This Golden Retriever mix somehow survived three days in the James River in Newport News, VA, and was finally rescued. His owners think he drowned, but the Peninsula SPCA is hoping his family contacts them soon.
Here’s video of his story.
New Law Means Many Florida Greyhounds Will Need Homes
A new law went into effect July 1st that means no more summer dog racing for the Melbourne Greyhound Track. As a result, 300-400 dogs will be needing homes. This is a gambling regulatory law, not an animal welfare law.
The sudden and large influx of greyhounds will heavily tax the resources of the Central Florida Chapter of Greyhound Pets of America—the greyhound adoption group that places dogs from the Melbourne Track. If you’re in Florida and were thinking of adopting a greyhound, this would be a great time. (Special thanks to Mike for the tip on this story!)
If you’re interested in greyhound adoption, and aren’t in Florida:
- Greyhound Pets of America has chapters all over the US.
- You can also find a comprehensive directory of greyhound rescue groups in the US, Canada, and Europe at The Greyhound Project, Inc.
- And the National Greyhound Adoption Program is a large rescue and activist group.
If you think a greyhound might be right for you, be sure to check out this very informative manual on adopting a greyhound.(pdf) You can find more links to organizations and advice at Wikipedia.
Rabbit Hopping
Rabbit hopping, also called rabbit show jumping, just makes me smile. Rabbit hopping is a competition of rabbits hopping over jumps for height or hopping for length, much like horse show jumping.
It started in Sweden, and is now popular in several countries, and is growing in popularity in the US. 4H clubs are adding it to their programs for rabbits.
You can find out a lot more about rabbit hopping at the English version of this Danish site.
Video Of How To Trim Your Cat’s Claws
So how to do it?
- My first advice is don’t be scared—be confident. The cat will sense it and be more likely to be calm. And you’ll be less likely to jerk if the cat squirms, and therefore less likely to startle the cat.
- My second suggestion is get a helper. What works for us, is if one person cradles the cat on her back like a baby so the other person has good access to each foot.
- Finally, be sure to check out this helpful set of videos from Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine illustrating how to trim your cat’s claws by yourself, where to cut, what to use, and what to do if you cut the quick. You can watch them in sections One, Two, Three, Four, and Five. Or you can watch the whole video.
There are also bags like the Klaw Kontrol bag that you can use to restrain your cat and still have access to their feet through zippered opening.
There are a number of reasons to trim your cat’s claws.
- Trimming claws to protect your furniture is a big reason.
- Elderly cats who aren’t as active and polydactyl cats with their extra toes may need their claws trimmed to keep the claws from growing into their toe pads and hurting them.
- Kitten’s claws are like needles and they aren’t as good at controlling these daggers when they’re young. I found it was really important to keep Sage’s claws trimmed when she was a kitten and she and Raven were getting to know each other. When I didn’t keep them trimmed, Raven would react angrily at a kittenish swipe from Sage because it really hurt. When Sage’s claws were kept trimmed, they played without Raven overreacting.
- We’re sure to trim them if we’re going to have to be giving them medicine.
- And I trim them before visits to the vet, so I can reassure the vet and vet techs that they won’t get scratched. I figure the more comfortable people are with my cats, the more gently they’ll treat them.
Don’t miss the instructional videos on how to pill your cats.
Broom-Riding, Broom-Biting Kitten
You can forget just how funny kittens can be when you haven’t been around them in a while. Here’s a video of a feisty kitten alternately attacking and riding a broom to remind you.