In honor of Pet Dental Health Month, here’s an article I wrote for Your Dog, the newsletter of the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University (published September 2009) *** Maybe you’ve seen a sign for “Teeth cleaning without anesthesia” in your groomer’s shop or on a pet store bulletin board, and you’ve wondered:…
Dogs Make Great Guests, Says a Former Hotel GM
It’s always dangerous to comment on my blog (though not in a creepy or bodily injury kind of way). Say something that piques my interest — especially if it’s funny — and I’m likely to ask you to guest blog about it. That’s precisely what happened to Juliette Morgan, who wrote, “I’m an ex hospitality…
Spay & Neuter with a Smile, #2
As promised: a new series of humorous public service ads (PSAs) promoting spaying and neutering. I would have thought the message (if not the precise way it was conveyed) would have had unqualified reader support — but I was wrong. Last week’s initial entry drew a bit of fire from people who said owners should…
Pet Adoption Videos that Don’t Make Me Want to Kill Myself, #5
I’m taking advantage of having another another funny video to share to comment on a few (mostly) unrelated things. As they say in New York, “So sue me.” Magical Mystery Mutt Tour First, thank all of you who took part in the Magical Mystery Mutt Tour, whether by contributing a post or commenting on posts.…
Ethical Pet Travel: Let’s Give It a Road Test
For many people, the phrase “pet travel” evokes images of indulgence, of ladies with with little frou frou dogs getting pedicures in hotel spas (the dogs, that is, not the ladies). As I discussed last week in my post on 9 Things That Genuinely Make a Hotel Pet Friendly, I blame the hotel PR industry…
A Spay/Neuter Promo — For Women Only?
Here’s a variation on my series of Pet Adoption Videos That Don’t Want to Make Me Want to Kill Myself, special for testosterone-raging Super Bowl Sunday. I thought this was a hoot and suspect most of my women friends will too but I wasn’t sure about the male reaction. Guys?
Frankie: The Dog Behind the Logo
Frankie has been the face of my blog since the beginning — and a very handsome one, if I may say so. I’ve never really looked below the surface, though, just glibly referring to him as a terrier mix. What kind of terrier are we talking about? Mixed with what? It’s time to get on…
9 Things That Make a Hotel Genuinely Pet Friendly
Last week, I cited statistics about the increase of people traveling with pets, and quoted from the American Pet Products Association (APPA) about signs of pet friendliness in lodgings: Many hotels across the country are adopting pet-friendly policies. Several chains have announced new pet-friendly policies that include everything from oversized pet pillows and plush doggie…
Let’s call breed bans what they are: Death sentences
No one doubts that language counts. We’ve been having a thoughtful conversation here and at This One Wild Life about the terms that should be used to discuss killing dogs at shelters, terms that would allow for sensitivity to shelter workers tasked with performing the killing but not minimize the impact of what happens. I’m…
Announcing: The Magical Mystery Mutt Tour
Fellow bloggers Peggy Frezon, Pup Fan and I had so much fun last week playing Name That Breed that we decided to turn it into a blog hop: The Magical Mystery Mutt Tour. Next Friday, February 4, at 12.01 midnight EST I’m going to put up a Linky tool and anyone who wants to post…