Man’s best friend is usually a pretty friendly animal. He likes to pant and lick—sometimes to the chagrin of his master, and definitely his master’s cat-people friends—and wag his tail. He likes to chase cars (but like the Joker says, wouldn’t know what to do with one if he caught it), balls, sticks and bunnies. He likes his ears ruffled, his tummy scratched, and to sleep at the foot of your bed. All in all, dogs are pretty loyal companions that love to the end, as their stereotype has always suggested.

But some dogs just aren’t. Whether they’ve been rescued from a bad home, used in the “ring” as fighting objects, were taunted or teased as a puppy, or they were exposed to Cujo on network television (with even scarier commercials about getting worm medicines mailed to your home), some dogs really are man’s worst enemy.

Read more >

I’ve been a Hillary Swank fan for years, ever since she broke my heart and made me sob uncontrollably in Boys Don’t Cry. Ever since then, she’s been bold—in films like Million Dollar Baby—and adorable—such as her role in P.S. I Love You. It turns out that Swank isn’t only a talented actress; she’s also an animal lover.

The two-time Academy Award winner is now working with Iams to help homeless pets get into new, loving homes. The Iams Home 4 the Holidays Campaign has helped millions of pets get adopted within the last decade, and they’re hoping that with Swank as this year’s ambassador, they’ll be able to help even more animals.

Read more >

Dinner?In my family, we have a running joke about eating our pets if we ever get that poor. I know it wouldn’t really be funny if we were that poor—we’d likely have to give them up to someone who could care for them, and poverty certainly isn’t funny, but we’re a little warped that way. Anyway, the point is that we would never eat our beloved pets and anyone who knows us knows we’re joking.

That said, I ran across this news story and was simply astounded by what I read. A family in New Zealand had grown tired of their canine companion—a Staffordshire terrier—and apparently barbecued and ate it.

Um, wow.

Read more >

Today is the day to take that big hunk ‘o fur you call Spike, Fido, Mercutio or Fif and hug him (or her), tell him how much you love him, and be grateful for the loving companion you’ve got in your life. That’s right, I’m talking about National Dog Day!

To celebrate your pooch today, here are some ideas. Feel free to post your own or to share how you celebrated National Dog Day!

Read more >

Many people believe that Michael Vick’s recent second apology was more heartfelt and believable than his first, and that he is sincerely sorry for the crimes he committed against dogs.  Is he sincere? After being sentenced to 23 months in prison, anyone would likely be sorry they did something—whether they regret the actual act itself or not.

The ASPCA and pet owners everywhere are condemning his renewed contract with the Philadelphia Eagles. People are outraged over Vick’s new contract, and sales of Michael Vick dog toys and anti-Vick t-shirts are apparently still going strong.

Read more >

OreoThis fricking story made me absolutely sick to my stomach. Some idiot guy in New york for reasons unknown (I seriously hope he has a mental condition), decided to throw a dog "Oreo" off the sixth story window of his apartment building after beating the dog inside of the building. 

Oreo is somehow miraculously ok thanks to the life-saving techniques of an amazing team of surgeons who "reassembled her front legs" and  Oreo is now able to walk.

Read more >

An article from Discovery News reports that your dog may just be able to answer that question with yes.

It seems that dogs can understand the gestures you use for pointing just as well as a two-year-old can—and that they need almost no learning time to fully comprehend them. They can also interpret human head-turning and gazing.

Apparently, since pet owners use the same baby talk with their bets as they do with their kids, both children and animals are receiving similar stimulation to be able to interpret these signals.

I sure hope that a lot of pet owners out there don’t speak to their kids the same way they scream at their pets; both animal and child would surely wet themselves.

Read more >

German Short-haired PointerWhile camping recently, my friend and I were sent on a key mission to head to the Hand-Mart. We called it Operation Coors Light. Trucking down the road, ACDC's "Jailbreak" cranked up to 11 on the radio, we had to quickly slam on the brakes (not a good thing in an old Chevy S-10) at the sight of a small-scale traffic jam of 3-4 cars and one confused dog in the middle of the road.

People were either swerving somewhat erratically, stopping, or quickly passing the cars who were stopped. The dog, who had a huge cone-shaped hunting tracking gizmo device, remained almost exactly on the yellow line, slowly turning in circles as horns blared around her. While we were stopped, my friend asked the driver of the next truck over what she wanted to do. Showing that she was destined to receive the "Honorary Citizen of the Year Award" for the greater Lake area, she gave us an ugly face and sped off rapidly.

Read more >

Too Many Treats?Everyone knows it-Americans are getting fatter and fatter every year. Obesity is hitting us hard health wise. The rather unfortunate fact of the matter is that Fido and Muffy are getting fat right along with us.  

 I was at my sister's place yesterday and noticed (I tried not to, really) that her dog had gained a few pounds. "She's big-boned," my sister said in defense of her chubby dog. After making a few comments that I shouldn't have made, I realized that she was serious- the vet was concerned about the dog's weight and had encouraged her to get the dog on a diet. Like any good parent, my sister got a little protective of her furry friend. What was she doing wrong?

Read more >

Cute CatDo cats have a learning disability that dogs don't have? One researcher won't put it in so many words, but her research into the friendly felines has demonstrated that "cats do not understand cause and effect connections between objects".  Her experiment was not high-tech at all- she basically baited a string with tasty treats (fish and a biscuit), and placed them out of reach  to see "if the cats could work out that pulling on the string would pull the treat closer."

She used three strings: "a single baited string, two parallel strings where only one was baited, and two crossed strings where only one was baited."


Read more >