pets

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'Dog Years' Just Don't Add Up
 'Dog Years' Just Don't Add Up 
ANALYSIS
Aug 29, 2008 4:20 PM CDT

'Dog Years' Just Don't Add Up

The '7-year' rule is too simplistic, veterinarians say

(Newser) - A human year is 7 dog years, right? That ubiquitous formula has been driving veterinarians and dog enthusiasts nuts for decades. If it were accurate, some pooches would live to the equivalent of age 150 or so, Carl Bialik writes in the Wall Street Journal. For those who must convert,...

Pet Adoption Hurdles Irk Would-Be Owners

Animal shelters need to make process more friendlier, critics say

(Newser) - Animal shelters are hitting would-be pet owners with a vetting process they say puts them on a short leash, the Chicago Tribune reports. Prospective owners often face pages of queries on condo rules, finances, marital status—and even home visits. “We got a lecture about how having a dog...

Saudi Cops Target Flirty Dog Walkers

Riyadh officials confiscating pets in public

(Newser) - Officials in a Saudi province have banned the sale of cats and dogs after complaints that flirtatious men are “using cats and dogs to make passes at women and pester families,” the Christian Science Monitor reports. Although owning a pet isn’t illegal, the religious police say they’...

Dogs Get Their Own Social Networking Site

Pooches and their owners meet through Doggyspace.com

(Newser) - Dog owners are using a crossbreed of MySpace and YouTube to network—all on behalf and because of their four-legged friends, the AP reports. Since launching last month, Doggyspace.com has attracted more than 700 users, mostly female, who share photos, videos, advice, and stories, as well as supply their...

Are Dog-Sharing Plans Cruel?
 Are Dog-Sharing Plans Cruel?
Aug 5, 2008 10:20 AM CDT

Are Dog-Sharing Plans Cruel?

Practice, for pay or between neighbors, catching on; Boston bans renting pooches

(Newser) - Faced with a desire for a dog but lacking the ability to care for one full-time, some are turning to dog-sharing programs—though others say the idea is unhealthy for man’s best friend, the Wall Street Journal reports. “From a social standpoint,” programs like Flexpetz, which arranges...

New WebVet Coughs Up Tips for Ailing Pets
New WebVet
Coughs Up Tips
for Ailing Pets
new website
Aug 4, 2008 8:10 PM CDT

New WebVet Coughs Up Tips for Ailing Pets

Site intends to be 'WebMD for Pets'

(Newser) - A newly launched website aims to lure pet owners away from Google with a storehouse of tips on curing sick pets, TechCrunch reports. WebVet.com offers abstracts on ailments from Lyme disease to rabies, and boosts its content with articles on such pet essentials as travel, gifts, and fashion. And...

Move Over, Garfield, There's a New Fat Cat in Town

NJ feline tips scales at 44 pounds

(Newser) - Talk about New Jersey's fat cats. A 44-pound feline was found waddling around last week without a collar, and officials at the Camden County Animal Shelter hope she gets a nice—and hopefully, diet-friendly—home. Shelter officials are calling the porky cutie "Princess Chunk." "She's built like...

Mass. Puts Rent-a-Dog Firms in Doghouse

Recent laws, bans making pay-as-you-play pets unavailable

(Newser) - Massachusetts lawmakers have put the kibosh on a lucrative pet rental business, which caters to busy urbanites who want to spend time with dogs without the full-time commitment. The state senate passed a bill yesterday prohibiting the renting or leasing of dogs and cats; like previous bans in Boston and...

My Beagle Ate My Paycheck
My Beagle
Ate My
Paycheck
Jul 25, 2008 9:29 AM CDT

My Beagle Ate My Paycheck

Dog ownership turned out a lot pricier than writer bargained for

(Newser) - At first, $150 for a beagle puppy and $20 a week for food sounded like a good deal, but it didn't take long to realize dogs are "deceptively expensive," Neal Templin writes in the Wall Street Journal. Vet bills soon added up to thousands after a mystery illness...

America: Land of Doggy Doping
 America: Land of  Doggy Doping 
GLOSSIES
Jul 10, 2008 7:07 AM CDT

America: Land of Doggy Doping

The business of pet pharmacology is booming

(Newser) - Americans spent $49 billion on their pets last year, with an ever-growing percentage paying for treatment of  behavioral issues with tailor-made psychotropics, reports James Vlahos in the New York Times Magazine. Frustrated owners are feeding dogs drugs like Reconcile—beef-flavored Prozac—-for "mental illnesses that eerily resemble human ones,...

