Ride-hailing apps ask us to get in strangers’ cars, something that our parents specifically warned us against. Now a new generation of gig economy apps asks us to let strangers into our homes and take our pets on walks. While most walks and boarding stays using services like Wag and Rover end well, enough have resulted in lost or killed pets that investors are becoming skittish, and maybe customers should be. [More]
dogs
Some Disney World Hotels Will Now Allow Dogs In Guest Rooms
By 10.13.17
The next time you head to the House of Mouse in Florida, Rover won’t necessarily have to stay at home: Disney is launching a pilot program at some of its Walt Disney World hotels that allows dog owners to bring their pooches along for the trip. [More]
Puppies Sold At Pet Stores Linked To Multistate Bacterial Outbreak
By 9.12.17
What’s the first thing you want to do when you see an adorable puppy? Probably snuggle and cuddle the heck out of it. But federal officials say there’s a multistate outbreak of a nasty bacteria going around, and it’s being spread by puppies sold at a national pet store chain. [More]
Family Says 5-Year-Old Dog Died In United Cargo Hold
By 8.8.17
United Airlines is facing blame for another pet death today after a family in Houston says that their 5-year-old King Charles spaniel died in the cargo hold of a flight from Houston to San Francisco. [More]
Utility Worker Accused Of Shooting Dog During Surveying Work For AT&T
By 7.31.17
A family in Michigan kept their dog safe in their own front lawn, hanging out behind an invisible fence. The problem with invisible fences, though, is that people wandering through the neighborhood don’t know that they’re present. Like the man who was reportedly performing surveying work for an AT&T contractor, and fatally shot the family’s dog, which he thought was attacking him. [More]
Undercover Investigation: Boutique Pet Store Hid Sick Puppies’ Illnesses From Buyers
By 7.25.17
What was your dog’s life like before you brought him home? If you bought him from a pet store in New York and he was sick, the people selling him are supposed to disclose his full health information. But according to a recent undercover investigation conducted by the Humane Society, one boutique pet shop in Manhattan has been covering up illnesses among its high-priced pooches. [More]
More Dog Food Recalled Over Possible Contamination With Euthanasia Drug
By 4.25.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
Another pet food brand is recalling some of its dog food over concerns that it may contain pentobarbital, a drug used for euthanasia mostly of dogs, cats, and horses. [More]
Project Your Issues Onto Your Pet With Cat Wine
By 2.16.17
Unless this is your first day exploring this magical place we call the internet, you’ve surely heard of cat wine products — non-alcoholic, catnip water, essentially — that you can safely offer to your best feline friends. But do cats even like the stuff, or is it more about humans projecting their shi–, uh, issues, on their furry companions? [More]
Man Sets Porch Pirate Trap With Giant Box Of Dog Poop
By 12.9.16 — Updated: 12.15.16
Packages left unattended on porches and stoops are low-hanging fruit for thieves who comb neighborhoods looking for something to steal. You can keep parcels safe by setting up a locked drop-box, having packages delivered to a safer address, asking for items to be held for pickup — or you can teach them a lesson with the help of a box full of dog turds. [More]
Couple Claims PetSmart Groomers Fatally Injured Their Dog
By 11.23.16
What happened, exactly, when a couple in California brought their 1-year-old dachshund to a grooming appointment that led to his death? They claim that the pup came out of the grooming department with bloody foam coming out of his mouth, and he died from injuries suffered at the groomers’ hands. Now the couple has filed a lawsuit, seeking answers about how their pup — who they refer to as their “son” — could have died from a routine nail clipping. [More]
Man With Guide Dog Kicked Out Of Popeyes, Told ‘No Pets Allowed’
By 11.18.16 — Updated: 2.10.17
Guide dogs and other service dogs are not pets, and federal law protects their right to go anywhere that their owners are allowed to be. Yet the owner of a Popeyes restaurant in Brooklyn wasn’t clear on that concept, and used the “no pets” policy to kick a blind man and aspiring chicken-orderer out of the establishment. [More]
Court: Lawsuit Failed To Show That Purina’s Beneful Sickened Thousands Of Dogs
By 11.18.16
After determining that he could not accept the testimony of an expert witness, a federal court judge has handed a legal victory to Nestle Purina PetCare in a class action lawsuit that claimed the company’s Beneful brand dog food made thousands of dogs ill. [More]
Artist Sees Her Own Adorable Dog Drawings On Kohl’s Products, Sues
By 10.4.16 — Updated: 10.5.16
Do the little Boston terriers on these pajamas and socks from department store Kohl’s look familiar? They should: you may have seen them on your Facebook feed, posted as a public service announcement by a dog-loving friend. Or maybe you’ve seen a strikingly similar dog the last time you shopped at Kohl’s, on some super cute pajamas and socks. Here’s the thing: the artist didn’t authorize that use of her drawings. [More]
Legal Battle Over Smiley Bulldog Is Over, Pit Bulls Still Banned In Town
By 9.15.16
You may remember Diggy, the Michigan dog who appeared in an adorable selfie with his new owner, only to be threatened with losing his new home when the photo caught the attention of local police. They accused his new owner of violating a local ordinance, because Diggy appeared to be a pit bull. Now the town and owner have settled their dispute, and Diggy gets to stay in his home. [More]
Dog Food Company Accused Of Falsely Advertising It Could Extend Dog’s Life By 30%
By 8.4.16
As the proud pop of a pup, of course I want him to live as long and happy a life as possible. At the same time, I’d hope that any product claiming to be able to extend my dog’s years has the evidence to back up this boast. [More]
Dogs Left In Running Car Shift It Into Drive, Plow Into A Walmart
By 8.1.16
A dog owner in West Virginia did what she probably thought was the responsible thing while out with her pets, leaving them in the car with the engine running while she was inside Walmart. However, in one of the best arguments against automatic transmissions that we’ve ever seen, the dogs shifted the car and drove it very slowly into the outside of the store. [More]
Postal Worker Caught On Security Camera Pepper-Spraying Family Dogs
By 6.28.16
Last week, something pretty normal happened at a house in Houston: the postal carrier brought the mail, and the dogs hanging out in the yard barked at him. What happened next, caught on a security camera, was unusual: the man sprayed all three dogs with what appears to be pepper spray, even though they were secured behind a heavy gate. [More]
