Mia Carter's Blog

Posted by Mia Carter

As time progresses, it seems that an increasing number of researchers and scientists are learning about the benefits of pet ownership. Dog and cat owners tend to have lower blood pressure, they have a lesser risk of obesity and heart attack, and psychologically, pet owners tend to be less prone to mental illness and happier and more well-adjusted overall. Dog and cat owners, when looked at as a whole, are also more responsible, as they must care and consider the needs of another creature, and thereby moving away from an egocentric attitude.

Now, it seems, a handful of colleges and universities are recognizing the benefits of pet ownership, as several schools are now allowing students to bring along their cats and dogs. Traditionally, the only type of dorm room pet that's been permitted is a fish, and in some cases, small amphibians and reptiles that reside inside a glass tank. But recently, there's been a move toward allowing pets on campus.

Among the pet-friendly universities is Boston's Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), which has started allowing student residents to bring along their pet cat in certain animal-friendly dorm buildings.

Another animal-friendly school is Eckerd College, in St. Petersburg, Florida. Pets under 40 pounds are permitted in certain pet-friendly dorms. This fall, the college will welcome cats, dogs, ferrets, rabbits and even ducks in its dorms.

Also on the list of pet-friendly schools is California Institute of Technology (CalTech), which allows cats and animals that reside in cages or tanks under 20 gallons. There is a $200 pet deposit associated with keeping at cat at CalTech.

Stephens College students in Missouri can not only take along cats and dogs under 40 pounds, but they can also take along their horse!

Posted by Mia Carter

The 2008 Beijing Olympic Games aren't just attracting human athletes. Animal athletes - "Olympets" - are also competing in an array of sports, like field and track in Hong Kong. And that's exactly what I like to hear; humans including the animals in the Olympic festivities.

Hong Kong's largest pet store, PetMAX, has been hosting the Animal Olympic Games since early summer of 2008.

"We wish to advocate that cats and dogs also need to exercise because many dogs in Hong Kong do not go out, so they rarely face people and interact with other animals. And we hope to hold these kinds of sports to strengthen their bodies," explained PetMAX President Howard Cheung.

The animal Olympians can take part in an array of events, with their human "coaches." There's tug-of-war games, track and field events involving races And it's not just dogs and cats either. Reptiles, small pocket pets like rabbits, hamsters and guinea pigs are also becoming Olympians.

I think the idea of animal Olympians is wonderful - I love seeing instances of creative individuals who take a human-centric event and transform it into a game or event for pets and their humans.

What's even better is the fact that the Animal Olympiad benefits a good cause. Proceeds raised at PetMAX's ongoing Olypmpic game for pets benefits victims of the Sichuan earthquake.

Related Reading:

* Beijing, China Puts Hold on Dog Dishes During Olympics

Posted by Mia Carter

As many as one in four pets is obese in the United States and Canada. And just like with humans, overweight pets are at risk of developing serious health problems like diabetes and heart problems. And as in humans, life expectancy is reduced significantly in overweight pets.

Now, there's one company that's dedicated to helping overweight pets to loose the extra weight. And as an animal advocate, I find this very pleasing. It's good to know that humans are taking yet another step toward treating animals as they would other humans.

The company is called Fetch! Pet Care, which offers pet sitting and pet walking services in the U.S. Fetch! Pet Care is expanding their services to include the new Go Fetch! Program, designed as a proactive intitive to help overweight pets to lose weight.

Pet sitters and pet walkers with Fetch! Pet Care have gone beyond the usual dog walks, litter box cleanings and feedings. Pets who are enrolled in the Go Fetch! program are treated to fun and games, designed to get the pet moving, active and burning calories. The activities are tailored to the pet's preferences in play and abillities.

So for anyone who has an overweight pet, consider enrolling your pet in the Go Fetch! program or a similar exercise regime - it will make for a happier, healthier friend and more time together in the longrun, since an overweight pet is going to be more prone to illness and disease.

To learn more about Fetch! Pet Care's pet weight loss program, pet walking and pet sitting service, visit www.FetchPetCare.com.

Related Reading:

* Weight Loss Tips for an Overweight or Obese Pet

Posted by Mia Carter

File this one under sad and a bit disturbing....

