'Tis the season

From the Enterwebs comes this compilation of cute animals singing. Not really. But it is cute.



Merry Christmas!

Another favorite Christmas song

Because it's my blog, and I love this Christmas song, mainly because Darlene Love sings it.

Kroger announces pet food recall

Kroger has announced a recall of some of its cat and dog food because it may contain aflatoxin, a toxic chemical byproduct that could be harmful.

Click on this link to an article on cnn.com.

Christmas is coming

A Christmas card from a few years ago featuring Kate and some other person.

Animals, animals, animals

From the Washington Post, great pictures of animals from around the world.

Click here and you'll see bathing monkeys and a cross-eyed possum.

Simon's cat tackles Christmas

Funny, but I'm told, true.

Moving yields memories

I'm relocating to New Rochelle and in the process I've unearthed a box full of photos — mostly of my Kate.

Here are a few when she was just rescued and about a year or two old.

The horrors of Halloween shouldn't include pet danger

You know what tomorrow is.

Boo!

Did I scare you?

Well, it's Halloween. Duh. And that means doorbells will be ringing and trick-or-treaters will be wanting candy.

Remember that the amount of commotion surrounding the festivities might be a little stressful for Fluffy or Fido, and that constantly opening door could be dangerous.

Here are some tips to get through Halloween from the American Humane Society.

Then there are the other problems they face. If pets are not secured and they get out, it can be a particularly scary time, and they may run off and really get lost. Please be sure that your pet always has an ID tag and collar (or a microchip, which is permanent), even if they are always inside.

Candy is so bad for pets, particularly chocolate, so be sure to keep it out of reach and remind the kids how dangerous it would be for pets to eat their stash if it is not carefully stowed away. Also, some people play pranks on their neighbors, so be sure your pets are safely inside your house or secure in your barn. Cats can be particularly vulnerable around Halloween.

And while candles add that perfect spooky effect, make sure they can't be knocked over.

So have fun and don't eat too much candy.

Excellent. Keepin' it real.

Please read this item from USA Today.

The president picks up after Bo.

Woohoo.

That wet dog smell

Scientists have studied how and why dogs — and other animals — shake when they are wet.

Read the story and watch the video from ABC News.

They discovered that the smaller the animals, the faster they must generally shake to dry themselves off.

David Hu, assistant professor of mechanical engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology, said the research is interesting because drying wet fur is critical to how mammals regulate heat.

"A lot of animals have developed fur mostly for thermal insulation purposes and they need special mechanisms to basically get the water off," he said.

Hu said a standard 60-pound dog would have to spend a quarter of its daily calories getting rid of water if it had to rely only on evaporation. Smaller animals would have to use even more.

Why do this type of research you ask? Watch the video and find out. Oh, and read the comments. They're fun.

Rapping pets

Too cute.

My Kate, who is gone

It's been more than 24 hours since my precious Kate left this world.

Sunday morning, I felt it was the time to let her go, to administer a lethal dose of anesthesia that would end her life.

The last few weeks she had obviously been on a steep decline. There were the periods of not eating, followed by vomiting. There were the times when she couldn't keep from "soiling her nest," which, in spite of sleeping on the couch near her bed for three months, I could not prevent.

There were times, however, when she would actually come to the door when I came home. There were times when she would come over to me for, seemingly, the need for affection. Who really knows what goes on in a dog's mind.

Last May, before I was scheduled to attend a journalism boot camp at Gannett corporate headquarters, Kate had what I can only call an "episode."  Fully embracing the concept of letting her go, I was convinced to allow her to stay at the vet's during my absence.

She was fine when I got back.

In the interim, Kate would occasionally stop eating, vomit, have diarrhea. start eating again, have diarrhea and stop eating. Rinse. Repeat.

From my perch on the couch, I slept with one eye and ear open waiting for the unexpected overnight stroll that would culminate in either a rapid exit outside or a thorough cleaning of whatever spot Kate ultimately spoiled.

Flash forward to two weeks ago, when I was traveling to New Rochelle to cover a school board meeting. My neighbor, Nancy, had been more than willing and able to take care of Kate when I was elsewhere. She deserves more thanks than I can give her.

After a 1-1/2 hour commute, I was minutes away from the school board meeting when Nancy called telling me Kate could not get up. I immediately headed back to Poughkeepsie, though traffic and an accident on the Sprain Brook Parkway extended the commute by an additional half hour.

By the time I got home, Kate was fine. A mystery.

Then came last Sunday, yesterday.

I got up and got ready to take Kate outside, which is what I did before going out for my walk.

She couldn't stand up. She was sitting but, even on a textured surface—her pallet and two rugs—she couldn't get to her feet.

