanuts, Snoopy?
Of course you should all be emailing me pictures of your cats and dogs (I have several submissions now but need more) for the next PetPourri which I'll put together in a couple weeks. But you can also get them bound in a book for all immortality if they're selected for the next editions of Cats 24/7 and Dogs 24/7. My thanks to reader Amanda for pointing these links out to me:
So there you go! By the way, please do send me interesting links to things you think others would like to read about -- no, that isn't an invitation to spam with diet, drug, gambling, porno sites -- non-commercial stuff about our pets. And for you bloggers, I really do have trouble keeping up with everything so don't be shy in emailing me about posts of your pet friends. I can't promise to link to all of them but I'll try to give mentions when I can.
My two thuggish cats are mugging for the camera tonight:
Sammy is the woman of the house now.
Crispy with glowing eyes...
I happen to like birds. As a kid I didn't really care about them but as I grew older I started to admire them. The freedom their wings provide, watching them soar through the sky (and I swear it seems like sometimes birds just fly for the fun of flying around...) I love crows, the fact that they pair-off for life, and their intelligence and seeming boldness.
Anyway, if you're a bird enthusiast too, here's a source of bird calls for you via Science News:
The Macaulay Library at Cornell University has the largest collection of animal sounds in the world. More than 67 percent of the world's birds are represented in the center's 160,000 recordings, along with sounds made by insects, fish, frogs, and mammals. The Library also archives and preserves a sampling of the behaviors of different animal species using digital video and audio. Download the songs of various backyard birds, from chickadees to goldfinches, at the following Web page.
From up North comes this Yahoo news story:
Newfoundland RCMP have caged a cat burglar with an apparent fondness for felines.A 21-year-old man faces charges of break, enter and theft after a kitten and a quantity of cash were taken from the local SPCA early Thursday. "There was no intent of injury to the cat. This person just happened to be a cat lover," said Const. Greg Mitchell. The kitten, a six-week-old black-and-orange cat named Wendy, was found in an area home and returned to the SPCA. The money, between $200 and $300, was not recovered.
Here's a nice email I received in response to the previous post:
I coordinate Paws here on the Big Island of Hawaii. Thanks for mentioning Adopt a shelter dog. Please visit Paws Across Hawaii and you can see we are also promoting Love-A-Dog Month with a humane education program for kids called "I Care About Animals!" in our special Keiki Korner. Anyone can get a free Love-A-Dog button at most of the public libraries on the Big Island. Kids can also earn Paw Points to redeem items from our Keiki Kupboard. This month's theme is about dogs and kids can take an Internet Scavenger Hunt to learn things about dogs. (3 versions for different ages.)
Our next Paws Across Hawai'i meeting is October 23rd in Volcano from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00. Our guest speaker is Sapphire Moon a telepathic healer and animal communicator.
Just wanted to share this information with you.
Any questions,
please let me know.
Catherine (Cat) Killam
Paws Across Hawaii
I also operate Cat-Care, which has a no-kill cat sanctuary Hale Meow Meow aka The Cat House.
I did not know this until today but October is designated as "Adopt a Shelter Dog Month" and for those of you thinking about it, now is a very good time.
I cannot stress enough how much I love dogs. Their unquestioning friendship and loyalty is never in dispute even by the most insane animal-hater. Their ability to protect and defend at sacrifice of their life is the stuff of folklore. Children who grow-up with a pet dog are happier, healthier, and likely to live longer, avoid substance abuse, and form relationships that are MUCH less likely to result in abuse.
God has given us many wonderful things and while medicine and technology are certainly helpful in prolonging our lives, I truly believe that dogs -- DOGS -- wonderful dogs are simply the best friends and companions that any human could ever form an alliance with.
But please don't head for a "puppy-mill" although those poor dogs deserve a loving home too; they'll get one (I hope) but it just supports a repulsive service. Instead, head over to your local ASPCA or the local animal shelter and find a needy, loving pooch who will absolutely be you and your family's best friend for ever. Yes, dogs don't live (bodily) forever but their spirit will guide you beyond...
Dogs are simply great and every one of them deserves a loving home. Walking dogs is one of the great bonding experiences and having them protect your children is worth ANYTHING you might have to pay in food or vet bills. And when you are alone in your home and there is a mysterious sound outside the door, it is your friend, your dog who will rush to alert and protect you.
I know this reads like some "backwoods simpleton" stuff but it's all true. The "elites" in NY and CA can't understand this but...
