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Sal the cat: I can haz jury dooty?
By BL Ochman
From the you just can’t make this stuff up department:
A cat named Sal in East Boston is learning that jury duty ain’t so easy to get out of these days. His owners were shocked when they received a jury summons in the mail — addressed to their pet cat, Guy Esposito told local WHDH News.
Figuring Sal could easily be disqualified since he is, ahem, not human, Mrs. Esposito sent in a request on Sal’s behalf to be exempted from jury duty. Of the reasons she could select as grounds for disqualification from jury duty — too old, too ill, convicted felon, etc. — Anna chose the obvious option: Sal cannot not speak English.
The request was denied.
A veterinarian has written a letter stating that Sal Esposito is a “domestic short hair neutered feline.”
Sal is supposed to show up for jury duty on March 23 and Ms. Esposito says she’ll go to the courthouse with her cat if the issue has not been cleared up before that.
Sal, meanwhile, has been wondering, “I haz go to jury dooty?”
Florida Dolphins’ Remarkable Fishing Technique
By BL Ochman
Amazing that this was captured on film: off the coast of Florida, a pod of bottlenose dolphins (who are among the smartest animals on earth) have developed a remarkable hunting strategy they use to catch fish.
Only one female in the pod can create this incredible ring, and she does it over and over until the whole pod is fed.
The clip is from the first episode (Challenges of Life) of the new BBC series Life, via Michael Sussell.
I sure would like a Pawfun photo t-shirt with one of those smiling dolphins!
February 2, 2010
Artist Nancy Schutt’s Dog Song 2 Video
By BL Ochman
Just as wonderful as Dog Song 1, artist Nancy Schutt’s new video/slide show, Dog Song 2 has a country flavor, with an upbeat song about love and loss by Dan Reising, “Better With You There.”
Bring your hanky, just in case one of Schutts’ extraordinary dog portraits reminds you of a dog you loved. One looked just like my Sammy.
Says Schutts, “dogs and art just go together.”
February 1, 2010
Make a one-of-a-kind Valentine’s Day gift featuring a photo of your love’s favorite pet
By BL Ochman
Sure your sweetheart loves you – but chances are they’ll love you more if you make them a one-of-a-kind Valentine’s Day gift from a photo of their pet!
This Valentine’s Day, the way to your sweetie’s heart is to use Pawfun’s Design Wizard to create a thoughtful, unique, personalized photo Valentine gift featuring her (or his) pet.
At Pawfun, it’s easy to create personalized photo gifts of tote bags, mouse pads, coffee mugs, can coolers – and new free ecards – featuring photos of your Valentine’s dog, cat, horse, gerbil or goldfish. And Pawfun’s custom photo gifts start at only $7.49!
You can create Pawfun custom photo gifts with pet photos in seconds. Just upload a pet photo, add what you want to say, add some clip art, and we’ll do the rest.
You can also create and send a free pet photo e-card to your Valentine – right up until the last minute on Feb 14th!
Pawfun Valentine Gifts – no calories, no water, no cavities! (more…)
January 24, 2010
Nifty new breeds of dogs
By BL Ochman
The following new combination dog breeds are now recognized by the AKC :>)
Collie + Lhasa Apso
Collapso, a dog that folds up for easy transport
Spitz + Chow Chow
Spitz-Chow, a dog that throws up a lot
Pointer + Setter
Poinsetter, a traditional Christmas pet
Malamute + Pointer
Moot Point, owned by….oh, well, it doesn’t matter anyway
Great Pyrenees + Dachshund
Pyradachs, a puzzling breed
Pekingnese + Lhasa Apso
Peekasso, an abstract dog (more…)
Who knows if evil lurks?
By Judy Vorfeld
Last night, I was reading in bed, enraptured by the tension in the book, when suddenly I noticed the bathroom door slowly closing…almost completely.
Were all the doors locked?
Yes.
Was it a ghost?
Probably not.
Was it Bigfoot?
Nope…he wouldn’t fit in my bathroom.
I stared at the door, but it stayed almost closed. I read a little bit more, but my curiosity got the best of me.
Okay. I got out of my warm cozy bed, heart thumping, yet knowing 99% that I was safe, and padded over to the door.
Slowly, I opened it.
I looked up…nothing.
I looked down…something.
It was Li’l Bear, working on a new exercise. In the past few months, he taught himself how to open (wide enough that they stay open) cupboard doors in the bathrooms, bedroom, kitchen, and family room.
Now he’s begun closing doors. Big doors.
He keeps me laughing.
