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Blog ID: 502 Posted by LucyPal on Sunday Sep 30, 2007 7:20 PM EST
Pet Poems Probably Poetic?
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There is quite a lot of pet related poetry on the internet these days. Sadly most poetry is devoted to the lost pets of people who loved them. If you look around though, especially at the local library, you'll find loads of fun poetry devoted to animals. I'll bet you didn't even know that Jimmy Stewart wrote poems and some were devoted to funny animals he came in contact with.
I'd like to share this poem entitled, The End of the Raven, by Edgar Allen Poe's Cat. It's really by Henry Beard and was published in his book, Poetry for Cats in 1994.
The End of the Raven
On a night quite unenchanting,
when the rain was downward slanting,
I awakened to the ranting of the man I catch mice for.
Tipsy and a bit unshaven,
in a tone I found quite craven,
Poe was talking to a Raven perched above the chamber door.
"Raven's very tasty," thought I, as I tiptoed o'er the floor,
"There is nothing I like more"
Soft upon the rug I treaded,
calm and careful as I headed
Towards his roost atop that dreaded bust of Pallas I deplore.
While the bard and birdie chattered,
I made sure that nothing clattered,
Creaked, or snapped, or fell, or shattered, as I crossed the corridor;
For his house is crammed with trinkets, curios and wierd decor -
Bric-a-brac and junk galore.Still the Raven never fluttered, standing stock-still as he uttered,
In a voice that shrieked and sputtered, his two cents' worth -
"Nevermore."While this dirge the birdbrain kept up, oh, so silently I crept up,
Then I crouched and quickly lept up, pouncing on the feathered bore.
Soon he was a heap of plumage, and a little blood and gore -
Only this and not much more."Oooo!" my pickled poet cried out,
"Pussycat, it's time I dried out!
Never sat I in my hideout talking to a bird before;
How I've wallowed in self-pity,
while my gallant, valiant kitty
Put and end to that damned ditty" - then I heard him start to snore.
Back atop the door I clambered, eyed that statue I abhor,
Jumped - and smashed it on the floor.
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Blog ID: 500 Posted by LucyPal on Saturday Sep 29, 2007 12:06 PM EST
Austrian Animal Activists Say Chimps are People Too!
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In
Essentially the Vienna-based group, Association against Animal Factories is trying to have Michael declared a person so that he can receive gifts and donations of money under the national laws. They are also hoping that having Michael declared a person will prevent someone from selling him to a buyer outside the country. Instead he would be appointed a guardian to manage the money and look out for his needs.
Michael is 26-years-old and had lived for most of his life at an animal shelter with another chimp named Rosi. Last February the animal shelter they lived in went bankrupt so the animal rights group is trying to give Michael money to keep him and Rosi from being homeless. However under current
When Michael and Rosi were babies they were captured in
I don’t know about this case. It kind of seems to me that the group has a double agenda and is trying to set a precedent by having Michael declared a person. You know a case they can always bring out and say, ‘Well you had this chimp declared a person, why not declare others people?’ It’s not that I don’t think chimps and other animals should be considered persons, it’s just that I feel like this group is kind of using the chimp.
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Blog ID: 499 Posted by LucyPal on Friday Sep 28, 2007 10:30 PM EST
Blogging Against Animal Abuse Made History
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Bloggers around the world united yesterday to raise awareness of abuse, of all kinds. I was one of the many thousands, Blogging Against Abuse and opted to write about animal abuse and how it can correlate with people abuse.
The post is over at my other blog, Freelancing Online and I thought I'd share part of it with you.
It’s important to be aware of animal abuse because there are many links between cruelty to animals and cruelty to humans. Negative behaviors such as torturing and killing innocent animals can easily lead to abusing and killing people. Don’t let animal abuse progress into something more. Simply reporting an animal abuser, even if it’s a child or a relative could save lives, those of the animals and people. Kip Kinkel, 15, was a young man who regularly bragged of abusing animals and he later went on to opening fire on his classmates in an Oregon High School.
Animal abusers also often end up being spousal and child abusers too. As many as 71 percent of women polled in one refuge home stated that their partners had threatened or harmed the family pet at some point.
Signs of animal abuse are lack of food and water, pets being kept outdoors all the time, severe matting or filth in their coats, skinny, ingrown collars, fear of people, and being aggressive with people. If you see potential abuse you can call your local humane shelter, animal control or the police. Be aware that if you alert the police there is a chance that you may not remain entirely anonymous. If you have pets of your own you should take care to keep them indoors or watch them at all times if you have them outside.
