You can encounter the weirdest stuff at the grocery store in the wee hours of the morning, but you probably haven’t seen anything weirder than what turned up in the self-checkout aisle of one of UK grocer Tesco’s stores at 1:30 in the morning: the severed head of a deer. [More]
More Readers Crunch The Numbers, Figure Out Pet Health Insurance Doesn’t Work Out So Well
By April 17, 2013
Last week, we shared an account by reader Howard about his dog’s illness and the results of his decision to get a VPI pet health insurance policy. While health insurance is just that–insurance, not an investment vehicle–Howard and other readers have crunched the numbers and found that the policies are a worse deal than just sticking the money in the bank. [More]
Why 'Antibiotic-Free' Meat Doesn't Mean What You Think It Does
By August 30, 2012
Antibiotic-resistant infections are a serious and scary threat to public health. One reason why devious bacteria are evolving to resist antibiotics is the widespread overuse of them in both humans and in animals. A Center for Science in the Public Interest analysis of Food and Drug Administration data shows that 80% of all antibiotics administered are to animals, and not to help them get better when they’re ill. Meat and dairy producers give low doses to the critters in their care in order to prevent illness, and sometimes to promote faster growth. [More]
Vet's Office Says Shopping Online Endangers My Pet, Won't Approve Prescription
By August 13, 2012
Pets are excellent companions. The Consumerist K-9 Unit is snuggled up against me right now as I type this. But keeping your kritters healthy and parasite-free can get expensive. Sean just adopted a new puppy (pictured at left) and shopped around for a heartworm and flea preventative medication. That’s common enough, and a number of sites offer the products. What was unusual was that the vet’s office refused to fill the prescription, saying that they were happy to price match the online price (that’s good) and that he was taking his pup’s life in his hands by purchasing medications online, since they could be expired or counterfeit or poisonous or who knows what? [More]
Who Should Pay If A Bird Poops In Your Food?
By December 14, 2011
This isn’t the most seasonally appropriate question to ask, at least here in the Northeastern U.S. And in the Northern Hemisphere. Perhaps it’s important (yet disgusting) enough that we can argue about it until springtime.
Simply put: if a bird relieves itself in your food while you’re dining outside, should the restaurant comp your meal?
Turtle Sex Drive Shuts Down JFK Runway
By June 30, 2011
Some inconsiderate turtles insisted on prioritizing their mating instincts over man’s need for timely flights. Traveling diamondback terrapins, looking for a place to lay their eggs, delayed flights as they crossed a John F. Kennedy International Airport runway. [More]
Create An Emergency Kit For Your Pet
By May 4, 2011
If you had to leave your home on short notice due to a natural disaster or other emergency, would you have a bag of emergency supplies ready to go? While adults and older children can handle packing their own bags in a hurry, members of your family who don’t have opposable thumbs can’t. [More]
How To Save On Medical Care For Your Pet
By April 30, 2011
There have been amazing advances in veterinary care in the last few decades, and amazing advances in cost along with them. An animal’s serious illness can cost thousands of dollars, more out of pocket than their owner’s medical treatment. (Well, assuming that the owner has health insurance.) Routine vaccinations and preventive care aren’t cheap, either. The New York Times recently offered some advice for people who love their pets, but don’t have a fortune to spend. [More]
Congress Takes Animal Off Endangered Species List
By April 14, 2011
Usually the way off the Endangered Species List does not head through legislators, but Congress let the Rocky Mountain wolf off the list, angering environmentalists who believe the reclassification was inappropriate. [More]
Lost Bronx Zoo Cobra Found
By March 31, 2011
The misplaced cobra at the Bronx zoo has been found, coiled and hungry in a dark secluded corner of the reptile house, CNN reports. After the snake went missing, zoo officials closed down the snake exhibit and started searching ceaselessly for the missing creature. Though the zoo kept stressing the cobra was probably within the reptile house, that didn’t stop the deadly snake from setting the public’s imagination on fire, with national media coverage, a keyboard-playing appearance on Conan, and a 200,000 follower strong satirical Twitter account. [More]
Cobra Gets Loose At Bronx Zoo
By March 28, 2011
Sick of the whole captivity for the entertainment of humans thing, a cobra at the Bronx Zoo apparently slipped out of its enclosure and went missing Friday, causing management to shut down the facility over the weekend. [More]
Woman Who Tried To Air Mail Puppy Won't Get Dog Back
By February 7, 2011
Many of you have been following the saga of the Minnesota woman who was charged with animal cruelty after trying to ship a four-month old poodle-schnauzer mix puppy to Atlanta via air mail. The latest update: Officials in Minneapolis have shot down her appeal to get the puppy back. [More]
Accused Puppy-Mailer Wants Dog Back
By February 4, 2011
The woman who tried to ship a four-month-old puppy from Minneapolis to Atlanta in an airless box using Priority Mail earlier this week reportedly would like the dog back. Will her request be granted, or will the puppy be made available to the numerous people all over the country who actually know how to keep an animal alive and have inquired about adopting him? [More]
Woman Charged With Animal Cruelty For Mailing Live Puppy
By February 2, 2011
“This is for your 11th birthday. It’s what you wanted,” was written on the outside of an Atlanta-bound Priority Mail box in a Minneapolis post office. It caught postal workers’ attention when it started moving on its own and making loud panting sounds. They got permission to open the box and found… a four-month old poodle-schnauzer mix puppy who was very, very happy to be free. The woman who mailed the box was charged with animal cruelty, then went back to the post office to try to get a refund for the $22 in postage she paid. [More]
200 Wisconsin Cows Die In Incident Not Related To Slaughterhouse
By January 19, 2011
Another day, another mass animal death. Following the instant departures of — among other groups of animals — North Carolinan pelicans, Italian doves, Oceanic fish and Tucsonan bats, 200 cows in Wisconsin have died, most likely due to an infection. The hamburgers in training never saw it coming. [More]
LAX Is A Hotbed For Animal Smuggling
By January 13, 2011
Apparently due to wealthy Hollywood types’ yearning for exotic pets, Los Angeles International Airport — its friends call it LAX — has long been known as animal smuggling central. In the most recent high-profile incident, Japanese passengers were busted for sneaking 55 live tortoises and turtles in luggage. [More]
Seven Puppies Die After American Airlines Flight
By August 4, 2010
Chicago’s CBS2 reports that fifteen puppies were loaded on a Chicago-bound American Airlines flight in Tulsa. A few hours later, five of the puppies were dead when they arrived at O’Hare airport. Two more died in the care of a veterinarian. [More]
As Miami Homes Enter Foreclosure, Cats Move In
By April 2, 2010
In Miami-Dade County, hit particularly hard by the housing boom, about one in ten dwellngs are in foreclosure. Don’t worry, though. They’re not empty. Homeless families have moved in. To be precise, colonies of feral cats. Because nothing makes a bank-owned property more appealing than the stench of cat urine. [More]
