I saw this item on the Internet the other day and felt a sense of relief. It's good to know that some people don't view dogs and cats as disposable items that can be discarded on a whim.
Shoka and Nala, two German Shepherd Dogs that were returned to their trainer by Jon Gosselin, the dad in the reality TV show "Jon and Kate Plus Eight," have returned home to Kate Gosselin and her kids.
The Gosselins, of course, endured a well-publicized divorce and have been tracked by paparazzi since their split. The dogs were simply victims amid the drama, and I, like many others, wondered if they had been adopted simply as characters in the family's television show.
But Kate Gosselin apparently realized it was best to bring back the dogs.
"My kids' lives have been changed and compromised and altered enough over the past year," she told People.com. "I realized if I had two difficult kids I wouldn't send them away and ask for new kids."
Jon Gosselin originally returned the dogs to their trainer and blamed it on his ex-wife. He told E! Online, "It's not fair to the dog to not be wanted in their own home."
In the end, it doesn't really matter. If Shoka and Nala are back with Kate and her kids and are a loved and treated well, it's a happy ending.
With the exception of occasional barking, dog shows are quiet, sedate affairs filled with spectators, judges, handlers and canines. Streakers? No.
But the Crufts dog show Birmingham, England, had one last weekend - and he wasn't even wearing a collar.
Mark Roberts, a 45-year-old man from Liverpool who's notorious for his streaking achievements, invaded the famous Crufts show wearing a cat-shaped masked over his private parts and the words "I streak.com" scrawled on his chest.
He was promptly grabbed by security, who he claims manhandled him.
"They twisted my arms so far up my back I thought my wrists would break," Roberts told The Sun of London. "The pain was so intense, I've never felt anything like it in my life."
I'm not sure about his reasons for streaking Crufts, but he picked a good venue. The show is the largest dog show in the world with 22,000 dogs representing 187 breeds. The best in show winner was a 6-year-old Hungarian Vizsla named Yogi.
The streaker got a beatdown and then got the boot.
Dogs bark.
There's no way around it. Some bark more than others, but so what? Cats meow, ducks honk and cows moo. It's how they communicate.
If you go to a park and people are walking their dogs, you can expect to hear barking.
That's why I can't understand the inane proposal by officials in Chandler, Ariz., to install high-frequency devices in a public dog park that would quiet barking dogs by zapping them.
Dog advocates are up in arms, and understandably so. Not only would it jolt dogs that bark, it could also harm dogs within 75 feet that aren't making any noise.
"Dogs' way of communicating when they're playing is to bark....It's not the same as nuisance barking," Kristi Smith, owner of Who's the Boss Dog Training and Behavior Modification in Glendale, Ariz., told AZcentral.com. She said putting these devices in a public park where dogs play could "teach them not to properly communicate."
The city has already purchased four silencer devices for $360 and had planned to install them at Shawnee Bark Park in Chandler. But opposition by dog owners has resulted in a committee being former to discuss the matter.
If you ask me, there's only one real solution: Send back the silencers and get your money back.
Bottom line: Dogs bark. It's just the way they are.
Michael Vick thinks he displayed courage, sportsmanship and leadership - all the qualities needed to win something called the Ed Block Courage Award - while playing football for the Philadelphia Eagles last season.
Thankfully, not everyone agrees.
Protestors from Baltimore-area animal advocacy groups appeared in large numbers Tuesday night to voice their displeasure that Vick was one of 32 NFL players named winners of an award given by the Ed Block Courage Award Foundation.
"I am here to protest that the Eagles have given Michael Vick a courage award and everyone else has gone along with it," Darlene Sanders Harris, who organized the demonstration, told the Baltimore Sun. "I don't think he exudes courage or any of the qualities they are looking for in an Ed Block recipient."
At an awards ceremony, however, Vick told an audience, "My peers felt like I was doing the right thing, felt like I displayed courage and sportsmanship and leadership."
That's hard to believe. Winners of the award typically are selected for their ability to overcome a variety of difficulties or hardships - injuries, for instance - and the foundation is dedicated to promoting the prevention of child abuse.
How does Vick fit? He doesn't. His hardship - a jail sentence that came as a result of a gambling and dogfighting operation he bankrolled - was his own doing. Giving him an award for his misdeeds seems incomprehensible.
Animal groups called for the foundation to rescind the award, but it refused. So protestors opted to picket Vick and the ceremony.
"People have the right to voice their opinion," said foundation spokesman Paul Mittermeier. He noted that the executive vice president of the Humane Society of the United States was among those who attended the event.
Outside, protestor Barbara Goldstein said, "I find it appalling to give this to someone that has gotten enjoyment from hurting dogs. What is he courageous about?"
Good question.
Dogs can be finicky about food, even their treats. I've still got several bags of doggie treats on a shelf that I thought my pets would love but made them turn up their noses.
The fact is, not all dogs like all goodies, especially those that are good for them. But I think I may have stumbled on to something that mine love. Best of all, they contain bananas and sweet potatoes and other good ingredients.
I was recently forwarded several bags of VitaLife dog treats for review from DogTime Media: Chicken and Banana Recipe Wraps, Duck and Sweet Potato Twists and Chicken Tenders for Healthy Skin and Coat. I like to think I have a good cross-section of canine subjects -- three Dachshunds and one Greyhound with different appetites. One of my Doxies will eat anything that isn't moving; another rejects almost anything we put in her bowl.
It's one thing to say a treat is good for your pet, but if your dog won't eat it, what's the benefit? I like to use treats as little rewards - when they do their business outside before going to bed, when we come back from a walk. So it's fair to say they get a tasty goody two or three times a day.
One reason I didn't hesitate to hand out these treats is that they have no Sorbitol, no added glycerin, no added salt and no preservatives (not that I understand what all that stuff is). And the ingredients are good for them - duck, chicken, bananas, sweet potato and coconut oil. The chicken tenders (their favorite) are good for their skin and coats and contain Omega 3 and Vitamins A and E.
I was admittedly reluctant in the beginning about the treats with freeze-dried bananas and sweet potatoes. I've fed these types of treats to my Doxies before, but they didn't have much interest. When I first put them out, all four dogs sniffed them with some suspicion. But the bananas are wrapped with chicken, and the sweet potatoes are wrapped with duck. Presto! They devoured them.
It didn't take my dogs long to finish every bag. The truth is, all of my dogs enjoyed all three VitaLife varieties - and there are more types of each treat. I think they want more.
And I think I want more, too.
