It's a New Year's tradition around my home, one that has outlived a handful of pets, but it still works to ensure the safety of the animals who share their lives with me now.... more
The first dog I house-trained using a crate was Andy, who'll be 15 years old in June, just to give you an idea of the amount of time that has passed since. Before Andy, I scooted a lot of puppies and ... more
My friend Bruce is a successful business executive, as comfortable in the boardrooms of Fortune 500 companies as I am at the dog park. He is intensely competitive, highly motivated, and has been known... more
Perhaps because kittens are so very appealing, adult cats have the lowest adoption rate of all pets at many shelters. While prospective adopters head straight for the kitten section, the adult cats pu... more
When the Food and Drug Administration banned cold-care and diet products with the ingredient phenylpropanolamine, or PPA, the recent action came at a price for many pet owners. The time-release versio... more
Every animal lover has an opinion on what's the best look for a cat. Some love calicoes; others like the ever-formal appearance of black-and-white tuxedo cats. Some melt for cats who are sleek and sma... more
When you have to fit everything you need for six months into a relatively small minivan, you make some tough decisions as to what you can live without. In my case, that meant leaving behind lots of bo... more
One of the first things I did when I arrived at the house that will be my home for the next few months was find a pet-supply store. I had dog tags to order.... more
If you want to challenge the assumption that you love your dogs, place them in a car already jam-packed with a fair amount of your belongings, and then drive nearly 3,000 miles in four days.... more
Halloween is just around the corner, which means it has been possible to get bags of candy at any grocery store for weeks now. They sell it early, I figure, with the idea that people will buy a bag or... more
One very positive change in the handling of homeless animals in the last couple of decades has been the growth of the volunteer, grass-roots breed-rescue movement. If you're looking for a purebred and... more
Here's one of those columns you can clip and give to a neighbor, or maybe you'll find it handed to you. It seems as though everyone's eager to help the neighbor with the barking dog, and if you have s... more
If you're going to have a healthy pet, you need the help of a veterinarian. And although many people believe that these health-care professionals are pretty much interchangeable, distinguished only by... more
National Iguana Awareness Day has come and gone without so much as a peep from me. Really, I should be flogged. I will say in my own defense that I'm horrible with all dates, and even Christmas seems ... more
If you've ever struggled with getting a pill down the throat of a dog or cat, the good news is that you can't give a pill to your pet bird, so you'll never be asked to. The bad news is that there isn'... more
In recent years, cat lovers have been horrified by reports of deadly tumors caused by something that's supposed to save the lives of their pets -- routine vaccinations. Unfortunately the disease calle... more
With neighborhood schools at both ends of my street, the parade of children past my house is constant year-round, but certainly busier now, with the children suddenly wearing shoes and hauling backpac... more
As much fun as puppies are, there's no doubt they're also a lot of work. Let the opportunities of puppyhood pass you by, though, and you'll end up with a poorly behaved dog. Keep in mind, always, that... more
Let's get one thing straight up front: Almost all cats shed. The "almost" is there to apply to those very few cats who haven't any fur -- such as those of the Sphynx breed, who still manage to carry a... more
Sometimes the columns just write themselves, like this one, which was born at 2 a.m. in an exam room of the emergency veterinary clinic, while I waited for the staff to return with good news and my sw... more
One of my readers picked up the ashes of her old Labrador the other day, the burnished wooden box the only physical remainder of the dog who had been part of her life for nearly 13 years. She had take... more
So often I seem to be writing about the value of patience when it comes to getting a pet to do something he'd rather not. Time can work wonders, but sometimes those wonders take a lot of time indeed.... more
When it comes to keeping bird cages clean, you'll find plenty of people at the extremes: There are folks who wait until the mess is spilling over the lip of the cage, and folks who instantly sterilize... more
Tolerance for mess is a good thing when you share your life with a bird. If you're uptight about things being out of place, about dust, about food crumbs and, especially, about bird poop, you're going... more
My neighbors have kittens, a handful of playful, adorable and oh-so beautiful little kittens. They didn't mean to have these kittens, even though they're enjoying them immensely, and even though they ... more
The longest weekend I ever spent was in a veterinary emergency clinic over a three-day Fourth of July holiday weekend. The truly appalling procession of animals hit by cars, cut jumping through window... more
Andy marked his 14th birthday in what has become traditional in recent years: with a basket of cherry tomatoes and a prostate exam. The first part is what Andy would choose for himself -- the old shel... more
Rare are the trips when I leave my dogs behind, and I'm certainly not alone in my enjoyment of traveling with my pets. You can find dozens of books on pet travel, many complete with information on the... more