Paloma storms the Caribbean
Today, people in Cuba and Hispaniola are coping with tropical storm Paloma.
She’s fierce, they say, and could strengthen rapidly into a hurricane.
I’ve been living with a hurricane named Paloma for almost four years.
She’s a gray and white Italian greyhound whose full name is Paloma Belladogga and is a force of nature unto herself.
She barks like a hurricane’s wind blows — that is to say, constantly.
And she is fast. Very fast. Like here:
To see how fast the breed is in motion, here’s a video of an Italian greyhound running:
But the storm, like its 11-pound counterpart, has a calm spot. She can be content and motionless for hours. As long as she is being petted and loved on. Or is sitting for a portrait, like here:
Perhaps the Caribbean Paloma will fly through without wreaking much havoc, or she will graduate to a hurricane that will not soon be forgotten.
Either way, Paloma and I will be watching.
– Amy Raymond, Assistant News Editor
Halloween Pet Tips
Tonight as you are tromping through the neighborhoods or handing out candy, keep in mind that Halloween sometimes isn’t fun for your pets. Web Vet provided us some Halloween tips for your pets that we’d like to share.
- Keep candy out of reach. Candy can hurt your pets. If you think your pet has swallowed something dangerous, you can call Animal Poison Control, 888-426-4435.
- Keep pets confined. Constant visits from strangers can stress pets out and they might be tempted to run.
- Keep pet costumes simple. Some people like to put their pets in costumes, but make sure the costumes don’t restrict breathing or have small parts that animals can swallow.
Enjoy this Halloween and keep your pets safe!
- Staff Writer Dawn Marks
Greatest American Dog
On today’s Pet Show we visited with Greatest American Dog winners Travis Brorsen and Presley. Brorsen is originally from Perry and stopped by to talk with cohosts Carrie Coppernoll, Bryan Dean and Dawn Marks about his time on the reality show with his boxer Presley. You can learn more about Travis and Presley on their Web site.
Staff Writer Dawn Marks
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Woman fights deer
A woman in Montana recently got into a fistfight with a deer after it attacked one of her poodles.
Carol Lince, 61, was at her home about 35 miles southeast of Butte when she heard one of her three poodles dogs let out a loud yelp. She went outside and found a lage doe ramming the dog into the ground with its head.
Lince kicked the deer’s hind legs to get it off of her dog. She didn’t count on the deer wheeling around to attack her.
She said the deer head-butted her in the abdomen and knocked her into her fence. That’s when Lince came out swinging, pummeling the deer in th head with her fists. The doe eventually gave up the fight, juming Lince’s fence and running off.
The poodle, whose name is Little Fighter, was examined by Lince’s vet and found to be OK . Lince has brusies on her stomach from the encounter.
Wildlife officials said deer, like any wild animal, can become aggressive towards people or pets.
- Staff Writer Bryan Dean
Monkey photo fails to fool judge
A California man tried to fool a court commissioner into thinking he’d sent his pet marmoset south of the border by showing him a picture of the monkey next to a Mexican newspaper with red, white and green decorations in the background.
David Grigorian had been told to hand the marmoset, Cheeta, over to authorities because he didn’t have a permit for the monkey.
Grigorian was in court this week to show that the monkey was gone, but apparently his photo of the monkey next to a Mexican newspaper with Mexican decorations in the background didn’t convince Commissioner Thomas Grodin. Grigorian eventually admitted it was a ruse and agreed to hand Cheeta over to Fish and Game officials.
- Staff Writer Bryan Dean
Upside down dogs
I have discovered a new Web site that I will undoubtedly be wasting time giggling at for many years to come. It’s called Upside Down Dogs, and it is — well — upside down dogs turned right side up to look funny. Sounds simple, but look at some of the results and try not to laugh.
- Staff Writer Bryan Dean
Leave no dog behind
U.S. Army Sgt. Gwen Beberg doesn’t want to leave her war buddy behind.
Beberg, who has been deployed to Iraq, is trying to convince the Army to let her bring home a dog she rescued in May from a burning pile of trash in Iraq. Beberg was seperated from the scruffy black dog, which she named Ratchet, recently after she was transfered to a new base in anticipation of going home.
Soldiers are usually prevented from bringing strays home from Iraq, but the U.S. Defense Department has made exceptions in the past.
So far, 30,000 people have signed an online petition asking the Army to make an exception for Ratchet, and Beberg is getting help from Operation Baghdad Pups, a program started last year by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals International.
So far, the SPCA has helped bring 50 dogs and six cats back to the United States from Iraq, SPCA officials said.
The group is also workingwith Congress to get rid of the rule forbidding soldiers from adopting animals, as pets often help soldiers readjust when they return home.
Officials with Operation Baghdad Pups are scheduled to meet soon with the military to discuss Ratchet’s case.
- Staff Writer Bryan Dean
If species could cross-breed, results could get scary
One of my favorite places to find odd pet news and other diversions is Fark, a Web site that compiles weird news stories and holds regular photoshop challenges for its devoted readers and contributors.
A photoshop challenge this week encouraged people to combine two animals to create something, well, different. Some of the results were hilarious, others look like something out of a horror film. Scroll through all of them here, at your own risk.
- Staff Writer Bryan Dean
Who doesn’t love baby animals?
Here are some recently released photos of some baby animals born across the world.
These two lion cubs, Massamba and Mandisa, were born in July at a Wisconsin zoo. See lots more cute photos of them here.
This newborn giraffe is from the Memphis Zoo in Tennessee:
This tasmanian devil was born at a zoo in Australia:
And finally, these lambs were born in Britain. The reason it’s newsworthy is that they were born this month. Lambs in England are almost always born in the spring.
- Staff Writer Bryan Dean
Waiters monkey around with customers
A tavern in Japan is using a pair of waiters who work for far less than minimum wage.
Monkeys Yat-chan and Fuku-chan serve patrons at the tavern just north of Tokyo, called Kayabukia. Fuku-chan, 4, begins the first shift by handing customers a hot towel before they order their drinks.
Customers tip the monkey-waiters with boiled soya-beans which they eat when they get a break.
I wonder if the next generation of cell phones will include a tip calculator for monkeys.
Watch the two in action below…
- Staff Writer Bryan Dean
