Taking Your Pets to Work

Last week saw a new sort-of holiday, Take Your Dog to Work Day, which indicated a growing trend: pets in the workplace. The North County Times looks at the trend. Just about the only cases you’ll see of animals actually living at the office are for cats, like library cats or the one that lives in my sister-in-law’s office. However, more and more employers are starting to allow the dogs to come in to work with their owners. Some very dog-friendly businesses allow this every day, others just haves special times sent aside, like Take Your Dog to Work Day. … Continue reading →

Taking Pets to Nursing Homes

Life as a blogger can be lonely. I spend a lot of time alone in my house. Sure, I have three pets, but when I start carrying on actual half-conversations with my dog or my cats, then I know perhaps it’s time to get out a bit more. That’s why I started volunteering so much in my area. I visit various organizations multiple times a week, the local rescue included, to get out and interact with people. The very first group with which I looked into volunteering when I first moved to my area three years ago was Pets on … Continue reading →

Pet Blessings and Ministries Spreading

Every year the county rescue for which I volunteer holds an Animal Fair. It’s a day in May down at the county fairgrounds where one can bring one’s pets on a leash (so mostly dogs, but you do see the rare cat or two) and partake in fun events to raise money for the rescue. There’s a parade, an owner/dog partnered pie-eating contest, demonstrations by the local K9 police force, and more. And there’s one thing that I’d never heard before: the blessing of the pets. I live in a very Catholic area; it’s the part of Maryland that was … Continue reading →

A Dog’s Role in American Indian Tribes

Here’s an interesting topic I don’t often get to cover on the pets blog: pet history. In today’s world sometimes it seems like pets are over-pampered, taken to expensive salons or left giant inheritances. Some might consider this contrary to how humans used to view pets, merely as tools. A new study by a professor of archeology and anthropology asserts otherwise, at least in some cases. The Sacramento Bee published the recent findings of Professor Paul Langenwalter of Biola University on the relationship local Californian American Indian tribes had with their pet dogs. He found evidence to suggest that among … Continue reading →

Dressing Up Pets

With my favorite holiday Halloween coming up soon, costumes are on the mind. We have to help the kids get theirs ready, and maybe some of us still dress up ourselves (I certainly do). But what about buying or creating costumes for our pets? I’m curious what you guys think about dressing pets up in costumes. For the past few years I’ve managed to come up with partnered costume ideas for my husband and I (which is a feat, because he won’t wear many types of costumes) to wear to our friends’ annual Halloween party. We usually stay for the … Continue reading →

The Greatest Game

When my husband and I got married, we received what would seem to others like an unusual gift from his older sister. Next to the beautiful hand-painted serving bowl she gave us, she included a book: “50 Games to Play with Your Dog,” by Suellen Dainty. Jon and I didn’t own a dog, plus that’s not exactly the sort of gift one expects to receive for a wedding. However, my sister-in-law and I are close, and she knew me well enough to know that I’d wanted a dog all my life, and that I was eager to get one as … Continue reading →

My Mini Zoo – New Pet Blogger Intro

As a new pet blogger here at Families.com I felt I should write an introduction post and share the story of my mini-zoo with everyone. I’ve had pets ever since I could remember. In fact, none of my homes have felt complete unless there was at least one four-legged furry critter running around. About ten years ago this love for all things feathered, furry or finned hit a high point. My second daughter worked at Petsmart at the time so she always had some tale of woe about a guinea pig, hamster, snake, fish, or other animal that had been … Continue reading →

Should Cats Drink Milk?

The image of a cat lapping at a bowl of milk is a pretty common one… but is milk really a healthy drink for your feline friend? The Cat Fancier’s Association suggests that while many cats like the taste of milk, they typically don’t need it as part of their daily diet. A well-nourished cat shouldn’t need to drink milk, but he might like to once in a while. Too much milk too often could cause digestive issues, like diarrhea. In fact, many cats may even be lactose intolerant — this means that they can’t digest the sugars (lactose) in … Continue reading →

Madness by Any Other Name is Just as Sweet

A friend of mine just wrote a piece about her dog and The Madness: out of nowhere, the dog will go from inactive to active, running around in circles, making funny noises, and generally being a total goofball. Then just as suddenly, The Madness runs out and the dog is back to her usual quiet self again. Have you experienced this in your pets? Some of my pitbull-loving friends call this “the zoomies”. The dog will go zooming around the house or yard at top speed, often in circles. As soon as the burst of energy is used up, the … Continue reading →

Purina’s Campaign to End Cattiness

Okay, multi-cat households: this one’s for you. Purina’s Tidy Cats litter is running a contest called the Campaign to End Cattiness. The concept behind the contest is simple: if you live in a multi-cat household, it’s time to show the world that you’re not just a crazy cat person. Through stories and pictures, you can demonstrate that sharing your home with more than one cat makes life better! But be concise — you’ve only got 175 words and two pictures to tell your story. (For comparison, the average blog post here at Families.com is 300 words or more. So you’ve … Continue reading →