Via the New York Times:

There is a very well-delineated hierarchy in a cat community, including yours, if multiple cats live with you. Usually, the cat who has been with the owner the longest will have established dominance when a new cat is introduced. She may not be the oldest, but the fact that she has lived with you longer than the others gives her status. She will have staked out HER sleeping places, HER spot in the yard, and HER first rights to your lap.

If this hierarchy is disturbed by sickness or death, there is great disruption in the community as the remaining cats quarrel over the rights to the top cat position.

The PetFix Northeast Ohio mobile, low-cost spay/neuter clinic performed its 10,000th surgery on Saturday, June 27th thereby preventing the births of hundreds of thousands of unwanted cats and dogs that would likely have ended up in shelters or living out their lives as strays.

A Helping Paw, an adoption and rescue group in Massachusetts reports this story:

A newspaper in the Philippines recently ran a story about two dogs, named Cute and Bambi, who were born without their front legs. The mixed mutts have been dubbed “dog kangaroos” by locals in the village of Quezon City where the pets live with Lope Tulipas, a street vendor.

Congratulations to our pet photo contest winners. Click the link below to see the winners and links to all the entries.

The Cleveland Animal Protective League is hosting its annual gala fundraiser, the Fur Ball “Cold Noses, Warm Hearts”, on Saturday, October 3, at the InterContinental Hotel Cleveland. Hosted by Q104’s Rebecca Wilde, the Fur Ball’s proceeds will benefit the APL’s Second Chance Fund. The goal of the Second Chance Fund is to provide veterinary care for wonderful animals who are looking for another chance, a chance not only to survive, but also to heal and start a new, healthy life with a loving family.

Fur Ball 2009 will include silent and live auctions, dinner, and a heartwarming video presentation featuring stories of animals who have benefitted from the Cleveland APL’s Second Chance Fund. Some of the auction items include a “Lunch With” series featuring local celebrities and the opportunity to have your pet photographed to be on the cover of the 2011 Cleveland APL calendar.

The evening’s festivities begin at 6 pm. Individual tickets will be available for purchase later this summer. Corporate and private tables for 10 will also be available. For more information on the Cleveland Animal Protective League or Fur Ball 2009, please call 216.771.8823, or visit www.ClevelandAPL.org.

Funded by donations, the Cleveland Animal Protective League is Northeast Ohio’s largest humane society and the nonprofit organization empowered to enforce State and local animal protection laws in Cuyahoga County. Every year thousands of homeless and abused animals arrive at the Cleveland Animal Protective League. No animal is turned away regardless of their age, health or behavior.

Located in the Tremont District, the Cleveland Animal Protective League is the largest nonprofit humane society in Northeast Ohio and relies solely on donations to investigate and prosecute animal cruelty and to provide shelter and care for nearly 9,000 homeless animals a year.

From bouncing baby pup to elderly matriarch, your dog will express different needs--and tender a range of rewards--at each stage of her life. Puppies are demanding and energetic, adolescents unpredictable. Adult dogs are eager and self-assured, and by the time they're seniors, they will have slowed to a comfortably lazy pace.

As with human relationships, ups and downs are guaranteed throughout your years together, but knowing what to expect will keep you one step ahead of the pack. During your dog's life, she will:
Upset you--or, at the very least, frustrate you.

My friend's cat jumps straight up and juggles a bat to the ground. It ate every little piece of it.

Back in April we posted about the Toronto documentary Cat Ladies, which explores the link between cats and single, lonely women.

We finally have a trailer for the documentary and this review via Filmjunk:

There is a growing body of immunologists and health care experts who are questioning the vaccinations given to dogs and cats. The debate extends to humans as well. There are some animals who have had adverse reactions to the vaccines, but the traditional theory is that those are very few, and many, many more lives are saved by vaccinations than cause death or illness.

It's a controversy that needs close examination, and while I am not qualified to participate in the dialogue (nor is anyone who is not a health care professional. Your next door neighbor or great- aunt Hilda, if not a DVM (or an MD, in the case of humans) is not knowledgeable enough, either. That is not to say that you can not take a stand, but you should talk to many qualified vets before you make your decision.

