Pets on my Mind

One of my favorite things to take pictures of are my pets. They are always doing something adorable (except chomping on dead squirrels or birds). You must have some cute photos of your pets you'd like to send. Does your pet do something interesting? Upload a video. Look beside my column at the pictures. Click on that, fill out the free sign-up and start uploading. I added some already including this one of my friend Anne-Marie Karash with a dog named Roscoe. Anne-Marie, a native Memphian, works for the Humane Society of New York. They picked this fella up earlier this week. I can't wait to see your pups and cats, especially funny videos.

If anyone is curious about pit bulls, then please visit the Website of a Oakland, California group called Bad Rap. They are truly the authority on this misunderstood breed. They are a voice of common sense in all the hype and hysteria.

Am I the only one in America that didn't know Rachael Ray owned my favorite breed? She has an adorable pit bull named Isaboo. I'm so excited. My dentist, who was a sworn Jack Russell terrier junkie, now has a pit bull that he takes a nap with just about every day.

I love it. There was a great story in the L.A. Times about Bad Rap and Michael Vick's dogs. Here's the link.

This is my friend Karen's Pug named Peppermint. She is the most adorble little tank-of-a-pug that you'd ever meet. Karen's son Louis, who I think has a career in film, made this little video of their girl. It is so funny. Turn up the volume so you can appreciate the title of this post.
Peppermint

I'm helping my friend try to find a home for this sweet girl. Her name is Shadow. She is spayed, current on shots and on flea and heartworm preventative. She's sweet, loves other dogs, cats and people. She needs a home. That doesn't mean she needs a backyard or a rope tied to a doghouse. She needs a kid to sleep with at night, a lonely person who wants a dog to sit beside them or take walks with them. In return, she'll be a loyal companion and pet.

The problem is that she's a plain old black lab mix. Nothing special in her looks. She won't fit in a purse or the palm of your hand.

Whatever happened to people wanting a dog for personality? We have become a society that only cares about looks. Not even that, really. People want an accessory, a dog that fits in a handbag and can be carried around like a stuffed animal. Used to be the runt was sold at a discount because it was a genetically inferior dog. Now runts are bred with runts to make smaller runts.

And then there's the mutt-mixing. Everyone likes to try a different combo. These aren't jellybellys. You don't mix peanut butter with grape jelly beans and get a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. You get candy that tastes like Pb&J but it's really not. Why do people think it's all right to mix breeds and then pass them off as some high-quality dog? Why still are people willing to pay gobs of money for these mutts? I don't care what sort of poo or pin you attach to the end of a mixed-breed dog. They are mutts. Anyway, there's my rant. Does anyone agree or am I missing a great money-making opportunity by not getting my own collection of tiny dogs to breed and sell?

So the bottom line, is what are we to do with Shadow? Should we put her to sleep because she doesn't have value in today's world? What do you think?

Several of my friends shaved their dogs this summer. I always heard that you shouldn't shave dogs that shed. One of my friends shaved their golden retriever. Is that all right Does it bother their fur or skin for it to be shaved like that?

 I also want to see what people use to groom their short and long-haired dogs and cats. Have any of you tried the Furminator? Do you like it? I always found success with a rake that has undercoat teeth but I know some people who swear by the Furminator. I'm giving it a whirl because I'm told it also helps short-haired dogs. What do yo think?

Hi,

I am going to try to post new things to my blog at least twice a day. I should set a smaller goal of once a day but I'm aiming high. I'm sorry I haven't been on here lately.

I get so tied up with getting stuff into the real paper that I forget to get on here and open up forums for discussion. Let me know what you want to talk about. I want to talk about animal cruelty and Hope the puppy that died after she was set on fire.

There are so many Hopes out there dying horrible deaths on the mean streets of Memphis. I hope she is a catalyst for change in this town. What about you? What are your thoughts? What have you seen? What are your frustrations?

Humane Society University, the educational arm of The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is bringing its national training program, Animal Cruelty 101, to four cities across the U.S. to reduce the occurrence of animal cruelty, neglect, and illegal animal fighting in those communities and surrounding areas.

The course is open to anyone. Participants will discuss identifying and responding to suspected cases of animal cruelty, neglect, or fighting as well as why these situations occur in the first place. The course will also provide tools for dealing with the aftermath of handling confiscated animals (such as housing, evaluation and placement) from the following:  puppy mills, hoarding, illegal animal fighting, chaining.

Who is invited:
Anyone interested in learning more about ending animal cruelty, including:  animal welfare professionals and volunteers, animal control officers and humane investigators, educators and humane educators, veterinarians, veterinary technicians and office staff, animal advocates and the general public.

Memphis, TN
Friday, October 24, 2008
9:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Check-in begins at 8:30 a.m.
Location: Memphis Police Training Academy
4371 O.K. Robertson Rd.
Memphis, TN. 38127
$50 - Early Bird Rate (register on or before September 18, 2008)
$60 - Regular Rate (register on or before October 9, 2008)

Register online at humanesociety.org/university.  Click on the left column where it says “On-site Workshops.”  For late registrations, please contact Frances Gaeta at register@hsus.org

> I've been getting lots of response from readers about their killer dogs and cats. Seems my beagle isn't the only small animal serial killer in this city. Tell me about your experiences and if you know anyway to save all the tiny creatures

  So, do you agree or disagree about my pet column today? I'm curious. I really want to know what the benefit would be to my dog to disturb his routine and make him come sit under my desk or behave around all these strangers and other dogs if my office was open to this.

What are your thoughts? Here are my dogs in their normal positions. Asleep. Either on the bed or if the spirit moves them, they will lumber to the sofa or maybe go out the dog door and sit in my glider for a bit, just for a change of scenery. They've been on a 4-mile walk this morning, like every morning, and now it's nap time. Even on Saturdays and Sundays when I'm home, their routine is the same. They may follow me outside, but they will be napping most of the day.

They are happy in their creature comforts. They like their routine. What about your pets? Would they thrive in one day at your office? Would you get any work done? I wouldn't. For me, it would be like putting a 5-year-old in a toy store and telling them to focus on their book. I would spend the whole day petting, getting kisses and listening to pet stories. I would. I wouldn't be able to pay myself. So while the newspaper pays me to write about animals, I don't think they would put playing with animals in my job description.