This might just be the cutest, most adorable collection of doggie clips I've ever seen, put together by the Dogwork.com

Enjoy, and adopt a pet in your area if you haven't already.

Bumble, a white, one year old Boxer, who has been deaf since birth,  was happily adopted by his new family with the help of a web-based leading edge animal management welfare system, called PetPoint, becoming the 2-millionth adopted pet.  PetPoint provides the live feed of animals for Petango.com, which is where "Bumble" was "stumbled" upon by his new family.

Bumble’s adoption tale is anything but ordinary. In early June, the surrendered dog was returned to the Capital Area Humane Society due to a change in lifestyle by his adopting family.  Upon his arrival back, Bumble’s details were keyed into PetPoint and he was listed as available for adoption on Petango.

For the last few months, Laura Thomas and Julie Cherubini of Columbus Ohio had been thinking about adopting another Boxer. Both Laura and Julie have adopted before, and were looking for a companion for Dolce, who is also a deaf, white Boxer. The day before, Laura was browsing Petango’s adoptable pet search listings on the Humane Society’s website with the hope that they would find ‘the one’.  They spotted Bumble and it was love at first sight. 

“When I saw Bumble on Petango, there was just something about his face that made me email the link to Julie. When Julie took a look, she immediately said we should meet him,” said Laura Thomas.

Staff from the shelter brought the dog to his new family.  Bumble, oblivious of the fact that he was PetPoint’s 2-millionth adopted pet, lapped up their loving hugs and kisses. “He is the first dog that caught our interest since we adopted Dolce. So I guess it was fate that he became part of our family,” added Laura.

“For an animal shelter to thrive our clients expect instant gratification; it takes energy, commitment and Petango!  Since implementing Petango on our website, available animals are updated instantly, making our website dynamic and even addictive! Just ask our thousands of regular visitors,” said Jodi Lytle Buckman, Executive Director, Capital Area Humane Society. 

In celebration of this event, Laura and Julie received a new adopter kit from ThePetangoStore.com containing a plush bed, bowls, collar and leash, tasty treats and chew toys.  They also benefited from a year of ShelterCare Pet Insurance, to help them protect their financial savings from expensive vet bills caused by unexpected accidents or illnesses.

“We strongly encourage and support the adoption of pets from shelters.  We help our animal welfare partners save as many pets as possible by providing them with tools that support their donation efforts as well as reduce their financial and operational costs.  This includes Petango.com, our online pet adoption search tool which helps potential adopters to browse a live feed of animals available for adoption, share pet information with family and  friends, participate in a thriving pet community and purchase pet supplies and medications at ThePetangoStore.com,” said Christa Chadwick, Director, North American Shelter Outreach at Pethealth Inc.

Ever since Uno the beagle took the Westminster dog show by storm in 2008, it’s been beagle-mania.  “Beagle” is the most searched for dog breed on the internet, with a global monthly search volume of over 4 million hits.  The next most-searched dog breed?  The Yorkshire Terrier, with a “pawtry” 1.5 million hits.  In the virtual world, the Beagle rules.

Great time to be a beagle, right?  The reining Westminster champion, the most sought after dog breed; heck even Charles Darwin named his ship “The Voyage of the Beagle” in honor of the breed. 

But let’s not forget that with “great popularity comes great responsibility”.  Many beagles are ending up at animal shelters because owners either weren’t ready for a pet, weren’t ready for the breed, or simply because a lot of puppy mills tried to “cash-in” on the beagle boom, creating a high supply of beagles.  But in the end it’s the shelters that have been bearing the burden of “Beagle-mania”.  

So two things.

First, if you’re thinking about adding a Beagle to your family, ask yourself if it’s the right breed for you.  To start:

• Beagles live on average 12-15 years.  Are you ready to care for a beagle for the rest of his or her life?
• Be prepared to spend at least $500 per year on your beagle.  Are you financially prepared to support a beagle? 
• Beagles are high energy dogs and need daily exercise to burn off that excess energy.  Will you be able to exercise your beagle once or twice a day?