Here's just one more reason to bring a dog into your home: No animal (and I include humans) is better at knowing instinctively when you are in solace and just need a friend to sit with you and provide strength and comfort. They might not say anything but they will press-up against you and let you know that in what ever is bothering you, they sympathize and understand and are WITH YOU to the bitter end. Dogs really are extra-special and current owners know and will gladly tell you of how their own lives are much the better because they had a dog in their life.
Are they "work"? You bet! And dog food and occasional vet bills cost money. And there will be "accidents" and other trials and tribulations but when you need a warm friend to be with and understand what you are going through, I'll take a dog over a human any day. God made them extra-special just for us. Go adopt one today. Your life and the dog's life will be blessed. I promise!
Last month I reported a story about a Nebraskan town planning to ban certain breeds of dogs. I thought it was wrong. A reader has just posted a comment there about how his insurance company is cancelling his homeowner's policy because he owns a German Shepard among six dogs. Here is the comment he posted there:
I have six dogs - I live on 60 country acres, my nearest neighbor is over 1/4 mile away.
The group includes a Rott, German Shepard, poodle, Pomeranian, and two Yorkies...
I was informed today that my home owners insurance has been cancelled because I have a GERMAN SHEPARD!
We recently applied for a new policy aan as part of the (apparently) bnormal procedure the insurance company sent an inspector to my home when no one was there.
The German Shepard was outside in a 16' x 40' x 6'high kennel, but the other dogs were in the house. The inspector saw the German Shepard and we "failed" the test for the new policy.
Now, this particular Shepard was actually adopted from the local city police department because he had been in training for police work but was deemed unsuitable because of temperment...he was too FRIENDLY to strangers!
Go figure.
And he is much more aggressive thatn the Rott, who has to be fed in his indoor (airline) kennel, because otherwise the Yorkies steal his food!
By the way, the insurance agent told me that there were more than 20 breeds of dog on the "banned" list!
Including:
Staf's - all versions
Pit Bulls
Rotts,
German Shepards,
Dobes
Husky's - including Alaskan, Siberian, Greenland
Malemutes
Chows
Bull Terriers
Mastif's - all versions
Akitas - both versions
Rhodesian Ridgebacks
And for those who like BIG dogs:
Kuvaz
Komodorok
Pyrenees (sorry about the spelling)
Great Dane
And a few more I cannot remember...I am curious where this will stop?
Italy, for example, has now banned over 40 breeds from the country.
The latest KILLER breed to be banned?
How about Welsh Corgi!
Over 400 of you fine folks stop by here everyday. Can any of you offer some advice to this fellow? Comments are open...
Most cat shows have a category for non-purebred house cats. Your's can steal the show with some tips Capital 9 TV (NY):
"When it comes to the household pet category, judges really have no guidelines for judging a household pet as they do a purebred. Every purebred has its standards and the cat is judged on those standards. But the household pet, it's basically a beauty and personality contest. So each judge can have a different opinion of what is beautiful. But to be a beautiful kitty, you need to be a clean kitty. If you purr a lot, that is good. Personality is extremely important because when they get in a show hall, it can be a different environment and they can become very frightened. So the cat needs to be at ease in a noisy environment," Washburn said.
Everyone gushed over the cloned kittens at the Cat Fancier Show. From SABC:
Twin cloned kittens were the highlight of the 2004 Cat Fanciers' Association/IAMS New York Cat Show. The kittens, Tabouli and Baba Ganoush, are exact replicas of Tahini. Despite being mirror images of each other Tahini reacts so badly to the twins they have to be confined to separate units.The pet cloning company who created the kittens has several clients lined up to have their pets duplicated. However, it doesn't come cheap at US$50 000 (R360 000).
Although the kittens were stealing the attention at the cat show in New York neither were allowed to compete in the competition, ensuring that the winner will ultimately be one-of-a-kind.
By now you've all heard the story about the dog that was letting other dogs out of their cages at a shelter. From NBC5 in Dallas-FT Worth:
Red, the cunning canine behind night-time dogbreaks at a London dog pound, could soon find a new home.Staff at the pound would arrive in the mornings to find dogs let out of their cages, but were unable to figure out how.
So, with the help of some surveillance cameras, the culprit was captured.
Red would get out of his cage and then free the other dogs by opening their cages.
After the video of the daring dogbreak aired around the world, the pound has been inundated with calls from people offering to give Red a home.
The staff is hoping the added publicity will bring new homes for Red and for all of his friends, as well.
