fact or fiction
Is it fact or merely fiction? Fact or Fiction explores the myths and beliefs we hold about our pets, like why dogs wag their tails and cats purr.
Ringo and Starfire: Pets by night, party animals by day
Recently, I have noticed strange things when I get home from work. Things are out of place. Papers are strewn about and food is left on the counter. The pillows on the couch are scratched and chewed up. I was very curious as to what happened. I have a dog named Ringo and a cat named Starfire that I leave at home during the day. I knew that they did it, but I wanted to see how they committed such a crime. I decided to install a camera to see what went on when I wasn’t home.
By Judith Jascha5 years ago in Petlife
Bella Black, Survivor
It’s three in the afternoon, and Bella doesn’t know where her humans are. She hasn’t been sure of much ever since she was adopted from a Romanian shelter and brought to the UK. Just now, her adoptive humans left with no more than an “Okay, bye Bella! No, puppies can’t come this time.” Are they dead now? They’re probably dead now.
By Jennifer Black5 years ago in Petlife
“Adopt Don’t Shop” Hurts Dogs And Owners
Everyone’s heard it. “Adopt don’t shop! Choose to save a life! No dog is bad!” It’s, frankly, a scam. To put it simply, shelter dogs come with baggage. Sure, they’re cute, lonely, sad, and needy, right? Well, cute is for sure. I mean, they’re dogs. All dogs are pretty cute. You’d be hard pressed to find a photo that doesn’t make me say “that’s a cute dog”. But are shelter dogs lonely? Some, maybe. But they get about as much (if not more, to be blunt) attention from shelter staff during the day through the care schedule as they will in the average pet home where the dog is condemned to the back yard for 10 hours minimum while the owner is at work/school, some food is plopped carelessly into a bowl to be devoured in the evening while the owner decompresses from work by playing phone games on the couch, and then the owner sleeps and the cycle repeats itself. So loneliness isn’t an excuse. Sad? Probably not, since dogs don’t experience all of the same emotions humans do. Try not to anthropomorphize dogs, guys! Needy? Yes. All dogs are. Owning a dog is nearly as labor-intensive as having a five year old child (or an infant if the dog is a puppy or a senior/special needs dog). You must feed them at least twice, exercise them for at least one hour (the minimum does raise depending on breed too), walk them at least once (yes, walking is separate from exercise), take them outside to potty regularly at least every three hours or more frequently depending on age and bladder health, brush their WHOLE coat at least once, brush their teeth if you want to avoid dental disease, check that their nails are a healthy length and trim/grind them when necessary, check their ears for dirt and clean accordingly, do training for at least fifteen minutes twice unless you WANT your dog to be a poorly behaved demon, and ALL of that is just the basic care needed every single day. EVERY DAY. Then there’s the intermittent stuff like bathing, haircuts, vet visits, flea and parasite preventatives, changing their collar out when it gets too old and worn or too small, toys that you need to replace frequently whenever the dog shreds it to an unsafe level, and many more if you want to go beyond just being halfway responsible.
By SebastianStarr5 years ago in Petlife
