Cat lovers from around the world showed up for the 40^th annual diamond state cat club show, where 225 cats were shown off and judged by the experts.

One cat owner and breeder Nancy Sullivan brought her Himalayan show cat to the contest.  She stated that "It's like being a fashion model…You need something for everything. This comb cost $50. It's imported from Belgium. They are very hard to get."

This been said as she swabbed the eyes of her cat to remove excess moisture and gunk with a makeup pad.

The contest which takes place at the Nur Shrine temple in Newcastle, Delaware was quite a hit for the Fourth of July weekend and many cats won ribbons and awards.

Another cat breeder Tracy Smith of Millsboro proved that it takes a long time to get their cats ready for this major competition, as well as other competitions. She stated, "You're talking about at least three hours of grooming…That's for the show bath, plus you have a maintenance bath during the week. You have to keep the oils out of the skin. If you start them at 6 weeks, they don't mind the water…It's fun to spend time with the cats on the weekend…I've been showing for 11 years now."

It seems these cats get more pampering than most people on a daily basis. I can say this, because I really don’t wash my hair as often as I should, or wear the amount of hair gel, mousse and make up that these cats do...nor have I ever won a show prize.

This competition saw quite a crowd of admirers. By late morning the parking lot was filling up and attendees began parking on the grass. Organizers stated that the competition attracts between 500 and 800 hundred people every year. This is quite the crowd for small state like Delaware.

Source: http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080706/NEWS/807060358

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It seems dogs all over the place are winning contests these days. A big golden retriever who is both blind and deaf won the Mercury World News World’s Greatest Pet Contest.

Yep, this golden lab named, Barney, is just about as happy as can be even though he’s missing two of his senses. I suppose since he is a dog after all he still has his one greatest cents which is his sense of smell and it must be how he makes it through the world and still remains so sociable.

Barney’s owners, Amy Shever and Dan Vold, state that he loves to meet new people. He'll turn his head when someone walks up and will follow you as if he were seeing you with his eyes but instead smells you with his nose.

Whose owners adopted Barney 3 1/2 years ago after receiving an e-mail about a dog that has ‘little chance of adoption’. When they went to foster Barney they realized by the end of the first day he would be joining their family permanently. Barney is now eight and a half years old, but he spent most of his early years confined to a garage. He received almost no veterinary care and had no exercise. As a result when he was rescued he could barely walk because of his toe nails which were so long.

Barney wasn’t always blind, but he did have cataracts which limited his eyesight dramatically. He did have cataract surgery but there were complications and as a result they had to remove both eyes.

Because of his untrained early upbringing and the fact that he lacks eyesight or hearing, his owners had to use touch training to teach Barney basic commands. Basically if states have on his rear he’ll sit if they struck his front paw he’ll lie down.

This dog seems to know his way around the house his basic commands and how to create new people. He is the World’s Greatest Dog.

Source: http://origin.mercurynews.com/homeandgardenheadlines/ci_9793538

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Here is a whale of a story. A killer whale story to be precise. Yet it seems even those Aussies down south have trouble with whales beaching themselves.

Near Auckland a killer whale estimated to be about three years old beached itself on Friday afternoon. The whale coming in at a petite 3.4m was a female and naturally was in trouble. Inexperienced whales are not the only sea mammals to have beached themselves, but they are the ones most likely to be saved. Simply because they weigh less and so the crushing force of gravity isn’t as strong on them when out of the water. Of course, volunteers and animal conservation staff will make every effort to save every beached whale.

Luckily, this little less was the only one to wash up on shore at this particular beach. To help save the whales life she was watched over overnight by project Jonah and department of conservation staff. They decided that the whale was small enough to be handled and department spokesman Bill Trusewich stated that the decision was made yesterday morning to move the whale bike trailer to Takapuna Beach where the water is calmer.

Though an uncomfortable journey for the whale, she survived the trip and did not take very long to get reoriented once back in the water. Mr. Trusewich said, ‘Within 10 minutes it was able to regain its stability again and move off by itself.”

As you can imagine this whale is happy to be alive and so are the people who rescued it. Happy that it’s alive that is. All too often whales that beached themselves do not survive their experience on dry land. When one whale can be saved it’s a cause for celebration. The whale was monitored as it made its way out to bring the total channel just in case it tries to come ashore again or loses its bearings.

Source:

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Here’s a story that says we should all keep an eye open when around our pets. It’s gross so if you have a weak stomach don’t read on. Stop now while you still can!

