Paw Prints the Magazine

Everyone remembers Cecil B. DeMille’s 1956 film “THE TEN COMMANDMENTS.” Seriously. Who hasn’t seen it on television just about every spring since childhood?

Well, anyone that hasn’t been living under a rock for the past fifty years will surely recognize this scene in the film…

Moses (played by a young, buff, Charlton Heston) kneels in front of a bush that appears to be burning (using very old school special effects—I think it was just plain old cartoon animation). Moses is asked by the bush to remove his sandals citing something about holy ground, some more pleasantries are exchanged between the bush (a.k.a. God) and Moses until eventually curiosity gets the best of him and he asks…

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The Fragile Difference Between Helping and Hoarding Animals
We hear it on the news all too often, each news report often more difficult to believe than the last. Animal hoarders have never met an animal they didn’t like, and place us (our society in general) in quite a predicament.

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Dogs have been man’s best friend for centuries. Proof has been found of domesticated dogs as early as 5000 B.C. As soon as man began to appreciate his canine counterparts, dog collars began to be introduced. Representations of dogs wearing collars have been found in Ancient Egyptian ruins dating back to as early as 3500-3000 B.C. These early dog collars, which were often made of leather containing the names of dogs such as “Brave One,” “Reliable,” “Antelope,” and “Useless,” are a good indication of the purpose of dog collars throughout the centuries, but could not foreshadow the collar’s fashionable future.

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It’s Summer and it going to be HOT! But I don’t need to tell you that. I don’t know how many times I’m overwhelmed by the temperature the interior of my car reaches when I leave it for even short periods of time. We hear time and time again of people leaving their children in the car for “brief” periods of time and returning to find them lifeless. How that can happen is anyone’s guess. We’re horrified and outraged every time the story plays on the news. But what about our pets?

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Have you ever been captivated by a photo of a baby animal that’s just too darling not to share. Admit it; most of us are guilty of filling the email boxes of our friends, family and co-workers with pictures of darling animals doing the cute things they do…

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Barack Obama has been able to keep an important campaign promise; the one made to his daughters that they could have a puppy once the campaign was over – win or lose. The Portuguese Water Dog, Bo, has been getting a lot of attention and will likely be the subject of plenty of feel-good photo ops for a long time to come…

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We’ve published articles about this before, but here we go again…

A stray dog shows up at our house. Cute, looks like Benji. Friendly, likes our cats, shows proper deference to our dogs; a real keeper (if we didn’t already have a full house)…

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The weather finally warmed up (thank goodness) and you and your pets are spending more and more time outdoors – at parks, on hikes and even camping. So, the odds of Fido getting into something smelly begin to increase exponentially…

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Summer travel season is around the corner; starting on Memorial Day weekend and the National, State, County and City parks will be packed with families. With more and more families traveling with their pets this can present some interesting if not dangerous situations…

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…sometimes instead of yet another drug, I send them home with a formal signed prescription that reads, “One dog; to be taken for a walk once or twice daily.”

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This department is our product review section that began in our July 2004 issue. Since we have PLENTY of animals at home, we decided we would be able to provide our readers with true to test product reviews. After all most product reviews you see are written by the manufacturer of the product or is a paid ad that reads like editorial…

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Animal Planet’s large predator expert Dave Salmoni embarks on the most transformative mission of his life — and also the most relevant one. Leaving the city life of Toronto, Salmoni heads deep into the Namibian bush to spend six months — ALONE — among a pride of lions and the diverse and often deadly wildlife in Africa. His mission is twofold — to return to his wild roots and to head INTO THE PRIDE to save a rogue pride of lions from elimination.

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More often than we realize, private pilots across the country fill their planes with unlikely passengers, transporting them to safe new homes. And during the week of September 12-20, 2009, these good Samaritans have committed to flying off into the horizon for the sake of saving 5000 of these special passengers.

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Care or captivity? The different ways dogs and cats see things. Enjoy!

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Although “Stuff We Shouldn’t Have to Tell You” isn’t an official Paw Prints column, maybe it should be. So, we thought from time to time we’d share some of the things we’ve learned along the “learning curve” of life with pets. Here’s ‘Part I’ In no particular order…

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Same-sex behavior is a nearly universal phenomenon in the animal kingdom, common across species, from worms to frogs to birds, concludes a new review of existing research.

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Ex-police officer and certified search & rescue manager won contest to clone beloved pet Trakr, hero of 9-11 rescue efforts
LOS ANGELES, June 17, 2009 — Can you clone a hero? Retired police officer James Symington, owner of the late search and rescue dog and 9-11 hero, Trakr, receives five answers to that question on Wednesday [...]

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A German news site reported that a real vixen (a female fox) has stolen more than 120 shoes from doorsteps in a German town, amassing a collection that would impress even Imelda Marcos.

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Richmond Times-Dispatch Columnist, Mike Willimiams suggests Danville police should quit trying to make excuses for their habit of shooting animals.
In his article published June 13, 2009 begins as follows:
“Must love dogs” clearly isn’t a requirement to be a Danville police officer.
A miniature dachshund charged at officer Murrill McLean after McLean attempted to serve a summons [...]

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Osteoarthritis is commonly diagnosed in the late and irreversible stages, when treatment can only be expected to decrease pain and slow progression of disease. Now, University of Missouri researchers are investigating potential biomarkers in dogs for a much earlier diagnosis.

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