It’s been a few weeks since I did a round-up of pet links to other blogs, so there’s a lot to catch up on! Unfortunately, a few links are for recalls, which we seemed to have gotten a break from for a little while. There is also some cute pet jewelry (for people), recipes, and one idea for preparing for the upcoming holidays: ~ FDA Warns Pet Owners About Pet Carousel Treats at Petsit USA ~ PetSmart Recalls Dentley’s Beef Hooves from UPI.com ~ Puppy Paw Jewelry at Celebrate Your Pet ~ Bulldog Gives Birth to 21 Puppies at Dogster ~ The Importance of a Good Birdsitter from Best in Flock ~ Homemade Sweet Potato Chews at Raise A Green Dog ~ Why Do Dogs Love to Roll in Stinky Things? from Pawfun ~ Adopt Me Please! The Shelter Pet... [Read more]

This may become a regular series, the way we’re going! We had our home inspection this morning for the kitten fostering we’ve been looking into, and have been approved! Within the next few hours we’ll be getting a litter of four kittens who will likely only be with us overnight, as we’ll have to take them into Petco tomorrow for an adoption event, and there’s a very good chance they’ll all find new homes. I’m very excited just the same, and think this is going to be a great experience for all of us. If you’re interested in cat fostering, get ahold of someone at your local Humane Society, which is who runs the adoption events at the Petcos in my area (or talk to one of the volunteers at the store... [Read more]

Up until today it was thought household pets couldn’t catch the H1N1 virus (also known as swine flu), but an Iowa cat has just proved earlier assumptions wrong! The 13-year-old indoor house cat, who has fully recovered from the illness, reportedly caught the virus from one of two human household members who were sick with H1N1. It isn’t believed that the cat has passed the virus on to anyone — or anything! — else. An IDPH Public Health veterinarian says it’s actually not that unexpected, and that other flu strains have been found in cats before. Up until today the H1N1 virus had only been found in humans, pigs, birds and ferrets: It is well known that some viruses can be transmitted from people to their pets so... [Read more]

All dog owners have been there: trying to juggle either an armload of bags and parcels — or maybe just a drink and a cell phone — all the while grabbing onto the end of a leash with our four-legged friend(s) on the other end. The Shabby Dog has taken this problem and turned it into a “why didn’t someone think of that sooner?” They’ve created a wrist cuff that turns a leash into a hands-free lead (and the cuffs are cute too)! Simply attach one of the stylish cuffs to your wrist, attach the leash, and you’re good to go. Made from genuine Italian Leather with suede lining, the cuff design allows you to walk your dog hands and worry-free. The leashes are designed to be used with the cuff, or you can... [Read more]

Thanksgiving isn’t typically a holiday that you think you need to worry about your pets, unlike say, Halloween or the Fourth of July. Though there isn’t much around to scare a pet (unless you have a lot of family ringing the doorbell!), there are hazards readily available that you might not even give a second thought to. Last year I provided a bunch of tips that included info on feeding dogs bones and table scraps, which many people know about, to lesser known issues like hidden toothpicks and skewers that dogs can easily choke on. Another thing that occurred to me last year is that if you have an influx of people visiting you for the holiday, consider keeping your pets in a separate room away from the commotion and especially from... [Read more]