Dog Blog

Thursday, January 31, 2013

GAY DOG SAVED FROM DEATH SENTENCE


How do you know if your dog is gay?  I always suspected that my basset hound, Bubba Gump, might have been gay because The Gump liked to hump other males and loved wiener dogs, too.  Apparently, in Tennessee your dog is gay if it won't fight another dog.  Is there no limit to the ignorance and cruelty in this country any more?  If ever there was an idiotic reason given for dumping your pet, this is it.  Fortunately, the dog was adopted at the zero hour by someone who didn't care whether he was gay or not.  Elton is now living the good life with other canine buddies in a non-discriminating home.    

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

KIRKUS REVIEWS MY NEW BOOK


Advance review from Kirkus about Braced for Murder, the fourth book in the Beanie and Cruiser Mystery Series:

Kirkus Review 2/15/13
This title publishes MAY 2013
A brace of basset hounds bring joy and chaos to a writer’s life. Hard-core animal lovers will focus on the detailed information about the many problems with animal shelters . . .

Saturday, January 19, 2013

HAS YOUR DOG HAD A NEW YEAR CHECKUP?



At the beginning of a new year, we begin thinking about our health and making changes to improve it, like watching what we eat, exercising more, and getting a health checkup.  It's also a good time to think about getting a yearly health exam for your best friend.  Your dog may seem perfectly fine, but getting him a check-up with your veterinarian may catch problems early that you may not be aware of.  

Beau recently had the full Monty health exam, including a Senior Canine Early Detection chemical panel that tests various things like urine, feces, thyroid function, and also checks for giardia and heartworm.  Giardia is more of a concern these days with dogs that frequent dog parks, where they can contract all manner of bugs, a big reason I don't like taking my dogs there.  The test revealed that his thyroid is in the low normal range, something to watch.  He still has a slight heart murmur, but it doesn't appear to be cause for concern.  I have always had one, too.
  
Add to that panel the Rimadyl and Tramadol meds for his arthritic pain, Otomax Ear Solution, vaccines for Canine DHP and Bordatella aka kennel cough (also important if you take your dogs to dog parks or board them anywhere), and the Pill Pockets to dose him with the pills, and the grand total for the visit was $521.58, but it's only once a year.  If Beau could talk he'd say, "I'm worth it!"

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

CAT SHORTAGE IN OREGON?


While chatting with my manicurist the other day, she told me that during the holidays an animal-loving friend of hers had chosen a cute little kitten to adopt from the Sacramento City Animal Shelter.  At the last moment before the adoption went through, she was informed that she could not adopt the kitten because it was being transferred, along with many other homeless felines from the shelter, to a town in Oregon because they have a cat shortage. A cat shortage? Are you kidding me? That's like saying dogs have a flea shortage.  

Cat overpopulation is rampant almost everywhere because of the stray problem and their propensity to reproduce at rapid rates.  The excuse given for denying an adoption to a perfectly good home sounds very suspicious to me.  If this person had already spoken for the cat, she should have been allowed to adopt it.  That seems very cruel.  Could it be that these cats were actually being shipped to a lab or to someplace else that would pay more money for them? Granted, this was a story "as told by," and I thought our local shelters didn't sell stray animals to labs any more, but it makes you wonder if this is how shelters make ends meet these days.  

Tuesday, January 01, 2013

HAPPY NEW YEAR!



Or, as we say at our house of hounds, HAPPY NEW EARS!  May 2013 be a kinder, more humane and more peaceful year for us all.