A 57-year-old California woman named Bernann McKinney recently lost her pit bull terrier Boogey. Lost and sad and unable to heal from the loss, McKinney sold her house to pay the nearly $50,000 for the first-ever commercial cloning procedure which was performed by a company based in Seoul, Korea.

Fortunately for McKinney, she now has five black pit bull puppies - each a genetic twin of her beloved dog Boogey. At a press conference, McKinney explained, "It is a miracle for me because I was able to smile again, laugh again and just feel alive again."

Now, part of me feels terribly sorry for this woman. Losing a pet is a terrible experience. In some instances, the grieving is akin to that which you'd experience with the loss of a human friend or family member. But in 99% of cases, you work through the grief and move on as you carry with the memory of your beloved pet. It's rather pitiful that this woman simply could not cope the loss of her dog.

But what's really disturbing is the fact that this woman overlooked one very important factor: nature versus nuture. Scientists have found that it's experiences that mold personality - more so than nature in most cases. And those experiences begin before we're born, so even if you wanted to control them, you couldn't. So unfortunately, it's very unlikely that this woman will find her beloved Boogey in any one of those five cloned pups.

It would be a dream come true to bring our pets back from the dead. But it's simply not possible. Though hopefully, those beautiful puppy faces will ease her pain.

Posted by Mia Carter

Welcome!

My name is Mia Carter and I'll be your Suite101 guide to Pet Care.

As the owner of six dogs, six cats and lots of other animals totaling more than 20 – almost all with special needs and/or chronic illnesses, so I'm very familiar with the type of information that owners of cats, dogs, and other pets are seeking. I will work to bring you an array of relevant, useful, vet-approved articles on topics like dog health, cat health, diseases and conditions affecting pets, pet training, cage maintenance for rabbits, guinea pigs, chinchillas and exotics like hedgehogs.

I’ll also provide information on first aid, like how to clean a dog’s paw pad injury, how to clean a dog or cat’s bite wound, how to administer CPR, how to help a dog who is vomiting or who has diarrhea, and how to create a first aid kit.

I will also strive to bring pet owners valuable resources, like articles on veterinarian-finder websites, recipes for removing skunk odor from a pet's fur, the ASPCA Poison Control Hotline for pets, articles on toxic plants and household items, pet insurance companies and more.

I’m also open to suggestions. Is there a topic that would make a good article that we’ve yet to cover? I would be more than happy to research topics that Suite101 visitors are looking to learn about. Feel free to share your suggestion and send a message my way to PetCare@Suite101.com.

Posted by Mia Carter

A recent series of polls conducted by the Associated Press and Yahoo revealed that pet owners say they're more likely to vote for Republican Arizona Sen. John McCain over Democratic Illinois Sen. Barack Obama in the November 2008 Presidential Election.

Now, I find this quite interesting. My own voting habits aside (I've been known to vote Republican due to my fiscal conservativeness), when I think Republican, I think conservative right-wingers; those no-nonsense church-goers who are fiscally and socially conservative. My impression of the average Republican is not a person who totes their pet around in their purse, or who spends hundreds or even thousands of dollars on veterinary care over the life of the pet, nor is it someone who lets their pet sleep in their bed - under the covers, of course. Republican conservativeness does not typically jive with the liberal left tendencies of many pet owners today.

So this recent poll surprises me. I, myself, vote Republican and I'm a pet enthusiast, to say the least - I view my animals as part of the family. But I've always thought of myself as part of the minority in this regard. Most people are surprised when they find out I vote Republican, because in most ways, I appear just like your average Generation X left-winger. But that just goes to prove how wrong those superficial first impressions really are.

Posted by Mia Carter

A recent poll conducted by the Associated Press and Yahoo revealed that pet-owning voters favored Republican candidate John McCain over Democrat Barack Obama.

That same poll also revealed that people who did not own pets favored Barack Obama, who currently does not own any animals, though he promises to get the family a new dog once the campaign has ended. On the other hand, McCain does own pets - several, in fact - including dogs and turtles.