(For more questions to consider, please visit beagles on the web).

Second, if a beagle is what you’re looking for, why not consider adoption?  At Petango.com, there are virtually hundreds of beagles waiting to find their forever homes.  Click here to search for adoptable beagles across North America. 

Want more beagle info?  Here’s a quick list:

• Beagles on the web
• Beagle Paws
• The Beagle FAQ
• Beagle World
• Beagle Rescue Foundation of America

Okay I think I’m all beagled out for today.

Robert

Thomas Hobbes wrote that we are all social animals.  Dogs are no different.  That’s why we have Dog Parks; they’re the perfect place for both two-legged and four-legged creatures to co-exist, socially.  But like any social space, the DP comes with a certain set of practices, rules of behavior, and acceptable etiquette.  In my four years as a dog park partaker, I’ve seen enough faux-paws to write a book about.  But I’ll try and keep it to a blog post.  So here’s my 10 rules for “staying classy” at the DP:

1. Don’t bring your puppy to the DP until they’re at least 5 months old and/or until after they're spayed or neutered (and expect your puppy to get picked on, it’s what’s known as the “DP rite of passage”).
2. Keep your dog on a leash until you reach the gate. Mixing on-leash and off-leash dogs can cause stress in the leashed dogs, which may lead to aggression. 
3. Does your dog have a history of attacking other dogs at the DP?  Be a responsible dog owner, consider a muzzle or stay away from DPs until you get the right behavioral training for your dog.
4. “DP” at “DPs” also stands for “Dispose of Poo”.  Pretty self explanatory.  Bring lots of bags
5. Don’t let your dog wander or let it out of your site.  If you do, you are responsible for rule #4 (yep, even if it’s not your own dog’s).
6. If you bring balls, frisbees, or any other fetch toy into the DP, do not expect other DP people to chase after their own dogs when they steal them.
7. Does your dog bark incessantly?  It annoys other owners, and probably other dogs.  Keep your dog away from the DP until you can prevent consistent barking.
8. If your dog injures another dog at the DP, you’re responsible for working with the dog’s owner to ensure it receives the proper treatment, and for any vet bills.
9. Don’t commit DP "bigamy". Find one DP and stick with it.  Your pet will get familiar with other dogs who regularly visit, reducing the likelihood of anxiety and misbehavior.
10. Contribute the upkeep of your DP (again, this may involve Rule #4) and be willing to pay a small membership fee that goes towards its continued maintenance.

Let’s abide by these rules so your time at the DP isn’t “nasty, brutish, and short”, as Thomas Hobbes put it.

Robert

p.s. If you don’t refer to the dog park as “DP” (to avoid sending your dog into a frenzy), you don’t go to the “DP” enough

a)      Less than 100,000

b)      100,000 – 250,000

c)       250,000 – 500,000

d)      500,000 – 1 million

e)      1 million – 2 million

If you’re like most people, your answer is probably c, maybe d, and hopefully not e.  But you’d be wrong.  According to a PetSmart Charties poll conducted by Ipos, “most people grossly underestimate the number of animals euthanized each year in shelters.”  The answer, to prove a point, is neither a, b, c, d, or e.   The truth is that at least 4 million pets are euthanized each year; it’s the number one killer of healthy pets in the United States.

I know, you’re probably a little shocked.  That number stings.  I only recently discovered it myself.  If anything, that number should spur people like me, and people like you, into action.  In my opinion, the best way to reduce that ugly number is to promote pet adoption from animal shelters and raise awareness about spaying and neutering.

But how?  That’s the more important question.  What’s your answer?

I asked the Petango Facebook community to submit the"highest vet bills" they've ever had, and whether they had pet insurance to help cover the costs.

Here's some of the responses so far:

I'm going to give Frank the "Highest Vet Bill Award" for amassing $10,000 of fees in only one month.  Sorry Frank, a dubious award I know, but it just goes to show how far we're willing to go as pet owners, to help our pets.  

