Dec. 25/2019

Feature:

10 Pet Safety Tips for the Holidays

"...1. Place your Christmas tree in a corner...Since cats and Christmas trees are not always the best combination, it may take some ingenuity on your part to keep both parties safe during the holiday season. 

                                      

2. Tinsel can add a nice sparkling touch to the tree, but make sure you hang it up out of your pet's reach, or... simply don’t use it. 

                                   

3. Do not put lights on the tree's lower branches. Not only can your pet get tangled up in the lights, but they can also cause burns on both cats & dogs... Additionally, your dog or cat may inadvertently get shocked by biting through the wire.

                                        

4. Ornaments need to be kept out of reach... In addition to being a choking & intestinal blockage hazard, shards from broken ornaments may injure paws, mouths or other parts of your pet's body.

                                   

5. For those buying live Christmas trees... keep the area around the tree free & clear of pine needles... the needles cause stomach upset & can irritate or puncture your pet's intestines if ingested.

                                          

6....holly & mistletoe are poisonous to dogs & cats... they should be kept in an area your pet cannot reach. Poinsettias are also not a great idea, as they can cause nausea & vomiting if ingested.

                                   

7. Edible tree decorations...are pet safety time bombs waiting to happen. 

                                              

8. Burning candles should be placed on high shelves or mantels, out of your pet's way...Homes with fireplaces should use screens to avoid accidental burns.

                                         

9. ... exposed indoor or outdoor wires should be taped to the wall or the sides of the house. Any wires extending away from the wall should be wrapped in hard protective plastic to make them less interesting to your cat.

                                                     

10. ...Wrapping paper, string, ribbon, plastic pieces or cloth could all cause intestinal blockages...Be cautious about leaving wrapped gifts with ribbon & bows under the tree where your pets can get to them."

                                      

petmd.com

Christmas Critter Pics

                                                                                   

Christmas Chuckle
                                           
Memorial

Ted (Dec. 28/2009)

RIP Sweet One We miss you so much. 

Dec. 18/2019

Feature:

6 Animals that Mate for Life

“…Gibbons

Gibbons are the only species closely related to humans who form long-term monogamous pair bonds. Mated gibbons often duet, singing complex songs to literally shout their love from the tree tops – or, more accurately, to defend their territory from any other gibbons looking for a home…

                                                       

Sandhill Cranes

…Sandhill cranes seek out a mate before their annual migration to their breeding grounds & form a pair bond by unison calling. When they arrive at the breeding grounds, sandhill cranes perform elaborate dances as part of their mating ritual. Once their mate is suitably impressed by their sweet dance moves, the sandhill cranes begin to nest & form their lifetime of bliss. These pair bonds last until one of the cranes dies – a true mating for life scenario.                                                                                                               

Prairie Voles

Prairie voles are unique amongst their vole contemporaries for their tendency to mate for life. Studies have found that prairie vole brains respond differently to the chemicals released during social bonding & mating than other voles. This means that the bonds they form are so strong that male prairie voles often resist during vole ‘temptation scenarios’, in which an unfamiliar female is introduced. Rather than sidling up to the hot new vole in town, male prairie voles spend their days with their mated partner, snuggling & sharing responsibility for raising the family…

                                               

Termites

Unlike ants, where the queen doesn’t limit herself to just one mate, termites form a lifelong pair bond…Termites will land on a log, find their termite soulmate, & begin building their life together within a few hours of meeting…

                                          

Barn Owls

Barn owls are notable for many things – their eerie call, their ability to locate prey based on sound alone, & their subsequent ability to swallow prey whole…Not only do they mate for life, but male barn owls pull out all the stops to impress their lady loves. During courtship, male barn owls will go out of their way to hunt more in order to present their mate with extra food…

                                            

Beavers

Beavers are another of the rare mammal species who mate for life. Beavers live in colonies which are made by mated beaver pairs & used to raise their children. After about 2 years, beaver kits move out of Mom & Dad’s dam to find their own beaver spouse & have up to 20 years of marital bliss…”

                                                 

Courtney Hyde  

blog.nwf.org

Feb. 10/2015

Cute Critter Pic

Christmas Chuckle

Merry Christmas!

Dec. 11/2019

Feature:

For the Love of Pets

   “How much do we love our pets? Plenty!

   Where once pet owners discussed when to get their pets fixed, now you’re hearing about chemo & radiation for our beloved 4-legged friends…

   There’s pet dialysis & diabetes treatment, &, well, cloning is on the landscape, too. Just ask Barbra Streisand, who had her beloved dog Samantha successfully cloned.

   A cat in Maryland lived a year after receiving a kidney transplant from a donor cat…

   The cat was 18 years old when he died, & the owner adopted the donor cat…

   Years ago, when dogs- or horses- suffered broken legs or hips, the outcome was grim.

   Now broken bones can be healed thanks to custom crafted braces created with professional athletes in mind.

   And there has been a surge for such devices for pets not only suffering from broken bones but also arthritis & other age related erosion.

   Just ask Sandro Ferrari, owner of Brace Yourself orthopedics in Toronto. The veteran hospital orthopedic technologist, whose 2 gorgeous Dobermans, Molly & Kaja, lived to ripe old ages thanks to his constant love & care, has been the official bracing specialist with the Toronto Maple Leafs…

   But it was a friend’s dog named Shadow who inadvertently opened up a second career for Ferrari…

   ‘Shadow had torn her ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) & I was asked to help. I knew I had to act quickly, & it came to me that, if fiberglass works for humans, why not dogs?’

   He studied the dog’s structure & created a special brace.

   ‘When you’re working with a human, the mould needs to set before you can cut it off & create the brace. With animals, it’s different. You have to time it right before the cast sets,’ said Ferrari.