Date: June 28

Event: Photographs of pets and families from 12-3pm by Swain Photography / Pre-registration is encouraged.

Does your significant other keep you from getting a cat? Or perhaps you live in an apartment that does not allow pets. What's a cat lover to do when they need some quality cat time? There is a solution...

BERLIN – A dog in Germany shot by a drunken man with a gun took swift revenge by biting off the end of the man's nose, authorities said on Monday.

Police said the armed man was snooping at night in the yard of a house in Stadtlauringen in northern Bavaria when he shot the Bernese mountain dog from point-blank range.

LINDA LOMBARDI
For The Associated Press

Kaycee English considers her dog Bowser part of the family, so including him in her wedding was an obvious choice.

MEGAN K. SCOTT
Associated Press Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Susan Jacobs and her companion Kingston both like chicken and collards, chilling on the couch and riding in her convertible with the breeze tussling his curly black hair.

MEGAN K. SCOTT
Associated Press Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — So much for Rover and Fido.

The 12th dachshund picnic, the largest gathering of dachshunds and their owners in North America, will be held on Saturday, July 11, 2009 from noon to 5:00 PM at Plum Creek Park in Kent.

This post is about overweight cats. I will write about plump dogs another time, but the management of fat dogs and fat cats is entirely different, in my experience.

Most dogs will pretty much eat as long as you put food in front of them. They aren’t picky about their food, either, although they may prefer on kind of bought or home-prepared food to another.

This story from Columbus leave several unanswered questions, but in the end several citizens, a posting on Craig's List and the Worthington fire department with time on their hands resulted in a happy.

Hey, they are dogs—and they eat clumps of grass and anything else they find interesting. The result is—well—flatulence, better known as farting. And dog farts are extremely unpleasant, to say the least. Several of my dogs have cleared rooms. Only children ever seem to find it amusing. It's embarrassing to have guests when that tell-tale odor hits you—and lingers and lingers. Once, we sent the offending dog out of the room, but as one of the guests noted, it would be better for us to have left. And that's my plan, and I'm sticking to it!

Cats are not generally as offensive, as their dietary habits are different.

A plea to have your cats spayed and neutered.

Summit County Animal Control has rescheduled a pet adopt-athon originally set for Saturday at Acme Fresh Market in Coventry Township because bad weather is expected.

The event will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Aug. 15 at the store, 3225 Manchester Road. The county and numerous animal rescue groups are scheduled to be there.

The stereotype of a fat, lazy cat is pervasive. Most people think of Garfield - a dog-teasing, lasagna-eating, lazy cat who shares with us his thoughts - as a pretty typical cat. (Okay, maybe not the thought-sharing part.) In reality, not all cats are fat and inactive, though most do really like to sleep. (It is normal for a cat to sleep up to 20 hours per day!)

Unfortunately, though, 40% of cats are overweight. Conversely, only 26% of cat owners think their cat needs help losing weight. If a cat who should be ten pounds is 12 pounds, that's 20% overweight. That's equivalent to a person who should be 150 pounds being 180!

Our cats are not fat because they are "lazy", per se. It's just that in captivity we provide everything for them - they don't have to work for their food and, even in a household with multiple cats, there's almost no competition for food. What they eat can also be a factor.

So how can you help your fat cat get thinner?

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Should you train your cat to wear a harness and walk with a lease and how do you do it? Yes, it is a good idea for a number of reasons.

You may travel with your cat/ pet and it is very important that they have their ID on them. A moment of fear can cause a cat to bolt and they are already in a strange environment, when you travel with them. Even if it is only to the vet.

By Christine Shock

The other day I blogged about animals grieving over the loss of a loved friend, human or animal. I think there is absolutely no doubt that animals have emotions, and deep ones at that. Are there any among you who has not seen Christian the Lion and his joyful, loving reunion with the men who raised him, even after several years in the wild?

Everyone who cares for animals knows that they have emotions, and that they feel pain, fear, terror, love, anxiety, joy—any of the emotions which humans have long maintained were theirs alone. Some people do not believe that: They think animals were put on earth for human use. Without getting into a discussion of evolution, I can not think that animals were created just for mankind's pleasure. While it is true that carnivorous animals stalk, hunt, and bring down prey, I think that wholesale slaughter is inhumane. Or perhaps it is VERY human.

