Tag Archives: pets

USA Today reports: Owning a pet may help slow cognitive decline among older people who live alone, according to a study published this week. A large cohort study of adults ages 50 and older living in the United Kingdom showed pet owners had less verbal memory and verbal fluency declines compared to people who lived alone without a pet. The …

TMZ reports: The so-called “gay” dog that was given up by its owners over perceived homosexual behavior now has a new home — and that pad is very LGBTQ-friendly – as is his new name! North Carolina’s Steve Nichols tells TMZ he and his longtime partner, John, adopted Fezco Tuesday after hearing the story about him getting abandoned by his …

ABC News reports: Bo, the Obama family dog, has died, according to the former president. The black and white Portuguese water dog, who joined the first family in the White House in April 2009, was the last presidential pet before President Joe Biden’s dogs, Major and Champ, joined the White House earlier this year. Bo, chosen for his hypoallergenic fur, …

The Today Show reports: President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden provided an important White House pet update during an exclusive interview with Craig Melvin that aired Friday on TODAY. The couple said a new cat will soon be joining their German shepherds, Major and Champ, as four-legged members of the first family. Asked by Craig about the cat …

The Associated Press reports: Lady Gaga’s two French bulldogs, which were stolen by thieves who shot and wounded the dog walker, were recovered unharmed Friday, Los Angeles police said. A woman brought the dogs to the LAPD’s Olympic Community Police Station around 6 p.m, said Capt. Jonathan Tippet, commanding officer of the department’s elite Robbery-Homicide Division. Lady Gaga’s representative and …

NPR reports: President-elect Joe Biden is set to restore a bipartisan norm upon moving into the White House: presidential dogs. The Bidens have two German shepherds, Champ and Major. Major, in particular, has a “wags to riches” tail. He’ll soon be the first dog to go from a shelter to the White House. That shelter, the Delaware Humane Association, plans …

Via press release from the FDA: On December 30, 2020, Midwestern Pet Food, Inc. announced a recall of certain lots of Sportmix pet food products after FDA was alerted about reports of at least 28 dogs that have died and eight that have fallen ill after consuming the recalled Sportmix pet food. Multiple product samples were tested by the Missouri …

CBS News reports: A team of researchers studied the transmission of the coronavirus between cats and found that felines are capable of infecting each other with the virus. There have not been any known cases of a cat spreading COVID-19 to a person, but the scientists say it’s possible felines could be “a silent intermediate host” for the virus, and …

Raleigh’s NBC News affiliate reports: A Chapel Hill family’s dog has tested positive for coronavirus. The family was involved in a study at Duke in which the mother, father and son tested positive for COVID-19. During this study, the family had their pets tested and found out their pug, Winston, had coronavirus. Dr. Chris Woods, the principal investigator of the …

The Associated Press reports: Two pet cats in New York state have tested positive for the coronavirus, marking the first confirmed cases in companion animals in the United States, federal officials said Wednesday. The cats, which had mild respiratory illnesses and are expected to recover, are thought to have contracted the virus from people in their households or neighborhoods, the …

Some good news amid the incessant chaos: Volunteers at the Friends of Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control erupted in joyful celebration over a completely empty kennel. The milestone happened at the West Palm Beach, Florida, shelter’s stray housing and adoption overflow kennel, where all of the dogs were happily adopted. Many shelters have been reporting an increase in …

Reuters reports: China has drawn up new guidelines to reclassify dogs as pets rather than livestock, the agriculture ministry said, part of a response to the coronavirus outbreak that the Humane Society called a potential “game changer” in animal welfare. Though dog meat remains a delicacy in many regions, the Ministry of Agriculture said in a notice published on Wednesday …

Bloomberg News reports: Of all the shortages created by the coronavirus pandemic — the toilet paper and the hand sanitizer and the bottled water — the oddest of them all has to be dogs. Oh, and cats too. That’s right, in the New York city area, the epicenter of the disease, there is suddenly a run on pets. At least …

The New York Times reports: Siba, a black standard poodle with a meticulously groomed coat and a taste for chicken, won best in show at the 144th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show on Tuesday night, defeating a final group of contenders that included a wildly popular golden retriever and two repeat best in show contestants. Siba is the fifth standard …

The Sacramento Bee reports: Gov. Gavin Newsom wants California to stop euthanizing animals, and he’s ready to put taxpayer money toward the cause. “We want to be a no-kill state,” Newsom said during a press conference where he presented his 2020-21 budget. Specifically, Newsom’s budget calls for a $50 million one-time general fund allocation to the UC Davis Koret Shelter …

The New York Times reports: Lil Bub, the perma-kitten whose droopy tongue and eyes that could vacuum in your soul made her one of the internet’s most beloved feline celebrities, has died, her owner said on Monday. She was 8. With millions of followers on social media, and a mini-empire of commercial appearances elsewhere, Lil Bub was, to many, as …

Courthouse News reports: The Seventh Circuit reinstated pet owners’ class action fraud suit against Hill’s Pet Food, ruling that the FDA did not authorize the company’s “prescription” label on high-priced pet food found to be no different than regular pet food. Holly Vanzant and Dana Land sued Hill’s Pet Nutrition under the Consumer Fraud Act after allegedly discovering that Hill’s …

The New York Times reports: New York lawmakers on Tuesday passed a ban on cat declawing, putting the state on the cusp of being the first to outlaw the procedure. The bill, which had been fought for several years by some veterinary groups, would outlaw several types of declawing surgeries except in cases of medical necessity, and forbid any such …

NBC News reports: A healthy dog was put to death in Virginia at the behest of its owner, who made the request in her will. The owner of Emma, a Shih Tzu mix, died March 8. Her dog was held at the Chesterfield Animal Shelter before it was picked up March 22 and then euthanized. Heartbroken animal shelter officials said …

NPR reports: Grumpy Cat — the blue-eyed cat whose permafrown made it seem as if she was perpetually irritated — has died, her family announced early Friday. Grumpy Cat died of complications from a urinary tract infection, her owners said. “Some days are grumpier than others,” Tabatha Bundesen wrote in announcing her cat’s death. Born in 2012, Grumpy Cat became …