In Alton, Missouri a woman’s a dog managed to chew off her big toe while she slept. This week that event occurred quite anticlimactically in the woman’s home.

The woman, Linda Floyd, is 56 years old and a diabetic who suffers from neuropathy. As a result she has no feeling in her feet. This is a common problem in diabetics as they get older. In fact, many diabetics have poor circulation as well and may end up needing a part of their extremities removed as a result. However, it’s obvious Floyd didn’t expect to have an amputation in this manner.

The woman took a nap one Monday afternoon and said that she had woken to find her dog, a miniature dachshund named Roscoe licking her right foot. She soon realized her to know was missing and states that she had a reaction of total shock.

An ambulance took Floyd to the hospital where it was found that the dog had chewed off the toe and part of toe joint and also severed an artery. As a possible explanation for that dogs behavior Floyd stated that there had been an it he said the engage on the toe because she had a hangnail. I guess the dog was attracted to the wound and didn’t know when to stop licking. Eeeeww!

Madison county animal control personnel went to the house and picked up Roscoe. Floyd said she later authorized euthanized in Roscoe because she was concerned that he might end up hurting someone else. The options they had given her work and option to another call for returning him to her own home. Obviously that was out of the question because she her home with her two daughters, a son and long and an infant grandson.

Source: http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/illinoisnews/story/E7552DFF0460CE208625747C0010061A?OpenDocument

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Blackmail seems to come in all forms these days.  In fact, it seems people are blackmailing each other over cats and dogs and little else.  It’s not all about the money where pet lovers come in.

A woman in South Florida named Linda Urioste, has recently been charged with theft and extortion. Her black Labrador was picked up by animal control a few weeks ago. The dog was later adopted by another couple, Jutta Holar, and her husband. Animal control officers will often pick up animals that are running the streets without a caller or without a leash on. They are then held at the local animal shelter for certain period of time or until the owner can be found. Usually this length of time varies but it’s around a couple of weeks, if no owner can be found and the dog is of good temperament and healthy, they will be placed up for adoption.

The couple learned a few weeks later that the dog had originally been owned by Linda Urioste and she still wanted her pet. Holar claims she had considered returning the black Labrador until she met Urioste, who yelled and threatened to sue her.

Get this, a few days later, Jutta realized her cat was missing. Police looked into it and stated that Urioste left a message with Holar and her husband saying that she had their cat and was willing to trade it for the dog.

Talk about black mail. A woman goes to the animal shelter to adopt a new dog and ends up losing both the dog and her cat! Plus, she has to deal with someone trying to extort a dog from her.

Urioste was arrested and charged with extortion and theft by the police. However, she was released on $6,000.00 bail and is currently roaming the streets, perhaps still looking for her lost black Labrador.

Source: http://www.nbc6.net/news/16767575/detail.html?rss=ami&psp=news

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A dog in Nova Scotia is getting a second chance at life.  This dog was heralded a hero in the aftermath of September 11, 2001 when he helped uncover human survivors from the remains of ground zero.  The dog, a German shepherd named Trackr, is famous around the world for being the dog to help uncover the last human survivor of ground zero with the help of his owner, former police officer James Symington.

Tracker is now fifteen years old and suffers from a degenerative neurological disorder.  He’s going to be replicated right down to the last cell by a team of scientists in South Korea  The competition was organized by BioArts Int’l, an American company that claims to possess exclusive rights to clone dogs and cats. after winning a competition for the ‘most clone worthy’ pet.

"We received many very touching submissions to our contest describing some truly amazing dogs," said Lou Hawthorne, CEO of BioArts. "But Trakr’s story blew us away."

The company will be cloning six dogs in total, all winners of this unusual competition.  There are five remaining spots for pet clones which will be auctioned off online this week with a starting bid of $100,000.00.

It’s hard to come up with any kind of criticism for an attempt to clone a dog such as this, who spent so much of its life serving people and helping recover victims of tragedy.

However, Trackr’s owner Mr. Symington has become a controversial figure. He was suspended in the fall of 2001 for his rescue efforts at ground zero because at the time he was off work on sick leave. And the police department launched a criminal investigation when he returned to Halifax and at one point considered charging him with fraud. The investigation did get dropped, but Mr. Symington was fired in 2005. After this, he engaged in a series of legal battles to try and sue the police force and its union.

Source: http://thechronicleherald.ca/Metro/1065214.html

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