ROME, Ga. (AP) — Animal control officials in Floyd County will euthanize 16 out of 26 pit bulls that were seized from an alleged fighting operation.

Only seven of the dogs recovered last week living in unsanitary conditions in Lindale have been adopted — an adult and six of her puppies.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Scientists say they have cloned a German shepherd that helped with search-and-rescue after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

The five puppy clones were delivered to owner and former Halifax, Nova Scotia police officer James Symington and his wife, who now live in Los Angeles.

I visited Stow's award-winning dog park, Bow Wow Beach, for the first time on Sunday, despite the fact that I cannot take my own dog there because he does not play well with others.

What a lovely afternoon it turned out to be, watching all the joyful dogs run and swim. We played "guess the breed" and scored for correctly guessing the Catahoula and the Pointer. We were largely ignored by the pups who were just so ecstatic to be free and had so much territory to smell, but a few did come up to see us for a pat. One personable pooch asked us to throw his ball for him a few times! A few honored us by exiting the lake and shaking off their drenched fur a few feet from us.

MIAMI (AP) — A teenager faces charges in a gruesome string of cat mutilations and killings that have horrified his neighbors and shaken animal lovers in two South Florida communities.

Tyler Hayes Weinman, 18, was charged Sunday with 19 counts each of animal cruelty and improperly disposing of an animal body and four counts of burglary related to the deaths.

GENOA TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — Life can be tough — and short — for dogs in Iraq, but one puppy has been given a chance to survive.

In a country where people fear the spread of disease because vaccinations are rare, strays like Laia are shot, poisoned or stoned.

JACKSONVILLE, Ala. (AP) — Jacksonville's City Council is considering a draft ordinance that would limit to three the numbers of pets a resident can have.

The limit of 3 dogs and/or cats at any Jacksonville household is in response to several complaints about dogs running free in the city limits.

A friend of mine unexpectedly died, leaving not only her husband and one year old child, but also a big, beautiful, devoted German Shepherd. Samson was an absolutely mammoth dog, but gentle and loving. He scared people, but only because of his size. He was an excellent nanny to "his" baby, but it was the woman to whom he was completely and utterly devoted.

I walked into the house shortly after Hannah's death, and Samson was frantically running from room to room, looking into closets, running back to the baby and the husband. Then, he sat in the middle of the room and whimpered.

Simon's Cat 'TV Dinner'

Via Whales and Wiener Dogs:

Friday, June 26, marks the 10th anniversary event of Take Your Dog To Work Day (TYDTWDay), created by Pet Sitters International and presented by BringPetsHome.org, a charity committed to pet care for animals in need, and FetchDog, your destination for dog supplies.

As you have probably seen in all the coverage lately: There is a doghouse exhibit at Stan Hywet.  I know, no big surprise.  But I am a curious being, and wanted to dive in a little bit further because as you may or may not know: the dog house has totally made a comeback... in a big, big way.

BERLIN (AP) - A dog playing fetch in Germany has found and delivered to its owner a U.S. hand grenade from World War II.

Police in the western town of Erkrath said Monday they were called by the dog's 40-year-old owner who stopped walking her pooch when she recognized the "rusty" object it was carrying was a weapon. Police summoned a munitions expert Sunday to identify and defuse the grenade.

Your dog can actually make the most reliable exercise partner you’ve ever had — one that won’t cancel on you! It’s great motivation to get outside. And your pets need to get up and get moving for all the same reasons you do: Exercise boosts energy, helps maintain a healthy weight, keeps muscles toned and joints flexible, helps lengthen our lives and, above all, makes us feel better.

That’s why walking the dog is a win-win!

Date: June 14

Time: Stan Hywet Carriage House Courtyard / Time: 11am-2pm

Police have been inundated with dozens of phone calls from people who have discovered dead cats throughout the community. Investigators have determined that most of the cases are not related to the string of cat killings. The number, officially at 12, was initially believed to be much higher.

