Neither Cactus Spines Nor Cuts Keep Labrador From Family

An 85-pound Labrador retriever named Timber endured cactus spines and a cut to hunt down his California family 2 miles away at a house he’d only visited by car.
At midnight on New Year’s Eve, the chocolate Lab came home about 30 hours after he went missing.
“I thought he was gone,” Justin Murrietta said.  His eyes [...]

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Male Dogs Shocking Response To Nature’s Call

Here’s another example of how the public works infrastructure of Minneapolis is going to the dogs.
In at least two known cases, canines have sustained electric shocks while urinating at the base of aging parkway light poles, where the wiring has deteriorated. The unlucky dogs let loose a stream of urine, completing an electrical circuit.
“I was [...]

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Howl and Hoot: Basset Hound Best Friends With Owl

A 16-year-old Basset hound named Beryl in Tenterden, England, has an unusual best friend, a 4-year-old Tawny owl named Wol, the animals’ owner says.
The pair have become inseparable since meeting at an animal refuge, and are quite happy to cuddle up together on an armchair.
The canine and fowl struck up a friendship [...]

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Pet and Product News, Week of 12/27/08 - 1/2/09

For the post-Christmas week, we highlight some pet and animal news and product stories that caught our eye.
We start with a little publicized article from Georgia involving horses and inmates.  Any program that is based on the mutual rehabilitation of both people and animals deserves praise.  Female inmates are selected to work with horses that [...]

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Service Animals Are Not Just Dogs Anymore

Chances are you’ve seen a blind person accompanied by a guide dog. But what about a guide horse, a service parrot or a monkey trained to help an agoraphobic?
These are just a few of the nontraditional service animals that are used across the country to help people with disabilities and psychological disorders. As their uses [...]

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Orangutan learns how to jet-ski

While most orangutans have to make do with swinging from the trees, cheeky Surya just loves aping about on a jet ski.
The four-year-old orangutan is given a child’s jet ski to play on as part of his activities at The Institute of Greatly Endangered and Rare Species (TIGER) in Miami, Florida.
Surya is allowed to play [...]

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Porcupines Found Quillty in Telluride.

Living in the lap of mountain luxury has its good points. But it also has its porcupines.
Mountain Village above Telluride has been suffering tree damage and other annoyances from a plague of porcupines that seem to favor life in this ritzy town of log-and-rock mansions.
The spiny rodents have done more than $100,000 in damage to [...]

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Dealing With Dog Breath

Almost everyone loves dogs. Absolutely no one loves doggie breath.
Veterinarians recommend frequent doggie tooth brushing to prevent smelly breath and promote good health.
Other less “manual” options include products such as Odor Free which is sprayed on the pet’s food.  Petzlife Oral Care claims to have products that attacks the dog’s plaque, tartar and bacteria in [...]

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Sky Protects The Friendly Skies

Though expensive metal detectors and armed security officers abound at all United States airports, airways are also turning to simpler measures to protect the approximate 769 million passengers who fly each year.
They employ dogs, whose hunting and herding abilities come as naturally to them as flying does to the birds.
Sky, a 1-year-old Border Collie, routinely [...]

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Walla Walla Man Adopts the Un-Adoptable Xena

A longtime volunteer at a Washington state animal shelter said it was about time he formally adopted the troubled dog he had regularly walked for two years.
Scott Davis became the official owner of Xena after a six-day holiday trial run at his home, ending the aggressive Rottweiler-mix’s long stint as the most un-adoptable mutt at [...]

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Detective Dog Tracks Missing K-9 Dog

Police in Fort Worth, Texas, baffled about a missing K-9 dog, turned to a dog detective agency when their helicopter search turned up nothing.
Godiva, an operative for Dog Gone Detectives, found Loki, the escaped search and rescue dog, in 15 minutes, The Dallas Morning News reported.
Kat Manning, one of the owners of the agency, said [...]

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Horse Goes To Movies But Doesn’t Stay For The Show

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The horse was one of three which escaped from a farm and ran through the automatic doors at the Cineworld complex in Boldon, South Tyneside.

The incident was caught on CCTV and was put on the YouTube website, but it has since been removed.

The horse walked down a corridor before turning round and fleeing through the exit as filmgoers looked on.

Article with video: www.telegraph.co.uk

admin @ January 5, 2009

Kittengarden

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When it comes to pet training, dogs traditionally have had a paw up on their feline counterparts. Programs to increase a cat’s socialization and training aren’t considered by most pet owners and didn’t exist until recently. But school is becoming the “in” thing for kittens, with the advent of kitten kindergarten.

Kitten kindergarten is the brainchild of Australian veterinary behaviorist Kersti Seksel, who opened her own “Kitty Kindy” under a decade ago for young cats aged 7 to 14 weeks. The concept has now appeared in the U.S., where in many communities from coast to coast courses are spread out over a few weeks. These courses allow kittens to play and interact with owners and other cats. Owners also learn to care for their kittens, and behavior problems are nipped in the bud.

Full Story: www.montanasnewsstation.com

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P&A News @ January 5, 2009

Pet Feeders Attach To Wall

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When original design, durability, function, resource efficiency, and ergonomics coincide in one product, it’s karma-phala. If its first product is any indication, These Creatures, a metal fabrications and design partnership, has the karma.  And lucky for pet owners, we get to enjoy These Creatures’ Hanging Feeders as much as our cats and dogs.

The beautifully metal-sculpted designs from These Creatures are as stylish as they are functional. Attach them to the wall at just the proper feeding level for your pet, and voila! You have an off-the-wall pet feeder!

Full article: http://inventorspot.com

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P&A News @ January 5, 2009

Rescue Dog Turned Into Cancer - Sniffer

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Spaniel puppy Casper had been living in the Blue Cross animal center in Burford for months but was continually passed over because of his boundless energy.

This made him perfect for scientists looking for dogs for their project.

Now Casper is being taught to recognize the scent of cancer from urine samples.  It is hoped this will lead to earlier diagnosis and save more lives.

Full Story: http://news.bbc.co.uk

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P&A News @ January 4, 2009

The Amazing Acro-Cats

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It’s not every day you see a chicken walk the line.  Or a groundhog zipping past in a red sports car, or a cat strumming a pink guitar.

Starring in the Amazing Acro-Cats show are cats that ride skateboards, roll barrels, walk the high wire and jump through hoops. But the show also features rats, a chicken, a raccoon, a kinkajou – related to a raccoon – a ferret and a groundhog.

Samantha Martin began the show several years ago, but she has been training animals of all sorts for most of her life. Some of her prodigies have been theater and film stars, and her groundhog makes an appearance on WGN-TV every Groundhog Day.

The cat show travels all over, with hopes of going worldwide, she said.  The cats are pampered on road trips in a 28-foot-long RV.

Full Story: www.daily-chronicle.com

P&A News @ January 4, 2009