I managed to lift her hind quarters and we got outside for a pee.

Afterward, Kate just stood. Not sniffing. Nothing. Like a blank stare. I had to eventually drag her back to the house.

I left her,  as usual, standing in the entry way, to go for a walk on the Walkway Over the Hudson.

I had a lot of time to think about things. More and more, I was thinking that the time was coming to end things.

When I came back from my walk, Kate was sitting up but could not get up on her feet.

That was the confirmation I needed. It was time.

I called the emergency clinic off of Route 55 in Poughkeepsie.

My neighbor Nancy and her granddaughter helped me get Kate to the clinic.

It was over before you knew it.

Kate and I went into a room where I sat on the floor petting her. She was taken away to have a catheter put in her right front leg for easier administration of the drug.

The vet came in and explained the process: a double dose of anesthesia would be administered and Kate would fall asleep.

There was a 1/2 inch diameter tube of pink-ish liquid in a three-inch syringe that the vet compressed.

The fluid went in. Kate was oddly calm for a moment, but then her eyes closed and her head went down, the tip of her little pink tongue sticking out of her mouth. Within two minutes, maybe less, the vet said there was no pulse.

My wonderful Kate, my wonderful companion for almost 16 years, was gone.

Laughingly, there were only two tissues in the room. I said to the vet, "This is the wrong time to run out of Kleenex," and she scurried to get more.

I left the best dog in the world in that room in the clinic on Sunday.

I gave her almost 16 years of love and comfort. I could have given her more if she had let me, but it was time to let her go.

My Kate.

Thank you.

Kate

1995-2010

Animals to be blessed Sunday in Woodstock

The fifth annual Blessing of the Animals will take place at 3 p.m. Sunday at the Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary, 35 Van Wagner Rd. in Willow.

Here's an advance story from the Kingston Daily Freeman.

Each year WFAS celebrates World Farm Animals Day, St. Francis of Assisi Day, as well as Mahatma Gandhi’s Birthday by hosting a Blessing of the Animals Celebration. This is the one day they welcome well-behaved companion animals like dogs, cats, bunnies or reptiles (on leashes or in carriers) to visit the home of over 200 rescued farm animals.

Environmentalist and wild wolf activist Elke Duerr will officiate and the Redwing Blackbird Theater will perform a puppet adaptation of "Peter and the Wolf."

Suggestion donation for admission is $10.

For information, call 845-679-5955.

Been kinda busy

Sorry about the lack of postings. I'll try to do better. New job, you know; wacky hours.

Thanks for all the laughs, Jim

Jim Henson of the Muppets fame was born on this day in 1936. He died May 16, 1990, at the age of 53.

I never get tired of this video. Makes me laugh every time.

Should dogs have access to street festivals?

The recent shooting of a dog at a District of Columbia neighborhood street fair has people rethinking whether pooches are welcome guests at outdoor events.


Read the story by Washington Post staff writer Steve Hendrix.

When a police officer shot a dog he judged to be a threat at a street fair in Adams Morgan last week, the incident reopened a long-standing divide between dog owners who see no problem in taking their pets just about anywhere in public and those who plead, "Leave the pooch at home."

At the H Street Festival in the District last weekend, Mauro Farinelli serenely walked his dog into a crowd—and a controversy. Farinelli and his pit bull mix, Doug, strolled through a multitude of legs, food carts and dozens of other dogs. Doug never so much as growled, Farinelli said.

"Just a lot of sniffing—that's the basset in him," Farinelli, 39, said. He is quick to make clear that Doug is an obedience school graduate that has never been any trouble on their frequent outings to festivals, parks and shopping zones. "He's really good in crowds. He's really good with kids. Unless they actually forbid dogs, I don't see any reason not to take him wherever I'm going." 

The article points out, correctly, that many of the festival venues have elements that could put people and the dogs at risk: low hanging edibles and strollers with toddlers come to mind.

And let's face it, sometimes people Just. Don't. Pay. Attention. That's when the dog—and then its owner—can get into trouble.

I think it would be a shame if there were an outright ban on dogs at public events, but I also think it should be taken on a case by case basis. Wide open spaces? OK for dogs. Tight, overly crowded? Maybe not so much.

What do you think?

Colorado fire victims include pets

People who were forced to evacuate their homes because of the 740-acre wildfire west of Loveland, Colo., dropped their animals off at the Larimer Humane Society shelter.

Read the entire story by Kevin Duggan for the Loveland Connection, part of the Fort Collins Coloradoan.

There are six cats and one dog now staying temporarily at the shelter.

The pet owners stayed with friends or at motels while awaiting permission to return home. Although the evacuation order was lifted Wednesday, only two cats and a dog in protective custody at the shelter were immediately picked up.