Earlier we posted about a serial cat killer in Florida who had killed 25 cats. This story was based in Cutler Bay and Palmetto Bay, which are about 5 miles apart.

The story below is from Lauderhill, Florida, which is about 50 miles north of Cutler Bay and Palmetto Bay. It appears these are two separate stories.

Lexi the dog is home and the woman who lost her is thrilled, even though she is out $10,000 cash.

By Rick Armon
Beacon Journal staff writer

Lazy cat on a treadmill

In a perfect world, we could protect our dogs from negative, anxious and frightening situations. In the real world, we must help our dogs learn how to cope and respond, in a healthy and acceptable manner, to the spectrum of people, animals, places and things they might encounter along the road of life.

By exposing our dogs to different kinds of people, animals and environments, which involves everything from dog obedience classes to vet visits to walks to the park, we can help them develop confidence and ease. This goes a long way in helping them become resilient in the face of unsettling situations.

"He's my hero, he's my best buddy," Miller told WFTV-TV. "He's better than any husband I've ever had."

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Springtime in Wayne County means skunk love, and they cross the back roads—and even the front ones—in great numbers, and they wind up flat, and your car and you, if your windows were open during said accident, stink.

Since it’s not a direct hit, the odor will dissipate, but what happens if your dog or cat mixes it up with a skunk? After all, they are such pretty animals, and I have had friends who kept as pets skunks who had had their scent glands removed. They were wonderful pets, docile and charming, and they are so pretty. Generally, I don’t think it’s a great idea to deliberately get a wild animal and try to domesticate it, but sometimes you end up with one you for which you hadn’t planned . More about that some other time.

A serial cat killer has upped the body count to 25 dead after even more innocent felines were found mutilated and massacred in South Florida.

What is a cat trying to tell you?

Someone anonymously sent me a flyer about the effects of cat predation on our native wildlife. An article about our Frogger in the local paper led to this, and while I deplore the cowardly manner in which it was sent, the fact sheet had many very good points, which I would like to share with you.

Our Frogger couldn’t catch a cold, he is so lame and heavy. The other cats we have at present show no desire to hunt, but I have had cats who hunted and killed squirrels, chipmunks, and moles (much appreciated by one of my neighbors) and the very occasional bird. Their primary targets were rodents, however. I felt especially bad when they brought back a bird.

I've been watching the story of Heather and Roxie closely, and now it has helped me prepare for my own pet health crisis. I find it very therapeutic to read others' stories of their pet's health problems, so I would like to share Oscar's story with you.

Oscar is a 14 (?) year old Persian who I found in a cold Chicago alley 13 years ago. He was dirty and crying to me for food, but he wouldn't let me approach him. Instead, he followed me all the way down the alley to my apartment. At that time, I picked him up and shut him in my bedroom while my other cat, Charlie, hissed outside the bedroom door. I put Oscar on an electric blanket, which he happily sunk into. I gave him some of Charlie's food, which he ate while purring loudly, mouth open. He was in heaven. I wouldn't know for a few weeks that he was a Persian, when his scraggly hair would start to grow and poof out to oblivion.

LORRI SUGHROUE
McCook Daily Gazette

MCCOOK, Neb. (AP) — They say you can't teach an old dog new tricks, but don't tell that to a miniature schnauzer named Hans.

I love this cat. I've featured Maru before with his battle with the big box. Well, he's back, this time battling smaller boxes.

A few years ago, I was renting an apartment where no dogs were allowed and I didn't have the money for one anyway. But I so longed for canine companionship...once in while. I remember laughing with a friend and saying, "I wish there was a place you could go to rent a dog for the day."

We were kidding.

I built the ball machine because I thought my dog Jerry, might like it and that it would be something fun for me to build. So after two years of on and off work, with many safety features such as IR proximity sensors to protect Jerry and my son from the machine, I finally complete.

A pregnant woman who watched her dog kill her cat says that afterward she agonised over what to do with her dog fearing it could later harm her baby.

[Click to continue reading...]

Sure, this is cute now, but talk to this cat: Cat survives inside couch for weeks.

