My Friendly Pets

In Stephen’s City, Virginia, Kathy and Jimmy Martin are true animal lovers, and so it appears is their Golden retriever named Honey. Honey had produced some beautiful puppies, but hadn’t had a litter in over 18 months when Jimmy brought home a stray kitten that he had found. Jimmy noticed Precious (what they named the kitten) when the kitten ran in front of his concrete truck. He also noticed that no Mom cat came running and that’s when he decided to bring the orphan kitten home.

Of course the kitten was a little confused and cried for a period of time upon arrival at the Martin’s residence. In an effort to comfort the kitten, Kathy said that Honey began licking and loving the kitten. Well, within a few short days, Honey began to naturally lactate. Precious had no problem taking the milk from Honey and so she nursed the small kitten as if it was her own.

This was a welcomed relief for the Martin family. Precious wouldn’t take milk from a bottle and the family was concerned that Precious would die without proper nutrition. At first when Jimmy brought Precious home, they attempted to keep Honey and Precious separated. With the delicate condition of a kitten, they thought that perhaps Honey would play a bit to hard and injure the kitten. Honey would try whenever she could to get a sneak peek of the kitten. Eventually, the Martins allowed the two to meet and Honey was thrilled with the new Martin family member.

According to a vet that the Martins spoke with, interspecies nursing does occur, but it is a rare occurence. Recently however I came across a picture of a piglet being nursed by a dachshund. The piglet’s mom couldn’t take care of him, but the dachshund did and keeps this pink little “pup” especially clean. Mother nature is a wonderful thing, isn’t she!!!!

Watching tv for a good cause is always encouraged. Check out the Jon Stewart show on Sunday, where he will be hosting a “night of too many stars” This show was developed to raise autism awareness and funds to help organizations that work with those who have autism. Check out the blog by Winnie McCarthy for more info.

My dogs both loved marrow bones and it made be feel good to watch them try and get all of the marrow out of the center and then knaw on the bone and enjoy every last morsel. Marrow bones, especially raw ones are recommended for several reasons. First of all, raw marrow bones from the butcher, allows the dog to release a lot of energy when they dive in for some long hard chewing. This is especially good for puppies who always seem to have so much of their energy to expel. This bone chewing can also be good for their teeth and gums. However, there is a difference of opinion when speaking with dental veterinarians. They feel that the marrow bones will do one of two things when they are chewed on by a dog. Either the bone itself will break or the one of the dog’s teeth might break. According to vets specializing in canine dental care, if a tooth breaks it needs to be extracted or have a root canal. If not, unnecessary bacteria can get into the tooth and then travel throughout the blood stream of the dog in several days. Obviously, this could make a dog very sick. According to the vet, the dogs can get the same benefit of marrow bones for their teeth if we simply brush their teeth regularly. This would also eliminate the possibility of tooth breakage. See a previous blog entry about caring for your dog for more information.

And then there are other, more severe dangers of marrow bones. Check out the picture below.

This is a picture sent to me by a friend at my job. Her sister had sent the picture to her. The dog is her sister’s and the marrow bone that the dog was chewing on, slipped over the jaw of the dog, above some of the higher teeth and became wedged there. The dog couldn’t get it off, because he couldn’t get it back over the high teeth in his mouth. Imagine the panic that the dog must have felt, unable to get this bone out of his mouth! My friend’s sister had to take the dog to the vet and the vet had to saw the bone off in order to get the dog’s mouth free. My friend’s sister was home at the time, but if this happened to a dog while no one was home, the dog could get crazy trying to get the bone off and perhaps could seriously harm itself. So just beware. While these bones have some great benefits, they should never be given to a dog where no one is home to supervise!!

My father-in-law recently adopted a dog from a shelter, which he definitely gets kudos for doing. She’s a mutt, plain and simple, but as sweet as can be. She’s a medium sized dog, with a playful and pleasant demeanor. I think she’s some type of Labrador mix, but who knows really. You would expect her to have a girly name like Gracie, or Daisy, or something along those lines. However, my father-in-law, being the strange old man that he is, decided that the perfect name for her would be “Bob the Dog.� Yes, that’s her name, not just plain old Bob, but “Bob the Dog.� Aside from the fact that Bob is definitely a male name and she’s definitely female, what exactly is the point in adding ‘the dog’ to the end of her name? Hmmm… what if I introduced myself as ‘marlena the person’, wouldn’t that sound stupid? I tried arguing my point to him, but he wouldn’t budge, and insisted that we call her “Bob the Dog.� Poor dog, she has been cursed with the most dreadful dog name ever.

I’m sure there are many more stupid dog names out there. What’s the worst name for a dog you’ve ever heard?

dogs, pets, animals, names, dog names, mutts, humor, stupid

Kind of gross… but I suppose it gets the point across.

dogs, pets, animals, funny, dog videos

Faith is a dog with only two legs! She’s amazing. Watch below:

Faith’s Book

dogs, pets, animals, faith, unusual dog

Gotcha!!

dogs, puppies, pets, animals, attack dogs, alligator, funny

Apparently there is such a thing!

Pet Fashion Week is scheduled for August 18th – 19th in New York. Last year’s event included a fashion show and vendors from all over the world. I’m not so sure the dogs actually enjoy this sort of thing, but they do look cute.

Check it out

dogs, pets, animals, fashion show, dog fashion, pet fashion

With an increasing number of people waiting until later in life to have babies, I can’t help but wonder: are these people getting dogs instead? Are our furry friends taking the place of babies? In my own personal life they have, so far anyway. With this in mind, and for your entertainment, I’ve compiled a short list of why dogs are better than babies.

1. College is going to cost you a lot more money than obedience school will.

2. A few months of housebreaking and you’re finished cleaning up poop.

3. A pack of wee-wee pads is far cheaper than several years of diapers.

4. Your dog will never talk back to you, ask to borrow your car, or ask you for money.

5. You can have them spayed or neutered, so you’ll never have to worry about teen pregnancy.

6. If, somehow they do have babies, you can always sell them.

dogs, pets, animals, children, humor, pet humor

Although it’s been speculated that he’s an alien or maybe a robot, Mr. Winkle really is a dog. Nobody knows exactly what breed he is because he was rescued by his owner. Photographer Lara Jo Regan took him in and has sinced turned him into a marketing sensation. Mr. Winkle has appeared on just about every talk show out there, even making a guest appearance on Sex in the City. He is, to say the least, very odd looking. His tongue is too big for his mouth, which is why it’s always hanging out. What’s so captivating about Mr. Winkle is that he doesn’t look real! At first glance you would swear he’s a stuffed animal.

Watch the Mr. Winkle video

Click here to go to MrWinkle.com

dogs, pets, animals, mr winkle, strange dogs