Shelter manager Jenny Gaukel said having the extra animals was not a burden on staff members, although some of the pets had special dietary needs. Volunteers gave the animals attention as they waited to be reunited with their families.

Gaukel said the owners have enough to worry about without having to be concerned for the care and feeding of their pets.

It's another opportunity to remind everyone that you should not only have a disaster plan for you and your family, but also for your pets.

Here's a recent blog entry on preparing for hurricane season.

White Knuckles video with dogs

OK Go's video featuring lots of talented pooches.

Thanks, Pete Sagal, for giving me a heads up.

Go to full screen mode to get rid of the annoying chatter on the right side. Can't figure out why this is happening. Oh bother.

Acme, you have no worries

Wile E. Coyote has nothing on the critter spooking dogs in Palo Alto, Calif.

Here's an article by Jesse Dungan of the Palo Alto Daily News via the San Jose Mercury News.

In response to a series of encounters between an aggressive coyote and dogs, Palo Alto is temporarily prohibiting dogs from visiting some trails on the western side of Pearson-Arastradero Preserve.

"The coyote would approach people with dogs, bark and howl," said Lester Hodgins, open space division supervising ranger. In one case, a coyote "nipped at" a dog, he said, adding that there have been no full-blown attacks.

There apparently have been no attacks by coyotes of hikers sans pooches.

People who know say the coyote encounters are likely to involve the same coyote. How they know, who knows.

Hodgins said it has been four or five years since reports of aggressive coyotes prompted the city to close trails to dogs. The open space division is waiting to hear from a state Department of Fish and Game biologist before reopening the trails.

Careful, people, careful.

A Monday 'toon

I love Simon's Cat 'toons.

This is really why I don't have a cat. This and Get Fuzzy.

More dogs should be in public service

Hewitt makes the rounds every day in the government offices of Snohomish County which is where Everett, Wash.,  is located.

He's not a government employee, but people call him the sixth member of the County Council.

In reality, there are five elected council members. Hewitt is a terrier mix about the size of a small poodle. He's been a fixture at the office for about a year and a half, after being handed through a car window one day as County Councilman Dave Somers sat in traffic.

Read the entire story by Noah Haglund from the Everett Daily Herald here. There is a picture of Hewitt—cute.

While in traffic about two years ago, a car pulled up next to Somers with two men in it. One of them asked if Somers wanted to buy a dog.


He declined but later when they pulled up next to him again and asked if he would take the dog. Concerned about the dog's safety, Somers agreed.

The councilman had Hewitt a few months before bringing him by the office. He hadn't done this with other dogs, but this one liked people so much. In turn, people at work took a shine to the friendly critter—and to the story behind his name.

"He lightens the mood," said Eric Parks, Somers' legislative aide.

Can't we all get along?

Well, at least the dogs and cats.

The American Kennel Club and Cat Fancier's Association have some tips to helping your kitties and puppies to co-exist harmoniously.

Read the article from McClatchy News Service on the San Jose Mercury News web site here.

The tips include:

• Look for dogs with catlike dispositions, such as those used to hunt small game and vermine.
• If introduced as puppies, most dog breeds can live with cats.
• Bulldogs are easygoing and get along with other pets.
• Hounds with strong hunting instincts tend to react when small animals quickly move.

Hurricane season continues; are you prepared?

From my sister Patch site — Middletown Patch — comes a good reminder of safety tips during hurricane season.

Middletown is in Rhode Island, so there's good reason to be worried and cautious during this time of year.

Perhaps the most important recommendation is to not wait until the last minute to make plans. If an evacuation is required, it is important that you take pets with you, as storm damaged homes can give pets the opportunity to escape homes, suffer injury, or become lost.

Read author Sarah Fernandez's entire article here.

She goes on to say one thing to think about is before an emergency is researching hotels and motels in advance to see what their pet policies are.

Another is to have enough food and water for each pet for at least a week as well as making sure the pets have tags

It's like a feline action chase scene

This video is a parody of parkour videos done with cats. There are many parkour videos that can be found on the Enterwebs.

Parkour, according to wikipedia, is physically overcoming obstacles by adapting to one's environment.

Clearly, these cats have been spending tons of time on youtube.com.

Kate could do this ... if she really wanted to. But she doesn't.

Hartz issues recall on dog treats

Nearly 75,000 bags of dog treats have been recalled due to the possibility of salmonella contamination.

According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the Hartz Mountain Corp. issued the voluntary recall after random sample testing by the FDA indicated the presence of salmonella in one or more 8-ounce bags of Hartz Naturals Real Beef Treats for Dogs.

