Hoop Harness for Blind Dogs

The Hoop Harness is clever idea for helping blind dogs navigate without running into things. It works similar to the way a vision-impaired person’s walking stick lets them know there’s something in front of them. The page provides good instructions on how to make one for your dog–including materials and tools needed, and how to size one for your dog.

Cat-Killing Raccoons

An eye-opening news article on the threat raccoons can pose towards outdoor cats. Sadly it’s not the first time–here’s an article from June about raccoons in California.

Raccoons killed many of the box turtles in my parents’ backyard and left one turtle missing a leg. And I know of two cases where raccoons attacked and/or killed cats–in one instance drowning them off the the side of a house boat.

If you have trouble with raccoons, we found marshmallows to be the best bait for trapping them instead of trapping neighborhood cats. Many baits (tuna, bacon, meat fat) suggested by pest control specialists are just as likely to lure cats.