If you are interested in learning more about the Blogging Against Abuse event that just occured or want to read more about ways to fight abuse just look around on the web.
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Blog ID: 493 Posted by LucyPal on Thursday Sep 27, 2007 9:54 AM EST
A Luxury Hotel Even Your Dog Can Get Into
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There has never been a better time to be a dog or a cat. More and more are merchants not only embracing their human clients, but also their pets and this usually means big money spent and earned. In particular the travel and relaxation industry is working to bring the pampered pets of well off humans into their inner circles.
People can take their pets to spas, resorts, cruises and hotels. They can eat at special doggy and human restaurants. They can go with their humans to shop in some retail stores (Petsmart). They can even get inheritances and health insurance to take care of their long term needs. This is a brave new pet centered world we're in.
One shining beacon of pet favoritism is the NINE ZERO hotel in Boston. They are now introducing an 'IN' the Doghouse Package for owners traveling with pets. The package includes in-room food and water bowls on check in, complimentary gourmet doggie treats, plush dog bed and puppy pillow menu. Plus the poochy guests receive extra take away items like cashmere sweaters, a map of dog friendly places in the city, and a NINE ZERO hotel ID tag.
All of the delicious doggy treats and menu for these gourmand pets are provided by the Polka Dog Bakery in Boston's South End.
In addition to all the food and comfort the hotel concierge can arrange for someone to walk your dog, dog sit, and even massage the canine pal. So you really don’t even have to be around your pet at all during your stay at the hotel.
However, there's not really a point in having a pet if you aren't going to keep each other company while you endure all that pampering. So, call up room service. Order a couple of drinks and have a pair of masseuses work you and your pet pal over for an hour.
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Blog ID: 490 Posted by LucyPal on Wednesday Sep 26, 2007 7:12 PM EST
CDC Says Cujo's Rabies No More!
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Cujo is no more! The
Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recently declared the
United States a Canine Rabies free zone, meaning that technically dogs
everywhere are safe from the spread of rabies…as long as they've been properly
vaccinated. Yep, you've still got to
vaccinate your pooches. Rabies still
exists in bats and other types of animals and other countries around the world
still have Canine Rabies, so be careful when importing your pets from other
countries.
The CDC has been working in conjunction with the UK Charity Alliance for Rabies Control and the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) on the World Rabies Day initiative and to raise funding for and awareness of rabies prevention and control. This recent declaration is a major victory in the battle against rabies. Hopefully, this declaration will remain in place with animal owners continuing to take their new pets in for rabies vaccinations and staying on the lookout for any animals in the area that are acting strangely. Don't approach these animals, but do report them to your local animal control.
It's recommended that puppies are taken in for their first
rabies vaccinations by the time they are 16 wks old. After this you'll be able to take your dogs
in once every three years to get a booster shot. Even if you are low on cash a rabies shot is
usually available for your pets. Call
around to the local vets and see who will be able to give a shot for cheap,
they'll probably be able to see the dog without even charging an office fee. If you don't have any luck then, you can
probably keep an eye out for when the local Humane Society runs low cost
vaccination drives. They'll be able to give your pet the rabies vaccination for a very low cost, sometimes as cheap as ten dollars.
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Blog ID: 489 Posted by LucyPal on Tuesday Sep 25, 2007 10:16 PM EST
Lizard Eats Something Strange
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A bearded dragon lizard ended up at the veterinarian because of some very cannibalistic behavior. The lizard belongs to 7-year-old Finley Collins in
Finley's father, Jeff Collins took the bearded dragon, Mushu, into the vet. The veterinarian saw that the protrusion was coming from the anus of the dragon. Fearing the worst the veterinarian sedated the lizard and pulled on the protrusion. Ah, the things your average vet is called into do. Even in the daily hectic life of these medical types, the act of pulling a strange protrusion from the anus of a bearded dragon must have been a hallmark of the week.
The vet, John Rossi stated that it was very weird to be pulling on the protrusion. Soon, a head, legs and a body appeared. When Rossi saw the legs pop out he realized what he was helping the Bearded Dragon to evacuate, a 7-inch toy rubber lizard. Rossi stated that everyone started laughing. That was one lucky bearded dragon though. The toy, though being made of rubber was only about 5 inches smaller than the lizard that gobbled it up!
It’s not certain yet whether the lizard thought he was gobbling up one of his own kind or just another toy left behind by Finely Collins, his little owner. Since no invasive procedure was required other than tugging on the protrusion to remove it, the lizard has recovered rapidly and seems to have suffered no ill effects from his gourmand tastes.
