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Pets are our best friends as they offer their love unconditionally and provide for moral support when the going gets rough. Animal lovers know that their pet is not just an animal that they keep around the house, it’s something more, a member of the family, a special friend that never talks but most of the times can understand perfectly all the human emotions. Most animal lovers would do almost anything for their furry, feathered or marine companions.
Caring and providing food and love for your pet is becoming increasingly expensive and with some imagination, some of the costs can be highly reduced, while pets can still receive the same amount of joy and satisfaction.
Your pet’s food is very important and you should never sacrifice this for something of questionable quality. It is very important to offer your special pet friend the nutritious food it deserves and if it has some health problems, veterinarians say that diet is the most important thing. Also, a pet owner should never forget for the regular visits to the doctor, for shots and routine checkups. And finally, we come down to toys.
Animals love to play, love to be in the center of attention and toys provide the fun they need. What not everybody knows is that expensive toys for pets are not really necessary to make them happy. You can use your imagination and use all sort of materials to conceive clever toys for your pet. Owners know their pets best and because of this they can actually know how to offer them the toy that would satisfy them the most.
Instead of buying that expensive rubber, chewy toy for your dog, you might just offer him a challenge. Use plastic bottles, be careful not to have sharp edges, to hide tasty treats in. Make sure the treats can easily be pulled out, but still in a way to offer your pet a challenge. This will keep him busy, stimulate his brain and make him happy.
The loss of Booger the pit bull terrier was almost more than Bernann McKinney could bear.
Now she is happy, minus $50,000 and her house, and owner of five cloned Booger puppies.
"It is a miracle for me because I was able to smile again, laugh again and just feel alive again," McKinney told a news conference in the South Korea capital to show off the week-old black puppies -- all of whose names include the word Booger.
They are the work of the biotech firm RNL Bio, affiliated with the South Korean lab which produced the world's first cloned dog and is staffed with former associates of disgraced scientist Hwang Woo-suk.
She sold her house in the
"I had to make sacrifices and I dream of the day, some day when everyone can afford to clone their pet because losing a pet is a terrible, terrible loss to anyone."
After rescuing him from a shelter 12 years ago, Booger had become an indispensable part of her life, said the 57-year-old Californian.
The lab said it hoped to make its technology more commercial along with its program to clone sniffer dogs for the Korean customs service.
"As of today, we are at the stage of receiving orders from anywhere in the world," RNL CEO Ra Jeongchan said.
RNL has said it expected to clone about 100 dogs next year and for the price to drop as technology improves.
Hwang has been on trial for more than two years on charges of breaking the law on research ethics and for misusing state funds and private donations.
RNL's research staff is made up of scientists who stayed behind when Hwang left the prestigious
Dogs are considered one of the more difficult mammals to clone because their reproductive cycle includes difficult-to-predict ovulations.
Buddy is a sleeping beauty: Reddish brown, he's usually asleep on his back, snoring loudly with his large tongue lolling out.
He was wide-awake Monday, though, when he was crowned winner of a "Beautiful Bulldog" contest.
"He doesn't have a good stamina to him ... he's been laying around all winter," said George DuBois from
The DuBois' 3-year-old dog was among 50 bulldogs from mostly Midwestern states who came to compete. The beauty contest honors Drake University's mascot and one of the events leading up to the Drake Relays, one of the nation's oldest and most prestigious track and field competitions.
"I'm so excited. I didn't think he had what it took to get it," said Cindy DuBois. "His mom is back home and she won't know what to think when he comes home with all this good stuff."
Buddy competed unadorned, unlike many of his rivals. They dressed up as fairy princesses, rock stars, cheerleaders, bumblebees and even Snow White and Mr. T.
Bella Star of
"We felt this best represented her personality," said owner Amanda Price. "She's very fun-loving, high-spirited."
Buddy panted heavily as he sat on his throne, getting used to his new crown and cape as photographers snapped his picture. On Saturday, he'll ride in a golf cart at Drake Stadium before about 18,000 spectators.
"I don't think he really wants attention all that much ... he wants to be with people," said George DuBois. "He's just a rascal."
If your dog jumps on you when you arrive home, she is the pack leader. If she jumps on your guests, she is making sure that these new arrivals also know she is in charge.
Here is what you can do to stop this unwanted behavior:
o Make sure your dog is receiving adequate exercise. Jumping can be a sign of hyperactivity, which is caused by pent-up energy. Regular exercise provides a positive outlet for this energy.
o Practice: no touch, no talk, no eye contact. Don't shower your dog with affection when you walk through the door. In the canine world, reunions are not overly-emotional occasions like they are in the human world. Jumping is often simply an attention-seeking behavior; by providing attention, you are reinforcing the behavior. If instead you wait until when she is in a calmer state, you are sending the message about what behaviors you desire.
o Correct bad behavior. If jumping is excessive or even possibly harmful to humans, simply ignoring the behavior may not be enough. Remember, corrections should be immediate -- don't withhold tomorrow's trip to the dog park, or tell the dog she isn't getting a treat later that day. Never hit or otherwise harm your dog -- instead use a firm, physical "touch" correction.
o Practice makes perfect. Don't wait until company arrives. Work with a friend or family member to condition your dog to wait patiently in an area your designate when the doorbell rings. Practicing in advance will also help your dog associate the sound with something other than the excited energy of a new arrival. You will be less likely to have difficulty with it later.
