Jezebel
attack dogs
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Bird Brains
Two stories today suggest that birds may be man's best friend. In England, Fred, an African Grey parrot, became so depressed when his owner died that he had to be prescribed a twice-daily liquid dose of Clomicalm, the bird version of Prozac. Further south in Wales, Smokey, a grey cockatiel, went missing for two days after flying out of his owners' front door... and, after he was found, chirped his own name, convincing his rescuer that she had found his owner. "He's a one-in-a-million bird. My heart went when he flew away," said owner David Edwards after picking up Smokey. "I don't mind admitting I shed a few tears on my way to pick him up." [The Telegraph, BBC]
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animal magnetisms
Inside The Belly Of The Beast: Pets Eat The Strangest Things
A veterinarian in New York has compiled a top ten list of the items pets swallow the most, and socks are number one. Next comes underwear, pantyhose and, uh, rocks. "It tends to be things that smell like the owners," says Dr. Jennifer Mlekoday. "They start playing with them and then they wind up swallowing them." The New York Daily News has a fun X-ray slide show to accompany this story, and some of the stuff lodged inside the puppies is insane: More » -
Leftovers
Escaped Dog Delays Flights • FBI Rescues Sex Slaves
• A stray poodle delayed at least 8 flights at Boston's Logan Airport for about 20 minutes on Sunday when it frolicked on the tarmac. • A new study has found that women who take flaxseed oil in the last two trimesters of pregnancy increase their risk of giving birth prematurely. • More science: a recent study has found that breast-feeding is not a cause of sagging breasts post-pregnancy. • More » -
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puppy love
Have You Ever Had Joint Custody Of A Pet?
When my friend T broke up with his boyfriend J, the saddest part was what to do about their baby, E. They arranged an elaborate custody agreement, that lasted until J moved to the UK. My other friend W has joint custody over his little one, L, after he and his ex girlfriend broke up. E and L, as you've probably guessed, are dogs. And according to today's Telegraph, pets totally suffer psychological distress when their owners break up. Dr. Sean Wensley says, "Dogs that are stressed can show signs of compulsive disorder. This may include chasing their own tail or excessive licking of one or more limbs." And they're not alone: Cats and parrots self-harm too. More » -
Animal Magnetisms
This ad for Timmie Doggie Outfitters has a caption that begins,"Oh god. I just spent three quarters of my day licking myself. I just sit here, with a bowl of water, some toys and my urges – lonely one minute and satisfied the next. Such a wicked paradox…" It's one of 10 Hilarious Pet Ads! Click the picture to see the full caption and few more ads. [InventorSpot]
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Little Angels
A woman (known only as "Feng") in the Sichuan province of China claims to be in the possession of a "winged cat." She says that her pet cat grew "angel wings" on his back last summer after some female cats in heat "harassed" him. Cats with wings, however, are not an unknown phenomenon, and geneticists say that a cat sprouting "wings" could be a sign of a genetic defect, a skin condition, or poor grooming. Well, if this photo is to be believed, that kitty is suffering from one heinous hair cut. (See the full-sized image after the jump.) [Daily Mail via Boing Boing]
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Dog Wear Dog
There are people who love their dogs. And then there are people who collect their dogs' shed hair and send it to Doumé Jalat-Dehen, who spins it into yarn so you can knit a dog-hair sweater. And, presumably, smell like wet dog when you're caught in the rain. [Vice]
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news roundup
Oh, Hell Yeah And Oh, Hell No
- Rachel Maddow has finally been given her own show at MSNBC. She's taking over Dan Abrams' 9:00 ET spot on September 8 (the Monday after the conventions). Congrats! [NY Times]
- Barack Obama told John McCain to stop questioning his patriotism just because they disagree on national security. It won't work, but it was well-said, so go read it. [Politico]
- John McCain might really be prepared to piss off the fundies and pick a pro-choice VP, which should mean that very few pro-choice women will actually vote for him but could mean the fundies will stay home in a snit on Election Day. [CNN]
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Puppies! We all love them, but some people can't commit to having a dog at home due to time/space restrictions. Now, dog-lovers who want a pet but can't commit to one full-time are finding relief from their yearnings by sharing and/or borrowing puppies. Interestingly,animal lending is nothing new, as this magazine article from 1953 shows, but we just hope that the dog's sanity is OK. [WSJ & Modern Mechanix]
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