Pet Monologues

Man gets 6 months for killing wife’s kitten.

A BITTER husband who killed his wife’s kitten by putting it in a tumble drier is starting a six-month jail sentence. Read the rest of this entry »

Cursed man marries dog.

A man in southern India married a female dog in an attempt to atone his actions for killing two other dogs 15 years earlier. Read the rest of this entry »

by Lucia Blinn

A body on the beach as long as my arms are wide.
Large glassy eyes crossed and staring in disbelief.
A family of round white barnacles
fastened to his hard brown hide.
Yellow marks like graffiti.
Paws outstretched. Tail too.
Poised to crawl but not crawling.
The tough old tortoise was never
meant to be seen like this.
Nor was he meant to be scooped
by the sand patrol who hauled him away
on an otherwise beautiful day.

About the author: Lucia Blinn

TGIF.
Check out the Friday Ark roster for this weekend. And Carnival of the Cats which goes up every Sunday and this weekend hosted by Justin’s Random Thoughts.

Submissions:
Sue Steiner submits Tales of Farm Life
Movie-cat submits We can’t stop here. This is bat country.
Movie-cat submits Cult movie Tuesday: Blade Runner Cat 2
Herbert Murrie “Il Fantino”
Pet Monologues finds The Poor Mouth Mimi
Pet Monologues finds Who was Harvey Krane?

We can’t stop here. This is bat country.
—Fear and loathing in Las Vegas (1998)

“Il Fantino” which is a jockey and his horse

Mimi

Still steeping…

…in the meantime. Questions? Comments? Editor’s note: please look at Comment 1 below for more C2a! details…

and while you are curating your submissions don’t forget Friday Ark roster for this weekend. And Carnival of the Cats which goes up every Sunday.

Punish the deed quilt on ebay.

Bidding ends for this quilt on 10/10/07.

The image on the quilt looks a bit like Duke the pitbull currently on death row.

Man gets 3 years for puppy toss.

CHARLESTON, S.C.—An incredulous judge sentenced a man to three years in prison for tossing a 10-week-old puppy off an apartment balcony during an argument with his girlfriend. Read the rest of this entry »

Ellen Degenres brought “rescue” and “shelter” to the media. A good thing because when people talk, issues are better understood. It’s been a week. Let’s review.

Public reaction
The public response was swift, polarized, and far reaching. There were few surprise reactions with the exception of Craig’s List pet forum. PM was somewhat surprised by how the pet forum responded. Because this pet forum is an experienced, emotional, pro-adoption group, we expected the forum to attack the shelter for taking dogs away from a home, from children. On the contrary, CL sentiment was that Ellen should have read the contract, called the shelter, and not take this public on her show. The shelter got death threats.

The skinny
The inevitable inaccuracies are identified. We learn that her new dog was at a dog trainer for most of the days under Ellen’s care. That the shelter, Mom’s & Mutts, didn’t go to the media first. That the dog was finally, and confidentially, placed. That taking this to the airwaves is not going Ellen’s way a week later. That the shelter has not budged telling Ellen “If Ellen wants to place dogs and decide what’s a good home, then she should start her own rescue group. But I’m the one doing this and I know what I’m doing.” We learn that Ellen has given away a pooch(es) before.

Rearview mirror
It could be concluded that this was a fight between a star and an animal rescue group. Both sides trying to do what they thought was best for the dog. That there are two sides to whether the animal should be returned to the shelter: The American Humane Association “recommends” a more open adoption process that does not require the animal be returned to the shelter. Mom’s & Mutts, among other shelters, are standing fast: return the dog to the shelter. Most everyone stresses that the shelter or adoption agency should be kept in the loop and made aware of the pet’s whereabouts. Read the rest of this entry »

Animal art has been on our brain for several weeks when we got sidetracked with World Animal Day. Then last week we visited “Watermark” and found, yes “Cats in art” which inspired this post. We will title this “Cats in art” also so it will be easy to find. A good place to start is Egypt.

A wall painting fragment in the tomb of Amenemheb at Thebes in Egypt depicts the deceased nobleman standing in his boat and driving the birds from a papyrus swamp with a stick. Just in front of him his hunting cat has caught two birds in its front and hind claws and is holding the wings of a third bird in its teeth. [c. 1450 B.C., wall painting fragment, Thebes]

The cat was sacred to the Egyptian goddess Bast. Cemeteries containing the bodies of mummified sacred cats have been discovered with bronze statues of cats. We were, and are, simply divine. [c. 600 B.C., bronze, Egypt]

Cats are known to have been a part of Egyptian households by 1600 B.C. although they were not deified until much later. This touching portrayal of a mama cat with her kitten provides a glimpse of domestic life in the good old days when cats were everyday objects of worship. [c. 600 B.C., bronze, Egypt]

Source: netserve.com
Inspiration: Watermark

Scientific Name: Botia macracanthus
Other Scientific Name(s): Cobitis macracanthus, Botia macrocanthus
Common Name: Clown Loach

Clown loaches are very popular aquarium fish; however they are not always easy to keep successfully since they easily succumb to ick and are sensitive to poor water conditions. This article is intended to help new clown loach owners provide a good home for their loaches. Clown loaches are found in Indonesia (Sumatra and Borneo), and almost all clown loaches in aquariums are wild caught and distributed around the world before being sold. This can put considerable stress on the fish, and a vital step in getting a healthy clown loach school in your aquarium is choosing healthy fish. But how to make sure that you get healthy fish?

Image from Dorling Kindersley

- Check the general conditions in the fish store. Are there dead fish in the aquariums? Is the water clean? If some tanks are mistreated there is a good chance that there might be unfavourable conditions in others too. Only buy fish from stores that take good care of their aquariums.

- How do the clown loaches look? Clown loaches can give you an indication of their condition based on their coloration. A healthy clown loach shows clear distinct colours, while a stressed one loses its colours and becomes whiter. Only buy loaches that show their correct colours.

- Are the clown loaches well fed? Those that haven’t been fed correctly are hard to nurse back to health, and it is more than likely you will end up with a dead fish if you buy one. Look at their bodies and see if they look well fed, and ask the shopkeepers how often and what the loaches are fed.

- Are the clown loaches active? Healthy clown loaches are very active and full of energy. A healthy clown loach should be hard to catch. Read the rest of this entry »

This post celebrates World Animal Day and Bless the Animals. Follow the links to learn more about PM’s initiative which started on October 4.

Clever doesn’t begin to describe
the canny soul who, for nearly seventeen
years, walked and wagged among us,
affecting the affect of the duke of all dogdom,
a dachshund, but who, in fact,
worked the world like a room and got mail.

Sly his disguise as this most glorious
of canines; peerless, flawless, albeit
not immune to vanity–that ravishing red coat.

The question remains: Who was Harvey?
Moses back with a bark?
The Babe without a bat?
Gandhi with a growl?
MR. PRESLEY?

Come on, Harvey, speak!
We know you’re up there emailing.

Written by Lucia Blinn