As a child I would frequently start my annual wishing for a dog around the time of my birthday in Oct, and would accelerate that wishing as only a child can straight through to Christmas Eve. My parents would smile and tell me the old story of how they used to have a dog but had to give him away when I was born because he liked to jump in the crib, their explanations were peppered with reasons that now make sense but at the time I did not want to hear. I mean so what if they both had to work and there was no one around to dependably take care of a dog, I wanted a dog…..

When I was nine years old they let me pick out a cat from a new litter in a neighboring town, I picked the multi-colored cat out of a the litter where all the rest of the kittens were yellow. So we took the kitten home and because it was mine my parents and sister only put up mild objections to naming her Stuffy. I loved the cat and even at nine took on the cleaning of the litter box and occasional brushing. We had Stuffy for 16 or 17 years and she taught me many things about animals and love.

With a cat at home my love of animals kept growing and I would run into 6 or 7 dogs in the next 10 years that would have a profound impact in how I viewed the treatment of pets. The first one was a beagle who lived a couple of hundred yards down our street, he was chained up in front of a little dog house situated next to an apartment house. The beagle who I a 10 year old little boy would name Ow-u did not bark or whine he just sat in his yard watching everyone coming and going. One day I crossed the lawn and went to visit him, I ended up returning over and over to chat with him and feed him milk bones I had bought with money from my paper route. We became fast friends for a year and a half till his owners moved away. In all that time I think I was the only person who spent time with him other then his daily feeding. it broke my heart when he went away just as his loneliness broke my heart when I walked by his house.

Animals deserve to live with people who have the time, patience and love to take care of them, they are not toys or things we buy and then push in the back of some closet when a new shinny toy comes along. Too many people neglect their animals and that’s why more and more shelters sprout up every year to meet this horrible crisis.

During this holiday season please direct some of your giving to animal shelters so they can continue the generous work they do everyday. Giving just 2 or 3 dollars to a couple of shelters will brighten the lives of some forgotten pet. Please visit a couple of shelter websites and make a donation today…  Thanks….

I’m not going to be blogging for a while on Dancing Dog Blog but Mary will be blogging more and a couple of people will likely come on board as guest bloggers. And even though I won’t be out front here I will be behind the scenes working on linking and a new template for the blog, it’s been fun and I look forward to reading everyone’s comments on all our stories in the future.

Recently the NYT did a story on short legged dogs that I thought would interest everyone, “Dachshund owners may love their little dogs’ short legs. But to scientists, this trait is just a developmental disorder.This week a group led by Heidi Parker, a geneticist at the National Institutes of Health’s National Human Genome Research Institute, reported in Science that they have identified the single evolutionary event that created the modern short-legged dog.” READ MORE: Short Legged Dogs

Have a wonderful weekend everyone and please enjoy the rest of the summer with your pets..

I was surfing the net earlier today and saw a notice… ” Masseuse Shawn McBride, LMP/SAMP, is giving free massages to dogs of all sizes and breeds on a first-come, first-served basis.“  I question if my first reading was correct, so I read it over and over again and then again.Yes I finally say, it is what it says and where the heck is my dog costume and plane ticket to Seattle… geeze Louise, dogs get all the perks…

Down in my favorite city Christie Keith writes a post in the San Francisco Chronicle about what to do with your pet when there is an emergency and since this is such an important subject I thought I would bring it up again, I know I did a post about it not so long ago. READ MORE: Family crisis, Family pets

I hope everyone has a wonderful rest of the weekend, I hear it was 116 in Phoenix today… wow, stay cool everyone.

Ever wonder what you dog was feeling when she looks at you? Do you think your dog looks happy or sad from time to time? How about this question, does your dog look guilty sometimes? Well in today’s Seattle Times, Rob Stein takes a look at that question and gives out a few answers. “Many dog owners have had this experience: Arriving home, they discover their pooch looking sheepish, with its head down, ears pulled back, tail tucked between the legs, maybe slinking behind the sofa. They soon discover the reason: a favorite pair of shoes chewed to pieces, or perhaps a garbage can upended. But is their canine companion acting guilty? Or is this an example of people projecting a human emotion onto their four-legged friend? “CONTINUE READING: Your Pets Emotions

Over at BioArts International the reputed first in the world first commercial dog cloning service a Mr Hawthorne says 99% of the time people should get their dogs from shelters. He goes on to say that when you have an exceptional dog what is wrong with cloning that dog. Now I don’t know about you but every dog owner I know thinks her dog is exceptional and would be devastated to lose their friend.

I don’t know what I think about cloning, but I do think people should think long and hard before they shell out the reported 140,000 dollars it costs. READ MORE about Cloning Your Dog

Since I brought up the subject of cloning, I thought I would pull an old story out of the basket concerning ethics and trust. Seems Reuters pushed a story about a cat who had a brief fling with a neighborhood dog and ended up giving birth to puppies. Now before anyone freaks out, you can read more of this 2006 story titled Journalistic Standards Go to the Dogs (and Cats)

Have a wonderful dog filled weekend everyone.

With a reported 200,000 members, United Cats and United Dogs, which in based mostly in Eastern Europe has just received another huge influx of VC funding to help the social networking site continue to grow, ” UDC first launched the two pet communities internationally about two years ago, and the nicely designed social networking services have quickly gained traction with cat and dog owners throughout Europe, in large part thanks to its localized nature with support for 16 languages.” READ MORE – Dog and Cat Social Networking

On Thursday the Supreme Court in Canada refused to hear a challenge to an Ontario law banning Pit Bulls, “The Supreme Court of Canada said Thursday it will not hear a bid to quash Ontario’s ban on pit bulls. A Toronto dog owner, Catherine Cochrane, began the push to take the fight to Canada’s highest court in April.” Red More .. Pit Bulls. “not in Ontario”

It is an age old question, “can we get a puppy?” and and age old answer “we will take care of it.”  Many new puppies find themselves in a loving home but get neglected none the less. Getting a pet is a huge responsibility, thinking about it deeply before jumping in can save you and your new puppy from years of  heartache.

I ran across a short blog in the NYT and what struck me is that over 40 people replied. “So Michelle Obama is right. Dogs are not parenting lessons. The only reason to get one is because you want one. Responsibility, companionship and other life lessons for your children are sometimes nice side benefits. But how often does it actually work out as planned?” Read More – Can I get a Puppy