Last year, we brought you the exciting news that there was a new line of fashion dolls with fashion pets available for kids who like that kind of thing. We were concerned and amused that the toy portrays pet ownership in a very inaccurate way: namely, that rabbits eat and poop glitter, and unicorns not only exist but also poop rainbows. Exciting news: there are more Poopsy Pets. [More]
pets
Albino Cobra Captured After Days On The Loose In Southern California
By 9.5.14
Residents of a Southern California neighborhood can rest a little easier now, after animal-control officers tracked down and captured an albino monocled cobra on the loose that had been slithering around the Thousand Oaks neighborhood since at least Monday. The owner still remains a mystery, while the snake will now have a new home at the Los Angeles Zoo. [Associated Press] [More]
Holy Crap, A Great Dane Ate 43.5 Socks
By 9.4.14
We can all stop scratching our heads and wondering what dimension all those lost socks have disappeared to. Dogs are going around eating them in bulk, apparently, because the smell of your feet is just so irresistible (?). At the very least, one Great Dane seems to have an appetite for the foot frockery: Vets found 43 and a half socks in the dog’s stomach. [More]
California Authorities On The Hunt For Illegal Albino Cobra On The Loose
By 9.4.14
There’s a reason there are rules about which pets you can and can’t have. A cat? Sure, have one of those! But you couldn’t bring a tiger home and toss it a yarn ball. So if you want a snake — great! Mr. Slithers is a nice name. Bringing home a deadly albino cobra though, well that’s what’s got officials in Los Angeles worked up, after it escaped from whoever was keeping it. [More]
Used Car Buyer Surprised To Find Vehicle Comes With A Free Boa Constrictor In The Trunk
By 8.19.14
A free dashboard dongle and a windshield scraper tossed in the back? That’s a pretty good score when buying a used car. Even bigger, and perhaps less ah, desirable? A free boa constrictor hanging out in the trunk. [More]
USDA Bans Imports Of Young, Sick Puppies
By 8.15.14
First of all, let’s all look at those puppies there on the left. Don’t they look like they’re from a really adorable puppy version of The Shining? Maybe The Barking? Anyway, those puppies* are unrelated to this story: The United States Department of Agriculture has a new rule banning the importation of puppies that are too young or sickly to be coming into the country. [More]
Alaska Airlines Employee Volunteers To Return Lost Cat To Owner 2,300 Miles Away
By 8.15.14
Imagine losing your cat on the very day that you are planning to move thousands of miles away. And then, miraculously, someone finds your feline friend a few weeks later. But by that point, you’re so far away that you can’t afford to fly or drive back to bring him back. [More]
Gyzmo The Cat Escapes From Carrier, Is Now Loose In JFK Airport
By 8.1.14
We hate to conclude the week with a discouraging pet story, but there’s bad news out of John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City: airline workers lost a French family’s cat somewhere between Paris and New York. Update: Gyzmo was found on Saturday! [More]
Feds Update, Expand Rules Covering How Airlines Report Their Animal-Safety Records
By 7.3.14
When you’re flying with your pet, sometimes it’s not possible to keep your beloved Mr. Saucypants in the plane cabin with you. But banishing him to the cargo hold below can be a daunting prospect, which is why U.S. regulators have expanded how many airlines must report on their animal-safety records. [More]
What To Do With Your Pet’s Poop
By 6.21.14
A typical dog creates three-quarters of a pound of poop every day, or 274 pounds a year, according to the EPA. (I’d guess my pups are far over that estimate.) And how’s this for scale? In the two cities of Fairbanks and Anchorage, Alaska, pups produce an estimated 20 million pounds of poop each year, while 200 million tons of kitty litter goes into landfills nationwide. You may not think the topic polite, but the reality is that all pet owners need to come up with options to manage their pet’s poop. So what’s the best way to deal with the stuff? [More]
Which Cities Spend The Most Money On Pampering Pets?
By 4.30.14
So you think you love your little fluffy wuffy snorgly borgly honeypie Fido, do you? You tuck him in with his special blanket every night, feed him his fancy food and generally fawn over your pet — but how does your city stack up when it comes to spending cash on pets? [More]
Amtrak Allowing Pets On Certain Trains In New Trial Program
By 4.28.14
Trains! Such adorable little vestiges of a golden era gone by, so rich in quaint customs like not allowing pets onboard, even as those young upstart airlines have accepted furry friends for decades. But Amtrak is possibly going to change that, with a new trial policy of allowing dogs and cats on trains — but just on certain routes for now. [More]
If You Left Your Dangerous Crocodile At The Strip Mall, The Folks At TJ Maxx Know Where He Is
By 4.10.14
So you’ve already ignored the rule about not buying dangerous, exotic animals like a crocodile and keeping it as a pet. There’s another rule, and it’s all about not leaving said pet at a strip mall. Both of those rules were recently ignored by one bad consumer, leaving a crocodile wandering around by the TJ Maxx at a strip mall, ostensibly looking for an affordable vegan leather purse or something. [More]
Tibetan Mastiff Puppy That Sold For $2 Million Could Be Most Expensive Dog Ever Bought
By 3.19.14
So you call yourself a dog lover, huh? You’ve got pics of your favorite pup all over social media, a doggie closet full of outfits and a tendency to speak in the third person around Rover. But would you spend $2 million to have the perfect pooch? [More]
Flea Collar Makers Agree To Eventually Phase Out Collars Containing Toxic Chemical
By 3.14.14
Facing a lawsuit for allowing manufacturers to produce flea collars containing a pesticide that is a known neurotoxin and carcinogen, the folks at the Environmental Protection Agency, along with two major pet product companies, have agreed to phase out these controversial collars over the next few years. [More]
EPA Sued In Effort To Remove Potentially Toxic Chemicals From Fido’s Flea Collar
By 2.7.14
It is the worst when our furry friends pick up fleas and then bring them into our homes. Except, it’s really not quite the worst. What’s worse? When the flea collar you buy for Fido damages your child’s brain with neurotoxins. [More]
Some Hubbard Life, Joy, QC+ Dog & Cat Foods Recalled Because Salmonella Is Not Vet-Recommended
By 2.6.14
Ohio-based Pro-Pet LLC has issued a limited recall of varieties of three of its dry dog and cat food brands — Hubbard Life, Joy, and QC+ — over concerns about possible salmonella contamination. [More]
Customer’s Spider Monkey Bites Car Dealership Employee
By 1.16.14
An employee of an Ohio Chevrolet dealership probably didn’t expect to say the words, “Can I pet your monkey?” during his work day. When a customer brought a pet spider monkey along on a trip to the body shop, the employee asked to pet the animal. It bit him, drawing blood. [More]
