Company Sinks Teeth Into Dog Time Shares
July 29th, 2007
By LISA LEFF
Associated Press Writer
SAN FRANCISCO — From the state that popularized purse puppies, drive-thru dog washes and gourmet dog food delivery comes the latest in canine convenience — a company that contracts out dogs by the day to urbanites without the time or space to care for a pet full-time.
Marlena Cervantes, founder of FlexPetz, bristles when people refer to her five-month-old business as a rent-a-pet service. She prefers the term “shared pet ownership,” explaining the concept is more akin to a vacation time share or a gym membership than a trip to the video store.
Vet therapy: When pets get plastic surgery
July 22nd, 2007
BY WARREN BERRY
July 22, 2007
Does your dog beg for plastic surgery?
How much is that doggie in the window?
And, if its snout is imperfect, what’s the cost of a nose job?
Nowadays, you can take your pet to a veterinary plastic surgeon and get him a real rhinoplasty. The trend seemed to pick up steam in 2005 when Dr. Alan J. Schulman of the Animal Medical Center of Southern California told MSNBC that, as an orthopedic veterinary surgeon, he was perfecty willing to perform any kind of legitimate plastic surgery for an animal (to improve breathing, for instance, or fix broken teeth or eliminate diseased skin folds). But, he insisted, no liposuction.
Just knock 3 times, then wait for the dog
July 15th, 2007
By KURT MOFFETT
Republican-American
July 14, 2007
NEW MILFORD, Conn. — A sign on the front door of Kirk and Stella Dupas’ home on Lone Oak Drive tells visitors to ring the door bell twice and then knock hard three times. This will signal their dog to bark and get one of them to answer the door.
Kirk and Stella both have severe hearing loss and without the help of Simba, their 7-year-old cocker spaniel, they would continue to struggle with what most people take for granted.
Inns where your dog is as welcome as you are
July 8th, 2007
Carolyn and Frank Bistrian and their five dogs share a 22-acre farm in East Hampton. Guest dogs are always welcome.
Like many other pet-friendly innkeepers, the Bistrians, who run the Bend in the Road Guest House, are seniors in their second careers who understand the dilemma of people like themselves who can’t bear to leave their beloved pets.
Protesters chain themselves, let their dogs run free
July 1st, 2007
By JESSIE DIMARIANO
REDMOND — The sun was shining and the Off Leash Dog area nestled in Marymoor Park was bustling with dog owners and their furry companions Saturday.
But while the dogs basked in the sun and enjoyed games of fetch, seven dog lovers sat chained to dog houses and poles.
Handle a Dog Fight With Care
June 24th, 2007
By Denise Flaim
Maybe you read the story last week about the Dix Hills man who nearly had his ear severed after three rottweilers charged his leashed pitt bull mix, Emry, and he got in the middle to save her.
Maybe you wondered: If that was my dog, what could I have done?
MTA canine teams now patrol for terrorism
June 17th, 2007
BY JENNIFER MALONEY
June 14, 2007
Hudson leaned forward from the back seat, peering through the windshield at a man in an orange vest.
“It’s OK,” Doug Joseph, a Metropolitan Transportation Authority police officer, told the German shepherd. “He’s good.”
Joseph waved to the orange-vested track worker and drove away from the train station, scanning the tracks while Hudson looked out the window.
Animal activists want Vick to pay
June 10th, 2007
BY BOB GLAUBER
June 10, 2007
John Goodwin wants to see Falcons quarterback Michael Vick go to jail if he is convicted in connection with an illegal dog-fighting operation at a home Vick owns in Virginia.
No fine. No probation. No legal slap on the wrist.
Jail.
“When people are involved in this type of crime, they should go to prison,” Goodwin, the deputy manager for animal fighting issues for the Humane Society of the United States, said in an interview this week with Newsday. “This is severely cruel, and there should be punishment for inflicting pain and misery on these animals. The maximum fine is $2,500, which is about the time it takes Michael Vick to call a play in the huddle.”
Tougher animal cruelty laws sought
June 3rd, 2007
By ANGELA DELLI SANTI
May 24, 2007
TRENTON, N.J. — A pit bull terrier puppy named Angel who was starved and fatally beaten by her owners has focused attention on the need to revise New Jersey’s outdated animal cruelty laws.
Assemblyman Jeff Van Drew, D-Cape May, is leading the charge to update and expand the section of law that deals with the abuse and mistreatment of animals, and stiffen penalties for violators.
Raising dogs (and kids) right
May 28th, 2007
By Denise Flaim
May 28, 2007
Dogs and kids are Norman Rockwell territory. What’s not to love about loyalty, friendship and mutual admiration?
In real life, however, managing children and dogs in the same household can present some challenges for parents who are not equipped to deal with them.
Here are some tips for coping.