Pet Monologues

Kobe Bryant’s popularity extends even to the animal kingdom. From a database of more than 465,000 pet insured animals including dogs, cats, birds, and exotic domesticated animals, 359 are named “Kobe,” making it the 189th most popular name of 65,536 pet names across the nation. Read the rest of this entry »

Uno being the first beagle to win the Westminister Kennel Club Show in 132 events got PM thinking. What is, if any, is the significance of this win, for a beagle? For the “beagle” to win “Best of Show” what are the odds? The following are “unofficial” statistics quickly taken from the WKC site:

a.k.a. uno with the muckity mucks

you have to walk the talk. hooooowwwwllllll! photo AP/peter kramer

The breeds by group (31 judges )
26 hound (best of show winner)
28 terrier
18 non-sporting
21 herding
28 sporting breeds
25 working breeds
22 toy breeds
140 total breeds (140 dogs we assume?) Read the rest of this entry »

A turkey is either one of two species of large birds in the genus Meleagris native to North America. Turkeys are classed in the order Galliformes. Formerly they were considered a distinct family, Meleagrididae, but more recently were reclassified as a subfamily (Meleagridinae) of the pheasants and their allies. The two species are the North American Wild Turkey (M. gallopavo) and the Central American Ocellated Turkey (M. ocellata).

Meleagridinae, species not sure, anyone know?

Turkeys have a distinctive fleshy carbuncle that hangs from the beak, called a snood. As with many galliform species, the female is smaller than the male, and much less colorful. With wingspans of 1.5–1.8 meters (almost 6 feet), the turkeys are by far the largest birds in the open forests in which they live, and are rarely mistaken for any other species. The usual lifespan for a turkey is 10 years.

When Europeans first encountered turkeys in the Americas, they incorrectly identified the birds as a type of guinea fowl (Numida meleagris), also known as a turkey-cock from its importation to Central Europe through Turkey, and the name of that country stuck as the name of the bird. The confusion is also reflected in the scientific name: meleagris is Greek for guinea-fowl. 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.

A new category: critter labels.
A leading market-research company, ACNielsen, has decided to define a wine category by its label design. A “critter label” is any label that features an animal, from a hippo to a frog to a penguin. They say 438 viable table-wine brands have been introduced in the past three years, and 18 percent— nearly one in five— feature an animal on the label. “Combined with existing critter labels,” the firm said in a summation of its research on this matter, “sales of critter-branded wine have reached more than $600 million.”

Finishing touches on billboard

Yellow Tail has recently launched one of its largest ad campaigns in the brand’s history, created by Cramer-Krasselt (New York). Featuring a tag line that reads “Tails, you win,” the ads include a variety of three-dimensional billboards and interactive print advertisements, including massive replicas of the famous 1930s Kit-Cat Clocks, glowing fireflies and temporary tattoos. The campaign also includes TV ads and event sponsorships and runs through December 2007.

Creative background: the distributor
WILLIAM J. DEUTSCH was apprehensive when he first agreed to import an unknown Australian wine called Yellow Tail into the United States in 2001. Its handsome black-and-yellow label featured what looked like a kangaroo, and he felt that animals had no place on wine labels. But he liked the wine. “So,” he said recently, “I agreed to take 25,000 cases.”

His son Peter disagreed about the animal. “That label is fabulous,” he told his dad. Read the rest of this entry »

This week PM was vastly entertained by several couples who are expecting the birth of a child and witnessing the naming process, if that is what it could be called. Naming a child may be more challenging than naming a pet. Or is it? Well, animals may have more options to choose from and maybe an interesting story behind it. It reminds me of a dog named PD which translated into poor dog because the dog had reached what we describe as rock bottom. Now here is an article to kick this can down the road and see if we can provoke more stories…

By Linda Goldston.

A rose is a rose is a rose—but a pet name? That can be almost anything.

Every year, names like Max, Jake and Buddy show up on many lists of Top 10 names for dogs, while Max, Smokey and Shadow make it on the cat names list. Read the rest of this entry »

Abstract

Relationships inevitably develop between humans and animals, regardless of the function or use of the animal partners. The need to recognize the existence of these human-animal bonds, as well as acknowledge the use of the animals, is widespread. Religious memorial services for animals in certain areas of the world provide an historical basis for such acknowledgment activities. The diversity of sacred and secular approaches to memorializing or acknowledging animals is illustrated by representative examples of such events. The need to establish such events, particularly in academic and research settings, is emphasized. The pros and cons of developing and establishing acknowledgment activities in addition to the benefits of implementing such events are discussed. Read the rest of this entry »

Photo of myself in the same wheelbarrow with a now full-grown Sparky.

Sparky was a gift to me from my father on my 8th birthday: July 29, 1955. This was a year after our last dog, Kim, was killed by a car.

Sparky was six weeks old, born on June 17. I think I remember that because Pop’s birthday was July 17 and Mom and Pop’s aniversary was August 17. I think Pop chose Sparky because he had the same coloring as Kim: white with a black head and highlights of brown around he eyes. He also had a black spot on his back. Neutering male dogs was hardly ever done in those days, so naturally I spent a lot of time chasing after Sparky, just like I did chasing after Kim. Unlike Kim, however, Sparky would come eventually, but only when Mom called him. Although I loved Sparky like a brother, he was more of a mama’s dog. That’s probably also because Mom was better at feeding him. Read the rest of this entry »

I woke up at 6:30 this morning to take my ex-roommate’s cat to the vet. I guess he’s my cat now. His name is Max and he’s a very skinny orange tabby cat. He came complete with a fifteen second memory span and he has only one facial expression, which is blank. I often wonder if he was somebody’s genetic cloning experiment. That or if he is suffering from fetal alcohol syndrome. He’s just a living cat with barely a hint of character.

I’m trying to give him a personality but it’s difficult. I wonder if my techniques are working. The first technique is to hold him tightly against my chest and speak nonsense to him, kiss his face really hard, and then let him jump out of my arms to freedom. This does not seem to have any effect on him. He just looks mildly bewildered. The second technique is to spank his rump playfully. Again, there’s not much response. Not even the cliché look of superiority most normal cats constantly wear. But I haven’t picked Max up in days and have hardly petted him. I’ve even locked him out of my room. I’m disgusted by him right now. To get my mind off him I think about today’s homework. My teacher wants me to write about something I know a lot about. I glance at a picture of Evan, framed and sitting on my nightstand, where I can see it every night before I go to sleep. I think about Evan’s life and its tragic ending. I wonder if I should write about him. Read the rest of this entry »

This is a story about two twenty-something women, friends, sharing an apartment. This is a true story but names have been changed as you have come to expect. Jane worked at an electronics manufacturer. Mary worked at a book publishing company. Jane was a bit of a home body. Mary was usually out and about. It came to pass that Jane’s boss needed a cat sitter as he was going on vacation. Read the rest of this entry »