Tag Archives: animals

My Favorite Pet Blogs from the Past Year

Below is a list of my favorite articles I wrote during the past year, often with an explanation of what made them memorable. Five Non-Cash Ways to Help Animals/Shelters this Holiday Season: This was my first article to have a comment left on it. Is It Ever Okay to Kick a Dog?: This was my first article to ever get stars. The BMK Fund: This practice is very near and dear to my heart and it was neat to have a platform such as blogging for Families.com to share it on. How to Put Your Shopping Dollars to Work Helping … Continue reading →

Let the Animals Decorate for Christmas

Want a whimsical Christmas decorating idea that comes straight from the wonderful world of Disney? Here is a cute idea that you’ll want to try over and over again. Have you seen the movie Enchanted, yet? With all of the previews, movie clips and interviews, I feel as though I have already seen the movie, even without actually going to the theater. One of the prevailing themes in the movie a play on the traditional Disney films with all of the helpful happy woodland creatures that are available to assist the Disney princesses. And then there are the holiday movies, … Continue reading →

The Pets Blog Week in Review for November 5-11

What did Aimee and I write about during the first full week of November? If you missed a day, check out this installment of the Pets Blog Week in Review. Monday, November 5 Paying Attention When Pets Act Weird Murph was barking like crazy, the cats were acting wary…it was very suspicious behavior, which I try to pay attention to. In this case the animals tipped me off to the cops at the across-the-street neighbor’s house. Out on a Limp Aimee noticed some odd behavior with one of her dogs too. Moose developed a limp during their walks, one that … Continue reading →

Beat Colds and Flu Faster

Do you ever feel like your body WANTS to be sick? Over the last week or so, I’ve been feeling the first hints that there may be a cold on the horizon: a scratchy throat, a drippy nose, and a general feeling of fatigue. Here are some tips to help you beat colds and flu faster this winter! Work on your resistance. When I start to feel crummy, I reach for my Echinacea and goldenseal supplements — but there are lots of different options out there! Check your local health food store or the vitamin section of your favorite pharmacy … Continue reading →

79 Animal Rights, Welfare, and Service Organizations Worthy of Your Donations

Using ratings generated by Charity Navigator and the American Institute of Philanthropy, I’ve compiled a list of the top-rated animal rights, welfare, and service-related charities. These are ones that scored either four stars from Charity Navigator (their highest rating) or As from the American Institute of Philanthropy. Charity Navigator and the American Institute of Philanthropy evaluate “the financial health” of non-profit organizations to determine which ones are using their money most effectively. What this means to you is that you can rest assured your donation dollars are being well utilized for the cause they were intended. Charities are listed in … Continue reading →

Celebrity Animal Attraction

It’s the awards show my 3-year-old dog-loving daughter would love front row tickets to–the Fido Awards. Britain’s first-ever awards to honor canine cinematic excellence were handed out Sunday and caused quite a scene at London’s South Bank arts center. The show, billed as the world’s first-ever international awards ceremony for canine screen stars, was packed with howling performances by four-legged stars. But, at the end of the night only a handful of pooches walked away with the award for “top dog.” And the winners were… Drum roll please… The tail-wagging stars from the Oscar-winning film “The Queen.” Poppy, Anna, Alice, … Continue reading →

More Viral Animal Emails: Doggone Hysterical

Previously I wrote about viral emails I’m guilty of spreading and ones that have tugged at my heart. Well, here’s some that I’ve found just doggone hysterical. Off the Mark Cartoons My neighbor Marlene forwarded an email with “From a dog’s point of view” in the subject line. It contained a bunch of Off the Mark cartoons by Mark Parisi. These were cartoons I’d never seen before and had me in stitches because I thought they were incredibly clever. My favorites were: • “Aromatherapy Candles” – a dog’s standing in front of a rack of dog rear end candles, with … Continue reading →

National Wildlife Day: How You Can Help

Last month I wrote about National Dog Day sponsored by the Animal Miracle Foundation. Today is another AMF sponsored day, National Wildlife Day. What It’s About Initially the woman who created these days, Colleen Paige, was going to have this one fall on June 6th. However, she changed it to September 4th to honor “the last day that Steve Irwin graced this planet.” The goal is to raise awareness of the non-domestic creatures those of us who are urban dwellers may forget about. The ones who are endangered or otherwise threatened, but who can be saved with a little help … Continue reading →

Viral Emails: Have You Seen the One About…?

Photo by Simon Stratford How many jokes, surveys, video attachments, and other miscellaneous “fun” stuff do you get in your inbox on a weekly (or maybe even daily) basis? I get tons. Most of it I automatically delete, but some I don’t. In fact, sometimes I even forward them, thus helping to make them “viral.” (In other words, the kind of email that spreads from inbox to inbox.) Here’s a few I’m guilty of spreading: Cute: Big Dog, Little Baby A little while back, Bailey’s “PopPop” forwarded me a picture of a huge black dog laying in a yard on … Continue reading →

Photographing Animals at the Zoo

Almost every family has taken their camera to the zoo a time or two. Usually in hopes of capturing that perfect shot of a wild animal, or just to commemorate a day at the zoo with the kids. However, there are a few tricks to snapping shots of our furry and not-so furry friends in captivity. I have never forgotten my camera when I have gone to the zoo, however I have forgotten to photograph my family while there. The reason for this, is that I seem to be obsessed with animal photography. I seem to always be on the … Continue reading →