Donations are being accepted to help the homeless dogs of Brazil. Read how to help here.

Cartoonist Beth Cravens sketched a friend’s dog with the caption that the dog’s breath was nasty. Ha!

Often bad breath in dogs is a sign of dental or gum disease, but sometimes it can be from something more serious. If your dog has really bad breath, take it to the vet to make sure it doesn’t have liver or kidney problems, or diabetes.

My friend linked to this video on Facebook and I thought it was pretty amazing.  Ricochet seems much like the pig in Charlotte’s Web – That’s some pig!

Richochet is some dog!  Well done!

I was taking my daughter to a friend’s house a few days ago and picked a route that I usually don’t take.  After a couple of turns, I found myself on a winding country road… a country road in the middle of a city is always somewhat fascinating to me.

However, I slowed when I saw a sign:

Do Not Dump Your Animals Here

How sad it made me!  We do often see strays in our neighborhood, along with the dog catcher who drives by frequently.  If a family pet does not happen to be caught by animal control and re-homed (or more frequently euthanized), imagine the life of a stray.

The dog would spend all day trying to find food or water, so starvation and thirst becomes a day-to-day experience.  When it rains, there may be shelter under a car to be found but our own stray that’s now a family member is terrified of thunder.  I can only imagine the storms she lived through before she was rescued.

The ticks, fleas and other parasites may also find a home on the animal.  So not only would a pet have to deal with the elements and survival, but also with little critters draining their blood.

Do not ever drop randomly in the wild if the need arises where it has to be re-homed.  First make an attempt to find a good home for the animal and if that fails, do take it to the local human society.  They will do their best to place the pet and if it does have to be put down eventually, that’s a much more compassionate ending for the animals than what its life would be like in the wild.

First, let me define “part-time” as someone who loves animals, but who might be unable to have a full time pet.  And pets are full-time, especially dogs! You need to play with them, feed them, walk them, talk to them, and visit the vet to give a good, happy life.

Some people may travel frequently but every now and then get an extensive break to stay at home.  Perhaps just loving on a pet until it’s healthy again is something others enjoy.  For whatever reason, there are pets available to foster.  My brother and his family just agreed to foster two pugs and they are thrilled with the opportunity.

If you want information about how to foster, you can Google pet foster and the name of your location.  There are dozens and dozens of organizations throughout the U.S. that need help and would welcome your participation after a screening process.

Good luck!

You’ll remember my cat has been constantly squalling to go outside and I’ve so far resisted the urge to let her out.  Sometimes, however, she’ll run between our legs to make her great escape.  I can’t save her from bigger animals should they attack (and my new neighbor’s really big black dog makes me extremely nervous), but I can do something to help protect her from the little nuisances.

I’m going to the pet store today to pick up some flea and tick topical treatment.  We have lots of ticks in my area so want to do our best to prevent one from latching on for a feeding frenzy.

However, there are also sprays available for the yard to prevent ticks and fleas.  The downside?  These chemicals could be toxic to your cat.

That Zodiac yard spray is not. Its active ingredient is permethrin, a synthetic chemical I do recommend in two very different ways to control ticks, but NOT in a lawn spray, where it poses a serious risk to your cat, a huge one to your fish, and an unknown but very real one to you

The best thing to do is make sure that your pets have their shots up to date and DO USE the monthly topical application that your veterinarian recommends.

Keep the four-legged critters safe!

Our cat Kitty is driving me bonkers.  She’s got a taste for going outside and now constantly begs to go out.  MEOW MEOW MEOW!  She’s so loud!  I Sssss her and SHHH her, but she simply glares at me and argues with more MEOWING.

I have found that if she Just. Doesn’t. Stop. I put her in the bathroom for about 2 minutes.  Note that I do NOT keep her in long, just long enough to get her attention and for her to hear my message.  Then when she comes out, she tries to bite my ankles.  We then wrestle a little.

My goofy cat.  I sure love her.

My niece’s new dog who likes to jump.  Taio Taio means Jump Jump.

Chip texted me early in the morning two days ago.  He asked me to keep my eyes open for his missing dog Oliver.  He has a doggie door so the old guy can go out anytime to roam around the fenced in back yard.  Unfortunately on Friday night someone opened the fence gate and Oliver is now MIA.

Oliver is a very funny little Sheltie.  He never barks when company arrives, but goes crazy when anyone tries to leave.  I don’t know if that’s a quirky thing that the breed does, but it’s heartwarming.  Oliver is a whimsical little guy and I hope Chip finds him.

I’ve driven the neighborhood with my eyes peeled.  So far, no luck.   We think there’s a possibility that Oliver could have been taken which in one sense would be better than if he’s just lost because at least if someone has him, he may be getting food and water.  Because in this heat now, he’d really struggle if he was outside.

Be thinking about my friend Chip and his best friend Oliver.  Keep your fingers crossed that he’s found alive soon!

Photo is not Oliver.  Instead it’s by ScionDriver via flickr creative commons.

Cats are notoriously finicky.  They crack me up because when they get something in their brains, they don’t let it go.  Kitty has been squawking to go outside lately but she can’t until I get some flea and tick repellent for her.  Yet the meows are relentless!

Jeffraham’s cats seem to be focused on what side of the bowl to drink from,

L.E. prefers the left side of the bowl, unless Curly (who oddly ONLY drinks from the right side) is at the bowl drinking, in which case, L.E. wants to crowd Curly out and drink from the right side. Well, only for a minute, just to make sure Curly’s water is no better than “his” water. Then, they peaceably coexist, L.E. on the left, Curly on the right.

Larry Elvis and Curly crack me up.  They are two very very spoiled kitties!