Remember, pack leadership is a full-time job. Be consistent!
When Gary Mikus learned that an incurable nerve disease was starting to paralyze the hind legs of his German shepherd, he immediately dismissed the idea of putting the dog to sleep. Then he spotted an ad in a pet food store: "Eddie's Wheels For Pets. Help for Handicapped Pets." Now the dog named Bear, which has been Mikus' constant companion for a decade, has a lot of living left to do — much of it in his new pet wheelchair.
"He's healthy in every other way," Mikus said. "Until something tells me otherwise that he's failing, I'll do everything I can to keep him mobile and happy."
A growing number of pet owners are turning to custom-built wheelchairs to restore mobility to furry friends whose legs, hips or backs don't work. The owners' goals are simple: to reward their pets' unconditional love with whatever it takes for the animals to live normally.
The two-wheel carts support the dog's midsection with a padded saddle, and are secured with a shoulder yoke and chest strap. Most dogs have rear-wheel carts to compensate for lame hind legs, though a growing number of front-wheel carts are being ordered for animals with front-leg problems.
Donna Blain's 7-year-old Maltese named Gizmo hopped and hobbled on his deformed front legs before she adopted him a year ago. She ordered his cart after learning the odd gait had damaged his spine and would have required surgery.
Now he wheels himself around for hours on sidewalks, in parks and anywhere he can find treats and praise.
"He's into everything," said Blain, of
Eddie and Leslie Grinnell, founders of Eddie's Wheels, built their first pet wheelchair in 1989 when their 10-year-old Doberman, Buddha, lost the use of her rear legs because of disc disease and spinal problems.
Their veterinarian, impressed by Buddha's revived mobility and vitality, started referring others to the Grinnells. In 1998, they started their own business.
Similar wheelchair makers can be found in
Since launching the business, Eddie's Wheels has shipped carts worldwide — the largest to a 220-pound Saint Bernard in
They even keep a supply of tiny wheels on hand for a gerbil or hamster.
Veterinarian Derek Fox, a University of Missouri professor specializing in orthopedic surgery for dogs, cats and other small animals, said pets that once would have been irreversibly crippled are benefiting from a variety of advancements: improved hip and joint replacements, better physical therapy and wheelchairs.
"Even if a treatment is expensive, these are people who say they'll do anything to keep their pet moving, to keep them happy, to keep their quality of life up," he said.
Many of the dogs who need the chairs become disabled from degenerative myelopathy, a neurological disease common in German shepherds, golden retrievers, Labradors and other large sporting breeds. Others, like Corgis and Daschunds, are vulnerable to disc and spine problems that eventually leave them lame.
"Dogs don't understand why this is going on, but they're very accepting: 'Oh, this is the way I am today.' So when we put them in the cart, they're like: 'Oh, now I'm back to normal. I can go where I want," Leslie Grinnell said.
That was the case with Max, an 8-year-old German shepherd whose owners, Gordon and Linda Landry of Granby, said his degenerative myelopathy left him dejected and hobbling behind their other dog, Molly.
As he tried his new cart for the first time, the dog whimpered at the door to go outside and promptly wheeled his way down the walkway, around the parking lot and past Molly as she peered at him from the Landrys' truck.
"This just amazes me," Linda Landry said as she watched him, laughing at his vigor. "We never get to see him like this anymore. It's like having a younger Max back."
STEPHANIE REITZ
Maybe he heard a faint rattling around in his luggage, but he surely never assumed the sound came from a stowaway snake sealed in his bag.
Alas, that's what happened to Andy Bacas, an
Bacas, a rowing coach at
Fire and rescue workers took the suitcase outside, opened it and blasted it with a carbon dioxide fire extinguisher, essentially freezing the snake and killing it, Barksdale said.
"The guy who responded had seen it done on TV," Barksdale said of the technique, adding that it can be effective for bees or other wild animals.
Bacas was in stable condition Monday afternoon at
Barksdale said he had no information that the snake was deliberately put into the luggage.
Bob Myers, director of the
The venom from a canebrake rattlesnake can be particularly harmful, but a juvenile rattlesnake is not usually large enough to deliver enough venom to be lethal, Myers said. While the snake found in
"There's an old wives' tale that says a baby rattlesnake bite is worse than an adult bite, but that's just not true," Myers said.
Myers said three or four people die each year from rattlesnake bites in the
Police dogs in the western city of
"All 20 of our police dogs — German and Belgian shepherds — are currently being trained to walk in these shoes," Andre Hartwich said. "I'm not sure they like it, but they'll have to get used to it."