Paris Denied New Pup
 Paris Denied New Pup 
Jun 17, 2008 11:00 AM CDT

Paris Denied New Pup

Pet store rejects heiress as legit buyer

(Newser) - Paris Hilton went “ballistic” over the weekend when an LA pet store refused to sell her a Yorkie, telling the celebutante the purchase was clearly “an impulse buy,” the New York Post reports. Hilton was on her way to a photo shoot and "wanted a puppy...

Facebook Boots Kitty-Eating Kids

Site repulsed by activist dinner party photos

(Newser) - A group of Danish students were kicked off Facebook when they posted photos of themselves cooking and eating a cat, the Copenhagen Post reports. The students intended to point out the hypocrisy in designating some animals pets and others food, but have infuriated the almighty social-networking site and animal rights...

Dogs Think Robo-Vacs Suck
 Dogs Think Robo-Vacs Suck 
Jun 11, 2008 9:00 AM CDT

Dogs Think Robo-Vacs Suck

Pet owners try to keep the peace between high technology and 'bio-pets'

(Newser) - Dogs are getting more suspicious as robots get more sophisticated, the Wall Street Journal reports. Dog owners find that jealous, territorial, or terrified pooches bark at the robots—and sometimes rip them apart. Some post videos of the battles on YouTube, while others are trying to find ways for canine...

Serial Bunny Killer Plagues German Town

Rabbits are snatched from cages and beheaded

(Newser) - A special bunny task force has been established in the German town of Witten to track down a mystery serial killer who's been beheading pet rabbits for a year, Der Speigel reports. At least 40 rabbits have been snatched from cages in the area. Their corpses are usually left behind....

The Battle to Baby-Proof the Family Dog

Trainers help dogs adjust when they're no longer the 'only child'

(Newser) - For many couples today, dogs aren’t just pets, they’re the “first baby.” But that puppy love can cause problems when it comes to the second baby—the human one. Like any only child, dogs can react badly to new siblings, so a small industry has sprung...

When Marriage Goes to Dogs, Where Do Dogs Go?

Custody of furry friends often becomes 'very hotly contested issue'

(Newser) - Joint custody, visitation rights, continued care, and financial support—custody negotiations are no longer restricted to the kids, USA Today reports, as more ex-partners wrangle over the pooch. In a recent survey, 25% of divorce lawyers reported an increase in pet-custody issues, with 90% of those cases involving dogs. It’...

Polly Wanna Get Home: Here's My Address

Lost Japanese parrot tells vet how to find his home

(Newser) - A vet in Japan was stumped on how to reunite a lost parrot with its owners—until the brainy bird told him his address and his owner's name. The well-trained African gray has been safely reunited with his human family, the BBC reports. The bird kept mum in police custody...

Like eHarmony, Only for Kitties
 Like eHarmony, Only for Kitties 
May 17, 2008 6:09 AM CDT

Like eHarmony, Only for Kitties

Shelters using Feline-ality program to match cats to owners

(Newser) - There's no shortage of dating websites that use personality profiles to come up with "scores" and assess compatibility; now, the AP reports, animal shelters are using a similar program to help pair famously fickle felines with owners. Some 45 facilities use Feline-ality, which assigns cats colorful personality types: leader...

Calif. Bill Would Drive Pets Off Laps

Drivers would have to steer clear of distracting pals

(Newser) - California legislators are pushing a bill banning pets from drivers' laps after a national study ranked pets, along with cell phones, among the leading causes of road distractions and a cause of thousands of accidents. A bill before the state legislature will impose a fine for driving while holding dogs,...

Favorite Celeb Companions
 Favorite
 Celeb
 Companions 
Apr 28, 2008 8:43 AM CDT

Favorite Celeb Companions

RIP, Paw Paw

(Newser) - The death this month of Martha Stewart's beloved canine Kublai Khan Paw Paw Chow Chow (just Paw Paw to his pals) got Nerve's Nicole Pasulka ruminating on her top celeb best friends. A sampling:
  • Millie, First Dog for the first President Bush: "Pet lovers that we are, we’d
...

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