Spelling Family Home for Sale

If you happen to have $150 million lying around (come on, check those sofa cushions!), you can purchase a really lovely Los Angeles home. Aaron Spelling, known for such television hits as “Charlie’s Angels,” “Dynasty,” and “Beverly Hills 90210,” died in 2006 from a stroke at the age of 83. His widow Candy has now decided to put their lusciously extravagant house up for sale. She allowed her Wheaten Terrier Madison pick out the real estate agent for the job by seeing how the dog reacted. The job finally went to Sally Forster Jones, an agent for Coldwell Banker Previews … Continue reading

Starry Nights, Spooky Blog Tours, and Dachshunds: An Interview with Author Christine Verstraete

This next interviewee’s name may look familiar to you since I’ve interviewed Christine Verstraete before. Last time it was about her miniature doll hobby and the dogs she often includes in her displays. This time around I asked if she’d be interested in talking about Petey, the dachshund who stars in her new book, Searching For A Starry Night, A Miniature Art Mystery. She again graciously agreed, and added something fun just in time for Halloween: details on her spooky blog tour and how you can enter to win a set of Halloween minis or a copy of her e-book, … Continue reading

I Am Legend (2007)

I Am Legend is not my typical movie. While I’m not fond of the science fiction genre, I am incredibly fond of spending time with my spouse and this was the choice du jour. So I settled in for what I thought would be an incredibly long two hours of science ‘sciencey’ boy stuff. While it’s still not my favorite movie, I do have to say I was pleasantly surprised. I Am Legend, is actually a movie based on the same titled book written by Richard Matheson. This is not the first movie that’s been based on this book but … Continue reading

French Bulldog

Not surprisingly, the French bulldog has the English bulldog as an ancestor. During the late 1800s, English breeders sent a lot of toy-sized bulldogs into France. English bulldogs bred with various other breeds, resulting in the “Boule-Dog” (say it out loud, it sounds like bulldog). Early on, the French bulldog came it two varieties — one with rose ears (like an English bulldog) and one with upright bat ears. European breeders were inclined to breed for the rose ear, but American dog breeders objected. Eventually, breeders stuck universally to the distinctive bat ears. The breed got a lot of good … Continue reading

A Breed By Any Other Name Is…

…perhaps a dog you once knew or are familiar with from a TV show or a movie. You might not know the breed name, but you identify it nonetheless. By some other name. Not in Kansas Anymore, ____ Take the case of Lollipop, a Cairn terrier. I had the pleasure of making Lollipop’s acquaintance on my morning walks when I went to my mom’s house last month. The first morning I met Lollipop, she and her mom, Martha Ann, were coming towards me on the path. Lollipop stopped dead in her tracks when she saw me, hunkered down, and was … Continue reading

Rare Giant Turtle Reappears in Vietnam

This story made headlines yesterday… but I was busy entertaining the dogs while we had the carpets cleaned. (And my carpets are SO clean, it’s just lovely.) There are only three Swinhoe’s soft-shell turtles in the world, and they are all in captivity. Two reside in Chinese zoos; one lives in the poetically named Returned Sword Lake (Hoan Kiem) in downtown Hanoi, Vietnam. And that’s it. Three turtles in the whole world. At least… that’s what researchers thought until this past December. Photographic evidence showed a Swinhoe’s soft-shell turtle in the wild — in a lake in northern Vietnam. And … Continue reading

The Pets Blog Week in Review for February 11-17

Are you wondering what Aimee and I wrote about last week because other matters kept you away from the Pets Blog? If so, you came to the right place. Here’s what we covered on: Monday, February 11 The problem with show dog science is that it’s created a lot of genetic defects which leads to both physical and mental disorders for purebred pets. What’s a girl and her two dogs to do when they finally get a nice day to go outside? Head to dog park of course. But Aimee and her crew came home with souvenirs: mud socks! Tuesday, … Continue reading

Warning: Grapes and Raisins Deadly to Dogs Not an Urban Legend

Earlier this month a friend of mine (Lee, the dad of Mocha) sent me an email with this in the subject line: “If you have a dog…PLEASE READ!” That certainly caught my attention so I of course read it. The Warning The email was about a dog whose owners had to have him euthanized after he ate raisins, suffered raisin toxicity, and developed acute renal failure. The bulk of the email was rather technical and laced with veterinary jargon. Even so, the average dog owner could discern the gist: raisins and grapes are a big no-no treat for dogs. It … Continue reading

Nicolas Cage Refuses to Turn the Other Cheek and Natalie Slams Amy

A few weeks ago, I blogged about Kathleen Turner’s new autobiography titled “’Send Yourself Roses.” More specifically, I blogged about the things Kathleen said about her co-stars. She had accused Nicolas Cage of being a criminal while filming Peggy Sue Got Married, saying that he was arrested twice for drunk driving and once for stealing a dog. She also accused him of causing problems on the set because his famous uncle, Francis Ford Coppola was directing and he wanted to show he wasn’t under his wing. Now, Nicolas is fighting back. While he made no mention of causing problems on … Continue reading

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