Topic: pets

What Are Animal Food Stamps?

“She told me she sometimes feeds her cat before herself and goes without eating.” More »

A Newtown News Story That Actually Makes Us Smile: Comfort Dogs

There isn’t a whole lot of good news coming out of Connecticut since the Sandy Hook school shootings last friday, but a new story about comfort dogs in Newtown is surprisingly uplifting. The dogs (also called therapy dogs) were brought from Illinois to brighten the mood and provide some joy, especially for the kids who survived Friday’s events. And the kids’ reactions will make your heart melt. More »

The Coolest Dog Trick Ever Is Also For A Good Cause: Rescue Dogs Learning How To Drive

Even the coolest of cool dog tricks don’t hold a candle to this video of rescue dogs learning how to drive at a “canine driving school” in New Zealand. Although it’s probably the coolest dog trick we’ve ever seen, it’s not just another gratuitous internet meme: The point of the project is to highlight dogs’ intelligence and bring attention to dogs for adoption. More »

Aww: Picturing Your Pet Can Soothe Stress And Boost Productivity

Two related experiments have found that merely thinking about your pet can reduce your stress levels and make you more productive. So, basically…everyone who doesn’t have one should go out and get a pet right now (says the girl who freely admits she’s obsessed with her dog). More »

A Pre-Thanksgiving Cry: Fiona Apple Postponed Tour To Be With Her Dying Dog

You don’t even have to know who Fiona Apple is to well up over the letter she wrote to fans about postponing her tour to be with her dying dog, a 14-year-old pitbull named Janet. Her dog is apparently dying of a tumor that she’s had for 2 years, and–if you’re not already reaching for Kleenex–she was a rescue dog who was used as a bait animal in dog fight training before Fiona Apple adopted her. More »

How America’s Overweight Pets Might Help America’s Overweight People Get Healthy

Remember Obie, the obese dachshund who warmed our hearts and reminded us to be kind and supportive? Well, he’s not the only American pet who’s struggling to stay healthy. In fact, a full 50% of dogs and cats in the United States are overweight or obese But tomorrow, the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention (APOP) is hosting National Pet Obesity Day, to try to drum up awareness. Because here’s the thing about stopping pet obesity–it may help curb people obesity, too. More »

A Short History of Cat Ladies

Studies about the health benefits (and drawbacks) of cats have sparked serious, all-out debates, and recent studies revealing the homicidal tendencies of outdoor cats have made some cat-owners fairly depressed about the true nature of their feline friends. Which is why this short history of cats from The Chopra Well is fairly interesting. More »

Mail-Order Chicks And Ducklings Spread Salmonella (Plus Animal Cruelty)

Just in case you were thinking about it: Beware ordering birds online, people. Not only does it seem pretty cruel, but the CDC reports that America’s number one “mail-order poultry” retailer (yes, apparently, people still buy live, dyed chicks and ducklings for their kids as Easter pets) is behind an eight-year salmonella outbreak that’s caused more than 300 confirmed cases and likely many more. More »

Study: Cats Could Be Bad For Your Health, If You Let Them In Your Bedroom

Scientists are bumming out cat lovers everywhere with the news that cats could be bad for your health, especially if you didn’t grow up with felines around. Apparently, if you were around them as a kid, your chances of developing allergies and asthma are lower, but if you get your first cat as an adult, your chances of developing an allergic reaction to it are nearly doubled. More »

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Healthy Holidays: 6 Tips For Traveling With Your Pet

If you’re a pet owner, the health of your best friend is probably just as important as your own. And if you’re considering jet-setting with your beloved pet this holiday season, the stress of figuring out the safest, best way to go about it can be more overwhelming than the morning you spent getting Black Friday deals. How can you safely get from here to there with Fido in tow? More »

Want A Happy Partner? Hit The Dog Park

One afternoon while strolling around a popular New York dog park, a friend of mine met the woman who later became his fiancee. That he didn’t actually own a dog had little impact on their dog-park chemistry. She did own a dog and he, being a big fan of man’s best-friend, was dog-sitting for a buddy who’d gone out of town. And so it was, two dog lovers found one another among rumbling canines who tend to sniff one another’s behinds as a way of saying hello. Later, once he and his gal had established a full-blown relationship, he too adopted a dog. Now they are proud dog parents, who also happen to be insanely, happily in love. More »

Fitness Freak: 5 Really Weird Ways to Work Out

People do all kinds of strange things in the name of working out and losing weight: Pole-dancing, circus stuff, hula-hooping, Zumba. I myself have done some fairly crazy stuff, including serious athletic training with choreographer and self-proclaimed Action Architect and Elizabeth Streb, and studying the extremely physically challenging Suzuki Method (not the kind where you learn to play the violin) with celebrated theatre director Anne Bogart’s Siti Company. Because it’s now spring, a natural time to explore new ways to get fit (and return to old tried-and-true ways), I wondered what else people around the world were up to when it comes to their workouts. After doing some digging, here are five of my absolute favorites that I found on Discovery Fit & Health that I don’t necessarily recommend, but about which I will now gently poke fun: More »

Don’t Buy a Dog For Your Health

This week’s issue of the New York Times‘ Science Times is devoted to animals, with a lineup of articles that spans everything from health to food to emotions. They’ve given us interesting food for thought, but they’ve also presented some ethical conundrums: One article debates the moral grounds of vegetarianism, Mark Bittman scolds us for considering pets more equal than the animals we find on our dinner plates, and another tells us to forget the treadmill and get a dog. They present several wonderful debates to liven up our dinner conversation, but the bit about replacing our gyms with dogs really strikes a nerve: I’m no animal rights activist, but even I find it alarming to treat a dog like a fitness toy. Dogs require time, money, and commitment that no treadmill will ever ask you for, and they deserve a lot more love and consideration than a gym. Could they also benefit your health? Definitely. But that’s not reason enough to get a pet. (You’d probably lose weight chasing a toddler around, but that’s not a very good reason to adopt one, is it?) More »

Crazy Cat Ladies: Your Feline Loves You, Too

The stereotype of lonely, old women in love with their feline companions is sad, but too often true. We all know a crazy cat lady or two. But new research says that the female fondness for felines isn’t totally insane: It’s Kismet! In a study published in Behavioral Processes journal, researchers found that cats have a particular affection for women, too. More »

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