Last week, Robin Starr, the CEO of the Richmond, Virginia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), accidentally left her 16-year-old blind and deaf dog in her sweltering car for four hours when she headed in to work.

She claims she didn’t realize that Louie, who often went with her to work, was in the car with her since her husband had put the dog in that morning while Starr was getting ready for work. However, she says her husband had forgotten to tell her he had done so.
Louie, who was suffering from heat stroke, was initially treated …read more

Who doesn’t love a good aww-inducing news story these days? This one in particular ramps up the warm fuzzies:

A mama dog in China has been put in charge of two rare red panda cubs after they were snubbed by their mother at a local zoo. Zoo officials said they didn’t even know the panda was pregnant and when she ignored the cubs after birth the staff scrambled to find a wet nurse.
“Her plump body and bushy hair disguised her protruding belly until the babies were born. We hurriedly went about to find a wet nurse for them.”
The cubs, who are …read more

I don’t know what it is about watching this video of Simon the dog popping balloons. It’s kind of like popping bubble wrap — you don’t know why you do it but something about it’s satisfying.
Simon, a Jack Russel terrier, manages to pop 100 balloons in just over a minute. The balloons are attached to a giant piece of cardboard and using nothing but his teeth, Simon manages to get every last one of them.
I wouldn’t recommend trying to train your dog to do this however — there’s no telling where the balloon pieces will end up when they …read more

I came across this picture on flickr and had to post it. It’s a dog, a cat and a rat in a well… sort of dog pile, on a street in San Francisco, California.

There’s not much more information than that but I would have had to take a snapshot of it too if I had passed by!
As cute as it is, though, I wouldn’t recommend trying to recreate a similar shot. Even if your dog or cat get along with smaller “pocket pets,” it only takes a second for instinct to take over for things to take a tragic …read more

Remember the Simon’s Cat animations that illustrate what life is like living with a cat?
Simon has created another animation, this time featuring his “sister’s dog.” The line-drawn pup sits patiently (and at times not so patiently!) under the family dinner table waiting for scraps to fall or be directed his way. With each bite he gets bigger and bigger until he’s unable to make an escape when the time comes.
Our dog Honey is like this — in fact, we call her out little Hoover sometimes because she ZIPS across the room if she so much as suspects food has …read more

This cute pooch has found a new hiding spot in his owner’s couch:
Jazz the dog’s stealthy spot seems to be a popular one – urlesque has a whole list of other pets, including cats and ferrets!
What odd places have your pets found to hide in?

Rick says we need a family dog. I’m a cat person. I’ve never lived with a dog. Growing up, Rick had dogs. He says every boy should have a dog, and according to him, our son is missing out.
Truman says he doesn’t want a dog until his cats “die and go up to heaven.” He worries dogs would hurt his two cats. Our cats were strays. We’re lucky to actually see them in eyeshot of Truman. They are frightened of him, and yet he adores them. He begs me to catch one so he can hold it. When he does, …read more

Bo, the Obama family’s new dog, made his national debut yesterday on the lawn of the White House.
The six-month old puppy was quite excited, bounding across the grass at the end of a leash held by oldest daughter Malia. President Obama is asked by one reporter “Can you believe the coverage this is getting?” to which Obama replied, “It’s spectacular!” He’s also asked where Bo will be sleeping and the President says he has a bunch of spots inside the White House, though one of them isn’t his bed!
President Obama comments in the video that the only concern they …read more

I still can’t believe it’s April, and the middle of April to boot! That means the First Family’s much-talked about dog will be heading to its new home this week!

The selection of the dog was no easy task, and the nation was just as interested as the Obama girls to see what kind of canine would end up at the White House. After announcing during his acceptance speech in November that the girls, Malia and Sasha, had earned themselves the promised puppy, a Portuguese water dog, was finally selected in January for its supposed hypoallergenic coat.
The Obamas puppy will be …read more

On a recent appearance on Leno this week, President Obama said that the family’s new dog will be coming to the White House within just the next few weeks!

The Portuguese water dog that the family picked will “be in place” by the time he returns home from a trip to Europe in early April.
A Portuguese water dog was ultimately chosen over several other breeds by the Obama family due to its apparent “hypo-allergenic” coat. However, many people — and doctors — feel that no such thing exists:
“I don’t think there is such a thing as a hypoallergenic dog,” Bowser …read more