Akron Beacon Journal reporter Kathy Antoniotti joined behavior specialists at the Akron Zoo in the Trainer-for-a-Day program.

Sunday, June 7 stop by and ask Dr. Neal Sivula DVM, PhD, FAAVA questions regarding holistic treatments and nutrition.

StanHywet Carriage House Courtyard / Time: TBA / Pre-registration is encouraged.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Barack Obama barks. Really.

Obama and his wife, Michelle, showed off Bo, the family's puppy, to NBC News anchor Brian Williams for his day-at-the-White House special before Obama left on his Mideast trip.

By DAVID TWIDDY
Associated Press Writer

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A company and its owners have agreed to plead guilty in connection with melamine-tainted pet food that may have killed thousands of dogs and cats in 2007, according to a court document.

By ERICA WERNER
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the first drug made specifically to treat cancer in dogs.

I hate dog parks. In concept, dog parks are a wonderful idea but in my experiences...

The posted rules are almost never followed or enforced. People almost never watch their dogs closely. If a dog is having behavioral problems, its owners usually have no idea.

Since you're here, I already know you love pets. What about arts and crafts? Does your child, or the child in you, love being creative?

Meet Evelyn and Mike Greenwald of Cleveland Heights. This mother and son team, from artistic backgrounds, developed a line of products for what they call pet crafting: fun, creative activities and crafts for pet lovers of all ages!

To most people, pet food is something that comes in a bag or can. The package might be illustrated with pictures of meat chunks, vegetables and grains, but what's inside is probably the most thoroughly processed food product on the market.

Still, quite a few dog and cat owners are deciding that packaged food isn't the only way to feed their pets. Over the last two decades, they've become a vocal movement advocating food for pets made with whole, fresh, minimally processed and usually raw ingredients.

Approximately 4 million cats end up in shelters every year.

Each year, thousands of kittens are born during spring and summer -- and many end up in animal shelters, waiting for loving homes. To promote adoptions of these playful, affectionate animals, American Humane celebrates Adopt-A-Cat Month in June.

Four years ago, my husband was walking our big Golden Retrievers along a trail about thirty-five minutes from home. He called me to tell me that he felt odd and didn’t think he could make it back home. He told me he loved me.

I asked him where he was on the trail, and I told him I was calling 911 and that he should sit down or lay down out of the walking/biking/buggy path. I knew he was having a heart attack.

What a wonderful two weeks I have shared with Roxie after what I thought was her final ending, I am still amazed at how well she is doing and thankful for every minute of it!

Time Warner Cable will televise events from Sunday's DockDogs competition at Clay's Park in Lawrence Township on a tape-delayed basis on several days in June.

Coverage will be available on the Northeast Ohio Network (NEON) Channel 23, as well as Local On Demand (LOD) Channel 501.

AKRON: Akron police have arrested a second suspect in the fatal beating of a family's dog in February.

Lewis Napoleon Jr. was arrested Sunday afternoon in connection with the beating of a Shih Tzu-Pekingese mix named Suzi during a break-in and burglary of a Morse Street home.

Over the years, my husband and I have been fortunate enough to have as our housemates wonderful, loving cats. We’d been married about a month, and I was a bit lonely as my husband worked full-time and went to school full-time, and I didn’t have company when I got home from work. He had been at a friend’s, a teacher and mentor, who had a wonderful observatory, and while they were observing the heavens, my husband heard a mewing.

"Oh, yep, our barn cat had kittens. Want one?" Well, there were two kittens, so Buz brought them both home.

The ASPCA has more on High-Rise Syndrome.

There are many words you can use to describe the new Niagara Falls municipal complex.

AKRON: The Citizens for Humane Animal Practices and the Summit County Division of Animal Control will offer a low-cost spay/neuter clinic for cats at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, June 6.

The event will be at the NEFCO Building, 180 E. South St.

By Kathy Antoniotti
Beacon Journal staff writer

LAWRENCE TWP.: The German shorthaired pointer balked at the edge of the dock. Staccato, or ''Sticky,'' for short, was a novice Friday at the DockDog Big Air Wave competition at the Bark in the Park weekend at Clay's Park in North Lawrence Township.