Wednesday, October 28, 2009

A good story...

Tonight my friend Ken wrote about a good story he saw on the evening news... about 15 rescued Dalmations who now live a life of luxury. So I asked him to find the link and send it to me for you.

The first link is the news story: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032619/vp/33499661#33499661

The next one is a little more background information:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032619/vp/33500103#33500103

Too bad television and newspaper people don't realize how much we enjoy hearing some good news... maybe they'd report more of it.

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Dogs Have Sensitive Noses!

My Suzie dog is what I call a social butterfly. She loves everyone, and wants to make friends with everyone. She's especially fond of our neighbor Byron.

He stops by out at the shop to visit most evenings, and always has a pet and kind word for her - telling her she's beautiful and smart and wonderful. She eats it up.

That is, unless his boots or gloves smell wrong.

Earlier this year it was the gloves. We couldn't figure out why she wouldn't go near him until I picked up the gloves and she wouldn't come near me! We finally figured out that it was the mink oil he had recently used to keep the leather soft and water-resistant.

But the last couple of days, it appears to be his boots. She gets the darndest expression on her face. She starts to run over to him, the stops and backs away and looks so confused. He LOOKS like her friend, and he SOUNDS like her friend, but... she's afraid to go near him.

Last night he swore to her that he had bathed recently - that was an interesting conversation.

This time we think it may be the fact that his barnyard has been over-run with wild turkeys, and he's walking in their droppings. It isn't mink oil, because those are rubber boots.

I sure wish we humans could understand dog as well as dogs can understand English!

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Another Pet Food Recall - This time for Cats


Yep, I know, this is a doggie blog. But almost every dog person I know also has cats, so...

Diamond Pet Foods has issued a voluntary recall on the following date codes of Premium Edge Finicky Adult cat food and Premium Edge Hairball cat food... Read the FDA message.

All these recalls are making me feel like I need to set up my own system for making pet food, or find a small business that makes it from ingredients they're sure about.

With so many of the large manufacturers using ingredients that come from foreign
sources, who knows what's going into pet food - OR human food.

After discussing this with a friend who was shocked and dismayed to find that her DelMonte pears had come from China, we've about decided that we need to find some organic growers and spend a month next fall picking and preserving. A lot of work, but perhaps worth it to keep ourselves and our families healthy.

Monday, October 12, 2009

Could This Have Happened to YOUR Dog?

This is really scary - for dogs, and for humans as well.

An aging poodle, put to bed in her crate for the night, couldn't get out in the morning. Why? Because her belly was adhered to the plastic in the bottom of the crate.

I can't imagine why a dog would be put to bed in a crate with no pad, but perhaps there was a reason. Maybe she preferred a blanket to wad up and she had shoved it into a corner. Whatever the reason, the poor dog was stuck - all because her owner had applied Advantage flea treatment before putting her to bed.

It's all about the ingredients in the flea treatment, as you'll see in this article.

Please read clear to the end, even though it's long. Along with preventing damage to a dog or cat you love, the warning there could save you or your child from a similar fate.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Some Dogs do love water!

I just came across this cute youtube video on twitter, showing that some dogs don't have to be coaxed to get in the water!

Here at home, my dogs are a bit lukewarm about it. Susie and Ralph like to wade up to their bellies, while Pepper will get in and swim across the pond on a hot day.

But then there's Freckles, my neighbor's young dog. We have a man-made pond out behind our shop and when she comes to visit she heads straight for the water.

Unfortunately for her, my husband diverted the water from it so he could clean out the dead vegetation and once again have clean water. The dogs were getting kind of "goopy" from going in there.

Last time she came she headed out there just like normal, only to find a dry hole. The look on her face as she stood in the bottom was priceless: "Uhhh... where'd it go?"

I called her and as we walked back toward the shop she spotted a puddle in the road created by my garden sprinkler. Just like a small child, she ran to the puddle, raised her front end in the air, and brought her feet down with a huge splash! in the middle of the puddle.

Poor Terry - he had to give Freckles a bath again that night.

Friday, October 2, 2009

Can this be true?

Today's email brought a message saying that Michael Vick has once again been chosen to endorse Nike.

Can this be true?

Does it matter to you? Will you stop buying Nike if it is indeed true?

Do you believe that Michael is truly remorseful about the unspeakable crimes he committed against dogs, or that he is only remorseful about being punished for them?

Tell me how you feel about this...

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Nutro Puppy Food Recall

Before everyone hears part of the news and panics... This is from the Nutro website:



For Immediate Release: 9/30/2009

Nutro Products Voluntary Retrieval of Select Puppy Foods

Q: I heard that there may be plastic in some NUTRO® products. Is this true?
A: Small pieces of melted plastic were recently found in the production line of select varieties of NUTRO® dry dog and cat food products. We immediately retrieved the affected pet food from our distributors, and only three sku’s reached retail stores. These were delivered to a small number of PetSmart and Petco stores. The specific products are listed below.

Upon discovery of the melted plastic, we immediately halted manufacturing and performed a thorough search of all equipment. We identified the source as a worker’s “bump cap,” similar to a hard hat, which inadvertently made its way into our manufacturing process.

Based on our extensive review, it is highly unlikely that any pieces of plastic made it into finished product. However, upon learning of the incident, we voluntarily retrieved all potentially affected products.

We strive to produce pet food of the highest quality and safety standards. Consumers who believe they have purchased potentially affected product should return it to their retailer for a full refund or exchange for another NUTRO® product, or contact the Nutro Products Consumer Care team at 1-800-833-5330.

Thank you for your continued loyalty and support for Nutro Products.

PRODUCT THAT MADE IT TO SELECT PETSMART STORES IN CA, AZ, CO, TX and NM ONLY

NUTRO® ULTRA™ Puppy food for dogs
UPC 79105 51313
Size 4.5 LB
Best by Date 9/10/10

NUTRO® NATURAL CHOICE® Chicken Meal, Rice and Oatmeal Formula Small Bites Puppy

UPC 79105 23050
Size: 5 LB
Best buy date: 09/10/10


PRODUCT THAT MADE IT TO SELECT PETCO STORES IN CA, NV, HI and UT ONLY

NUTRO® ULTRA™ Puppy food for dogs
UPC 79105 51315
Size 30 LB
Best by 09/10/10