Li'l Bear
Photo : Judy Vorfeld
What a perfect photo (by Judy Vorfeld) for a free Pawfun pet photo e-card! Have you created and sent one yet? Get inspired in Pawfun readers’ pet photo e-card gallery.
Search & rescue dogs from around the world head to Haiti: One dog finds three girls alive in rubble
By BL Ochman
In an effort unprecedented in scale, professionally trained “sniffer” and search and rescue dogs from around the world headed to Haiti on Friday to help the devastated population.
The dogs work selflessly and with unimaginable courage, as they did after 9/11 in New York where their boots had to be replaced every 1/2 hour because they were working on the still-burning ruble.
Search and rescue teams, including dogs, from the United States on Sunday pulled a record 10 people alive from the rubble of quake-struck Port-au-Prince, according to the US Agency for International Development.
Officials said Monday that 43 international teams comprising 1,739 rescue workers and 161 dogs have scoured 60 percent of the worst affected areas hit by the earthquake.
“The teams are working long hours, stopping only long enough to let the dogs rest before starting to search again. Once they begin a search operation, they work until the effort is complete — no matter how long it takes,” National Disaster Search Dog Foundation team manager, firefighter Bill Monahan of Los Angeles, CA, told consumeraffairs.com
“Dogs are searching great,” wrote Monahan in one text message. “All (are) eating and drinking. We’re working to make it ‘fun’ for them so they’ll stay motivated.”
On January 16th, Monahan and his specially trained canine partner – a rescued Border Collie named Hunter – whose specialty is locating people buried alive, discovered three young girls trapped alive under four feet of concrete and debris. The girls had been trapped nearly 70 hours – since the powerful earthquake devastated the tiny island country.
The seven “live-scent” dogs on the teams are arguably the most valuable tools rescue workers have in a disaster of this magnitude. These elite canines can climb and run across the piles of concrete and other debris in the streets of Port-Au-Prince and determine within three minutes if there are survivors buried below, the SDF said.
How to help:
- White House: ClintonBush Fund
- Huffington Post list of rescue organizations
- ASPCA fund to help animals in Haiti Animal Relief Coalition for Haiti (ARCH)
January 19, 2010
Scientist: Chimpanzees could talk, but they don’t want to
By BL Ochman
“In principle, a chimp could produce all the sounds a human produces, but they don’t do so because there has been no evolutionary pressure in this direction,” Dr. Zuberbühler said. “There is nothing to talk about for a chimp because he has no interest in talking about it.”
Humans, on the other hand, developed the desire to share thoughts at some point in our evolution, and language makes that possible, Scottish psychologist Dr. Klaus Zuberbühler tells the New York Times in a very interesting article.
Scientists have devoted a great deal of energy and research to teaching animals to talk, but most of that work has come to naught. Animals nonetheless are able to communicate expressively without language, as any dog owner can attest.
PETA sticks cardboard head into restaurant Moose case
By BL Ochman
Perpetually busy animal activists, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) have made a curious offer in the odd case of a woman bonked on the head by a wall-mounted moose head at a Manhattan restaurant.
PETA offered to replace the stuffed heads of dead animals with cardboard or inflatable plastic faux animals heads at restaurants nationwide. “We want to help restaurants ditch dead decor and go friendly faux,” says PETA president Ingrid Newkirk.
While PETA surely has done good for many animals, this offer is right up there with their suggestion that the milk kids leave for Santa to have with his cookies is making him impotent. (more…)
NYC Urban Rangers: Raccoon Rabies is Epidemic in Central, Morningside Parks
By BL Ochman
On our morning walk in Central Park today, we met two Urban Park Rangers (wouldn’t that be a great job!) who were warning dog owners that more than 20 rabid raccoons, either dead or sick, have been picked up in Central and Morningside Parks in the past two weeks.
They were handing out a Rabies Advisory, which you can download here. There is Health Department rabies information here.
The Rangers told us that the cold weather will eventually kill off the rabid raccoons, and this cycle of illness should end before spring.
Our vet, Dr Jill Elliot, says that a vaccinated dog is safe from rabies, but raccoons can do plenty of damage by biting or scratching a dog or a person.
If you see a sick raccoon, call 311 to report it, and contact park workers as well. The rabid animals in Manhattan are concentrated between 110th Street and 79th Street, according to the rangers.
"Ok I have to tell you: I just bought my wife the greatest, most hilarious birthday gift ever - not just ever from me, but ever from anyone - at Pawfun.com! Seriously, it's so fantastic - I cannot wait .. to give it to her!" - Joe
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