The Top Pets Blogs of 2007: June – December

We started out with a list of the Top Blogs from January through May. To conclude the Year in Review of the Top Pets Blogs, here’s the last six months of the year. June 2007 Top Blogs Adopt-a-Shelter Cat Month Starts Today: How to Participate Moose’s Special New Trick The Trouble With Walking Two Dogs Life Without a Fence Moose’s Bad Luck Continues Murphy, Kitty, and Tabby’s Dilemma: What to Get Wayne for Father’s Day? Fitting a Harness Moose Update: He’s Healing and We’re All Adjusting Animal Movies = Torture: How I Fared Through Evan Almighty July 2007 Top Blogs … Continue reading

Who Would Your Dog Vote For?

An Australian shepherd mix was registered to vote in Washington State for more than a year in protest of a voting law change. Owner Jane Balogh registered Duncan M. McDonald in April 2006 — in order to meet identification requirements, she put her phone bill in the dog’s name. That was apparently enough for election officials, who sent the dog his first ballot in November 2006. Balogh returned the ballot unmarked — she wrote VOID on it and stamped a paw print on the signature line. Someone called her house after that and she confessed to registering her dog to … Continue reading

Meredith Returns To “The View” and Rachael Ray Wants To Taste Your Cooking

The good news: Meredith Vieira is retuning to ABC’s “The View.” The bad news: She’s only staying for a day. Actually, she’s only scheduled to be on for one segment, but here’s hoping it will be a long one. Meredith Vieira… remember her? She was the daytime chatfest’s moderator for nine years before she left for her current gig at NBC’s “Today” show. Vieira replaced Katie Couric who left her cushy job for the anchor chair at the CBS Evening News. On “The View” Vieira was replaced by Rosie O’Donnell who was replaced by Whoopi Goldberg. Got that? The sorely … Continue reading

The View On “The View”—Whoopi on Vick’s Dogfighting Case

Who said the drama meter would dip on “The View” with Rosie O’Donnell being gone? The outspoken O’Donnell may have fled from ABC’s daytime chatfest, but it didn’t take her replacement long to stir things up. Yes, controversy has found its way back to the talk show set. Just minutes after Whoopi Goldberg debuted as the show’s new co-host yesterday she made a comment about Michael Vick’s dog fighting case. In case you missed it, the actress-turned talk show host basically said that in the culture that Vick was raised, dog fighting was not such an unusual practice. She then … Continue reading

The Pets Blog Week in Review for Jul 23-29

There was one issue in particular that dominated this week in the Pets Blog –dogfighting! Both Aimee and myself had plenty to say on that issue. But we covered other things as well. To find out what, consult your week-at-a-glance breakdown below. Monday, July 23 Aimee wrote about a group in Pennsylvania called Dogs Deserve Better. They’re trying to raise awareness about the cruelty and dangers of chaining via an event called Unchain the Fifty, where they try to get one person in each state to spend a minimum of eight hours chained to a doghouse. Tuesday, July 24 There … Continue reading

Do You Know What Dogfighting Is?

Now that a high-profile sports star has been charged with dogfighting, the phenomenon is all over the news. But do you know what dogfighting is? Dogfighting is — as the name implies — a contest in which two dogs fight each other. The dogs are bred, conditioned, or trained to fight. The fights average an hour in length and can often last more than two hours; the fight is over when one of the dogs cannot or will not continue. During the fight, spectators can watch and bet on the outcome. Dogfighting is illegal in the United States and is … Continue reading

Shelters Overwhelmed With Fighting Dogs

The dogs seized from Michael Vick’s property may be the most famous dogfighting survivors headed to animal shelters this month… but they aren’t the only ones. Animal control and police departments around the country have seized dozens of injured and abused pit bulls from dogfighting operations in homes, barns, yards, and on the streets. In July 2007: Six dogs were seized in Columbus, Ohio. Thirty-seven dogs were seized in South Holland, Illinois. Four dogs were seized in Chicago, Illinois. Thirty-one dogs were seized in Reelsboro, North Carolina. Twenty-two dogs were seized in Richland County, South Carolina. And that’s just a … Continue reading

The Pets Blog Week in Review for May 21-27

Delivered for your reading pleasure is another installment of the Pets Blog Week in Review. Below you’ll find all the topics Aimee and I covered the previous week. Monday, May 21 Poor Aimee, Moose and Lally! They just arrive in their new town, find a great dog park, and what happens? Poor Moose gets attacked! Aimee tells all about it in You Should Have Seen the Other Guy? This incident also sparked her to write about dog aggression in general. The days of aggression in my household (except mine is cat-based) might be nearing an end as there have been … Continue reading

Stick to Football, Not Dogfighting, Michael Vick!

Whatever happened to the days when NFL stars shined? These days they make as many plays off the field as on –except instead of scoring touchdowns, they’re involved in stuff like murder (a la OJ Simpson) or running dogfighting rings. “Say what?” you might be asking if you haven’t heard about Michael Vick, a football player for the Atlanta Falcons. He’s under investigation for running a dogfighting ring out of his home. As far as I’m concerned, this is as serious as OJ possibly killing his ex-wife. Why? Because if it’s determined the dogs are fighting dogs, they will be … Continue reading

Leo: One of Michael Vick’s Rescued Pit Bulls

The other night Inside Edition ran a story about one of the pit bulls rescued from Michael Vick’s dog fighting ring. His name is Leo, and he now lives in California with his new owner, Marthina McClay, who’s a member of Our Pack, a pit bull rescue organization. Leo’s Life with Marthina As you might imagine, Leo’s life with his new owner is a far cry from what it was with Mr. Vick and company. Gone are his days of dog fighting. But he still works. Though these days it’s as a therapy dog. That’s right. You read me right. … Continue reading