Pet Health

You know the children’s rhyme that goes, “There was a little girl and she had a little curl, right in the middle of her forehead. And when she was good she was very very good. And when she was bad she was horrid.” That was really about Peaches the cat. She is calm, amiable and affectionate most of the time. She’s fine with strangers and other cats.

We’ve featured Buttercup before. But, he still needs a home, especially now that one of his “foster sisters” is stalking him and he has to hide in the basement a lot to get away from her. He has an interesting story. Sometime in the late spring, he manged to get inside the home of his foster mom, unbeknownst to her, and take up residence in the basement.

A recent survey by the Indiana University Media School of 7000 people (both cat people and dog people) found that; after watching online cat videos they were more energetic and had fewer negative emotions such as anxiety or sadness, that they often watched them at work or while studying and that that the pleasure from watching the videos outweighed any guilt about procrastinating.

Do you know anything about so-called Thundershirts? I think they are like a straightjacket for dogs and I cannot imagine then being healthy. They sound like they are just a money-maker being sold to well-meaning dog owners thinking they are helping their pets.

We’ve featured Gabrielle before, but she is still hanging out at the OCHS office. She is tired of being an office cat. She wants to be a house cat! Gabby was surrendered to the Humane Society by a well-meaning but not very well-equipped “cat lover” who had acquired 24 cats.

Meet Andy and stand in line for some kisses! He’s about three years old. We think a Catahoula Leopard Dog mix. Look it up on Wikipedia, really interesting. We know that he is used to older children and that he loves, loves, loves affection.

Did you hear about the arrest of 41 people two weeks ago, charged with participation in a cock fighting ring in Frankfort, NY? After a six-month investigation, the State Police and Attorney General’s Office swooped in on a Saturday afternoon to execute warrants for the arrest of these animal abusers and the seizure of more than 231 roosters. Neighbors in this quiet rural community had been reporting sudden influxes of cars, with loud music and the squawks of roosters coming from the barn every Saturday. It was those tips that led to the investigation and eventual arrests.

I was approached by a neighbor yesterday (Let’s just call her Miss Nosy) who wanted to tell me that I shouldn’t be tying my dog, Buddy, outside in my yard during the day, that it is bad for him. Whoa! He is never tied more than about 8 hours while I am at work. He has shade and food and water. What’s wrong with that?

This picture doesn’t begin to do them justice, but Jack and Mack are so bonded with people (all people) and with each other that it is almost impossible to get them to “pose” the way a more aloof and dignified cat will. They are brothers, orphaned at a very young age and bottle fed by one of our saintly foster families so they could survive.