The Bearded Lizard is a type of Australian lizard, all species of which are known to eat strange household items like suction cups, dimes and screws.
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Blog ID: 487 Posted by LucyPal on Monday Sep 24, 2007 9:26 PM EST
Devoted Dog Sticks to his Pooch Pal
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Steamboat Springs, CO had an amazing tail of devotion recently. Last tuesday evening a pair of dogs were rescued from a cliff edge on the Elk River. The dogs were pets of Maribeth Len who lives about a mile and a half from the ledge where those two pups were found.
The devotion part comes in with Kobe an 18 month old chocolate labrador. The dog barked up a storm for who knows how long to alert people to their whereabouts. This dog's pal, Donyek, a 6 year old golden retriever and yellow labrador mix had apparently fallen onto the ledge and broken both front wrists, becoming stranded.
Kobe was unharmed and could have simply swam across the river and gone on with life, but showed extreme devotion to Donyek by refusing to leave the injured dog. Dancy St. John is the woman who first found the dog's when she noticed the barking and went to investigate the ridge behind her home that overlooks the river. Forty feet below she saw the dogs.
The St. John family successfully contacted the Routt County Sheriff's Office, which sent out two deputies to help rescue the dogs. The options seemed limited on rescuing the two pups. They could either lift the animals up 40 feet or traverse 200 to 300 yards of river to get to them.
Johnny St. John then had an idea. He called up a friend, Eugene Buchanan, with years of boating experience and had him bring over a canoe. The two were able to make it to the dogs and bring them safely to shore.
The devoted Kobe and very lucky Donyek have since been reunited with their owner and Donyek is recovering well. You can see pictures of the pups and more on their story at: Steamboat Pilot .
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Blog ID: 482 Posted by LucyPal on Sunday Sep 23, 2007 2:18 PM EST
Therapy Dogs Could Aid with Schizophrenia
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We've all heard about therapy dogs and therapy cats that go into patient's rooms at hospitals, hospices and retirement homes. A special visit from a therapy dog can do wonders to improve your day, reduce stress, and bring you out of a funk from having painful treatments. Recent research has found that pet therapy is helpful for people with schizophrenia.
A team from the Technion Institute of Technology in Israel examined the effect of having doggies in sessions with schizophrenic patients. They have found that pooch pals seem to reach the patients in a way that the therapists can't and many patients were much less apathetic during sessions. In particular, they found patients with anhedonia, the inability to gain pleasure from normally pleasurable experiences. An anhedonic mother doesn't gain pleasure from playing with her child; the child with anhedonia doesn't get pleasure from playing with other children. Naturally this causes them to become apathetic about life and social interactions.
So the researchers used pet therapy while in a session with 10 different schizophrenic patients with this condition and didn't use pet therapy on 10 other patients. At the end of a nice round 10 week period the researchers found that those patients who had the benefits of pet therapy showed significant improvement in their ability to experience pleasure from everyday situations, and they also showed an improvement in their use of leisure time and a trend towards improvement in motivation. This is just one more clinical study that shows pet therapy can really help people heal and want to live life again.
I think it's great that the researchers have found something
else to help with schizophrenia. This is
a very difficult condition to treat and every little bit helps. Tell me what do you think of pet
therapy? Anyone out there have their own
pet therapy dogs?
Check out the source article at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4171505.stm
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Blog ID: 480 Posted by LucyPal on Saturday Sep 22, 2007 10:11 AM EST
Touching Turtles Can Lead to Salmonella
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My Dad loved turtles. He liked turtles of all types, but most especially box turtles that he came across while out on a hiking trip. He'd come home with a wayward box turtle that he saw attempting, very slowly, to cross one of those country highways. We'd keep them as pets and feed them worms, tomatoes and lettuce. This was before Ohio outlawed the collection of box turtles from the wild and he doesn't do it anymore.
At an early age I learned to love those little turtles, Speedy, and then Speedy 2 and of course the Female Speedy. Watching them hunt worms was an event that lasted hours and they really liked it when we rubbed the tops of their hard little skulls. We lost one turtle in an unfortunate accident and eventually decided that the other two turtles would be better returned to the wild where they no doubt continued to look for the roads that they were slowly attempting to cross.
Well, turtles are still very popular pets. Yet, they do carry some risks with them. Recently the sales of pet turtles have increased, prompting the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to release an alert. Turtles, birds and reptiles all carry the Salmonella bacteria. In the 1970's pet turtles, in particular the red-eared sliders were found to be responsible for 280,000 cases of salmonellosis. This massive outbreak of the sickening salmonella caused them to issue restrictions on the sale of turtles, including banning the sale of turtles with a shell less than 4 inches in length.