This poll got me thinking about all the attention Presidential Pets seem to get. We all know about President George W. Bush's Scottish Terriers, and we can recall Barbara Bush's dog, Milie, by name. Why is this? And what effect does owning a pet have on these high-profile politicians?

Someone - and I have no idea who - once said that everyone in the world should own a dog. You turn 18, you register to vote and you pick up your new dog. Imagine what a better place the world would be, assuming everyone properly cared for their dog. Our dogs would be a point of commonality - people who otherwise have absolutely nothing in common could discuss their dogs. Those dogs would serve to unite complete strangers. They'd teach responsibility, caring and patience.

I think the presidential dogs have a similar effect. We look at the President and his dogs and realize underneath the suits and behind the speeches and all the political mumbo-jumbo, maybe he's not so very different from ourselves afterall.

Posted by Mia Carter

File this one under disturbing: In anticipation of August's Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, China, the host city's municipal food safety office has asked area restaurants and caterers to “suspend use of dog meat dishes during the Olympic period."

Apparently, the move is intended to avoid offending us westerners who find the idea of eating dogs appalling, to say the least. Now, I could go on all day about how eating a dog is just as appealing as cannibalism to many westerners, including myself. And while I find the very concept of eating dog meat downright disturbing - I'd rather eat my own arm for lunch - I do feel it's quite considerate of Beijing officials to put a moratorium on dog dishes. And I don't say this with all that much sarcasm; cultural differences can be vast. And the willingness to sacrifice a bit of Chinese culture and tradition to avoid offending westerners is actually wonderful on their part. It takes a lot to say, "This is who we are. But we're going to change that a little bit to make you more comfortable."

So all you Beijing-bound Olympians, take comfort in knowing that many of the dog meat appetizers and entrees will likely be removed from the menu next month.

Posted by Mia Carter

A dog's nose is more than twenty times more powerful than the human's and once again, we've found yet another way to harness that olfactory ability.

There's a new type of search dog out there, trained to sniff out cell phones smuggled into prisons. And don't dismiss this new trained ability as another creative dog trainer with too much time on his hands. Cell phones are a huge problem in prisons. They afford jailed criminals control over a vast array of enterprises - all beyond the watch of jailhouse authorities.

It may seem pretty incredible to some, but anyone who's ever owned a dog can probably attest to their incredible olfactory abilities. Just when you think you've seen it all, your dog will do something incredible, all because of their highly evolved sense of smell.

Case in point: I was out for a jog with my husband. And about five minutes in, I realized I forgot to leave my glasses at home. So without any pockets, I handed the glasses to my husband and he slid them into the pocket of his windbreaker. But we returned home to find that the glasses were gone; nowhere to be found. To make matters worse, much of our jog took us through a large field, overgrown with grasses.

Well, the next day, as we were jogging through the field again, our husky Charlie came to an abrupt stop. And he started howling and stamping his feet. There, about 15 feet off the trail - don't ask me how they ended up there - were my glasses. This dog has absolutely no training as a search dog, but he was able to find my glasses and for some reason, decided to tell us about it! Folks, listen to your dogs - the nose knows.

Posted by Mia Carter

With all the recent buzz on renewable, earth-friendly power sources, the Bush Administration is still condoning drilling off the Alaska coast. But two conservation groups recently filed a lawsuit in attempts to halt this operation, which they claim would disrupt sea mammals living off the Alaskan coast, like walruses and polar bears.

Now, in many respects, I'm supportive of Bush's conservativism. But this is just outrageous! How, with all the research performed on global warming and the discovery of how quickly the world's supply of fossil fuels is dwindling, can you approve an operation that would forever destroy one of the few essentially-untouched landscapes in the world? How long are we going to wait until we cut the cord when it comes to fossil fuels? Are we going to wait until the polar ice caps are no longer and there's a six-month supply of oil remaining?

Call me crazy, but now is the time to start promoting change in the direction of earth-friendly fuel sources. It seems so counterintuitive to start a new operation, in an untouched Arctic landscape that dozens of endangered species call home. Why destroy yet another corner of the world, in search of fossil fuels, when you still have sufficient supplies in other parts of the world? Shouldn't our reliance on fossil fuels be decreasing? Why are we expanding operations? In fact, Libya's government recently announced that they would be scaling back production due to a drop in world demand! So why go digging up the Arctic if there's sufficient supplies elsewhere?

