Fred (left) and his duck get ready to leave BC

Back at the end of November things were not looking good for Fred the Kugsha.  His owner had died suddenly and Fred was sent to the pound – labeled unadoptable because “he doesn’t get along with cats”.  (He’s a dog! — HELLO!)  Anyway…because Fred and his owner lived in British Columbia sending the dog to the late owner’s siblings  in Quebec was a major problem.  The siblings wanted to bring Fred East, but circumstances made this difficult.  Also, the airlines have a December 15th deadline for shipping live animals and Fred’s size –40 kg — made it difficult.

Enter our strangers.  A local Montreal man donated his air mile points so his wife and her friend (both animal lovers) could fly out west to British Columbia to pick up Fred and then the nice people at ViaRail donated three Eastbound train tickets.   The train should be arriving later today.  How is Fred doing on the train?

… rolling over for visitors to rub his belly, making babies giggle at stops en route and charming the train’s chef into cooking for him, according to Mélanie Pellerin and Christianne Hendershott, two Beaconsfield neighbours escorting the dog across Canada to be reunited with his late master’s siblings in Montreal.

More on the story here.

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

“Real” definition of Boxing Day.

Not exactly what you’re looking for?  Check out the rest of the list here. Or, if you are visiting someone over the holidays, and would like to take a little something special for their dog?  A Dog Cake is what you want!

From JapanTrends.

(It seems that “dog-flu” could refer to any flu-like illness in dogs due to various causes.)

From Dr. Cynda Crawford, University of Florida:

Like influenza viruses in other species, canine influenza virus causes a flu-like illness consisting of cough, sneezing and nasal discharge (”runny nose”). Fever can also occur, but it is usually transient and rarely noticed by pet owners. There are no clinical signs that distinguish canine influenza from other respiratory infections. That is why diagnostic tests must be performed to determine the cause of respiratory infections in dogs

Transmission of the virus occurs through sneezing and coughing from an infected dog and 80% of all dogs exposed to the virus become infected.

Since canine influenza is a viral infection, treatment consists mainly of supportive care while the virus runs its course, much like for human influenza.

Candidates for the vaccine would be dogs that frequent kennels or dog parks — basically the same group that requires the Bordetella shot.  If your animal is a homebody, then there is probably no need for this vaccacine.

More info here.

moar funny pictures

The full story here.

A woman in Jacksonville, Florida left her two-year old basset hound with a friend over the recent long weekend.  The instructions were clear, “Don’t leave Roxy loose  if you go out…she doesn’t like to be left alone.”  Clear enough, right?  To most people, yes.  To the friend, not so much.  He ran out for a “little while” without crating the aforementioned dog.  The dog, Roxy, got into a bag of 1″ nails and started eating.  She stopped at 130.  It took  the vets an hour to remove the nails surgically.  Amazingly, not one nail  punctured a major organ. Roxy was a very lucky dog!

Now the only question is: Who pays the vet bill?

More here.

First, a little background from back in October:

Dawn Rizos, owner of Dallas topless club The Lodge, received a letter from Gingrich’s American Solutions inviting her to dine with Gingrich at a Capitol Hill club. She was also told she had been selected to receive an Entrepreneur of the Year Award. “Dawn – Newt is looking forward to finally meeting you face to face” to talk policy, read a handwritten note on the missive.

Ms. Rizos mailed in the $5,000 “donation” required to receive the award.  A short time later, she received back a letter from the group explaining that they made a mistake, they were rescinding the award and here’s your cheque back!  American Solutions Group  finally realized she was the owner of what the Dallas Observer called “The best place to satisfy every vice at one time”. The  “family values people”  were shocked!

Fast forward to last week.  Showing a good sense of humour Dawn Rizos donated the $5,000 to a group that rescues pit bulls!  All animals are newtered neutered before adoption.

Newt’s Nook — A Home for Pit Bulls

More here.

While out on a walk, Australian farmer Chris Rickard’s blue heeler cattle dog Rocky “accidentally” disturbed a sleeping kangaroo.  Rocky was completely unaware that the phrase “let sleeping dogs lie” also applied to kangaroos.  Not satisfied with just waking the kangaroo, Rocky decided  to chase the ‘roo across the field and into the shallow water.  Big mistake!  By this time, the kangaroo was not only completely wide awake, but it was pissed miffed!   It grabbed Rocky and attempted to drown him.  Chris Rickard to the rescue!  He  jumped into the water to save his dog only to be attacked by the kangaroo.  30 minutes later, Mr. Rickard managed to escape (with his dog) to a neighbour’s house where he called for help.  He was treated for his wounds at a local hospital and released. Dog and kangaroo are fine.

(Sooo cute!)

More here.

Macclesfield, BRITIAN -  A British man has been banned from keeping dogs for ten years because he allowed his Dalmatian to become chronically obese.  The RSPCA was called two years ago by Mr. Green’s neighbours who were concerned for Barney, his pet dog.  The RSPCA  intervened, and convinced the owner to take the dog to a vet and have Barney put on a diet. It was only two years later that the RSPCA got the courts involved because the dog was now 60 lbs overweight!  With a proper diet and exercise Barney is down to a normal 80 lbs.

Yesterday, the court was told in mitigation that Mr Green treated Barney as more of a friend than a dog, and that he did not set out to deliberately harm Barney but rather failed to realise the seriousness of his condition.

From the RSPCA:

Overfeeding an animal can be just as cruel as underfeeding it and the reality is that fat pets have shorter lives, take longer to recover from disease and have a reduced ability to withstand surgery.