These bans worked and today there are only abut 74,000 cases of salmonellosis caused by turtles.
It is safe to keep a pet turtle. However, the elderly and young kids are more susceptible to this bacteria so its not advised to keep one in a home with grandparents and little kids. Wait until the kids are older and your elderly parents have moved to that nice retirement home in Boca Raton. : ) Then it's important to always wash your hands with soap and water after you've finished playing with your pet turtle, feeding it, or cleaning out it's cage
You can learn more about pet news at MyPetNews.com.
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Blog ID: 478 Posted by LucyPal on Friday Sep 21, 2007 10:17 PM EST
Tough Terrier Tools Around
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A family dog has been reunited with his owners after having managed to wander 1,400 miles away from home!
I’ve written a post in the past few weeks on how implants can be less reliable than most people think. However, in this case the implant in one doggy worked exactly the way it was supposed too and revealed that the doggy had made an amazing journey.
The dog, a terrier named
What is really amazing is that he was able to make it so far in just a month. Aaron Reyes an animal control spokesman for the Southeast Area Animal Control Authority in
We may never know just how
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Blog ID: 477 Posted by LucyPal on Thursday Sep 20, 2007 6:46 PM EST
Darling Deer's Devoted Defense
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A beloved pet Snowball, was taken from her owner a little while ago. This is shocking, what’s even more shocking is that Snowball is a Doe. The female deer was hand raised and lived in the home of
He has even been quoted as saying that having a deer in the home was like having a dog around the house. The doe grew up to be big, healthy and domesticated. She even had a baby with another deer, named Bucky, that Filipetti had taken in, named Mr. Magoo because he was blind. Mr. Magoo eventually died, but Snowball and her fawn lived on in Filipetti’s backyard. Until that is, one day a relative of Filipetti’s called in an anonymous tip that he had been keeping deer on his property without a permit, something which is illegal in Oregon.
The Department of Fish and Wildlife seized Snowball and Bucky after prolonged discussions with him never reached an agreement. Even worse, they told Filipetti that the Doe and her Fawn were to be euthanized.
Well, as you can imagine that set Filipetti off and he called in his attorney and also told the local media about the potential threat to his beloved Snowball. The media picked it up and 650 angry locals called the Fish and Wildlife agency after hearing about Snowball’s plight. All of them wanted clemency for the Doe and her Fawn.
Luckily the agency saw reason and the possibility of being burned alive by a mob of irate citizens. They’ve stated that the animals will not be euthanized and are working towards an agreement with Filipetti. It looks like the Doe will be returned to live with him, while her Fawn, Bucky, will be raised and released into the wild, since he is still young enough to learn how to be wild.
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Blog ID: 473 Posted by LucyPal on Wednesday Sep 19, 2007 12:02 PM EST
Portly Pooches, Problem Pals
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The obesity epidemic hasn't just hit people! It's attacking our beloved overly pampered friends too! Pets across the world are growing in proportion to their human counterparts.
It's easy to say 'he won't exercise' or 'I have to feed him table scraps or he won't stop barking' yet every little tidbit and treat is going straight to your pets thighs. And its not just American pets that are getting fat, animals in Britain and Europe are starting to develop a weight problem too. According to Inside Out, the online magazine, between 30-60% of all of Britain's cats and dogs are overweight and a recent survey indicated that dogs in Nottingham are the fattest and unhealthiest in Britain. Remind me not to get my next dog from there...
Experts feel that the major problems are a lack of exercise, too much snacking, and lack of awareness on the part of the owners. We have a different idea of what ideal weight conditions are that the actual correct weight of our cats and dogs. Plus it's very hard to say 'no' to your precious pooch at the dinner table. You could always push your portly pooch off on a Doggy Health Spa, but that's expensive.
Obesity is known to shorten life spans. I know that my dog was fairly overweight and she died after just reaching the minimum life expectancy for her breed. Who knows, with a better weight plan and healthy food she could have reached the maximum life expectancy and beyond.
It is hard to get the weight of a pet back down once they reach the point of being obese. Your best option may be to keep it from getting that high in the first place, but here are a couple of suggestions that are good for healthy pets and obese pets.
Remember to take at least 2 good walks with your pet daily. Don't just let them into the backyard. Make sure you walk them or play with them to ensure they are exercising. In addition, try to limit the treats you give your pet from the table. If you know that there will be leftovers on your plate for the dog, don't put that much on your plate in the first place. Buy low-fat or healthy dog food for those pets that are overweight. Make it a habit of putting the pooch in the yard while you eat, so you can enjoy your meal without the barking or the guilt of ignoring those big brown eyes.