Human-centric attitudes toward non-human species and the environment drive me mad. And you know what? I'd pay $7 per gallon of gasoline any day of the week if it meant that the Arctic would remain untouched. So conservationists: I laud you. Keep up the good work.

Posted by Mia Carter

I am a strong proponent of stronger animal cruelty laws. I'm always complaining how animal abusers never seem to get what's coming to them, but then I heard an absolutely wonderful news brief about former Atlanta Falcons Quarterback Michael Vick, who's now doing time in Levinworth Federal Penitentiary for federal animal cruelty charges stemming from the discovery of his "Bad Newz Kennel." It seems that Vick has filed for bankruptcy, in good part due to his legal fees!

For once, it seems that an animal abuser has gotten what's coming to them. To take joy in animals' pain, to find amusement in watching two dogs rip each other to shreds - it's a sickening thought, particularly as an owner of two wonderful pit bulls. Dog fighting is so incredibly barbaric, like a throw-back to the gladiator's ring - and at least in the Coliseum, humans had the berries to actually walk into the ring and fight. Dog fighting is such a "sport" for cowards. And to profit from it! Oh, Mr. Vick, there's a special place for you in hell.

The twist on the story is what happened to the dogs. Nearly 50 of the dogs removed from Vick's "Bad Newz Kennel" (the very name just makes me cringe; even the spelling is a sad attempt at urban hipness) survived. About half remain so psychologically damaged that they cannot be kept as pets, but miraculously, they weren't euthanized; they'be been brought to a sanctuary to live out their days. According to The Washington Post, the other two dozen pit bulls are now living in loving homes, with one now working as a therapy dog, and another training for frisbee competitions. All the while, a broke Michael Vick sits in jail. Maybe there is justice in this world.

Posted by Mia Carter

So this afternoon, I paid a visit to the Boston Animal Rescue League to collect my newest furry family member: a cat named Tobin whom I helped to rescue from Boston's Tobin Bridge last week. She's recovering from her recent spay operation and she's now at home, resting comfortably and ready to start her new life.

But while we were waiting for the ARL staff to bring Tobin out, we strolled around the shelter, checking out all the other animals - so many of whom I wished I could take home along with our new girl Tobin. And a sad realization struck: there, in black and white, was a sign of how the bad economy has adversely affected our animals. Dozens - maybe a third of the animals overall - who were available for adoption were at the shelter due to home foreclosures and other similar situations where families were forced to give up their homes. The cage tags said it all: "foreclosure," "family could no longer afford," "caretaker lost job."

You know, when I hear all of those reports on the U.S. economy, they never mention all of the other beings that are suffering. And to be honest, it's not something that came to mind before today. The news stations are preoccupied with human stories of misfortune, but visiting that shelter today, I realized just how many animals have been affected. So many pets, abandoned or surrendered to shelters because their families could no longer keep them due to the loss of their home to foreclosure, job loss or other unfortunate circumstances. Thousands of pets must be impacted nationwide, homeless because their caretaker lost his/her job or home. It's a sad realization.

Posted by Mia Carter

One of my fellow Suite101-ers mentioned a video of an elephant painting a picture of an elephant, so I just had to see it for myself. So I went where all people go nowadays when they're seeking a video online - YouTube. And this is what I found.

Pretty incredible, right?

Now it took me a minute to get over the terrible human-centric nature of it all: an elephant, likely plucked from its captive mother and trained to paint on an Asian beach somewhere, instead of roaming in the wild, or at least roaming in a wildlife preserve somewhere. It's a terrible example of animal exploitation of an animal for profit. But it's nonetheless incredible that this creature has the ability to paint. And he's not just painting random strokes and splotches - this creature has more talent than the average ten-year-old!

