When I was a puppy I entertained you with my antics and made you laugh. You called me your child and despite a number of chewed shoes and a couple of murdered throw pillows, I became your best friend. Whenever I was "bad," you'd shake your finger at me and ask "How could you?" - but then you'd relent and roll me over for a bellyrub.
      &n...  read more »

 
Dear Dogs and Cats:  The dishes with the paw prints are yours and contain your food.  The other dishes are mine and contain my food.  Placing a paw print in the middle of my plate and food does not stake a claim for it  becoming your food and dish, nor do I find that aesthetically pleasing in the slightest.
The stairway was not designed by NASCAR and is not a racetrack...  read more »

Finally, in fairness, dear pets, I have posted the following message on the front door:
TO ALL NON-PET OWNERS WHO VISIT AND LIKE TO COMPLAIN ABOUT OUR PETS:
1. They live here. You don't.
2. If you don't want their hair on your clothes, stay off the furniture.  That's   why they call it 'Fur'-niture.
3. I like my pets a lot better than I like most people.
4. To you, t...  read more »

By Laura Tangley
New York Times
If you're a mouse, an attack of the sniffles when you scamper by a bit of cat hair maybe a good thing – an early warning system allowing a quick get-away from the predator lurking under the bed.

In the natural world, of course, mice rarely, if ever, suffer from cat allergies. But laboratory mice specially bred to be allergic to cats have been cured by ...  read more »

I know what it's like to try to cook, or eat a meal, when you own a perpetually starving dog. My Labradorus goofus, Pierce, acts as if he hasn't eaten in weeks when there is activity in the kitchen or dining room. He takes every opportunity to search the kitchen floor for molecules of anything remotely edible. He holds his breath if he thinks I'm about to give him a taste of something. He'd not on...  read more »

Hints From Heloise
It's inevitable that a puppy-in-training or an older dog might have an accident or two on the carpet. And it should be no surprise that vinegar can help save the situation.
You'll need to get to the stain ASAP. First, soak up as much of the urine as you can with absorbent, white paper toweling or an old, white bath towel. Work until no more moisture comes from the carpeting....  read more »

This week I had the first case in history of raisin toxicity ever seen at Medvet. My patient was a 56-pound, 5 yr old male neutered lab mix that ate half a canister of raisins sometime between 7:30AM and 4:30PM on Tuesday. He started with vomiting, diarrhea and shaking about 1AM on Wednesday but the owner didn't call my emergency service until 7AM .
I had heard somewhere about raisins AND grapes...  read more »

As George Orwell wrote in Animal Farm in 1945, “some animals are more equal than others.” Though the book was an attack on Stalinism, one wonders what Orwell would say about capitalism's latest achievement: the luxury hotel package for well-heeled pets. While Fido stays home in a leaky doghouse, Fifi gets a blow-dry.
Several major chains have developed luxury pet packages that go bey...  read more »