Meeting the Neighbor Dogs

I’ve blogged before about my neighbor’s dogs, the ones she lets roam free through the neighborhood. Sometimes I see them in our yard. Yesterday while I was working, I noticed one of them, the tan one, out the window. I went outside to greet it, as I always do whenever I see any of the neighborhood pets. They all, cats and dogs included, run away from me. This dog did the usual, but I thought of something: I called for it to come here. I didn’t think it was a dangerous dog, because our neighbor said he isn’t. He also … Continue reading

I Want A Dog – Part 1

For the past few days, Dylan has been talking a lot about animals. He has not said much about the lions, tigers, monkeys, and other jungle animals that we see in many of the books that we read or the movies that we watch. He seems acutely interested in domestic animals – cats, dogs, cows, and the like. A couple of times, he has asked me to go for a walk or a drive in the afternoon for the specific purpose of finding cows that he can touch. Even though we live in Vermont, many of the farms near us … Continue reading

Cats and Dogs Really Can Get Along

They’re as universal an example of opposites as up and down, day and night, right and left. Even the line “cats and dogs getting along” is sometimes used as a turn of phrase for unbelievable events. Thus there’s an idea out there that one has to be either a cat person or a dog person. One can’t love both equally, or one certainly can’t have both as pets without inviting a fur-flying frenzy into the home. At best they’ll get along by avoiding each other for the most part, and at worst they’ll need to be separated. Except that simply … Continue reading

Eight More Hardy Fish for Your Saltwater Aquarium

Although there are hundreds of fish available for saltwater aquarium keepers, some are easier to keep than others. If you are just starting out in the saltwater aquarium hobby, you might want to consider some hardy breeds that have a better chance of surviving tank mistakes. Here are a few more choices that may work well in a beginner tank: Hawkfishes — these saltwater fish are VERY hardy. Larger species of hawkfish may prey on smaller fish. Smaller hawkfish can do well in a community tank if introduced after peaceful species have already settled in. Comets — these fish are … Continue reading

Bad Situations: Loose Dogs vs. Leashed Dogs

Back in April, mcmama, otherwise known as Janet McMonagle the Community Manager, posted the thread “Leashed dog attacked by loose dog” over in the Pets Forum. The dogs involved were a terrier mix (the leashed one) and a German Shepherd (the loose one). Janet wasn’t sure if the Shepherd was going after the dog or his owner, but the little dog didn’t fare too well. His neck got all torn up and he had to be rushed to the vet and get stitches. Thankfully he lived. Having been in similar situations with both Budly and Murphy a time or two … Continue reading

Dog Breeds: Shiba Inu

I once saw a Shiba Inu puppy at a pet store and totally fell in love with the breed. Shibas are the smallest of the native dog breeds that come from Japan. It is one of the breeds declared national monuments by Japan — that list also includes akitas and the Japanese chin. The breed nearly went extinct during World War II — I’m very glad it didn’t! The Shiba Inu was developed to be a hunting dog — both a scent hound and a sight hound. The breed is built for hunting in the dense undergrowth found in Japan’s … Continue reading

The Elusive Stray Dog Roaming Our Neighborhood

Drat! This morning the stray dog that’s been roaming our neighborhood the last few weeks eluded me again. I want to say it was about 3 weeks ago when I first saw her. But I wasn’t sure she was a dog. I spotted her when I was walking Murph at dusk one evening. She was up ahead about a block or so, trotting towards us. At first my guard went up. Stray dog with no owner in sight could spell trouble if she was an aggressive dog. But as soon as she spotted us, she high-tailed it between some houses … Continue reading

Dogs Detecting Cancer: Does It Provoke Attacks?

As I wrote last week in National Pet Cancer Awareness: What You Should Know, November is Pet Cancer Awareness Month. As I also wrote in that article, pet cancer reminds me of Budly because that’s why we had to put him to sleep. But the week before Budly’s health took such a nose dive that we had to rush him to the animal ER, he got attacked. The Attack We were out for our usual morning walk and had stopped to talk with a neighbor who had just gotten a chocolate lab puppy. All of a sudden this huge dog … 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