And I wonder if maybe the elephant was trained to create this particular painting - an elephant holding a flower. That's probably the case, but upon considering it a bit further, I realized that even if he was trained, the ability to retain that training is rather incredible in its own rite! You know, the more I see, the more I become optimistic that in 20 or 30 years, science will have developed to the point where we can definitively prove that animal intelligence is comparable to our own. Maybe then people will think twice before exploiting, harming, neglecting or abusing an animal, and hopefully the justice system will catch up when it comes to animal abuse legislation...We'll see.

Posted by Mia Carter

Today, I nearly choked on my drink when I overheard a discussion in the newsroom of the newsradio station where I work. It was about pet rentals. "Pet what?" I spat. "Rentals - like you rent a dog for a couple of hours or a weekend," the reporter explained. "Like a car or a hotel room?? You've got to be kidding me!"

But kidding he was not. A company, whose name I won't mention at the risk of providing free advertising to these creatons, is now seeking to expand into Boston. People can rent a pet for a few hours, a day, or longer. The company touts "shared dog ownership concept that provides our members with access to a variety of [company] dogs...dogs complete obedience training...dogs are also certified as therapy dogs."

Okay, so they're certified as therapy dogs for others, but who's going to pay for therapy for the pet? I have worked in animal rescue, training and rehabilitation for years. I've worked at animal shelters where I've helped damaged and broken souls, victims of abuse, instability and neglect. And I cannot begin to imagine the negative effect that "rental" would have on an animal. It's appalling. The lack of stability, the inability to genuinely bond with a human, the inconsistency in schedule - so damaging. Have any of the people who developed this concept ever actually (responsibly) owned a dog? Obviously not, because they would clearly understand how damaging "rental" would be to an animal's psyche. I expect that within a few months of use as a "rental" pet, these animals will be well on their way to developing issues with aggression, insecurity, anxiety, and all sorts of other issues that will take years to work through. All due to the complete lack of life structure and stability....Part 2

Posted by Mia Carter

...This business, whose name I will not mention, is the worst case of animal exploitation I've encountered in quite a while. Would you rent a human child? Of course not! So why does an animal deserve any less? A puppy is more intelligent and capable than any human infant and most toddlers, so don't even start on the brainpower argument. Because if you argue that they're just not as "smart" as humans, then you're devaluing babies as well, and heaven forbid a human be placed on the same level as an animal, eh?

This company claims to cater to "dog lovers" who are seeking a pet that will "fit" their lifestyle. But clearly this company does not cater to dog "lovers," as no true dog lover would support a compay that exploits animals in this way. No, this company caters to selfish individuals who think a dog is "trendy" or "cute." A genuine dog lover who is without a pet will do one of three things (and one of those three things is NOT renting a pet!): they will visit an animal shelter in their free time to spend time with the dozens of homeless animals who are waiting for a home; they will get a job working with animals, even if it's just a cottage-industry dog walking gig; or thirdly, they will change their life so that they can accommodate a pet. This may mean sacrificing some freedom and coming home early after work instead of going out for drinks, or maybe it means moving to a pet-friendly rental, or maybe it means keeping a small animal that's permitted in a rental unit. Whatever the case, a true animal lover would not support such a selfish notion as pet "rental."

Posted by Mia Carter

So, after living on a Boston bridge for several days without food, water, or litter box, the Animal Rescue League kennel must seem like a luxury hotel! Tobin arrived at the facility on Monday and today, I paid the little girl a visit. I was so relieved to see how well she looked and even more surprising was her attitude - she was so friendly and affectionate and curious. And it struck me how incredible this is...Animals are so forgiving. It's incredible how they can live in the moment; how she can be affectionate to humans so soon after she was dumped and left for dead by some uncaring individual.

Tobin's story, it seems, has already traveled quite far! She's been on the news, on this blog, and now she's going to be featured in a magazine! We'll have our very own kitty superstar! The Animal Print will be featuring Tobin's story in an upcoming issue, along with the people who went the distance to save this little cat from a certain, slow, terrible death. And normally, I'm the type who doesn't really appreciate the spotlight - I'd usually rather gnaw off my own leg than appear on camera or in the spotlight, but this is a case where I'll make an exception.

