The PetsitUSA.com Blog

The amazing Skidboot may be gone, but he’s certainly not forgotten. If you’re not familiar with the famous dog, he was a good ole’ Texas dog that some people claim was the smartest dog in the world. And, although he’s been gone since 2007, the guy who traveled and did shows with Skidboot is now working with three new dogs.

David Hartwig’s beloved dog, Skidboot, had died, but the phone kept ringing with performance requests.

Bring your other dogs and do your routine, they told him. We love it.

But Hartwig wasn’t in the mood. His new batch of Australian blue heelers were just “average dogs of average intelligence.”

They were no Skidboot, the miracle dog who wowed crowds with tricks at the State Fair of Texas, was crowned Animal Planet’s Pet Star and appeared on national TV programs, from The Oprah Winfrey Show to Late Show With David Letterman to The Tonight Show With Jay Leno.

Fans kept calling, however, and Hartwig eventually caved in. Now his trio of doggies – Tiedown, Bois’d'arc and Little Skidboot – entertain audiences in the spirit of Skidboot, who died in 2007.

“I had to let the public convince me it was still worthy,” he said. “They said, ‘You have something, and we want it.’ ”

Hartwig can’t stop comparing his young blue heelers to his old friend.

“If you had never seen Skidboot, you’d think this was a real smart dog,” he said, talking about one of his new charges. “But compared to Skidboot, this dog has a bad case of dumbworms.”

But the new dogs are talented, and audiences can’t get enough of them.

Read the rest about Skidboot’s successors, see the Skidboot website, or visit YouTube for some videos of this amazing dog.

Technorati Tags: Skidboot, dogs, dog training

Aflatoxin strikes again, this time killing stray dogs in Taipei.

TAIPEI, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) — Moldy food killed more than one thousand stray dogs in shelters, Taiwan’s agricultural department said on Monday.

The dog food was contaminated with aflatoxin, a chemical produced by fungus, which caused liver damage in the dogs.

On Dec. 22, 2008, the agricultural authority received a report which said more than 300 dogs died at two shelters in Taipei county.

Staff with the shelters said the dogs were extremely weak, jaundice, and had blood in their urine. The symptoms are typical of liver damage.

According to Taiwan media, another 1,000 dogs, with the same symptoms, reportedly died in Yunlin, Tainan and Kaohsiung counties.

The agricultural department did not give any details on when any of the dogs died or how many others might be affected by the tainted food.

The dead dogs were fed with food produced by Ji-Tai Forage Company. The brand name was “Peter’s Kind-Hearted Dog Food”.

The food only went to pet shelters on the island. It was never exported or sold by retailers, the agricultural authority said.

Here’s where you’ll find the rest.

Technorati Tags: pets, dogs, dog food poisoning, aflatoxin

Happy New Year from Tequila!

I got a little bit of flack (all in good fun, of course!) from a few people about the fact that I didn’t take more time to ensure Tequila was in the Merry Christmas post last week. The truth is, she was under her sleeping bag when I decided to do the picture, and I didn’t want to wake her up. She’s a bit grumpy if I wake her up for anything other than food! So, I did the photo without her.

I’m happy to say though, that I was able to get her picture today while she was out and about. She’s prancing around right now (along with the dogs) telling me it’s dinner time, so I’d better finish up this post and get dinner on the uh…freezer…or in the dogs’ case, the floor!

Technorati Tags: cat, tequila

Pet owners who are due a settlement as a result of the pet food recall may not get their money as soon as they thought. The process is being held up by appeals.

More than 23,000 pet owners in the United States have asked for money from a $24 million settlement for owners of dogs and cats who were sickened or died after eating pet food contaminated with an industrial chemical.

U.S. pet owners with claims were set to start receiving checks sometime in 2009, but their payments could be held up even longer while a judge sorts out last-minute appeals to the settlement filed by four people.

The legal snag pits lawyers against lawyers in a complex and emotionally fraught case.

“If one of their objections succeeds, the class comes unraveled,” said Kenneth A. Wexler, a Chicago lawyer involved in working out a settlement.

Here’s the rest.

Technorati Tags: pet food recall, Menu Foods

I’ve been sitting here at my desk for the last hour trying to figure out what’s wrong with me. I just can’t get motivated to get any work done. The thing is though, I do know why I’m not motivated…I just haven’t wanted to admit it to myself. I’m a bit on edge because I’m taking Archie to the vet today.

A few weeks ago Archie got a bladder infection and has done a couple rounds of antibiotics as we try to get rid of it. I’m taking him to the vet in just a little while for a follow up, which will hopefully show that the infection is gone. That’s not what’s got my stomach in knots though.

Archie has a lump on his side.

Ugh!