   Do animals make good patients? ‘Dogs know when they are being helped & stay still. They know you’re there to make them better,’ said Ferrari.

   Word spread about the treatment’s success, & calls for help starting to pour in- including one from a horse owner who asked Ferrari if he could save his horse who had suffered a broken leg- which he successfully did.

       Today, Brace Yourself orthopedics (braceyourself.ca) is doing such a thriving business, Ferrari finds himself juggling 2 full time careers- & loving every minute of it.

   ‘It’s quite simple: I love helping animals,’ said Ferrari…

   The Canadian pet industry is worth well over $8 billion when you factor in veterinarian services, food & supplies, daycare, grooming, & other services…

   Statistics from 2018 show 8.3 million cats were considered household pets, while the dog figure increased to 8.2 million, up from 7.6 million in 2016.

   ‘It is encouraging to see the number of pet cats & dogs increasing in Canada & I think that reflects the special relationship we have with them,’ notes Colleen McElwain, CAHI programs director.”

Rita Demontis

The Gazette, Montreal

Aug. 3/2019

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Dec. 4/2019

Feature:
Why Do Cats Cover Their Faces When They Sleep?

“Your purring pal sure makes sleep look easy. She passes out on the back of the sofa, while

sprawled out in the middle of the living room floor & even on top of that fresh basket of clean laundry. But one thing always makes you raise an eyebrow: She tends to cover her face while snoozing. This is just one of those little behaviors that virtually all cats do.                                                                                 

It’s Comfy

Think of all the positions you sleep in. You may start out on your back with your arms by your side, but by the time morning rolls around, you're lying diagonal with one arm across your chest & the other one flung up over your head. It's comfortable for you -- plain & simple. Same thing applies in the feline world…because that happens to be the most comfortable position…

                                        

Built-In Sunglasses

If you haven't already noticed, your fur ball will catch some z's anyplace it's warm. Kitties prefer sleeping where it's toasty & cozy. The downfall of zoning out on the rug & catching that one single beam of sun is that it goes right into her sensitive little eyes. Fortunately, her 2 front paws act like sunglasses when she covers her face, shielding her eyes from the sun's painfully bright rays.

                                   

Security

Cats need to feel secure at all times. That's not an easy task during a snooze session… Burying her head in a dark secure spot, gives her a sense of security. She doesn't always feel like hiding under something though -- sometimes she just wants to sleep in her favorite wide-open spot on the couch. The only thing she can do for security is cover her face. It may not look safe, but she feels fully protected.

                                          

Too Tired to Move

Your high-maintenance ball of fur spends roughly 1/3 of her waking hours grooming herself, PAWS Chicago explains. That's a lot of work to stay clean & pretty. So naturally, she gets warn out easily. During her grooming session, she could start to zone out from pure exhaustion while cleaning her face. So her paw just lands right there, over her eyes, because making the extra effort to move it back down towards her body takes too much effort.”                                                                                                          

Ryan Tronier

Cuteness.com

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Weekly Chuckle:

Memorial

Nov. 27/2019

Feature:

New Dogs, New Tricks

   “NEW YORK…The Grand Basset Griffon Vendeen & the Nederlandse Kooikerhondje make their debuts at the Westminster Kennel Club dog show… each getting a nationally televised turn among the more than 190 breeds on the green carpet at the nation’s premier canine contest.

   But Buzz Lightyear, for one, seems to be taking his breed’s big moment in stride. The 4 year old Grand Basset Griffon Vendeen…glanced out at the cameras at a recent Westminster preview news conference, looked up at owner Brielly Cipriotti & then lay down on the rostrum to do a couple of things his breed does best: sniff around & induce smiles.

   ‘They’re extremely sweet, & they have a big, goofy attitude,’ Cipriotti, of Bealeton, Va., said later. She’s excited about the exposure that the breed- a low-slung, long- eared, hardy hound developed in France to hunt rabbits & hare- stands to gain from Westminster.

 About 3,200 dogs, ranging from wee Malteses to strapping Mastiffs, are entered to compete at this month’s show, which includes agility & obedience competitions along with the breed judging that leads to the signature Best in Show trophy…

   The relatively new agility & obedience contests are open to mixed- breed dogs…

   New breeds appear at Westminster after getting recognized by the American Kennel Club. The process takes years & includes setting standards & having hundreds of dogs spread around the country.

   The merry, clever Nederlandse Kooikerhondje…was initially trained to help Dutch duck hunters by attracting the bird’s interest & then luring them into net-covered canals.

   ‘It’s the Pied Piper of the dog world,’ said owner Rod Beckstead of Jim Thorpe, Pa., as she showed off 2 year old Bandit.

   The breed remains versatile & easy to teach to do dog sports & other things; some even serve as cadaver dogs, he said…”

Jennifer Peltz

The Associated Press

The Gazette, Montreal

Feb. 5/2019

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Weekly Chuckle:

Nov. 20/2019

Feature:
Get Your Good Boy a La-Z-Boy

   “You’ve probably heard that you spend a third of your life in bed, so a good mattress is

something worth splurging on. The same can probably be said for our favorite furry friends.

   La-Z-Boy, known for making comfortable seats to lounge in, recently launched a range of high-

quality dog beds.

   The Pet Collection uses Comfort Signature memory foam & Comfort Select fibrefill, which the company boasts has ‘never flat properties’. Each is designed to support your pooch’s sleep style, whether they curl up in a doughnut or sprawl out on their back. They’re also upholstered with durable fabric that uses iClean Technology to repel dirt & doo-doo, so they’re easy to keep clean. The beds & loungers come in a variety of sizes to suit your dog, & a variety of colors to suit your style.

   Prices start at $135 at wayfair.ca"

Maggie Parkhill

The Gazette, Montreal

June 15/2019

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