• Financial downturn hits pets. (statewide)
• Giving up animal takes time, says animal group. (Oklahoma City)
• Arcadia Lake’s trail stirs ire of equestrians. (Edmond)
• Horse lovers pursue ticket to ride. (Edmond)
• Coming soon: bear season? (statewide)
• Paddlefish beginning their spawning run. (northeast Oklahoma)
• FAA proposes secrecy in bird-strike reports. (Washington, D.C.)
• Puppy foster program seeks volunteers. (Edmond)
• Livestock honors given. (Newcastle)
• Food bank hopes to save more pets. (Oklahoma City)

Staff Writer Carrie Coppernoll

- Staff Writer Bryan Dean

But as if Pet Show weren’t exciting enough all on its own, there’s something even MORE exciting about the show! What is it? Listen to the show! A couple lucky winners and their families will be glad they did! (As if you couldn’t guess, we’re giving away amazing prizes!)

And Pet Show wouldn’t be complete without our news and Tail Tips. Today in news we talked about a cat that stowed away inside a thrift store couch and English squirrels enjoying chips that taste like, well, English squirrels.

And on a more serious note, we talked about poison prevention. This happens to be National Poison Prevention Week. The ASPCA gives us five great tips for avoiding poisoning in your home:

1. Keep your people meds away from the pets.
2. Be careful with insecticides.
3. Keep your people food to yourself, people.
4. Check to make sure your plants aren’t poisonous.
5. Don’t use chemical pest baits if possible.

Staff Writer Carrie Coppernoll

Sadly, I actually have two of the more creepy pets on this list in my home at this very moment. When you date a girl who sells pets for a living, you sometimes end up with a few snakes and scorpions at your place. These things happen. 

- Staff Writer Bryan Dean

- Staff Writer Bryan Dean

How?

KEVIN BACON is married to KYRA SEDGWICK who created CHANGE A PET’S LIFE DAY which caused YOU to go the SHELTER and adopt a PET!

That Saturday is “Change a Pet’s Life Day.”Actress Kyra Sedgwick and Hill’s Pet Nutrition are footing the bill for the first 10 adoptions that day at shelters throughout the country. The newbie parents will also receive a little gift bag.  Four Oklahoma shelters are participating:

- Stephens County Humane Society in Duncan.

- Stillwater Animal Control in Stillwater.

- Street Cats Inc. in Tulsa.

- Tulsa Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Tulsa.

So not only do you get to take home a new best friend, you are also now connected in that infinite web of Kevin Bacon. 

Staff Writer Carrie Coppernoll

- A Holiday Coat for Your Pet, 5 to 7 p.m., Dec. 5, $28, age 8 and older, Fine Arts Institute, 27 E Edwards, 340-4481.

 - Pet Adoption, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturdays, PetSmart, 1921 S Broadway, 330-4079

 - Pet Photos with Santa, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 6 PETCO-Edmond, 324 S Bryant Ave., 359-5671.

- Dog and Cat Fun Days,1 p.m., first and third Saturdays of each month, Free to Live Animal Sanctuary, 282-8617.

So perhaps you can enjoy one of these events or start your own special holiday tradition in your home with your pets. Either way, we wish you and your pets a Merry Christmas.

-Staff Writer Dawn Marks

Ethel, a 4-year-old bunny, has learned to get around despite her paralyzed legs after her owner in North Wales got her this set of wheels.

That is all.

- Staff Writer Bryan Dean

If you have a carsick puppy like I do, you might want to talk to your vet before you take your trip. They can sometimes give you tips to make things easier. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty sent us some tips for making travel with your pets easier including one that probably would have helped us when we took George on his first road trip:

- Feed your pet a light meal three to four hours prior to departure and never feed your pet in a moving car.

Oh well. Here are some additional tips for those of you heading out this holidays. Have fun with your familys and have fun with your pets!

- Keep you pets in a crate or carrier.

- Take short drives first to get pets used to the car.

- Never leave your animal alone in a parked car.

- Make sure your pet has identification, possibly a temporary tag with your cell phone number.

- Don’t allow your pet to ride with his head out the window.

- Be sure to take a travel kit and bottled water for your pet.

Like to travel with your pet? Enter our Travel Photo Contest!

Staff Writer Dawn Marks

But this sounds like a bad idea to me.

 The latest trendy tourist craze in northern Australia is swimming with gigantic saltwater crocodiles. Those who want to try it climb into a clear acryllic cage, lovingly nicknamed “the cage of death,” which is then slid along runners over four crocodile pens.

The cage is partly submerged in water, allowing swimmers to come up for air and still see the crocodiles underneath.

Saltwater crocodiles are the largest and most dangerous of crocodile species, with males growing up to 18 feet long and weighing as much as 2,200 pounds.

The experience costs $83, and owners said they are constantly busy.

- Staff Writer Bryan Dean