On the other hand (see previous story)

And then there's this story from the Daily Telegraph saying that people who walk their dogs get more exercise than people who go to the gym.

Read the story here.

Just keep them off the weight machines

When you get off work do you have a decision to make — whether to give your dog a chance to exercise ... or yourself?

A San Francisco couple had that dilemma and came up with a business solution.

They opened a gym with doggie daycare.

Fit Bernal Fit, in Bernal Heights, is, according to a San Francisco Chronicle article by staff writer Meredith May, one of the first in the nation to offer pet owners a place for their pooches to play while they work out.

Read the whole article here.

So far, half the 245 Fit Bernal Fit members have signed up for dog care services at the gym.

Armed with treats, a stern voice, and an assortment of toys, [owner] Jeanne [Eriksen] coaxes the shy dogs and plays with the energetic ones in the playroom, which features a big window so dogs can keep an eye on the gym.

She can also take the dogs to a separate outdoor lounge area off the back of the building, where dogs can run in a fenced-in outdoor space covered in small pebbles.

Eriksen, along with her husband Dean, were wisely aware of how risky opening a small business in a such a depressed economy can be. They gave themselves seven months to make a profit in their business plan.

They were wrong. They turned a profit in six weeks.

Nighty night!

If the couch isn't good enough, how about the DogPedic Sleep System?

Watch the video here.

My opinion? When you are talking about "as low as 2 easy payments," it's way too expensive.

Dogs before turkey

While the turkey is cooking Thursday, take some time to watch The National Dog Show, right after the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, at noon.

This is the eighth NBC broadcast of the event and will feature 2,000 purebreds competing for the "Best in Show" title.

The two-hour special is hosted John O'Hurley and will be held at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center.

For more information, click here.

Thanksgiving pet tips

The holiday season can be joyous and fun for you and your family, but a little stressful on your pets.

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has some Thanksgiving-related safety hints for pet owners.

They include:

• Don't offer pets raw or undercooked turkey.
• Sage, a common ingredient in stuffing, contains essential oils that can cause pets gastrointestinal upset.
• Don't let pets overindulge on Thanksgiving food.

And from my files, if you have a lot of coming and going at your house for the holiday, make sure your pets can't accidentally get out when greeting guests. Up-to-date I.D.s on pets' collars is must.

Don't get up

Keeping with the feline theme from yesterday, here's a video of a sleeping cat.

So cute.

And relaxed.

Make your kitty a part of your iPod

Anyone who has talked to me lately knows I am wild about my iPhone.

Best. Tool. Ever.

And the iPod Touch is great as well, especially if you don't want to get calls.

But a quick search on the Enterwebs found that pet-related apps are springing up. Now that we've downloaded every other conceivable app, it's time to download something worthwhile.

The screenshots here are from LOLCats, a free app that contains stuff like this, along with chat features, and since it is free, advertisements.


There also another free app called I Can Has Cheezburger, that contains LOLDogs too.

On the paid side of the fence (I am all for free apps — it has to be something real special to get me to cough up hard cash), there is CatPaint.

It's a "cat-based image editor" (whatever that means), allowing you — for 99 cents — to insert pictures of kitties into your photographs.

From the Web site:

CatPaint is an immersive and multi-sensory experience, wherein you can put adorable cats on top of your photos. Also, they mew. With just a few touches, you can take a photo, cover it with cats, and send it off to your friends and family.

To get started, simply pull out the litter-box drawer to select a kitty, then tap anywhere to place it. Should you misplace a kitten, just gently shake your iPhone or iPod Touch like an Etch-a-Sketch to Undo. Shake a little and one cat will disappear, shake a bunch and clear all the cats and start again.

It's not that easy in real life.

Salsa-dancing dog

The title says it all: This dog is obviously thrilled to be dancing.

See the video here.

Kate would never do this. She likes to lead.

Slo-mo thirst quencher

Been off for a few days. Now I'm back.

Here's a video I stumbled across: a dog drinking water in slow motion.

It's not what I imagined, frankly.

Nearer my dog to thee?

For an "only in L.A." kind of story, how about a church that has started a service for pets?

The Rev. Tom Eggebeen at Covenant Presbyterian Church wanted to try and shake things up at his church, so he came up with a 30-minute service for dogs complete with individual dog beds, prayers for canines and dog treats.

Here's the Associated Press story via the Columbus, Ga., Ledger-Enquirer.