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Blog ID: 470 Posted by LucyPal on Tuesday Sep 18, 2007 8:32 PM EST
Silly Squirrel Succumbs Sadly
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In
The squirrel’s mother is rumored to be extremely ashamed at this act of attempted carnivorism. We knew the squirrels ate just about anything we handfed them but this is just shocking.
Apparently the squirrel was being possessive of its front porch. The 30-year-old postal carrier saw the squirrel sitting on the porch when she walked up to drop in the mail. I imagine this was one of those, ‘Oh, isn’t that cute’ moments. Then it turned into an ‘Get it off, get it off!” moment when she turned her back to leave the front porch. The squirrel ran up her leg and proceeded to do its nutty best to stab her in the back. She did manage to grab it by and tail and pull it off.
Sadly the squirrel didn’t survive and encounter with authorities later that day when they killed it with a BB gun and took it into the lab for testing. The postal worker was given a series of precautionary Rabies shots.
I was once nearly accosted by a squirrel. We went down to the marina for a shared lunch and this stocky little guy ran right up to us. I first noticed him when he started sneaking towards my naked big toe. I’m afraid to think what might have happened if I hadn’t seen him and shooed him away with my bag. Ladies, (and men) always walk softly and carry a big bag. I do know that the seagulls where afraid of him and one of them looked like it had been hobbled.
The squirrels mother was unavailable for comment. Readers can send donations of nuts and cold hard cashews to the grieving squirrel family by dropping them off in the donation jar at the nearest Squirrels ‘R’ Us.
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Blog ID: 469 Posted by LucyPal on Monday Sep 17, 2007 10:45 AM EST
Man Arrested for Dragging Pit-Bull behind S.U.V.
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Here's a story that's sad all around folks. An Indiana man dragged his pet Pit-bull to
death behind his S.U.V. after the dog killed his pet Chihuahua. It's so sad and shocking that people do these
kinds of things to their pets.
I've recently posted about Pit bulls in different stories, some of them who were used for dog fighting rings, some of whom attacked innocent bystanders. It seems anytime this breed of dog shows up in the news it's got a negative story. Even this poor animal that was killed by his owner, managed to eat a Chihuahua! That's hard to do, those little dogs are fast. You can't really catch them very easily.
Really though, this poor dog didn't ask to be raised by the
owner and certainly didn't ask to be a Pit-bull. I'm certain that there were probably other
things going on before the owner killed his dog, since these kinds of abusive
situations tend to escalate. Kevin
Collins of Orland, Indiana shot and then dragged his dog behind his S.U.V.,
then he dumped the dead dog on the side of the road.
Luckily this animal abuser was caught because of a good citizen. A woman saw the dog being dragged by the S.U.V. on the side of the road. She noted down the license plate and called the police. Collins can at least be said to have admitted openly to police what he did kill his dog after getting mad at it for killing his other pet, the Chihuahua.
I do feel bad about the death of the little Chihuahua at the maw of the Pit-bull, but that's really not a reason to kill the Pit-bull. We do not have an eye for an eye society here. Certainly a dog that kills another dog could be a problem around people. However, I've always felt that people who bred violent dogs for precisely those characteristics shouldn't be upset when they get what they ask for.
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Blog ID: 468 Posted by LucyPal on Monday Sep 17, 2007 12:01 AM EST
Artist's Exhibit of Great Pets
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Artist Eric Bossik recently had an exhibition of pet portraits in Delray Beach, Florida. Maybe some of you in the area have heard about it or even dropped on in for a look. The exhibition went from the beginning of August until September 8th. I wonder if the pets that were used as models for Bossik's fine pieces of artwork were allowed to attend the event. Probably not, oh well. Maybe they'll have had a few big rawhide bones as treats from their owners for being good sports?
The exhibition, called, For the Love of Dogs, was on display in the local Cornell Museum of Art & History in Delray Beach. It probably got a lot of animal lovers, in particular lovers of dogs since the entire exhibit is nothing but dogs. One could almost say that this exhibit was for the dogs…
Bad joke. I'll try to rein that in for you folks. Bossik used this exhibit as a chance to display work that shows the true essence of his canine subjects. In particular is one series of works for a private collector. They are called, Denver, Dakota, and Aspen, I assume named after the puppies in the paintings. Bossik had painted the portrait of Aspen the dog just before she died making the portrait all the more valued by the private collector, Lisa Manzione, who owned Aspen.
