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This the the image that was on a recent birthday card to me: I'm so offended! I am a very uptight, stodgy, stick in the mud, conservative LADY. How dare someone give me a card like this! PS. NOT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HILLSBORO, Ore. (AP) -- The flag-painted fire hydrant that was removed because critics thought dogs would disrespectfully urinate on it is being reinstalled, but with a fence to keep the pooches away. The hydrant was part of a dog park named for Hondo, a police dog killed chasing a suspect 10 years ago. "While hydrants are playfully associated with dogs as a 'target,' this hydrant was specifically designed and painted to serve as a very personal tribute to a service animal killed in the line of duty," said Hillsboro parks spokeswoman Corinne Bloomfield. Since the hydrant was removed earlier this week, the department got responses from dog owners and war veterans in support of the tribute, "which is clearly the intent of this hydrant and does not disrespect Hondo, the U.S. flag or K-9 officers," Bloomfield said. The hydrant was already on surrounded by prickly shrubbery. Bloomfield said her department would add a fence and look for more ways to dog-proof it.

I get so sick of hearing "but he just loves cheese and baloney". Food does not equal love. Get over it, people. Stop shortening your dog's life with food. Read this: Fat Charlie lived up to his name, weighing 168 pounds before he was put on a diet. The growing obesity problem doesn't exclude pets. "We are seeing so many overweight dogs and cats, and it's sad because their weight levels are completely manageable with diet changes," says Dr. Kristine Yee, a veterinarian at California Animal Hospital in Los Angeles. But pet owners are often slow to admit that their animals need to shed pounds. A 2005 study from pet-food maker Purina found that 60 percent of pets in the U.S. were overweight. But almost half of the owners of overweight pets rated their cats and dogs as having the "ideal" body condition. Pet obesity can be a sensitive issue, says Susan Davis, a pet nutritionist based in Lake Forest, California, who has helped many pets trim down. B...

Recently, I overheard someone call their dog over to them, and then heard them proceed to punish the dog for something it had done a few seconds beforehand. What do you think the dog actually learned? Did it learn not to do that thing it was being punished for? NO! It learned NOT to come when it's called! Think about the steps that went into training this dog NOT to come when it's called: The dog did a bad thing. It's master says "come Fido" Fido dutifully obeys, coming over to it's owner. Fido gets smacked (this is how this particular dog was punished, more on this later). Fido learns that when he hears "come Fido", if he goes to his owner, he'll get punished. Oy. When disciplining (verbally, PLEASE!) bad behavior, you must think like a dog. Dogs are very linear. If they do some thing, and something good happens, they'll do that thing again. If they do some thing, and something bad happens, they will NOT do that thing again. You cannot dis...

I got this as a comment to this post, but I decided to put it on my main page. ---------------------------- JUSTICE for Bandit !! Bandit's Tribute Dogster page . The PETITION . Bandit be given a FULL Police funeral complete with other Phoenix Metro area PD K-9s. (*Bandit died in the patrol car while still on duty or at least he didn't know differently.) Sgt Lovejoy of Chandler P.D. NEVER be permitted to own, partner with or supervise the care or training of ANY/all Police K-9s in the state of Arizona Proper disciplinary actions will prevail once both C.P.D. and MCSO investigations are complete. We are shocked are the initial passiveness of the CPD. We are disappointed in the "excuses" sent forth from Lovejoy & CPD. A private ceremony in an INSULT to K9 Bandit. It's not Bandit's fault that HIS PARTNER & FAMILY let him down. PS - for a real treat.. read the MCSO incident report & how it could've been "covered up" while professing comp...

Men break into building full of police ANTIOCH, Calif. (AP) -- Two men who police said broke into a building to steal copper wiring got more than they bargained for: a room full of police officers. Police said 26-year-old James Ayers and Frederick Guilliee, 38, broke into the 40,000-square-foot building at about 6 p.m. Tuesday. What they hadn't planned for is the Antioch police K-9 unit who was holding a training session there. At the time of the break-in, an officer was hiding inside the building in a training exercise. Shortly thereafter, a K-9 officer announced that a dog was about to be released and that anyone inside should give themselves up or risk being bitten. Ayers surrendered immediately, police said, and the K-9 officers found Guilliee hiding inside. Police arrested the men on suspicion of commercial burglary.

Boyfriends, girlfriends, significant others, husbands, wives, partners... how do you know who's right for you? Here's my simple advice: Don't pick someone based on looks, money, job, social status, sexual attraction... Pick someone based on one criteria: If you become very ill and cannot fend for yourself, would you want this person to be the sole advocate for your health and well-being? Just a thought.

Last night around 2 a.m., I heard a dog barking in the far off distance. It didn't bother me because it was so far away, but I really felt for any neighbors that live next-door to that inconsiderate asshole neighbor. What a jerk. So, for those of you that may live next to an a-hole with dogs that bark into the night, I decided to repost this training tip. Good luck! UNWANTED BARKING Granted, all dogs bark. A lot of us appreciate the guard-dog in our pups, even if it is just barking at the UPS guy. But unwanted barking is a nuisance, for us and our neighbors. This traning technique can actually be used for training a neighbor's dog to stop barking. THE STEPS: Unwanted barking occurs Shake the can hard and yell " NO BARKING!! " When barking stops, praise the dog "good no barking". Pretty simple, eh? I've used this technique to train my neighbor's dogs thru the privacy fence. They can't see me and I can't see them, but I can sure...