With the holidays (lot’s of good food available) coming here are 5 quick weight loss tips from K9 Magazine:

1. Talk to your vet — find out your dog’s optimal weight
2. Understand what your dog needs on a daily basis to maintain this weight
3. Don’t feed snack as well as meals — balance them
4. Exercise your dog
5. Do not give your dog what you are snacking on. They don’t need sugar!

If you read this list again, it could also apply to us during the holidays!

Did You Know…One ounce of cheddar cheese fed to a dachshund is the equivalent of an average woman eating 2 ½ hamburgers!

What is melamine? From WiseGeek.com:

Melamine resin is manufactured by mixing melamine with formaldehyde, and sometimes urea, under heat and pressure. The substances begin to polymerize and are forced into a mold which will create the desired shape. Under pressure, melamine releases water, which could make the plastic unstable if it is not removed. The materials finish polymerizing and create a finished product, melamine resin.”

Most people are aware of the pet food recalls in 2007 because of melamine contamination.  (Melamine was used as an additive in moist pet food to increase the protein content.  Many cats and dogs died of renal failure.)  But what about the melamine dishes that our cats and dogs use?  Health officials in Indonesia tested 62 pieces of melamine dishware manufacturer in China:

The head of the country’s Food and Drug Monitoring Agency said that “30 of them released formaldehyde when used for anything hot, watery or acidic,” the Jakarta Globe reported.

OK.  How about Korea?

In Korea, food scientists tested eight different brands of Chinese-made melamine dinnerware in January and February and found that 88 percent of the plates and bowls released formaldehyde when heated in a microwave.

Right.  What about America?

Food scientists in the U.S. say that there are melamine products in which it’s safe to cook and serve, but because of inadequate labeling it’s almost impossible to tell the safe products from those that can release formaldehyde.

So, to recap:

A product that is manufactured with formaldehyde (and probably inadequately labeled), is used to serve our food on.  What to do?  In Dubai, the government launched a campaign to confiscate all melamine that do not comply with standards.  In North America…nothing.  Nada.

My suggestion?  Toss all of your melamine dishes!  (Unfortunately they are not recyclable.)  Buy nice shiney (and easy to clean) stainless steel.  Your pet will thank you.

Most of the information here came  from an article by Andrew Schneider a Pultizer Prize winning investigative reporter.

What do you call a Lab’s dinner bowl made of papier maché?   Food.

When others look at it, they think  “lots of fetch sticks”.

Just a hint of maple…

“Chop your own wood and it will heat you twice” *

*Henry Ford…who probably never chopped his own cordwood either…

More here.

A Montreal police officer has been suspended for five days for handcuffing a dog-walker for no apparent reason.  The police officer admitted to “using insulting language, making a wrongful arrest and handcuffing.”  Montreal Gazette.

In other cities in North America and Europe, the police see dog-walkers as their eyes and ears in the community.  From the British DogWatch program:

Dog walkers tend to be out in the early mornings or evenings when other people are more likely to be indoors. Because of this, they might see and hear things relating to crime, anti social behaviour or other suspicious activity that we may not know about.

More stories here, here, here and here.

Dogs would have parks…

(Unfortunately, we don’t live in a Conservative riding…)

Our quest for a dog park continues!

More info here.

Some days it’s hard to believe that the canis lupus is related to canis lupus familiaris.

She: (takes a deep breath…)

…sings and accompanies herself on the piano. She paints multicoloured pictures. She skips rope like a pro. She weaves through pylons while holding a flag in her mouth. She knocks the pylons over and stacks them.

What, no leaping over buildings with a single bound?

Sparkle who claims to know 900 tricks, has been on TV shows in Japan, England and Germany.  And, of course, North  America.  While her owner/trainer claims she has certain math skills, Stanley Coren (the dog expert) is skeptical.  Still, 899 is not bad!

A true renaissance dog!

More here.

From North Dakota (and possibly parts of South Dakota), weighing 180 lbs is Boomer…

A Landseer Newfoundland who could be the world’s tallest dog. ♦ NY DailyNews ♦

The fur really does fly when pilots help animal shelters in relocating pets.  ♦ TheBark ♦

Au revoir! Sumo, the maltese dog of Jacques Chirac has found himself a new home! ♦ K9 DogMagazine ♦

Sometimes really stupid people get really lucky. Do not attempt this! ♦ CBC ♦

YES!! It’s an Ig Nobel prize for a study that proves cows with names produce more milk! ♦ TimesOnLine ♦

Ontario Dock Dogs – Ontario’s Faster Growing Dog Sport©

He was born with the black markings around his eyes, and as he got older, they moved up and became  eyebrows.

Who are you going to believe, me or your own eyes?
Chico Marx in Duck Soup (movie)

Groucho Marx

Well, all the jokes can’t be good. You’ve got to expect that once in a while.
Groucho in Animal Crackers (movie)

Roscoe the Bluetick Coonhound’s  life changed the day he followed home a staff member at a Myrtle Beach animal preserve. It was there he met Suryia.  His newest best friend.  Oh, and the fact that Suryia was an orangutan…was just too cool!  (Not many coonhound’s have their own orangutan.)

Now Roscoe’s days are spent with his friend swimming…

… and going for long walks on the beach!

And, like most media savy pets these days, they have a website!  SuryiaAndRoscoe.com

*Best friends forever

in the foggy, foggy dew…

♥ The End ♥

More here.

* Irish Proverb .  Translation “God’s in his Heaven… All’s right with the world!”