Overcoming Your Dog’s Travel Anxiety
If your dog is afraid to get in the car, its easy to leave her home when you go grocery shopping or drive to the post office. But what about, say, an hour-long ride to a friends house where youll be staying all day if you dont want to leave your dog home alone for so many hours? Or an overnight several hours away? …
What About Air Travel?
While you can easily take your small dog on a flight (for a fee), larger pets must be crated and tucked away far from you in an unpleasant space with other crated animals. Is it advised?
Black Dog Syndrome
News tends to come in cycles, and this past winter was no exception when Brian Williams reported on NBC Nightly News that black dogs are euthanized at a much higher rate than other dogs because they are less likely to be adopted due to their color. Its not the first time the terrible plight of black dogs hit major media. The thing is, is it true? Are black dogs more likely to languish in…
For Some, Black is the New Black at Dog Shelters
Its commonly said that black dogs are the ones left behind in shelters, the ones overwhelmingly euthanized. Theres even a name for it: Black Dog Syndrome. But are the anecdotal reports born out by the scientific evidence?
Next Time You Take a Trip, Where Will Your Dog Stay?
Youve got a last-minute business trip, and your usual dog sitter isnt available. Or youve been using the same boarding facility for a while now but havent been completely satisfied and want to check out new options - yet dont know where to begin. Or youll be traveling with your pet and want to book from a choice of dog-friendly hotels in the city youre visiting. Now you can find all of that and…
A Furlocity User Weighs In
We were going on a trip over the holidays, says Nicole Uhlenkott, and my brother-in-law was supposed to watch our dog but unfortunately got ill and had to cancel. It was then that the Uhlenkotts decided to board their 2-year-old yellow Lab, Lucca. We live in San Diego, but my whole familys in the Bay area around San Francisco, Mrs. Uhlenkott explains. The Uhlenkotts did not want to put Lucca through the long car ride.…
A Close Look at the Good Work of Those in Rescue
Its early in the morning of New Years Day, but Jacky Eckard, president of Safe Harbor Lab Rescue in Golden, Colorado, is already at work. We have a dog that was surrendered the day before yesterday, she says, and was brought in to be spayed, so Ill be picking her up and taking her out to her foster home where shell remain until she gets adopted. Ill also be working with some of our…
Why So Many Dogs Need Rescuing
Unplanned litters are the main source of pet overpopulation, according to PetSmart Charities Rescue Waggin Program (petsmartcharities.org/rescue-waggin). Imagine if every person living in New York City was actually a dog or cat, says the organization, which partners with literally thousands of adoption groups across the country to help homeless animals get adopted. Thats about the number of pets that will end up in shelters in North America this year. Of those 8 million pets, half…
How Dogs Build a Community
Carla Barlow, Tony Beadle, Rick Daniels, Meg Durkin, Tom Hughes, Anne Kimball, Brendon Potter, Jeff Sullivan, Sarah Murphy, that guy Chris with the three kids on Lincoln Street, Penny and her playful terrier Willie, Liz with the two yellow Labs, Charlene in the park by the cove with her little black and white mutt Lucy (the one whose brother is a drummer), Steve with the Golden Retriever Fiona…. These are just some of the…
The (Traffic) Ties That Bind
Though only 11, Jean Fernandes of Itajai, Brazil, raced out into a heavily trafficked road to rescue his dog last December. The tiny terrier, Little Mel, had escaped the familys yard and darted into the street, where she was hit by a motorist who did not stop. With no thought for his own safety, Fernandes managed to halt traffic so he could rescue his dog from further injury and bring him back home to…
An Older Dog Can Make a Better Pet
People often find that an older dog, when adopted, seems to know somehow that his new owners gave him a home when no one else would. Many people form a close bond in short order with their older adopted dog precisely because the pet shows them a depth of affection that a younger animal might not yet have to give. There are also a number of other reasons adopting an older dog rather than a puppy might be the way to go.
But Wasnt An Older Dog Dumped Because He Didnt Make a Good Pet?
People often assume that if an older dog has wound up in a shelter or kennel, it means he was an incorrigible animal, unable to fit into a human family and finally needing to be given up. But in just about all cases, mature dogs are relinquished not because of something about them but because of something about the people to whom they belonged. Sometimes, sad to say, its simply that the novelty of having…
