Category Archives: Pets

Claws out! Why cats are causing chaos and controversy across Britain

Posted on by

Whether it is local ‘cat-seducers’, out-and-out thievery or marauding toms, our feline friends are prompting furious rows and rivalries between neighbours

Forget teenagers with asbos or improperly demarcated boundary fences. Cats are the great neighbourhood menace of our age, as likely to rip apart once-harmonious communities as Japanese knotweed. They pad between homes, destroying civic feeling, pitting us against each other in our search for their devotion. Think politics creates division? Cats are worse.

Last week, it was reported that a Hammersmith couple, John and Jackie Hall, had waged a legal battle to prevent a nearby resident, Nicola Lesbirel, from stealing their maine coon, Ozzy. The Halls accused Lesbirel of repeatedly feeding Ozzy, taking him into her house and replacing Ozzy’s collar with one that had Lesbirel’s phone number and the words “My home” on it.

Continue reading...

Something to chew on: New Zealand man sets up ‘stick library’ for dogs

Posted on by

Andrew Taylor came up with the idea because of a lack of ‘good’ sticks at the local park

A New Zealand man has created a “stick library” for his local dog park as a way to recycle branches from tree pruning.

Andrew Taylor, of north Canterbury in the South Island, cut a dozen tree branches down to “stick” size for the community’s four-legged friends, and smoothed away the rough edges using tools he had around the house.

Continue reading...

Man saves dog after leash gets caught in elevator door – video

Posted on by

A Houston man, Johnny Mathis, saves the day – and the dog – by leaping into action when the leash of a neighbour's pet gets caught in an elevator door.  A security camera at their apartment complex captures the entire dramatic rescue. Mathis is thankful he was on hand to help: 'It could happen to anyone. A second is all it takes' 

• Florida dog drives doughnuts in unmanned car before police rescue

Continue reading...

Chinese cafe featuring dogs dyed to look like pandas facing backlash

Posted on by

‘I suggest dyeing cafe owner black and white,’ says one critic over stunt in Chengdu

A cafe in China featuring chow chow dogs painted as panda cubs has prompted widespread criticism over the treatment of the pets.

The Cute Pet Games cafe opened last month in Chengdu in the south-west Sichuan province, home to a large proportion of the endangered bear species, featuring six fluffy chow chows dyed white and black.

Continue reading...

Mystery illness kills dozens of dogs in Norway

Posted on by

Owners told to keep pets away from other canines after sickness found in 14 of 18 counties

A mystery sickness has struck dozens of dogs in Norway, killing at least 25 and prompting authorities to warn owners to keep their pets on a lead and away from other canines until the cause is established.

Ten dogs fell ill on Saturday and Sunday, the national food safety authority said, four of which have since died. While most cases have been in the capital, Oslo, the illness has been reported in 14 of the country’s 18 counties, including the far north.

Continue reading...

Do our pets ever really love us – or do they just stick around for the food?

Posted on by
We dote on our cats and dogs, but is it a one-way relationship? Here’s what science tells us about how to decode their emotions, whether they are avoiding us or getting a little too amorous with our legs

It is almost a year to the day since Dustin, our milky-eyed nervebag of a cat, died and we still miss him a great deal, although he was not a great giver of emotion. We miss his refusing to look our way immensely. And his not wanting to be stroked there, there or there. But it wasn’t Dustin’s fault he was like this. Unknown trauma in kittenhood (he was left in a shoebox at the front door of a vet’s surgery) meant that he lived his entire 11 years in terror of being mauled to death by some unseen enemy. Understandably, this constant fear made Dustin very, very nervous.

Through many years of care and affection, we almost managed to rescue him from this anxiety until – almost as if to prove a point – Dustin was mauled to death by two pet dogs off the lead. When we pulled his frozen body out of the freezer before his funeral, Dustin had a withering expression – “I told you so” it seemed to say. This was the only time we really got to stroke him properly. Frozen solid.

Continue reading...

Jacinda Ardern’s neighbour reportedly admits to killing Paddles, first cat of New Zealand

Posted on by

Man going by the name of Chris says he wrote condolence card for Ardern and her partner, Clarke Gayford

The man who killed New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern’s cat has reportedly broken his silence, a year after he ran over the first cat of New Zealand.

Shortly after Ardern became the prime minister-elect in October 2017, her polydactyl cat named Paddles shot to fame, and even had her own Twitter account.

