A couple of months ago I was at dinner at an acquaintance’s house. Much to my horror, they had two very large cats. I took a deep breath and decided that I could handle it if I just ignored them. This became very difficult because as we sat down to dinner, the cats sat down as well- at the table. I was appalled- why were the cats sitting at the table? I lost my appetite because I couldn’t help but wonder if the cats ate off the same plates as the humans. Cats are great I guess but if you … Continue reading →

One of my cousins used to have pet snakes. He was a strange boy. Every time I went over his house I would be afraid to leave the sight of his mother for fear that he would put the snake on me. Nevertheless snakes are common pets. But before you rush out to get one, you should be quite familiar with what it takes to have one. Unlike dogs and cats, some snakes prefer live food. They eat rodents, frogs, insects, or other snakes – some of these things can be bought frozen and stored however some snakes will only … Continue reading →

I’ll admit that I don’t like to throw anything away. It doesn’t matter if I haven’t used it in 5 years because you never can be too sure about when you are going to need a broken fly swatter. That was a joke, (kind of), but it made me think about all the animals that are treated as collections. Scientifically they are known as animal hoarders but most people call them “that crazy dog (or cat) lady”. Randall Lockwood of the Humane Society says, “Hoarding is very often a symptom of a greater mental illness, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder. For … Continue reading →

I never understood why people don’t clean up after their dogs. Just because your dogs use the bathroom outside, it doesn’t mean that you should just leave the poop there. Not only would it be disgusting if someone happened to step in it and drag it into their house, but also it’s a health risk for every other dog who happens to walk on that path. According to the BBC, in the UK hundreds of people were fined after their dogs eliminated on the pavement. I think this is a step in the right direction. I remember a few months … Continue reading →

People love their pets. As a pet owner I fully understand this but there comes a time when you have to ask yourself, “am I taking this too far?” Apparently some people in Chicago are being buried with their pets. I guess if you want to get technical you could say that Egyptians did the same thing so what is so strange; but this is 2006! After I read this, I immediately wondered if the people had it written in their will that the pet was to be put down as soon as the owner died. But that’s not how … Continue reading →