With the U.S. jobless rate reported recently at 24-year low, perhaps its time to address an unemployment problem no one seems to talk about, even though it affects tens of millions of Americans -- of the canine variety.

The good news is we don't need a government program to set this problem right. The better news is you and your dog will both be happier for the efforts you put into fixing the matter in your own home by finding something for your pet to do.

Dogs have a work ethic that puts the Puritans to shame. We put it there ourselves, through countless generations of selective breeding. No animal has lived and worked as closely with humankind as the dog, and no other has been more tailored to our needs. From the smallest toy breed to the largest wolfhounds and mastiffs, we've created breeds to fill all the jobs we had in mind. Herding, draying, protecting, and hunting prey as small as a mouse and as large as an elk -- wherever we saw a need, we bred a dog for the task.

And now they all sit, these dogs, in back yards and on couches while we're at work. No sheep to herd, no ducks to retrieve, and the terminating of pet rodents strongly discouraged. Thousands of years of selective breeding gone to waste. They're bored. So they dig, they bark, they mope.

It's just not right.

But before you wonder where you're going to put that flock of sheep for your unemployed herding dog, consider that even as our jobs have changed over the years, so have employment possibilities for dogs. While competitions exist to test the instinctive abilities -- such as herding tests and retriever trials, as well as more modern competitions such as agility trials -- I find that a creative approach to work can help fulfill a dog's needs.

Such has been the case in my house with the retriever Benjamin, a young dog who watches lines of migrating birds trace across the sky and gives me a pointed look once they're out of range.

"Hey," he seems to say. "Weren't you supposed to shoot those?"

Since I have no need for dead ducks, I've taught him to use his inbred skills in a way I find useful, creating possibly the world's best laundry retriever. He picks up the socks I drop on the way to the laundry room and at my command drops them into the open washer, along with his plush toys. To be so useful makes him giddy with joy.

Your dog could be just as happy. A friend's dog fetches the tissues when she sneezes and slams doors shut at a word. Following her example, I started to teach Benjamin to fetch the cordless phone, but stopped once I realized dog spit was hard on the equipment and no fun to touch when he finally brought the phone my way. With cold season at hand, we're working on that tissue trick now.

OK, so maybe canine unemployment isn't that pressing a problem. Still, consider that while such tricks may seem silly to some, they can go a long way toward strengthening the bond between you and your pet and making him more responsive and obedient.

Your dog wants to feel useful as much as you do. Train him, praise him, and let him work. You'll both be better for the experience; I promise.

Pets on the Web: Politics from a cat's-eye view? Why not, I say, and could it really be any worse than the legions of somniferous and overpaid pundits? If you suspect that all those argumentative folks in Washington need is an afternoon nap, you'll want to visit the Web site of the Socks The Cat Fan Club, dedicated to "America's first Democat."

The Web site (http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/6157/) does push a $12 fan club membership kit, but it contains enough news to keep fans of the black-and-white cat happy. The cat himself, according to the Web site, hasn't been very happy lately, with the recent departures not only of his owner, Chelsea, but also the first lady's press secretary, Neel Lattimore. Socks, the White House reports, "is speechless over Neel's departure."

Don't worry, Socks: Chelsea will be home for the holidays soon.

For a free print copy of the newsletter, send a name and address along with a 32-cent stamp to Socks The Cat Fan Club, 611 South Ivy St., Arlington, Va. 22204-2429.

Gina Spadafori is the award-winning author of "Dogs for Dummies" and "Cats for Dummies," and is the editorial director of the Veterinary Information Network Inc., an international online service for veterinary professionals. Write to her in care of this newspaper, or e-mail to Giori(at)aol.com.

4520 Main St., Kansas City, Mo. 64111; (816) 932-6600

People and cats live in completely different worlds when it comes to smell. The cat's sense of smell is many times more powerful than a human's, so keen that smells are among the most significant elements in your cat's world.

This one piece of information should help you understand many things, including why you and your cat might have a difference of opinion when it comes to the cleanliness of a litter box. What smells fine to you could smell like the nastiest public rest room for your cat, who may choose to go elsewhere.

While cats don't like litter boxes that smell like them -- or worse, like other cats -- they prefer everything else in their environment to carry their scent. The correct "smell environment" is so important to your cat that he engages in various marking behaviors to make everything in his world smell like him -- even you. Here are a few of your pet's scent-marking behaviors:

-- Rubbing. Your cat has structures called sebaceous glands at the base of his hair follicles that produce sebum, a substance that serves two purposes: coating the fur for protection and depositing scent on objects in the his environment. These glands are most numerous around your cat's mouth and on the chin, lips, upper eyelids, on the top of the base of tail, and near the anus and sex organs. If a cat rubs with his head (a behavior known as "bunting"), or any of these parts of his body, he's depositing sebum -- and scent -- on everything he touches. (Our pitiful noses can't detect these deposits, and it's probably just as well.)

-- Urine-spraying. Although few humans mind being "marked with sebum" as our cats rub against us lovingly, we don't at all approve of another of the cat's territorial behaviors: urine-marking. Although any cat may spray, the behavior is most common in unneutered males, who feel especially driven to mark their territory with their pungent urine by backing up to objects (or even people) and letting fly with a spray.