I know that many owners like to get plenty of photographs of their pets so that they have good memories to look back on. I only got a few photos of myself with my dog and actually only one or two of her that looked good! Bossik's contribution of his artistic skills to the creation of beautiful pet portraits is wonderful. I know I'd have loved a nice painted portrait of my best friend.
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Blog ID: 466 Posted by LucyPal on Saturday Sep 15, 2007 10:31 PM EST
Four Very Hard, Yet Seemingly Simple Questions
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I just got an extremely frustrating email with these four animal questions. I thought I'd post them for you all to read through and try to answer correctly for yourselves.
The following short quiz consists of 4 questions and will tell you whether you are qualified to be a professional. Scroll down for each answer. The questions are NOT that difficult. But don't scroll down UNTIL you have answered the question!1. How do you put a giraffe into a refrigerator?The correct answer is: Open the refrigerator, put in the giraffe, and close the door. This question tests whether you tend to do simple things in an overly complicated way.2. How do you put an elephant into a refrigerator?Did you say, 'Open the refrigerator, put in the elephant, and close the refrigerator?' Wrong Answer.Correct Answer: Open the refrigerator, take out the giraffe, put in the elephant and close the door. This tests your ability to think through the repercussions of your previous actions.3. The Lion King is hosting an animal conference. All the animals attend.... except one. Which animal does not attend?Correct Answer: The Elephant. The elephant is in the refrigerator. You just put him in there. This tests your memory.Even if you did not answer the first three questions correctly, you still have one more chance to show your true abilities.4. There is a river you must cross but it is used by crocodiles, and you do not have a boat. How do you manage it?Correct Answer: You jump into the river and swim across. Have you not been listening? All the crocodiles are attending the animal conference. This tests whether you learn quickly from your mistakes.According to Anderson Consulting Worldwide, around 90% of the professionals they tested got all questions wrong, but many preschoolers got several correct answers. Anderson Consulting says this conclusively disproves the theory that most professionals have the brains of a four-year-old.
Have fun and let me know what your scores are. If all else fails you can always use it to entertain the kids.
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Blog ID: 463 Posted by LucyPal on Saturday Sep 15, 2007 12:04 AM EST
Mama Moose Looking for a Way Out
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A mother moose went on a slightly confused open house walk through in
She’s stated that, “It's their environment. We're building houses on their environment. They have no place to go," to point out that it’s not entirely the moose’s fault for redecorating her front door and living area. In fact when the moose plowed into her home Ovard tried to help it out a bit by opening her sliding glass door…and then running like crazy. I probably wouldn’t have attempted to open the glass door, so that was really nice of Ovard. Most people probably would have hopped back in their cars and called the local Fish and Game office for some help. Luckily for her, the moose was so frightened it just turned around and ran back out the front door.
Fish and Game did show up, after the moose left. However, an officer did say that the moose probably saw its own image reflected in Ovard’s glass storm door and tried to attack what it saw as another moose threatening it’s little family. Oh, did I mention that there were two little mooses present when Ovard pulled up to her house just before the incident? Actually I think I probably wouldn’t have gotten out of my car if I saw two baby moose in the yard, because that usually means there is an angry mama moose on the loose.
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Blog ID: 462 Posted by LucyPal on Thursday Sep 13, 2007 9:47 PM EST
A Website for Chickens Large and Small
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A few weeks ago I posted about how chickens are rapidly growing as a popular pet choice for rural and suburban families. Well, it seems that the popularity of the chicken is growing on the web too. I just came across a fun website called, Why did the Chicken Cross the Road. Here you'll find lots of chicken related fun. There are a ton of different 'why did the chicken cross the road?' jokes. There are jokes related to computers, history, celebrities and all are focused around that never ending question. In addition there are a couple of adult themed jokes that we won't go into here.
There are also links to other chicken related sites. Two of the more interesting ones are Random Chicken and Psychic Chicken. Random Chicken displays the image of one of a hundred different chickens when you land on the site. You can even get merchandise featuring your favorite random chickens. Psychic Chicken will use his mental powers to answer all of your 'yes' or 'no' questions. Plus there are other interesting features and you can even have the Psychic Chicken test you for your own psychic powers.
My favorite part of the site was the Chicken Zodi-egg. It gives a detailed description of the zodiac personalities of chickens born in each of the 12 months of the year. Here's what my chicken personality is according to the site.
TAURUS (April 20 to May 20):
Taurus chickens are strong willed and have a down to earth attitude toward life. They are overly interested in material things and have a real need for security. They feel unsettled unless comfortable. They will cross only if there is more security on the other side or to obtain material possessions.