I hope that Tobin's story can help others realize the importance of taking action when they see an animal in need. Don't assume that someone else has called for help and don't assume someone else will come to the rescue. In Tobin's case, she was on the Tobin Bridge - a major Boston artery - or at least four days. How many tens of thousands of cars must have passed her! And not one other person called the Animal Rescue League or Animal Control. Not one.

Posted by Mia Carter

It's a Friday, June 27, 2008, and I'm driving home in rush hour traffic from my new job at a Boston radio station. I'm on Route One and we're moving at a snail's pace. I pass through a tunnel and I'm on the entrance to the Tobin Bridge when something catches my eye - a small black cat basking in the sun. She's curled up on a shelf of sorts, formed by a rectangle of recessed concrete that's part of a wall that extends from the tunnel up onto the Tobin Bridge. She's curled up and she's got that relaxed, half-asleep expression that all cats seem to get when they're sitting in the sunlight. Now, while this cat - relaxing amidst the chaos of rush hour traffic - is a bit of an odd sight, it wasn't alarming...at least not at first. It had rained just a few hours earlier and with a residential neighborhood nearby, I figured that this cat had made her way into the tunnel to escape the rain. I assumed she probably had a nice home nearby and maybe frequented this roadside perch in her daily travels. The next day, I was driving home from work again and out of curiosity, I slowed as I approached the area where I had seen the little black cat less than 24 hours before. I was a bit surprised to see that she was still there. And it was at this point that I realized that this cat wasn't hanging out on the Tobin Bridge because she wanted to be there - she was there because she had nowhere else to go...Part II

Posted by Mia Carter

...At the next exit, I got off the bridge and looped back around and what I saw made my heart drop. I realized there was no way this cat found her way onto the bridge on her own. If she back-tracked through the tunnel, she'd have to walk nearly one-half mile on a narrow shoulder, with traffic speeding within inches of her small sleek body. If she walked forward from her location, she would have to walk a little over a half-mile to reach the end of the nearest exit ramp. The latter journey would have certainly killed her since there's no shoulder on the bridge. Tobin was almost certainly dumped on that bridge, and terrified and alone, she scampered into the first hidey-hole she could find. And she waited...for rescue or for death - whichever came first. Now, being an animal lover and a fierce do-it-yourselfer, in most cases, I would have plucked this cat from her perch myself. But I was faced with a few problems. Firstly, I had no idea whether this cat was feral. A feral cat may look like your loving, friendly kitty at home, but make no mistake - they are wild animals who do not appreciate direct human contact anymore than your average squirrel or pigeon. I realized that if she was feral, she would try to flee if approached. And with traffic whizzing past at dizzying speeds at all hours of the day, this would spell certain death. I also realized that this cat could very well be injured. And an injured cat, no matter how tame, can be aggressive - it's an instinctual protection device intended to maximize chances of survival in the wild. I realized, this was not a rescue that I should attempt myself, so I called in reinforcements...Part III

Posted by Mia Carter

...I ultimately decided that someone else would be better suited to catch Tobin. So I called the Animal Rescue League. To make a long story short, they did go out to attempt to catch her. But they were unable to find her roadside perch - it's not somewhere you would easily find unless you already knew where it was. So she remained on the Tobin Bridge. Sunday passed. Most of Monday passed. I [incorrectly] assumed they had picked her up shortly after I first called, but I soon learned otherwise. I was driving home Monday and to my horror, there she was...sitting on her shelf, three days after I first spotted her. So I got on the phone and started calling and just as I decided I would have to go catch her on my own, I got a phone call from a Boston Animal Control Officer named Matt. Thankfully, Matt was able to find poor Tobin, saving her from a slow and certain death. And while she probably used up at least a couple of her nine lives on that bridge, she was pretty much unharmed and healthy. A bit dehydrated and hungry - yes, but healthy; young too - only about six months old. And very sweet. Well, the right person spotted Tobin that day. I wasn't going to stop until this cat was rescued. Sometimes, through no fault of their own, animals end up in precarious and potentially deadly situations and it's up to us humans to help them. We've decided to adopt Tobin. She'll come home with us early next week to start her new life with five other kitties, and a plethora of other critters - dogs, birds, rats and guinea pigs. And she'll never have to go hungry or experience abandonment ever again.