The unusual footwear is not a fashion statement, Hartwich said, but rather a necessity due to the high rate of paw injuries on duty. Especially in the city's historical old town — famous for both its pubs and drunken revelers — the dogs often step into broken beer bottles.
"Even the street-cleaning doesn't manage to remove all the glass pieces from between the streets' cobble stones," Hartwich said, adding that the dogs frequently get injured by little pieces sticking deep in their paws.
The dogs will start wearing the shoes this spring but only during operations that demand special foot protection. The shoes comes in sizes small, medium and large and were ordered in blue to match the officers uniforms, Hartwich said.
"Now we just have to teach the dogs how to tie their shoes," he joked.>>>>
The healing power of music has long been established in people. Now a handful of harpists throughout the country are harnessing that power for animals.
Alianna Boone is one of those musicians.
“The structure of the harp is considered to be the most healing instruments next to human voice,” said Boone, an Oregonian who plays for ill family pets and produced a CD "Harp Music to Soothe the Savage Beast."
While anecdotal reports abound, Boone conducted one of the few studies on harp music’s effect on animals. In 2000, she performed for recently hospitalized canines at a
Cow control
Dogs aren’t the only animals benefiting from the good vibrations.
Cassie, a black and white cow, lives at the Maple Farm Sanctuary in
Even though the cow is now living the good life, it has demonstrated anxiety-related behavior issues.
On a recent morning, for example, Russell walked into the barn to find the 1,500 pound
“I was little bit afraid for my safety, I have to say, for the first time,” said Russell.
She’s not sure what upset Cassie but decided to try calming her by playing a CD of harp songs.
Within 20 minutes, Russell said, the bovine dozed off.
Rave gorilla reviews
At the Franklin Park Zoo in
Both wild and domestic animals can benefit from music therapy but not all of them respond to it.
“It’s not a magic bullet,” cautions Diane Schneider, who produced "Harp of Hope: Animal Therapy Edition," the music that lulled Cassie. “But for animals for which it works, it works incredibly well.”
Schneider trained at the
"I use certain harp vibrations to resonate with, or entrain, a patient's own cellular rhythms to help release tense muscle tissue, calm anxiety, improve digestion, induce restful sleep, increase endorphins for pain management — to aid the body's own efforts to heal itself," Schneider said.
The same holds true for animals, she said.
Animal CD
"Harp of Hope," a collection of 17 songs, was originally recorded for people but Schneider decided to release an animal edition last year after owners reported it helped their arthritic dogs fall asleep and calmed their agitated cats.
Veterinary hospitals also acknowledged the CD's success in soothing nervous pets — and their owners.
She said every detail of the instrumentals — the tempos, rhythms, keys, note intervals, chord structures and plucking techniques — are carefully arranged to promote progressive peace and relaxation.
Animals usually begin to relax after listening for just a few minutes.
Schneider recommends playing the music on an as-needed basis or before a stressful situation, such as a veterinary or grooming appointment.
“I’m hopeful that there will be a great increase in the use of this benevolent therapy,” said Schneider. “It is a very cost-effective, beneficial, soothing, calming intervention for animals and the people who love animals.”
A new study found that white-tailed jack rabbits have vanished from the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, where the bunnies were once abundant.
No one knows what caused the rabbits to disappear, according to the study conducted by the Bronx Zoo-based Wildlife Conservation Society. It could be disease, extreme weather, predation or other factors, said Wildlife Conservation Society conservationist Joel Berger, a professor at the
Historical records from more than 130 years ago indicate that white-tailed jack rabbits were once common in Greater Yellowstone, a 60,000 square kilometer (23,166 square mile) ecosystem that contains both Grand Teton and
The jack rabbits' departure may be having significant impacts on the whole region, including both predators of the rabbits and other prey species, Berger said.
The absence of jack rabbits may be causing elevated predation by coyotes on juvenile elk, pronghorn and other ungulates, according to the study. Elsewhere, when rabbit densities drop predators often turn to preying more on livestock. But without baseline data on rabbit numbers in Greater Yellowstone, assessing the impacts on predators such as grey wolves, which were reintroduced to the parks in 1995, becomes more difficult.
Berger said wildlife managers should consider reintroducing white-tailed jack rabbits into Grand Teton and
The crew tried jacking up the car and taking off a wheel, all for naught. The feline ducked out of reach at each attempt to grab it.
At some point, the cat escaped undetected, prompting the crew to spend another hour peering in bushes and scouring a Walgreens parking lot.
They finally gave up and headed back to the station, answering at least two more calls on their way.
Five hours after the saga began, the elusive cat reappeared: At the station, in their fire truck's rear wheel well.
This time, firefighters used chunks of meatloaf to try luring it out. It was unenticed, so the crew resorted to an ultimately successful three-pronged strategy: One firefighter poked the feline in the backside with a Slim Jim, another used a hose to force it into an open compartment so a third person could pull it out.
The feline was dirty but unharmed. >>>>
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