Read the story from cnn.com here.

The company, based in Secaucus, New Jersey, has not received any reports of animals or people becoming ill as a result of contact with the treats, and is investigating the source of the potential contamination.

The potentially affected treats are stamped with the lot code BZ0969101E, according to the FDA.

Hartz is urging dog owners who have purchased the recalled treats to immediately throw them away.

 If anyone has questions about the recall, they can call Hartz at 1-800-275-1414.

Stunning and touching photos of dogs

From my friend Tim Massie comes a link to some remarkable photos of dogs taken with an iPhone.

See all 15 of them here.

Happy Labor Dog

Since it's Labor Day, it seems only fitting to talk about dogs who labor.

Rebecca Huval, writing in the Miami Herald, asks the following question:

What 8-year-old is furry, slobbers profusely and gets paid $500 a day?

Annette Alfonso's border collie Dealer, who made his silver-screen debut in the 2008 movie Marley & Me. Dealer and Alfonso's other three border collies jumped into the ocean with the dog that played Marley, and the scene took a week to film.

Read the entire article and watch the video here.

Huval also writes about companion and helper animals and cadaver and bomb sniffing dogs.

Sure Alfonso gets paid a lot for the use of her dog, but for service dogs, the work and pleasing their owners is the reward.

"Believe me, the dog understands praise,'' said trainer Chris Septer, as she watched her border collie Twist herd sheep at Free Spirit Farming & Training Center in South Dade.

"They want to make you happy, they live for that,'' said Jorge Lopez, a K-9 sergeant in the Miami International Airport explosives detection unit. "That's the cheapest source of labor. None of us would work for that.''

She's up and around

For those who are new to me and my dog Kate, she's well over 15 and was diagnosed with kidney failure a year ago. She mostly sleeps, interrupted by meals and going out to take care of bidness.

I'm guessing Chester had to go

It's her dog, after all

Despite a police report and all her documents, a San Francisco woman may have to sue to get her dog back — a dog who was stolen from her seven years ago.

Mark Matthews of KGO-TV in San Francisco reported the story you can read here or watch the video.

"She was a member of my family and I don't have any children and she was my little girl," said Mary Bollero, the original owner of the dog.

Bollero says her dog "Little Girl" was stolen from her home in San Francisco seven years ago, but on the night of August 24, Kenneth Griffin brought the dog to an all night clinic and the vet scanned Little Girl for a microchip.


"And there was a chip, so we called the chip company and had them call the former owner," said clinic manager Noel Koeman. 

Koeman was told by the police to give the dog to Kenneth Griffin, because he had been in possession of the dog for more than a month. The police were advised by a local humane society, who later told Matthews the rule of possession is not a law but a guideline.

Bollero was told she will have to go through the courts to get her dog back.

Good luck.

Heat still a problem for pets around the country

From MissionLoc@l comes an article by Gregory Thomas about how rising temperatures are affecting San Franciso's pet population.

Read the entire article here.

Dog owners in San Francisco are again contending with high temperatures, and SPCA veterinarians warn that some animals have to be watched more closely than others.

“Dogs, like people, need to acclimate to weather,” said Jennifer Scarlett, a veterinarian and interim co-president at the San Francisco Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

SPCA vets said labs keep playing no matter what, Pomeranians can get collapsed windpipes from heavy panting and short-snouted dogs like French bulldogs and pugs are extremely susceptible to heat exhaustion.

And of course, we know how stupid it is to leave animals in cars on hot days. San Francisco's Animal Care and Control spokeswoman Deb Campbell said owners who leave an animal in a car in 80-degree-plus weather can be charged with a felony.

To which I say, "Good."

Even as summer winds down, or so it seems here in upstate New York, here are some good tips on summer safety for pets from the San Francisco SPCA.

Peek

Where's the nose?

Animals, animals, animals

From spooky to awwwwwwwww, here's a photo gallery of animals from the Washington Post.

And no, I don't consider any of them to be pets.

But, awwwwwwwww.

Earl is headed our direction

From the Halifax, Nova Scotia, News comes a good primer on taking precautions to prepare for Hurricane Earl.

Read the article here.

The Nova Scotia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals says, while Earl has been downgraded from a category 4 hurricane to a 3, it is still important to get pets inside and keep them calm.

Precautions include the following:

1. Ensuring vaccinations are up-to-date and that records are handy.

2. Keeping a collar with license and identification on your pet.

3. Preparing a special kit for your pet that includes a leash, carrying case, food, water, bowls, toys, medications and any special instructions for the care of your pet.

4. Put a sign on your door that indicates how many pets live at your residence in the event that you must leave your home.

Good advice. Everyone stay safe.