Archive for the 'Animals' Category

There is a new iPhone app in town and Snoopy the well known character from Peanuts is the leader of the pack. Snoopy has teamed up with HomeAgain® Pet Recovery Service to help bring pet parents back together with their missing pets. The new free app on the Apple® iPhone and other devices like the iPad is a nationwide “HomeAgain PetRescuer” network.

According to Gary MacPhee, director and general manager of HomeAgain “if anyone sees a dog or cat on the loose in the streets and is concerned the HomeAgain PetRescuers app will make it easy for pet lovers to play an active role in helping lost pets get home quickly.”

The HomeAgain PetRescuers app is available at Apple’s App Store for use on the iPod touch, the iPad and the iPhone.

• 1 in 3 pets go missing in their lifetime and 90% never find their original homes.

Identifying Lost Pets With Microchips



No this is not a budding romance. It is quite the opposite for my Princess, Miss Mia and her trips to the vet. Every year during her annual visit I have to trudge out her crate a few days in advance. She will circle around it through the course of that time, peaking in for a moment then scurrying away. She is very much aware when it is time for that visit….sigh. Out comes the towel for my protection while some very exorcist like sounds start emitting from that adorable mouth.

When we do arrive at the vet the examining room is in lock down mode, while the vet and her assistant prepare to remove Mia from her crate.  I sometimes think she would much prefer a bath rather than a vet visit.

Being that this is “Take your cat to the vet week” there are some important tips that Romeo the Cat shared with me to help spread the word.

Tips for Cat Carrier Battle:

• Bring out cat carrier several days before the before the appointment.
• Place treats or catnip in the carrier to make it more enticing.
• Don’t force or push your cat into the carrier if you can help it.
• Stand carrier on its end and gently ease the cat in, hind legs first.
• For very stressed cats, a house call practitioner may be the best option.

Benefits of regular cat visits:

• preventative
• cats age faster
• cats 10 years and older should visit vet every 6 months
• regular dental care is critical to overall well being of your cat
• cost effective

So please remember to take your cat to the vet for the overall health and well being of your cat. And for your peace of mind as well.

Win a 6 Month Supply of Feline Pine

How endearing is this seeing an adorable kitten pouncing on a pitbull? Cheers to the owner who is a pitbull advocate and animal rescuer! Only proves that yes, pitbulls are just as loving, gentle, sweet and caring as other dogs. It’s the owners who need discipline and training.

Amazing really how animals are so much alike in many ways as with us humans. That yearning for connection and affection. Mighty adorable what this porcupine does for attention!

Watch out Batman, think this pug might be taking over your job! WOOF!

Seems as though this adorable baby skunk has same ticklish spot as pooches. Which is evident by it’s hind leg kicking in reaction to handler’s petting. I wonder though how much longer it will be before this adorable skunk starts emitting that wonderful odor?

There is a heat wave bearing down on the Northeast right now. And it was a fun weekend after all the 4th of July festivities.  But I am exhausted from not only a busy weekend but also this oppressive heat. Having said that I really would like to take a nap especially after watching this unlikely pair of a bird and cat taking a snooze.  Makes your heart melt just seeing them snuggle together. Hope everyone had a fun and enjoyable Holiday weekend!

Meet Oscar the Bionic Cat. Oscar lost both his hind paws in a farming accident in England. And he might have been subjected to getting around with a wheeled attachment or worse. But Noel Fitzpatrick, a neuro-orthopedic veterinary surgeon came to his rescue. He developed weight-bearing bone implants which gave Oscar a new lease on life.

The metal implants are custom designed and fastened directly to Oscar’s ankle bones, inside his fuzzy little legs. They jut out directly through the skin and fur with prosthetic paws attached to the ends of the implants.

“The real revolution with Oscar is [that] we have put a piece of metal and a flange into which skin grows into an extremely tight bone,” Fitzpatrick told BBC News.

“We have managed to get the bone and skin to grow into the implant and we have developed an ‘exoprosthesis’ that allows this implant to work as a see-saw on the bottom of an animal’s limbs to give him effectively normal gait.”

When I first read about Oscar and his new hind paws late last week I thought science was really pushing the envelope. How could a cat or any animal for that matter have the right quality of life? But after viewing this video Oscar seems to be getting along just fine. Hip, hip hoorah to Dr. Fitzpatrick and congrats to Oscar! May you live another nine lives…..

Today, June 8th World Ocean Day is annual date to pay homage to the world’s ocean. In 1992 Canada proposed World Ocean Day at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The United Nations made it official just last year in 2009.  The Ocean Project along with World Ocean Network have worked together promoting World Ocean Day since 2003.

The ocean is a vital and integral part of all our lives regardless of where you live:

• Ocean plants produce half of the world’s oxygen & absorb nearly one-third of human-caused carbon dioxide emissions.
• Ocean ingredients, like algae and kelp, are used in making peanut butter beer, soymilk and frozen foods.
• Ingredients from the ocean are used to make shampoos and cosmetics, and medicines that help fight cancer, arthritis, Alzheimer’s, heart disease, viruses and other diseases.
• One in six jobs in the United States is marine-related and more than $128 billion in GDP annually results from ocean tourism, recreation and living resources.

Source: The Nature Conservancy

Think most of you remember Puglet the recycling pug from previous post. Well now he and his pals have gathered again to bring added recognition to the world’s ocean not only this day, but every day.  It is important for us humans to respect the ocean and it’s inhabitants by helping keep it healthy and clean. Cheers once again to Puglet and his pals!

Sometimes one loses their faith with all the dreadful news out there today. In particular the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.  I spoke with a friend last night who asked me if I had seen video of the dolphins affected by the oil spill. And I told her I just could not bare to watch anymore footage of animals and wildlife trying to survive. It just breaks your heart.

But in this video along comes a police officer who just happens to love animals, and dogs in particular. I won’t give away the ending but it is worth watching for sure. Cheers to both Officer Nick and the dog!