Great video of what dogs do all day. Such hard work—it takes two to hold down that couch.
DIY: Crocheted & Felted Pet Bed
For those of you who crochet, here’s a pattern for a pet bed (scroll down) called Kitty Cuddles. It’s crocheted & felted and is based on the KittyPi Bed (which is knitted & felted.)
The bed is shaped like a flat-bottomed bowl. It’s soft and comfy, but has some structure due to the felting. The bed looks very different before felting.
You’ll need to use a natural fiber yarn to get it to felt. Here are a few tutorials on felting: this one covers both hand & machine felting, here is a printable one on machine felting, and another on hand felting.
Friday Fun: Tara & Bella At The Elephant Sanctuary
Humans aren’t the only beings to form close relationships with dogs. Check out this neat profile on Tara the elephant and Bella the dog at The Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tennessee. (thanks Nancy)
Happy New Year! Recall, Rapper, First Cat, Second Dog
PetProject is back from the holidays. It was a pretty quiet here with an unusual amount of snow for us in the Pacific NW. We hope you had a safe and happy holiday and we wish you all the very best in 2009.
Here’s some of the recent news:
- Solid Gold recalls variety of their canned dog food due to complaints of mold found in one batch. Recall covers 13.2 oz. Pull-top cans of Turkey, Ocean Fish, Sweet Potato, & Carrot Formula Dog Food with 01/02/2010 on bottom of can.
- Rapper DMX pleads guilty to animal cruelty charges stemming from a raid in 2007 when 3 dog carcasses and 12 starving dogs were found at his home.
- The Bush Family’s cat, India, died at age 18yrs.
- Vice President-elect Joe Biden will be getting a second dog—this time adopting from a shelter.
Michael Vick’s Dogs Today
Sports Illustrated has a good article on several of the dogs rescued from Michael Vick’s dog fighting operation, Bad Newz Kennels. Many of these dogs have really blossomed in foster homes, while others still have a lot to overcome. Jasmine, in particular, is a dog absolutely gripped by fear, but she is making progress thanks to a dedicated foster mom.
Our dog, Saffron, had big fear issues when we adopted her. I know how much work it takes to build a dog’s confidence and I know how wonderful it is when that dog reaches each new milestone.
Maybe Michael Vick’s dogs will help change the image of the pit bull and society will stop blaming the breed. Check out the great gallery of these dogs living the happy lives they deserve.
Michael Vick could be released to a halfway house as early as January 2009 and is also filing for bankruptcy. You can read more about the history of the Vick case.