Pet Channel

We took an easy trip up to the Fort Washington Expo center. The whole thing had the appearance of, well, a dog convention. There were all kinds of booths selling doggy paraphenelia (Dog Shampoo! Leashes! Toenail Clippers!) and there was a food court. You could watch dogs judged by breed in little rings in which the handlers put the dogs through their paces. But mostly you could walk around the 'benching' area and ask owners about their dog breeds.

We started our Thanksgiving tree yesterday, with much enthusiasm from my three year old. Our humble tree is certainly, um . . . humble, as mom cannot draw branches worth 1/2 a cent, but Elise livened up our posterboard tree with a drawing of a tomato, apple with a worm coming out of it, a bird and a bird house. The Crawford Familiy Thanksgiving Tree, tacked up on the wall in the hall just outside the kitchen, is already filling up with leaves of thanksgiving.

Here is her profile: I am 31 years old, work as a Space Shuttle electrical technician and live with my husband Andy, four small dogs and a parrot. I am interested in things like home improvement, tropical landscaping, new technology, and so on. Birds have always been a part of my life since having small pet birds as a child. I was a fanatic birdwatcher in high school and even traveled all the way to Costa Rica mainly to look at birds. My career path has followed “birds” as well: airplanes first, as an aircraft mechanic, and now space shuttles. The main bird in my life right now is Charley, an Eclectus Parrot who thinks I am his real mother.

This is Genitta's (well I guess now Rob's) bird feeder... it was very active and got Jaike's attention right away...

Funny Cat Books: If you visit a book store or go online to Amazon.com, you’re sure to find a wide selection of hilarious cat books that will have them roaring. How about the New Yorker Book of Cat Cartoons? Or Cockatiels for Two: A Book of Cat Cartoons? For something with a bit of drama, look for The Cats of Our Lives: Funny and Heartwarming Reminiscences of Feline Companions.

Langley has always been a 'picker.' Some cats meow, some cats nip and some cats pick. Langley loves to sink her claws into a chair, a foot stool or a plant pot and stretch until her heart's delight. When she does this we typically give her what we call "liquid justice," a squirt bottle full of cool water.

Did I mention that I’m scared of rats? It’s not like some insurmountable phobia where I freeze up and I can’t deal with life anymore, it’s just that I’d rather not be around them at all if I can help it. Sure, sure, little white mice are cute to look at with their pink noses and such... but rats? No way, man. And mice, as far as I’m concerned, are just fine for pet snakes’ snacks – that’s a tongue twister – though I do think differently about mice now that I’ve read the complete series to the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy a couple weeks back.

So I was watching the 2nd period with the cats lying on my stomach. The Bertuzzi goal happens and I raise an arm in the air and call out “Yeah!” with what I thought was admirable restraint, so as not to bother the pussycats.

Personally I would not by a pup who is registered with any other North American Registry. You will want to know what health problems the contract covers .What is the temperament of the parents and grand parents. Is the breeder willing to help you day or night if you have a problem with the pup. Warning signs are breeders who do not ask you questions like , why do you want a mastiff? Do you have a fenced yard?, Do you plan on breeding ? Will the puppy be along during the day? Have you had a large breed in the past ? How many dogs do you have right now? You want to buy from a breeder who is concerned what kind of home there pup is going to .

On another funny cat note, Princess has been sleeping so deep the past week, she twitches and gets all crazy. When you touch her she doesn’t even wake up. So Just a bit ago spunky got up on the chair where Princess was napping and she was sniffing her up and down and I just about thought she was gonna curl up right by her, but she didn’t. Actually that really isn’t very funny, you had to be there I guess.

A ROBOT designed to disarm bombs was sent to rescue a pet bird from a Sydney block of flats crumbling because of a tunnel collapse.

Well, let’s see. We saw a shooting star tonight, as we took Wishy out for her evening pee. We consider it a fitting memorial to a beautiful Star of our own. Ten years, we loved that dog. Two days, the vet staff loved her too. She was so patient and kind and loving. The very saddest thing I’ve ever seen in my whole life is my husband going out to the back yard and gathering wood chips from the dogs’ “nest”, and grass & leaves & dirt from THEIR lawn, and putting them in his upside-down baseball cap to carry in to the clinic when we said goodbye. She got to smell “home”, and be held and petted by us both, as she went to sleep. Our poor baby.

My friend and I were out running some errands when she said she needed to stop at Petco for dog food. I usually avoid pet stores because I have a weakness for small furry things. I buy them, spend too much money on cages and food, and then they die.

Another ridiculous argument goes that other breeds are more likely to bite. Again, a dog bite, while painful, is much different than a mauling. All dog breeds have teeth, and animals bite. Duh. But what is different here is that in this case, breeds that make up a bigger part of the population tend to have an overall number of bites. When adjusted for population, the overall trend is flatter. Very very few breeds of dog are known to maul people to death.