Continue reading...

Scamp the Tramp is champ at World’s Ugliest Dog Contest

Posted on by
  • California competition highlights plight of rescue dogs
  • Owner: ‘I think the audience saw his beautiful spirit’

Scamp the Tramp, a bug-eyed, dreadlocked pooch, took top honours on Friday at the 31st annual World’s Ugliest Dog Contest.

Owner Yvonne Morones won an appearance with Scamp on the Today show, $1,500 in cash, $1,500 to donate to an animal shelter and a trophy the size of a rottweiler.

Continue reading...

Firefighters haul ass after pet donkey found trapped in septic tank

Posted on by

‘Other than being a bit cold and a bit smelly he still had a full appetite,’ rescuer says

A miniature donkey has caused a stink after falling into a large septic tank, sparking a challenging rescue north of Brisbane.

Firefighters were called to a Morayfield property on Thursday night after its panicked owners called to say their donkey had tumbled into the concrete tank and was wedged firmly inside.

Continue reading...

They look cute, but should we rescue Romania’s street dogs?

Posted on by
Well-meaning Britons are saving abused dogs from hellish public pounds and death by cannibalism. So why are they making some experts anxious?

On a dank, dreary winter afternoon, I have come to a farmyard in Essex, just outside the M25, to meet – among others – Karine, Anna, Tommy Lee and Eskimo Joe. Tommy Lee and Eskimo Joe are from Romania, and are dogs. Rescue animals, hoping (if dogs can hope) to be adopted. Tommy Lee is missing a front leg – most probably from a traffic accident in Brasov, Transylvania – but is cheerful, inquisitive and friendly. Eskimo Joe is older, a little overweight, obstinate, camera-shy, resigned. I worry that potential adopters might not fall in love with Eskimo Joe.

Karine and Anna Hauser are Swiss-Finnish sisters (human) and run the charity Love Underdogs. Animal lovers, they were originally visiting a sanctuary in Romania for abused bears from all over the world. But they couldn’t ignore the dogs, and started to work with a shelter in Brasov, 100 miles north of Bucharest, and to bring to the UK for rehoming some of the most unwanted, abused and neglected ones. Love Underdogs is just one of dozens of charities in Britain importing rescue dogs from abroad – from Greece, Cyprus, Bosnia, and particularly from Romania, which has one of the biggest street-dog problems in Europe.

Continue reading...

PETA’s Clever Campaign Entices Donald Trump to ‘Grab a Puppy’

Posted on by
"Grab a Puppy Before It's Too Late," the animal welfare group's latest campaign created by cross-cultural agency The Community, looks to entice the president into adopting a dog by playing on what may be his most infamous quote. Several media outlets have reported on Trump's decision to break from a longstanding tradition of owning a pet in the White House.

Commenter Lizzie Has A Question About Dogs and Cats Living Together

Posted on by
As we wait for 3:00 PM EDT to roll around and begin the Friday afternoon news breakening, we could use a new thread. And since commenter Lizzie's question deserves some broader exposure than the few folks who've seen it buried in the comments to the previous thread , here it is: Since it's an open threada .sorry in advance for the long post, especially by a lurker who rarely posts! But there are a lot of knowledgeable animal lovers here and I'd love some advice about whether to pursue adopting two dogs.

Trump needs a pet in the White House

Posted on by
I'm referring, of course, to the lack of a White House pet for the first time in more than 150 years. Even Vice President Mike "Bonecrusher" Pence has famously installed two cats, a rabbit and a snake in the official residence on the U.S. Naval Observatory grounds.

A vacant White House job: first pet

Posted on by
This Aug. 24, 1992 file photo shows President Bush, right, and first lady Barbara Bush walking with their dog Millie across the South Lawn as they return to the White House. The job of first pet - an enviable White House gig with luxurious live-in privileges, after-hours access to the president and guaranteed positive press coverage - is not currently available.

Fed inspectors find sick, dead animals at pet dealer ranch

Posted on by
Federal inspectors found sick and dead animals, inadequate sanitation, untrained employees performing euthanasia and other deficiencies at a Pennsylvania small-animal dealer that supplied major pet retailers like Petco and PetSmart. The U.S. Department of Agriculture released a report on its January inspection of Holmes Chinchilla Ranch that said inspectors found dozens of animals in need of veterinary treatment for symptoms ranging from hair loss to eye abnormalities to lethargy.