Wednesday Pet Roundup

Hi and welcome to Wednesday Pet Roundup! Meet a dog I met this weekend, Fozzie Bear! He likes to ride around in his mom and dad's golf cart.

* Catster brings you the cutest cat in the world. I agree!

* Here is a great list from Dr. Shawn Finch, DVM on Life with Dogs blog, about pet health including:

--- Feeding your dogs well will enhance and extend their lives more than any other thing I can imagine.

--- Dogs will not always stop playing when they are tired. They will not always come out of the heat or the cold. They do not know how to safely cross the street or balance in the back of a pickup truck. They need us to protect them.

--- Puppy mills are the scourge of the dog world.

See the entire list for more. I agree with every word.

* I Still Want More Puppies highlights yet another frustratingly depressing story about dogs in hot cars, and asks, "when will it stop?"

* Check out these photos from International Business Times of the Imperial Beach, California surf dog competition. 50 dogs competed, including Bulldogs, Border Collie, Pug, Pomeranian, and more.

Wednesday Pet Round Up

Hi and Welcome to Wednesday Pet Roundup! (Read on to discover 3 great contests too!) Here's Kelly exercising her civic responsibilities yesterday.

* November is Senior Pet Month. This news report from Bloomberg Businessweek tells us what we all surely know...senior pets may have a few more health needs, but a little TLC can go a long way in taking care of them.

* From senior pets to puppies...hop over the Life with Dogs to learn about new documentary, Madonna of the Mills, about one woman's fight against puppy mills. Her story will inspire you.

* BuffaloNews.com brings us good news of 36 puppies rescued from a Missouri puppy mill. The puppy mill was listed on the U.S. Humane Society's "Dirty Dozen" of the most deplorable facilities. Among the dogs rescued and brought to foster homes near Buffalo NY are cocker spaniel, miniature schnauzer, yorkie, lhasa apso, American eskimo, papillon, and puggle.

* Here's a great contest for you. First of all, check out this wonderful new site for dog lovers, Pet Blogs United! Then enter to win a beautiful collar from Doggie Stylish! Entries close Saturday.

* Another contest, from FIDO Friendly blog, enter to win a free Buddy Belt. Buddy Belt is a harness designed to minimize pressure on your dog's neck and spine.

* And another contest! Enter Doggies and Stuff contest for a $30 gift certificate to Equal Exchange, specializing in fair trade coffee, chocolate, nuts and snacks.

Wednesday Pet Roundup

Hi and welcome to Wednesday Pet Roundup!

* From the AP, a proposition on Missouri ballots would create stricter laws for commercial dog breeders, calling for restricting numbers of breeding pairs, enlarging living quarters, requiring veterinary care and creating a misdemeanor crime for "puppy mill cruelty." A good start? Or not hardly enough?

* How long is the world's longest cat? According to Fox-11 online--and the Guiness Book of World Records-- 48 and 1/2 inches from nose to tail. The record-holder is Stewie, a five-year old Maine Coon Cat.

* The Washington Post tells us about a Maryland company, Dogs Finding Drugs, which is renting their drug-sniffing dogs to parents who want to locate their teens' stashes.

* Ever felt the need to thoroughly analyze the rate at which a wet dog must shake in order to shed droplets of water from its coat? Want to hear a scientist thoroughly discuss this phenomenon on NPR? Or would you just like to see cute video of the wet dog shake?

* Cute pig alert! Check out the piggie in wellies from Life magazine!

* More cute. Cute puppy alert!

Teens can help eliminate puppy mills

According to Deborah Howard, President of the Companion Animal Protection Society (CAPS), “more than 90 percent of pet shops obtain their puppies from puppy mills” that completely disregard the mental, physical, and emotional well-being of the animals they mass produce each year.

“Puppy mills exist solely for profit, with the dogs treated like puppy-producing machines that turn feed into puppies,” said a CAPS undercover investigator.

“The animals are often treated with a minimal standard of care with little or no concern for their well-being.” It’s not uncommon for pet shop puppies to be treated for upper respiratory infections, ear and eye infections, and parasites once they arrive at the store or their new home.

Now teens can learn more about the conditions found in common puppy mills and spread the word about the horrors of puppy mills by registering to become a teen activist at www.caps2point0.org.

By being young activists fighting the puppy mill industry teens can educate consumers to help end the horrific plight of the pet store puppy.