He had a small lump about a year ago that turned out to be nothing but this one is different. It’s small (about the size of a pea) but it’s pretty hard, fixed in one spot, and seems to be getting bigger. I keep telling myself it could be absolutely nothing…and that’s probably, hopefully exactly what it is…nothing. But, having one dog living with cancer (still in remission, thank goodness!) has certainly heightened cancer awareness. I won’t say I’m paranoid, but because cancer has become a reality for Lydia, I’m not living under the “it could never happen to me” umbrella anymore. I wish that darn umbrella hadn’t been yanked out of my hand, but it was, and I can’t dismiss the lump on Archie no matter how small.

A pet sitter I know in Indiana is helping her dog Harvey fight cancer. And as she said, cancer is constantly whispering in her ear that it’s going to take her boy from her. I know what it’s like to hear that nasty little whisper in one ear for Lydia, and hope to hell I don’t have to hear it in the other ear for Archie.

Wish us luck!

Update: Archie’s fine! The urinalysis was clear (no more infection!) and the lump is just a fatty tumor. I can breathe again!

Technorati Tags: dogs, canine cancer, pets

OK, I gotta tell ya, I thought I was going to throw up when I read this story. I saw it yesterday somewhere but just didn’t have the heart to post something to awful on Christmas day. I do think it people need to know it’s happening though…

FERRIS — Authorities in a rural North Texas town can now shoot wild, roaming dogs, according to a new policy that has riled animal welfare advocates.

Created last week to curb its growing population of feral dogs, the policy permits Ferris authorities to use shotguns to kill aggressive dogs running loose.

Ferris City Manager David Chavez said the Ellis County town was becoming an unwanted pet dumping ground. People drive out to the country to release their pets when they no longer want them, but the starving animals breed, form packs and wind up scavenging for food, he said.

Animal rights advocates said there must be a better way to solve the problem.

“It’s unfathomable to me that the city of Ferris just outlandishly wants to go out and shoot these stray dogs,” Niloofar Asgharian, a board member of the nonprofit Animal Connection of Texas, said in a story in The Dallas Morning News. “It doesn’t do anything except that these dogs end up dying a slow, miserable death.”

Other methods failed
But Ferris Police Chief Frank Mooney said the city has tried other methods with little success. The chief said they would shoot only potentially violent dogs as a last resort — after attempts to humanely capture the animal had failed.

The Houston Chronicle has the rest.

Honestly, I don’t know what the solution is, but it seems like there’s got to be something better than going vigilante on the dogs. I will admit that I’ve cut back on walking my dogs because they’ve been attacked three times in the past few years. These are neighbor’s dogs and it’s pretty darn frightening, and I know I’d be even more frightened if they were feral dogs. I’m not dismissing feral dogs as a problem - it sounds like the town has a real reason to do something about them, but I’m afraid the Ferris, Texas is setting a precedent that, in my mind, is quite disturbing.

Technorati Tags: feral dogs, Ferris, Texas, dogs

Archie, Lydia, and I would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas! Tequila sends her wishes too but she refused to sit still long enough to have her picture taken (you know how cats are!).

We wish you all the best, for you and your two-legged and four-legged family members.

Technorati Tags: Merry Christmas

This is an extremely busy time for pet sitters! Many are booked months in advance, and even end up turning away clients because they can only fit so many households into their pet sitting schedule. It’s not unusual for a pet sitter to start their holiday rounds at 5 a.m. or 6 a.m. and work until late in the night, only to get up and do it again…and again. It can certainly make for a long couple of weeks. Doing what you can to help make your pet sitter’s job go more smoothly can be a wonderful way to show appreciation for the great care they give your pets.

Here are a few things that you can do for your pet sitter:

• Be sure you have more than enough pet food to last the entire time  you’ll be gone. Because delays can’t always be anticipated, an ample  amount of food will ensure your pets won’t run out before you come home. Chances are your pet sitter’s schedule will be pretty tight, and having to make a trip to the store may cut into the time spent with your pets.
• Even though your pets may not normally get into things, when they’re left alone for multiple days they may find new things to entertain themselves. For this reason, remember to unplug Christmas lights and put up any decorations your pets may get into when they’re bored. Think twice before leaving town with a fully decorated tree in a place where your pet can get to it!
• Remove any plants that might be poisonous, including usual holiday plants like holly, ivy, mistletoe, and poinsettias.
• If you’re in a snowy area, leave plenty of towels for your pet sitter to dry your dogs’ feet after a walk.
• Set your thermostat to a comfortable level, and make sure your pet sitter knows where it is and how to operate it.
• In the past couple of weeks ice and snow storms have all but shut down parts of the country. So if you live where this is a possibility, be sure your pet sitter has a backup who can get to your home without a car, such as a neighbor.
• If you’re leaving holiday goodies for your pet sitter, as many clients do, be sure that they’re not where the pets can get to them before the pet sitter does! Consider leaving a note telling your sitter the tasty treats are in the fridge.

For more general tips on how to make the holidays go better for your pets, see this post I wrote for Talk2theAnimals a couple weeks ago.

And keep in mind, as with other service industry professionals, a tip is certain to put a smile on your pet sitter’s face!

Technorati Tags: pet sitter, pet sitting, pets, Christmas, holidays