Pets in the paper – squirrels are sneaky
Check out these animal stories in The Oklahoman today -
- Event to help more dogs. (Oklahoma City)
- Pet Tales: Sneaky squirrel jars couple with tit for tat. (Oklahoma City)
- Chihuahua serves as fire alarm for two men. (The Village)
- Dungy says Vick’s choices limited. (Indiana)
- Eighty pit bulls seized in raid. (Indiana)
- Wolf release raises questions. (New Mexico)
- Rachel Ray planning pet charity contest. (California)
- Help available for storm-phobic dogs. (nationwide)
Staff Writer Carrie Coppernoll
Want to see something cute?
Our friends over at the L.A. Unleashed blog have the story about a pair of red panda cubs being raised by a dog after they were abandonded by their mother.
The cubs were born June 25 at the Taiyuan Zoo in northern China. They were immediately abandoned by their mother, leaving keepers looking for a surrogate. They found a willing foster mother: a white mixed-breed dog who had recently given birth to a litter of puppies.
Apparently mom is loving and attentive of both her pups and the cubs.
Photos are from the Associated Press.
- Staff Writer Bryan Dean
Pet Show – taking your furry friend on the road
Listen to Pet Show! Our guest this week was the illustrious Harrison Forbes! He’s the host of the nationally-syndicated Pet Talk show and author of the book Dog Talk. He’s an expert who’s been heard all over the world. (And as a side note, he’s been interviewed by Larry King. So in a way, the Pet Show crew is almost as awesome as Larry King. Admittedly, we don’t have suspenders.)
Anyway, Harrison’s impressive resume aside, he spoke to us about traveling with your pets this summer. Anybody who’s ever tried to load up a dog or cat and go for a road trip knows this is no easy task. Harrison gives us some great advice for keeping your pets calm and happy during the drive.
Our Tale Tips for the show are more than necessary considering the horrific heat in Oklahoma these days. Dawn shares info about how to protect your animals from the heat:
- Keep up with your regular vet visits.
- Pets need water and shade when outside.
- Look for symptoms of heat problems – panting, difficulty breathing, drooling, weakness, collapse, seizure, vomiting or high temperature.
- Don’t leave your pet in the car. Seriously.
- Keep animals that can’t swim away from the pool.
- Don’t leave windows open in upper stories. Pets can be attracted to the air flow and fall out.
- Haircuts are good – shaving to the skin is bad.
- Keep your pets off hot asphalt, which can burn the pads of their paws.
- If you’re boosting your lawn with chemicals, use them carefully and away from animals.
Staff Writer Carrie Coppernoll
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Pets in the paper – training pandas or puppies
Check out these animal stories in The Oklahiesoman today -
- Raids hit dogfighting rings. (statewide)
- Turtles slow plane traffic. (New York)
- Three hurt in running of the bulls. (Spain, page 9a)
- Horse races spur 12 arrests. (Guymon)
- Unusual surgery saves hound. (Edmond)
- Frog races have kids leaping for joy. (Oklahoma City)
- Training tips similar for pets, zoo animals. (nationwide)
Staff Writer Carrie Coppernoll
Pug pushing a stroller
It’s funny. That’s all.
Staff Writer Carrie Coppernoll
Pet Show – Fourth of July and hamsters
Listen to Pet Show! We talked about all kinds of good Fourth of July tips from the American Kennel Club. (Want to read all the tips directly? Check back on our blog tomorrow!)
Bryan also shared some excellent pet news. Here are the links:
- Pig that survied crash surfaces in swimming pool.
- France faces court for hamster neglect. (Yes, the picture here shows the kind of hamsters we’re talking about. Look at those precious little guys!)
Staff Writer Carrie Coppernoll
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Give me that banana or I’ll cut you
Visitors to the Calgary Zoo recently witnessed a disturbing incident between a pair of the zoo’s western lowland gorillas. 
According to the Calgary Herald, one of the gorillas somehow got hold of a knife, picked it up and appeared close to re-enacting a famous scene from “Pshycho” on another gorilla in his troop.
None of the gorillas were hurt, and zoo workers were able to recover the knife, which was accidentally left by a keeper who had cleaned the exhibit earlier.
Witnesses said the gorilla picked up the knife and held it in his hand. When another gorilla came close, the gorilla with the knife raised it up as if he was threatening to stab the other gorilla. The second gorilla backed away and the knife-wielding gorilla walked a few steps before placing the knife on a chair.