-- Clawing. If your pet digs his claws into his cat tree (or your couch!) he's not intending to be destructive. Scratching keeps claws in shape by removing the outer layer of material and keeping the tips sharp, and it also provides your cat with the opportunity to stretch. Perhaps not many cat-lovers realize that scratching is also important for scent-marking. As a cat claws, the pads of his feet come in contact with what he's digging into, and that motion leaves behind scent from the sweat glands in his feet (which is why even declawed cats "press the flesh" against objects in their territory).

-- Grooming. Your cat's attention to having every hair in place has many reasons, but one of them is scent-marking. Your cat's tongue covers every inch of his body with his own saliva, which contains his favorite perfume: Eau de Moi. Cats often groom themselves right after being petted -- to cover your scent with theirs. Your cat may also pay extra attention to your scent after you've stepped out of the shower, re-marking you with sweet rubbing to make sure everyone knows you're "his."

A final fact about the sensory equipment of cats: In addition to their noses, cats use a body part called the "vomeronasal organ," at the front of the roof of the mouth, to help them process smells, especially those of a sexual variety, such as the smell of a female in season. Whenever cats use this organ, they open their mouths a crack and "taste" the smell, a facial expression called "flehmen."

Pets on the Web: My colleagues at the Veterinary Information Network came up with "Ferret Central" (http://www.optics.rochester.edu:8080/users/pgreene/central.html), a no-glitz Web site with a wide variety of information on these pets, from their illnesses and husbandry to status reports on places like California where they're illegal -- but not uncommon. There are plenty of links to other ferret sites, as well as to e-mail lists and chat groups. I'm a sucker for fun stuff, which is why I liked the collection of ferret sounds, cartoons, jokes, songs and quizzes.

Gina Spadafori is the award-winning author of "Dogs for Dummies" and "Cats for Dummies," and is the editorial director of the Veterinary Information Network Inc., an international online service for veterinary professionals. Write to her in care of this newspaper, or e-mail to Giori(at)aol.com.

4520 Main St., Kansas City, Mo. 64111; (816) 932-6600

The colder nights we have now are perfect for reading, and if you can find something heartwarming to read, you're always better off. Fortunately, two books are out now that should warm your insides even on the chilliest night.

"Scarlett Saves Her Family" (Simon & Schuster Editions, $20) takes the true tale of a feline heroine from a description of the East Brooklyn neighborhood where she was a stray through her sudden worldwide fame to the adoption of her and her family by a handful of generous cat-lovers. Authors Jane Martin and J.C. Suares have done a good job with this book, telling the story well without making it too cloying.

The cat became a media star in March of 1996, when animal-loving firefighter David Giannelli found three, then four, then five tiny kittens next to the curb outside of a burning garage. As he collected the babies into a cardboard box, he knew there had to be a mother cat around. He found her across the street, exhausted and badly burned from carrying her kittens out of the fire. He named her Scarlett, for the patches of red fur he saw through the soot.

Scarlett was in such bad shape -- patches of fur and much of her ears singed off, unable to open her eyes -- that a technician at the North Shore Animal League's hospital cried when she saw her.

The cat beat the odds, and so did four of her five kittens.

Thousands offered to adopt Scarlett and her babies, and thousands more donated money on their behalf. Though badly scarred, Scarlett was transformed by loving care from a malnourished street cat to a beloved house pet, with lush fur and a healthy body.

While the whole book is enjoyable, with marvelous pictures of Scarlett and her kittens, the introduction by firefighter David Giannelli is the best part of the book. Giannelli has saved many animals in his nearly 20 years on the job -- so many, he writes, that fellow firefighters have kidded him for his compassion.

"Any animal is worth helping," he writes. "You have to do what you can."

Many people agreed with him where Scarlett was concerned, making this book really the story not of one act of selflessness, but many.

Perhaps because Scarlett's story played out on TV screens and newspapers around the country, we need to be reminded that sometimes animal heroes aren't as celebrated. "Zak: The One-of-a-Kind Dog" (Abrams, $12.95) is just such a reminder.

The story of Zak, one person's cherished pet, is told in gorgeous pictures taken and hand-colored by Jane Lidz, an award-winning photographer who makes her living pointing her camera at buildings.

Lidz is generous with her talent, though, contributing her skills to the aid of animals at the San Francisco SPCA -- much the same as Mary Bloom, Scarlett's photographer, does 3,000 miles away for the North Shore Animal League. "Zak" focuses on one small terrier mix with an adorably fuzzy and amazingly expressive face, and takes him on an imaginary search for what kind of dog he really is.

"There's no one else like me," he finally decides. "It feels good to be special."

"Special" is the word for the pictures in this book, which bring Zak to life and celebrates his loving disposition.

Either book is worth keeping in mind as the gift-giving season approaches.

Pets on the Web: Pet Bird (http://www.petbird.com) is a must-visit site for bird-lovers of all varieties. While the whole site is worth exploring, the page of Frequently Asked Questions (or FAQs) is top-flight, with articles on terminology and species, as well as general information on care, nutrition, behavior and breeding. The FAQ page (http://www.petbird.com/faq/) also serves as a sign-up site for the more than 20 bird-specific e-mail lists, with topics that include many different species as well as breeding. There's even a e-mail list for bird-loving kids. In all, it's hard to imagine a better online resource for bird-lovers.

Gina Spadafori is the award-winning author of "Dogs for Dummies" and "Cats for Dummies," and is the editorial director of the Veterinary Information Network Inc., an international online service for veterinary professionals. Write to her in care of this newspaper, or e-mail to Giori(at)aol.com.

4520 Main St., Kansas City, Mo. 64111; (816) 932-6600