Keep your pets safe today

It's the creepiest day of the year: Halloween.

So remember, when you are having ghouls and goblins come to your house, to keep your pets safe and secure.

Here's a link to a previous blog entry with some hints.

Boo.

Battle of the cute guinea pigs

Three guinea pigs duke it out over a piece of cucumber.

Live the experience here.

How many lives was that?

A cat survived being trapped in the engine of a car as well as being dropped onto the freeway.

Maybe "Lucky" would be an appropriate name.

Baby v. dog

Baby opens drawer. Dog closes drawer.

Hilarity ensues.

See the video by clicking here.

Cute Halloween costumes

The Washington Post has a slide show of reader-submitted pet Halloween costumes.

Besides your basic dogs and cats, there is even a ferret and a horse.

I would hate to think of the trick that horse might do if you didn't provide the treat.

Konversing Kitties

It's not that I'm paranoid, you understand.

I know they are talking about me.

See for yourself.

Ready for adoption

Here is the Dutchess County SPCA Pet of the Week. Ready for adoption. What are you waiting for?

This week's featured pet:
Canela — Terrier mix
"Fawn-colored body. Black muzzle. Looks like this female terrier mix stuck her nose in someplace it shouldn't have been. The right place to stick her nose in would be around the playground, as this young girl has plenty of energy and loves to walk, fetch, play ... "

The Dutchess County SPCA is located at 636 Violet Avenue, Hyde Park, NY 12538. The shelter is open Sunday, Monday, Friday and Saturday 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Tuesday and Thursday 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Closed Wednesdays. Call 845-452-SPCA (7722).

Shelter pets rule.

A kitten's tail to tell

Nothing says cute like a kitten video first thing in the morning.

Enjoy.

Happy b-day, Carson

Talk-show great Johnny Carson was born on this date in 1925.

He was never funnier than when he had animals on his program.

Here's a clip with Joan Embry and a couple of orangutans.

Shopping gone to the dogs

And that's a good thing.

A new shopping mall Clinton Township, Mich., north of Detroit, welcomes dogs and even provides cleanup bags and water stations.

According to the freep.com Web site (that's the Detroit Free Press), the Mall at Partridge Creek, an open-air shopping center, allows dogs and their owners on the premises.

Shop 'till you drop? Only if you pick it up!

Out of 90 stores, 28 allow dogs inside, including Apple, Eddie Bauer, Lenscrafters, Samsonite and Sur La Table.

That's great. Not only could I buy Kate an iPod, a winter coat, a pair of glasses (or contacts) and some luggage, I could get her a complete set of dinnerware.

Hey, Poughkeepsie Galleria, are you listening?

Can't we all get along?

Here's a video of a dog and a cat tussling.

Each gives as good as the other.

It's probably a good thing that they are the same size.

Keeping pets safe during Halloween

While all the humans are having fun on Halloween, make sure that the critters in your lives are safe.

The American Kennel Club eNewsletter has a few suggestions about the holiday, in particular if you dress up your pets.

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals also has some tips about Halloween safety for your pets.

Some hints:

Chocolate and sweets are no-nos, as we all know. But it is suggested that the dog is walked early, while it is still light. In the dark, your dog might find candy and other goodies on the street or ground.

Make sure pets are safe and secure in a room where it can't get out the door when trick or treaters stop by.

Don't leave your pets unattended outside Halloween night, even behind a fence.

Make sure your dog or cat has proper identification.

Ellen update from Fox Noise*

The attorney for Mutts and Moms, the adoption agency that took Iggy back from Ellen DeGeneres's hairdresser, said on the O'Reilly Factor Thursday that the hairdresser and her family were offered the opportunity to formally apply to keep the dog but refused to do so.

Attorney Keith Fink: "We did offer this family the ability to come in and file adoption papers. But Ellen DeGeneres wants it Ellen DeGeneres' way. She refused, and the family refused to come in and fill out the adoption papers."

This story just keeps getting better and better.

I hope the dog is OK and is happy with his new family.

* Shout-out to Keith Olbermann!

Weird story of the day

From the St. Petersburg Times, here's a story about a man who stole a puppy by putting it down his pants.

I've heard of ants in your pants, but puppies?

The dog's dinner?

Here's a Speed Bump comic panel by Dave Coverly.

Enjoy.

Ready for adoption

Here is the Dutchess County SPCA Pet of the Week. Ready for adoption. What are you waiting for?

This week's featured pet:
Carmen — Domestic short hair
"She's the queen of our free-range cat room, but this very friendly female short hair would rather reign over your living room — from a nice window seat perhaps? Carmen is waiting for you to pay her a visit today!"

The Dutchess County SPCA is located at 636 Violet Avenue, Hyde Park, NY 12538. The shelter is open Sunday, Monday, Friday and Saturday 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Tuesday and Thursday 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Closed Wednesdays. Call 845-452-SPCA (7722).

Shelter pets rule.

Down memory lane with Ellen

I thought my memory was right about this not being Ellen's first time giving back a dog.

The New York Times reported back in 2003 that DeGeneres had to find a new home for a mixed breed puppy she had because of her cats.

"If there has been any discord in Ms. DeGeneres's life recently, it has been the way her two cats reacted to Lucy, her mixed-breed puppy. They were 'not thrilled with having dog energy' around the house, she said, 'especially puppy energy.' So she had to find Lucy a new home."

She had the dog on the show when she first got it and had a contest to name the pooch.

I think Ellen needs to seriously consider not getting another dog.

Iggy pop culture war?

