Winter’s short days and biting windchills tend to shrink a dog’s daily routine. Small and thin-haired breeds, and senior dogs, may be reluctant to go outside because of the cold. As for the rest, we’ve all been there: Life is busy and the weather is bleak, while your pup gazes at you hopefully …. Fewer […]
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Mrs. Murphy and Lopito lived in a 3-story house with so many windows and soft furnishings to choose from, they were seldom seen together on the same floor. The two black cats shared upholstered seating, windowsills, litter boxes, daily bowls of kibble, and a single female owner on separate timetables, but dining together in the
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Lily Grace heralded the unexpected arrival of her new pet sitter with all the big-dog attitude a five pound chihuahua could muster. She was deeply unsettled by the intrusion, stringing together dozens of ear piercing barks in the hope I would go away. Instead I stood near the door pretending to be deaf. The tiny
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Is it safe to share the Thanksgiving feast with your pet? Nobody likes a holiday buzzkill. But our national food culture has changed — from viral food fads to the decline in cooking at home. More money is now spent at restaurants and bars than grocery stores while food marketers have aided and abetted America’s
Tips for a Food Safe Holiday With Your Pets Read More »
On a sunny morning I had finished watering the potted plants framing the dining area windows to notice T, a plump gray tabby, sitting at the opposite end of the kitchen watching me. Odd because his breakfast had been served and he never passed up a meal. As I approached the sink, T lowered to
Homer did not fit the profile of the typical dog daycare member. He was a chunky 7-year-old terrier mix that had spent his entire life sharing quiet evenings and weekends with his bookish owner. Yet he was the first to arrive at daycare on his welcome day. Because his owner was desperate. Homer’s attention seeking
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Shy, sweet-natured Itta lived peacefully in a charming two-story house on a quiet Philly street. By the time I sat down with her owner, the plump brown tabby had a new feline housemate called Cubbon, named for his ginger fur and a personality so big his doting owner could speak of little else. To his
As the holiday season approaches, pet parents may question if it’s really such a bad thing to share the feast with four-legged family members. Pets are loved and it is the season for giving. Surely a little bit of turkey is okay, right? Nobody likes a holiday buzzkill. And among children and guests, it is
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On the flip side The cat’s use of scent to maintain social equilibrium can cause problems in the human-feline relationship. With paws stretched wide, claws extended, scratching releases pheromones that give off a strong scent that reassures cats their environment is safe. Usually not a problem until this innate drive is directed at your furniture.
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Tugger was a champion English cocker spaniel, the kind so handsome he spent years in the show ring alternating between four-square poses and trotting around the ring alongside his handler until invited to the stand to have his long lush ears pulled forward over his eyes while a judge conducted a knowing frisk. Maintaining favorite
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Pets are family. Now more than ever pet owners want to feed their dogs and cats as they feed themselves: natural and free-from. Pet food companies have acknowledged the inner circle status of pets by offering a broad range of solution-oriented diets boasting high quality ingredients to improve health at every stage of life. Owners
How Fresh Is Your Pet’s Kibble? Read More »
Baxter and Bitty could have stepped off the pages of the Bengal cat breed profile: sweet-natured, affectionate, playful, high energy, and exotically beautiful. Baxter was perennially outgoing, Bitty’s charm was masked by shyness around strangers, keeping her in the shadow of her spirited 14-pound brother. She followed him everywhere, including into trouble. I entered the
Disorderly Conduct Read More »