Emotion while posting: ecstatic
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Blog ID: 459 Posted by LucyPal on Wednesday Sep 12, 2007 11:03 PM EST
Pets to Get Restraining Orders.
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All across the country pets could soon gain same protections as people are under a restraining order! Every day legal restraining orders are granted to victims of harassment and abuse against their attackers. The sad truth is that many of these harassers threaten to cause harm to their victims pets, and they actually do so in many cases. A bill in the Wisconsin legislature is starting to get noticed by the public because it would give the pets of victims protection in a restraining order as well. There is a definite correlation between violence against animals and violence against people. In fact, many women’s rights advocates have testified before the state senate that spousal abusers often threaten the pets of their wives and children to terrorize them and keep them trapped in the relationship for fear of losing a dear friend. Sadly, many women’s shelters don’t allow pets and the women themselves are usually cut off from their own family so they hesitate to leave an abusive relationship because it means that they might have to leave behind a family pet. One study by a psychologist at the Utah State University surveyed women in a domestic violence shelter and found that 54% reported their pets have harmed or killed by their abusive partners.
A bill of this type has already been passed in Maine, New York, Vermont, Illinois, Colorado, Connecticut, Nevada, and Tennessee. It’s even in the legislature of four other state at the current time. This is not a bill that has many naysayer. In fact, about the only complaint some politicians come up with, is that the bill may be redundant. This is since in many places, there are already laws that make animal abuse a felony.
Do you think a law giving animals protection under restraining orders is original or redundant? What new kind of protection could a bill of this type offer the animals of abuse victims, that the current animal abuse laws don’t provide? I look forward to hearing your comments.
Emotion while posting: hopeful
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Blog ID: 455 Posted by LucyPal on Tuesday Sep 11, 2007 11:15 PM EST
No Bunny Loves PetSmart
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PETA is on the hunt, and its not for The Red October. It seems that long-time aquaintances PetSmart and just about all pet related charities are suddenly at odds with each other.
You may know PetSmart very well, and in fact have a store in your local area. It's always been a fun place to go and take your pets along with you, since the stores allow owners to bring their pets shopping with them. Many stores have grooming centers and even veterinary clinics attached where you can get all of your pets health needs taken care of. They also have sections of the stores devoted to lovable pets of all kinds that need to be adopted through local shelters. Well, at least they used too.
Soon, PetSmarts in areas around the country may be lacking in a few of their adoptable animal sections. All because the store decided to sell bunnies. Yes, PetSmart is putting up Dwarf Bunnies for sale in a limited number of stores and animal action groups like PETA, don't like it.
PetSmarts don't sell cats and they don't sell dogs, which is why they have been seen as the good guy of the many pet stores out there. They only feature dogs and cats to be adopted through local animal shelters, and they promised to limit the sale of other smaller animals including Bunny Rabbits.
It's been estimated that rabbits come in third amongest the numbers of animals that end up being taken to a shelter after purchase. There is also a tendency to buy bunnies for kids around Easter and usually the Easter Bunny ends up being neglected, 'released into the wild' (not a good idea) or returned to a shelter.
PetSmart hasn't decided yet, whether selling dwarf bunnies will be permanent. The decision in of itself is causing many 'bunny' related groups to cut off their association with the corporation. PETA even protested outside of one of the PetSmart stores in white paint with nothing but bikinis and bunny ears on.
What do you think? Is all the hubub worth it over dwarf bunnies that may not even be sold very long?
Emotion while posting: exhausted
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Blog ID: 454 Posted by LucyPal on Monday Sep 10, 2007 11:44 PM EST
Learn What Deep Sea Fish Make the Worst (and Creepiest) Pets
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These creatures would never make good pets, but they sure are creepy!
Today, I thought I'd take a look at some of the more unusual creatures of the world and ones that would never, never, ever make good pets. So, please, don't attempt to tame them. Most wouldn't survive the trip, because I'm looking at deep sea creatures...
The Umbrellamouth Gulper is a long eel that lives at depths exceeding 3,500 feet. It gets its name because of its pouch-like lower jaw, which ha, ha, looks like the pouch of a Pelican's beak. Though seriously it would not be fun to be the small fish this thing gulps down hole.
'Gulpers' or Saccopharynx lavenbergi are a similar fish? Eel? Sea Monster? that lives in the deep sea. They look like a bizarre hand puppet and can get up to six feet in length. Their large mouths have rows of tiny sharp teeth, but they are really, really scary because they can swallow much larger prey than themselves. Hence, the fear for human life.
