This week’s Pet of the Week is Pearl, who belongs to Sherry and her family!

Pearl is a sweet nine month old beagle. Sherry says:
“Favorite Toys: Her favorite thing to chew on is actually paper, which is annoying but as far as actual toys, she loves these plush soccer balls from the dollar store. Luckily they’re only a buck since she destroys them by the end of the day. She’s also partial to rawhide bones.
“Favorite Foods: Pearl is a total scavenger and will eat anything she can find, as though we were starving her. Her definite favorite though, …read more

After last night’s acceptance speech by U.S. President-elect Barack Obama, wherein he mentioned his two young daughters had earned a puppy, I wondered what other pets had followed their families to the White House.
I found that there really weren’t many domesticated pets in the first few years: The majority of “pets” the early presidents and their families had were horses, goats, cows, and birds, and John Quincy Adams apparently had an alligator. There are dogs mentioned here and there but they pretty much belonged to the First Ladies or their children, with no other info given.

The Early Show on CBS did a segment last week on the smartest and dumbest dog breeds. I’ve heard of some breeds not being as bright as others, I’m not sure what their criteria was.
Anyway, they say the dumbest breeds are:
1. Afghan Hound
2. Basenji
3. Bulldog
4. Chow Chow
5. Borzois
6. Bloodhound
7. Pekingese
8. Mastiff
9. Beagle
10. Basset hound
and the smartest are:
1. Border Collie
2. Poodle
3. German Shepherd
4. Golden Retriever
5. Doberman Pinscher
6. Shetland Sheepdog
7. Labrador Retriever
8. Papillon
9. Rottweiler
10. Australian Cattle Dog
Like I said, I’m not sure what they’re basing their rankings on exactly. I’ve known a pretty smart beagle and a dumb-as-a-box-of-rocks poodle so it’s a …read more