New Book: Dog Sense

I recently received an email with a link to this NPR article about John Bradshaw's new book, Dog Sense: How the New Science of Dog Behavior Can Make You a Better Friend to Your Pet. The article is pretty interesting--it includes the link to Bradshaw's interview as well as interview highlights and an excerpt from Dog Sense. You may want to pick up the book if it looks like a good read for you or someone you know!   
(Disclaimer: I have not read the book.)

NPR: The New Science of Understanding Dog Behavior

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day! What a beautiful day to celebrate our wonderful moms!

Here are a just few fun ways to celebrate moms who have pet "children" today:

• In addition to a paper card (or to substitute a paper card and save a tree), many animal-related organizations offer cute holiday e-cards, such as the World Wildlife Fund. 
• Give a card to your pet parents from the pets, signed with their names and paw prints.
• Make a paw print ceramic tile for the garden or to hang on the wall. You can usually find these kits at any crafts store. (Be sure to clean the pets' paws immediately after so they don't ingest any of the materials.)
• Create a certificate for the "Best Pet Mom of the Year" along with coupons from you for 5 pet-sitting days (very useful for vacation-time planning!).
• A cat or dog (or other animal species) necklace, bracelet, or keychain is a great gift for the pet mom, such as ones available in the HSUS online store.
• Make a donation to your pet mom's favorite animal-related organization in her name.
• And of course, flowers always brighten the day!

News Story: "Dog Submerges Herself in Bathtub to Survive Fire"

A link to a story about a pretty amazing dog who was home along during a fire, but she was able to save herself while firefighters worked to put out the flames:

"Dog Submerges Herself in Bathtub to Survive Fire"
(Greenville County, S.C.)

Felines and Toxic Plants: Blog Link

RIP Rascal

A fellow classmate of mine recently lost one of her cats suddenly. After making a trip to the veterinarian who performed a necropsy, she found out the cause of death was a large amount of a toxic plant in his intestines. Below is a link to her blog post which describes her story about Rascal and her journey to find out why he died in order to protect her other cat and others' pets in her complex. It's never easy to lose a pet, especially when it's so unexpected and sudden. My heart goes out to Chelsey during this difficult time.

CATharsis: Felines and Toxic Plants