Pet Monologues

Protecting pets from domestic abuse.

States extend abuser protection to pets—WISCONSIN—Following the State of Maine, Wisconsin lawmakers have introduced legislation that would extend an abused person protection order to include pets. 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 »

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 »

Missing pit bulls in Idaho. $5,000 reward.

Malad City, Idaho—The Humane Society of the United States is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or people responsible for removing dogs from an alleged dogfighting kennel in Malad City, Idaho overnight Tuesday. Read the rest of this entry »

I recently found a site that was both fun and very provocative on many levels. Don’t assume I have come to any conclusions at this point but here is the link. Then read the rest of this article. Please! http://www.grumpybumpers.com/dogs

Coincidently, this past week I’ve had many dog encounters of a hybrid kind. Not the extraterrestrial kind. I don’t mean mutts or mongrels either.

The hybrids I refer to is a labradoodle, a bossi-poo, a foodle, an Irish-doodle. The poodle hybrids are endless. Well they are smart and don’t shed.

But there are others: The bug, the boxador, the dorkie (a person?), and so on. I saw a rather cool looking dog, a cross between a lab and a dalmation, but I didn’t have a camera or a pencil to record look and name. I hope I see dog and owner again this weekend. Read the rest of this entry »

Here is a thoughtful and compassionate article by Sarah Hartwell with regard to cats. Dogs, birds, elephants, horses, many animals for that matter, experience these feelings. Knowlege of the grieving process puts us in better touch with feelings, a good thing.

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When a cat dies, owners often notice behavioral changes in their remaining cats. Some of these are due to adapting to a changed hierarchy, but other behavioral changes are due to a sense of loss. Many cats grieve the loss of a close human companion and others show signs of loss when a canine companion ides or goes missing.

It is impossible to say exactly what emotions cats feel, but when a close companion goes missing they are certainly be aware of the absence. It is unlikely that they mourn in the human sense of the word, but there will be some behavioral changes as they adjust to the gap in their lives.

What is grief?

Grief is the result of abrupt or unexpected severing of attachment. Cats are aware that a familiar person or companion cat is absent and may search for that person or cat. The death or absence may change an established hierarchy as well as being the absence of a familiar companion. While this is not the ritualised grief of humans, the sudden absence of something familiar is distressing to many cats. Mother cats whose kittens were taken away and destroyed often looked for their kittens for many days, all the while pacing and crying out. As well as the physical pain of engorged mammary glands, the cats displayed mental pain. Read the rest of this entry »

Two years after Katrina, HSUS marks progress in protecting animal victims of disasters.

As Gulf residents mark the second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina’s destructive path through Louisiana and Mississippi, those involved in the historic effort to rescue the animals left behind will recall the devastation brought by the storm. Read the rest of this entry »

$2,500 Reward offered in Kansas City, Mo. dog cruelty case.

The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is offering a $2,500 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for severing a dog’s leg. Read the rest of this entry »

eBay tells Vick chew on this in same breath cancels abused pet fundraiser.

Is it true that eBay is canceling a charity auction to help abused pets? Read the rest of this entry »

Too much puppy ciao.

The perfect dog for busy urbanites will sit, fetch and roll over — but won’t stay. At least, not for long. That’s the idea behind FlexPetz, a new California rent-a-dog service that provides doggies on demand, for a fee. Read the rest of this entry »