Articles: animals

I’ve been asked many times who my favorite people are to interview. One day, I’ll figure out that answer, but I can tell you certified applied animal behaviorist Patricia McConnell is totally in the top-10. I love her books, I love the way she puts things. I’m a fan. And if you haven’t read “For…

Comet may have the winning-est Hollywood smile of the thousands who entered the Petroxdex Superstar Smiles Photo Contest. Comet was undoubtedly honored to win. But what really is nice is that Comet’s smile now shines the spotlight on Greyhound adoption. I wrote about Comet’s back-story and his life today as an ‘Ambassadog‘  for my national…

I had David Eisendrath of Camp Dogwood on my WLS Radio show, and also Camp Dogwood was featured recently in USA Today. We attempted to describe the experience on the air, but seeing the pictures might give you a better idea. At this place, it’s all about the dogs – and they seem to know…

Have a veterinary question? Dr. Sheldon Rubin, Chicago’s most honored veterinarian, answers your questions on Steve Dale’s Pet World, April 4, 2 pm cst, www.wlsam.com or AM 890 WLS. Mosquitoes are here! And those little buggers spread heartworm disease. Dr. Rubin, president of the American Heartworm Society will discuss heartworm prevention. Also, he’ll comment on…

Profound, that is how I describe Mordecai Siegal’s influence as a pet writer. After suffering declining health for several years, the venerable author of 33 books just passed away. In 1970 when Morty and dog trainer Matthew Margolis teamed up for their first of 10 books together, “Good Dog, Bad Dog,” and as a result…

       You’d think that after all these years of stories just like this one – making a point that a pet bunny is not an awful impulsive purchase – the message would have sunk in. “I can’t say why the message hasn’t (sunk in), but it really hasn’t,” says Toni Greetis, vice president of the…

A wolf won’t look at you the same way as a dog. According to a Hungarian study (from Current Biology, 2003), dogs do far better at understanding people or even making the attempt, compared to socialized wolves.  Wolf These days, for reasons I don’t quite get – some are equating dogs and wolves. Sure, they’re…

Feeding the amino acid tryptophan to young female pigs makes them less aggressive and easier to manage, according to a  recent study. Tryptophan, which is only acquired through diet, is the precursor for the calming cerebral neurotransmitter serotonin. The supplemented diet raised blood concentrations of tryptophan in 3-month-old female pigs by 180 percent, and by…

This animal lover was – well, just a little late, and more than a little loaded. Donald Wolfe saw an animal lying in the middle of the road. He pulled over. He bent down, put his mouth on the mouth of the dead opossum and tried very hard to resuscitate the animal. Sadly, Mr. Wolfe…

This is the ultimate chicken and egg question. According to Science Daily, mother birds ‘talk’ to their chicks before they hatch. So, what do they tell them?Do they chirp about Obama care? Or perhaps, flying conditions? Probably, not. Well, scientists looked at Canaries – and learned by attending to messages in the egg, nestlings gain…