Before the first Canines at Covenant service last Sunday (Nov. 1), Eggebeen said many Christians love their pets as much as human family members and grieve just as deeply when they suffer — but churches have been slow to recognize that love as the work of God.

"The Bible says of God only two things in terms of an 'is': That God is light and God is love. And wherever there's love, there's God in some fashion," said Eggebeen, himself a dog lover. "And when we love a dog and a dog loves us, that's a part of God and God is a part of that. So we honor that."

The article said all sizes of dogs, and about 30 humans, attended the first service, which held in the church's chapel.

Eggebeen took prayer requests for Mr. Boobie (healing of the knees) and Hunter (had a stroke) and then called out the names of beloved pets past and present (Quiche, Tiger, Timmy, Baby Angel and Spunky) before launching into the Lord's Prayer.

That kind of service might make me get up earlier on Sunday.

A commercial moment

I'm not endorsing or recommending Pup-Peroni, but I think the commercial is cute.

Here is it.

Presidential dog-walking duties fall to groundskeeper

When the cat's away, or in this case, the first lady, who walks the presidential pooch?

Career National Park Service employee Dale Haney, that's who.

Read an Associated Press story about him, via ABC News, here.

Haney is often spotted walking Bo, the Obama family's Portuguese water dog. In fact, he's tended to every White House pup since King Timahoe, Richard Nixon's Irish setter.

Haney, 57, has been a White House fixture since 1972. After getting a degree in horticulture from Sandhills Community College in Pinehurst, N.C., he continued his training in Washington and basically was discovered for his green thumb, as he tells the story.

Besides Bo, he takes cares of the White House's 18-1/2 acres of land, including the Rose Garden and the first lady's vegetable garden.

Now that the health care bill passed in the House, I guess the president will have more time to walk Bo.

Well, maybe not.

Cat declawing update

The L.A. city council public safety committee has proposed a ban on cat declawing.

See a report in the Los Angeles Times "L.A. Unleashed" blog here.

The proposal was put forth by Councilmen Bill Rosendahl and Paul Koretz, who said the procedure caused "unnecessary pain, anguish and permanent disability" to cats, according to the report from the L.A. Times' David Zahniser.

This follows reports that Santa Monica and West Hollywood have instituted bans on the procedure. San Francisco gave its initial approval to a ban Tuesday.

Beverly Hills is one vote away from a ban on declawing. Here's a story from the Los Angeles Daily News.

Looks like California is well ahead of the rest of the country, though a new state law taking effect Jan. 1 restricts cities from banning declawing.

Here kitty, kitty. Come get your flu shot

Doctors say vaccinating children against the H1N1 flu — that's swine flu to you and me — could help prevent pets from getting ill.

A brief in the Chicago Sun-Times (third one) can be found here.

The veterinarian who treated the cat, Dr. Brett Sponseller, said two of the three people in the cat's Iowa home had flu-like symptoms before the cat became ill. The cat was lethargic, had a loss of appetite and appeared to have trouble breathing. Getting children vaccinated for swine flu also can help prevent the illness from spreading to pets. There is no swine flu vaccine for pets.

The cat has recovered, the news item states.

More from the Associated Press via the Huffington Post here.

Other influenza strains have been known to cross species, but Sponseller cautioned against drawing too many conclusions from the cat including whether other pets could also get the swine flu.

"It's well documented in influenza in general, but this is the first highly suspected case of H1N1 going from humans into a cat," he said.

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/04/iowa-cat-gets-swine-flu-f_n_346397.html&cp

Officials said there is no evidence that swine flu can pass from pets to people.

Winter pet care tips — Brrrrrrr!

As much as I hate to admit it, it's no longer summer.

That means cooler, and then colder, weather is on its way.

An article in the Norwich Bulletin outlines a veterinarian's top winter tips for pet owners.

They include:

• Make sure your outdoor pet has plenty of fresh water. And don't allow it to freeze.
• Wash pet's feet off after they come inside. Ice-melting products, when ingested, can cause stomach problems.
• Honk your car horn before starting your car. Cats can seek shelter under the hood.
• Antifreeze is lethal, even in small doses. Keep pets away from it.
  

No excuses

When I had a chance to go on the Walkway Over the Hudson from the Highland side, I was surprised there were dog refuse bags available.

I had heard from more than one person that people weren't following the "pack it in-pack it out" rule.

It just makes sense to me that, if you leave the house with your dog, there are things you take with you, i.e., a couple of treats and, more essentially, bags to pick up after your dog.

Well, you really have no excuse, now do you?