Animals, now in high-def
I just got my first hige definition television. I know I’m late to the party, but I finally got there. I bought a used 51-inch HDTV, and I must say I couldn’t be happier.
I’m a sports fan, and ESPN definitely looks wonderful on the big HD screen. But I’ve found my favorite thing to watch is wildlife. Discover Channel, the Science Channel and Animal Planet are getting more of my viewing time than ever before. Shows like Planet Earth, with its close-up view of wildlife, look absolutely stunning in high definition. I find myself just staring at the screen in amazement at how beautiful it looks.
I’m not even sure it would look that good if I saw it in-person. Maybe that’s a good thing, because I can’t imagine that I want to get right in the face of a full-grown grizzly or a pack of wolves on the hunt.
Still, if any of you out there are high-def laggers like I was, I must recommend you make the leap. It will change the way you watch television.
- Staff Writer Bryan Dean
A grizzly bear as seen in the Discovery series "Nature's Most Amazing Events."
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
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Bauer digs and buries
Congrats to the winner of the Funniest Pet Video contest!
Nix Lips tix!
We’re out of Lipizzaner tickets! Congrats to our two big winners: Glynis Crawford and Lisa Janssen! Have fun at the show!
Staff Writer Carrie Coppernoll
We still have four free Lipizzaner tickets!
Congrats to our first winner, Lisa Janssen! She won our first prize package to see the Lipizzaner Stallions perform this Sunday!
So what does that mean? You, too, can win a prize package worth $100! We have four tickets to give away, so check out the contest!
Staff Writer Carrie Coppernoll
Pets in the paper
Check out these animal stories from The Oklahoman today, yesterday and Saturday:
- Make your pet a video star in NewsOK.com contest.
- Bug Fest has creepy-crawlie stars. (Norman)
- Mailed jailed in doe shooting. (Vermont)
- Equine dentist law has teeth. (statewide)
- State park just made horse sense. (Wagoner)
- Zoo welcomes baby elephant. (California)
- Condor suffers from gunshot. (California)
- Oil soaks pelican, Australian beach. (Saturday, page 7a)
- Don’t make impulse bunny buy. (statewide)
- Oklahoma City Zoo exhibit revives dinosaurs.
Staff Writer Carrie Coppernoll
Pet Show – our second anniversary!
Listen to Pet Show! Valentine’s Day marks our second anniversary of broadcasting important animal news and information to the WORLD! So what better way to celebrate (a little early) than by recapping our best shows? Here are our Top 10 favorites:
- Lucas Miller, the Singing Zoologist, and our amazing singalong
- Chris Burney of Bowling for Soup talking about traveling with animals
- The dog IQ tests
- Dr. Phil Mosca of Integris with his dog, Boz
- Halloween costumes with Steve Dale of gadzoo.com
- Turkey genetics and behavior with Dr. Don Skinner-Noble of OCU
- Oklahoma’s animal fighting fund with Attorney General Drew Edmondson
- Fish tattooing
- Horse racing with Joe Lucas of the Thoroughbred Racing Association of Oklahoma
- Snake breeding
We also gave out some Pet Show awards: best advice, favorite celebrity, Young Pup of the Year, best head-wear, myth-buster and favorite expert. (You’ll have to listen to the show to find out who won, but I’ll tell you the winner of Best Show Title: “Happy Mew Year.” ha)
But Pet Show would not be complete without news or tips. For news, Bryan told us about a prehistoric monster snake. To make up for it, he also told us about comfort animals in Utah. Dawn also gave us some excellent tips for Valentine’s Day.
The modern gift for a second anniversary is China. So here is our gift to you, Pet Show fans:
Staff Writer Carrie Coppernoll
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Holiday photo contest – have you enetered?
It’s that time! Have you sent in a holiday photo of your pet? If not, you still have time! Check out this entry we recently received. Donna Elledge of Del City said this: “Boomer is determined not to miss Santa this year, even if he has
to stay awake all night!”
So enter the Pet Show Holiday Photo Contest! Your photo could win you pet a bag full of treats from Santa and Del Monte!
Staff Writer Carrie Coppernoll
Pet Show – We want a hippo … and voice lessons
Have you ever wanted to hear the Pet Show crew sing?
Of course not!
Unfortunately, that’s what happens this week. Listen to our podcast. Laugh it up, friends. You should. We celebrate the 55th anniversary of the song “I Want a Hippopotamus for Chrismtas.”
Dawn gave us some great tips for keeping your pets – particularly cats – safe during the holidays. Bryan shared two great news stories. 1) Grumpy miracle pig voted most popular animal. 2) The Scorpion Queen sets a new world record.
Yeah, Bryan really knows how to celebrate the holidays.
On that note, we here at Pet Show would NOT like a hippopotamus for Christmas, though we love the song. We simply don’t have back yards big enough.
Merry Christmas!
Staff Writer Carrie Coppernoll
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Free calendar – Tuesday!
The first person to comment wins this 2009 calendar! (Don’t remember what we’re talking about? Read this.)
Staff Writer Carrie Coppernoll
