Pet Monologues

It’s better than a soap opera.

Since late March, my neighbors and I have been privy to the continuing saga of the trials and tribulations of a family consisting of papa and mama osprey and their very hungry, very noisy young. There are three of those.

Don’t think it’s easy to keep that growing trio of fledglings fed. It’s not as if the parents get to drive to a fast-food restaurant to pick up burgers and some chicken for supper. On the contrary, a lot of hard work goes into providing enough fish for three growing youngsters, plus the mother who gets to baby-sit while the babies are still defenseless.

It’s been estimated that one juvenile consumes close to 200 pounds during a typical season; multiply that times three and it is apparent the life of an osprey adult is not easy.

Last year an osprey pair nested on a snag farther down the river and although we were able to see some of the action, we were only able to observe them through binoculars. My neighbors, Paul and Phyllis, decided a closer nest would be a good addition to our neighborhood and last year they had an artificial nesting box put on a convenient snag closer to their house on the banks of the South Umpqua River. Read the rest of this entry »

I just found a neat cat video site. This is what caught my eye…

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Seen on catontape.com

All Austin, TX, dogs could be declared dangerous!

While this is just for Austin, there is a lot of discussion going on today about this issue. Here is a great breakdown from a legal mind: Read the rest of this entry »

Sergeant arrested in K-9 death.

Sheriff’s Office books Chandler police official after animal-cruelty investigation. Read the rest of this entry »

Knock out animal fighting video contest.

Humane Society (HSUS) has contest. The votes are in! Read the rest of this entry »

Monologue Description: “Dog Anxiety” is about doing a favor for a friend and getting screwed over for it. Character Description: In this monologue, Raquel stops over her neighbors in her apartment complex building. She tells her of the terrible creature of a dog she has been babysitting for another friend.

RAQUEL:

She asks me to watch her puppy Oscar. I say sure, I mean, how bad could it be to watch an innocent, harmless, cute little puppy? Right? Right? WRONG! It was a nightmare if there ever was one. Look at me! Do you see the bags under my eyes. I look like I went twelve rounds with Muhammad Ali. I look horrible!

She tells me, like it’s noooooo big deal. She says, “Raquel would you mind watching my puppy for me for three days?” I said sure no problem. No problem! Read the rest of this entry »

Mama moose bashes through woman’s door.

(AP) POCATELLO, Idaho Anita Ovard moved to her small home in this town in the western foothills of the Rocky Mountains because she wanted to see more wildlife. Read the rest of this entry »

Horses find new homes through the Internet.

Horsemen and women looking for a new mount or companion can now search the Internet for adoptable equines, through a national horse adoption database launched by The Humane Society of the United States(HSUS) and Pets911.com. Read the rest of this entry »

Man charged with ransoming mother’s cat.

NORTH KINGSTOWN, R.I. (AP)—A man has been charged with extorting more than $20,000 from his elderly mother by repeatedly threatening to kidnap her beloved cat and demanding ransom, police said. Read the rest of this entry »

Here is a glimpse on pet literature today. One writer says that with all the attention from publishers, you’d think pets could read.

Dogs and cats have taken up residence in American homes in record numbers, according to the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association. Its 2007–2008 National Pet Owners Survey found that 63% of U.S. households—71.1 million homes—own a pet. Households with dogs number 44.8 million, while felines can be found in 38.4 million homes. The cat populace, 88.3 million, outnumbers the 74.8 million dogs, that’s because pet parents with cats are more likely to have more than one. However, that in spite of the larger cat population, dog-related books still outsell any other category, the dog-related books outnumbered cat tales by about six to one. What are the books about? Here are 44 titles to think about:

Health and wellness

According to a 2004 American Animal Hospital Association survey, 94% of pet owners take their pet for regular veterinary checkups to ensure their pet’s quality of life. And animal medicine, like its human counterpart, the information and options available in terms of treatment and diagnoses have become vastly more complicated over the last decade. People are, therefore, looking for resources that will help them make sense of it all. Now it is becoming commonplace procedures for dogs as organ transplants, joint replacements and cancer treatments. There are also books, from home remedies to cutting-edge alternative homeopathic therapies.

There’s an author that offers practical strategies for keeping mature dogs young and healthy in mind and body. Among her findings is that only 20%–25% of a dog’s longevity is determined by its genes; the owner can influence the remaining percentage by how he or she cares for the animal. Read the rest of this entry »