One girl sparks a campaign for oxygen masks for pe...

By Jay Paul, for USA TODAY Monica Plumb, 12, raises money at a PETCO in Midlothian, Va., to get oxygen masks for pets onto fire trucks. Pets in dozens of towns across the nation are more likely to survive a fire because of the efforts of a young girl. Propelled two years ago by a news account of a dog that survived a fire because of a specially designed oxygen mask for pets, Monica Plumb of Powhatan, Va., conducted...

Dog bites can leave kids with emotional scars too...

NEW YORK | Mon Jul 12, 2010 1:19am EDT By Genevra Pittman NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – When animals attack, some kids might develop post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. That’s the message of a new study that followed kids in China after they came to the emergency room (ER) for animal bites – the cause of millions of injuries every year. Some people suffer from PTSD after experiencing an event that puts...

Vicar gives Holy Communion to dog...

An Anglican church in Canada has become the focus of controversy after a vicar gave Holy Communion to a dog. Published: 12:18PM BST 26 Jul 2010 A priest at St Peter’s Anglican Church in Toronto, gave Holy Communion to an Alsatian cross dog called Trapper Photo: ALAMY The priest gave the Host – considered by Christians to represent the body of Jesus Christ – to an Alsatian cross called Trapper. St Peter’s...

On Films and TV, Woofs and Meows Reign...

By NEIL GENZLINGER Published: July 23, 2010 This is the way the world will end: not with a bang, but with a woof. Or perhaps a meow. Or, more likely, both. the world as in the physical planet; no cataclysmic explosion is imminent. I mean the world as in the ecosystem that features humans as the dominant creatures. Without realizing it, we have been ceding ground for some years now to cats and dogs. They were fine when they...

AAHA Releases Nutritional Guidelines for Dogs, Cat...

AAHA Releases Nutritional Guidelines for Dogs, CatsThe American Animal Hospital Association today released its Nutritional Assessment Guidelines for Dogs and Cats. The guidelines were developed on the basis that good nutrition enhances pets’ quality and quantity of life and is integral to optimal animal care. “Incorporating nutritional assessment into the routine examination protocol for every patient is important for...

Warning for Dog Owners Flying With Pets...

by Fran Golden Posted Jul 19th 2010 10:37 AM A warning for owners of short-snouted dogs: They accounted for about half of the purebred dog deaths on planes in the past five years, according to new government data. Breeds at risk include bulldogs and pugs. More than 122 dog deaths were reported since May 2005, when US carriers began disclosing the numbers, according to The Associated Press, citing a Transportation...

Blog the Change Days...

We want to help this cause. You can too! Blog the Change takes place on the 15th of January, April, July and October annually. Have a blog? Write about a cause near and dear to your heart. Inspire your audience to get involved! http://btc4animals.com The beauty of Blog the Change is the sense of community and good will it inspires. Beyond spinning off toward our own passions, this space allows for us to reconvene as a...

Antibiotics and Meat Don’t Mix...

For the American public’s health, it’s time for the meat industry to stop administering the drugs preventively but only to animals already ill. July 06, 2010 With its blunt warning that antibiotics in meat “pose a serious threat to public health,” the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has finally acknowledged what many scientists have been saying for a long time. For years, evidence has been mounting...

What to Look for When Choosing a Kennel...

Thursday, July 8, 2010 Here are a few things to consider when choosing a kennel: Be wary of any kennel that won’t let you inspect its facilities unannounced during regular operating hours. Check whether a dog has adequate space to run. It should be long enough for the dog to break into a short gallop and wide enough for the dog to wag its tail without hitting the sides. For example, for a mid-size dog, four feet by...

Russian Scuba-Diving Dog Trained...

Published: Jul 5, 2010 Scuba-diving team includes owner and trained dog. Scuba-diving dog was trained by his owner in Russia. Dachshund Boniface is the first dog to professionally enjoy scuba-diving in the world. The dog loves the water and enjoys diving on the Pacific coast. Boniface’s owner, Sergey Gorbunov, is a professional diver in the city of Vladivostok. Initially, Sergey noticed that Boniface felt a little...