Tech giant Fujitsu has developed a digital device to measure your dog’s steps during the course of the day. The Wandant uploads data to a website that also provides ways for owners to track their pups’ weight and dietary intake each day, too. Read more here.
Rock songstress Fiona Apple is delaying some of her current tour dates to be by the side of her beloved pitbull Janet, who is slowly succumbing to age and illness. It’s a beautiful tribute to her dog and reminds us all to give thanks to the four-legged friends who fill our days with companionship and hearts with love. Read it here on facebook or here as transcribed text in a blog post.
After losing their homes to Hurricane Sandy, there are nearly 40,000 New Yorkers competing for new places to live. For many, it’s meant moving from friends’ homes to hotels to relatives’ apartments. It’s a constant journey of transition that’s tough on people, but even harder for pets who don’t understand why they can’t settle into a home. To help provide a more stable living situation for four-legged friends, the A.S.P.C.A. has opened a gigantic pet shelter in Brooklyn that will house up to 700 dogs, cats and even a few more exotic animals like ferrets while their owners seek out more permanent lodgings. The first 30 days are free thanks to generous grants from people like celebrity human and pet chef, Rachel Ray.
An article from FastCompany’s Co.Design newsletter tipped us off to a website dedicated to a new breed of accessories for dogs. Check out Architecture for Dogs and see some amazingly high-style home solution ideas for the haute hound. If you’re a builder, you can download blueprints and plans to make some of the items yourself. Kind of changes the idea of DIY from Do It Yourself to Dog It Yourself.
When it comes to Thanksgiving: Stuff the turkey, not your dog. That’s what the experts at dogster.com recommend because several key Thanksgiving Day ingredients are really unhealthy or even harmful for dogs, including turkey skin, turkey bones and the sage so many of us use in our stuffing. If you really want to show your dog how thankful you are to have them in your life, provide them with a soft spot in the dining room where they can chew on a good rawhide bone or new toy.
Photo: gwlittle.com
http://www.dogster.com/dog-food/thanksgiving-safety-tips-for-dog-owners
Working in conjunction with New York City officials, The Humane Society of the U.S. has a rescue team going from house to house in Staten Island and other hard hit areas to rescue dogs, cats and even snakes that got trapped inside homes or simply got loose during the chaos of the storm. Some of the found pets are being reunited with their now homeless owners as part of a unique New York City policy that allows pets to join their families in shelters. The team has had great success in finding many dogs and cats, but did decline a call to rescue a shark stranded in an inland pond! Read more here.
That’s pretty much the emotional trajectory of a dog during the first 5 minutes upon receiving a new toy. A recent study of dogs and toys showed that most dogs lose interest in toys partially because of the toy isn’t all the interesting in itself, but mostly because they really want a human to help them have fun with it. However, in an assessment of the best types of toys that might hold your dog’s interest for more than a few minutes, they found that chewable and squeaky toys were best along with items like rawhide bones that provide hours of activity. Dogs generally like to gnaw on toys and bones when they’re lying down, so be sure to give them a soft spot to work their jaws.
Dogs were hit hard by the high-winds and floods of hurricane Sandy, too. Click here to see some of the brave and awww-inspiring rescues of some of the dogs caught up in high-waters.
This is a study for what will eventually be a national monument saluting the dogs that have served our country. When it is completed sometime in 2013, the monument will reside at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, the spot where most of our nation’s military dogs are trained. The featured breeds are: Doberman Pinscher, German shepherd, Labrador retriever and Belgian Malinois. For more details, click here.