About 20 zoo visitors were watching as the incident unfolded, including children.
- Staff Writer Bryan Dean
Pets in the paper – D-Boy is the man
Check out these (five million!) animal stories in The Oklahoman since Saturday -
- Pit bull is “People’s Hero” for taking burglar’s shots. (Oklahoma City)
- What’s new at the zoo? (Oklahoma City, page 16a, Saturday)
- Pet policies revisited. (nationwide, page 1b, Saturday)
- Southwest Airlines to add new fees for pets, unaccompanied minors. (nationwide)
- Redemption and Michael Vick. (NewsOK Religion and Values blog)
- Summer break can cut adoption of pets. (Stillwater, Edmond, Oklahoma City, Muskogee)
- Dog owner stabs worker. (Oklahoma City)
- Head to the bat cave. (Freedom)
- National Geographic hosting photo contest. (nationwide)
- Use caution to prevent dog bites. (nationwide)
- Reptile study keeps Tinker on track. (Midwest City)
Staff Writer Carrie Coppernoll
Pet Show – fashionista fidos
Listen to Pet Show! Our guest today was Meagan Key, a spokeswoman for fashion designer Kayne Gillaspie of Norman. Last week Kayne hosted a fundraising event called “Fashion with a Heart” to benefit the American Heart Association. Part of the show was dogs modeling Kayne’s newest line, Kayne9. And as if pups strutting in ostrich-feather boas weren’t great enough, the show raised $5,000 for the American Heart Association.
In honor of Hug Your Cat Day - which is Friday for those of you with feline friends – we talked lots about cats today. Bryan gave us interesting pet news, including a story about a tiger that killed its keeper in New Zealand and a cat with wings in China. And Dawn shared some great tail tips for Hug Your Cat Day. These come from SeeFido.com.
Playing in the home: All cats need to spend time outside to get their exercise, but often times we want them inside to avoid them from getting hurt etc. Whatever the reason to keep your cat in the house, your cat will appreciate it, as long as it’s always kept busy. Cats that never leave the house need for their owners to dedicate more time everyday to play with them, otherwise the cat will get very bored and this can cause stress.
Hunting game: When cats are outside they love running after anything that moves, like an insect, or a dry leaf blowing in the wind etc. So there are many different games that you can invent to give your cat the opportunity to “hunt” without even stepping out of the house. As with all games, the cat must learn that there are certain rules. The most important rule is that the cat does not use your hands or feet as it’s hunting objective. Cats have very sharp claws and they grow as the cat grows making them very dangerous. It is not fun to have an adult cat scratch you with it’s claws and it can really hurt you.
Safe play: Before you begin to play a game with your cat, make sure to check everything, avoiding at all costs that your cat, you, or anyone else gets hurt. Make sure to always follow these guidelines when playing with your cat:
- Never use toys that break easily since this could really hurt your cat, kitten and even you.
- Never “hit” your cat with your hand or with its toys, and never “drag” the cat, even if this is done gently and as a game.
- Don’t play with the cat’s toys (if you are not intending on playing directly with the cat) because it can get very mad about you touching its stuff.
- Stay away from pools, wells, or bathtubs as the cat could drown if it does not know how to swim. (Little kittens generally cannot climb out of water that covers their head).
- Cats become easily afraid when they hear loud noises. Make sure, when there is a party (like New Year) to leave the cat inside the house or in a distanced room. Fireworks or a balloon that pops can really terrorize a cat.
Staff Writer Carrie Coppernoll
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Pets in the paper – a million stories
Wow! We have lots of catching up to do when it comes to sharing our animal stories in The Oklahoman. Here are the stories that have run from Saturday through today -
- Fish kill said to be natural. (Woodward)
- Cattle drive honors late announcer. (Claremore)
- Couple plan appeal of horse decision. (Coweta)
- Milk glut squeezes farmers, buyers. (Missouri)
- Livestock tracing plan is not a hit with some. (Washington)
- Free fishing at lakes June 6-7. (Oklahoma City)
- Fun for kids at Bass Pro. (Oklahoma City)
- Dog training classes set. (Oklahoma City, Tuesday, page 1d)
- Partial welcome given mutts in AKC contests. (Texas)
- Home notes: Mind your wild neighbors.
- Zoo’s rhino getting used to new digs. (Oklahoma City, photo shown here)
- Dog event scheduled. (Oklahoma City)
- Junior zookeepers preparing to learn. (Norman)
Staff Writer Carrie Coppernoll
