Black Dog Democrats

I'm building a new political coalition -- the Black Dog Democrats.

Our first policy initiative: universal health care for humans . . . and universal vet care for pets.

Animals are suffering and dying for lack of affordable vet care. A single well-pet trip to the vet can easily set you back $300, what with the poking, prodding, rabies shots, kennel cough meds, heartworm pills and that noxious stuff for ticks and fleas.

I recently attended the funeral of my old friend Elvis, a cockatiel who died prematurely at the tender age of 14, simply because he couldn't justify the $1,500 vet bill for cancer surgery (with a very iffy prognosis of success). Sadly, he passed away quietly at home and had to settle for a simple, do-it-yourself funeral at the foot of a NYC street tree . . . but the outrageous expense of burials is topic for a future post.

So the Black Dog Dems are organizing!

To date, we've galvanized many members in my immediate neighborhood alone (although it helps that I live in downtown Manhattan, were liberals are plentiful and all the dogs wear black).

Of course -- pets of every species, colors, stripes and spots are welcome to join us.

Stay tuned. I will keep you posted as our cause progresses!

If Dogs Had Wings . . .

. . . we wouldn't need our own airline. But we don't, and we do! Have our own airlines now.

Thanks to Pet Airways, no more fleabag flight accommodations for canines!

1st Dog Reports on 1st 100 Days

News hounds around the world have been howling for an update from the White House. Today, we got the news we've been begging for -- a report from 1st Dog Bo on his 1st 100 days in office.

Bo reports:

"As we head into the second hundred days of my administration, I feel more pride and pleasure than ever at the prospect of serving the American people and finding ways to make this nation, and this planet, a better place for our children and our children’s children. I am speaking metaphorically here, of course, as I am neutered."

Read it all in The New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/17/opinion/17greenman.html?_r=1&th&emc=th

Give Cats a Chance

Enough about dogs! It's the kitties' turn.

Here are some friends, Trina (black & white) and Kitten (orange). Very nice cats, as far as cats go. Achoo -- my feline brother -- used to visit them. Until he got to tough & rowdy. Now he stays home and picks fights with me.

Young Huskies

The newest cousins have arrived! Here are some pix of the litter.


And more news on the Husky cousin front: Belle Starr is thisclose to a championship award.



But we all know -- mutts are the greatest!!!!

Maine-ly Mutt

Me at the beach in Rockport, Maine.

Love those gulls!

Dogs Take the Blame . . . Again

"The dog ate my homework." "The dog tripped me." We make handy scapegoats for just about everything that goes wrong!

Here's the latest from the CDC and WaPo: Even when we're ASLEEP, we are responsible for tripping more than 85,000 Americans every year & sending them to the emergency room (well, cats account for some of those).

Read more about how dangerous we are: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/26/AR2009032601634.html

CDC Analysis Tracks Falls Related to Pets

By David Brown
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, March 27, 2009

Federal government researchers yesterday filled in a blank spot on the map of life's hazards -- the part occupied by Spot, Fifi, the chew toy and the water bowl.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that an average of 86,629 Americans visit the emergency room each year after a fall caused by pets or their paraphernalia.

That's the equivalent of 240 ER trips a day, and roughly 1 percent of the 8 million visits for falls of all sorts.

About one-third of the falls broke bones, about one-quarter caused bruises, one-fifth caused sprains and a little more than one-tenth caused cuts. About 62 percent of the dog-related falls and 86 percent of the tumbles involving cats occurred at home.

"We know that pets have many benefits," said Judy A. Stevens, an epidemiologist at the CDC's injury center. "We just want people to be aware that pets and pet items can be a fall hazard and can lead to injuries."

Dog-related falls account for 88 percent of the total, cat-related ones 12 percent. Children 14 and younger recorded the most injuries, but the highest rate of injury is in people 75 and older.

Women were more likely to be injured than men; they suffered 68 percent of the falls involving dogs and 72 percent involving cats.