My cat Crispy opens my refirgerator, the kitchen cabinets, pulls out drawers, turns on the sink fawcet, and is generally impossible. I "smooch" him every second I get because he's so cool and smart...
I know this reads like something out of the Weekly World News or the Drudge Report but... From Reuters:
A elderly Romanian man mistook his penis for a chicken's neck, cut it off and his dog rushed up and ate it, the state Rompres news agency said Monday.It said 67 year-old Constantin Mocanu, from a village near the southeastern town of Galati, rushed out into his yard in his underwear to kill a noisy chicken keeping him awake at night.
"I confused it with the chicken's neck," Mocanu, who was admitted to the emergency hospital in Galati, was quoted as saying. "I cut it ... and the dog rushed and ate it."
Doctors said the man, who was brought in by an ambulance bleeding heavily, was now out of danger.
Some of my favorite stories are about Dogs who act as tireless, loyal guardians of and for humans with disabilities. From the Daytona Beach News:
PALM COAST -- The mammoth dog plops herself on the couch. With Lacey's basketball-sized head leaning over the armrest, she'll occasionally plunk it down or scratch a spot on her shiny black fur -- as little movement as needed to find a comfortable position.Coming face to face with the slobbery giant, the average person might not recognize Lacey as a hero. In fact, this bull mastiff is on a mission every night.
Her owner, 56-year old Sandi Montagna suffers from brittle diabetes, a condition in which the blood-glucose level fluctuates from high to low. When it elevates, she gets sleepy. And that's when it can get dangerous. If she's sleeping, she doesn't know when to pump more insulin into her system.
That's when Lacey dutifully plants herself in front of her sleeping owner's face and barks until Montagna gets up and takes in more insulin. Without the alert, Montagna could fall into a coma.
"I don't know why, but it happens," Montagna said. "I'm glad."
Although Montagna insists Lacey can smell the change in her system, some experts contend Lacey's reaction could be associated with their emotional connection. It happened randomly five years ago, without any kind of training. Lacey, who sleeps on the bed near Montagna, jumped off the bed and walked over to the other side of the bed, the closest access to Montagna's face.
"I thought it was a freak thing the first time it happened," Montagna said. But Lacey has done it ever since.
The 130-pound bull mastiff that stands waistline-high saves her owner from slipping into a precarious condition about three times a month.
"When I go to bed at night, she's on duty," Montagna said.
A new study is good news for new parents who might think they have to "lose the cat" to protect their children. From Reuters:
Kids who spend less time during their early years around pets and dust don't appear to have a lower risk of developing asthma or respiratory problems, new research reports.These findings contradict a long-held theory that protecting children from substances that can trigger allergies or asthma -- known as allergens -- may protect them from respiratory problems later in life.
Study author Dr. Paul Cullinan of the National Heart and Lung Institute in London explained that, consequently, parents who want to protect their children from developing allergies or asthma "should not worry too much about allergen levels in their home."
And one is really tiny. Literally! From the Washington Times:
London, England, Sep. 30 (UPI) -- Mr. Peebles is an itty bitty kitty -- the world's smallest cat, in fact, according to the Guinness Book of Records.The frisky 3.3-pound 2-year-old was born in Illinois with a genetic defect that stunted growth.
Owner Robin Svendon named the cat after a ventriloquist's dummy in the U.S. sitcom "Seinfeld."
Now living in England, Mr. Peebles has a guinea pig for a playmate.
The other story is also a small one From the Sunday Mail (UK):
A FAMILY have been reunited with their cat after it was scared off by Guy Fawkes Night fireworks two years ago.Mum Carolann Main, of Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, tracked Fluffy to a wildlife sanctuary 20 miles away.
Carolann said: 'As soon as my son saw her he burst into tears.'
Once again my point is proved that people who abuse or kill animals don't receive nearly sufficient punishment. From the Seattle Times:
Two dog killers were sentenced to serve nine months yesterday by a judge who said their crime warranted the relatively high sentence.Pierce County Superior Court Judge Thomas Felnagle said before a courtroom packed with animal-rights activists that he found the crime and the young men's criminal history "disturbing."
Steven L. Paulson, 21, and Troy L. Loney, 19, both of Wilkeson, were found guilty of first-degree animal cruelty last month.
A witness testified that the two had killed a Siberian husky on March 8 by tying it to a tree and shooting it repeatedly with an arrow that they pulled from the animal and used over and over.
The two men, who dumped the dog's body in a nearby river, said the animal was sick and that they were simply trying to put it out of its misery.