Pet Health

I just read somewhere that onions and garlic are toxic to dogs and cats. When did that happen? I know that my dog, Glenda, has eaten leftovers that would have had a few cooked onions in them, and with no ill effect as far as I can see. And yes, I know I’m not supported to feed her leftovers, but she’s a lab.

This is not exactly an earth shattering sort of problem. In fact it’s not a problem at all, just idle curiosity. What do cat’s whiskers do? They all seem to have them more than most other animals so they probably do something, but what? Just wondering.

I was in a grocery store the other day and there was another shopper there with a big shepherd mix dog with a SERVICE DOG vest on. The dog was completely out of control, lunging at other shoppers, dragging its handler up and down the aisles. At one point I saw it snatch some bread from a low shelf.

We want to remind dog owners of the New York statute regarding dog houses. The name of the statute is Agriculture & Markets Law Section 353B. It mandates that dogs left outside in inclement weather, (which includes not only cold but also heat, rain, ice, and wind), have a minimum standard of housing. The law takes into account the breed and condition of the dog.

I was all set to adopt a cat (and I love black cats the most because they are so beautiful and I know they need homes), but my neighbor told me that most animal welfare groups won’t allow adoptions of black cats around Halloween because witches try to adopt black cats on Halloween for evil purposes.

My two cats, George, age 7, and Elaine, age 2, mostly get along great. I adopted Elaine a year ago to keep George company. But every once in a while, for reasons that are not at all obvious to me, they will start hissing at each other, sometimes swatting, and then stalk away in a huff.

I love Halloween, but my dog Ernie hates it when strangers come to the door. Do you have any advice about how to make Halloween fun for him too?

My big happy black lab, Rufus, loves to play tug of war with me. He has a lot of energy and it’s his favorite game. But the other day my next door neighbor was watching us play out in the back yard and he asked me later whether I was worried that I might be encouraging Rufus to be too aggressive toward me and other people.

My dog, Alonzo, is about ten years old and all of a sudden he seems to be slowing down. He doesn’t seem to really like to go running with me any more and sometimes he sort of sighs and groans when he gets up out of his bed. I have a little arthritis myself and I just take Aleve for it and it seems to help. Can I safely give that to Alonzo? I hate to see him so uncomfortable.