Poor Ellen. She gave away a dog and can't understand why that was a bad thing.

Here is what others are saying about it:

Los Angeles Times

E Online

Washington Post

Emil Steiner, the Post blogger, asks the question if he is the only person in America who wasn't moved by DeGeneres's on-air sobbing about the dog.

Add me to the list, Emil.

DeGeneres calls the agreement to give the dog back to the adoption agency a technicality. I remember when I got Kate from the shelter in Manhattan back in the stone age that I had to sign a similar agreement.

She could have handled it much differently. If she had called the agency and told them that she had lined up a suitable family for the dog, then the agency could have checked them out.

And someone with her resources couldn't have set aside an area of her home where the dog wouldn't bother the cats? Just wondering, that's all.

Who's a pretty girl?

I was going through some files and ran across old pictures of Kate.

In this one, she must have been around 2 or 3 because we were still living in Manhattan.

Such a look she's giving me.

'Cuz you can never have enough Kate.

Ellen's 'good deed' comes back to bite her

She may play cards with a dog in her American Express ads, but Ellen DeGeneres couldn't handle what was dealt her and gave away one of her pets.

According to this Associated Press story, Iggy, a Brussels Griffon mix, was adopted by DeGeneres and her partner Portia de Rossi in September from Mutts and Moms dog rescue.

The poor pooch didn't get along with the couple's cats, so DeGeneres gave Iggy to her hairdresser.

M&M found out about the trade off and reclaimed the dog. They apparently have a policy where if someone can't keep the dog it has to be returned to the agency.

The talk show host has pleaded on air that the hairdresser's kids desperately want the dog back. (Expect a commercial before the video plays.)

Let's see if DeGeneres can dance her way out of this one.

Cheeky monkey

And a dog that doesn't pay attention.

Here's the video.

Enjoy.

Won't you come home bichon Bailey?

Bailey's getting pampered now.

Free grooming, lots of food, lots of sleep.

All it took for the 10-year-old bichon frise was a 7-mile trek home after getting lost.

Here's the story from the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

Cutie Petutie dog salon?

Is Rosie O'Donnell the owner?

Cat furniture

Looking for more comfortable surroundings for your cat?

Check out The New York Times.

I love the cat cocoon.

Ready for adoption

Here is the Dutchess County SPCA Pet of the Week. Ready for adoption. What are you waiting for?

This week's featured pet:
Archie — Jack Russell Terrier
"Jughead and the rest of the gang aren't around, but that's OK as Archie will keep you in stitches all by himself. Very active (as if they come any other way!), this Jack Russell male prefers to be your one and only. Not that he's trying to be selfish with your time, he just doesn't want any competition."

The Dutchess County SPCA is located at 636 Violet Avenue, Hyde Park, NY 12538. The shelter is open Sunday, Monday, Friday and Saturday 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Tuesday and Thursday 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Closed Wednesdays. Call 845-452-SPCA (7722).

Shelter pets rule.

Paws in the pumpkin patch

How about a Halloween party for you and your pooch?

Positive Paws Training School is presenting a Doggie Halloween Party Tuesday, Oct. 16, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the American Legion Post No. 1466 in the Town of Poughkeepsie. For directions, click here.

There will be a costume contest, fun and games and for $12 you can get a picture of your dog in the pumpkin patch.

Your dog needs to be on a leash that is no longer than 6 feet, and the Positive Paws people ask that aggressive dogs be left at home. Well, that makes sense.

Call 845-635-8977.

Photo by Karl Rabe.

Teeny tiny doggies

Teacup Chihuahuas.

Who would have thought that these cute, little dogs are the same species as a Great Dane.

It takes a village, or at least a golden retriever

An orphaned kitten who would not use a bottle is being nursed by a golden retriever, according to this Winchester (Va.) Star article.

Honey, the golden who hasn't whelped in 18 months, is indeed a honey.

And Precious, the kitten, is ... well, you figure it out.

Blessing the blessed

Take a look at my colleague Rasheed Oluwa's story in today's Poughkeepsie Journal on the blessing of the animals Sunday at the Hyde Park (N.Y.) United Methodist Church.

The second-annual ceremony marked the Oct. 4, 1226, death of St. Francis of Assisi, animals' patron saint.

Check out the photo gallery by Journal photographer Darryl Battista while you are there.

Kate would have been there but I was too busy sleeping she had other plans.

Toy story

Kate has more toys than she knows what to do with.

And yet, I keep buying more.

The picture above is one of the silliest-looking toys Kate has. It's a Fat Cat Crackler. Embiggen for the full effect.

Kate still has a couple of the Crackler skunks only one of which still makes a squeaky sound.


They are supposedly indestructible, though I've been told by people that their dogs have torn through them.

Kate has more toys than she knows what to do with.

And yet, I keep buying more.

What are your pets' favorite toys? Least favorite toys?

Ready for adoption

Here is the Dutchess County SPCA Pet of the Week. Ready for adoption. What are you waiting for?

This week's featured pet:
Nacho — Pastel Calico
"Hey — that's Nacho kitty! But it could be with just a simple adoption. Beautiful pastel calico female was abondoned at the shelter, hopefully with the intention of finding a better home for her."

The Dutchess County SPCA is located at 636 Violet Avenue, Hyde Park, NY 12538. The shelter is open Sunday, Monday, Friday and Saturday 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Tuesday and Thursday 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Closed Wednesdays. Call 845-452-SPCA (7722).

Shelter pets rule.

Tuesday morning cat dancing

This video made me laugh out loud.

Enjoy.