The Harriota raleighana are also known as the 'long-nosed chimaera'. I just added it because it looks like a cute mix between a fish and an elephant. Yet, it should not be touched. The venomous spine on this pachyoderm-like fish can kill a human.
The Lasiognathus saccostoma might as well be nicknamed, 'Gunther' because of his and her's enormous overbite. Luckily, this fish does okay in the deep sea coming equipped with its own glowing lure and hooks. I just wonder how this one manages to eat.
Anyway, there are a lot of other fish in the sea, and the deep sea. If you liked reading about this small sampling then you should head over to Nova Online for a more complete sampling, plus you'll find pictures for all of these creatures. Just remember, don't try to take one home.
Emotion while posting: frightened
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Blog ID: 453 Posted by LucyPal on Sunday Sep 9, 2007 7:14 PM EST
Bubble Bassett Hounds Provide Cure for Bubble Boy?
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We've all probably heard about the 'bubble boy' from
watching Seinfeld or that old John
Travolta movie, The Boy in the Plastic
Bubble, but you should also know that there is a real medical condition
that requires a person to spend their entire life in a sterilized
environment.
The condition is called, X-linked severe combined immunodeficiency (XSCID) and it only affects every one in 100,000 boys. Girls don't get this particular disorder, but male animals can also be born with the faulty gene that causes XSCID. In fact, there are a group of Bubble Basset Hounds that are being looked at for a cure to this deadly condition.
Professor Peter J, Felsburg has led research into a new area
of treatment for Bubble Dogs and hopefully Bubble Boys all over. Researchers used gene therapy to restore
healthy immune systems to three of four Bassett Hound born with XSCID. They injected the corrected gene within an
engineered virus into the bloodstreams of the four Bassett Hounds. Three of the Bassets developed healthy immune
systems and have maintained them over a year.
They believe the fourth did not because his injection was of a lower
dosage, which indicates that you need a certain dosage to the injections before
the corrected gene will be plentiful enough to take hold. I do hope they plan on giving that fourth
Bassett Hound a higher injection someday.
I just think it's great that someday curing a genetic condition could be as simple as getting a series of injections at the doctor's office. However, the researchers are saying that though this is a great idea, such treatments for humans may be far into the future. This is especially since they need to monitor the Bassets for several years to ensure that nothing will occur as a result of the treatment later on.
Emotion while posting: frustrated
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Blog ID: 450 Posted by LucyPal on Saturday Sep 8, 2007 4:20 PM EST
Scientists to Decipher Horse Speak
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Anyone who owns a horse may soon be able to talk to them with a deeper level of understanding. Researchers are putting together a database of horse speak.
Today it seems like the only people who can really communicate with animals are pet psychics, horse whisperers and well, of course, Doctor Dolittle. However, in the near future we may all be able to talk to our horses. It’s not so far fetched. I’ve heard that inventors in
It’s called the Equine Vocalization Project and it’s basic focus is to find a correlation between the nuances in horse whinnies and the different stress levels on the animals. The scientists have noted that some whinnies seem to change for different people that the horse knows and whether or not they like you. Yet, they warn that it may not be possible to identify more complex meanings behind horsespeak.
They also think that this collection of information could shed light on the speech of other animals like, donkeys, zebras and the many equine species in our world right now. Let’s hope so, I wouldn’t want Doctor Dolittle to be the only guy capable of asking a horse with gas to please move down wind.
Heh, heh. On a more serious note this could be helpful for anyone, handlers, riders, veterinarians and so on, working with horses, whether they attempt to talk back or not. You’d be armed with a lot more information to help you understand what exactly was stressing out your horse.
Emotion while posting: excited
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Blog ID: 449 Posted by LucyPal on Friday Sep 7, 2007 5:23 PM EST
What Makes a Guide Dog?
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A blind woman, Barbara Cissell recently told by a
Apparently the school got wind of a couple of complaints
about the couple’s treatment of their guide dogs. They paid to send an agent twice to
In truth, without the specific complaints and the ‘evidence’ the agent seems to have found to prove those complaints we can’t be sure the dogs weren’t being abused or mishandled, but why on earth would you let them keep the dogs if you thought that was the case?
Plus, get this, Barbara Cissell found out after that agent told her it would be illegal for her to use her guide dog anymore that he was wrong. Even without certification the Cissells can still use their dogs as guide dogs. Businesses aren’t allowed to ask for proof that the dog you are using is a certified guide dog. They definitely can’t ask you for proof that you really are disabled, either!
So, Barbara Cissell, though still somewhat confused over the