And speaking of vet bills, I've recently come across an interesting statistic:"you'll probably spend upwards of $20,000 on your pet during their lifetime, and nearly half of that will go towards your pet's healthcare".  In the case of Frank, that figure was spent in just a single month.  And if you don't have pet insurance, you're going to be stuck making some tough decisions about your money, and your pet.

I too have been victim to high vet bills. Strike that: I will be a victim in the future.  Let me explain.  One of my basset hounds, Logan, has glaucoma in both eyes.  The glaucoma may or may not get worse as she ages, but it has to be monitored routinely by an ophthalmologist.  Is surgery an option?  Yep. With a price tag of $3000 per eye plus cost associated with medications and vet hospital stays.  If I had the right pet insurance, most of this cost, if not all, would be covered.  But I didn't have pet insurance at the time.  I've since learned from my mistake and now have both my bassets insured (but Logan's glaucoma won't be covered because it was a pre-existing condition).  

Now full disclosure time.  I work for a pet insurance company so I'm not going to try and hide the fact.  But I do know that pet insurance can save you a lot of money.  And in future blogs I'm going to dig deeper into the numbers, and tell you exactly how much money it's saving people.

In the meantime, please send me your stories about how much money pet insurance has saved you.  Looking forward to your responses. 

Have a great weekend!

Robert

p.s. If you're seriously considering pet insurance, check out: www.24petwatch.com or www.petcareinsurance.com 

Have any questions? Post a comment on this blog or send me an email

I've had my two bassets hounds for four, fun filled years now. But it was only a few weeks ago I came across some unsettling news about where they came from: a puppy mill.  I had "ordered" them online from what looked to be a reputable breeder in Missouri, and had paid to have them flown up to Canada.  If I had known then what I know now, I don't think I would have placed those basset hounds in my "shopping cart".  I would, in fact, have adopted from a shelter.  

And I'm not alone, according to an article in today's L.A. Times, more and more people are opting to adopt pets from shelters: "More than half of people [polled] said they would get their next dog or cat from a shelter, nearly seven times the number who said they would buy their next pet from a store".   

That's good news.  Choosing to adopt a pet from a shelter not only makes room for another animal to be taken into the shelter, it also helps reduce the demand for for animals from puppy mills.  

Want more reasons?  In her recent blog, Megan from the Humane League said that pet adoption is the way to go because shelters can help you find the perfect pet, they house a lot of hard-to-find breeds, and pet adoption can also be cheaper than "free" pets because pets often come spayed or neutered and microchipped.

Yep, next time I'll be opting to adopt, will you?

Robert

p.s. Photo credit to Petango Community Member Maria for the cute pic of her pup

These are the top three reactions I get when walking my two basset hounds, Logan and Jess (the latter response usually coming in the form of a "drive-by howl").  My dueling, drooling doggies definitely draw a distinct reaction, and I'm always more than happy to oblige.   And the most FAQ about my girls?  Why did you choose basset hounds? Good question.  

Why did I choose basset hounds?  Is it because of their soft, silky coat?  Their wrinkly face and adorable oversized paws?  Or is it because both George Washington and Emperor Napoleon both sported this regal breed?

I think I went for the basset hounds because they’re the ultimate “underdog”.  They’ve been given short, stocky legs on a hefty frame and enormous ears that they often trip over and get wet when drinking, dirty when eating.  Those big ears also make easy pickins’ for other dogs when bassets wrestle, or tassel, with other physically superior canine specimens.  Even the one thing they’re good at, tracking with their nose, the basset plays second fiddle to the bloodhound.

Yep, the basset isn’t blessed with too many qualities that make it out to be any kind of super dog, that’s for sure.  But that’s what make them so special: bassets are given lemons and they make lemonade.  And you’ll never meet a kinder, gentler, happier dog in the world.  We can learn a lot from the basset… aaaawwwwwoooooo!     

Why did you choose your pet breed? Let me know!