SEQUIM, Wash. (AP) -- The Sequim Police Department has decided to get rid of Titus the drug dog because he's simply not aggressive enough. Police said that Titus is fine for sniffing out drugs, but they need a patrol dog that can track and bite criminals. Titus will be declared surplus next year and transferred to another police agency. K-9 officer Mike Hill has mixed feelings about losing Titus because they've worked and lived together for three years. But Hill agreed that he needs a dog with more bite. --- Information from: Peninsula Daily News, http://www.peninsuladailynews.com

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) -- Pets are being slaughtered for meat in shortage-stricken Zimbabwe and record numbers of animals have been surrendered to shelters or abandoned by owners no longer able to feed them, animal welfare activists say. The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said it could not feed surrendered animals or find them new homes and was being forced to kill them and destroy the corpses. Animals, like people, are being hard hit by Zimbabwe's economic meltdown, with official inflation of more than 7,600 percent, the highest in the world. Independent estimates put real inflation closer to 25,000 percent and the International Monetary Fund has forecast it will reach 100,000 percent by the end of the year. Vets have run out of the drug used to put down the animals and are relying on intermittent donations from neighboring South Africa. One veterinary practice was waiting for supplies to destroy about 20 animals, and on Friday could neither feed them ade...

GRAND HAVEN, Mich. (AP) -- A surfer rode a wave on his stomach to rescue a struggling dog that had been swept off a pier and into Lake Michigan by a wave. Matt Smolenski, 25, said he grabbed the pooch's collar just as the exhausted, black-and-brown mixed breed stopped dog-paddling on Tuesday. "He put the dog up on his surfboard, and the dog rode the surfboard in to shore," said Royce Rodgers, an off-duty Muskegon Heights police officer who witnessed the rescue. As the dog crouched on the board, Smolenski held on from the water, fighting large waves and a strong current all the way to shore. "I've watched the dog about a million times," said Smolenski, of Grand Haven. "He barks at the waves and then jumps back when they wash up on the pier." A surfing buddy, Joe Riopelle, 24, also of Grand Haven, helped pull in the duo. Rodgers, who had started walking his own dog on the pier but turned back around after seeing the size of the waves, said the other ...

"No, you cannot touch them." Oy.

One day a man saw a old lady, stranded on the side of the road, but even in the dim light of day, he could see she needed help. So he pulled up in front of her Mercedes and got out. His Pontiac was still sputtering when he approached her. Even with the smile on his face, she was worried. No one had stopped to help for the last hour or so. Was he going to hurt her? He didn't look safe; he looked poor and hungry. He could see that she was frightened, standing out there in the cold. He knew how she felt. It was that chill which only fear can put in you. He said, "I'm here to help you, ma'am. Why don't you wait in the car where it's warm? By the way, my name is Bryan Anderson." Well, all she had was a flat tire, but for an old lady, that was bad enough. Bryan crawled under the car looking for a place to put the jack, skinning his knuckles a time or two. Soon he was able to change the tire. But he had to get dirty and his hands hurt. As he was tightening ...

Officer accused of leaving police dog in hot car Report: Cop ran errands, napped as canine died in 109-degree day Updated: 9:34 a.m. CT Sept 6, 2007 PHOENIX - A suburban police officer is accused of leaving a police dog in a patrol car for more than 12 hours on a 109-degree day, killing the animal. Chandler police Sgt. Tom Lovejoy was booked into the Maricopa County jail on a misdemeanor charge of animal cruelty after a two-week investigation into the death of a 5-year-old Belgian Malinois named Bandit. He was released later Wednesday, said Capt. Paul Chagolla, a spokesman for the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office. The sheriff’s investigation showed Bandit was in Lovejoy’s patrol car from about 9 a.m. to shortly after 10 p.m. Aug. 11. During that time, the investigation found, the officer ran errands, napped and ate out with his wife. Lovejoy later found the dog dead in the car. “I am certain Sgt. Lovejoy has suffered greatly from leaving his police dog in a sweltering car,” Sheriff Joe...

Wheat Flour For a doggie treat that presents itself as a twist of beef and cheese sticks, you wouldn't expect wheat to be the first ingredient listed. Turns out these snacks are closer to soft pretzels than Slim Jims: They're made mostly of wheat flour and pregelatinized wheat flour — a processed starch that makes food easier to digest. Corn Syrup, Sugar, Crystalline Fructose Sugar, sugar, and sugar. Now that the health risks of high-fructose corn syrup are well known, manufacturers have begun to distill the sugar out of it, selling the result as "crystalline fructose." The health risks are the same. But at least the stuff isn't too poisonous: Archer Daniels Midland claims that its crystalline fructose contains no more than 1 milligram of arsenic per kilogram. Sweet! Glycerine Beef and cheese tend to be naturally moist, but beef and cheese SnawSomes (which look like shiny puppy biscotti) get their appetizing sheen from glycerine. Beef Actually, the package merely ...

Secondhand Smoke Causes Cancer in Pets Secondhand smoke isn't just a health threat to people. It can also hurt dogs and cats, veterinarians say. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 126 million Americans who don't smoke are exposed to secondhand smoke in their homes, vehicles, workplaces, and public places. This exposure causes thousands of lung cancer and heart disease deaths among nonsmokers every year, according to the California Environmental Protection Agency. Making the leap from the effects of secondhand smoke on humans to their effects on pets isn't a big one, says veterinarian Carolynn MacAllister of Oklahoma State University. "There have been a number of scientific papers recently that have reported the significant health threat secondhand smoke poses to pets," MacAllister said. "Secondhand smoke has been associated with oral cancer and lymphoma in cats, lung and nasal cancer in dogs, as well as lung cancer in birds...